To say the clearing was a mess would be an understatement. Scattered bits of burning ice, plant matter and stone. Limbs and fur and everything in between littered the ground as we exited the warehouse. A hunk of the Tendril's berm had been blown up, leaving a U-shaped depression that Daniela led me through. I could see one of the teams were running around, checking into the woods around the clearing and into another nearby building for any threats we might have missed. A number of people were propped up against my defensive walls.

While the walk was short, I could still see Clara firing off instructions both in person and through the comm-plant. The staring-into-space telltale look was evident as she coordinated with the New Hopers scattered around. Sam was passed out in the dirt while one of the trainees I'd freed looked after him. Eric was sobbing with his back to me, barely visible on the other side of the wall.

"What--" I started, the words catching in my throat.

"Just take a look," Daniela said as she took us on a wider path so I could see the trainees we'd rescued.

"My god..." We hadn't been able to save them from the grasp of the Dreg, at least not entirely.

In the heat of the fight I hadn't paid attention to the people Devon and Garren brought back. Now that I could actually count more than bodies, I saw the... changes. While the humanoid Tendrils looked more like colored mannequins than actual humans, what happened to the trainees was much more drastic. The first six we'd been able to rescue had swaths of their bodies transformed by their attunements. Two orcs had skin that refused to stop smoldering along their upper body. A mermaid had turquoise crystal replacing her arm and most of the left side of her torso. An elf and a satyr looked like their limbs were missing entirely, but upon closer inspection one could see air and limp roots in place of the hand and foot that were missing. The demoness that remained had a pockmarked mess that crawled up her back and partly on her face visible as she shivered face down.

The remaining four trainees, the first few affected by the Dreg ritual, were over fifty percent changed. The first fae that had been zapped by the Dreg was all but a mess of entwined roots except for the upper right side of their head. Counted among the group of severely afflicted was Eric's son, Billy. The young elf's legs and abdomen were entirely gone, replaced by a thick misty membrane. Other than being unconscious, they were peacefully laid out next to each other.

"Dreg Afflictions..." I whispered. Bec's words from when I'd been attacked by the spiders resonated in my head. Magical mutations of the highest order now put on display for us all to see.

"Is this what the Crystal back home warned us about?" Daniela said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't bet against it."

Clara, with help from Rommel, approached the two of us. "Perimeter is secured, I just sent out one of the fresh groups to start dissociating the bea--"

"No! Stop them!" I called out in alarm, my thoughts zeroing in on her words. I gave my abbreviated Status a sideways look even as I spotted a net of finger thin trail of Pith drifting towards all of us who'd been involved in the fight.

Subject: Ronan Terrigan

Health: 100% (Unafflicted)

Mana: 100%

Metier Quotient: 4 (22%)

Dreg Accumulation: 0%

LPS: Wildwood, FL

Communications

Skills - (1) Selections Available

Traits - (98% Banked)

Attributes - Growth Quantified

That huge pile of Dreg will put me into Overbanked territory, but what about for those at a lower Quotient? What about the Dreg Afflicted? My internal monologue ramped up even as the threads grew closer. Clara was looking at me sideways but she communicated to the groups to stop. We can't let all that Pith go, it could bring up the trainees and push people to their next Trait...

"If we absorb too much we will have issues like them," I said, pointing to the Afflicted trainees. It was a bit harsh, considering the recency of their injuries and change, but it was the fastest way to get everyone on board. Clara's eyes widened, her mannerisms becoming a tad less composed as she gestured wildly to the teams ambling about. "We will need to leave a team or two here to gather the Pith once we are back near the Crystal."

"Is this more of that stuff dealing with our mutual friends?" Devon asked from beside Clara.

"Yes. I know it’s already been circulating that we popped out of the crystal, but we'll need to bring everyone into it. I'll also need to talk to Tec and see if we can get everyone a Status and proper protection for any Trait acquisitions in the future."

While I was talking, the threads started to reach the closest in the group. Most turned some shade of green as the nausea of accumulating Dregs overwhelmed the positive side of the Pith. Knowing the likelihood that absorbing that wouldn't go well, I basically threw myself to the ground. Sure enough, when the energy entered me my abdomen clenched in protest and the world swayed around me. Clara and Devon grunted, but both remained standing. A look at my Dreg Accumulation saw it climb up by almost 10%. And that's not all of them... I grimaced.

Several minutes of groaning and swearing passed before the group felt well enough to move again. My face fell once again as I looked over the Afflicted trainees. There was a chance the Entity Clusters might be able to do something for them, but I just didn't know enough about it. With that thought my eyes roved over to the warehouse. One of the fresh teams had gone over and replaced the trainees, but I still wasn't happy with the situation. Tec would be able to hold Kirby, but I had no clue how to deal with the corrupted Entity.

Even with the trainees rescued, I only had more questions and difficulties.

---+---

"Three days. How did it take three days to get everything sorted?" Daniela complained.

"It was no use forcing people. We were in no rush," Samuel said evenly.

"Still! We were right out in the open the whole time!"

"With as many earth walls around us I almost felt safer than in Wildwood," Sam retorted.

Danny let out an incomprehensible sound as she stormed off ahead of us. The moment she crossed the invisible boundary around the Entity Cluster, red wisps of mana peeled off her skin with each huffed breath. The slight smiles on our faces fell off quickly as Tec loomed over us. As comforting as the Blessing of Magic was, what awaited us didn't spark joy.

Even after all the trips to Kirby's hideout, one team still remained to gather the Pith. As soon as we were in range of the Crystal I gave Clara a nod. "You can start, Godfrey."

Everyone that had been present during the fight against the Tendrils tensed. It took several minutes, but eventually the threads of Pith zipped through the town, dodging people before filtering into us. The nausea hit, but thankfully it was short-lived as Tec purified the Dreg. My legs grew heavy and I dropped to a knee. I watched a few others in the group, my friends included, drop also. "You know what to do with the crystal," I said to Clara. The woman was grimacing, but she met my eyes and returned the nod. A moment later crystal hands plucked me into the Entity Cluster.

---+---

It was a whole day later when my mind settled back in Tec's whitespace.

--Ronan Trait assimilation complete--

"Thanks, Tec. How's everything else?"

--Status of Dreg Warriors and prospective Implantees is augmented-- The Entity almost seemed to hesitate.

--Status of Dreg Afflicted individuals is inconclusive--

"It's alright. I know you are trying." A sigh escaped my lips as I looked up at the glowing orb representing Tec. "We'll figure something out."

--Affirmative--

Unlike usual, Tec didn't rush to push me out of his whitespace. Considering I knew that the Entities could read our minds to some degree, I didn't dismiss that it was reading my thoughts about what I had to do. Nonetheless, the Entity complied instantly. "Bring Kirby, please."

The orb above me winked out before returning a moment later with a person bound in iridescent crystal chains. Two simple chairs formed out of the ground, the ex-councilman of Wildwood being gently placed into one. The landing shook the man conscious as I took a seat across from him.

Kirby took several minutes to fully come around. While the man was distracted and coming to terms with his blindness, I reviewed the changes to my body. I didn't feel different, but after reading the cause became more apparent.

Traits:

Limestone Skin

The surface of your body has taken on some of the strength properties of compacted sediment.

Trait overbanked. Impact forces are minutely dissipated when making contact with soil interfaces.

Quake Osseum

Your skeletal system has taken on some of the strength properties of consolidated aggregates.

Trait overbanked. Minor enhancement to Innate Earth Vibratory Organ.

After the mess my ribs and hand were, I guess I can't be surprised that's the Trait I got. What's this about a vibratory organ?

"You gonna gloat or just stare off into space?" Kirby scoffed. His voice had lost the hollow and ominous tone. It was more the voice of someone repeatedly kicked while they were down.

"Not blind? Why am I not surprised."

"What I am used to is more of a black space. You don't know anything. You are just a frog in a well, Ronan. The world is too big for you Fallen lot to understand. How could a Bunkerborn twerp possibly understand."

"Wow. Talk about condescending. You do remember what happened, right? We won the fight." I leaned forward, nearly growling in the man's face. "What I want to know is what sick game you were playing."

"Why should I answer anything? I can reduce a number of things." The man started to flick his fingers as he counted. "You don't intend to kill me because I am still alive. We are inside the town's crystal. You have no idea what to do next, so you look to your betters for a clue."

"Man, since you talked less than Dylan I thought you were just a quiet person, but it seems like you were just repressed. Yes you are alive but that's because I haven't let the townsfolk loose on you. Hell, I wouldn't even need to set the town loose, all I need is Eric."

Kirby flinched slightly at my words, but quickly composed himself. Thankfully, the motion was as clear as day. The town's opinion hurts you, does it?

"What do you know about our struggles? Cushy in your little bunker you didn't even survive the early mutations."

"True. But after spending some time with people instead of plotting to turn them into monsters to save my own behind I got a pretty good idea. Plus, people are generally pretty welcoming when you work alongside them to feed each other."

"I wasn't turning anyone into monsters!" Kirby snapped, straining against his restraints.

"Oh yeah? What were you doing?"

"I was pushing them to evolve!"

"Like the monsters of the early days?"

"Yes! Just like--" Kirby stopped mid sentence, his mind catching up to his mouth.

"You lost your humanity somewhere along the way, Kirby. Did you really think people wanted to live as monsters, possibly attacking their friends and family, instead of just being plain old dead?"

"I..."

"Have you looked at the families that you've broken? I know I haven't, but even the implication that their missing relatives hadn't been taken by the chaos of the surface had them incensed. That even after everyone banded together to survive the Fall, one of their own would betray them."

Kirby fell silent. Somehow, his scales lost some of their shine and the man overall seemed to deflate. I didn't say anything. Whatever conclusions he came to about his actions wouldn't affect his future. All I hoped for was that he would help affect humanity's. Correct some of the deviant actions he'd already taken.

Just when I was ready to let the man have the day to come to grips he spoke up.

"What did you call your plan?"

"Which plan?" I said, turning back to face his seat.

"The one with the spider territory and the ant territory further to the west."

"The Dungeon Farm?" I asked, confused as to where he was going with the conversation.

"Yes. We are... Well." The man seemed to struggle with the words. "We are their Dungeon."

I almost dismissed the man's comment as nonsense, but then I started drawing up connections. Connections I didn't like in the least.

"They protect us, so that we can reproduce. The human Tendrils are always stronger than the beast ones, just because they actually coordinate," the words like sand in my mouth. "Then they send the Tendrils in to either clear us out or pull us into their ranks. Either way it's a win-win for them."

Kirby nodded slowly. "The attacks in which you intervened were meant to wear us down. Get me to cave to their final demand and upgrade my tribute. Even tell them the location of the other smaller towns."

"And what? You grew a conscience?" I said, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

"You don't understand what the early days were like. People died by the hundreds. It wasn't even the damn crystals that were meant to kill us, but the mutating creatures. And the more they killed us the stronger they got and the more people they killed. When the Sand Courier brought the Dreg Crystal... It was too tempting not to accept."

"Let's ignore the difficulty of the past and focus the conversation a bit. The Sand Courier?" I asked, drilling into Kirby with my eyes. He didn't meet them.

"Yes. He... Well he was more like what the Dreg Afflicted were. Part of the alignment as opposed to changed like we were." Kirby gestured to a patch of scales on his arm.

"Is that what those smaller crystals were for?" I asked, thinking back on the trainees and the ritual overall.

Kirby lifted his gaze for a moment before nodding. "The Dreg... As I understand it is natural. However, you can have enough that it starts to influence changes in your body." The man gestured to his body once again. "Nothing is static after the Fall. If you accumulate too much or in the wrong place then you become subject to the commands of the Dreg.

"But the Crystals they... Replace and enhance those changes. Make them entirely of Dreg instead of a mutation. Like... Like a tree with a fruit branch grafted on, and all the original limbs pruned."

My mind was spinning with questions. Most relating to how we might possibly reverse some of those changes, others to how those same changes might benefit us. The main question, however, was around what would happen to the trainees changed by the Crystal.

"I don't know what will happen to them," Kirby said, as if reading my thoughts. "The Crystal was the... Swap point. After the people were changed, Tendrils took them off further West. Galloway, the Sand Courier and that Crystal were the closest I got to a leadership amongst the Dreg. Even then I wasn't told anything."

That's less than helpful! I wanted to scream out in frustration. Even after everything Kirby had done, he was only a dead end. No. The Sand Courier is something. By the name they must be part of an outreach network the Dreg have in place. Plus, I can talk to Tec and Bec about the Dreg Entity.

"If you think of anything, you tell Tec," I said, rising to my feet.

Kirby's head snapped up. "What are you going to do? You can't oppose them. Just my efforts alone were able to feed them over a hundred people. They would have killed us all if I didn't deliver!"

"That's the problem, Kirby. You did it alone. Sure, you pulled in Charles into your little net of intrigue, but somewhere deep in that lizard brain of yours you knew it was wrong. If I wanted to deal with the guilt of killing you right now I would, but I don't think you are anything more than a narcissist with delusions of grandeur. That led to a whole lot of suffering and I am going to make sure you never forget it.

"Me and my friends didn't make it on the surface by working alone. The Wild Guard didn't thrive and expand as it did just because you were the head of it. It was the effort of the people beneath you, the community and drive they had, that allowed them to survive. Just like they came together, without you, to bring their children home."

As much as I disliked him, and as much as it made me ill to compare myself to the man, I understood the feeling. The need to do it all yourself or see it fail. Thankfully I had my friends to pluck my head from my ass and keep us chugging forward.

"Wildwood is not alone, and humanity is not alone. The Dreg don't belong and I'm going to make sure they learn their place.

I turned to the giant orb of light that had been listening in. "Take me out, Tec. We've got work to do."