It's late, but we push past any tiredness and move on with the rest of our planning. Our walls are thin, we are vastly outnumbered, we have multiple enemies, little resources, and our biggest asset is our children. And children should never be called assets. That just seems wrong fundamentally. All of us at the security meeting are well aware of our issues. I'm guessing that is why all our previous planning steam grinds to a halt.

"The first thing we have going for us is our location," Fury speaks up first. "We have a water supply; the mountains are rich with metals and gems, and they surround us, acting as a natural barrier. The ground is malleable and open to crops, and the woods offer plenty of natural resources. With the proper fortification, we could last years under siege.

"The only problem is that this spot secludes us from the rest of the island. We can be safe here, but we give up ground to our enemies which they can then use to launch an extended siege on us."

"Fury is right. Turtling in this spot eventually led to our downfall. Even worse, we repeated the mistake of hunkering down in the caverns. We never gained a footing strong enough to leave the caves. As safe as building the ultimate defensive fortification here seems, long term, it could lead to our downfall."

Hearing Gene shoot down the plan on everyone's mind before it even gets proposed does a number on our halting plans.

"We don't have the numbers needed to have multiple locations, and if we try to set up a base elsewhere, it will be harder to protect. If we open up to others, they can help us defend from a siege. Also, we are dungeon bound now. Doesn't that make a difference?" Fen asks.

"Our situation isn't the same as when we tried this a hundred years ago; however, even then, we had much more powerful warriors than we have now. If they weren't strong enough to fight off the horde, how can we expect ourselves to fare any differently, even if we can't die." Gene ends her sentence with more of a statement than a question.

"We do have the shiny stones that can be used to portal to other areas," I speak mostly because we need to start tackling some of our problems before our problem list gets too overwhelming. Mentioning the potential to portal brings fire to our planning session, and eyes light up running through new possibilities.

"It's settled." Bones decides before any plan is presented. "Portal Island… no, that's not the name, just a placeholder, is our new plan. How many portals can we create?"

"Just two." I answer Bone's question.

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"That's not enough. We need more. Who's taking notes? One of our many tasks is grabbing portal stones.”

"Ha, as if the stone is so easily collected. How do you propose we get those?" Glimmer is quick to roadblock the plan in session.

Bones is unfazed by the deterrent and navigates around the block. "How did we get the stones before?"

I don't want to be the guy always answering the boss' questions, but he keeps lobbing them up for me, and if I don't answer his questions, he will end up standing there in silence, which doesn't look good for a boss. "We took them."

"So, we take some more." Bones says as if the problem is fixed. "Now that we have more portal options, I suggest we exploit our island with all the towns and portals possible. We claim the coasts, the cavern, this valley, and any other significant spot and link them with our portals."

Either no one has the courage or any alternative solution to shut down Bones, so he keeps running with his idea. "This spot will be great for the academy, crops, and housing. This area is where we will focus our strongest defenses.

"The cavern can be used as our false dungeon. The coasts will link us back to other nations and sell passages into the dungeon. If people are bent on conquering us, let's charge them for entrance and rob them of all their possessions once they arrive."

"There's holes in the plan — "

"I like to think of them as portals…." Bones' interruption does little to stop Gene.

"Let's say we pursue this course of action. How many portals are we thinking of? And how many towns are we going to establish?" I'm trying to keep this monstrous task under control. Our ambitions are running wild, though, acting counter to my attempts.

"Don't think of it as many towns. Think of it as one town with separate districts. Instead of gates and locks keeping districts separate, it will be portals and secret codes." The last line leaves Bones with an added measure of excitement.

"By my counts, we will want at least six. Portals will be set for the dungeon, the academy, this fortress, and the main coasts on the north and south side of the island. The last portal will connect us with a major city hub in another nation. Preferably one that is well established and linked to many other portals."

Following Gene's portal proposal, we dive deep into the plans of each of our districts. Our primary focus for security is protection, decoys, and expansion. We set up plans and assign tasks all before we call it a night. In the next couple of days, we will secure our base.

After that, Bones, Glimmer, Remny, and I will trek into the Greater Shadow Realm to recruit some dungeon mobs and bosses. Nette, Apper, and Gene will tackle the academy, setting up the building and establishing a routine. After the academy is set up, Bloom, Fury, and Apper will work on our coastal expansions, which entail setting up a tavern in each location. Apparently, there is this universal law that if you open a tavern, people will come no matter where it is located.

There's much more building, reviewing, and planning to be done. That can all wait for tomorrow. For now, we are all worn out and need some rest.