"Before we can even ask them if they can come with us, we need to see if we can support them. We can't slow down if there are zombies all over like they were tonight. They would have to be fast, or mounted. We could-" Anthony said.

"We could what? Find another cart? A caravan? Hitch up some more horses? My girls are already half dead and it has been a day since this started." Finley reached out to feel both of them contentedly sleeping next to the herd. They needed this. This down time was a boon for them all.

"If only we had somebody with a skill that could make more wagons," Finley said."Unless there's another caravan around?"

"I haven't seen one, but if the undead here were intelligent, they probably had a few. Otherwise..."

"That still shocks me to the core. I've never heard of undead being intelligent unless they're a wraith or a lich or-"

"Or a death knight."

It was the first time that Bob had spoken in a while. Anthony was almost certain that the ranger had been sleeping.

"A death knight?" Finley said, his tone quiet.

"I killed a death knight. The quest that Mork gave me here was to kill the knight and if possible to save these people," Bob said, "And I did it."

"If there's a death knight, then something has gone terribly wrong. They're like heroes of the undead. They fables tell about one taking down a city and..."

The flames flickered.

"And what?" Anthony said.

"And I just realized that none of you would know any of the stories. None of you are from here," Finley said, slumping down against the rucksack he had prepared for his back support.

"That's... something," Anthony muttered.

"I'm going to have to tell you all the stories one day. This will not stand."

"I'd be down for that especially if there's a brew involved," Anthony said.

"Mork, what I wouldn't do for a good stout right now. And some eggs," Bob said, "There's eggs here, right?"

"There are eggs. I saw some in the caravan. Finley, with dawn approaching, do you mind if I make some breakfast for the crew? Then we can decide what to do on a full stomach?"

"I've got pans next to the cryomancer enhanced chest in the back. It's the one that looks like it's leaking vapor. I can't think of a better time than now to use what I have."

Anthony got up to rummage around the back of the caravan, returning shortly with a pan and some supplies.

"Was anyone a cook before this?" He asked the crowd.

"I was a chef," Bob said, "Allow me."

Together the two men were able to slowly work out a system using the fire and pan to cook food for the ravenous crowd that all woke up to the smell just as the sun peeled over the horizon. Finley passed out plates and wooden forks to them as they waited.

"Don't eat too quickly," Bob said. "You were starving. Take your time eating. You might be ravenous, but pay attention to how your body feels. There is no rush. You're safe now."

Anthony felt warm from sitting next to the fire. He'd broken out a mitt to handle the cast iron pan. If only there were running water he could use to clean it, then he would be happy. But there was more work to do.

He had slept in shifts with Bob in fits and starts but hadn't felt at ease. Maybe getting started on something, anything would help.

"So, you're a local, Finley. What do you think of this situation?" Bob said.

"I don't know. I generally ride about trading at various posts along the Irumian line to the Icecloak Mountains, all the way down to the human lands in the south. Sometimes I venture East? I haven't been to the elven kingdom recently."

"There's this kingdom, the Irumian one, correct? And south is some Human Kingdom?"

"They call it the Alliance. It's not exactly the way that the gnomes and dwarves run their business either, though they were the largest kingdom. You humans have a lot of children."

"No offense taken," Anthony said, "Well with all of that, can you think of a place where we could hole up for a while?"

"Better than here?" Finley pursed his lips, "That's difficult because so much of this land is farmland and with so many mouths to feed... I would need to know what's going on in the rest of the Kingdom. Because there's only so much farming we can do here before winter sets in and I would want to be south of the capital then. Did I mention the Icecloak Mountains? Yeah they're just north of here."

Finley waved behind himself, northward as if the mountains would just make themselves known. Their height reached some of the lower clouds.

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"So we can't stay here long term. But we... We probably should talk to everyone here and ask if they would be okay on their own here," Anthony said.

"Or if we want to even head out with you strangers," a woman's voice said.

Sonya stood behind Anthony.

"That's also a consideration," he squeaked out. He hadn't seen her show up and how she immediately had him gulping at the sight of her gave him pause. Why was he afraid of her?

"Well we can help you saddle up a horse and you can take your chances out in the wild but if what our traveling Tinker here is saying is true, then we need to consider that staying here long term won't work out too well. How long is it until winter hits?"

Finley stirred from his thoughts.

"Three weeks. It'll take most of one week to make our way down to center of the Kingdom. I don't know how I'll feed everybody."

"Does anybody have a card power that lets them create food?" Anthony said.

Anthony looked around. All of the former prisoners were now all sitting around the embers of the cook fire. It looked like he had a quorum.

There was some grumbling but no one raised a hand or said anything.

"I thought so. I only have so many provisions though what I have is yours. I would appreciate getting paid but what use do I have for gold? I can't eat gold. Card pieces and cards I could use but they would probably better off in the hands of somebody who could actually use them to fight the Zombie horde."

"I propose," Bob said, "That we band together. We all have strength in numbers. We should be able to work something out with all those horses. If we find a cart or wagon then it would be a lot simpler. There's no telling when or if another group of zombies comes down on us. I would feel safer with a group of you watching my back. Who else feels the same?"

There were a few more positive grumblings from the crowd.

"Are you trying to conscript us into into a small army?" Sonya asked.

"I wouldn't call it an army. Maybe like a cartel?" Bob said.

"What did you say you did back on Earth? What exactly?"

"I ran a successful cake shop in Hoboken. You probably saw it. It was featured on Cake and Bake."

"Oh I saw that one!" One of the younger humans said. Anthony hadn't gotten the boys name. "Wasn't yours the one shut down for all of the health code violations?"

"No, uh and this is not about me. We should all probably do introductions as well."

"Hi, I'm Anthony. I am originally from the Bronx. I used to be a midwife back on Earth. I ran a small company called Father and Son Midwives. Yes, it's real. No, don't laugh. Sonya. Come on."

"Did you want to mention what card or card Powers you have?"

"I chose a class card. I'm a cleric. I have skills involve healing and yeah brand new," Anthony replied, waving his hands and throwing up a weak mage light.

"Well I am Bob, the chosen ranger of Mork. Mork gave me the ranger class card that has saved my ass so many times already."

Bob held up a tankard of water.

"I'm Sonya, the epitome of a warlock. I was a social worker on earth. I can cast eldritch blast as well as other spells, though they are mostly offensive. I fully intend to tag along with you boys."

Sonya flipped her curly blonde highlighted hair.

Of the eleven saved, all had a class card. One was a dwarf with the artificer class who had chosen it because it looked cool. Three other humans had chosen to be fighters. Three had chosen to be monks. Two were rogues. One was a wizard and the last a different type of druid than Finley. Six women, five men and one dwarf.

None of them had any particular skills that Anthony was looking for. He was really looking for a card power to help create a second wagon. Or at the very least, fix the one they had.

They had, of course all been summoned as heroes to this world. Anthony was speechless. He hadn't expected to be reborn into a fantasy world. He definitely hadn't expected to be only one of a few that was born to this world.

"All right, with introductions out of the way, let's see if we can find some common ground. Is every one looking to help us survive the zombie apocalypse?" Anthony said.

"A better question might be," Sonya said, "does anyone else have a quest from their god to get through this problem?"

Bob raised his hand. Sonya put hers up as well.

"What's with the raised hands?" Finley said.

"Oh! Sorry Finley. Back on Earth when we have big meetings like this, sometimes we raise our hand to indicate that we want to speak or that we agree with the speaker or something very contextual. Like for example, who here likes Star Wars?"

Every hand except for Finley's went up.

"Oh good! At least I'm in good company, then," Bob said.

"I have never heard of the Star War. Is it something that is common in your culture?"

There was light chuckle. A little something to take the edge off. Anthony, let himself laugh a little bit. There had been so much killing and he just needed to release a little steam. He could feel his mana returning to him.

"It's a pretty common cultural touch point. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. You're going to tell us stories about this world? That should be enough."

"Well now that the introductions are over," Bob said, "let's talk about next steps. It's just dawning on us now. I think we're relatively safe if we take some prudent measures, to ransack this town. Safe to say the former residents will not fight us for any of their old belongings. This is assuming that every one wants in. If you want to do your own thing we understand. We will take stock of what we have and try to..."

Bob nodded to Finley.

"I'll do my best to give you a good chance to survive out there. I can't guarantee you anything," Finley said, playing with his hair.

"So having said that, and understanding that my guess is a lot of you got caught and shoved into that cage because you were on your own, do all of you want to form a party?" Bob said, trying his best to look heroic. But there was only so much heroism that one could exude without a full beard.

"And if so," Anthony said. "Do we need elect a leader?"

"I think that there is a clear and obvious choice," Bob said puffing up his chest.

"There clearly is," Sonya said, standing behind Anthony and patting him on the shoulders. "And I vote for this guy."

Bob shook his head and Anthony turned to see Sonya had impressive full sleeve tattoos. How had he not noticed that before? They looked amazing and he chalked it up to the darkness of the night prior as to why he hadn't appreciated those beautiful drawings yet.

"Clearly you're mistaken-" Anthony said, shocked.

"Uh, what?" Bob said, reeling.

"What? Just because you saved our lives doesn't mean that we're going to follow you blindly. You are both smart, but you're an idiot if you think we're going to jump into certain danger like you did last night. What you did was reckless. You could have died. This guy? And this guy?" Sonya pointed to Anthony, then Finley, "They had the right idea. Now anybody else voting for midwife Anthony?"

Anthony covered his eyes with his hands. He did not want to be in charge. He hated being in charge. He hated paperwork. He hated filling out forms. Heck, the only good thing about delivering babies was the practical work itself and the golden hour.

But he damn well would do it to the utmost if those fuckers wanted him in charge.

"You're serious? Sonya?" Anthony said, " I mean I'll do it but..."

"Then do it."

Anthony opened his eyes to see all but one person had a hand in the air. Even the elf had one here. And he was waving it like he just didn't care.

"Alright."