"So what we should do is see what we can get from the town and then go from there. Salvage what we can, trying to get as much food as possible. Cards would be good, but we'll need food more," Anthony said. "Before we start, we'll probably need to pair up, or move in groups of three-for safety-and then someone will need to stay with the caravan, to keep that safe."

"I'll stay with the caravan. The horses will follow us to the south as well. We can get a good look at the road to the next town and since we camped out here on the north side. It would be a good chance to work out the kinks," Finley said. "Do you rogues want to come with me?"

The two female rogues nodded.

"Good. Also anyone wounded? Well, if you get injured head to the caravan. It'll be by the horses. Sonya, do you want to go inside the courtyard walls or head to the houses east of the town?"

Finley could see that Anthony was looking to delegate everything he could. He gathered up the supplies, using a cold spell to ensure that the cast iron pan wouldn't burn his hand as he placed it in the back of the caravan. The two rogues followed him the few steps away. One had introduced herself as Stella, and she had beautiful brown curls that made it appear as if she'd just gotten out of a shower. The other, Sophie, had been through the wringer, though she had a faint smile underneath her wrinkled face. Sophie was a bit older than Stella.

Finley pulled out two double length daggers and passed them to the women as he waited for Anthony to finish giving out assignments. Of course, he would give himself the cooking job once he'd surveyed the interior of the courtyard with Bob.

Bob was going to do a sweep of the perimeter first before they delved into the walled off part of the city. He was taking the monks as they had an unnatural speed ability that made them excellent go betweens. Also their unarmed abilities meant that they didn't need any weapons, something that Finley thought he would find more of. Two of the monks were with him, and the other one had volunteered to be a runner and stick by the caravan, in case something happened.

Finley walked his bay mares behind Bob's group. They went counterclockwise around the city, taking the Western courtyard wall. A few houses sprung up on the south side, but it was clear that most of the people that lived in the town had lived on the Eastern side. The wall did not cover the entire town as it had been a strategic trade post, not a regular garrison. Over time, more people had moved in and expanded outwards.

Finley paused next to the southernmost building that could be still be called part of the town. A two-story Inn with a broken sign looked like it had been in constant use for years.

Bob held up a hand. Finley calmed the horses. Bob briefly talked to the monks with him and then both of them took off. They ran to the door of the Inn.

Finley motioned for one of the rogues to follow. Stella took his cue. Her hair bobbed as she ran after them.

When Bob opened the door, one of the monks rushed in. Finley took the opportunity to position the caravan towards the road leading away from Dunnamore.

After two tense minutes, Bob re-emerged from the Inn. A smile lit up his face. He ran over to where Finley had stopped the caravan.

"It's fully stocked! Or, at least I think it is," he said, "But no zombies are inside and there are real beds! Oh and there's a stables on the side?"

"Anything else of note? Sophie, do you want to see the stables with me? We might be able to find something useful."

She nodded, brushing back her hair. It immediately went right back to in front of her. She huffed, following behind Finley.

There wasn't a full cart in the stables, but there were enough parts that Finley thought he might be able to assemble one. Stella arrived, fist bumping Sophie.

"Oh. This is good," He said, "Stella? We're going to need that artificer. I think we can make a second cart with what we have here. I see two axles and six wheels."

"I can get him, or swap places with him. He was... I forget what he was doing but do you want me to go grab him?"

Finley rolled his shoulders.

"Let's take stock of what we have here and now. Bob and his monks can get him if they see him. We should look around for a workshop and then I'm going to craft a few cards with the pieces I have. Hopefully I'll get a woodworking card."

"You sure we shouldn't get him now?" Sophie said.

"Let's stick together. They're going to be clearing the town house by house and it would only take one zombie to kill and potentially turn one of us. I for one would not like to die in a brave but fruitless endeavor. That's not for me."

Bob walked around the stable area to join them.

"I'm going to mark the doors of the houses we have searched. Is there anything I could use to do that?"

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Stella grabbed something from the ground and hefted it.

"You could put a rock in front of the door?" She said, "Plenty of rocks here. You can put a bigger one if there's stuff for us to salvage? Or work out some system."

"That's a great idea!" Bob said, grabbing the rock, "Well you all know that this one is zombie free so long as they don't sneak in when we're not looking."

"I'll pasture the horses around here so if they are scared then we'll be alerted," Finley said, reaching out to handle their emotions and pull them towards the inn.

"Did he used to be so green?" Stella said.

"I'm sure that's just some of the magic of his card powers. I mean it's just his forearms."

His forearms indeed were turning green, giving away something that he hadn't wanted to admit to all of the people around him. Underneath that beating heart, lay something that wasn't entirely an elf. However, Finley wasn't ready to explain his past to the women in front of him just at that moment so he just gave them the shopkeeper look. Then he growled a bit.

Stella stepped back.

"Should I lead the caravan over here? What do you need to do to set up?" Stella said, "And I'm going to need you to not do that. Sophie might get the wrong idea."

Sophie indeed had probably gotten the wrong idea as the smile plastered on her face was unmistakable. She was looking for elf in all the wrong places.

"Ah. Sophie. Sorry about that, uh let's just say that using so much of my card powers taps me into my druidic nature. I'm using it to move the horses around, but now I need to save some to put these card pieces together."

"Let's check out the inn, then," Stella said, "If the horses are an early warning for us, then we can look for some tools and food. Maybe start on lunch if there is a kitchen."

"Gods, I would love a kitchen," Sophie moaned as the two left Finley.

With the two humans out of his hair, Finley grabbed his sack of card pieces out of the caravan and his frame. With great care, he assembled the six parts of the frame at the workbench in the stables. Each piece clicked into place as the runes inside itched with power. Finley pulled back from the urge to push power into it as he grabbed six common pieces, putting them down one by one.

He breathed in his intent to make a new card.

He breathed out his mana.

Drips of mana felt from his hands joining the seams along the edges.

It didn't have to be perfectly aligned. His mana would bridge any gaps, as it pulled the pieces together to form a full card. As the final piece connected fully, the frame flashed. The shine of a new card lit up his smile. An image of a camper sitting by a fire dominated the silvered copper surface.

Common Skill Card:Survival Level 1

Survive harsh conditions instinctively.

Improves field craft and related abilities.

As this card advances, the wielder will become more hearty.

Stella poked her head out of the Inn just then. There was a servants door that led to the stables.

"Oh hey, you did it boss! Good work! What kind of card is it?"

"I made a survival skill card."

"I'm kind of scratching my head here, is that good?"

"We could use it and four others like it to make a class card, so this is very good."

Stella checked something, and Finley knew that she was looking into her soul deck.

"That's not one of my rogue skills. If I equip it will it make me stronger? Wait, let me see. I have....expertise, sneak attack, dodge, use magic relic and perception?"

"Well we should probably wait but you would have room in your soul deck for this. It would be rough to take it back out, but you wouldn't have much of a problem. So long as your Soul card is uncommon or rarer, taking this out and putting it back in won't be a problem. But uh...we should probably wait for a bit," Finley said.

"Alright," she said, strongly and slowly winking in his direction, "I'm a girl who can wait for a good thing."

"Also," he said shaking his bag, "I'll be making a bunch more cards so we can see how this shakes out. Not like any of the gold pieces that I have been saving up are worth anything now. Damn zombies."

---

Anthony passed by the inn after he saw the horses there. The two story structure sat behind a large town sign. He had thought that it was a quaint little bed and breakfast that he would have gone to in another life. Here, it just looked like another place without a good shower. He was beginning to stink, and the fact that Dunnamore had to rely on rain water and melting snow to keep it's easterly river in business meant that the water was frigid.

He found out almost by accident as the river had been close enough to warrant checking it. He didn't regret the cold. No, even as his shivered in what had to be a late fall gust of wind, he was glad to be able to wash himself. He had gone over in scrubs and his dadliest New Balance shoes. Those items did not agree with the muddying roads and walkways that this world loved. The muck remained a constant reminder that he wasn't back home. It stuck to everything.

The houses were generally four or five rooms and single floor. All were made from a combination of masonry and wood that he hoped would keep the heat in. What little heat there was.

Every time they cleared a house, they placed a stone in front of the door. It was a reminder that they had finished it as well as something close to a grave marker. They didn't encounter anyone living, making him think that either they had run away when this all happened, or been turned. He didn't know which outcome wold be good for them. It all stunk.

On his second house, at least, he found a set of cards that looked like some sort of heirloom inheritance. He pocketed them for later. The metallic copper cards clinked in is pocket. They were all skill cards. One was a magical skill, the only Iron card of the bunch. It granted the user Divine Magic.

Uncommon Skill Card:Divine Spellcasting Level 1

This card grants mana.

This card allows the user to learn and cast divine spells.

He checked his own soul card and found that this mirrored the same skill he already possessed. This could be useful, but as he already had one, it wasn't going to be useful for him.

That didn't mean that he was going to give it up though.

He wondered what Finley would trade for this? Probably something really good. A better question was if the elf would trade anything. He would definitely do something for food. It was about that time when he realized that all of this search was making him both hungry and thirsty. He found a clean bucket that had clearly been used for water and waved to one of the warriors with him, pointing to the bucket and then the stream.

It was time for a break.