"So that's about all we know. I think that we should consider making a safe passageway to the shop. I also think that from the three we killed that we can use our monks as bait to farm some more cards," Bob said.

The yard had gone from a suburban dwarfs dream to a muddy mess from all the loading and staging. Anthony, Finley and Bob were discussing the next steps. Bob had helpfully sketched a much higher fidelity map in the dirt for the group.

"Speaking on behalf of the monks," Brandon said, "I would greatly prefer not that."

"We got four common cards and nine common card pieces from the zombies we killed. I have a theory about the infection that I want to go after," Bob said, "Also what's up with the hair, Anthony?"

The thick hair that had been in a man bun now lay down, extending past his shoulders.

"Oh this? I wanted a bit of a change."

"This has nothing to do with Sonya's new hairstyle?"

"Not at all. Can we get back to what you found?"

"Also, what happened to your top? You were wearing scrubs?"

Anthony narrowed his eyes at the remark.

"Let's get back on the schedule, Bob."

Bob briefly explained how he wanted to create a safe corridor to the card shop. His intent to use natural barriers made by magical spells sounded like it would take time.

"The longer we stay here, the higher the chance that we have to face the horde at night," Anthony said, "Does anyone feel particularly like fighting hundreds of zombies at night?"

There was a general mutter of agreement. No one wanted to stay in harm's way any longer than was necessary. Half of the caravan was arranged in a school circle, the rest were on watch or resting nearby.

"I didn't think so. We can shore up here for the night or make our way back into the woods. We would just need to exercise light discipline. And the horses- well they are not really that quiet. Does anyone have a card that has any effect on noise?"

That was greeted by silence. Anthony thought about the merits of heading out into the dark unknown.

"Sonya and Finley. Honest question, can you two fully encircle us with walls about that high before dark? We would need the horses to stay calm and in the center of this yard. I hadn't intended on staying in this location for too long."

Sonya stood up, clearly sizing up the area. Her eyes glowed with an eldritch purple. Then they resumed their original haze. His scrub top was clearly visible underneath her new dwarvish coat.

"It would be an ordeal. I wouldn't be able to do much else," she said.

"I could do more, but with the horses-" Finley said, gesturing north to where they were all resting. "My two are not war horses. The rest are."

The unspoken part about how two of the horses could sink their entire mission gave Anthony pause.

"Is there a way station any closer to us?" Sonya said.

"Hmm. I know of one a bit more east of here, but we would need to go through town a bit. At the very least we would skirt the beltway."

Three blocks south was a road that Finley had claimed made a belt around the entire suburb. It had connections to the north, east and south toward the capital. Finley was familiar with it. It was far too convenient and built up. Anthony was wary of taking the convenient choice.

"Did you see any manors with a defensible wall?"

"Unfortunately no," Bob said, "Far too many places we passed by had their doors opened or windows broken."

Sonya held up a hand.

"If it was just us, we could go into the tunnels and easily defend ourselves. Having good working horses with us has already saved us once. The trip only took us two hours. I know we would be going back, but I feel like it's safer, Anthony."

The herd was so valuable that Anthony would do just about anything to keep them safe. If they had to pull back before night, then they had to pull back.

"Alright. I wish I had some leader card skill, but I don't. We've made a day of it here, so why don't we go back to the way station for the night, fortify it some more and then plan out our next mission? Does anyone else have any compelling reason for us to stay?"

Anthony looked around. He didn't know what time it was. Based on the sun's position, they were in the late afternoon.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"I would like the raid the house two doors down before we go, or at the very least try to draw whatever zombies were there out. And if we could do something to board up this mansion, to keep new zombies from getting in-they probably won't be heading there on purpose. Although the wall is great, thank you Sonya and Finley," Bob said.

Sonya gave him a thumbs up.

"Alright. Break everything we need down and let's get going," Anthony said, "We will return in the morning."

----------------------------------------

The otherworldly cat once again returned with common cards and card pieces. Bob cursed his luck. At least this time there were more pieces. His only consolation was that Finley would be up all night making new cards.

The last harvest had garnered a few more pieces. It wasn't enough for him to feel satisfied. Had he been able to get into the card shop, he might have been. There was too much in between him and where he wanted to be. Mork knew that he would become a great ranger. The pathway to that was through these trials.

He was going to prove to himself that he could do it. Tomorrow, they would really hit the shop. They had enough supplies for another week. The entire group was depending on him to deliver even more food. They couldn't grow food fast enough. Maybe, If they went south enough to where the climate stayed warm all year, they could make a stand.

The wind whipped, chilling him to the bone.

He looked around for Stella. She had seemed a bit interested in him. He didn't want to mix business and pleasure but there wasn't much else going on. They're fun, back and forth banter hadn't led anywhere yet.

Then the cat threw up a hairball on his feet. He thanked it with head pats. It was too bad that it couldn't kill the zombies on its own. That, of course would be too easy.

Cards and card pieces in hand, Bob went to help Stella.

----------------------------------------

Stella was loading everything for the kitchen. As they would be traveling again, they should be sure to pack things in an order. A specific order was for how everything would come out. She didn't need her pans to be the last thing pulled out.

What she needed was the ingredients to be available and not buried under things. Bob approached. Of course he looked freshly clean and smelled slightly like bad decisions.

"Hey Bob."

"Stella. Did you want some help?"

"I could always use a practice hand. Didn't you say you used to be like a cake lord or something?"

Bob smiled at her with his mischievous grin. Stella melted. It took everything she had not to swoon. They had been through a lot in the last two days. It looks like they had a chance to make it.

"I had a semi-successful business. I wouldn't dream to take over your position though."

"Help is help."

"What about you? Stella, what did you do before?"

Bob helped load a box into the caravan. Stella help guide the box. Then she stepped up over past him to move it to where she wanted. Bob had never felt so unnecessary in his life. It was clear that she didn't need him. But did she want him there anyway?

Stella grinned sheepishly.

"I was a student. I was going back to school as an adult. I was studying just doing general education classes before I picked a major. I wasn't anything special."

"I don't think I've ever met someone who wasn't special. Besides, school is just one part of who you are."

Stella smiled. The smell wafted through her nose again. It was something special to be sure. It reminded her of the one guy in her expository writing class that always wanted to talk to her after class. He had been a decade her junior. She appreciated his candor. He was a bit too insistent for her.

"I mean, what else do you want to know? I was into anime and manga, but what girl isn't? I chose rogue because I thought that it would be helpful to be a trickster. I mean it's nice to learn new skills and all, but I thought that I would have a bit more combat power."

"You got the ice magic. That has been pretty great."

Stella handed him another box to pack in.

"You might have saved us entirely that night. So, yeah. I might have too many powerful cards to warrant Anthony and Finley giving me more," Bob said. He placed the box perfectly. There was no give to it. He had packed it expertly.

"Have you played any Tetris before, Bob?" Stella said, admiring his work. The man was good with his hands.

"I mean, I can't always be baking cakes. That would be absurd. A man has to have hobbies."

Stella nodded. She looked down for any more boxes. The expected half hour to sort and pack everything had taken a lot less with his help.

"Once we get settled tonight, I think we can finally crack into this barrel. Sonya has been pretty insistent that we bring this one. We need some more mugs though. I was thinking that we could set up some hooks for cups on the side of the wagon this way we can make it feel more like home."

After two days, the wagons felt like home. With all of the textiles, they would even be warm.

"Hey Bob, have you every sewn anything before? We found a linen closet and I grabbed everything so make us some bedrolls. While we're waiting on everyone else, we can get set up."

Bob gave her the thumbs up before pulling her up. The wagon that had felt so empty yesterday was now full of things that the scavenging team thought would be useful. The large wooden box with linens was in the center next to the water barrel. Bob had arranged corridors where they could lay down around the supplies.

They were definitely going to need another wagon if this kept up.

---

The final horse was fully rested. Finley spurred them to move towards the northern highway. The outriders had already began ahead of them, checking that the road was clear. Anthony had called them his scouts. The hairy human sat next to him as they began to move. While they were moving, Finley gave Anthony the reins.

He was working on his storage skill.

The interaction between his two cards had caused his tinker skill to advance. He felt that he was right on the precipice of something significant. It was just out of reach. The thing that they needed more of was supplies. The next thing that they needed was a way to move them.

Finley would be fine with foraging for himself. There was enough in the woods to keep him happy. More than once he had been hungry enough to stop his horses at a berry bush. He could go for a while on his own. With fourteen more mouths to feed, they had to dedicate more time to catching food or foraging.

The reality of the undead breathed down his neck. He wasn't in a position to do anything. The idea of an airship tickled his fancy. Every tinker he ever knew lived their lives on the same continent. With the air ship idea, they could potentially travel to the next continent. He'd heard tales of the high seas. Every tinker did. He'd even seen a sea once.

It had made his decision to stay on dirt an easy one. He wouldn't want to swim ever. It wasn't that he was afraid of swimming, but things lurked in the water. Things that were worse than he was. Powerful beings that no land lover wanted to mess with.

He pushed with his card power a little harder, thinking about the relationship between space and weight. Then he felt a little tear in reality as his storage power advanced again.

"Oh!"