The stretch of road didn’t look any different from the miles and miles they had already gone, but Kelly felt that something was different. Something new. She hadn’t felt anything like it before.

It always amazed her how fast nature had reclaimed the world. They were seeing less and less people, more and more monsters roaming the ruined buildings. Vines and moss grew everywhere, climbing up the sides of the buildings. Broken windows, missing doors. Some had even collapsed, missing half their walls. Some were gone, replaced by trees or ponds. For the most part, one ruined city was the same as another ruined city.

She was a couple miles ahead of the large, and slow, column of refugees. It had swelled to over three hundred and fifty. Far more than they could reasonably handle, but somehow they were making it work. Food and water were rationed, and they didn’t have enough guards, but they managed to keep everyone alive and moving. They didn’t get far each day, the progress extremely slow.

It was slow but felt so much worse to Kelly. She knew that the goal was approaching and each slow mile grated on her. She was so close, but it just felt like it was getting further and further away.

Senora enjoyed finding every chance she could to remind Kelly that her own decisions were putting the goal further away, risking the chances of it still being there.

But now she knew that it was there. She could feel it.

The road ahead disappeared, going down a hill. Kelly stopped at the top, the other in the scouting party lining up on either side. A couple of the Valkyries, Archers and two of their members that had Uncommon Classes called Scouts. It was more than they usually had scouting but Senora had warned them the Natural Resource was ahead and if it wasn’t already claimed or contested, it would be soon enough. They needed to secure it first or take control. If it was being fought over, they needed enough forces to be able to protect themselves until the rest of the column arrived.

Kelly had argued about that last part, she was still angry about the conversation with Senora.

***

“We must claim the Natural Resource no matter what the cost,” Senora said, in her normal calm and haughty tone of voice.

It was just the two of them in a room that Senora had claimed for her own. A large room in another hotel, one big enough for eight or more to sleep in. Even those most loyal to Senora were starting to get angry over the sleeping arrangements. If she noticed, Senora didn’t seem to care.

“Not at the cost of their lives,” Kelly shouted, voice raising, sure those in the neighboring rooms could hear.

“They are the Dawnmother’s army,” Senora replied. “That is their purpose.”

Kelly wanted to jump across the room and slam her spear into the elf. She knew there was no way she could hurt Senora. Not just because of the Level difference, but also the defensive wards Senora had on at all times. Kelly had seen what they could do, the one time Senora was attacked. Most times, the elf, the strongest member out of the entire group, never getting involved in any fighting.

It was getting harder and harder to hold herself back.

Her hand tightened on her spear. If it had been a rake or any other thing they used as makeshift spears, she would have snapped it.

“They are not an army,” Kelly growled through clenched teeth. “They aren’t fighters.”

“But most have weapons,” Senora calmly pointed out.

Which was true. With the Dungeons and monsters like the Hobs, they had recovered a lot of swords, daggers, axes and clubs. Almost everyone in the column had a weapon, except kids, even if they weren’t great or even good at using them. Having weapons did not a fighter make.

“That they can’t use. If they try to fight, they’ll die.”

Senora was smart enough to not answer the way Kelly knew she wanted.

“That is why they are here.”

That was what the elf didn’t say. Kelly could see it in Senora’s eyes and the smug grin.

“Then make sure they do not,” is what Senora said instead. “That is why you are here.”

***

Kelly could see the Natural Resource. The road continued into the distance, almost a straight line. Buildings lined the left side. Some in decent shape still, but most ruined. On the right was a graveyard. It wasn’t deep, more long, running alongside the road for a good distance. Square stones formed a wall between the grass and monuments and the sidewalk and road.

She thought she might have driven by that graveyard in the past.

The monuments ranged in size. Simple small stones, larger statues and a few scattered mausoleums. Cast-iron fencing was mounted on top of the wall, a large gate about a mile away, leading into the cemetery with paved paths spreading throughout the graves. One of the paths led right to the Natural Resource. She was too far away to make out details, barely able to see it through a couple of trees, but she felt it.

She wasn’t too far away to not see the humanoids spread out through the cemetery. They wore armor and carried weapons. Most seemed to move in repeating patterns, back and forth, not changing anything. Even their steps were in time. There were a couple more independent ones, moving through the other ranks but never venturing far from the Natural Resource.

From up on the hill, with the relative openness of the cemetery, Kelly was able to get a good count. Only twenty of the humanoids. They weren’t human. She couldn’t see much in the way of details, but enough to know they weren’t human.

Turning away from the cemetery she studied the buildings. She didn’t see evidence of more of the humanoids staying in the buildings, and there was a thick line of trees on the other side of the cemetery, along with the wall being higher. Hard for any reinforcements to get through without having to go around. If there were more, they’d be in the buildings.

If there weren’t more. The buildings would be a good place for the column to hold up while she and the Valkyries dealt with the humanoids. But would it be good to have the column this close to the Natural Resource? Senora had said it would attract more attention.

Kelly still didn’t know what the purpose of it was. Senora had hinted that claiming it would help her get to see Loch and the girls sooner. She wasn’t sure if she believed the elf priestess.

It wouldn’t be smart to keep the column so close to the Resource. They had passed a couple of office buildings not that far back. A couple of miles. Still close, but defensible and hopefully far enough away.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

***

“It was only twenty,” Kelly said, glaring at Senora.

The two, along with a couple others, had taken over a small meeting room in the office building they had claimed. Two miles down the road. More glass in the first floor than Kelly would have liked but overall big enough to house all the column. There were people still filing in, moving up the stairs to the upper levels and trying to find a space to rest and sleep. By now, they had it down to a science. There were people assigned to groups, moving them around quicker.

But it still took time.

“There will be more,” Senora replied, calmly from where she sat at the head of the table.

At the opposite end, standing, Kelly slammed her hands down on the table.

“We are not sending them up there,” she growled. Taking a deep breath, she continued. “There’s no need.”

It was the same argument they’d been having for what felt like weeks.

Senora stared at Kelly, face calm but her eyes were anything but. There was rage and hatred in the blue eyes. Kelly stared back, not flinching as she felt a pressure coming from Senora. In the elf’s eyes, Kelly saw power. Was that Freyja’s influence or Senora’s own power that was held back by the Connected System? Whatever it was, Kelly was not afraid.

The tension grew. The others in the room shifted in their seats, moving their feet if they were standing. A couple moved to stand closer to Kelly, hands on their weapons, eyes on Senora. Two of the Valkyries, Lisa and Tiffany, two of first ones along with Kelly, moved to take up positions behind Senora, eyes locked on the elf.

Senora shifted her gaze, moving over the two behind Kelly, turning her head slightly to look at Lisa over her left shoulder. She smirked, returning her gaze to Kelly. There was still anger but it was cold, hard.

“We cannot spare many of you to fight the ‘only twenty’,” Senora said, sarcasm dripping from the last words. “You will be shorthanded, which increases the danger. If you and those with you fall, there will be less to protect the rest of your people.”

“Our people,” Kelly corrected. “Aren’t they your people as well, all followers of Freyja?”

Senora gave a slight nod, the smirk still there.

“Trying to guilt us into always following you is getting old,” Kelly said.

“You should follow my advice,” Senora said calmly, hands clasped on the table. “I have decades more experience than you.”

“You have your own agenda. I don’t even know if it’s what Freyja, your Dawnmother, wants, as you’re the only one that supposedly communicates with her.”

Senora started to speak but Kelly held up a hand. Anger flashed in Senora’s eyes, across her face. Her hands clasped tighter, knuckles white, but only for a second. It was gone quickly.

“I don’t know what Freyja plans for all of us,” Kelly said, standing up. “And right now, I don’t care. If her plan is to hurt these people, there will be trouble, but we’ll deal with that in the future. She’s helping a lot of people and I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, but I will be taking a squad up to that Natural Resource and the rest will be staying here with the column.”

“Is that a command,” Senora asked, not standing.

“Yes.”

***

Kelly pulled her spear out of the Gray Gaunt’s chest, the body falling to the ground.

YOU HAVE SLAIN GRAY GAUNT WARMASTER

The multi-colored sparks of Spirit flowed out of the body, swirling around in a cloud before darting toward her. She ignored them, ignored the feeling of her experience bar filling a little more, as she looked around the cemetery.

There were bodies everywhere. Laying across the stones, on the grass, hacked to pieces with arms or legs missing. Thankfully none of the bodies belonged to her people. Just the humanoids, creatures called Gray Gaunts. Most had been mindless Drones, relatively easy to kill. The non-Drones had been harder, but they’d managed it.

“Well done,” Senora’s voice called out from closer to the road, followed by a mocking clap.

Kelly ignored the elf. She’d known Senora had been there the whole time, just watching, not helping. They ultimately didn’t need the help, but it would have been nice to have. It would have made a difficult fight easier.

“These things belonged to Death,” Senora said, stepping around the bodies. She stared down at them in disgust.

“They’re zombies?,” Lucy asked, crouching down next to one of the bodies, starting to search it.

Kelly and the rest had long gotten over worrying about looting bodies. It had been disrespectful at first, but became a necessity. Disgust gave way to need. Kelly didn’t expect to find much on the bodies but what scraps of armor and weapons they could get would help out a lot.

“Not zombies,” Senora corrected. “Something new created by the Concept of Death.” She looked around at the cemetery. “Although I am surprised that there are no zombies or skeletons. A cemetery of this size would normally have become a Spawn Field.”

Kelly knew what those were, they had encountered enough of them as they traveled. An area where the concentration of ambient Spirit was high, creating an area that spawned monsters in a way similar to a Dungeon.They had fought hundreds of skeletons and zombies in cemetery spawn fields as they made their way north. There were a lot of private or smaller cemeteries all across New England.

The Gaunts had been different from zombies. They had been tall and thin, skin pulled tight over bones that were as hard as stone. The first couple had been harder to fight, just like it was when learning how to handle any new creature they encountered. The last were fairly easy once Kelly and the others knew how to take them down.

Ignoring the elf, Kelly took her first good look at the Natural Resource. There were trees growing randomly through the cemetery. She was sure some of them had been placed purposefully when the cemetery was new but some had just grown where seeds had fallen. The Resource was one of those. She didn’t know if it was an old tree with stunted growth or a new one that hadn’t reached its full height yet. It was short, only six or seven feet high, which is why it had been so hard to see. Roots extended across the ground, a couple growing up nearby gravestones. The leaves had fallen, the branches bare, looking twisted and warped. The whole thing was a foggy gray color, not matching the rest of the trees.

It didn’t glow, make noise or anything that would indicate the power it held. But Kelly could feel it.

“What is it?,” she asked.

“Power,” Senora Barkfall answered, stepping up next to Kelly. “A Natural Resource is really nothing but concentrated Spirit energy given form. Sometimes it has a particular affinity or specialization, but sometimes it is just pure power. What your people would have called a battery.”

Kelly looked to Senora and back to the Natural Resource. This is what Senora had been pushing them toward for weeks. The elf had promised it would help Kelly get back to Loch and her girls.

“Why do we need it?”

“Power,” Senora said, laughing, as if Kelly had said something stupid. Kelly’s hand tightened on her spear as the elf continued talking. “All visitors to Earth use portals to get here. That is how we travel from Connected World to Connected World. Those portals use a lot of power. Natural Resources are a good way to provide that power. The Dawnmother knew there was a portal and Resource in our path but she did not know that it was claimed by the Concept of Death.” Senora pointed to the dead bodies, the gaunts. “Those were sent from a world that Death has Claimed.”

“Sure,” Kelly said, shaking her head, not really understanding and not caring anymore. “What does that have to do with us?”

“Us? Nothing,” Senora said, turning to face Kelly. The smirk was back. “But you? Everything.”