As we cruised into my old site, I saw the shades on Molls’ car move. She did not come out. The temperature had dropped to the point she was unlikely to exit her nice warm den without being prompted, so I left her alone.

The Knowles and I discussed what kind of housing structure to build for me, and I started getting more and more excited. There was a specific model that I’d seen with the LEAHCIM LIVING affiliate and when I saw that the units were even less than the outfittings, I was sold. Essentially mud-crete cubes, with all of the necessities and amenities to boot.

They sounded great.

For my living quarters, I was going to get a two story house built out of mud-crete, with outlets and water hookups. They even discussed plans for a toilet and shower, which sounded like heavenly luxury to me. I very much looked forward to using a toilet of my own again.

I had been sneaking away to pee in a bottle and sell it, when not at Mr. Sada’s. I’d also been selling my own solid waste, of course. Seemed like the thing to do in BuyMort. I had yet to try and sell something the storefront wouldn’t buy, and honestly the prices and demand for human waste products were a little embarrassing.

Axle assured me it wouldn’t break our budget to get me an upgraded living area.

Before we left, I texted Molls about it, and she sent me back a message almost immediately indicating that she was fine with the arrangement. There was plenty of space in the site left over for her car, after all. She said she’d feel safer even, which made me smile.

Our next stop on the tour was spider city. As I drove them over to it, we discussed the spider ranch and the silk income. Jada informed us she had it marked as a priority.

When we were on-site, I stayed back with the golf cart and let them go for a long walk around the area. The nearby mud-crete wall was far enough from their territory that the spiders didn’t try to build on it yet, but walking that area meant getting far too close to the populated part of their territory for my comfort.

Once they returned, Axle explained his idea for a set up. It would require more walls, higher, and specially shaped, to keep the spiders contained and uninterested in escape.

He also suggested a small artificial pond be installed in the central part of the area, to attract and breed water borne insects like mosquitoes.

The pathway around a tear drop shaped patch of open area was perfect, he told me. The Knowle pointed to the patch of ground Mr. Sada had torn out trees from.

“That would be a good place for a ranch building. Something for the rancher to live in, a place to store upkeep supplies, tools, etcetera.”

He nodded and crossed his arms as Jada made more notes. “I know just the design to use. Simple, but effective.”

I bit my lip and thought of Drusk, our captive mordren. “Hey, Axle?” When he looked at me, I continued, “could you make that building mordren accessible?”

Axle blinked but nodded. “It would increase the cost of the design, but the entire thing should still fall within budget. Mud-crete and gobbs are cheap.”

He swiped at the air in front of himself and added a building to the growing list on the affiliate order list. It looked like a barn, with a loft apartment.

As we left, Axle poured over the map I shared with him. It was expensive, I had to use MortMobile, because Axle’s head couldn’t fit in my helmet. After I whined about it and got a cold stare from the gray face in the fog on my phone, I paid my thousand mortie file transfer fee and got my engineer his schematics. He shook his head suddenly.

“Take us south, to the south wall. The well is not a problem, even with the underground base. I can see an easy, cheap solution,” the Knowle said, pointing to the south wall as we approached.

Directly at the foot of the wall, a short walk from the primary residential area, Axle and Jada walked a coordinated square on the ground. Jada dragged her mace in the ground behind her, creating a solid V shape in the dirt. Axle hopped up and grinned when they finished, baring his sharp teeth again.

“This is the spot. We create a well here.”

He gestured with both arms to the large area.

“Easy well, too. The primary expense will be the exploratory piping, but with our budget, I think we should aim for something with great upgrade potential.Start with a big draw size, but a simple surface mechanism, like a bucket well for starters. We can easily rip out or repurpose something like that later on when we focus on an upgrade phase. Right now we just need quick water.”

Jada continued walking the square with her mace, dragging behind herself in the dirt as Axle explained further.

“The dig itself will take a couple of hours, but I know a company that does this kind of thing and works quick. I think by the time you get done with your Sleem hunt we should have something significant up and running. On your approval, of course.”

He swiped a service for two-hundred and fifty thousand into the queue and took the last chunk of the two million I had set aside for him.

I took a minute to look at the entire list. The well and the spider ranch took up a goodly chunk of the budget together, but that felt normal compared to how cheap the housing came.

We weren’t even just building for the people we had, the entire main campsite area was getting filled with the LEAHCIM cottages.

They were single story residences with four basic empty rooms each, simple doors included.

Basic water and power hookup slots to allow for upgrades were included in the designs, and for an extra hundred thousand morties, I had the option to install what would become a bathroom on each residence.

I narrowed my eyes at the upsell but went with it anyway. Da Gobbs seemed like a company to keep happy, and I wanted people to have easy access to a restroom if they were going to be living here.

Pooping is important in the apocalypse, Axle explained when I hesitated.

“If you can get it so people can dook in comfortable privacy, it goes a long way toward general morale and waste management. It can even prevent health based disasters due to improper sanitation.”

The basic upgrade was a small outhouse with a simple hole in the ground. It would need to be scooped out regularly, but Axle explained that it was all temporary.

The plan was to get the underground base cleared of Sleem so we can open up our pipes and use the septic system again. The Knowle assured me he could get it up and running with minimal expense and tie the systems into the residences easily. Cutting down on the amount of work that needed to be done to upgrade from nothing helped keep overall costs low. His logic was sound, and I followed his advice, paying for the extra expense from the affiliate account.

Pods began to appear in the distance, and Axle nodded at my seat in the golf cart. “Would you mind? I’d love to use this to coordinate the whole thing. Task me some hobbs too, we’ll need some for gob management and security while they’re here.”

I blinked and nodded, stepping out. “Absolutely. All I need to do is round up my Sleem squad and go clear out the basement. I can walk.” I hefted my shotgun and adjusted the scabbard for my supposedly magic sword. Then I started texting Rayna. I sent her a succession of texts that read a little something like what I imagine a maniac might send.

“Hey Rayna, good news!”

“We’re getting water, like right away water. Should only be a couple of hours.”

“Oh, but I’ll need you to coordinate with the new Knowles, Axle and Jada. They’re nice.”

“Well. Axle is.”

“Please don’t tell them I said that; I immediately regret it.”

“Just go work with them, they need some hobbs to work gobb detail.”

“We’re getting some basic housing, along with the water.”

“Oh, each house even has a bathroom!”

“I also need you for the Sleem operation, once you get that settled.”

“Gotta go deal with the mordren.”

“Both the Knowles are very nice people.”

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

When I finally came to my senses and managed to stop sending texts, I had to resist the urge to send one more apologizing for all the others. As I walked toward the gate to Mr. Sada’s compound, my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Rayna sent back a single letter in response.

“K.”

I chuckled and got over it. Her response just increased my confidence in her. The camp was growing, and I needed her more and more. I was just glad she was stepping up. Everything I’d asked of her had been done well so far. I just hoped she was going to be okay with what I was about to ask of her next.

The mordren Drusk was right where I had left him, lounging in the shed. He turned to see me better with his good eye as I approached.

“Good afternoon Drusk. I have a lot going on, so I’ll keep this short. I’d like to offer you a job.” I nodded to the hobb on guard duty as he started walking away to take a break in the pool chair.

Drusk sat and stared at me but did not respond.

“I need a spider rancher, and you’re the only person I know who isn’t afraid to work directly with them.” I shrugged and leaned on the door jam. “I mean it, Drusk. Serious offer.”

“I am crippled,” he growled.

“The affiliate would pay for a surgery, and if possible, enhanced recovery. The ranch would be a private residence, you would be welcome to interact with the community as much or as little as you chose, and so long as you do nothing to harm them, you could live and work here as long as you liked, for a fair share of the spider ranch itself.” When his single eye narrowed, I raised a hand and continued. “The majority of your share would go to paying off the surgery. From there, you could stay on if you chose to, purchase more enhancements, more surgeries to repair the damage I did. Whatever.”

He stared at me for a long moment before taking a breath. “Indenture, then.”

“No. If you say no, the old deal is still what we do. You can stay here and recover before returning to storage for no charge. I’ll even try to get some more painkillers for you, I think the doc said you would run out today.”

The mordren nodded, a single dip of his snout. “I took my last dose this morning.”

I shook my head at him and pulled up BuyMort. “Mordren injury recovery medication.”

Drusk raised his cast encased hand. “Stop. I will take you up on your offer.” He shrugged and then winced. “I simply am trying to figure out what you get from all of this.”

“Relief of guilt, mostly.” He snorted, and I continued. “Honestly, it’s practical. You say attacking us was nothing personal, I believe you. My guilt drives me to want to help you recover, and we need a person to do this job. This way lets you work it off, helps the affiliate, and lets me feel like I didn’t ruin your life entirely.”

“If you survive what Dearth throws at you next.” He chuckled.

“Yes, there is that. You get enough upgrades, you may even be of help with that. I could pay for a good mercenary, and you could still live here if you’re helping the interests of the affiliate.” I finished with a shrug. “Or you can go to Storage and join your breeding program knowing you paid for your own recovery. Up to you.”

Drusk nodded. “I will stay. I want to find out how you die.”

“Awesome. It’s always important to have goals.” I produced the doctor's business card and pulled up MortMobile, focusing on his face. The deity did his thing with the fog and connected us.

“Dr. Miles.” He announced as he answered. Then he saw the helmet staring back at him and scowled. “I know you?”

“Oh yeah, sorry. This is Tyson with Silken Sands, Nu-Earth. You helped patch up some of my people a couple nights ago.” I tilted the camera to show Drusk in the background.

“Right, right. Easy ticket. Don’t tell me you’re going for the surgery?” He asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I am. We’ve come to an arrangement, and I’ll need him up and running sometime tomorrow. What’s the ballpark for that kind of surgery and recovery?” I cringed in the helmet, waiting for the answer.

Dr. Miles frowned and cocked his head. “You know, something told me you would call about this. I actually did a price check for you just this morning. Should still be relatively current.” He grabbed a separate device and lifted it, swiping at the glass and lights. “Whole package, you’re looking at eighty-four million. That’s my guys giving me a discount too, they don’t get mordrens in very often, and it's good to get fresh scans of ‘em whenever possible, especially during injury or illness. Those people force their evolution so much the medical community has trouble keeping up with em sometimes. Shall I give ‘em a call for you? Their ship is in orbit over your world, it would just be a quick shuttle ride back and forth.”

I reeled at the price tag but turned to look at Drusk. He shook his head and grunted as he slowly stood, using his tail to balance. “How much for the surgery, fast recovery on the dislocation, and a basic prosthetic for the hand?” Drusk’s voice was little more than a growl, but Dr. Miles didn’t bat an eye.

He just looked over the list on his device again and shrugged. “Eight million for the surgery at least, with the quick recovery nanite gel addon. Another two to ‘sawbones’ the hand, again with the gel. Are you sure about that, by the way?” He lowered the device and stared at Drusk through my phone.

“It’s useless. Hack it off, cap the joint and give me a hook, I’ll replace it with something better when I can afford to.” Drusk’s tail twitched, and he glared down at me. “I want the work here and need to start quickly.”

“Right. Call it in the neighborhood of ten million then. I don’t know the exact price, but so long as you’re willing to submit to the standard labs and scans, I’m sure they’ll customize the procedure to your wishes.” Dr. Miles leaned back to the device. “This part of the affiliate is primarily research, and the surgical wing is by referral only. You want the shuttle?”

I held the device out for Drusk. He nodded. “I can ranch spiders with one arm. Let’s get it done.”