Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Ten minutes after he'd been burned alive, Irwin stepped back through the portal. He appeared in the same tiny cave-like room that he'd been in the previous times.

His mind was spinning from what had happened and the intensity with which Jonathan had looked at him. Oddly, it had remained at a piercing look. After his initial remarks, the sorcerer said nothing but told him to sit down and rest.

A ten-minute break. Why do I feel like that wasn't because he felt bad? Irwin thought acidly.

He stepped next to the entrance. This was not the time to be zoning out.

Greldo was staring at him from the other side, seemingly biting his tongue to avoid asking questions.

A few seconds later, the other four joined them, Taselina glaring at all of them as if it was their fault she'd been tossed through the portal by Jonathan.

"Be quiet," Irwin whispered, looking at the others but mostly hoping Taselina would remain still.

"I'm not the stupid one here," Taselina hissed as she moved to the other side of the door, glaring at him. She was holding a long staff she'd grabbed before they entered.

Are you implying I'm stupid? Irwin thought. He had no idea what to say, but luckily, he didn't have to.

The giggling and laughter shot up a bit, drawing Taselina's attention. She spun around, glaring at the hallway, color draining from her face, and she began shivering.

"What are those?" she whispered.

"Imps," Greldo snapped, turning to her with a sudden angry look. "The things that just killed Irwin and me for the second time because you keep acting like that!"

Greldo's voice rose up in pitch, and Irwin and Olban jumped forward to try to stop him.

They were too late. Like a horrible nightmare that kept repeating, the Imp's laughter stopped.

A step from his friend, Irwin stared at Greldo in horror, who was looking at the hallway, wide-eyed and pale as a sheet. He was whispering something, but it was so soft Irwin couldn't hear it.

A soft cackle came from far away, promising pain and torment.

For a second, Irwin felt his mind go blank as the image of getting brutally murdered appeared in his mind, and then something deep inside him rebelled. Instead of becoming terrified, a wave of anger flooded up from deep within him.

With it came a rapid stream of disjointed thoughts.

Why was this happening to him? Why couldn't he just be with his mum and brother? He finally had a card, which might be much better than he ever thought he'd get! He just needed some time to practice, to learn... Did they think he was just going to take this?

With each question, his anger boiled more, and with the final question, he snapped. He stepped forward and pulled Greldo with him.

"This way," he whispered, running into the hallway.

"Are you crazy? Where are-"

Irwin ignored the complaints and rushed forward, trying to make as little sound as he could.

Greldo followed him to the side hallway he'd entered the previous time. A look behind showed everyone, including Taselina, running after him. Irwin didn't know what to think of that. He turned and hid inside the tunnel. He didn't want to run into the large cavern beyond, so that left one other place to go. They had to find out where those other imps were coming from, and he didn't want to get ambushed in a room with no exit.

As a plan grew, he turned to Daubutim.

"Summon your club and get ready. A few Imps will walk past us, and we are going to jump them," he whispered before looking at Greldo. "Greldo, grab one so I can burn it."

Both boys nodded, eyes wide and fearful but not yet panicking. He turned to the others and swallowed, words spilling out as they came up.

"First time there were three, last time two. I don't know how many there are now, but you will have to hold back the others until we can come help," he rattled.

Twintin was huddled against the side, shivering. One look told him she wasn't going to be of any use. Taselina, however, was glaring at him with blazing eyes that barely managed to hide her resentment at him for being there. Not that he had any idea why she blamed him.

"Do you have a useful card?" he whispered.

Before Taselina could answer, quiet footsteps came from the main corridor.

Irwin swallowed but kept staring at Taselina, willing the brown-haired girl to tell them she had some really great card.

Taselina growled softly. For a moment, she seemed ready to snap at him. Then she nodded, raising her hands and looking at the hallway.

Let's hope she isn't lying, Irwin thought as he focused on himself.

The feet came closer and closer, and then two Imps appeared, sneaking forward.

Daubutim was the first to move, jumping at the back one, his carded hand flashing as he summoned his club. Greldo wasn't much slower, jumping the other one. He had a club in one hand, the other stretched out.

Irwin didn't wait but summoned his flame and rushed after Greldo, hoping Daubutim could hold out for a moment. As he appeared in the hallway, he saw a third Imp behind the others.

"Get that one," he hissed, hoping the others would be up to the task.

Then he focused on Greldo, who barely managed to block a dagger thrust. He had clutched the startled Imp's arm. Irwin didn't even wait but slammed his fist, flame hovering above his knuckles, into the Imp's exposed arm.

"Eeeee-" the Imp squealed, then froze.

Stupid, why did you have to scream, Irwin thought as he looked around while his flame finished the Imp. He needed to figure out how long he had to hit one of them, but now wasn't the time.

Daubutim was flicking his club around deftly, easily holding back the Imp and surprising Irwin immensely with his proficiency. But what really made him gasp was Taselina. She had her arms outstretched, and two stone arms were protruding from the ground four steps away. They were as large as a small person and were mirroring her motions, strangling an Imp that was desperately kicking at the ground below its feet and trying to get free.

That can't be a common card, can it? Irwin thought, feeling his skin crawl.

The Imp he was flaming fell apart, and he quickly jumped forward, jamming his now much longer flame at the Imp fighting Daubutim. This time, he aimed for the center of the back.

The Imp gasped, then froze without another sound. Daubutim's eyes widened, and he hesitated, the club raised before stepping back. It took only a few moments for the Imp to slide to the ground, its body crumbling into black soot.

Irwin held Daubutim's eyes, and as he did, he noticed a very tiny flicker of intelligence, something he'd not seen before.

Daubutim nodded, then turned to the final Imp.

It was only twitching, and its eyes bulged out as it dangled from the stranglehold on its neck. Taselina let out a soft grunt, and the stone hands flexed. There was a dull crack, and the Imp's neck snapped. Immediately, it stopped resisting, its body dangling limply.

Taselina straightened, breathing raggedly, and the stone arms crumbled, causing the Imp to thud into the ground.

"Demons… what rank card is that?" Olban whispered.

Irwin wanted to know, too, but he knew there was no time for that. He stepped forward and tried to drag the Imp into the side entrance. It felt like the time he tried lifting a bag of potatoes, impossible with his undersized physique.

"Quick, get it out of view," he whispered as he grabbed the two daggers from his own kills. He hesitated for a moment, then handed one to Olban and the other to Greldo. Both immediately dropped their simple wooden weapons, more than happy with the cold steel.

Daubutim quickly pulled the dead Imp away while Irwin kicked at the soot, trying to spread it as evenly as possible. A few moments later, they were huddled together in the narrow tunnel.

"What card is that?" Olban whispered as he stared at Taselina.

She glared at him and didn't answer.

"Doesn't matter now," Irwin said as he turned to Twintin, still shivering. She hadn't moved from the tunnel. "What kind of card do you have? Is there any way you can help?"

The tiny girl looked up, a far-off gaze in her eyes, and Irwin poked her shoulder. "Twintin, we have to know what we can all do!" Irwin hissed. "Jonathan, he isn't just going to let us stay out of this. He will-"

"We died," Twintin mumbled as she looked up at him.

"Yes…" Irwin said as he tried to push away the horrible memories the two words brought up. "And we will die again if we don't learn how to fight back. If this is an example of what a real portal is..."

He let his words hang, his mind spinning as he thought of something that should have been obvious before.

"There has to be a linchpin! Perhaps if we find it and finish this training, we will have shown them what we are capable of, and we can rest?"

"For how long?" Olban whispered, and Irwin saw tears well up in the fat boy's eyes. "In a few weeks, we have to do this for real! If we die then, we won't just wake up!"

"That means we just have to become stronger," Greldo said, glancing at them from the tunnel entrance. "We just killed three Imps easily, without planning, and with weapons we barely know how to use! We have a little time now- that first Imp shouted, but there's none running here yet like before. We should…" he frowned, seeming uncertain.

"Find the linchpin," Irwin added quickly, getting a grateful nod from Greldo. "If you three," he waved at Greldo, Taselina, and Daubutim, "can distract them or hold them, I can finish them."

The others looked at him, but only Greldo and Daubutim nodded. Taselina and Twintin were staring at him, one angry and the other with dull eyes. Irwin focused on Twintin, who was still shivering.

"What card do you have?" Irwin asked softly.

"Waterdrop," Twintin whispered softly, a look of despair on her face." I can summon four drops of water."

Useless, Irwin thought. It was even worse than his card had seemed initially. Although only barely, he knew.

Still, he kept quiet, merely smiling at her sadly. It wasn't an unusual card, though he'd never heard of someone who could only summon four drops. Most of the time, it was two or three cups full.

He looked at the dead Imp, searching and finding another dagger clutched in its hand. As he moved over to grab it, he remembered something. Didn't the previous group have one with a whip? He looked around but didn't see it.

Perhaps the portal wasn't always the same?

He handed the dagger to Twintin, who looked at it with wide-eyed fear, only reluctantly accepting.

"Hide behind the others and wait for an opening to stab those Imps," he said.

Twintin's lips shivered, but she nodded.

Irwin hoped she wasn't going to hurt herself as he turned to the others. Seeing them all look at him, he felt another kind of fear grow, but he squashed it resolutely. There was no time for that now.

"Behind us is a large cavern with hundreds of Imps," he said. "We should go to the other end of the tunnel and see if that is safer."

Taselina seemed ready to object, but Daubutim nodded, raised his club and wooden shield, and stepped out of the tunnel. Irwin followed him, Greldo close behind. A few steps in, he was glad to see everyone else follow them, though Taselina was sporting a scowl.

In the distance, the end of the tunnel loomed, and from it came giggling, howling, and laughter.

Irwin licked his lips, steeling himself. I wonder how long till we die again. The thought came unbidden, and he shivered.

--

A short while later, he stood with his back against a wall, breathing raggedly, one hand clasped around the dagger protruding from his stomach. Pain was blossoming from it while his vision slowly faded from the edges.

"Not… too… bad," he gasped at Olban, who was leaning against the same wall, eyes closed.

A semi-circle of Imps stood around them, slowly closing in. He barely saw the dead and mutilated bodies of Greldo, Daubutim, and the others behind them.

"We are going to have funnnn with you," one of the Imps said gleefully.

Irwin felt his body grow cold, and he grimaced as he put his second hand on the dagger. Whatever was going to happen, the prospect of being tortured to death was the worst outcome. With all that remained of his paltry strength, he pulled out the dagger, and a stream of hot blood poured down his stomach and legs. The imps screeched and rushed forward as he slumped on the ground. Hands grabbed, prodding, but all he could think was that he was incredibly happy to see the entire world turn dark.

The cold floor on his back was the first thing he felt as he woke. It was a blessing, as was Jonathan's hateful voice because it meant he wouldn't be cut up by murderous Imps.

"Not too bad. You got a lot further this time," Jonathan said, hands folded before his chest, thumps tapping thoughtfully.

How does he know that?

Irwin felt a sudden fear that the sorcerer could see and hear everything. He looked up to see Jonathan stare at the symbol above the door, and as he followed his gaze, he saw a tiny part of it glowing a dull white. A moment later, it flickered, and Olban was ejected out, tumbling forward and onto the ground, where he lay in an unmoving heap. Only his chest showed he was still alive.

Wait, he was still alive back then? Irwin thought, and he shuddered. Had the Imps gotten to him?

"You have ten minutes of rest, and now that you have at least some idea of what to do, I suggest you plan ahead," Jonathan said as he crossed his arms.

Irwin rolled over and saw Greldo sitting with his back against the wall, eyes closed, seemingly sleeping. He crawled next to him and wondered if he should wake his friend.

Footsteps echoed through one of the square stone hallways, and he looked up to see three guards and a tall woman in a metal-plated leather robe walk toward them. Her eyes were a brilliant and stunning topaz and focused on Taselina. A small, surly-looking freckled girl with a bruise on her eye walked between the three guards.

"Lady Yrinta," Jonathan said, suddenly standing up straighter and staring at the woman. "How can I-"

"Quiet," the woman snapped as she stepped before Taselina. "You, hold out your hand. If you resist, I'll just knock you unconscious."

Taselina's eyes narrowed, and she jabbed out her hand aggressively. The woman took it, and the back of her hand began glowing. For a moment, nothing happened, then a tiny glowing parchment with letters appeared above Taselina's rune. Irwin got up and tried to get a look, but one of the guards stepped forward, blocking his view.

"As I thought, a rare card, and a very good one at that," Yrinta hissed as she glared at Taselina. "I don't know how you managed to trick us or the portal, but you are coming with us. Fool. What would you have done if you had died in your first portal?"

Irwin barely heard her as his attention entirely focused on Yrinta. If she scanned him, she was going to find out that his card was different! Would she... take him away? And where to? Wait, what would happen if he died in a common portal with his card?

"I don't want to enter a-" Taselina began.

Lady Yrinta stepped forward and slapped her in the face.

"I don't care what you want! You could have gotten yourself and five others killed! Now come with me. You are going to the next tower."

Killed? Irwin thought as he shivered. He felt Greldo move next to him, but he didn't say anything.

As Taselina stared at her in shock, a hand on her face, Lady Yrinta beckoned the guards. Both men grabbed Taselina, none too gently.

Jonathan had turned a sickly green as he stared at Taselina. As she was pulled away, Lady Yrinta turned to him, and he swallowed nervously.

"Jonathan, I’ve brought you another common-carded. She was one of the few survivors of last week and will fill out this group."

“Thank you, Lady Yrinta!”

The woman looked at Jonathan for a few moments, then turned to the portal door. Her eyes widened slightly, and Irwin wondered what she saw. There was nothing but the door and the carvings etched in the top of the doorframe.

Lady Yrinta turned around, staring at him and the others. Her face softened as she looked at Twintin, but it returned to its previous coldness when she continued to inspect the others.

When her cold eyes bored into his, Irwin felt like it lasted forever. In reality, it was barely a second before she turned and walked away.

Should I say something? Irwin wondered as he saw her walk away.

But what if she was going to bring Taselina to a class that had to go into more difficult portals? Worse, he'd have to leave Greldo, the only person here he knew. Setting his jaw, he remained where he was. He'd figure out what to do later.

The final guard pushed the freckled girl forward. "Good luck. I hope they do better than they look," he whispered, tossing the girl a sad smile.

She grimaced and nodded before turning to the others. As her gaze passed over the group, Irwin saw her eyebrows shoot up when she saw Daubutim before turning dull and filled with despair when she saw him and Greldo.

"And Jonathan?"

Irwin felt his blood freeze as he looked up. Lady Yrinta was standing in the hallway, staring at them. He was sure he'd seen her walk away! Had she turned back?

She was gazing at Jonathan, who had turned deadly pale.

"If they show they have reached the maximum of their abilities, bring them back to their rooms! Uxin'Tar is no longer the head sorcerer. We need confident sorcerers, not frightened common-handed. Try to remember this?"

Irwin felt hope grow. So if they could show they had reached as far as they could, they could stop!?

"Yes, Lady Yrinta," Jonathan croaked.

"Good. I'll be paying closer attention to you from now on. If I find you are using his teaching methods, you will return to closing portals… alone."

Jonathan stumbled, then straightened and glared at the ground, his left eye twitching and his lips turning back in a snarl. It lasted for only a moment before he took a deep breath, and his face turned placid.

"Understood," he said, his voice barely a whimper.

"What are you gawking at?" he said, turning to glare at them. "You get thirty minutes to plan and rest, then back in," he said, not looking at the group.

Thirty? Irwin thought, but he held his tongue.

He had no idea what was going on in the towers, but it was obvious they hadn't exactly gotten the best of the instructors. Still, they would need to find a way to give Jonathan the feeling they had reached the best they could so he would allow them back to their room.

The new girl moved towards them, looking straight at Daubutim. "How many times have you been in so far?" she whispered.

"Two times," Daubutim said, his voice dull as he looked back.

"They went in three times," Twintin piped as she pointed at Irwin and Greldo.

The girl's eyes widened in confusion. "Alone? Why?"

"Never mind that," Irwin said, too tired to explain. "I'm Irwin. These are Greldo, Twintin, Daubutim, and Olban. Can you tell us your name and what your card does?"

The girl nodded, and instead of speaking, her hand flashed, and a large metallic buckler appeared on her left arm. It was obviously of better quality than the wooden shield Daubutim was holding and better than any other weapons they had.

"I'm Rachel," she said proudly.

"So you've entered a practice portal?" Greldo asked, his eyes running over her shield.

Rachel's face fell, and she stared at the ground as her eyes unfocused. "Yeah…" she whispered. "Two weeks of training was barely enough, and when we came out, the tower was... was..."

She didn't say anything else, but a few tears ran down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away.

That must have been when those demons came here, Irwin thought curiously.

It was evident that Rachel wasn't interested in talking about it, though, and he leaned back, closing his eyes. They needed a plan. Something.

Sadly, between being tired and stressed, thirty minutes passed by almost unnoticed.

Far too soon, Jonathan grunted and walked back to them from where he had been brooding near the corridor entrance.

Irwin looked at the sorcerer, this time not as panicky as he'd been the first three times. Odd, but the prospect of dying seemed less scary- was he going crazy?

"In with you!" Jonathan snapped. He seemed to have regained his self-control and, with it, a temper.

Irwin sighed and got up, looking around at the others. He noticed a surprised glance from Rachel, which he ignored. Without waiting, he stepped forward and through the portal.

The cave was empty again. All the traces of battle, the soot, and the blood were gone. A minute later, the others entered, and he turned to them, stepping away from the entrance and beckoning them towards him.

"Listen, I've thought of a few things," he whispered.

He saw that Greldo and Daubutim were the only two who seemed interested. Twintin still seemed terrified while Olban stood near the wall, seemingly zoning out. Rachel was looking around uncertainly, before focusing on him.

Good enough, he decided.

“You all heard what Lady Yrinta said. If we can prove we reached our limit, we can stop.”

“You think Jonathan is ever going to believe that?” Olban muttered.

“I don’t know, but it's worth a try,” Irwin said before quickly continuing."We need time to think and rest. The second time I was here, after killing two Imps that came dragging some monstrous being, I was in this room for over an hour, and nothing happened. Let's wait here, kill those imps. After that, we have more than an hour to rest and-"

"What do you mean, an hour?" Greldo whispered as he shook his head. "I died just before you, and you came out maybe a minute after me!"

Irwin blinked and shook his head. "After you died, I was in here for over an hour, then snuck out and went to the large cavernous room. I'm sure of it!"

"It makes sense," Olban whispered, and they turned to him. His hands were wringing, but Irwin saw a tiny bit of light in his eyes.

"I mean, didn't it appear odd to you that we all kept popping up soon after each other, and Jonathan kept saying we have an hour less? Perhaps… Perhaps if we enter here, no matter how long, only an hour passes?"

Rachel sighed as she waved for their attention. "He is right. I still can't believe they sent you in here without any schooling or explanation! If this is an improvement of the other one, I can't even believe how bad that was," she muttered, shaking her head.

After a second, she looked back up with a sigh. "Anyway, these training portals always take an hour, even if you only remain for a minute, and they will always reset when you enter."

Everyone stared at her in wonder. "So… what? Can we stay here forever?"

Rachel smiled, such a wondrous sight that Irwin gaped at her, and she shook her head.

"No, just a day, and you can only enter each training room eight times per two weeks.”

Eight times? Irwin thought with a frown. Was that why they were to go in all the time now? After that, they would need two weeks of practice before they could go in again.

“Also, if you get more cards or better cards, you can't enter these easy-" Rachel blinked as Twintin cursed, then continued as if nothing had happened. "- these easy training rooms again."

Easy? Irwin thought. So there were hard ones?

"We can get cards here?" Greldo hissed.

"Quiet," Olban whispered, all color drained from his face. Even then, he was staring at Rachel just like they were.

"I'd heard rumors about Jonathan," Rachel whispered. "But that he didn't even tell you this... No, you don’t get cards from monsters in here. But each person that survives finding and closing one gets a card. If you are the first to close a portal you get to pick the one you want, but that never happens. I think they just tell us that to get us excited."

"Great, then we could just hide for a day?" Greldo asked, and Irwin saw a calculating look replacing his previous suppressed fear as he turned to look at him. "How long did we wait here before those first two came?"

"Not very long," Irwin said. "A few minutes?"

"Alright, let's set up an ambush. We should be fine against two Imps," Greldo said, raising his wooden club with a grin. “After that we can rest and try to come up with a plan on how to kill as many of those things without dying.”

Nobody responded, but they all hid out of sight.

A few minutes later, they heard the Imps approach. Hidden from view, they waited for them to step into the room before jumping them. Irwin and Greldo took out one, while Daubutim managed to crack one's skull before it could even be surprised.

So easy, Irwin thought as he looked at the bodies of the Imp.

Had it really been only hours before when he'd almost pissed himself from seeing one of these things and imagining having to fight it? He knew part of it was because they had the jump, but even then, he was slightly awed by the change.

"Right… let's rest for an hour and try to come up with a plan on how to not get killed again," he said, sitting down and leaning his back against the wall. His legs were cramped up, and he rubbed them while the others divided the daggers.

I wonder how we will do this time, Irwin thought as he closed his eyes and wished he could sleep for a day.

Perhaps they would be lucky, and the Imps wouldn't return for half a day. Either way, he needed to rest and, after that, figure out how to use his flame. It grew each time he killed an Imp but reset if he unsummoned it. There was something up with that... and he had the feeling he needed to figure that out before going into a real portal.

But first, rest.