Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

As they traveled, Irwin saw birds, small rodents, and far too many insects but no sign of Imps.

When the first day traveling through the forest finally passed into evening, they found refuge below a toppled tree. Old, moldy, and smelly, at least they were out of view. The occasional comparatively cool breeze blew around them.

Lying on his back against the side, eyes on the entrance, Irwin wondered if he could even sleep.

"Irwin, can you call up some steam?" Ignalia whispered.

Irwin looked up to see her huddled to the side with the other two. Although it was far from cold, easily being as warm as he recalled the summers back home were, the Ignitzions actually shivered.

"It might not be safe… it would draw attention," he replied with a sad smile.

Ignalia blinked, then grimaced.

"Needing someone of your age to remind me of that… I'm losing my touch," she reproached herself.

Ambraz snorted, the first sound he'd made in a while. "As if you're that old!"

Ignalia ignored the Anvil, sharing a look of weary resolve with the other Ignitzions.

Reminds me of being in Degonda at Trimdir's walking through the snow, he thought as he pictured the snow. With all his new cards, he was pretty sure he would be able to handle that much better now.

As he lay there, he heard them begin to whisper amongst each other, so soft that he couldn't catch even a single word. That was until one of them hissed a name.

They are talking about Scintilla? Irwin thought, holding back his curiosity. If they wanted him to know, they wouldn't be whispering.

They continued for a while longer before Ignalia let out a weary sigh.

"Can you take the first watch?" she asked, ignoring a few whispers of the others.

"Sure," Irwin said, propping himself up a bit more.

"Just wake me when you can't stay awake anymore," Ignalia said.

Irwin nodded, staring at the entrance and paying attention to the noise. After a short while, he began chatting with Ambraz, mostly dealing with how he could improve his card reforging. In the end, he got the same suggestions he'd gotten before: learn to sing and continue practicing.

Hours later, he woke Ignalia, who grunted as she moved away from the others.

"Anything happen?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes.

"Nothing. Just a lot of animals around," Irwin muttered.

She frowned at that, then nodded.

Not sure what to say, Irwin walked to the back of the hollow and lay down.

The night passed without incident, though he kept waking up from animals that howled in the night. So, when the light finally filtered through the dense canopy, he rose with a headache, looking around and wondering if this was going to be something he'd have to deal with again the next night.

Ignalia was already up, sitting in the entrance and staring up at the few rays with obvious desire.

Must have had the last watch, Irwin thought.

As he watched Ignalia shiver, he realized something he should have had the day before.

"You didn't have this much of a problem with the forest when we first arrived," Irwin said as he sat down beside her, rubbing his head.

"I didn't run for five weeks straight back then," Ignalia snapped. As Irwin blinked in surprise at her aggressive tone, she sighed. "Sorry, Smith Irwin. I am tired, cold, and have a headache."

Ambraz sniffed, muttering something that they both ignored.

"Yeah, it's hard to sleep with all those bloody animals," Irwin muttered.

Ignalia laughed sadly.

"I forgot to ask before, but how do you even know where we are going? Does Gebladir have a camp… or?"

Ignalia shook her head.

"One of my sisters is with him."

Irwin looked at her in surprise.

"And you can somehow tell where she is?" he asked.

Ignalia nodded as she stared into the distance. "Depending on the father, Ignitzions get certain unique skills. Me and my sisters, we can sense where each of the others are. Well… as long as we are in the same world. That's why I came here. Because my youngest sister is here. She's together with one of the Viridians close to Gebladir and-"

Irwin quietly listened as Ignalia spoke about her sister, seeming lost in her own world. It was the first time he had seen her act like this, as she was usually the most calm and collected of the Ignitzions he'd seen. When she finally stopped, she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for talking your ear off."

"It's fine," Irwin said. "I was wondering about Ignitzions. You said, 'Depending on the father,' they get different skills. Do you mean like cards?"

Ignalia shook her head, staring out into the forest.

"There are legends that say, long ago, we didn't have cardslots, but all Ignitzions were born with a single powerful soulskill that depended on the father. Nowadays, only some Ignitzions still get a skill, and it's weaker than a quartz-ranked card. My mother never told me much about my father except that he was a formidable fighter who used his hands and body instead of weapons. She said he was from a race of beings that had telepathic abilities and was somewhat of an outcast… That's probably where we got it from. So far, it's just been useful for simple things."

Irwin nodded. He'd never picked Ignalia for being the talkative kind. Perhaps it was because they had been through so much now?

"So, you never met your father?" he asked, thinking back to his own father, who he had never seen. He knew very little about it, no more than what his mother had told him. Would he ever get a chance to learn more? He hoped so.

"No…" Ignalia said with a grimace. "It's not that uncommon. After one of us shares and mingles their heat with another, infant Ignitzions begin growing inside us," she said as she wrapped her arms before her chest. "Unless we are in a world like this, we immediately head back to our homeworld or the nearest world with eternal heat. The young need it to grow strong. Sadly, most potential partners aren't able to survive in our worlds. Even if they have a high heat, very few have the resistance needed to actually survive where we do."

"There's only fire and volcanoes in your world?" Irwin asked.

"There are forests of Embertrees, with leaves in all colors of yellow, orange, and red so vast they dwarf this," Ignalia said as she waved her hand around. Then she snorted. "Well, not as tall, though. Besides that, there are lakes and rivers of uncontaminated lava streams between the volcanoes, while innumerable fire element creatures roam, swim, and fly everywhere. It is a paradise."

Irwin grinned as he listened to her and watched her eyes gleam.

"Sounds like a fantastic place to visit," he said before cocking his head. "But are you sure I can survive there?"

Ambraz burst out laughing, startling Irwin and Ignalia.

"Kid, you have so many cards dealing with fire and heat, if you couldn't survive there, I don't think anybody could."

"Ambraz speaks the truth," Ignalia said. "Even Yogog is able to survive there, and he has more trouble in the full heat of this world than you do. You would be fine."

"Then, if we ever get out of here, and I manage to… deal with some issues back home, I'd love to see your world," Irwin said with a wide smile.

"Good," Ignalia said. "I'm sure Scintilla will be very happy to hear that!"

They continued talking softly until the other two woke up, and after a quick bite, they continued their journey.

Halfway through the day, as Irwin was walking after Ignalia, the Ignitzion stopped dead in her tracks. She spun to the side, staring between two of the massive trees in the distance. Irwin was instantly fully awake, following her gaze and trying to hear what she had. He saw nothing but towering tree trunks, some wider than many buildings.

Seconds ticked by, and he frowned. What was going on? Taking a step forward, Ignalia turned her head to him and shook it, raising a finger to her lips. Seeing the warning in her eyes and the set of her jaw, Irwin focused back in the direction she was looking.

"Imps," Ambraz whispered very softly, gaining him a glare from Ignalia.

Irwin gritted his teeth, readying himself for battle.

How can she even hear them this fast? he wondered. Did she have a card similar to Greldo? It had to be.

A few seconds later, he finally heard a familiar high-pitched laughter coming from further away.

It was followed by a dull, laboursome groan and soon the sound of something being dragged across the ground.

As the chatter and giggling increased, there was a snapped order, causing the giggling to stop.

Pale Imp, Irwin knew.

It came closer and closer, and he focused on his cards, readying all of them. Ahead of him, Ignalia's hand moved to her waist, and she drew her sword, turning to him.

Fight? Irwin mouthed.

She nodded before raising her hand.

As soon as he knew the decision was made, Irwin felt himself calm down. He prepared his cards but refrained from using any but one. The only one that didn't give any sound. A trickle of foggy air began appearing around instantly, and within moments, it almost looked like a dense fog bank was rising from the ground. It happened so fast that Irwin barely had the time to blink before the steam enveloped him and the others, rising higher and spreading out at an alarming rate. The pull of energy from his Sweltering Heart made him force it to slow down. At the same time, he sensed the movements of things inside the steam: tiny insects scuttling and burrowing into holes, some rat-like creatures sprinting towards the edge, and a few others flopping around.

So that answers what happens if I use it when there's more moisture around, he thought as he saw Ignalia stare at him. As soon as she saw him look back, she nodded and motioned forward.

By now, surprised shouts and confused squeals came from ahead of them. A sort of image formed in Irwin's mind as the edge of his steam cloud reached the tree beyond the one he could see. Dozens of smaller figures, which he guessed were Imps, and one that was four times as tall, stood just outside of the range. At the same time, he noticed something large on the ground, which was probably what he'd heard being dragged.

"What is that? You, go check what it is!"

Irwin snuck after Ignalia as he heard the Pale Imp order the others around. One of the blurry figures reached inside the outer area of his steam cloud, clearing up and showing it was indeed an Imp. Irwin knew that if it moved inside, the others would be warned, and he'd lose the element of surprise. Shoving more energy into his Sweltering Heart, he began running forward, no longer bothering to be quiet. A surprised yelp was followed by the Imp being fully engulfed in his steam, but he ignored it as he focused on shoving it forward. What he had to do was get the Pale Imp and the massive-

A thundering roar caused him to stumble as his ears rang. It was accompanied by a blast of air, which blew apart a section of his steam.

"We are under attack! Blow that stuff away," the Imp screamed.

"Kill the big thing! It's interfering with me," Irwin snapped as he triggered Coperion Body and raised his hand. A large one-handed hammer formed in his hand as he rounded the final, building-sized tree trunk.

The sound of something drawing a deep breath gave him enough time to quickly cover his ears, just in time as another roar came. This time, it was much louder, and a dozen feet or more of the cloud of steam was blasted away. A stream of smelly, rotten air swirled around him, but Irwin ignored it. Instead, he aimed for the largest shape and hurled the hammer at it with all his strength. There was a loud thud and a pained grunt.

"Keep that smoke away! I'll deal with them," the Pale Imp screeched.

Irwin saw one of the blurry shapes vanish into the ground.

"It's digging," he snapped, at the same time wondering how those things even did that. In the desert, he could understand it, with how soft and pliable the sand was. But here? There were roots, stones, and-

Ignalia jumped beside him and stabbed her sword into the ground in a single fluid motion that seemed almost impossible. Startled, Irwin jumped back, glaring at the soil. A second, then two passed, but there was no reaction. Ignalia sniffed as she pulled her blade back up. It had dark streaks of mud and a wet glistening glean to it, which could be water, but he doubted it.

"Don't get anywhere near the Brutal Imp," Ingalia shouted. "With the Pale Imp dead, it's going to go out of control!"

Irwin was about to answer when another roar blew apart an even larger portion of his steam. At the same time, he felt his Sweltering Heart card's energy grow beyond what he could handle. Gritting his teeth, he reigned it in, keeping only a fifty-foot area around himself and letting the rest naturally dissipate. It still somehow clung to the ground, which confused him but wasn't something he had time to think about now.

"I can't keep the steam up," he hissed, hoping the Imps wouldn't catch it.

By now, they were a few dozen feet from the edge of his rapidly dissipating steam cloud, and he saw Imps standing behind it. In their midst stood a hulking beast of an Imp, a darker red and easily four times as tall as those around him.

So that's a Brutal Imp, Irwin thought as he swallowed.

The monstrous Imp's arms and chest were obscenely muscled, his stomach bulging as if he'd overeaten, and he was carrying what looked like a boulder strapped to a branch. Its face was warped with confused anger as it drew in the air constantly, almost as if its lungs could hold an endless amount. A small cut and a bruise sat on his face, from which a trickle of yellowish blood leaked down.

"It uses only brute strength," Ignalia snapped as she began moving to the edge of the mist. The other two Ignitzions moved the other way. "Keep an eye on the small ones, we will deal with them."

Irwin nodded as he focused on the group of Imps. As he did, he saw a large dark shape on the ground, bound by thick leather straps and struggling to get free. With the body of a lizard and a roughly humanoid torso, he recognized it immediately.

A Screequanox? What are they doing with that?

The last time he'd seen one of those had been during their initial trip after arriving on Scour. Back then, he'd killed his fair share of them. They were tough to kill and had dangerously sharp claws. Perhaps they were hunting them for food… The idea repulsed him as he looked at the mostly humanoid head and torso. But, even if that was the case, why keep it alive then?

Keeping an eye on the Imps that were still watching the remaining tendrils of steam with fearful eyes, something moved so fast he almost missed it.

Ignalia covered the twenty feet separating her from the Brutal Imp so fast that all he caught was a blur. Her sword slashed through its thick, sturdy leg, and its eyes widened, the air it had been sucking burst out as it roared in anger. To his surprise and horror, its own makeshift weapon swung almost as fast, but before he could even shout a warning, Ignalia dodged to the side with a flip. The enormous Imp growled, turning, and as it did, two more figures ran to his sides. They weren't as fast as Ignalia, but both Ignitzions moved fluidly as they attacked the same spot on the Imp's leg.

"Those three know how to fight," Ambraz muttered, echoing Irwin's own sentiments. With smooth, agile movements and attacks so fast he could barely keep up, the three danced around the Imp, seeming intent on hamstringing it.

A breeze, cool and unwelcome, suddenly picked up, as it had before, and a large amount of the steam blew away, dissipating up and away. The Imps let out a startling cry of rage, high-pitched and laden with insane giggling.

"I'll take care of them," Irwin shouted as he ran forward. As he did, he summoned his flame, wrapping it around himself and his hammer, which he shrank to a normal hand-sized one.

Watching the horde of dozens of crazed, screaming demons come at him, he felt no fear or even worry. All he thought about was the practice he'd gone through. With as much force as he could, he hurled the flaming hammer forward, and moments before releasing it, he increased its size to the biggest it would get while covering it with as much flame as he could.

He'd imagined the trick months ago and practiced alone in the desert to prevent people from getting hurt.

The hammer left his hand and whistled as it shot forward. The nearest Imp's eyes widened, but it had no chance to dodge as the hammer slammed into it. Hurling him back with a sickening crunch while taking along those around and behind him. The fiery tendrils around it that struck the Imps caused them to freeze with a horrified expression. At the same time, the fire grew rapidly as they turned to ash, lashing around as if having a mind of its own.

Irwin's eyes widened in shock as he saw the flames lick around, kindling the Imps like a bonfire. Those at the back managed a terrified scream before the fire almost seemed to leap at them.

"Control it!"

Irwin jerked awake at Ambraz's shout. The Anvil shot from his shoulder, hovering around and behind him.

"Move kid!"

Irwin gritted his teeth and ran forward, hesitating only a moment before running into the flames. As soon as he did, he felt a connection to the fire, and it wrapped and rippled around him. Not sure what to do, he unsummoned it, releasing his hold on the skill. His first card shivered, almost seeming happy as the fire leaked back inside, and unlike normal, it took a few moments. When it finally vanished, Irwin felt the fire that was always burning inside him had grown- the card seeming more powerful. At the same time, there was a difference. The always present resonance of his left, combined card felt… odd.

Did… did it improve? But- he shivered.

Ambraz flew towards him, the Anvil's metal lips in a tight line. It landed on his shoulder with a thud.

"Later," he whispered.

Irwin blinked, wanting to ask what he meant when he saw Ignalia jump away from the Imp that was swinging around in pure panic while staring at him. Seeing the pale yellow, red-pupilled eyes stare at him, Irwin knew what was going on. The Imp had sensed the nature of the fire.

"Stop it," Ignalia shouted as the Brutal Imp turned and began running away. He was limping slightly, but even the dozens, if not more, attacks on his leg hadn't been able to seriously harm him. Seeming annoyed, it hurled its makeshift stone and branch club back, striking the massive side of a tree.

Ignalia and the others ran after the Imp, and Irwin followed them. Passing the Screequanox, he wondered if it would manage to free itself or die there.

Running forward, watching the Imp, running in an almost straight line, his eyes widened. Speeding up, he tried to get close to the others, but the Imp was almost as fast as him, and he couldn't.

"Wait," he shouted. "Ignalia!"

The Ignitzion turned to him, and Irwin beckoned her to wait. She hesitated, then slowed so he could catch up while the other two continued slashing at the Imp as good as they could.

"Don't stop it," Irwin said as she ran beside him.

Ignalia's eyes widened, her mouth opening, and then she closed it with a snap.

"You want to follow it," she said accusingly.

"Yes. Is it heading towards Gebladir?"

Ignalia looked around, a sharp look in her eyes, and slowly, a nasty grin came to it.

"Not exactly, but roughly."

"Good, let's follow it," Irwin said.

Ignalia nodded, then rushed ahead with a burst of speed Irwin knew he couldn't match.

"Always the speed," he muttered.

"There's one card left," Ambraz said.

Irwin snorted. "I still need a diamond one. Either what I find is one, or I'll have to wait till I can reforge it up to that."

Ambraz laughed softly. "Perhaps."

Confused, Irwin took a look to the side, and he saw a wide grin on Ambraz's face.

"Later," the Anvil said again.

Irwin nodded as he continued to follow the others. As he did, his mind spun. Ambraz had just implied that he might not need a legendary? Had his first card upgraded? But that should be impossible… everything he had learned sofar -both from Ambraz and while reforging- had said that cards couldn't be upgraded after they were combined!

As his mind kept buzzing, he ran across the sometimes mossy, sometimes muddy ground, following the others. The Imp didn't seem intent on stopping.

More running, Irwin thought with a weary sigh, once again incredibly happy with his new enhanced endurance.