Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

As the Winged Imp stomped to the wooden gate, the others spread out to create a corridor.

Now what, Irwin thought.

He looked back and shared a worried look with Ignalia, who was trying to convey something with her eyes. He had no idea what but did know that it wasn't anything like, all is good, don't worry. The pale Imp that moved beside her still had a dagger to her throat.

Should he make his move now? He hesitated for a moment, then began following the Imp. There was no guarantee that he would be fast enough, which meant that if he had to fight, he could just as well move after seeing what was inside.

Still, as he closed in on the gate, he felt his worry grow. Perhaps he shouldn't go in? He had no idea what type of creature had spoken, but its influence was obvious. With a few words, it had seemed to repel whatever was wrong with the other Imps.

If it's an Imp, my flame can kill it, he thought. He had no reason to believe anything else.

Squaring his shoulders, he moved through the throng of Imps that were giggling and chattering in their own language. A single look showed that whatever had cleared up the addled minds of the Pale and Winged Imps had no effect on them. They were still as crazy as ever.

Stepping through the gate, Irwin stopped, his foot a fraction from the ground.

A large portal hovered in the center, almost completely tainted red by the swirl of chaotic lightning that erupted from its edges. Sitting beside it was an enormous Brutal Imp. The air around it was hazy with heat waves, causing everything near it to seem blurry. From within the dull haze, two pitch-black eyes stared back at him. An unmoving, groaning figure lay on the ground a few feet away. One of its arms was bent oddly, and bones stuck out of parts of its legs.

The other Brutal Imp, Irwin thought, recognizing the groaning figure.

Swallowing as he saw the brutal wounds that covered it, he looked at the second Brutal Imp. There was barely any comparison between it and the smaller one in terms of size and sheer intimidation. Besides that, it had nearly the same color as Yogog, and worse, something he'd never seen in an Imp. Intelligence radiating from its eyes.

Keeping a tight lock on his cards, he pulled his eyes from it and quickly looked around the camp for any of the captives. It was a mess, with wood lying everywhere, most splintered and broken. A set of cages stood to the far end, filled with the other monstrous creatures. It was just like the Viridian scout had said.

A pale blue dome, almost like a soap bubble, stood a few feet from the cages. Within it, he saw a mass of tiny red specs hovering in the center, seeming afraid to get anywhere near the blue barrier surrounding them. His gaze lingered on the Emberions for a moment before searching for Balarn or any of the others.

"You… won't find… your friends," the rumbling voice came again.

Irwin turned to the giant Brutal Imp, who was talking to him.

His mind spun rapidly, underlined by a tiny bit of worry about Balarn. There was one large benefit of the prisoners not being here. Now, he could just use his fire without worrying that he would hurt anyone. Still, if he was to guarantee the Ignitzion's safety, he'd need to get rid of the Pale Imps. What he needed was a distraction of some sort. Something that would give Ignalia the time to free herself, if that was even possible, without the use of her cards. Otherwise, his only hope was covering her and the others with fire to ash the Imps.

All of these thoughts flashed through his mind, but even then, he saw the massive onyx-colored Brutal Imp frown.

"Why are you here?" Irwin quickly asked, staring at the Imp.

"For… smiths," the Imp rumbled. "Like you."

The more Irwin listened to the slow-paced voice, the more used he got to its slow and deliberate pacing.

"Why?" Irwin asked, pretty sure he wasn't going to like the answers if he even got one.

He wanted to move closer to the Pale Imps, but with the full focus of the Brutal Imp on him, he had no idea what it would do if he moved.

"None of… your concern. You will put on a card dampener… either voluntarily or with help," the Brutal Imp said. It wasn't a request.

Irwin gritted his teeth as he shook his head. "No. I want my friends back."

"Your… choice…" the Imp muttered.

Irwin focused on him, readying himself for an attack. None came. The Brutal Imp focused on the Pale ones.

"Kill the-"

Irwin stopped hesitating before the slow voice could continue. Focusing all the energy he had, his flame flared up from his hand, rippling out around him and as far outward as he could. At the same time, he jumped back toward the Pale Imps.

There was a startled screech, then a deafening roar as he landed on his back. Flipping over, he searched for Ignalia and saw her shove chunks of black goop from her. His flames licked around her, but like with Scintilla, they didn't harm her. There was a thin wound on her neck, blood slowly oozing out of it. To the side, the other remaining Ignitzion was holding her hands to her throat. Blood spurted from between her fingers, landing atop the chunks of charcoal that had been her Pale Imp captor moments before.

Damnit! Irwin screamed, angry at himself for moving too slow and angry at the Imp for harming her.

However, there was no time to berate himself. The heavy footsteps running from behind were way too close. Not holding anything back, he released his hold over his Sweltering Heart card, letting it create as much steam as it still could. It didn't have the time to fully recover, but it would have to do.

As he turned around as fast as he could, he saw tendrils of steam rising from the ground around him, then his eyes widened. A massive black foot filled his vision, and he barely managed to cross his arms before a massive force slammed into them, shoving them back into his chest. The world turned into a blur of movement as he was flung across the open area. He felt himself crash through the rows of Imps before he slammed into something hard that cracked and splintered.

No… it wasn't just the thing he hit that cracked. Breathing became more difficult as he felt pain flair up in his chest.

With ringing ears, he forced himself back to his feet. Spots covered his vision, and he blinked to clear them. The first thing he saw was the Brutal Imp run past Ignalia, ignoring her as she dragged something. Blinking again, he tried to clear his vision and mind. Suddenly, the blurriness left, and his gaze snapped into focus. He saw Ignalia, unsteady on her feet, try to drag the wounded Ignitzion to some of the swirling steam.

Steam!

Shaking his head to clear it, Irwin realized he'd lost control over Sweltering Heart, and he quickly summoned more steam while also covering himself in his flame. Using both of those skills was hard in any normal situation, but with his head throbbing, he felt his control slip slightly. The steam began dissipating, and he cursed. The Brutal Imp was almost there, and his legs were shaking. Seeing Ignalia reach the steam, he released it, hoping it was enough, and fully enveloped himself in his flames. He was barely on time as the Imp kicked at him again, this time heel forward.

Afraid that his flame might not be enough, Irwin threw himself to the side, hoping he wouldn't hurt whatever he broke inside of him even worse. The massive heel slammed into the already cracked rampart, crashing through and barely missing him. His flames leaked across it, and Irwin felt joy grow only for the smile to freeze on his lips.

The black skin of the Brutal Imp turned slightly red, and it let out a pained roar. It pulled its foot back, ripping apart more wood, as it stumbled away. However, nothing else happened. It didn't freeze, nor did it turn to chunks of charcoal.

"Ferocious fire…of devouring," the Brutal Imp roared. "How…? Nobody… touch him! I'll… deal with him!"

Irwin pushed himself back on his feet, feeling broken bones in his chest grind across each other and poke dangerously in his intestines. He heard the Imp's words and shivered. He couldn't get kicked another time, and the Imp seemed able to resist his fire.

It still hurt him, Irwin thought.

He began moving sideways as he watched the Brutal Imp slowly prowl back toward him, this time showing some fear. He gritted his teeth and looked around. Ignalia and the other Ingitzion were on the other side of the open area, fighting with dozens of crazed Imps that were surrounding them. The one who had almost bled to death was stumbling, unable to dodge, and getting stabbed and cut repeatedly. Ignalia was moving like a blur, wielding one of the Imp's own shortswords, the Card Dampener still on her arm.

There was no sight of any of the remaining Pale Imps or the Winged one. He wished he could help them, but there was nothing he could do.

"I will… crush you!" the Brutal Imp roared as he jumped forward.

Why does it like kicking this much? Irwin thought as he gritted his teeth and jumped forward and under the sidekick. As he slammed into the ground, a flare of pain came from his chest.

No fire, perhaps steam, he thought as he released his flame.

As soon as he did, he saw the Brutal Imp's eyes light up, and he knew he'd made a mistake. Scrambling to summon his flame, he saw the Brutal Imp jump towards him, arms outstretched, hands large enough to crush him wide open.

His flame burst out around him just as the hands reached him, and the Brutal Imp roared in pain, its mouth far too close. Irwin felt his ears pop while the hands slammed into his arms and shoulders before retreating just as fast. The Brutal Imp roared again, slapping his hands against his upper legs while backing up.

Irwin's mind spun as he tried to come up with a plan, his eyes flickering around, trying to search for a solution, only to stop as he saw the blue barrier with the Emberions. What if he could release those? They were drawn to heat, and that enormous Brutal Imp radiated it.

Knowing it was a long shot, he hobbled sideways, keeping one eye on the Brutal Imp, which was moving to the side of the broken wooden wall.

What is it-

Irwin yelped as he jumped to the side, ignoring the pain in his chest as a massive chunk of debris slammed down beside him. The sand sprayed him while the Brutal Imp was grabbing another one. Knowing there was no more time to wait, Irwin turned and sprinted towards the Emberion enclosure, constantly casting quick looks across his shoulder. As soon as he saw the debris flying, he shot to the side. As he did, a stab from his chest seemed more painful than the others, and he felt an itch in his throat. He coughed, and a fine red mist sprayed from between his lips. At the same time, he felt like he was out of breath, something he hadn't felt since gaining Sweltering Heart.

Pierced my lung?

Doing his best to ignore the pain and fear, he reached the blue barrier. Summoning his flame, he jabbed it forward like a spear. As soon as the point touched the barrier, the Emeberions inside went insane, blurring about so fast he couldn't see any individuals.

The barrier shuddered, and it dimmed noticeably.

"Stop him!"

The dull roar made him sidestep around the barrier just in time to dodge another section of the debris. As it slammed and shattered against the blue barrier, he increased the output of his flame, creating a shield that he pressed against the barrier.

The blue barrier's brightness vanished, and the color drained rapidly. At the same time, he felt something he'd never sensed before; a slight weakness from his first card. Almost as if it was draining itself somehow. If there had been another choice, Irwin would have stopped immediately. As it was, he continued moving around the barrier to keep it between him and the Brutal Imp.

"Stop him, stop him!" the Brutal Imp roared.

Irwin looked up to see dozens of Imps run toward him, but there was no sight of the Pale ones or the Winged Imp.

Before the Imps even got halfway, the barrier vanished with a soft sigh.

The Imps stopped, eyes wide, while an angry shout came from the Brutal Imp.

For a moment, everyone froze as the cloud of Emberions shot toward Irwin.

Let's hope this isn't a mistake, Irwin thought as unsummoned his flame.

The Emberions slowed, and he saw their fire-leaking eyes stare around in confusion. Then they noticed the Imps, and like a stream of falling stars, they shot towards them.

The Imps let out a collective scream of fear, turned, and ran, but they were far too slow. Before they could get more than a few steps, the cloud of Emberions swarmed over and around them.

Why not toward the Brutal Imp? Irwin thought as he slumped to the ground, looking at the towering black Imp that glared back at him for a moment before gazing at the Portal.

Irwin was distracted by a terrified cry that was cut off abruptly. Looking over, he saw that an Imp had frozen and was now slowly turning to black soot. All around it, more and more Imps turned to crumbling black statues.

They are like my flame, Irwin thought as he gazed at them wide-eyed. Did that mean his flame was a soulcard from one of them? Or something similar?

The Brutal Imp turned and ran to the red Portal, its heavy footsteps causing a dull thudding.

It's trying to get away, Irwin thought.

"Kill that one," he shouted, trying to get the Emberion's attention.

Sadly, they either didn't hear, didn't understand, or didn't care. Seeing the black Imp close in on the Portal, Irwin suddenly had an idea. Focusing on his Eyes of Blaze, he shot a narrow, high-range, high-powered beam of fire at the Brutal Imp. It moved so fast it almost instantly hit it, causing the Imp to grunt in panic as the flames licked across him. However, when nothing happened, it tossed a wide grin at Irwin and continued running.

Come on, come on, Irwin thought, as he kept the beam on the running Imp. It was only ten steps from the Portal when the Emberions finally seemed to notice. A few, then more and finally all blurred forward, reaching the Brutal Imp moments before it could reach the Portal.

One touched its shoulder, then another, then some landed on its back and chest, and within a fraction of a second, the massive Imp was covered in tiny fire-devouring monsters. Its entire body instantly came alight as the black skin began glowing red hot. A startled shout of pain came as it stumbled.

As Irwin watched and relaxed, he felt a slow-building hunger from his first card. He watched the Emberions, now covering the Brutal Imp, which was now crawling forward, and he swallowed. Not sure what was going on, he moved forward, slow at first, then faster until he ran the remaining distance. He ignored his own pained panting and the stabbing in his chest until he reached the Emberion-covered Brutal Imp. Mechanically, he summoned his flame, and he barely noticed how some of the Emberions close by moved to the side, almost as if to give him some space. Then he spread the flame forward, covering the arm of the Imp. As soon as he did, he felt a sense of intense delight from his Flame card. At the same time, he felt the emptiness of the card dissipate as it began filling up again.

The Brutal Imp now lay on the ground, shaking and shuddering, its jaw moving as if it wanted to say something but was unable to.

Irwin ignored it, focusing fully on his card that began to slowly hum and vibrate. As it did, he sensed the hum spread through his hand and across his other cards before going into his entire body. When it reached his chest, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of delight before humming along. He almost closed his eyes as a warm, soothing sensation spread through his body, and he felt things click and stitch together.

Only the place he was at caused a tiny part of him to keep some attention on his surroundings.

At some point, a high-pitched tune mixed with his deep hum, creating a beautiful harmony. The vibration in his first card continued, and the other two cards in his left hand began joining it. Although they were combined, they were also still individual cards. But as the humming increased, he felt them draw slightly closer together.

He had no idea how long it took, but finally, the Brutal Imp let out a strangled gasp, and its body, which looked like a burning coal, turned dull and dark with cracks appearing all over. Then, it crumbled into chunks of soot that slumped down.

As the Brutal Imp vanished, Irwin slowly regained himself, and as he did, he found that his flame had spread around him in a five-foot radius, causing everything beyond it to be slightly deformed. The massive cloud of Emberions was hovering around him, many with their eyes closed and mouths open, letting the flame leak inside. A few, however, were hovering in front of him, and he saw them stare at him curiously. At the same time, a sense of kinship spread among them. It increased as more of the Emberions opened their eyes and began congregating before him until he felt an incredibly familiar connection with the tiny beings in front of him.

With it came a slight realization. Although the individual Emberions were barely conscious, together, they had some sort of intelligence.

A sense of gratitude came, then the cloud floated up and away. Blinking at the loss of the warm feeling of kinship, Irwin noticed a single tiny Emberion remained. It was hovering before him, its tiny eyes leaking flames as it gazed at him, and he sensed the kinship from it, tiny but there. Not sure what to do, he raised a finger.

"Hey there," he whispered. "Aren't you going with the others?"

An unspoken sense bubbled toward him, originating from somewhere in the flame, which was slowly translated into an emotion by his card. The tiny Emberion seemed to want to stay.

"Alright… well, I'm going to have to stop the flame for a bit," Irwin said. "Are you going to be alright?"

There was no response, but the Emberion floated forward, and to his surprise, Irwin felt it nestle somewhere in his hair. Confused but happy, he unsummoned his flame. As the fire whisked away, he saw Ignalia and the other Ignitzion stand far away, staring at him. Both had removed the Card Dampening armbands.

"You alright?" Irwin asked as he quickly walked towards them.

"Shouldn't we ask you that question?" Ignalia asked as she carefully poked a finger at his chest.

Irwin blinked, then took a deep breath. The sharp pain was gone, as was the odd sense of being short of breath.

"I'm fine," he said.

Then he spun around as he recalled something.

"Where are those Pale Imps and the Winged one?" he hissed.

Ignalia stared at him, then grimaced. "As soon as you began fighting with that monstrous Brutal Imp, they fled through the portal, dragging the smaller one along."

"Dammit!" Irwin snapped as he focused on the red Portal. "That means they are going to warn the others!"

"Depending on if there's any time dilation, they may have already done so," Ignalia muttered.

"Unlikely!"

Irwin looked up to see Ambraz flit down from the side of a tree, streaking towards him and landing on his shoulder.

"Where did you go?" he asked, suddenly recalling the Anvil had left them before.

"I was waiting for an opportunity to help you," Ambraz snorted. "Luckily, you had it all covered."

Irwin frowned, about to comment, when Ignalia stepped forward, staring at Ambraz.

"What did you just mean? What is unlikely?"

"It's unlikely that there's a time dilation between here and there," Ambraz said.

"Why?" Irwin and Ignalia asked at the same time.

"Ugh, kids… Because if there had been, they would have sent reinforcement moments after they entered the Portal. Besides, if they connected multiple shardworlds together and connected them here, it's very unlikely that there will be any time dilation at all."

Irwin blinked, staring at the Portal. If what Ambraz said was true, didn't that mean they had to go in before those Imps warned the others?

"How many of those Brutal Imps do you think are there?" he asked.

"I don't know," Ignalia said. "But there can't be many. It takes a long time before an Imp turns into a Brutal Imp, and they all start out even more stupid than the small one we fought. To get this smart? It could take a hundred years."

Irwin nodded before turning to the other Ignitzion. Her wound was mostly healed, but she seemed barely able to stand. There was no sign of the Viridians that had come with them.

"Where did the Viridians go?" he asked.

Ignalia shrugged. "They were in the entrance behind us, but I haven't seen them after you managed to free us. That was… risky, but well done. Thank you. I wasn't ready to die just yet."

"Don't worry," Irwin said as he took a deep breath. "I am going inside the Portal in a moment. If I can go there and hide and rest, it will be safer than waiting here and entering later."

"Are you crazy? What if the Portal is in the middle of their base?" the other Ignitzion suddenly shouted. She'd been relatively quiet up till now, and Irwin was startled by her outburst.

"We should go and find Gebladir and bring more people," she continued. "Otherwise-"

"No."

The Ignitzion turned to look at Ignalia, who was shaking her head.

"Irwin is right. They already tried to control him by using us. If they do the same thing with Greldo and Balarn, we are going to have problems. We need to go inside there and find a way to hide and save the others."

"You're both crazy… what if-"

"I'll go first," Ignalia said as she took a deep breath. "If I have to, I can trigger my card's ability, and I'll be teleported to a random spot on that shardworld. It shouldn't be too big, so I'll be fine."

Irwin stared at her. It took him a few moments to think it through, but he couldn't find a big flaw in her plan.

"What if you can't trigger it in time?" he asked.

"If I don't have to bring anyone, it takes nothing but a thought," she said while walking to the Portal. "I'll go in, take one look, then come back. If I don't return within ten minutes, which would account for any time dilation, don't go in. Find Gebladir and tell him what happened, and try to come up with another plan."

Irwin nodded. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, then stepped forward before looking at him oddly again. "By the way, not that I don't enjoy the look, but you do know that your hair is still on fire?"

Irwin blinked and pulled the long braid across his shoulder, instantly seeing that she was right. The dark copper hair was glistening while tiny gouts of flame rippled around them.

"I'll be back in a moment," Ignalia said.

Irwin looked up just in time to see her body vanish, leaving a momentary red outline hovering in the air before it was whisked away inside.