Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

"This is insane," Greldo muttered as he followed Irwin. "There have to be more people here than there were back on Fiverio."

Irwin didn't answer, far too preoccupied with looking around as he moved through the massive market. There were innumerable wagons, carts, and stalls with food, drinks, clothes, and a diverse assortment of other items. He saw pots and pans, besides swords and armor. Full body leather armor beside gauntlets he recognized as grappling gauntlets and dozens of other things.

Examining one of the stalls with grappling gauntlets, he thought about the last one he had gotten. It had been lost during the commotion when Grianfál had been attacked, and he'd never had the chance to get another. Watching them now, he didn't feel a big incentive to buy one, as between his hammer and other cards, he felt like he had plenty of options in a fight.

They continued through the crowd until they reached the main trunk, and from there, it took them at least another hour to reach Lord Urdwellan's residence. The gate that had been open was closed now, with a few silver-eyed guards standing watch. It wasn't strange seeing the masses of people walking about, some staring at the residence with obvious curiosity.

As Irwin and the others reached the entrance, the older Viridian talked with the guards for a few moments, and then they were waved inside.

"Heh, so this is how that feels," Greldo grunted with unconcealed hilarity.

"What?" Irwin asked, looking at his smirking friend.

"There's a lot of people annoyed and curious that we were allowed in while they have to watch from behind the fences," Greldo said as he grinned back. "Reminds me of when we were young and watched those noble brats get their cards."

Irwin blinked, then let out a barked laugh as he recalled him and Greldo, skinny and small, standing behind a wooden shack, peeking through the cracks as the noble children received their first cards. With a wide grin, he gazed at the back of his hands, noting the five cards, one of which was diamond-ranked. Not that it was noticeable. Due to his card growing to that rank after he made it into a full hand, it still looked just like the simple 'hidden' quartz card it had once looked like.

"Yeah. Things did change a bit since we were still living in Malorin," he said, returning his friend's grin.

He pictured both of them, young, thin, and malnourished as they followed the sorcerer to the dark tower. As he did, he saw Greldo now and realized his friend had a slight shadow across his chin and lip, mirroring the growing beard he was dealing with each morning.

Does that mean we are adults now? he wondered.

They walked into the large room in which lord Urdwellan had spoken to them before, but this time it was almost empty. The tables stood to the sides, chairs atop them, with only a small one left before the window. Balarn sat there, waving at them, while Lord Urdwellan rose and walked towards them.

"Welcome back to Cinder Grove," Lord Urdwellan said in his booming voice as he walked towards them.

Grinning widely, he made a beeline for Irwin.

"Smith Irwin, it is good that you are here. Sit, I have good news," Lord Urdwellan said.

He gripped Irwin's shoulder in a friendly gesture, but Irwin felt the incredible power from the slight squeeze. Even with his Coperion Body active, he knew it would hurt if the man squeezed for real.

Letting the other guide him to a chair, he saw Balarn grin at him widely.

Wait… what is he talking about-

His gaze landed on a beautiful deep green Smith's ranking plate lying on the table, and he froze.

He barely noticed the soft laughter from Balarn.

"So, with everyone here, it's time we did something that should have happened months ago," Lord Urdwellan said, his voice loud.

"Smith Irwin, I have a few cards here," he continued, raising three cards up. He took out a solid crystal plate the size of his hand and pressed one of the cards on it.

"Emerald rank, eighty-eight percent. Reforged by Smith Irwin Roddington," a soft, feminine voice spoke. She began to continue, but Lord Urdwellan removed the card and put the other two on it in quick succession, revealing both to be reforged by Irwin, and each was a slightly higher percentage, with the final one reaching ninety-four.

Irwin stared stupidly at the cards, wondering where Urdwellan had gotten them from. Most of his cards were being used and slotted, and the others were still with him.

"I can see you are confused about this, but don't worry," Lord Urdwellan said. "I asked Yogog to send me a few examples of cards crafted by you."

Irwin blinked and turned to see Yogog look at his hands, trying to act all innocent.

"Now! As the only chapter master on the planet and the only Ruby Rank Smith, let me be the first to congratulate you on reaching the Emerald Rank! I have already forwarded this to the Smiths Guild, so the only thing that remains is for you to accept this-"

Irwin watched as the Emerald ranking plate was picked up and held before him, and he couldn't hold back his grin as he accepted it. The plate was heavier and thicker than his current, and he knew he had to create a different slot for it, but he didn't mind.

"So, you managed to catch up with us in under four years. You really are a monster," Yogog said as he grinned and reached out one of his hands for Irwin to shake.

A few moments later, Irwin had been congratulated by the others, and they all returned to their seats while Lord Urdwellan raised his hand to speak.

"Now, with this happy business out of the way, I would like to remind you three that if you manage to reach Ruby rank while here, you are to find me immediately."

"Of course," Balarn said while Yogog nodded.

Irwin frowned and nodded, having no idea what they were talking about.

"I'll explain later," Balarn said before discussing some things about the upcoming auction.

They remained for a short while, with the discussion only revolving around the main auction, which was said to start in eight days' time. The smaller mission centers would start in two days, which was the reason that the others had been recalled.

Half an hour later, they were back in the streets, following Balarn as he led them to the thirtieth floor.

I wonder where we are going, Irwin thought as he looked around. The only place he knew there was the Greenbark Mission Center.

With how large the floor was, deeply carved in the massive treetrunk, they continued to walk for almost an hour before they began reaching the outskirts. As they moved across a small square, Irwin saw a pale wall of stone around a large compound with a board above the gate.

"Tensor's charter - offshoot."

"You got a new smithy," he said, turning to see Balarn's wide grin.

"Yes. Lord Urdwellan gifted it to us based on our contributions during the crisis. Come, let me show you around."

The gate swung open easily, and Irwin saw a beautiful open area with a tiny raised water basin and plants in the center of a smithing area. Forges and anvils were grouped neatly together, while a wooden and stone building stood behind it.

Monique was working on one, hammering away, but they heard nothing, showing there was a noise dampener skill used on something near her.

"As you can see, besides being far cooler, it's also larger and with far better features," Balarn said. "We've also gotten a hundred-year lease…. Which is based on the outside time. So, for all intents and purposes, this place is ours."

"Awesome," Yogog shouted as he walked around prodding at the water before sprinting to the building.

"The entire top floor, except for the left hall, is free," Balarn shouted after him before turning to Irwin.

"Go pick a room."

Irwin grinned as he ran after Yogog.

The rest of the day passed quickly and quietly as they walked around the compound and learned where all the other points of interest were. When daytime slowly came, Balarn excused himself, leaving Irwin and Greldo alone outside, sitting near the water basin.

"So… I had been meaning to ask you," Greldo asked as they looked at the water. "Can you reforge my cards to a higher rank?"

He raised his right hand with two cards, both of which he'd gotten from Irwin.

Irwin looked at his friend, then sighed. "You remember the pain, right?"

"Course I do," Greldo said. "But I want to take more interesting missions, and for that, I need to become a heartcarded. I'm planning on doing that as soon as I find my last card."

"What are you looking for?" Irwin asked curiously.

"A shadow teleport," Greldo said with a grimace.

"Those are… very difficult to get," Irwin said.

"You don't say."

"And if you do… because you only have one teleport card, it won't let you teleport that far. Not even to the nearest town," Irwin said. "And you-"

"Can't bring anyone along. I know," Greldo said. "But it matches perfectly with my current cards, and when I become heartcarded, it will allow Coal to become a Shadow Hound."

Irwin nodded, leaning back. "Which of your cards do you want reforged?" he asked.

"Both, "Greldo said. "If you are willing."

"Of course," Irwin said. "But… I can't help you become a heartcarded yet."

"I know. You need to become a Ruby rank for that, right?" Greldo asked.

"The other way around, but yes," Irwin said.

"I was going to ask Lord Urdwellan to do it for me as a thanks for my hard work," Greldo said with a shrug. "You know? You smiths got rewards, but the rest of us..."

Irwin nodded. It made sense, though he wasn't sure Urdwellan would just do it like that.

If I ever become a high-rank smith, I'll make sure to help my friends and family, he thought.

"Well…." a soft voice interrupted them, and Irwin turned to look at Ambraz, who had been quietly sitting on his shoulder. He instantly knew from the other's voice that he knew something they didn't.

"Yes?" Irwin asked.

"If you feed me enough cards, we might be able to create his heartcard. As long as his highest card isn't Diamond," Ambraz said, sounding smug.

"What? But didn't you say I needed to get stronger for that?" Irwin asked.

"That is if you want to do your own card," Ambraz retorted. "But to get another person's card is a lot easier. The only downside is that he can't have any card above Ruby."

Irwin frowned. He knew that to become the most powerful one could be, the very first heartcard was incredibly important. And to get that as strong as possible, someone needed a minimum of one Diamond card.

"Perhaps we should wait then," he said softly.

"No. It's fine," Greldo said. "I'm fine with one card at Ruby."

"What? But then…" Irwin began, falling quiet as Greldo shook his head.

"For each rank above quartz, you need to get more and more compatible cards to fill your soulforce to create your first soulcard," his friend said. "And the only real benefit is one more soulcard and more soulpower."

"More soulpower means the abilities you use can be stronger," Irwin said, frowning.

"Yes. But I'm not a cardsmith," Greldo said with a grin. "It will already be very difficult for me to find as many shadow-type cards to fill my heart card when I finally get it. It might take me years!"

"Hah! Much longer without Irwin's help," Ambraz snapped.

Greldo grimaced but still nodded. "See?" he said. "So, what if I get separated from you? Or something happens to you? Why do you think most people besides nobles and Smiths never go beyond Topaz?"

Irwin looked at his friend, then at the water. He'd not thought of it like that, mostly because it was relatively easy for him to gather cards.

"It's why Scintilla hasn't come to ask you to reforge her cards," Greldo said softly. "I know you will try and help us in any way you can, but you have to realize that there's only so much you can do. Do you even know how many cards you need to fill a Ruby rank card?"

Irwin shrugged. "Not exactly. A few hundred?"

Greldo looked back, face full of incredulity before he burst out laughing.

"Yes, a few hundred," he said mockingly. "As if it's no big deal! Do you know how long it took me to find even a few shadow-type cards?"

Irwin shook his head, feeling bad that he'd not spent enough time paying attention to what Greldo had been doing.

"All the time you were forging, I was doing missions," Greldo said. "And in all that time, I managed to gather six shadow-type cards, none of which are what I need. I'm keeping them for when I get my heartcard so I can absorb them."

Irwin sighed as he leaned back, hands behind his back and staring at the ceiling high above.

"You know a lot about this," he said.

"Yogog explained it to me," Greldo said.

"I'll keep an eye out for a card for you," Irwin said.

"Thanks."

They remained there quietly for a bit until Greldo broke the silence.

"So. What are you going to get for your last card?" he asked.

"Not sure yet," Irwin said. "I want a movement card, for when I need to fight, but I also wouldn't mind an energy card to increase the number of times I can use my current ones."

"So… why don't you find a card that does both?"

"I don't think those exist," Irwin said.

"Can't you just make one then?"

Irwin was about to say no when Ambraz began humming. Deciding to give the Anvil some time to think about it, he waited quietly.

"Well… there might be a way," Ambraz finally said. "Just because I don't know the paths doesn't mean there aren't any. With the auction coming here, you could put up a few cards and put the price to be knowledge about a path to reforge certain energy cards in such a way that they give you additional improvements."

Irwin raised himself on an elbow and gazed at Ambraz. "I thought you said before that one of the problems with energy cards is that they don't have other abilities?"

Ambraz snorted as he flitted through the air. "Yes. But I also told you I'm not some library of knowledge about everything! It's possible that there is something I don't know about!" the Anvil exclaimed, sounding both hurt and annoyed at the same time.

Greldo laughed, and Irwin blinked, then joined him.

After a while, he stopped and looked at the sky. It wasn't really light yet, so a few of the mission centers should still be open.

"Let's go and check on an old acquaintance," he said as he pushed himself up and pulled Greldo with him.

"Who do you mean?" Greldo asked as he followed Irwin to the exit.

"You will see!'

Irwin jogged through the nearly deserted floor until they reached the area with the mission centers. To his surprise, more people were still moving around here than the rest of the floor, and everyone seemed hyper-energized. Slowing to a more normal walking pace, it still didn't take them long to find the Greenbark Mission Center.

Like the others, the doors were still open, and the square was filled with people moving in and out and about.

"So, this is the guy Relinda told me about," Greldo said as he nodded.

"Yeah, it's where I first met her," Irwin said, grimacing as he recalled the odd encounter. "Are you going to look her up? She might have returned."

Greldo hesitated, then shook his head. "We had some fun, but she was mostly interested because I was the one people listened to. I'm no fool- now that we are back in the real world, I'm just a nobody again."

"You're not a nobody," Irwin said, annoyed at his friend's self-deprecating humor. "How many people here can say they came from a farming world and managed to become a free citizen in a few months?"

"Well, I know of three," Greldo said with a wide grin.

"Har har, very funny," Irwin said before turning to his friend. "Did you like her?"

Greldo looked back, seeming surprised by how serious he was acting. He opened his mouth, obviously ready to make a snide remark, then hesitated and sighed.

"Maybe? I don't know… She was a noble. Besides, she didn't seem to care much when she had to leave," he said.

Irwin stared at Greldo.

I should have talked with him about this sooner, he thought.

"Let's deal with this first," he said as he nodded at the mission center. "Then we can find a place to have a few drinks, and you can tell me about her and what happened."

Greldo raised an eyebrow, then nodded.

I can't keep focusing on smithing and cards all the time, Irwin thought as he walked across the square to the entrance of Greenbark Mission Center.

The inside had changed a lot since the last time he had been there. Instead of neat shelves on the wall and a few tables with crystal to display cards, there were now bookcases on the left side, all filled with crystal explosions, while the right side had stone columns with crystal tablets filled with text. The back of the mission center was dominated by a wide bar, and dozens more of the crystal tablets hung behind it.

A familiar face stood behind the bar while young Viridian workers walked around, answering questions and seemingly removing and adding messages to the crystal tablets that were embedded in the stone pillars.

"Smith Irwin!"

Driseog's loud voice silenced the people there, and Irwin flinched at the sudden attention.

"Hi Driseog! It's good to see you again," he said as he moved through the shop, ignoring the stares.

"Likewise," Driseog said as he moved from behind the bar and towards a tiny table stand hidden from the initial few behind the final set of bookcases. There was a door in the wall, which Irwin couldn't remember if he'd seen before.

"Have you come to brighten my day by bringing me new cards to sell?" Driseog asked as he motioned for Irwin to stand at the table.

Irwin joined him while Greldo began browsing around.

"Perhaps," Irwin said as he rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble had become longer. He really needed to do something about that soon. "I wonder if you could help me with something."

Driseog's eyebrows rose, his silvery eyes glittering. "I will do my utmost best," he said.

Thinking quickly, Irwin looked around at the others, still wandering about the mission center. Before he could even ask anything, Driseog hummed.

"Why don't you follow me?" he asked as he turned and walked to the door, pulling it open to reveal a narrow, steep flight of stairs leading up.

Irwin followed Driseog up, hearing the door shut quietly behind them. The stairs led to a beautiful room with more shelves with cards behind crystal glasses. A low table was surrounded by comfortable-looking chairs, and Driseog sat down. He took the glass carafe and poured two glasses of water, handing one to Irwin.

"Now then, why don't you tell me how I can help you?" he asked before taking a sip.

"I have three things, actually," Irwin said as he pondered how to phrase the question.

"First, I am trying to find some cards, and I'm wondering if you can help me with that," he said.

Driseog instantly began nodding. "Of course! But we do take a small commission. Normally, I would put this at twenty and haggle with you, however, due to the help you provided all of us, I'll be all alright with the bare minimum. Ten percent of the price the cards cost."

Not sure if that was fair, Irwin hesitated and then nodded. It didn't matter, as he had no idea if he was even able to get enough soulshards to buy them. Or trade them.

"I accept," he said.

Driseog smiled but showed no surprise.

"Very well, tell me what cards you are looking for."