Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin glared across the ice crystal-covered wooden railing.

Wind, piercing and cold, blew into his face, and he snorted out two massive plumes of superheated air.

Three weeks of this, he thought, wiping some water from his arms.

The cold was intense, but the advantage of his Heartcard had shown itself within minutes of leaving. Where everyone but the ship's crew and Greldo had to hide below deck, he had simply remained to watch Fiverion's massive Portal Gallery Harbor disappear in the distance.

The idea of going back down into their chamber with barely any space to move around didn't interest him in the slightest, so he was still outside, watching the world below change.

"This ship makes the other ones look like they stood still," Greldo said.

Irwin nodded absently, his mind preoccupied with other things, like how long it would take for Daubutim to snap out of it.

"Which ones do you mean? You mean those large merchant vessels?" a high-pitched squeak called out from above.

Irwin looked up to see one of the crewmen staring down, its blue plates paler due to the layer of frost crystals covering it. He was hanging from the black sail, hands and bare feet pressed against the smooth surface, almost as if he was glued to it.

"Yeah, those big, expensive ones," Greldo said.

"Bah! Those things are only good for luxurious travels," the crewman shouted. "They can barely travel more than twenty knots per hour, and that's on their best day! The Zura'ix here can hit seventy if we have some decent ambient soulpower!"

Ambient soulpower? Irwin thought as he watched the crewman stroke the sail beneath him.

The sail was taut as it had been before, but where it had been barely glowing and mostly black before, the backside of it was now burning with a bright blue glow that probably made it hard for most people to look straight into. Irwin, not having that problem, inspected the material and concluded it reminded him of metal instead of cloth.

"What are those sails made of?" he asked, turning to the crewman who seemed willing to talk.

"Nearly a hundred percent Nefkalt! You won't find a ship with better sails than the Zura'ix anywhere in the outer leaves!"

Nefkalt? I wonder how that works, Irwin thought. He could probably ask the crewmen, but from the way he'd said it, he seemed to expect Irwin to know about it already. He'd just have to ask Daubutim if he knew anything about it when he snapped out of it.

A shout from the ship's captain made the crewman return to his work, which seemed to concern climbing over the massive sail with a cloth and wiping away the slowly building ice crystals.

"Right, I'm going down," Greldo said.

Irwin looked up to see Greldo rub his fur-covered jaw, the hairs cracking softly as the ice flaked off.

"I'll come in a bit," Irwin said.

"Sure, stay in the cold… I thought you enjoyed the heat?"

"I do," Irwin said as he stared at the ice crystals forming on the railing. He did prefer the heat, as it gave him energy instead of costing it.

When he looked back up, Greldo had disappeared.

Besides, I need to find out how long I can stay out here like this, he thought as he inspectred his heartcard's energy. It was ever so slowly leaking away as the flame kept him heated.

He stared back out across the jungle below. It was thinning in the distance, and he wondered if it would completely disappear or not.

Half an hour later, the jungle's trees had made way for a low tundra with pale sheets of ice spread out between the low, dark gray vegetation. There wasn't any sign of movement anywhere.

"You feel no cold?"

Irwin looked up to see captain Xi'kroak walk towards him. His previously blue plates were pale white and gleaming with a layer of ice.

"I feel it," Irwin said as he examined the energy in his heartcard.

It had barely dipped, and he could probably remain in this cold for days or weeks if he had to guess. A slight rumble in his stomach made him snigger. That was if he could get enough food.

"It makes me hungry," he said, looking at the captain who moved beside him.

"You are the leader of your mercenary outfit?" Xi'kroak asked.

"Officially, we are an explorers group," Irwin said. "But I am the leader."

"Good," the captain said, seeming to relax. "It is hard to have only Cha'ik around to talk to."

"Cha'ik?" Irwin asked, surprised.

"Those of lower rank," Xi'kroak said. "Serfs, your people call them?"

Ah… Irwin thought. He felt uncomfortable thinking of his friends as lower rank, but Xi'kroak didn't seem to notice and let out a ticking sound.

"Is it your first time venturing this far in the outerleaves?"

"It is," Irwin said as he thought about what he could share safely. "We've been to other branches and other worlds, but never…" he waved forward. "This far."

"It is beautiful out here," Xi'kroak said. "Quiet, and with barely any Addled."

Irwin was about to ask why that was when he realized it wasn't hard to figure out. If there were no shattered worlds around, then there would be no Addled, and this far out, there were far fewer worlds to even shatter. Besides, with how cold it was, the Addled that were around likely wouldn't go here.

Still, as he looked around, he saw that the massive branchlike strip of stone and tundra that passed below them didn't seem any narrower than where they came from.

"Will the Portal Gallery begin narrowing as we go further out?" he asked.

"Narrowing? No. As we get further from portals, we will find just less vegetation, Addled, and eventually everything will be covered in ice," Xi'kroak said.

Weird… So why do they call it the outer leaves?

"So… what does it look like when we find the end of a branch?"

"Void, like that," Xi'kroak said as he pointed up. "But then everywhere except for the path back."

Irwin looked up at the dark, starry emptiness above them, then forward.

"Is this branch an end? Will it stop at some point?"

"We don't know yet," Xi'kroak said. "There are thousands of offshoots moving away from the branch we are on currently, and we will pass many as we continue. I have found a few dozen leaves, but finding the end and determining if a branch is actually a leaf sometimes takes months."

They remained quiet for a while before Xi'kroak made a clicking sound.

"Why do you not know these things? Do you not learn this in your world?"

"No," Irwin said, deciding to just go with it. "We focus on different things, like fighting and the best way to earn soulshards."

Xi'kroak looked at him before pushing himself away from the railing.

"You should learn more if you are going to come out here. As the leader of your group, it is your responsibility to know these things. We will arrive at a small harbor in three days. You should purchase some books."

Irwin was somewhat amazed as he saw the plated being amble away. There had been a clear annoyance in the other's voice.

So he calls the others serfs, or whatever his word was for them, but at the same time behaves like this? Irwin hummed, wondering if it was just Xi'kroak who was like this or if it was the way of his people.

Turning back to stare into the distance, he suddenly didn't feel like staying. With a final look into the distance, he turned and headed back to his room.

--

"Irwin."

Irwin blinked awake, looking around the crowded room. Daubutim was sitting upright on the bed beside him, looking at him. His eyes were focused and mostly sharp.

"Daubutim, you are back," Irwin exclaimed as he pushed himself upright and sat down with crossed legs.

"Yes, I snapped out of it an hour ago. I've been going over everything that has happened," Daubutim said calmly.

Irwin nodded as he looked around. He wanted to talk with Daubutim a bit seriously, but some of those things were not something others should hear.

There were only two other people in the room, a pair of merchants. He vaguely recalled having talked with both but had already forgotten their names. They seemed to be sleeping, but he wasn't going to risk them faking it.

Daubutim either had the same idea or wanted to stretch his legs as he was putting on his boots.

"Let's go and find Greldo," Daubutim said.

Irwin quickly put on his boots, and a short while later, they were walking through the narrow corridors.

"We need to talk later," Daubutim said. "We should arrive at the first stop in a day or two, depending on how fast we went. We should leave the ship and find a quiet spot there. For now, can you hand me the book that Librarian Purntou gave you?"

Irwin fumbled in the insides of his jacket before pulling out the book and handing it over. He heard Daubutim mutter something, and one of the words made him stop and stare at his friend.

"Say that again?"

"This is a book about ancient ruins that are supposed to be dedicated to the Galadin empire," Daubutim said calmly.

A soft murmur came from Irwin's pocket, showing Ambraz was awake and as intrigued as Irwin felt.

"Can you read it to me?" Irwin asked.

Daubutim was quiet, then nodded. "Yes, but we should wait till we get the time to talk. There is… more to be discussed. Things I haven't spoken to you and Greldo about yet. There is a reason I am getting these books, and from what I have managed to find, it is the reason the portals appeared back home.

"What do you mean?" Irwin hissed as he felt his mind turn crystal clear in an instant.

"Later," Daubutim said, shaking his head.

It took Irwin a moment to understand Daubutim was being vague on purpose, and when he did, his interest grew even more.

"Alright… let's talk later," he said. He was about to turn when he remembered something else. "We need to find you two new cards too!"

"We can do that in a few days," Daubutim said calmly. "I don't need them right now."

Irwin was surprised by that. Didn't Daubutim think he needed them? What if they were attacked by something?

"Alright," he said, not really feeling sure at all.

They moved out onto the deck, where the temperature had increased greatly. Greldo stood on one side, chatting with the same crewman they had spoken to before, and as Irwin and Daubutim joined them, they stopped. Water was dripping from the sail, and the deck was slippery.

"Much better, right?" Greldo said as he waved at the Portal Gallery ground below. "You wouldn't believe how fast everything warmed up again!"

Irwin didn't respond but looked down. There was a sprawling forest of yellow-leafed trees with some orange and brown ones in between. It reminded him of the day of autumn back home, but he could see from the vibrance that this was the normal coloration of the trees.

"I was going to wake you! We will come across a side branch soon," Greldo said excitedly.

"Is that why it's so much warmer?" Irwin asked.

"There's a world on the outskirts of that side branch. That's why it's so much warmer," the high-pitched voice of the crewman added. He was still hanging from the sail, seeming glued to the smooth surface.

"The world warms things?" Irwin asked, surprised and confused.

"No, the portal to it does," the crewman said.

They hung together, chatting softly until a shout came from the side. Looking up in the distance, Irwin saw a narrow stretch of land split off. A shadowy line, either mountains or the massive trees he'd seen before, sat in the distance.

"Are we going there?" he asked.

"No, it would take too much time," the crewman said. "We will have a small period of cold before we reach the first stop. It's called Bowoon, and it's a small farming world, mostly dealing in produce."

He continued talking about Bowoon for a while until Xi'kroak shouted for him to begin working again.

Irwin kept watching the split of land in the distance.

I wonder how many things we will see out here.

--

Irwin slowly walked across the small pier, staring at the building in front of them. Like all of the harbors he'd seen so far, it was built inside a massive tree, most of the buildings either carved out or attached to the sides and across the branches. Dirty green and white mold covered everything, making it seem almost abandoned. Still, a few people moved about, but from what he could see, they had no interest in the fact that a ship had just arrived.

"It looks old," Greldo muttered." Wasn't this one of the newer harbors?"

"This world was discovered a hundred forty-seven years ago," Daubutim said calmly. "I wouldn't call it new."

Irwin and Greldo shared a look but kept quiet. Even Irwin, who was used to Daubutim's abilities, still occasionally felt surprised.

"Let's go and find the shops. Xi'kroak said we should return in four hours," Irwin said.

"Follow me. I know where the shops are," Daubutim said.

Irwin just shook his head. He followed Daubutim across the narrow pier to a creaky wooden staircase and through what he could only describe as a smelly, moldy, rotting building. There were a few people walking around, all human from what he could see, and all still ignoring them. It was a good thing that Daubutim knew where to go because asking for directions would have been impossible.

Daubutim, however, seemed perfectly able to lead them, and he guided them to an area that was better maintained.

"The portal to the Bowoon is behind that area," Daubutim said as he pointed at the first well-maintained door Irwin had seen.

Irwin inspected the door before following Daubutim towards a building to the side.

I wonder why there are no guards anywhere, he thought.

As they arrived at the building, he noticed that its thin, dirty crystal windows were thick with a layer of caked muck. He could barely make out some simple items and foodstuffs behind it.

Do they even have books, and can they even read?

The door opened with a creak, and as they stepped inside, a sweet scent assaulted Irwin's nose.

"Ugh… Okay... No, I'll wait outside," Greldo hissed, and Irwin heard him make gagging noises as he nearly jumped back outside.

Irwin almost joined him, then he remembered why he was there, and he clenched his teeth as he looked around. They were in a musty shop with tables and closets everywhere. A long hallway lined with shelves continued away to the left. Produce, food, and spices covered most of them, but there were also some simple metallic items, ranging from utensils to pots and pans.

A man with a short, shaggy brown beard was leaning across a counter, staring at them.

"A ship arrived?" he grunted with a rough voice that grated Irwin's ears.

"Yes," he said, deciding to get through this as fast as possible. He didn't even expect anything anymore by now. "Do you have any books?"

The man's eyebrows lowered, and he snorted. "Books? A few in the back," he said, pointing deeper into the store.

Irwin nodded and quickly moved in the direction the man had pointed in. To his surprise, he quickly found three shelves filled with musty, old, well-used books. Daubutim immediately stepped towards them, turning his head as he began reading the spines. Irwin barely had the time to notice that some were written in a language he couldn't read when his friend stepped forward and took out a pair of thin, dark-spined books.

"This one is a general book on the Portal Gallery, and this one is about this region. I've read them. They should prove useful to you."

Irwin frowned as he accepted them, noticing the words were in a language he could read. If you already read them, why didn't you just tell me what's in them? he thought.

"It's better if you read them for yourself," Daubutim said, seeming to guess what he was thinking.

Irwin just snorted and headed back to the counter, wondering why it was better.

The man looked at the books, at him, then sighed. "Twenty-seven soulshards," he grunted, moving a green crystal plate towards Irwin.

Irwin wondered if that was a standard price, but Daubutim didn't respond, so he guessed it should be fine. Besides, it was such a small amount that he didn't feel like even haggling if it meant having to stay in the shop for a moment more.

A minute later, they were back outside, Irwin twenty-seven soul shards poorer. The man had almost seemed surprised when he had paid.

"Seriously? They actually had books in that cesspit?" Greldo muttered in surprise.

"That one is a basic book, and the other one is common in this area," Daubutim said as he looked around. "Let's go this way. There's an area there that should be quiet. If the map was still up to date enough..."

Irwin shoved the books in his jacket as he followed Daubutim.

Daubutim led them through the corridors and up and down the staircases. As small as the harbor town was, it seemed surprisingly easy to get lost in. Eventually, they reached a dead end with a view of the harbor. The Zura'ix was still there, and he saw a few of the other people who he had seen on it walking around, probably to stretch their legs.

"So," Irwin said as he looked at Daubutim. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

Daubutim looked at them, his dull eyes growing a bit brighter than normal.

"Gelwin made me read about the Galadin Empire, and for the last few weeks, I've done nothing but learn about it. The only conclusion I can come to is that the people on Giard used to be the people of the Galadin empire," Daubutim said.

Irwin looked at him, his mouth open in surprise when a startled shout came from his pocket, followed by struggling.

"You what?! Seriously- what, stupid pocket, let me out of here!"

Irwin quickly opened his pocket to let Ambraz out, and the tiny Anvil flitted towards Daubutim, hovering before his face.

"Tell me you are kidding, boy!"

Daubutim shook his head. "No. I have read seventy-three books that directly or indirectly dealt with the Galadin empire, and all of them show too much overlap in language, architecture, and scriptures. Besides this, Gelwin told me a story…"

"What story?" Greldo asked.

He looked as surprised and confused as Irwin felt.

"Who cares! That beardy face must be lying," Ambraz snorted. "There is no way that you are descendants of the Galadin empire!"

"The story he told me was as follows," Daubutim began, seeming uninterested in Ambraz's disbelief. "Long ago, a single kingdom ruled a large area of the Portal Gallery, extending from the main branch all the way to this very distant offshoot. The Galadin kingdom's influence-"

Irwin and Greldo quietly listened as Daubutim told them a story that made him barely believe his ears.

Still, Irwin knew that Daubutim had to be reciting what Gelwin had told him, word for word. He almost couldn't hold back his questions a few times, but when Daubutim finally ended, he was staring at him dumbly.

So, we are descendants of some ancient kingdom that had the first card smiths… Irwin thought as his mind drifted off.

Was that why he was learning smithing so much faster than others? It made some weird kind of sense. It was probably also why Trimdir and the others had managed to learn it as fast as they had.

Is this why I could pick up those songs so quickly!? he suddenly thought as he recalled when he'd reforged Crithann's card.

Ambraz landed on his shoulder, and Irwin heard him mutter in his own language. Irwin wondered why the Anvil seemed more shocked than he was.

"Based on all that I have read, it seems that whoever was searching for the Galadin, be it those Guidar or some other unknown factor, has found us again," Daubutim said calmly.

Irwin felt it odd to hear Daubutim refer to them as Galadin, but something else confused him more. "Why did you wait till we got here to tell us?"

Daubutim let out an uncharacteristically weary sigh. "From everything I'd done to prepare, I was close to breaking down again. Somehow, whenever I tried to talk about it, my mind began bogging down."

He looked down, and Irwin saw a look of pained annoyance on his friend's face.

"It's alright,' Irwin said. "It wouldn't have helped even if he told us back on Fiverio."

"Exactly," Greldo grunted. "So, is this why Irwin is so good at card reforging?"

"That seems likely," Daubutim said.

"Damn… so that's why those other bloody smiths did so well," Ambraz grunted. "If we manage to save some of them, we should bring them to Granvox!"

Irwin looked at the Anvil. "So they can join up with others of your kind?"

Ambraz's lips pursed, and he sniffed. "Yes."

Irwin frowned, getting the feeling that Ambraz had more to say. But when nothing came, he focused back on Daubutim. If Ambraz didn't want to talk, it usually meant he either wanted to wait till they were alone or wasn't sure about something yet.

Instead of pushing it, he thought of something else.

"Do you think that the abduction of the smiths has something to do with this?" he asked Daubutim.

The dark eyes narrowed and dulled. Afraid he'd asked the wrong question, Irwin turned to Greldo.

"So… what do you think of all this?"

Greldo looked at Daubutim, then at Irwin, and shrugged.

"Of us being descendants of some ancient race that's being hunted into oblivion? I think it sucks, and I'm wondering if I should try and learn some card reforging now."

"Don't bother," Ambraz snorted. "The ones that managed to learn quickly either had me-" the Anvil snorted, "- or years of experience, Like Lamia, Trimdir, and the others. If you want to learn it, you would have to start from scratch!"

"Bah," Greldo muttered. "Great, so there's zero benefit for me, only trouble."

Irwin couldn't help but snort at that. He could see that Greldo was just playing around a bit, and he knew it was to deal with what they had just heard.

"No," Daubutim suddenly said calmly. "I don't think so."

It took Irwin a moment to figure out what he was talking about.

"I don't think those missing smiths have something to do with Giard. If it did, whoever is behind that could have simply sent those soulcarded mercenaries you spoke about to Giard and wiped us all out in no time."

"That makes sense," Irwin agreed as he frowned.

"So, now, what do we do?" Greldo asked. "We are out to find a planet, and you have some mysterious thing to get our people over there. All fine and good, but how exactly will we find a planet? I mean… if it's cold out there, we can hardly walk across the Portal Gallery's floor. Right?"

Daubutim looked at him, and Irwin saw a tiny twinkling in his eyes. Greldo must have seen it, too, as his eyes widened.

"Wait… you can't be kidding? We are supposed to walk?"

"Yes. I'm kidding," Daubutim said cooly, a wide smile on his face. "On the last stop, there are multiple other explorer groups who are searching for new worlds. There are ships there that can be hired, and we can either do that or buy one if Irwin can pay for one."

"Bah!" Greldo snapped angrily before bursting out laughing. "Dammit, since when do you make jokes?"

Irwin grinned, slapping Greldo on the shoulder while wondering if he could actually pay for a ship. Still, the idea of having a ship of his own did sound fantastic. They could fly around everywhere!

They continued talking for a while later before returning to the ship. Not interested in heading back down just yet, Irwin took a place by the prow and opened the book.

Now, let's see what I don't know yet, he thought.