Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin slowly woke to pain: a dull, throbbing anguish that filled all of him. Some came from his body, but most originated from his heartcard and soullake. He wasn't sure what woke him, but whatever it was had stopped now.

The softness below his back told him he wasn't where he'd fallen but in a bed, and feeling no restraints or cuffs, he guessed he was safe. His mind was fuzzy, and it took him a few moments to sort through what had happened. A twinge of worry for Ambraz filled him.

We both keep falling asleep after we use too much energy, he thought.

A slow, mental examination of his body told him he wasn't seriously wounded, though there was a dull pain in his back, which was mostly hidden below the pain of his heartcard. Knowing that he couldn't do much if he got up, he remained where he was.

Feeling the change in his soullake, he focused on it, and his consciousness reappeared above the massive lake in his mind. As soon as he saw it, he froze. The edges of his lake had crumbled outward, the potential size of his lake growing by a bit. What surprised him even more was that the lake's soulforce was half-full, the silvery liquid having crawled up the steep slope surrounding it.

Why did that happen? he thought, trying to remember if he'd felt any soulforce feed into him. Was it from burning the purple gas or because of the energy from Ambraz?

Above the center of the lake, his heartcard hung, and Irwin grimaced as he saw tiny cracks running across it. Moving closer, he hung before the massive card. Tiny drops of soulforce were oozing from the unmarred areas, leaking into the cracks, and as he watched, a tiny one shrank and closed.

Thank Gelwin they are healing, Irwin thought before gently floating around his soulscape.

He'd never really taken the time to look around, so while trying to ignore the pain, he floated towards the edges. The area beyond the lake was a rocky plane that ended like portal corridors did, with an energy barrier. This one, however, was so dense that he couldn't look through it at all. The barrier led up in an inverted bowl that mirrored the lake below, with his heartcard hovering high above.

Part of him knew he was procrastinating and that he should wake up, accept the pain, and check on the situation. But he felt a deep fear of what he'd find: people dead, his family lost, and-

Irwin shuddered, his fear growing so fast that he couldn't stop it anymore.

Fine, let's see what this world took from me in the end, he thought as he stepped out of his soulscape.

The pain in his body was no less, but he forced his eyes open. He gazed up at an unfamiliar stony ceiling and froze. He'd expected to be in his brother's house! Moving his head around, he was annoyed to feel that his body was sore, something he'd not felt in a long time.

I guess my card needs to repair itself before my regeneration will work again, he thought.

The room he was in was a small chamber with an old wooden table and a closet, and for two seconds, he thought he was inside one of the sorcerer's towers. Then he recognized the stones and knew he was inside the castle. Pushing himself up, he saw what remained of his clothes hanging over a chair. A look down showed that he was only wearing some clean underwear, and pale bandages were wrapped around his torso.

"Bout time you woke up," a cracked, weary voice snapped from the side.

Startled, Irwin looked up to see Ambraz lying on the edge of the bed.

"You're awake," Irwin said, surprised.

"That's my line," Ambraz said as his wings wiggled softly.

Irwin looked around, then let himself fall back on the bed, deciding there was no reason to get out yet. Ambraz should be able to fill him in.

"So," he muttered. "What happened after I went out?"

"How should I know?" Ambraz snorted. "We were here when I woke."

"Right," Irwin said. "So, did anything happen while we were here?"

"Your mother, brother, and Greldo came to check on you a few times, but that's about it."

"They are still alive," Irwin exclaimed in relief.

"Yes, though your brother looks worse than you do," Ambraz said. "From what I heard, he brought a lot of people to the ranger tower cellar you used and physically blocked the door."

Irwin grimaced as he pictured Bronwyn blocking a door and getting slashed apart by Nyzir.

"At least they are alive," he said as he closed and rubbed his eyes.

"So… how's your heartcard doing?" Ambraz asked.

"There are little cracks on it, but they seem to be healing," Irwin said as he turned and grinned at Ambraz. "There's something else though…"

Ambraz's mouth opened, then closed. "Those cracks… listen, Irwin, you have to be really careful for a while. Don't overuse your abilities," he said, appearing to ignore Irwin's last words.

Irwin took a deep breath, then exhaled. "As long as it will repair, it's all fine, right?"

"Yes, definitely!" Ambraz said before snorting. "You might actually gain a slight benefit from it, but that depends on how lucky we are."

Irwin hummed. "Does that have to do with why my soullake is half full?" he asked innocently.

"Half… what- You are kidding, right?" Ambraz nearly shouted.

Irwin shook his head, grinning widely. "Nope, and it's bigger too. The edges-"

"Shit! Did they crumble?" Ambraz asked, his voice fearful.

Feeling his good mood evaporate, Irwin swallowed. "Yeah… it grew at least a few feet all around," he said. "Why?"

"How bad are the edges?" Ambraz asked.

Irwin quickly described them, getting worried when Ambraz remained quiet.

"Ambraz?" he finally asked, starting to get more and more worried. He forced himself on his elbow, staring at Ambraz only to see a wide metal smirk. Slowly, his worry changed to annoyance.

"Ambraz?" he grunted.

"Sorry, sorry! You should have seen your face," Ambraz said, barely containing his laughter.

"So there's nothing wrong with my lake?" Irwin asked.

"Nope, it just grew a bit too fast; the edges will smooth over with time," Ambraz said, grinning widely.

"Annoying hunk of metal," Irwin snorted as he lay back down, his pounding heart quickly slowing to normal. "Whatever. How long was I unconscious?"

"Two days," Ambraz said, humming happily.

Irwin shot up, causing the pounding in his head to double, and he flinched as his eyes watered from the pain. "Two days? That means Daubutim probably opened the portal!"

"Maybe," Ambraz said. "There was some commotion just before you woke, with those horns blowing from the gate."

So that's what woke me, Irwin thought.

He gently got out of bed and looked around. His armor was in tatters, but his pants looked alright. One look at his boots told him he'd prefer going barefoot.

A minute later, wearing nothing but his leather pants and the bloodstained, slashed-apart ruins of his shirt, he pulled open the door. He was at the dead end of a hallway, and as he looked left, he saw three guards and four rangers guarding the only entrance. As soon as he saw them, one of the rangers turned, and he stared at Jort's bruised face.

"Irwin!" the ranger shouted with a look of relief and joy.

The other guards turned around with similar looks of relief.

"I'll warn Bronwyn!" one of the rangers shouted as he turned and sprinted away.

Irwin slowly walked towards the others, noting a few worried glances.

"Are you alright now?" Jort asked as he examined Irwin.

"I'll live," Irwin said as he gestured at Jort's face. "You look like you tried to stop a gate with your face."

Jort blinked while the remaining rangers laughed softly. The three guards were quietly looking at him.

"I had some problems with a few Nyzir," Jort said.

Irwin nodded as he gestured. "Let's go and see Bronwyn and the others," they said. "Tell me what happened while we walk."

The guards moved ahead while the other two rangers followed behind.

"Are there still Nyzir around?" he asked Jort.

"We don't know," Jort said, looking gloomy. "We killed many, but Greldo is still hunting throughout the city and found two more just this morning."

Irwin nodded, cracking his neck. His head was still pounding, and the joy at hearing his family was still alive was fading, replaced by worry.

"Any news of the portal?" he asked.

"Not that I know of, but there was a warning from the gate fifteen or so minutes ago," Jort said.

They continued down the hall, and Irwin quickly recognized the area they were in. It was close to where Rhym's gathering room was. Thinking about Rhym, he frowned.

"What happened here?" he asked, waving around. "Is Lord Rhym…" he fell quiet as he saw the surrounding guards stare at the ground while Jort softly shook his head.

"Lord Rhym blocked one of the entrances into the dungeons and held back a lot of those bloody demons for Gelwin know's how long," Jort said. "He is… well, you will see in a moment. He told us to bring you to see him as soon as you woke."

Nobody spoke after that, and Irwin quietly followed them as they led him to another area of the castle. It led to a door with four guards before it that looked up when they arrived. One of them, an older graybearded guard, immediately turned to the door and moved inside.

"Irwin," one of the guards said, nodding. "Lord Rhym will see you in a moment, please-"

"Let him in," a weak, tired voice shouted from inside.

The guard grimaced and stepped aside, waving Irwin through. As he walked inside, only Jort joined him.

The room was a luxurious bedroom, large and with a massive bed on one side. Rhym lay inside, his face narrow and pale, eyes sunken, and his hair matted with sweat. However, as soon they focused on Irwin, a smoldering fire returned to Rhyme's eyes.

"Irwin, you woke in time," he croaked. "Barely, though."

Irwin nodded as he walked closer, noticing that Rhym wasn't moving anything but his head, the rest of his body seeming inert. Not sure what to say, Irwin quietly watched the older man.

"I guess saying I'll be fine won't fool you?" Rhym muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Will you be?" Irwin asked softly.

"No. I'm surprised I'm not dead yet," Lord Rhym said. "I never did fully heal from the previous battle, and these old bones of mine finally decided they had enough."

Irwin sighed. "Any idea what the disturbance at the gate was about?" he asked.

"We spotted a group moving through the blackened wasteland that used to be the Howling Forest," Lord Rhym said. "I presume that they are your friends."

Irwin couldn't help himself from smiling at the idea of seeing Daubutim.

"Irwin, I want to thank you for everything you did," Lord Rhym said. "I know I already said this, but I'll be frank with you. I'll be dead within the day."

Irwin looked into the old man's eyes, believing every word he said. If he had to guess, Rhym could die at any moment. He'd never seen someone this pale and sickly.

"We lost a lot of people, mostly guards and rangers, but your plan was sound," Rhym said as he looked at the gray-bearded guard hovering beside him.

"We lost only forty-one commoners from one of the safe-houses that failed," the guard grunted. "And although we lost nearly half of the guards, we also gathered nearly a hundred cards."

Irwin's eyebrows raised at that, and he thought about the last stack of cards he'd fed to Ambraz. He would need to get his hands on some cards so he could make Daubutim's heartcard!

"Irwin, I have a favor to ask," Rhym said, his voice even weaker than before.

Irwin saw his eyes were drifting away, the fire in them weakening.

"Save our people… make heartcarded out of as many as you can, guards, rangers, crafters, I don't care. But please, save them," Lord Rhym said, his voice weakening with every word. Then his eyes closed.

For a moment, Irwin thought he had died right there until he heard a soft breathing coming from the bed.

"I'll guard him. Go and get us out of here," the guard grunted as he moved towards Lord Rhym, wiping the sweat from his head with a small cloth.

Irwin nodded, staring at Rhym for a few moments.

I'll save as many as I can, he thought. Then he turned and walked out of the room, followed by Jort.

"Let's go to the gate," he muttered.

--

Basil looked around the blackened wasteland with a frown. Far in the distance, he saw there were still trees, but in a huge area around them, all that remained were a few sad, blackened trees and stumps. They had passed a giant crater just now, and from what he could see, it looked pretty recent.

"It looks like they had some trouble since our last contact," he grunted as he glanced at the group around him. "At least the portal is much closer to Malorin than back in Degonda."

The guards that were with him didn't respond, but holding their weapons, they seemed on edge.

When they reached the edge of the burned-down forest, a loud trumpet came from the distant walls of Malorin.

"Not bad! They survived and are still paying attention," Basil said. "It seems there's a reason both Irwin and Greldo became the way they are. Let's go!"

He began jogging forward, and the guards followed after him.

A good while later, when they had crossed half of the muddy terrain that separated them from Malorin, one of the guards stopped, spinning to the side.

"Incoming!"

Basil spun around, his body glowing as his armor wrapped around him, a helmet covering his head and his massive sword appearing in his hand.

He was about to attack when he saw a familiar woman standing a few dozen feet away.

"Don't attack, it's me!"

It took Basil a few moments before he recalled she was the sorceress that had come from Malorin before.

"Clarish?" he asked, unsummoning his sword and helmet.

"Yes," the girl said, sounding marginally less worried.

"Weapons down," Basil snapped as he walked forward.

"So, what happened here?" he asked, waving behind him. "Did you guys anger an army of fire Imps?"

"No… that was Irwin," Clarish said, glancing at the charred landscape.

Basil's grin froze as he looked at her, almost hoping she was going to laugh. When she didn't, Basil looked at the burned forest again, reappraising what he saw.

"You're being serious?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Clarish said softly.

"Well, let's go to Malorin then," Basil said, starting to run again.

And ask how the kid managed to burn down the better part of one of the largest forests we have, he thought.

--

Irwin sat between Bronwyn and Greldo, his headache perhaps marginally better as he looked at Basil.

Ranger captains, guards, and Clarish and her uncle sat around Lord Rhym's massive table.

"So we will need to create a staircase up from Sultur Crevice to the edge," the towering, armored Basil said. "But the carded crafters should be able to create it before the first people reach it."

Bronwyn leaned forward. "Can you send teleporters to get the weakest people over?"

"We only have a few, but I'll ask Lord Daubutim," Basil said. "Right now, we don't really need them back on Eluathar, though this will change when we start spreading out more."

Irwin grinned. Lord Daubutim, he thought. He knew it was expected to call lords by their family name, but he had the feeling Daubutim had ordered them not to do so.

He tried to listen to the rest of the conversation, but his mind kept getting distracted due to his pain and weariness, and when everyone began rising, he realized he had missed the entire latter part.

"Don't worry," Greldo whispered, leaning to him. "It wasn't all that interesting. Just some debating on who would do what and whom to bring through the portal first. You should sleep."

"We all should," Bronwyn said as he leaned back in his chair, which creaked dangerously. His entire face was covered in narrow wounds, some dangerously close to his eyes, but they were healing rapidly.

"Irwin, one more thing," Basil said, walking around the table.

Many of the ranger captains who had been close to leaving stopped, and suddenly, Irwin found himself the center of attention.

"Lord Daubutim asked if you could return as soon as possible," Basil said.

Irwin blinked, then looked at Bronwyn while thinking of his mother, Carla, and Drum.

"Tell him I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, looking at Basil. "I'm not feeling all that great, and a day of rest will do me good."

He didn't add that if he had to use any of his skills or had to fight, he'd be more of a liability than a help.

However, he quickly realized he didn't have to as Basil examined him. The grizzled guard's face softened. "I'll tell him."

Irwin had the feeling Basil had picked up enough, and he nodded before leaning back. Damn, he was tired.

He faintly heard the rangers and the guards leave, and after Greldo asked a few questions about the current state of the new world, Basil left to go back to the portal. The guards he had brought would remain to help with the moving.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur, and the only thing he fully recalled was telling his mother he'd be fine. He fell asleep as soon as he touched his bed, and when he woke the next day, he only felt marginally better.

A quick, worried inspection of his heartcard showed that half of the cracks were gone, with only some of the deeper ones looking like they would need at least another day's rest.

Irwin spent the day with his mother, Jort, and two rangers who had been stationed with them for protection in case a Nyzir showed up. The rangers had brought a little food and drink, and although it was barely noteworthy as far as substance went, it somehow felt slightly festive... as long as they forgot about the many guards and rangers who had died protecting everyone.

Greldo kept teleporting in and out to keep them posted, and Irwin was surprised at how fast everything was happening. The first group reached Sultur Crevice mid-morning, and half of the people of Malorin had reached the portal by the end of the day. Some rangers came to ask if they wanted to come, but they declined. Greldo had said that Bronwyn would be escorting the last groups the following morning, and they decided they would go then.

Little happened beyond then until just after dark. Irwin was sitting with his mother and Carla while Jort and the two rangers had stepped outside to give them some privacy.

"Do you think we can get a better house on Eluathar?" his mother asked.

Irwin was about to tell her that they would, though perhaps it would be on one of the adjacent worlds, when the outside door opened, and Jort walked into the room. As soon as Irwin saw him, he knew something bad had happened.

"A guard just arrived," Jort said softly. "Lord Rhym passed away just now."

Carla gasped, putting a hand before her mouth while she looked shocked, while Irwin's mother sniffed, then cursed under her breath.

Irwin sighed, sharing a weary look with Jort. He'd thought Rhym would have died the previous day, but the persistent old man had held out far longer than he'd expected.

"Why didn't the stubborn fool just let himself be teleported to the portal," his mother whispered.

"Because he wouldn't have survived that nor the trip through the portal," Irwin said softly.

It was partially a guess, but it wasn't a stretch from what he knew of both things.

His mother looked at him, then nodded reluctantly.

The rest of the evening passed quietly, with a weary Bronwyn returning just before they went to bed, telling them they would leave early the next morning. According to him, a few of the rangers that had strong nightvision would continue escorting people to the portal during the night. Irwin didn't envy them.

When he was finally lying in his bed, he scanned his heartcard. He was pleased to see that it was almost completely healed. The remnants of a few deeper cracks remained, but he knew they would likely be fully repaired tomorrow. After staring around for a bit, he stepped out of his soulscape.

"Ambraz," he whispered. "Do you think that purple mist thing actually knew something? He mentioned Galadins and even about Ganvils and World Anvils."

It was quiet for a while, and just when Irwin thought Ambraz had fallen asleep, the anvil replied.

"I don't know… It's possible, but somehow I doubt it. If it did, why didn't it just tell us part of what it knew so we would stop?" Ambraz said. Then he snorted. "No, I don't think it knew anything useful. Either it heard things by listening in on us or found out some other way."

Irwin frowned. He hoped it was the latter because if someone had been listening to them without their knowledge, what else had that person learned?

He tried to relax and put his arms behind his head. "I wonder what that purple gas thing was called."

"Purple fart," Ambraz grunted. "That's what I'm calling it from now on unless we find something better."

Irwin laughed. He was tired, but not as much as the days before, and his thoughts drifted to Malorin and Giard. Soon, everyone still alive in this world would be gone, but there was only one thing left to do.

"I wonder how Indoubtor is doing," he said. "Or how he will react when he hears Daubutim is going to be the leader of Eluathar."

"Does it matter? He's weak, and as soon as you forge Daubutim's heartcard there's nothing he can do. You're the only one that can forge heartcards, at least for the foreseeable future, and unless you lose your mind and forge one for him, he's out of luck," Ambraz said.

Irwin grinned. "No, I don't think I'll do that," he said.

They continued chatting for a short while until Irwin fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke, he immediately knew his heartcard was back to normal. There was no pain from either his heartcard, soullake, or body. Instead, as he pushed himself up, he felt incredibly energetic. Standing didn't cost energy, and as he flexed his shoulders, he knew the Bablibon's wounds had healed.

Probably happened while I was sleeping, he thought.

Looking around, he began packing some of the things he knew they could bring, adding them to his rapidly filling pack. At some point, his mother came down to join him.

"Well, someone slept well," she said, giving him a hug. "Now, let me see what you packed!"

Irwin grinned as he put his backpack on the table, and watched her rummage through, removing a few items while shaking her head. Then she began rushing through the kitchen, her bad leg barely noticeable.

Less than an hour later, a small group stood before the house, staring at the door. Carla was wiping her eyes as she held Drum, while Bronwyn had his arm around her. Irwin stood with his mother, while Greldo stood beside them.

"Don't worry, I'll get us a fantastic home," Bronwyn said.

Carla just sniffled something, and after a few more moments, they turned and walked away.

As Irwin moved through Malorin's empty streets, he saw that the doors had been closed and everything looked neat. Almost as if the people expected to return someday.

We'll never return, he thought as he walked through the final gate towards a waiting line of wagons and people. Rangers stood beside the wagons, pale and weary from constantly accompanying the wagons. Even then, there was a gleam in their eyes that Irwin hadn't seen in a long time.

They followed Bronwyn to the lead wagon, and as they approached, a dead-tired-looking wagoneer looked up. His eyes widened, and he walked towards Irwin with glistening eyes.

"Lad, you're Irwin, right?" the man asked in a gruff voice as he grabbed Irwin's hand with two of his and started pumping it up and down. "The name's Bjurn! Thank you for finding and saving Chonk! He's mah best bull, and I'd hate to have had to leave him behind!"

Irwin looked at the short man in confusion before he finally realized what the man was talking about.

"You're the owner of the charbull I found," he said, his eyebrows raising.

"Darn right I am," Bjurn said with a weary grin. "Now get on! Getting you out of this shithole will be the least I can do."

Irwin grinned as the man headed back to the wagon, patting the dark charbull on its flanks.

"Savior of charbulls," Greldo said as he stood beside him. "Has a nice ring to it!"

Irwin laughed as he walked to the wagon. As it began rolling forward, he jogged beside it.

When they were a good distance away, he took a look back, staring at the walled city, quiet and abandoned.

Perhaps I'll name one of the adjacent worlds Malorin, he thought with a sudden grin. And another Giard!