Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

"It's clear," Irwin whispered as he looked into the room. He summoned his flame so Daubutim could follow him up as he stepped inside.

His eyes widened. Undamaged tables and chairs stood arranged neatly to the side while a massive bookcase covered the left wall.

So many books, he thought.

Taking another quick look around, he saw a narrow ladder pressed against the wall opposite the bookcase. Above it was a rectangular hole covered by a rotting wooden cover.

"Book!"

Irwin turned to see Daubutim, eyes wide and glittering, practically running towards the bookcase.

"Books?"

A muffled call came from his pocket as Ambraz wiggled out and flew up. "Well, look at that," the Anvil said as he flitted after Daubutim, hovering behind the boy who had taken one of the books from the shelf.

Irwin joined them, noting the annoyed frown on Daubutim's face as he flipped through the pages of the hand-sized, leatherbound book. One look showed him the reason for Daubutim's annoyance. The pages were filled with more of the angular, odd glyphs and letters that he had seen before.

"I can't read these letters," Daubutim muttered as he gently closed the book and returned it.

"That's not surprising, and neither can I," Ambraz said. "Although theoretically there should be dozens if not more shards leftover from when a world shatters, portals to them are hardly ever found. I've only heard of a few known instances of portals leading to shards of the same world."

Daubutim snorted and turned away while Irwin took a sad look at the tomes.

"Still," Ambraz said, causing Daubutim to stop walking away. "It might be a good idea to look for books related to cards. They usually have images, and to the right people, they are worth a lot."

Irwin frowned as he looked at the wall with hundreds of books. "How large is the chance that we will find those people?" he asked. If Ambraz was talking about people in other worlds, that didn't seem like a useful thing. Besides, the prospect of carrying books around didn't appeal to him.

They didn't come here without reason either, and he looked at the ladder and the square above.

"I don't know about this world," Ambraz said. "But I'd imagine that those sorcerers would collect them. That Bellemui fellow who gave you your second card had some in that small library of his."

Cards? Irwin's reluctance vanished as he looked at Daubutim.

The taller boy sighed and shrugged. "We can look for half an hour." He moved to the far left top of the bookcase. "I'll start here. You start at the other side."

Irwin nodded, wondering if Daubutim's father had taught him how to look through books too.

Much longer than half an hour later, Irwin and Daubutim stood before the table. Nine thin books lay atop it, each filled with images of cards with writing to the side. Irwin was leafing through one, staring in wonder at the intricate detail of the images.

"I wonder who painted these," he whispered.

"A carded," Daubutim said as he closed the book he was looking through and picked up the stack. "Right, let's go. These aren't too heavy."

Irwin closed the book and put it on the stack the other was holding. Then he turned to the ladder.

I wonder what we'll see from up here, he thought as their original goal returned to him.

The wood of the ladder was partially rotten, and as he slowly climbed up, a few steps snapped under his weight. He made it up and inspected the wooden hatch. Holes had rotten through it, and he could see parts of the dark sky above. A careful prod caused another hole to appear as wood chips and pulp fell past him. With a shrug, he began ripping the hatch away until he could crawl through and onto the stone roof.

All around him was the dark forest, with a few taller buildings blocking his view. To one side stood a towering, angular building with a single spire rising above the rest. Torches flickered around the square in front of it while more light came from the windows dotting the sides. Tiny shapes were moving around the square.

That has to be where Doomblade is, Irwin thought as he moved to the hole. Daubutim stood below him, and he beckoned the other up.

A few moments later, they stood side by side, staring around.

"It's too dark for me to memorize all the routes," Daubutim whispered as he looked around. "But I've got at least parts of it." He turned and indicated a larger area. "That's the area we've been at and explored. See? Those are the roads we stopped at." Then he pointed to a spot in the area near the edge of the wall. "That's where we have been staying. And that's the square."

Irwin nodded, though he wasn't sure if he saw what Daubutim did. There were many squares all throughout the chaotic city, buildings that almost meshed together perfectly surrounding them. Roads divided everything into sections, and there were a dozen that looked almost identical in their chaos. Still, he didn't doubt Daubutim's ability. The other had proven able to navigate the city almost blind. Last week when they went back down to check on the portal, he'd been able to navigate to it in a single go.

Daubutim sniffed, and Irwin realized he hadn't responded. "It should be fine," he whispered, getting a curt nod. He turned to the castle-like structure. "I'm about ready to find Doomblade and his cards."

"Let's go down and talk about that before someone sees or hears us," Daubutim whispered, then he moved back to the ladder.

Irwin waited as the other boy climbed down again, gazing quietly over the city. Three weeks down here, he thought. He could barely believe it. It felt both much longer and shorter. Still, there was no denying the effects. Clenching his fists, he grinned as he felt the strength in his arms. Swinging the short sword around for the better part of three weeks and holding the odd stances Daubutim had shown him had been horrible at the start. But after three weeks?

It's still horrible, he thought as he felt his legs cramp. That being said, he was stronger than he'd ever been and could swing the sword around while knowing what he was doing.

Looking at his arm, he flexed, the tendons of muscles slightly showing below the skin. He wasn't even close to as strong as Daubutim, but he wondered what Greldo would think if they came out again.

A tap came from below, and he took a final look before climbing down the stairs.

"What happened?" Daubutim whispered as he joined him in the library room.

"Just thinking," Irwin replied. He was slowly starting to feel his excitement grow at the prospect of going out and searching for Doomblade and the cards. "You think we are ready?" he asked, actually meaning if he was ready.

Daubutim frowned, then nodded. "I think you could become better if we stay longer, but it's not a bad idea to start scouting more. We've only got a general idea of the direct area around the staircase down and the empty part where we are hiding. Father always said that knowing where things are is almost as important as knowing your enemies' weak points. You can find a way to offset a weak point, but moving a tower around isn't as easy."

"Alright, where to first?" Irwin asked, getting a frown in response. He wondered how much Daubutim understood everything he had been taught and how much he was just following the rules. "Let's bring the books back first," he said after a second.

“Yes,” Daubutim said.

As they headed back, Irwin tried to temper his excitement. They had successfully ambushed a dozen or more Galubs, and he'd slowly improved to the point where he could fight one head-on and beat it. Two was still a gamble, but between him and Daubutim, they had managed against a group of five a few days ago. However, a lot of that was due to his biggest trump: his flame. He summoned it to blind the Galubs.

They dropped off the books, then made their way to the edge of the district that they had scouted the last few weeks. Hiding in a narrow alleyway in front of a wide, stone-covered street, Irwin looked around for any movement.

"Seems clear," he whispers.

"Alright. Let's scout this section first. It borders that castle, and we need to find escape routes and houses where we can hide," Daubutim said.

Irwin nodded, took a deep breath, and ran across the street, Daubutim close behind. There were no shouts or screams, but they didn't stop after they reached the first alleyway. Instead, they continued deeper into the district before hiding.

"Good," Daubutim whispered.

They were hiding in another alleyway, deep in the new district, and hadn't come across a single Galub. Irwin looked at him, feeling his old envy crop back up. Daubutim was breathing as calmly as before, as if he'd not just run for almost ten minutes while his own breath came out in gasps.

I'll catch up, he thought, clenching the sword hilt in his hand. His special card would help him with that!

"I am confused," Daubutim said.

Irwin looked up in surprise. The noble, which he was slowly starting to see as a friend, had shown barely any insecurity while wandering the city.

"What's wrong?" he whispered as best he could, still out of breath.

"Ambraz," Daubutim whispered.

Irwin's eyebrows rose, but he waited as the Anvil flew up and landed on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, mister memory?" the Anvil whispered, getting a glare from Daubutim.

"Don't call me that. Didn't you tell us there would be thousands or tens of thousands of beings in here? I've only counted seven hundred and eighty-three so far."

He counted them all? Irwin thought as his mouth dropped open. Then he shuddered. If Daubutim was right, and his brothers and father had a better memory than him and were smart, they had to be monsters.

"Yes… I don't know? Maybe they are hiding somewhere?" Ambraz said. "But in such a big shard, it's impossible. Only if-" the Anvil fell quiet, its thin lips drawn into a thin line.

"Only if what?" Irwin whispered, the hairs on his arm rising.

"They are probably just hiding," Ambraz whispered, sounding uncertain. "But.. well. There's one other way for this place to be this big."

"Which is?" Irwin hissed.

"There might be something powerful hiding here…" Ambraz said. "It doesn't happen a lot, but sometimes things find shards through other means than portals."

"Things?" Irwin whispered, looking up, almost worried to see something enormous staring down at him.

“Elder Diflor, Dracoserps. Those kinds of things," Ambraz whispered.

Irwin looked at Daubutim, noting the confused frown on the other's face.

"How… big is the chance?" Irwin asked.

"Well… very small?" Ambraz said. "I'm not an expert, you know."

Irwin leaned with his back against the wall. He'd somehow made peace with the idea of thousands of green, horned demons running around in this portal. The idea that there might be some monster here… Is it really worse? he suddenly thought. A big monster would be easily spotted, and it couldn't just be hiding somewhere. Perhaps this just made it easier? And even if it didn't, did it change anything? He still wanted those cards if he could, and closing the portal would be for the best.

"Let's scout this area, then inspect the castle," he whispered.

Daubutim looked up, and he saw surprise in the other's eyes before he nodded. Ambraz just hummed and hid back in his pocket as they made their way to the nearest door. It was locked.

Here we go again, Irwin thought, preparing himself for a hopefully boring day of looking at locked doors and scouting empty buildings.

They returned when they were starting to get tired, their day-night rhythm long since confused by the permanent darkness.

"I wonder what kind of monster there could be," Irwin whispered as he dropped onto the leather-covered bench.

Daubutim sat on the other side, munching on a small bit of carrot.

"I don't know," he said. "I've never heard of monsters being inside portals… just demons."

Irwin nodded as he looked at the noble. He'd tried asking him a bit more about his family the last few weeks but got nothing.

"Did you go to school?" he asked suddenly.

Daubutim blinked, the carrot halfway to his mouth. "No. School is for the poor," he said.

"In Malorin, the nobles' and crafters' children also went to school," Irwin said defensively.

"Yes," Daubutim said as if that proved his point. "Father says everyone in the southwestern area is poor."

Irwin blinked, then shook his head in disbelief. "Some of the nobles there give their eldest three whole cards before they turn fifteen!"

"Uncommon or rare?" Daubutim asked, looking up with interest.

"What? No! Common, of course," Irwin said before blinking at the other. "Wait, do all nobles where you come from get rare cards?"

Daubutim looked at his lap, then shrugged. "Some do. Most get uncommon cards. My eldest brother got a rare card when he turned eight. Father says he needs to attempt to get a full-hand rare, as it's the only way to clear the portals around our borders."

Irwin looked at the back of his hand, wondering how it must be to get a rare card at a young age.

"Does your father have more than one rare card?" he asked.

"Yes, two and three uncommon," Daubutim said. Then he frowned and stared at Irwin. "Don't tell anyone. I'm not sure others are supposed to know."

Irwin nodded and sighed. He remembered his mother's story about his father and how he probably had a rare card. He was about to ask Daubutim something when he remembered Rachel's card stuck in the noble's hand.

"Did you know cards can drop from people if they die before that?" he asked, pointing at Daubutim's hand.

"Yes," Daubutim said calmly. "Father says that beyond the wall, people kill each other for the small chance of obtaining cards."

"Beyond the wall?" Irwin said, staring blankly at the other. "There's no more people outside of the Clour peninsula."

Right? He saw the shrug from the other and thought about everything they had been taught in school.

"Are there people living beyond the wall?" he asked, licking his lips before he could stop himself.

"You should drink some more. And yes," Daubutim said as he tossed a water bag toward him. "It's not really a secret, just something most people don't talk about."

"How is that possible?" Irwin whispered as he gulped half of the bag down before stopping when Daubutim gave him an accusing stare.

"Father didn't tell me. All I know is that the hand-and-a-half guards sometimes go beyond the wall and come back with information and cards. Sometimes with carded people…"

"I was told there are only Diflor demons out there," Irwin said as he sat back.

"You were told wrong," Daubutim said with a shrug.

They sat in silence for a while before Daubutim rose. "We should sleep. If we want to try and find a way into that castle, we need to be well-rested.

Irwin didn't respond, still lost in his own thoughts. Quietly, he got up and followed the other.

I wonder what else they lied about, Irwin thought as he lay down and thought about the implications of people living behind the wall. Were they still fighting? Closing portals?

He fell asleep and dreamt about a being with six eyes staring at him from beyond a wall that reached the stars.

The next morning they ate the same, by now boring breakfast as they had the last few weeks. They didn't talk much, and after relieving themselves, they headed back to the district. They scouted until they had a few good escape routes and a dozen empty buildings with hiding spots. They also found a few Galubs, the one-horned type, which they easily dispatched.

After a few hours, they finally found themselves in another of the seemingly infinite narrow alleyways, staring at the castle across the square. Galubs loitered around or stood in small groups. Most seemed to be bored and doing nothing, but a few moved with purpose.

"There are a few hundred around," Daubutim whispered as he looked around the torchlit area. "I've counted at least forty two-horns."

"Not as much as there should be," Irwin whispered, and they shared a worried look.

"Let's circle the square to find a weak point," Daubutim said.

Irwin nodded, taking the lead. Ever since his swordsmanship led him to take at least one Galub without too much trouble, Daubutim had begun staying back again. Irwin's better vision made it less dangerous.

The castle didn't have a wall like Irwin was used to, but with the only windows being twenty feet or higher and the gates surrounded by bored-looking Galubs, it was still almost impenetrable. Almost. Nearly at the edge of the district, they found a small area that had once been a park. Nestled behind rusted and broken-down fences, it looked almost as bad as the forest outside the city. Brown, almost black, leafless trees stood in neat lines, while withered pale bushes covered both sides of a road that led up to a smaller gate. Two Galubs lay against the wall, staring at two others that were wrestling. Behind the bushes was a line of shuttered windows five feet above the ground.

"If one of those windows is open," Irwin whispered, staring at the edge.

"There should be enough cover behind those bushes," Daubutim said from next to him before scanning left and right. "There are no patrols. Father would…" he fell quiet, shaking his head in distaste.

Irwin didn't respond as Daubutim glared at the Galubs.

"Run and check?" he asked.

"Yes. If someone sees us, turn and run back into the district. If we get split up, wait in a hiding place for at least a day before heading back," Daubutim said, his eyes glinting and his voice cold and commanding.

"Alright," Irwin said, long since used to the other's oddities. "I'll go first."

He looked at the opposite side of the street, choosing his path before making sure that there weren't any Galubs looking. Taking a deep breath, he sprinted forward, absently enjoying the fact that his body was moving as it was. Three long seconds later, he reached the bushes, jumping behind them, then crouching and holding his breath.

Wait, where's Daubutim?

He looked back and saw Daubutim hidden in the alley, staring to the left. Feeling his heart skip a beat, Irwin saw four bored Galubs saunter towards them.

No… he thought, looking around in panic. Now what?