Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

"You did what?" Greldo snapped as he gazed at Irwin.

Irwin just stared back, then turned to Ambraz, who had been flying around the room, muttering and mumbling about Kyder.

"You are sure that I've got a chance?"

"What? Yes! Of course you do! You've already reforged a few quartz cards, and the last one you did was flawless. That means you are already an amethyst rank smith," Ambraz said.

"Didn't you tell me I wasn't even a quartz rank smith before?" Irwin asked, thinking back to when he had been stuck in that horrible desert world and slotted his hammer card.

"Remember when you reforged that card when you showed Trimdir?" Ambraz said as he hovered before Irwin. "If you do that again, you will easily pass the amethyst test. After that… well you will just have to work hard!"

Irwin nodded, staring at Ambraz.

"How come there are so many smiths without… Ganvils?" he asked, thinking about what Tensor called the anvils.

"First, you told me I needed you to reforge cards. Then you said I needed you for anything above quartz. So how come I haven't seen Ganvils everywhere? Balarn even said there were only two in this charter!"

From the corner of his eye, Irwin saw Greldo and Daubutim pay close attention.

Ambraz snorted. "Yes, yes. Technically it's possible, alright? But do you have any idea how long it would take you to increase your skill without me? You could probably become a ruby rank smith without me, but even I don't know how long that would take!"

And now I don't know if he's lying again, Irwin thought as he looked at the anvil. A worrisome feeling began growing, the beginnings of a thought nagging at him, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

"Don't look at me like that," Ambraz said. "If you don't believe me, just ask some of the smiths around here! Didn't you notice how that kid, Balarn, respectfully called me an Anvil of the Gods?"

When Irwin didn't respond, Ambraz snorted as he hovered before him.

"Listen, I told you before. If I want to become stronger, I need a smith! You can hardly blame me for looking out for my own interests!"

With a sudden jolt, the worry Irwin had crystallized, and he realized what was bugging him.

"Yes… so how do I know you aren't lying to me now to get me in this smith's charter for your own improvement? Kyder seemed to think it was highly unlikely for me to-" he began.

"Kyder, that no good, horrible piece of rusted flab," Ambraz snarled. "He doesn't know you have already reforged a card yet! If I hadn't seen what you did, how you did it, I wouldn't have believed it either!"

Irwin looked at the anvil and finally sighed wearily. What did it matter? He would have to work no matter what. Either he would do so to make sure they aren't all turned into serfs or to become a topaz ranked smith. Besides, he had already accepted the deal.

"Fine," he said as he turned to Daubutim.

"I'm going to start practicing right away. With only sixteen days, I can't waste any more time. Try and get as much information from Balarn and the others."

"I will," Daubutim said as he frowned. His eyes kept blurring over, and Irwin forced himself to wait and see what the noble was struggling with. Usually, his ideas were worth the wait.

Finally, after what felt like an hour but was likely only a few minutes, Daubutim's eyes cleared up.

"Make sure you return here every evening. I will search for another time-dilation area or world here. Perhaps there is one you can use to train in so you will succeed."

Irwin nodded. Daubutim was right. Even if it was just one that doubled or tripled his time, that would help him immensely.

"While you are doing that, I'll see about earning soulfragments," Greldo said.

"And Lamia?" Irwin asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll stay here till she wakes," Greldo said with a weary sigh. "Which reminds me. We need to find one of those soul-carded healers to heal her up."

"In your dreams," Ambraz snorted. "If there is even one in his small hubworld, they don't work for free."

Irwin and the others didn't respond but shared a look before Irwin sighed. "Alright. Be careful…"

He turned to the door and walked out.

"Now, let's find a quiet place in that forge," he muttered.

--

Daubutim watched Irwin close the door.

I hope he succeeds, but I need to prepare for the worst, he thought before turning to Greldo.

"I'm going to see if I can find some serfs. Father always said that to get real information, one should ask those who had nothing," he said.

"Fine, fine," Greldo snorted. "Leave me all alone with the unconscious girl."

Daubutim hesitated, unsure if Greldo was making a joke or not, then decided he probably was. He nodded and left the room. Instead of heading down, he began wandering the hallways.

It took him a few minutes to find a man carrying a broom and bag who was humming quietly as he walked out of a room.

"Hello," Daubutim said, slowly moving closer to the men. He was surprised to see that the other was almost as tall as him.

The man looked him up and down, then blinked. "Hey there. New here, I take it? If you need me to clean your room, don't worry, I'll get there eventually."

"You are correct. I am new. A few friends and I came from the farming world, three-five-eight, the one that is close to shattering." Daubutim said as he smiled cordially at the man. "I've been told I am a serf, but I don't really know much about what that means or what I am supposed to do."

The man whistled as he leaned on his broom, staring at Daubutim.

"From that one, huh? I'd heard that nobody made it out alive, and I was glad to see they were wrong. So, what can I do for ya?"

"Perhaps you could tell me a bit about this world and what I can expect?" Daubutim asked, holding back a frown. He'd already asked this, hadn't he? Had he been unclear?

"Yes… well…" the man said. "Seeing as you're a serf too, how about this, you help me, I help you? If you help me clean the rooms I still need to clean, I'll answer any questions you have or tell you things while we work."

Right, it's like that, Daubutim thought as he nodded.

"That is fine. Do you have another broom?"

The man grinned as he shook his head and handed over the broom he was holding. "No need. If you do the brooming, I'll take care of the clutter and the beds."

Daubutim just nodded as he took the broom before following the man into the room. Some physical labor in exchange for information? No matter what the serf might think, Daubutim felt like he was getting the better end of the deal.

--

Hours later, Daubutim wearily walked back to his room, no longer as sure of himself. He had learned a great many things, amongst which were a few ways of getting soulshards but not a single bit of useful information on their world or how to fix it. Even talking with a half dozen other serfs had garnered nothing of use. Reaching the door, he knocked on it.

I need to ask Irwin for the card, he thought as he heard footsteps.

He was slightly surprised to see Lamia, her arm clutched against her side and face pale, open the door.

"Daubutim, you're back! I was starting to get worried," she said, her voice weary.

"I am fine," Daubutim said as he followed her into the room. There was no sight of Greldo, and he frowned. "Where did Greldo go?"

"After I woke up and he told me what had happened, he headed out to try and find some information," Lamia said as he sat back down on her bed. "He said he would try to return before it became dark, but if he wasn't that, we shouldn't worry."

Troublesome, Daubutim thought as he moved to his own bed and sat down. If he gets into trouble, this might reflect upon Irwin, and he shouldn't be disturbed like that.

"So, did you find out anything?" Lamia asked.

"Nothing useful," Daubutim said as he frowned, ordering the new information before looking at Lamia. "There is a place called a public library here. I need to ask Irwin to get me entry there tomorrow."

"Books?" Lamia muttered. "Are you sure you can read them? What if they have another written language?"

Daubutim shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. When we entered through the portal, the Central Registry's soul gem added knowledge about this world's language to our minds."

Lamia looked back, seeming slack-jawed, and Daubutim wondered if he had been unclear. Then he recalled she had been unconscious when they had arrived. Perhaps Greldo hadn't explained it to her? Slowly he explained what he knew, but as he did, he saw Lamia didn't show any sign of understanding.

"I'll ask Irwin about it later," she finally said, interrupting him.

"Alright," Daubutim nodded, noticing that Lamia was leaning back, her eyes drooping down. "You should sleep and regain your strength," he said. "You will probably have to show your smithing abilities tomorrow."

Lamia muttered something before she rolled on her side and closed her eyes.

I wonder if she is going to be able to actually perform properly, Daubutim wondered before focusing on the door and preparing for a long wait.

Two hours and three minutes later, give or take a few seconds, there was a knock on the door, and he opened it to let Greldo enter. The smaller youth passed him with a slight grin on his face, and as he sat down, he held up a small bag.

"Look what I've got!"

Daubutim frowned, unsure if he was supposed to say something now. After a few moments, he decided to go with it being some sort of open question.

"What is it?"

Greldo's smile widened, showing his guess had been correct.

"Twenty quartz soulshards!"

Daubutim's mind came to a grinding halt as he gazed at the bag with a single question.

"How?" he finally managed.

"As different as this place is, some things never change," Greldo said, sounding smug. "It didn't take me too long to find the underground circuit, and as I had thought, they have cage fights here."

Daubutim felt his mind begin to bog down. What was a cage fight? How could Greldo have gotten soulshards? He struggled to return to clarity, trying to find something he knew that could connect. For a moment, he feared he'd fail, but then a distant memory came to save him: a conversation he had picked up years ago between his brothers about them having earned some coin by placing bets on a cockfight. They had managed to keep it from their father, which was why he'd not thought of it since.

"Gambling?" he asked, looking up.

Greldo was looking at him worriedly, and Daubutim stifled a sigh. He missed Irwin, who simply waited calmly for him to work out what was happening and never seemed to care much that it took some time.

"Yes…" Greldo said slowly. "Though I didn't gamble. Coal and I had a little fight, and let me tell you, we should be able to earn at least enough soulshards to become citizens like this. Well… as soon as we find a way to legally have them."

He fought? Daubutim frowned. Greldo could get them in trouble with the guards or whatever they had here that doubled for those.

A thud against the door was followed by a groan, then the door swung open, and Irwin stumbled inside. He was carrying his armor while wearing a leather smithing apron. His face was black with soot while Ambraz sat on his head.

"Ah, you guys are back," Irwin muttered. He kicked the door closed, moved to his bed, tossed his armor on the ground, then crashed into the bed.

Daubutim rose, worried. "Irwin…?"

"I'm fine… just really tired. Just let me sleep. We can… talk… tomorrow…"

A soft snoring came from the bed.

"Damn… they really worked him to the bone," Greldo muttered. "But he's right. I could do with some sleep."

Daubutim didn't respond, but a few minutes later, he heard more snoring from Greldo. He sighed and leaned against the wall, his eyes locked on the door.

I'll sleep tomorrow morning, he decided.

--

Four days after Irwin had arrived, he stood before Ichela, watching as he placed the purple-bordered card on the thin soul gem.

"Amethyst ranked card, reforged by Irwin. Quality, ninety-nine percent flawless!"

Thank Gelwin, Irwin thought as he let out a happy sigh.

"Great job!" Ichela said as she began rummaging in a drawer.

"I told you he could do it," Ambraz said, letting out a haughty snort.

"Yes, you did!" Ichela said with a smile as she handed Irwin a bright purple Smith's rank plate. "Now, he just needs to hand me an above eighty percent topaz rank card, and he can go into our local charters history as the fastest to that rank."

"Just you wait!" Ambraz said.

Yeah, Irwin thought. Wait for a year if I don't get better faster.

Keeping his worries to himself, he removed the hairband, took out the quartz rank plate, and replaced it with the amethyst one.

"See you soon," he said as he smiled at Ichela.

"Good luck Irwin," she said. "I'll add your payment to your card after I've removed your serf's living expenses."

"Thanks, Ichela," Irwin said as he walked past two older smiths. He saw their curious looks but ignored them as he walked to the corridor beside the staircase.

"Who's that? And why is he going to the topaz-rank area?" he heard behind him.

Irwin closed the door behind him, cutting off Ichela's reply, before rushing to the private smithy that Tensor had allowed him to use until he either succeeded or failed.

Ambraz fluttered to the anvil spot beside the lively burning forge while Irwin took the stack of cards from the table. All of them were uncommon, amethyst, damn it, and reforged by himself.

"Alright, let's try again," he muttered as he took the top one, glancing at the image of a pair of boots and placing it on Ambraz.

"Alright, remember what I've told you," Ambraz said.

"Don't just hit it. Harmonize the power and the timing while still striking on the blotches," Irwin said as he took a deep breath and summoned his hammer.

Half an hour later, he quickly tossed the shaking card into Ambraz's mouth.

"Failed again," he grunted as a thud came from Ambraz.

"Stop whining!" Ambraz said, a trickle of smoke coming from his lips. "You are getting better, but this takes time. Be happy that common cards are practically free here, so as long as you can reforge them to the rank you need, you can keep practicing."

Irwin nodded, grabbed another card, tried again, and failed again.

And again.

And again.

Two more days passed, and when the last card of the stack turned into a pile of smoking debris, Irwin let out a bellow of anger and tossed his hammer across the smithy, causing it to slam into the wall.

As he stood, breathing heavily with his hands on Ambraz, he felt like hitting the surface with his fist. It felt like he wasn't making a single bit of progress!

"Go and get some more common cards," Ambraz said.

Irwin gritted his teeth. Why did Ambraz have to sound so calm? It was infuriating! Either he couldn't hit the blotches, or he did, but at the cost of harmonizing the moments of hits or the strength of them.

"Irwin…"

Irwin looked up and saw Lamia standing at the door, looking at him. Her left arm was bound to her body, but she didn't seem to care. A big smile covered her face, and she pulled her hair over her shoulder, showing a simple hairpin with a quartz rank smithing emblem on it.

"You succeeded!" Irwin shouted, more than willing to focus on something else for a while.

Lamia nodded, grinning wickedly. "It took me long enough! I'd never have managed if you hadn't given me those cards!"

Irwin walked up to her, staring down into her eyes and suddenly deciding he'd done enough for a while. Taking a break for lunch would probably be better.

"Let's go eat at Glessile's," he said, turning to Ambraz.

"You coming?"

"Fine… but after this, I expect you to create a new stack and work late!" Ambraz snapped.

Still, Irwin saw the smile on the side of the anvil as he shrunk and flitted to sit on Irwin's shoulder.

They walked through the private smithy area, waved at Ichela, then out of the building and across the courtyard.

"It was exactly eighty percent," Lamia said as she scratched her head.

Irwin nodded. "Sounded a bit like a beautiful chime?"

"Well… I wouldn't call it beautiful, but at least it was better than an odd gong sound."

Irwin nodded as they walked through the now slightly familiar street. It was early in the afternoon and quiet, with most people working.

"I wonder what percentage our own cards are," Lamia said as she raised her hand.

"Impossible to tell now," Irwin said with a shrug.

"Bah, it doesn't matter!" Ambraz snorted. "You only need one flawless or perfect card to serve as your heartcard. It's useless having the others that good. Better to have them at a high rank, emerald or beyond, or better yet, have a growth card."

Lamia laughed. "Right, just have very rare or legendary cards, and all is well," she said.

They reached Glessile's a few minutes later, a simple dinery with an outside and inside area that was the default place to eat for most of the smiths working at Tensor's. It was quiet inside, just a few locals drinking and chatting.

As they sat across, a young woman came over.

"Lamia! Good to see you again. Congratulations on getting your quartz rank! What can I get you?"

"The special of the day, Glessile," Lamia said, and Irwin raised two fingers.

"Will be right there," Glesile said as she turned and rushed away as fast as she had come.

"We've only been here for barely six days, so why do I get the feeling you two know each other for years?" Irwin said.

"Nah, it's not like that. Glessile is just an easy person to talk to," Lamia said as she fondled her new rank plate.

They spoke a bit about how her reforging had gone when Glessile came back with two plates with slices of dark meat covered in ochre sauce. As she put them down, she added a small bottle of a teal-colored drink and two glasses.

"This is on the house to celebrate!" she said before turning and sprinting to a new customer that had just entered.

"Thanks, Glessile," Lamia shouted.

It didn't take Irwin long enough to finish his meal, and with a small glass of something that smelled far too sweet to Irwin's taste, he leaned back. Lamia shoved her still half-filled plate to the center.

"I don't understand how you can stuff so much into your stomach," she muttered before filling a glass and sipping it. "Oh.. this is nice!"

Irwin copied her and grimaced as a thick, syrupy sweet drink filled his mouth. He quickly put the glass back, shaking his head.

Lamia laughed and took another sip before looking at him.

"So. How is it going? Getting close to reforging an uncommon to rare?"

"Amethyst to topaz," Irwin corrected her as he glared at the tiny bottle wishing it was just water. "Not good."

"Bah, don't lie," Ambraz snapped from his shoulder.

"What? I've not even gotten halfway," Irwin replied.

"So? At the rate you are going, you will finish with at least a day or two to spare," Ambraz replied. "You don't have to reforge it to flawless, remember? You only need a single topaz at eighty percent or higher."

Irwin snorted while Lamia looked at him.

"You should believe in yourself a bit more," she said. "If Ambraz thinks you can do it, I'm sure you will be fine."

Irwin shrugged as he leaned back.

"Instead of this, have you decided who you are taking with you to Scour?" Lamia asked. "I know Greldo really wants to go, but he's also the only one besides you actually earning soulshards."

Irwin leaned back, feeling the chair groan slightly under his weight. He absently took another sip of the glass, then almost spat it out as he quickly put the glass back down and shoved it towards a laughing Lamia.

"Don't know yet. I've been thinking about it a lot," he said, which was true. He had been thinking about it ever since he'd heard he could take a single serf with him.

"Well, you should figure it out soon," Lamia said. "I'm getting the feeling Greldo is up to something."

Irwin snorted. "Grel is always up to something."

They continued chatting while Lamia slowly emptied the bottle, then headed back to Tensor's.

"Good luck, and try to relax a bit," Lamia said as they reached the door.

"I will," Irwin said, knowing it was probably a lie.

After getting another stack of quartz cards from a smiling Ichela, he returned to his private smithy.

"You should do as she said," Ambraz said as he dropped before the forge.

Irwin snorted, moving to the bellows and working them until the coals and fire were blazing hot. The heat that surrounded him actually made him calm even more.

He slowly reforged a dozen quartz cards, reveling in how easy it was. When he finished, he actually had another flawless, ninety-nine percent card.

Trying to retain his calm, he began the creation of a topaz card, only to hear the horrible dull out-of-tune gong midway through.

"By Gelwin's beard," he cursed as he tossed the card into Ambraz's mouth. "There has to be a way to do this without having to destroy so many cards!"

"There isn't any," a smooth, accented voice said.

Irwin spun around to see Tensor standing there.

"You are getting better," the smith said. "I'm still not sure if you will succeed."

Irwin sighed and shrugged.

"Try singing," Tensor said.

Irwin looked up, blinking in surprise. "What?"

"Try. Singing. Softly," Tensor said. "I never saw the use of it, but some smiths believe it's the only way."

"I'll try," Irwin said, wondering what he was even supposed to sing.

"Anyway. This isn't what I came here for. I'm here to relay a message. This morning a lot of people came through that portal from your world. They created a lot of trouble, as some tried to break through the containment area. Well… according to some rumors, one might have actually succeeded."

Irwin swallowed as he looked at Tensor in disbelief. Who could have possibly come through? Suddenly the image of a metallic straw-throwing sorcerer came to his mind.

Hult? He shivered, hoping that if it was Hult, he wasn't the one that got away.

"What happened to the others?" he asked.

"Some were killed, the others detained, which is why I am here. One of those detained says he is your family. The Central registry has requested that you come to get him and pay for the damage he has caused."

"What? Who?" Irwin snapped, an image of his brother popping up in his mind.

"They say he called himself Indoutor."