Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

"I wonder where this thing went," Greldo muttered as he trotted beside Irwin, deeper into the earth.

"Perhaps to another dead Earth Titan? It seems to be boring in a straight line somewhere," Irwin replied softly, keeping a still-sleeping Scintilla cradled against his chest, a steam wrapped around her.

A straight line that's slightly curved down, he thought, suppressing a growing worry that they were going to be stuck far below the desert.

Looking into the distance, he focused on his Eyes of the Blaze, seeing nothing but stone and dust.

More walking, he thought, letting out an annoyed sigh.

He'd been checking ahead every few minutes ever since they began walking away from the dangerously cold region of frost and ice, hoping to see the end of the tunnel.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Numilli needed months to find another one," he said.

"Don't even talk about that little-" Greldo made a spitting sound. "If we find her again, I'm going to let Coal use her as a chewing bone!"

Irwin grimaced, but he couldn't blame his friend. Thinking about Numilli and the way her face had turned all cold and dangerous moments before she began absorbing the heartcard made his anger rise. Either she hadn't known what she was doing, which Irwin doubted, or she was more than willing to sacrifice them, including her own cousin, to get whatever it was that she wanted.

"She has a lot of explaining to do when we see her again," Irwin agreed.

They continued walking, time passing slowly as they were both lost in their own thoughts.

"I was thinking…" Greldo finally said, breaking the stifling silence of the deep tunnel. "Ambraz, is there a way to allow me to bring others along if my last card is a shadow teleport?"

Irwin was surprised that Greldo spoke directly to Ambraz, something he didn't do a lot.

"Well, look who's finally started using that furry head of his!" Ambraz said, flitting from Irwin's shoulder and hanging before Greldo, flying backward and keeping pace with him. "Well, kid. It depends on how far and how many! I take it you're thinking about just one or two people? Say for when they are below the ground?"

"Yeah," Greldo said. "So it's possible?"

"Maybe. Depends on the card you get your hands on," Ambraz said as his metallic lips pursed. "You will have to wait a bit longer, though. Normally, people need multiple joined teleport cards to move anything but themselves. If you want to do it with just one, even if it meshes well with the others it probably needs to be at least rank Ruby rank."

Greldo let out a strangled curse. "Seriously? That would mean I'd need insane amounts of cards to fill up my heartcard!"

"Oh no, such a horrible thing," Ambraz shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you know that most people don't even have the option to get one? You're lucky the brat's your friend, and I'm so generous of heart!"

Irwin grinned, wondering if Ambraz even had a heart.

Greldo was quiet, staring at the Anvil before looking at Irwin, who saw a slight annoyance in Greldo's eyes.

"You're right, thanks," his friend finally muttered.

They continued through the caverns for a long time, and eventually, Irwin had no idea what time it was. It could be day or night for all he knew.

At some point, as they mechanically plodded ahead, Greldo stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Irwin asked. A rush of adrenaline ran through him, and his fuzzy mind snapped wide awake.

"The sounds changed! Something is different up ahead," Greldo whispered.

Irwi focused on his Eyes of Blaze. His vision didn't show the thing he'd seen for hours on end -a dusty tunnel- but instead, a dark cavern with barely any dust in the air.

"The tunnel end is up ahead," he whispered.

"Finally! Let's go and see if there's a way up," Greldo hissed.

They increased their pace, but it still took a while before Greldo could also see the end of the tunnel.

"I can hear some kind of wind ahead and the dripping of water," Greldo whispered. "And movement, lots of movement."

"Let's hope we didn't find some kind of nest," Irwin said as he continued ahead.

As they closed in on the end of the tunnel, they began slowing down until they were moving as quietly as they could. Before them was an enormous cavern, one that dwarfed the chest cavity of the Earth Titan they had been in. Rocky outcrops stood upright, like fingers jutting out of the stone, and more hung from the ceiling, glistening drops of liquid hanging from their tips, striking the tips of the pillars that sat right below them.

The end of the tunnel was a steep slope of gravel and stone that headed down to a rocky cave floor, with a dusty trail leading away, disappearing into the maze of towering fingers of stone.

"There's things moving between them," Greldo whispered.

Irwin nodded as he triggered his Eyes of Blaze and began looking around. Distant cave walls popped into vision, their gray sides riddled with holes.

Maybe one of those leads out of here, he thought as he continued searching. As his gaze passed over two of the jutting stone fingers, a slight movement in one of them made him freeze. Did that stone pillar just-

His mind froze as he saw one of the two towers ever so slightly vibrate. Swallowing, he moved his focus from the walls to the pillars, and as he watched, he saw more movement.

Those aren't stone pillars… They are alive!

He looked at Greldo, only to see his friend stare to the left, along the side of the wall their tunnel exited from, eyes wide, jaw clenched shut. Irwin slowly turned his head.

A wyrm head, its maw hanging open and its teeth the size of castle doors, leaned motionlessly against the side of the wall.

Eyes wide, Irwin focused on all of his cards, scrambling and readying himself to-

He stopped, barely managing to hold back from shooting out a gout of flame as large as he could. Something weird was going on!

A second passed, then another, and he finally realized what it was. The wyrm wasn't moving, and there was a thick layer of dust covering it, showing it hadn't moved for a very, very long time.

Taking a slow, shuddering breath, he turned to Greldo, who was breathing raggedly, eyes still focused on the wyrm.

"It's dead," Irwin whispered.

Greldo turned his head to him, shaking his head. "I can hear its heartbeat."

Irwin shuddered, then began backing up. Greldo followed him, and they continued deeper into the tunnel until the entrance was a small dark opening.

"What in the blazes was that?" Irwin hissed as he leaned against the tunnel wall.

"Some kind of wyrm king or queen?" Greldo said, lowering himself to his haunches.

"Well, it didn't move and hadn't moved in a long time," Irwin said. "We need to get out of here, and there are tunnels all across those walls. One of those has to go back up."

"What if that thing wakes up when we are out in the open?" Greldo said. "I can move through the shadows, but you…"

Irwin grimaced as he recalled the stone pillars. "It gets worse." He quickly told his friend what he'd seen.

"How about we just go back and wait for Numilli to finish?"

Irwin hesitated. When they had finally left, the tunnel had been covered in a thick layer of ice, the air so cold that each time a soft breeze brought it along, even his Coperion skin had started aching.

"It didn't look like it would stop anytime soon," he finally said, focusing on Scintilla.

If she wakes up and feels better, she could carry me to a tunnel.

He thought for a bit before nodding as he focused on Greldo. "Do you think they can detect you if you go through the shadows?"

"Never," Greldo said, shaking his head. "I've only ever encountered one type of thing that can, and those things aren't here."

"Alright then, this is what we are going to do. Go and investigate that cavern and find a tunnel leading up," Irwin said. "I'll stay here with Scintilla, and when she wakes, we wait till she feels good enough to use her flame movement card to get both of us to the tunnel you find."

Greldo nodded, and Irwin saw a slight relief on his friend's face.

"Alright. What will you do if one of those wyrms comes here?" his friend asked.

Irwin focused on his flame card, sensing the energy was filling up nicely. Although only a quarter full again, it should be enough.

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"I'll flame them," he said. "If you hear fighting, stay back. I'll run through the tunnel till we reach the cold area. It should keep the wyrms away."

Greldo watched him for a bit, then nodded. "Alright. Be careful!"

"That's my line," Irwin retorted. "You're the one going out there!"

Greldo snorted, vanishing where he stood to reappear a dozen feet away. "They will never see me. Everything down here is shadows, remember?"

"Well, be careful anyway. Maybe one of those wyrms can breathe fire or something," Irwin said with a crooked grin.

Greldo looked at him and shuddered. "Thanks for that fantastic image," he muttered. "I might be gone for a bit. That cavern is massive."

"Take your time. I'll be here," Irwin said.

Greldo watched him for a bit more before disappearing.

Irwin hesitated as he thought about sitting, then decided to remain standing. If he had to move quickly, getting up with Scintilla wasn't smart. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh, preparing for a long wait.

A long time later, he was softly humming, trying to distract himself from the monotonous waiting when Scintilla moved. Her hands were slowly unclenching, and she stretched her back before shuddering. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked around, hands turned to claws.

"Calm down, it's me. You're safe," Irwin said softly.

"What- where? What happened," Scintilla hissed as she struggled.

Irwin gently put her down, watching Scintilla sway but remain standing. She put a hand on her waist, and her eyes widened.

"Where's my blade?"

"Probably somewhere back in that Earth Titan body," Irwin said as he tried to recall when he'd last seen it. He couldn't recall.

The mention of the Earth Titan seemed to snap Scintilla fully awake, and she suddenly looked around, her eyes filled with anger. "Where is she?"

Irwin didn't have to ask who she meant, so he quickly explained what had happened. When Scintilla heard about the massive wyrm, she calmed down quickly. Still, Irwin saw her hand move to her side on multiple occasions, searching for a sword that wasn't there.

"I never thought Auntie was right," Scintilla said, her face a mix of anger and sadness.

Irwin waited quietly, watching her struggle.

"Mother said that Numilli used to be very different," Scintilla said. "But she also said she was extremely useful to the family. But auntie -that's Numilli's mother- she always treated Numilli really harshly."

"Why?" Irwin asked, slightly confused.

"It was the one thing mother and auntie always fought about," Scintilla said. "They never wanted to explain, but there were rumors… I'm much, much younger than Numilli, but some of the others of her generation didn't want anything to do with her. I only know her like you have seen her, and as annoying as she could be, she was always nice to me."

Wondering what rumors would be there, Irwin recalled how cold Numilli's face had become.

"When she began absorbing the heartcard, she looked… different," he said. "Cold and dangerous."

Scintilla smiled sadly. "Then I guess the next time we see her, if we ever see her again, might not be very fun."

They were quiet for a while before they began talking about less horrible things. Scintilla guaranteed him that her card's energy was plenty and that she would be able to bring him along to whatever tunnel that would lead up. Eventually, Scintilla sat down, lost in thought, while Irwin waited.

After another long time, in which Scintilla fell asleep again, Greldo appeared two steps from Irwin, who jolted out of his own ponderings.

"Hey," Greldo muttered, his face drawn and weary but with a glint in his eyes that told Irwin enough.

"You found an exit?"

"Yeah. It's pretty far. Is she…" he waved at Scintilla.

"She woke up and seemed fine," Irwin said.

"Great, then let's wake her and get out of here," Greldo muttered.

"Are you sure you don't need a rest?"

"I can rest when we return to where the sun shines," Greldo said.

Irwin nodded, more than happy to comply.

A short while later, the three of them stood back at the entrance of the tunnel, Scintilla looking in awe at the massive wyrm.

"It's enormous," she whispered.

Irwin could only agree, but he had no more interest in admiring the giant sleeping wyrm.

"Ready?" Greldo whispered, seemingly thinking the same way.

Scintilla nodded as she clasped Irwin's hand.

"Alright. Remember, it's the left wall, all the way at the top. I'll be inside, waving at you."

"Yeah, yeah. Go," Scintilla whispered.

Greldo took a deep breath and vanished.

"I wonder what card this wyrm has," Scintilla whispered.

"Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure we shouldn't try and kill it," Irwin said. "The others will probably join, and I'm not sure even my flame will work on all of these."

"A shame," Scintilla whispered, hungrily staring at the wyrm.

After a while, she sighed. "Right, let's go."

Before Irwin could respond, the world around him changed into a red blur as he shot through the cavern. The movement lasted for only a few seconds before he crashed to the ground in a narrow tunnel opening, Greldo waving at him a few steps away. A quick look showed the tunnel was barely large enough for him to stand upright.

Scintilla fell to her knees, coughing, but nothing but orange-tinted bile came out as she choked and vomited.

"Oh no, we need to-"

Greldo's suddenly panicked voice was drowned out by a deafening roar from behind.

Irwin didn't hesitate but grabbed Scintilla, ignoring her flailing surprise, and sprinted after Greldo.

The ground began vibrating and rumbling as he chased after Greldo. Head low and body angled forward, they ran forward. After a short distance, Scintilla struggled free, following after them. As the world around them shook and the roars from behind continued, they ran and climbed up as fast as they could.

I hope they don't follow us to the surface, Irwin thought as he struggled after Greldo.

Minutes turned to hours, but the shaking only continued, and Irwin knew that they would have been overtaken if they didn't have their near-infinite stamina.

When Irwin finally saw Greldo jump and crawl his way out of the tunnel ahead of him, he was almost surprised to see the stars. Following his friend, he looked around. The sand was shaking and shivering, while the tops of the dunes were flowing down. It reminded him of the water in a barrel when you kicked it, rippling inside in circles.

"Let's get out of here," Greldo hissed as Coal appeared beside him.

Irwin flinched as he saw the deep wounds across the hound's snout, realizing he'd not seen him after the battle below. Still, Greldo climbed up without hesitation, and Coal moved as easily as ever.

Scintilla was looking up and around before pointing in a direction. "That way!"

Irwin didn't bother asking how she knew, and neither did Greldo. Coal began running in the direction she had indicated, Irwin and Scintilla close behind.

The shaking lessened the further they got away from the tunnel exit, and when it was no more than a distant rumbling, they stopped.

"We need to tell Crithann about this place," Scintilla said, slightly out of breath.

"You know how to return?" Irwin asked.

"Yes, it should be a four-day journey this way," she said.

"That long?" Greldo asked, exasperated.

The others didn't respond, and after looking at the distant swirling sand, they left.

--

"I will spread the news of the wyrm's location and send a warning about Numilli," Crithann rumbled as he gazed at the bedraggled, hungry, and tired trio before him. "Now, head home and rest. I'll make sure to send food."

Irwin couldn't manage more than a nod as he turned and trudged off. Even his seemingly unlimited endurance was empty after traveling on nothing but a few rations and water for four days. Having to carry Scintilla for half of that hadn't helped much.

"I'm not going to wake up for a week," Greldo grunted.

"Two weeks," Scintilla said, struggling forward.

Irwin didn't respond, but he had the feeling that after a good meal and a good rest, he'd probably be fine. He kept that to himself, though, quietly following the others.

"Do you think Numilli will return here?" he asked, looking at Scintilla.

"No, but I wish she would. It will give me a chance to strangle her," Scintilla hissed, showing a moment of energy. Then her head fell back to her chest, and she stumbled. The outburst seemed to have cost her whatever energy she had left.

The smithy was quiet, showing Yogog hadn't returned, which Irwin was happy about. As he sat down on the couch, Scintilla slumped against his side while Greldo sprawled across the other couch. Both seemed almost instantly asleep, and Irwin decided to close his eyes for a moment.

When he woke, the table was laden with food, and the house was quiet.

Guess I fell asleep, he thought as he looked down to see Scintilla beside him, curled up at his side. Greldo was snoring softly on the opposite couch, Coal beside him. Ambraz sat at a table to the side, mouth a line, likely also slumbering.

Irwin's stomach rumbled as he smelled the food, and trying to be as quiet as possible, he got up and walked to the table. His entire body felt dirty and itchy, Coperion Body having turned off sometime during his sleep. As he stuffed something in his mouth, his hunger increased, and without holding back, he began devouring everything before him.

When he finally stopped, over half of the food was gone, and the two large carafes of water were drained. Slightly guilty but not enough to do something about it right away, he rose and cracked his neck. He felt great. Rested, full and-

Dirty, he thought, as a thick odor assaulted his nose.

Smelling himself, he shrugged and moved out of the room towards the back of the smithy. A large stone bath was partially filled with water, but it was fine with him. Removing his grimy armor, he undressed and stepped into the bath, lowering himself until he was sitting up to his neck in the lukewarm water. He hadn't used it a lot, having mostly filled it for Greldo as he used the steam bath most of the time. Now, however, seeing the water rapidly turn brown, he shivered in delight. He remained until the water was so dirty it would probably hurt more than it helped, after which he rinsed his -once upon a time- pale white underwear and dunked his armor in the water a few times.

When it was as clean as he could get it now, he laid it out to dry, only removing the chunk of Purperion, which he always kept close. He took a look at the water and shuddered. It was a good thing it would evaporate over the next week. After that, he could fill it with fresh, clean water by using Sweltering Heart for a few hours.

Deciding Greldo was out of luck and would just have to use the water around the base of the tree, he walked into the smithy and put on a pair of the leather pants he sometimes used for smithing. He gazed at the forge and the anvils, wondering if Numilli would return. A big part of him hoped she wouldn't. It was about time for him to work on his smithing, his fighting, and practicing with his new card.

"Well, if she does return, I guess we are going to have to force some answers out of her," he muttered before taking a deep breath and heading back to get Ambraz.

It was time to do some smithing!

--

Numilli didn't return that day or the next. Scintilla searched for her, but there was no sighting, and as the weeks turned into months, things became blessedly peaceful.

Greldo, still searching for his last card, began taking mission after mission, heading out for ever longer periods while Irwin mostly remained at the smithy. Sometimes, however, when Scintilla got too bored, the two of them would take on the occasional nearby mission.

Irwin spent weeks practicing with his new card, learning to incorporate the explosive ability with his other cards and finding that his Hammer card worked as a fantastic overflow valve. By using the increased speed of movement and power, he even managed to cause Crithann to take him seriously, and roughly three months after they had returned, their training had turned into sparring that many villagers watched. It had to be done outside the town, though, so they wouldn't destroy the buildings.

More months flew by as Irwin was lost in his smithing, enjoying his time with Scintilla and doing the occasional mission. She wielded a new sword that Irwin had forged for her, made of the best materials he could find, and between her still ever-improving skills and Irwin's strength, they encountered no problems.

The only thing of note that happened was that his stubble became more serious, and starting over half a year after they returned, he had to shave in earnest.

--

Standing before the mirror, Irwin stared at his reflection. Coperion Body was in full effect, and as he pulled the sharp blade across his chin, the sound of metal against metal echoed through his room.

As he finished the last pull, tiny hairs ticking on the bowl below, he tilted his head, staring at his own angular face. He could barely recall what he had looked like when he was still back in his hometown, only remembering how he'd felt: small, weak, and malnourished. Now, between smithing each and every day, practicing with Crithann, and due to the power of his cards, he had layers of muscle instead of ribs to count.

"I wonder how old I am now," he asked his own reflection in a deep, echoing voice.

He investigated himself. The final hints of youth were fading, leaving someone he had difficulty gauging the image, even if it was himself. Somehow, he felt like years had passed by in a blur, leaving him older and unsure of what had happened to the time.

Doesn't really matter, he decided. When he became heartcarded, he would be able to live for hundreds of years.

Looking at the tiny hairs covering the stone bowl, he hummed. Perhaps he should start thinking about letting his beard grow out. He was supposed to wear his rank symbol in his beard, not his hair. Besides, his bloody hair got in the way while fighting more than once, and Crithann sometimes even grabbed it, yanking it hard.

Below, the door slammed open, and he frowned.

"Irwin! There's news from Driseog! He managed to find one of those cards!"