Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin stood beside Rindiri as she navigated The Sonata through the mountains. The ship was eerily silent as everyone stood on the prow and sides, staring ahead. They were closing in on the location where the Galub had said the portal would be, and Irwin had told everyone to be still. Who knew if there was any Galub that could hear as well as Greldo?

He glanced at his friend, who was standing a few steps away, eyes closed and hands behind his ears. Either he was glimpsing between his eyelids, or he noticed it some other way, but Greldo opened his eyes with a frown.

"I still only hear the distant shouts. But there's a lot of them. I'll go and scout along the shadows and see if I can get any closer this time."

Irwin nodded, but Greldo was already gone. Taking a deep sigh, he looked at the back of the ship where Clarish was standing, looking slightly nervous. Her body was tense, and a blue glow hovered around her feet, showing she could teleport in the blink of an eye. If anything went wrong, she would teleport to the three ships that were following ten minutes behind them to warn them. Seeing him looking at her, she nodded, and Irwin smiled reassuringly before he turned back to stare at his surroundings.

The mountains all around were gloomy and covered in shadows, while deep straight gouges, like sword cuts, covered some parts. According to Rindiri, those weren't uncommon on the Portal Gallery, though nobody had any idea what created them.

They were gliding past a steep cliff, the railing so close that he could probably have touched the dusty gray rocks if he leaned out over the railing. One of the deep gashes, a dozen-foot-long diagonal cut, sat nearly at eyesight, and he wondered if they weren't just made by something moving too close to the mountainside. He was pretty sure he would have hit the wall if he'd been the one behind the helm.

I'm glad she's behind the helm, he thought, shaking his head at Rindiri's impressive steering.

"Perhaps we should just lure them into the mountains and let them smash against the rocks," he whispered.

Rindiri didn't look up, but the corners of her lips curved up ever so slightly.

"I'll try and lure a few here while you are running rampant," she whispered.

Irwin grinned, noticing a few of the rangers had turned to look at them. He pointed at his ears, raising an eyebrow, and the rangers shook their head.

I hate sneaking around, Irwin thought as he crossed his eyes and shared an annoyed look with Rindiri. She just smiled before focusing on a narrow gorge ahead of them.

Minutes slowly ticked by, and Irwin was starting to wonder if Greldo had managed to reach the Galubs when a scream tore through the silence, only to be cut off abruptly. It had come from ahead and above, but Irwin saw nothing. He cast a quick glance at Clarish, who had her hand raised, cards glowing, ready to teleport her away if need be.

"Stay calm," Irwin whispered, and she nodded.

A few moments later, there was another shout, this time sounding like a cut-off warning, followed by what sounded like a warning horn.

"Looks like they know we are here," Irwin whispered. "I guess Greldo decided to start without us."

He looked up and around, trying to find any sign of his friend while the Sonata slowly glided through the narrow gorge. As soon as the prow exited it, the rangers ahead began raising bows, and then the rest of the ship sailed out into a massive ravine. An enormous ball of light hung on the far side. The blazing white light was cut off a hundred feet beyond what looked like a wooden shanty town built around a single crooked stone tower. Wooden piers hung precariously from the sides of the tower, and dozens of ships were moored against them. Two had their sails out, and he saw heat signatures all around them.

It took Irwin less than a second to realize what was going on.

"They are using the light to remove the shadows," he hissed. Lord Bron had warned him and Greldo about those tactics, but he'd hoped the Galubs weren't smart enough for those things.

One of the rangers on the prow turned and sprinted to the ladder that led to the upper deck, climbing up in two jumps before looking at him. It was an older man with a short, well-trimmed beard and narrowed eyes, and Irwin knew him. He was Sandoar, a Ranger Captain of New Malorin and the leader of the rangers guarding the exit portal on both sides.

He also had eyes nearly as good as Greldo's, which were now glowing a dim green as he stared at Irwin.

"I saw Greldo and Coal in the left part of that town," he said calmly. "Most of the ships appear crewless, but there are Galubs heading there now. It looks like this wasn't a planned ambush, but they had definitely prepared for Greldo or someone like him."

Let's hope it wasn't specifically for Greldo, Irwin thought as he looked for a sign of his friend. All he saw was a milling mass of heat signatures.

"There are hundreds," he said as he walked towards the railing and looked down.

The bottom of the ravine was a strip of jagged rocky land a hundred feet down with steep slopes on both sides. He hesitated, then turned to Rindiri, who seemed as calm as ever.

"I'm going down to attack. If ships try to leave, I'll try to knock them out before they reach you. If I fail, lead them around this area. If you have to leave, send me a warning."

"Don't worry, Captain," Rindiri said. "Unless they have way better helmsman than we have seen so far, they are going to regret chasing after The Sonata."

"Great," Irwin said, not doubting her one bit. "Get me a bit closer to the side?"

"On it," she said, immediately turning the wheel and angling towards the nearest slope.

Irwin grinned tightly before looking at Clarish. "Can you teleport to Xi'kroak and the others and let them know what is happening? Tell them to close in but remain out of sight. If possible, return here…"

Clarish nodded, looking at Rindiri. "I'll need to know where you are to be able to teleport back. She pointed at a tall outcrop not too far from where they were. "I'll go there when I return. Can you make sure you stay within viewing distance of that?"

"I can try, just make sure that-"

Irwin turned to Sandoar while Rindiri and Clarish began discussing things.

"I'll head in there and try to take out that light," he said.

"Be careful, Captain Irwin," Sandoar said. "I'll get everyone ready in case a ship gets too close."

Irwin nodded as he saw the steep, rock-covered slope twenty feet below him.

I really need better boots, Irwin thought, knowing what he was about to do.

Then he hopped over the railing.

His stomach lurched as he plummeted down, but the drop lasted for only a moment before he crashed into the slope. He immediately started an uncontrolled glide down, feeling his kinetic energy spike. From high up, the slope had looked reasonably flat, but now that he was gliding down, he saw the dozens of ridges, rocks, and outcrops. He tried to keep from stumbling and going head over heels, and the world around him whirled past as he focused completely on staying on his feet.

For ten long seconds, everything looked fine, but then he failed to raise his left foot in time. His toes hit a ledge, and he shot forward, away from the wall. Arms flailing, his heartbeat skyrocketed as he saw the rocky ground below rush at him. Two moments later, he slammed into the ground on his hands, knees, and feet, his kinetic energy overflowing. He instinctively summoned his flame, which rippled out around him, ballooning out as it was fed by the kinetic energy.

"We need better movement," he grunted as he pushed himself up. "Are you sure we can't manage flying?"

Ambraz's muffled response came from his pocket. "Are you crazy? You weigh as much as a house."

"So? You're a flying anvil!" Irwin shot back as he ran towards the distant shanty town. Two of the ships had begun moving away from the wooden docks, while another few were showing signs that they would follow soon after.

Ambraz just rumbled something in his pocket, but Irwin ignored it as he focused on his kinetic energy to increase his speed. Soon, he was leaping forward, most of his attention on not tripping. The distant ships were speeding up towards him, or at least in his general direction.

Too bad we won't be able to keep all ships in one piece, he thought.

Focusing on the lead ship, he put his right hand behind his back, then took a single massive leap while hurling his hand forward, summoning his hammer at the last moment and making it as large as possible.

Like a meteor wrapped in fire, it streaked toward the ship. Shouts of surprise and panic came as the ship tried to turn, but it was too late. Irwin felt a sense of satisfaction as he saw his hammer crash through the side of the ship, wood exploding everywhere. He waited for another second, letting the fire burn the insides before unsummoning the hammer.

He watched the ship thoughtfully, readying another hammer but waiting. As soon as he saw the first ship begin to spin down, Galubs running around in panic while flames leaked from the massive gaping hole he knew the ship was done for.

That's one, a dozen more to go, he thought as he focused on the second ship.

--

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“Doomblade, Doomblade! We are under attack by the soul stealers!" a three-horned galub shouted as he raced into the central tower. As he appeared into the throneroom, he dodged as something was flung at his head, followed by an angry roar.

"Do you think I'm deaf or stupid?" a booming roar called out. "Have you found that shadow walker yet?"

The three-horn swallowed at the intense glare cast at him, and he quickly shook his head.

Doomblade Hardswing, a five-horned Galub, a full head taller than the three four-horns that were standing beside his stone throne, glared even harder at the three-horn.

"Useless! Fine! They must be together with the shadow walker. How many are there?"

The three-horn swallowed again, gripping its hands as it seemed very unhappy suddenly.

"Well?" Doomblade snapped.

"One ship."

"..."

The three-horn swallowed again as the burning red eyes stared at him unblinking, then took a slow step back.

"One ship… you come screaming for one ship?" Doomblade whispered dangerously.

"B- b.. Boss, someone jumped from the ship and charged us," the three-horn squealed. "He uses hammers and fire and-"

"What!" a wave of pressure emanated from the five-horn, causing his token guards to sway on their feet before taking a few steps from the throne. The three-horned Galub wasn't as lucky, his eyes rolling up in his sockets as he slumped to the ground. Trickles of blood ran from his nose.

Doomblade growled as he stomped forward, kicking the three-horn to the side.

"You, get those ice fools ready," he roared, pointing at one of his guards. "It's time they show their worth! After that, go to Tringular and close the home portal! We can't risk anything!"

The four-horn's eyes widened, and he seemed close to saying something, then visibly gritted his teeth and nodded. Seeming slightly less affected than the others, he began stumbling to a side door of the throne room.

"The rest of you come with me," Doomblade snarled. "This Smith Irwin or Orwin, or whatever he is called, has gotten away too many times. If he is willing to offer himself up like this, we should gracefully accept the offer!"

As he stomped out of the throneroom, his insane and dangerous laughter caused dust to shake from the walls.

--

Okay, that guy is definitely not the same as the other five-horn we fought, Greldo thought, feeling a cold shiver as he hovered after Doomblade.

Just his mere presence was doing something odd to the shadows near him, and Greldo instinctively felt that he shouldn't go inside or even near any of them. He wanted to take a deep breath, barely holding back as he felt the tightness around his chest where the three wounds sat. A sad worry came from Coal, and he quickly let him know he was fine.

Well, fine is an overstatement, he thought as he recalled the moment he'd arrived near the tower.

The moment that the massive light appeared and wiped away any shadows would probably haunt his nightmares for a while, but the moment after had been worse. Being stormed by all of the three and four-horns that had been hanging out and wandering the area still made him shiver. The dozens of cuts and bruises he had to sustain to get into a small house with shadows hurt as he floated after Doomblade.

He stopped when they reached the open exit, the pale white light that was beyond still burning away all of the shadows in a far-from-normal way.

Now what, he thought as he hovered as close as he could and looked outside. Doomblade had said something about ice fools, which he guessed were other demons, and had seemed to think they could do something to Irwin. Staring ahead, he tried to make out anything suspicious.

He could barely make out a ship with a massive hole and fire leaking out from everywhere, streaking toward the wooden building on the other side. A few moments later, it vanished behind the rows of crappy buildings, followed by another explosion as it probably crashed into them.

"Keep the ships away from him, you bloody fools," Doomblade roared as he ran away, quickly vanishing from view.

Greldo looked at the square. Should he go out and make a run for the nearest row of buildings? It was how he'd gotten here in the first place…

A massive boom came from the distant outskirts of the town, and wood and debris were flung up while a raging fire appeared in the distance. Greldo blinked, then grinned as he floated back into the room.

Something tells me that's Irwin heading here, he thought.

He was slightly worried about Doomblade, but as he recalled how easily Irwin had taken care of the other five-horn he turned and headed to the staircase he'd examined before. No, Doomblade might not be the big problem, but whatever those ice things were could be.

The staircase led to the top of the tower, which was where the portal was, and it had some windows that would give him a view of the city. Although he was low on energy, he could still teleport, and as long as he didn't have to take anyone along, it'd be fine.

Before he reached the top floor, half a dozen chained explosions rocked the tower, and he saw the walls sway slightly.

Don't collapse this thing, please, he thought, trying to decide where to teleport if that happened.

As he reached the top floor, he saw that the massive door beyond the corridor had been closed shut, leaving a corridor with a few windows to one side.

I guess they closed the door after they headed back, Greldo thought, taking one look as he quickly flew to the window.

His eyes widened as he saw the stretch of town below him. A massive path of destruction, starting at the square below him and widening slightly until it reached the edge of the town, had flattened every building in its cone, leaving behind only rubble, wood splinters, and a few unmoving shapes.

Doomblade, dragging a massive squarish sword behind him, was trudging through the disaster area while a familiar figure coated in fire was walking towards him from the other side. If he'd been closer, Greldo might have thought an incredible showdown would be happening between Irwin and someone who might actually be able to fight him. That was if he hadn't seen the horde of four-horns sneaking around the edges of the rubble-strewn area.

He's trying to surround Irwin, he thought, snorting. Doomblade had no idea what he was trying. If he wanted any chance against Irwin, he'd need to get teleporters or shadow walkers or a barrage of-

Ranged, Greldo thought as he felt his skin crawl, an odd sensation inside the shadows. He leaned as close to the window as he could, staring at the four-horns that were sneaking through the buildings. There was no sign of any bows or other ranged weapons, but that mattered very little. Who knew what kind of soulskill those things had? Although most Galubs had clubs or swords, that didn't mean all of them did.

A dull clunk came from behind, causing him to swirl around. The massive double door slowly opened, and five pale, blue-eyed, blue-haired female humanoids walked out. They were thin and seemed malnourished, but even then, Greldo instantly recognized them. They were Frozir women.

Oh no, Irwin said he couldn't see their heat signature!

The four-horn he'd seen before walked out behind them, snarling at them. "Keep moving, you bunch of icicles."

The five Frozir glared at him, but the Galub just grunted a laugh as he walked towards them.

"If you do as ordered and capture that smith, Doomblade will allow you to leave with a ship! If you fail, you will be thrown into that imp-invested volcano!"

Wait, they aren't working with the Galubs? Greldo thought as he frowned. Why aren't they just killing him if… then he noticed the ugly and familiar metal bracelets the frozir women had around their wrists. He hadn't noticed them before due to the pale metal and their pale skin.

"We will need our abilities," one of the Frozir hissed, raising her wrists and shaking the bracelet.

A massive boom resounded from outside, followed by a roar of anger. Then, the entire ambient temperature seemed to rise by a few degrees.

The four-horn laughed softly, and he stalked forward. "The boss is already fighting. Let's get this over with!"

As he stopped before the Frozir, Greldo slowly headed beside him. He had no idea what Irwin was doing, but he did know that he had to make sure these Frozir wouldn't join the fight.

The enemy of my enemy, he thought. If all they wanted was a ship… besides, there were Frozir back in their new world.

"Don't even dare and try anything funny," the four-horn hissed. "At least, if you want a chance to see your eggs again in one piece!"

All five frozir women turned to him, hissing like snakes, but the four-horn just laughed.

"So?"

A deafening clang of metal on metal happened from outside, followed by roaring and another increase in the temperature.

"We will do as you ask," the Forzir said, gnashing her pale, silvery, razor-sharp teeth.

The four-horn laughed and grabbed her wrist, removing the bracelet before stepping back.

"I'll be off now, make sure you don't-"

The tip of Greldo's dagger came through the four-horn's neck, cutting off his words and causing him to gurgle and flail around.

The five Frozir jumped back, eyes wide.

"So…" Greldo said as he kicked the spasming four-horn away. "How about we have a little chat?"

"Who are you?" the Frozir that had no more bracelet asked as he spread her arms. Twin clouds of snowflakes began swirling around her hands, rapidly forming into four daggers of compressed eyes that were pointed at Greldo.

"I'm here to give you an alternative offer," Greldo said, grinning at her while being ready to step back into the shadows at a moment's notice.

More clanging came from outside while a sudden shudder ran through the tower, causing the doors to sway.

"You're a shadow walker?" another Frozir whispered, seeming uninterested in what was happening outside.

"Why are you doing what those Galubs want?" Greldo asked, ignoring her question. He needed to hurry and check how Irwin was doing.

The Frozir shared a look, and then the first one that spoke snarled at him. "You must have heard if you were watching from the shadows. They have our eggs, and without them, our race is doomed!"

Greldo nodded thoughtfully, thinking about how to bring the next part. After a second, he just shrugged and went with the easy way.

"Well… I presume you do know there are still almost a hundred of your race not that far away?" he asked.

"Lies," two of the Frozir women shouted. "We are the only ones that managed to flee before the world shattered!"

Greldo hummed, and it took him a few moments to recall the names of the Frozir leaders.

"Have you ever heard of Elder Gum….' il'ram or something?" he asked, knowing that he was butchering the name.

The five Frozir stopped moving, staring at him in stunned silence. Then, one of them took a slow step forward. As she did, Greldo suddenly realized none of them had their bracelets on anymore. When had they done that?

"Gum'dil'ran?" she whispered.

"Yeah, that's it!" Greldo said, rubbing his head. "He was together with some woman called Statina?"

"Satiya," the Frozir woman said, taking another step forward, her eyes gleaming as she looked at him. "Where are they? How do you know them?"

"Well, where they are is a bit difficult, but let's just say they came with us from our world," Greldo said, ready to jump into the shadows. It was a good thing because the only warning he had was a slight drop in temperature. He faded away, gliding back to the stairs in a single move just as a mass of snow rippled through the air he had just been. One look told him it wasn't a killing blow.

"Hindil, what did you do?" one of the Frozir screamed. "If he was telling the truth-"

"How is that worth the risk?" the other snapped. "If he is lying, we will lose our eggs and any chance for our people!'

Okay, you get one more chance, Greldo thought as he looked around. There was nothing anywhere, and he stepped back into reality.

"Don't do that again," he snapped as the five Frozir turned to him. "Either you will join us, or you are going to be a problem."

As he spoke, he snarled, bearing his teeth and trying to look as menacing as possible.

The Frozir shared a look, then began hissing amongst each other.

"If you help us, I'm sure we can try to get your eggs back," Greldo said, just as a roar of pain came from outside. His face paled as he recognized Irwin's voice, and ignoring the Frozir, he stepped through the shadows to hover before the window.

More of the town had been destroyed, dust clouds drifting around, while large swathes were burning.

Irwin was climbing up from a crater, his large hammer in his hand, while Doomblade was standing twenty or so feet away, drawing ragged breaths while his blade was starting to glow dangerously.

Greldo hissed, then turned to see the five Frozir women a few steps behind him, staring out of the window.

"He might lose," one of them hissed.

"So what? If he loses, how does that help us regain our eggs?"

"If Satiya and elder-"

"What if he lies?"

Greldo glided back into the room, grinding his teeth as he reappeared. He had to decide now. Either he attacked, or they might attack Irwin, who seemed to be having more trouble than he'd thought.

"Last chance," he said. "Either you gamble that those Galubs even give you back your eggs and let you free, or you come with me. I promise we will do what we can to return your eggs."

Four of the five Frozir turned to the only one that had yet to speak.

"Senira?"

"He is speaking the truth, or at least believes these words," the shorter Frozir said as she stared deep into Greldo's eyes.

She can detect lies? Greldo thought, suddenly feeling annoyed. Why hadn't they just…

"We work together with Frozir on my world," he snapped, staring into the Frozir's eyes. "They have an area to themselves and are free."

There was a moment of silence, ripped apart as another explosion shook the tower.

"I believe you," the Frozir called Senira said, turning to the others.