Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin's mind was blank as he steered the ship forward. He was staring into the distance, enjoying the ability to gaze as far as he wanted without obstructions. The temperature sank with every passing hour, pale frost appearing on the sail and the railings, then spreading to every other surface. By morning, Zender had gone down, the cold too much for him, leaving Greldo and Doomblade above deck. The massive Galub was shivering constantly.

"Can we go back down already?" Doomblade grunted, not for the first time.

"When Rindiri comes to take the wheel," Irwin said.

"If this is your way of getting rid of me, I'd prefer you just make it quick," Doomblade said through clacking teeth. His eyes were burning with anger as he glared at Irwin. "You're too afraid to let me fight back!"

Irwin didn't even bother responding. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about tossing Doomblade overboard, but Daubutim had said to let him be. Having the Galubs on one side, separated by an area of frost, would be better than having nothing there. It meant that anyone or anything moving from this side had to pass through them.

"Can he not hear me?" Doomblade rumbled angrily at Greldo.

"He can," Greldo said. "He just doesn't want to reply to your whining."

Exactly, Irwin thought, trying to tune out Doomblade's angry retort.

It was getting more difficult, though. He'd been trying to ignore the Galub's incessant complaining for the better part of an hour. He pondered warming the area with his steam, then thought better of it. It wasn't bad for Doomblade to realize just how cold it was and would become.

Half an hour and a dozen more complaints later, the door opened, and Rindiri stepped out. Her breath came out in plumes, and her brow lowered in a frown as she slammed the door shut.

"Right, finally inside," Doomblade shouted.

"Wait till I'm ready," Irwin snapped.

The five-horn looked over his shoulder with an exasperated glare before stopping two steps from the door, stomping on the ground, arms wrapped around himself.

Rindiri took over from him, and Irwin saw she was looking worried, her frown deepening.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's colder than it should be," she said, scratching a layer of ice from the top of the steering wheel. "Those scouts would never have survived this, and from what they said, they turned back long before it got anywhere near this cold."

Irwin looked ahead, then at the barrier. There was nothing weird, although he could see the thick layer of frost in the distance. It covered the scraggy land, which showed no signs of ever having been anything but a layer of rock.

"Could you be mistaken?" he asked.

"No," Rindiri said. "Even if they hadn't told me this, the speed at which the temperature lowered from when I left to rest to now is too fast."

"Any idea what could cause this?"

"If a nearby portal that had previously been raising the ambient temperature has been closed, that would do it."

Irwin hesitated before turning to Greldo.

"Can you stay on the prow for a while longer?"

"Sure! It's not like I need sleep," Greldo snorted.

"Ah, good to know," Irwin shot back with a wide grin. "Then you can stay there until I get back!"

Greldo made a rude gesture, then grinned and headed to the prow of the ship.

"Call me if anything happens," Irwin said before he headed to the cabin door.

"Finally," Doomblade hissed.

The Galub was shaking and shivering, and he rushed through the door and to the back of the cabin.

Closing the door, Irwin felt the cabin's warmth on his skin, and he walked to the staircase, sitting down to block Doomblade from going down. Zender and their supplies were down there, and he didn't want the Galub anywhere near either. Even without his cards, he could easily rip apart either. It meant he couldn't go into his own room, but it wasn't worth the risk.

Doomblade continued shivering for at least another hour before he finally seemed to warm up enough to start complaining again.

"Do I have to go back out again later?"

"Yes," Irwin said.

"Can't you just tie me up inside a cabin?" Doomblade snapped. "I'll even promise I won't do anything!"

Irwin looked at him, then snorted. "I don't think I have anything that could tie you up."

Doomblade jabbed his fingers at the soulskill, dampening chains around his arms. "Didn't you bring more of these things? Just use those. They are nearly unbreakable!"

Is he fishing for information? Irwin wondered as he looked back without responding.

After a few moments, Doomblade snorted and laid his head back.

"Whatever. I'll go and sleep. How long till we reach warmer areas?"

"Don't know," Irwin said, which was the truth.

Doomblade let out an angry snort and closed his eyes.

Keeping an eye on him, Irwin set himself to another long, sleepless… night?

I really miss day and night, he thought.

As interesting as traveling over the portal gallery was, the lack of proper separation was annoying. Xi'kroak and Rindiri had told him that some ships installed lamps on their masts, pointed down, which they used to mimic sunlight while having others in their cabins. They would rotate those at regular intervals, mimicking day and night cycles. If he could, he wanted to get those runes installed eventually.

The thought about runes made him think back to the Terullian runes they had found on two separate worlds. He'd barely thought about the Terullians and only knew that Daubutim, Lord Bron, and a dozen scholars who had survived from Giard were attempting to translate them. Apparently, that was more difficult than they had expected. Daubutim had told him to keep an eye out for any more Terullian worlds and bring back any information he could.

I wonder what happened to those Terullians, Irwin thought. He remembered the Addled he had seen in the first world and the odd room filled with tablets filled with runes. Were those the Terullians? Had they turned to Addled at some point? But if so, why? That world hadn't been shattered yet.

He continued pondering the Terullians, sitting upright so he wouldn't fall asleep accidentally.

Time passed slowly, and he was startled out of a daydream about the ancient Galadin empire when Greldo slipped inside and slammed the door shut. His friend's breath was coming out in plumes, and he was covered in fur, meaning he'd triggered his stronger form.

"We've got trouble," Greldo said, his teeth chattering. "I'll keep an eye on him. Go outside."

"What is it?" Irwin asked as he rose. He saw that Doomblade's eyes had opened, and the five-horn was looking at Greldo.

"I… you better see for yourself," Greldo replied with a grimace.

Irwin frowned as he rose, glad that Doomblade showed no interest in joining him. Even then, he pinned the Galub with a stare. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Are you crazy?" Doomblade snorted. "I'm not going to risk having to go outside!"

Irwin shared a look with Greldo before he opened the door and stepped outside. The cold air hit him like a fist to the chin, and his eyes widened in shock. Everything was covered in a thin layer of frost and ice, more so than he'd seen during any of their previous journeys. He walked away from the cabin, the layer of ice on the deck cracked below his weight, while a soft squeaking hiss came from somewhere ahead.

He took a quick look at the wheel to see that Rindiri was staring ahead and to the side, away from the barrier they were still flying along. The other two ships hung behind them, and Irwin saw those few of Xi'kroak's sailers able to withstand the intense cold standing on the prow.

Turning to the prow, he saw that icy mountains sprawled forward across the landmass. Where it touched the barrier, a cloud of steam rose up, and the squealing hiss came from there. The steam rose up along the barrier, touching the top and turning to a drizzle that fell down. A few feet down, the intense cold turned it to snow and hail, which pelted and covered the icy mountains.

What the hell is that? Irwin thought, walking to Rindiri.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" he asked.

"No, but I know of it," Rindiri said. "It's called a Glacial Area, and I had never thought I would ever see it. They are usually far from any world, and I've not heard of any being anywhere bordering the Langost Branch. There are supposedly many on the other side of the main branches."

Irwin frowned as he looked around. Although he couldn't see it, the steam coming from the distance told him the ice probably touched the other side of the massive branch as it did here, meaning there was likely no path through.

"How far through is this?" he asked, waving ahead.

"I have no idea. By my knowledge, I've not heard of anybody ever managing to find a way through."

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Irwin stared at the ice, thinking about his own abilities. As powerful as he was, he didn't believe for one second there weren't other carded better suited for such a region.

"Do you think nobody ever managed to find the other side?"

Rindiri was quiet, then shrugged. "It's possible. The nobles, merchants, and other large guilds and groups probably don't share everything they know. But if it has happened, I have never heard of it. Not that I really know that much. The only things I really know about it are from one of the captains I sailed with twenty years ago."

Irwin frowned as he looked at the ice.

"I wonder if the Frozir would be able to live there," he muttered.

"Not likely," Rindiri said. "This isn't normal ice. It's cold due to the total lack of soulforce. Although the Frozir can stand nearly any cold, they do need soulforce. They could probably survive for a long time here, but actually creating cities? I don't think so."

"Course not," Ambraz grunted from within Irwin's pocket. "They would turn into Addled!"

"That too," Rindiri muttered.

They continued looking ahead quietly before Irwin asked the question that he knew had to be asked.

"So, what do we do now? Can we go through? Should we even try?"

Rindiri stared ahead, then frowned. "If you had asked me this a few years ago, I would have laughed at you. But…" she turned to him. "It depends if you can navigate us through. You have one of the highest tolerances for cold I've seen, and your ability to manipulate steam means you should be able to use that. So, the question would be, how long can you withstand the cold? I'm close to my limit already, and I don't think Greldo can stand a lot more. So, unless you increase the temperature, you would have to sail by yourself."

"Perhaps we can go back and find a sidebranch on the other side?" Irwin asked thoughtfully.

"We could try," Rindiri said. "But it would take weeks to cross to the other side, and there's no guarantee we'll find something. Also, there's a chance we connect back to the branch that leads to Sesnanser."

"Well… at least the chance of something coming from this side is very small," Irwin said as he wondered what they should do.

He didn't really want to head back, and going to the other side and sailing around for another month would stretch their supplies.

"You could just go inside for a day, see what's there, and dump those Galubs there," Ambraz grunted from his pocket.

Irwin grimaced, sharing a look with Rindiri. The idea had occurred to him, but somehow, just leaving those Galubs there to die felt worse than killing them during a fight. That would be self-defense, this would be murder. Still, a tiny part of him knew that if it came down to it, he would do it. There was no denying that Doomblade was a danger to everyone around him.

"Say we go inside," he said slowly. "What about the other ships?"

Rindiri shrugged. "We could tow the Galub ship, and with the cold, they would need to stay inside the cabin, meaning there is no risk of them trying to board us. Then Xi'kroak could return by himself."

Irwin thought about it for a bit longer, then nodded. "Let's see what Xi'kroak thinks of this."

He walked to the side of the ship and raised his hand. A flame appeared above it, and he flickered it three times before holding it there and doing it again. It was their predetermined signal that he needed to talk to Xi'kroak.

It didn't take long for a figure to fly away from one of the ships, and a few minutes later, Xi'kroak landed on the deck beside him. The Da'xi's faceplates were tucked closed, but trickles of steam were rising from between.

"Captain Irwin."

"Captain Xi'kroak," Irwin said, raising his hand in greeting. "Can you tell me anything about this?"

The Da'xi shook his head. "No more than Rindiri will have likely shared with you. I did not know of a Glacial Area bordering the Langost Branch, and I have never been to another main branch. All I know is that which the Admiralty has taught us in school. Don't ever enter unless your life depends on it, and go no further than half a day because Da'xi can not survive longer than one."

Irwin wondered what the Admiralty was, and hearing the reference to school again, he sighed. It was just like what Ambraz always pestered him with. The lack of proper schooling.

"You are thinking about using the steam?" Xi'kroak asked.

"Yes. We were talking about towing the Galub ship inside and seeing how far I can make it."

"I would normally advise against it, but the alternative would be to kill the Galubs here and now and return," Xi'kroak said.

Irwin wasn't surprised at how cold Xi'kroak was. He'd learned a bit more about the Da'xi, and they were willing to cooperate with anyone, but as soon as you attacked their ships or people, all bets were off.

"If you decide to do this, I'll have half of our supplies brought here, and then we will return to Eluathar harbor," Xi'kroak said.

Irwin turned back to the ice, staring across from it.

I wish I could just focus on smithing and exploring, he thought. He was getting tired of having to make choices that could get others killed.

Staring at the distant steam, he stretched out his soulcard's power. The massive amount of steam felt like a mass of foreign power to his senses, and as he tried to control it, he immediately knew he was too far. Just touching it drained a chunk of his power.

Pulling back, he focused on his Incandescent Eyes, which, after touching his soulcard, felt oddly cumbersome and unwieldy. Even then, it activated all the same, and he felt the familiar burning sensation in his eyes. It lasted a moment before the empty feeling that showed there was no ambient soulforce vanished.

Thin, translucent waves of soulforce wafted from the sail above him while more came from the ships behind him. Looking up and around, Irwin blinked in surprise. Those sails focused on the ambient soulforce… that's how they worked! So how were they able to work now, with no ambient soulforce? He turned to Xi'kroak and Rindiri, about to ask how that worked and if they could even safely go into the Glacial Area when his breath caught in his throat.

A barely visible, vaporlike soulforce was wafting away from both of them, drifting up and into the sails.

"The sails use our soulforce to work?" he said in surprise. He knew the sails could be overloaded with soulforce somehow, which was what the Galubs had done, but he'd never thought they used his soulforce.

"Only if there's not enough ambient soulforce," Xi'kroak said. "It's why Da'xi can't stay out here too long. Our soulforce is more sensitive than that of Humans and Yuurindi. If we lose too much, we will fall unconscious and eventually turn into Addled."

Irwin frowned. "So, how much soulforce does it cost? How long could I sustain the ship?"

"I-"

A burst of laughter came from Irwin's pocket, silencing Xi'kroak.

"Kid, you could probably sail from one end of the Langost branch to the other with how much you have! The problem isn't the sail. It's that without ambient soulforce, just living here will slowly drain your own soulforce."

"He is right," Xi'kroak said, while Rindiri nodded.

"Of course I am," Ambraz said. "If you don't use your soulcard to manipulate the steam too much, you should be able to remain there for over a week or two at most. If you have to use the steam, it will rapidly drain your soulcard, and with no way of refilling it, you would have one day at the most."

Irwin frowned as he thought of the chunk of soulforce he had just lost. Prodding his soulcard, he realized it wasn't refilling anywhere near as fast as it normally did. Instead, at the speed it was going now, it would take weeks to refill that which he had already used.

He continued staring at the ice as a plan slowly began to form. The only part of it he didn't really like was that it would mean leaving the Galubs deep inside the Glacial Area to die if he didn't find the other side or a place to rest and recover soulforce.

When he was done, he turned to Xi'kroak and Rindiri, who had been waiting calmly. He knew Greldo could hear him, too, which meant everyone who needed to would know the plan.

"I am going inside there and see if we can find the other side or perhaps an unopened portal," he said. "We will put Doomblade on the Galub ship, and you and Greldo need to make sure he doesn't have the other Galubs remove his Dampening Bracelets. We will go inside for a few hours, then you and The Zura'ix leave while I tow the Galub ship inside. Even with his dampening bracelets removed, Doomblade can't stand the cold, so he will be locked in the cabin, unable to do anything," Irwin said slowly, looking at the others to see if they had anything to comment on yet.

Xi'kroak just nodded calmly, so Irwin continued.

"I will sail inside for four days. If we find a portal, we will open it, explore it, and put the Galub inside, taking the ship back with us. That means that until the temperature warms, if it's even possible, and trees grow up to the portal, they will be locked inside with no way to get out. If we reach the other side, we will search for a portal for a week and do the same. If we find the other side but no portal, we will just leave the Galubs there and return here."

Irwin sighed as he reached the worst outcome for the Galubs. "If we don't find either, we will unhook the Galub ship and leave," he said, knowing exactly what that implied.

"Good," Xi'kroak said. "You should not feel bad about this, Captain Irwin. Doomblade is dangerous and would, without hesitation, kill anyone. Leaving him here as a barrier for anyone else is already giving him far more of a chance than he would get from us."

Irwin didn't respond but instead looked at the distant ice.

"Can you prepare the Galub's ship and warn me when you are ready?" he asked.

"I will go right away. My crew is very ready to leave," Xi'kroak said as he walked to the railing.

Irwin watched him fly back.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Rindiri sighed. "There is never a way to deal with enemies that are dangerous that doesn't involve someone getting hurt. Doomblade can't be trusted, and I have heard nothing good about Galubs in general. Unlike the history of Imps and Frozir, Galubs are warlike, power-hungry, and without any remorse."

Irwin nodded.

“Greldo, can you prepare Doomblade? We need to get him to the Galub ship as soon as Xi'kroak is ready."

"Got it," a dull, muted shout came from the cabin.

It took longer than Irwin had imagined before Xi'kroak's crew was back on their own ship, and the Galub ship was tied to them. When he finally got the signal from Xi'kroak, he was very much ready to move.

"Greldo, it's time," he said.

A few moments later, the door opened, and Doomblade was shoved outside, growling angrily.

"Come on! It's cold here, and-" Doomblade growled, only to fall quiet as he saw the frozen mountains in the distance. "What is that!'

Irwin didn't answer but walked towards the Galub.

"You are going to be brought to your own ship, where Greldo and Xi'kroak will make sure you don't do anything stupid. Then we are going to search for the other side and for portals," he said. "You will be allowed inside the cabin."

Doomblade's eyes widened, and he turned to Irwin with a frown.

"Are you going to tow me inside and leave me there to die?"

"No. We are going to find you a world like we said or leave you on the opposite side to do so on your own," Irwin said.

Doomblade looked at him, eyes narrow. Irwin could see the disbelief, but the Galub didn't say anything.

"Greldo?" he asked.

"I'll teleport him there. It's just a short distance," Greldo said, grabbing Doomblade's arm. He nodded at Irwin before vanishing.

Irwin turned to the ship, which was now close enough behind them to see the details, and saw Greldo and Doomblade appear on the deck. Xi'kroak was already in the cabin, and Irwin waited till Greldo and Doomblade entered before turning to Rindiri.

"Alright, go inside. I'll take the wheel. If I need any help, I'll create warm steam from the door here."

"Be careful of the tips of the mountains," Rindiri said before walking away and disappearing inside the cabin.

Alone, Irwin took a final look at the other ship before putting his hands on the steering wheel and placing his hand on the center. The ship shuddered before moving forward toward the icy mountains.

The temperature continued plummeting, and when Irwin finally reached the rough line where the frozen wasteland began rising up to icy hills, his skin was slightly taut from the cold. Even his internal flame wasn't able to keep the cold from becoming painful.

The twitch of pain caused a distant memory to surface with a surprising clarity. This was cold as when he'd run from the cold when Numilli had begun draining all of the surrounding soulforce to force her heartcard up to a soulcard.

He hadn't thought of Numilli or what she'd done in a long time.

How did she do that, he thought as he hesitated if he should pull some hot steam around him to resist the cold.

In the end, he didn't, afraid he'd use soulforce he couldn't recover. He was still using his Incandescent Eyes to try to find any sign of an unopened portal, which meant his soulforce was already draining slowly. Luckily, his handcard didn't require much energy.

He focused on navigating forward, sometimes having to fly around a massive mountain whose tip disappeared into steam that hung above. Snow, then hail, clattered on the deck constantly, and within moments, a thin layer covered his head and shoulders. A thicker layer covered the deck, and he wondered if he would have to clear that off every so often.

Hours passed, and when he guessed they had traveled into the over half a day, he looked over his shoulder. The Galub ship was hard to see through the curtain of snow and hail, while Xi'kroak's ship was no more than a distant shadow.

"Greldo, it's time," he shouted over the constant ticking, knowing his friend would easily hear him.

Nothing happened on the Galub ship, but a short while later, Greldo appeared in the shadow of the sail. He sucked in a deep breath while Irwin saw the hairs on his face and hands rapidly turn frosty white and ice.

"Go inside!"

"I'm fine," Greldo stuttered, but he slowly headed towards the ladder. "I brought Xi'kroak back, and they are leaving now. Doomblade was very annoying."

"Tell me later," Irwin said as he waved him away.

Greldo seemed more than happy with that as he turned and ran towards the cabin. He waved before vanishing inside, leaving Irwin alone again. Behind him, The Zura'ix was turning around, rising above a few icy mountain tips before speeding away. It didn't take long before it vanished from view.

Now, let's hope we find a portal, Irwin thought as he squared his shoulders and focused on navigating through the icy mountains.