Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Greldo looked at Ulaan, who was wringing his hands and staring at the table.

"You know it's the best for you and your people," he said, leaning against the wall and trying to project an outward calm.

Ulaan let out a long sigh. "I know, but it's going to get a lot of people killed."

"There's little else I can think of," Greldo said. "If we do it right, you will get their ship, which should give you the ability to get more food here."

If you actually mean what you are saying and projecting, he thought.

He was pretty sure Ulaan wanted to help the other merchants and people stranded here, but who knew what the man would do if he got The Ruby's Revenge.

Ulaan looked up, then out of the window, and was quiet for a while. Then he nodded.

"I'll do it. We will create a distraction," he said before staring at Greldo.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "You are sure that your captain will help?"

Greldo nodded, hoping he wasn't putting a bit too much on his friend's shoulders.

"Between him and me, we should be fine," he said. "You just make sure The Ruby's Revenge doesn't manage to get out of the harbor when we appear."

"I'll do my best," Ulaan said.

"Then I'll head back now, and we will return as we can," Greldo said.

He stepped into the shadows but remained where he was, watching Ulaan. He wanted to see what the other would do.

Ulaan remained sitting for almost ten minutes before he got up and began pacing the room. It took another while til Hadirun returned, facing through the wall.

Greldo stared at the thin Yuurindi as he hid behind a closet.

"It took a while, but the others agree," Hadirun said as he slumped down on the chair and rubbed his eyes.

"A shadowwalker was just here," Ulaan said without any preamble.

Hadirun jumped up and began looking around. Greldo hid deeper into the shadows, and he was ready to act when Hadirun's gaze moved over him. There was no reaction, no widening of the pupils or tensing.

Either he can't see me, or he isn't someone to gamble with, Greldo thought.

"He might still be here," Hadirun hissed. "How are you still alive? What did he say Zirt wanted?"

Ulaan shook his head. "He wasn't from that ship."

Then he quickly told Hadirun what had happened, including everything Greldo had said.

"So. What do you think?" he finally said.

Hadirun had his head in his hands and then snorted.

"I think we are being used," he said. "But I also think you made the right call. What else can we do?"

"We could sell them out to Zirt," Ulaan said, causing Greldo to tense.

"Bah, we both know what that would lead to," Hadirun hissed. "Even if we'd survive, we'd be worse off than we are now. No, this is the best we can hope for. If we can get their ship, we can go to one of the other exit-portals, perhaps even find one that will allow us on the world. Then we can bring everyone over slowly while returning with food."

Ulaan snorted. "That is if we survive this."

Hadirun leaned back. "They have Nralt, but from what I've heard, he is insane now. Still, he is said to have four soulcards, one speed-based and with increased agility and strength. They also have one, three soul-carded, and a few two. If you and I can keep Nralt busy, the others should be able to hold up the rest. Worst case scenario, we flee and hope the shadowwalker and the Captain of that ship come to help us. They didn't give a name?"

"None," Ulaan said.

Greldo remained for another bit until the two started talking tactics. Then he slowly passed through a shadowy crack and out of the building to vanish in the perpetual shadows of the town.

--

Irwin hummed as he struck the final blow to the card. Looking around, he saw Montain stand to the side, ready to take a shift.

I'll do one more card, he thought.

He took the card from Ambraz's back and inspected it. The soulforce resonance from the card was strong, but it also felt on the edge of- as if it could snap or break at any moment. Another card reforged so far beyond what it should do that he knew there was no way he could change it any further.

Still, it should allow someone to graft branches of one tree to another. He hoped someone could use it to take fruit-bearing branches and put them all across the large flora around the portal.

He pocketed the card and was about to put another on when Hou'dor spoke.

"Shadowwalker through the barrier!"

Irwin looked up and around, ready to act if he had to. Then he saw Greldo appear on the deck beside him and let out a slow sigh of relief.

"Why do you look surprised I made it back?" Greldo said as he stifled a yawn.

Irwin grinned as he walked over to his friend.

"Good to see you made it back safely," he said, unable to keep the relief he felt from his voice. "So, how was it?"

Before his friend could even respond, Zender came rushing up the stairs.

"Greldo, you're back!" he shouted as he burst out of the cabin door and ran towards them.

Greldo grunted, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's like you all thought something would happen to me!"

Irwin didn't respond, seeing the joy in Greldo's eyes as he greeted the young Yuurindi.

"What did you see? Can we go this way?" Zender asked excitedly.

Greldo's face fell. "Yes, but how about you get the others while I talk with the captain quickly?"

More troubles, Irwin thought, recognizing the look in his friend's eyes.

Zender looked at him, and he nodded and watched Zender run away.

"The Ruby's Revenge made it to Sesnanser," Greldo said.

Irwin hissed, then quietly listened as his friend told him everything that had happened. Halfway through, Ambraz changed out of his working shape and landed on his shoulder while Montain joined them.

"So… what will we do?" Montain asked, eyes gleaming.

Irwin thought for a moment before making up his mind. Boohm, Hind, and the others were walking out on deck.

"We will talk with the others, then prepare to head for Sesnanser," he said, turning to Greldo. "Grab some food, try and rest, and get ready to head back."

Greldo nodded, yawned, then vanished into the shadows.

"So, how is it?" Esther asked, stepping forward.

"It seems we are going to have to fight with a Currant Hunter," Irwin said as he focused on Sibil.

The shadowwalker's eyes widened as she looked at him with a sudden worry.

"The Ruby's Revenge reached Sesnanser," Irwin said. "They are waiting for us and trying to get the people that are there to join in attacking us."

"We should take another route," Sibil said quickly.

Irwin shook his head. "Greldo spoke with the one in charge of Sesnanser, a merchant called Ulaan. They came to a deal. Ulaan and his men will create a diversion so we can move in on the harbor without The Ruby's Revenge attacking us. That should give us the time to reach it, at which point we will attack the ship."

As he spoke, Irwin kept an eye on Sibil. He needed to know how she would react. Greldo had said that she had no lingering sympathies for her old crew, but he couldn't risk her warning them.

"Will you have any trouble with that?" he asked.

The others turned to Sibil, who smiled ruefully.

"No. But… not all on that ship are murderers like Nralt and Zirt. There are a few that joined when I did, so…"

"We aren't just going to kill them all," Irwin said, feeling a headache crop up. Was this because of how he had handled those raiders? Did she think he was just going to kill anyone like that?

"So, what are we going to do?" Esther asked.

"Kick their ass and take their ship," Boohm shouted, grinning widely.

Irwin snorted, then turned to the others, looking at Esther, Montain, Seleen, Dahlia, and Sibil. "I think it's time we have a serious conversation about what our cards can do."

"It's not normal to share too much-" Seleen began.

Esther rolled her eyes and interrupted her. "All three of us only have one soulcard, and none are fully combat-related. The only thing I can bring to a fight is above-average strength."

Montain shrugged at Seleen and raised his hand, creating a floating orb of stone crackling with blueish lightning. "I can throw these things and cause some damage, and I've been trained in hand-to-hand combat," he said.

He seemed to want to continue, then hesitated before looking at Irwin and Hind with a grin.

"I'm also pretty strong, and before I met you and Hind, I hadn't met anyone with less than four cards that were as strong as I was."

Seleen snorted, thudding her brother's shoulder hard enough to cause him to take a step to the side.

"Show off… Anyway, I'm able to fly," she said as she began hovering a foot in the air.

Irwin still found it odd to see a brawny rock-like being floating, but he didn't say anything.

"Beyond this, I'm pretty fast," she continued, moving across the ship like a blur before coming back.

When she didn't continue, Esther sniffed. "She can also block out any attempts to manipulate her mind."

Seleen crossed her arms, glaring at her sister. "That's supposed to be my secret!"

"And he needs to know if we encounter someone that attacks like that so he knows who to send in," Esther replied.

"Thanks," Irwin said before looking around. "I'm sure nobody here will share your secret."

I hope, he added.

Seleen pursed her lips but didn't react, and everyone turned to Dahlia, who was quiet, before walking a few steps away. Although still almost as tall and muscular as Greldo, she looked small compared to her present company.

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With a flash, her entire body was coated in a thick but formfitting layer of armor while she grew a foot in height. A smooth helm covered her head, the faceplate a flat black sheet that gleamed slightly.

Boohm whistled appreciatively, but Dahlia didn't react. Instead, she raised her hands, and dark energy emanated from them slowly began pulsing with a purplish hue.

"My armor will keep me safe in most situations, including inside the storm," she said, her voice muffled. "My cards allow me to draw energy from others, and I'm good with most weaponry."

"Any limits to that?" Irwin asked, surprised by the reveal. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but not something like that.

"If someone has a card above ruby rank, it will be less effective," Dahlia said as the armor vanished. "Also, if someone has more soulcards than me, the effect will be slow."

Irwin nodded before he stepped back and raised his hand, summoning a massive hammer coated in flame.

"Well, you have all seen what I can do," he said. "I can create this and resize it as I need, and I'm able to use kinetic energy."

He didn't tell them about his steam or the fact that his fire wasn't a normal fire. He didn't expect either to be of any use, and he preferred keeping some tricks to himself.

Which the others probably did as well, he thought, looking at his crew.

Boohm, Earila, and Zender showed their abilities, followed by Hind.

The others seemed suitablely surprised, and impressed, but Irwin knew that with many of them having emerald or ruby soulcards, they likely had also had some abilities they kept to themselves.

When everyone had shared as much as they wanted, he turned to Montain.

"Can you start? We need to get the ambient soulforce up as high as we can."

"Sure! Just let me know what you expect of me later," Montain said as he walked away a bit. His Ganvil, Dar'malder, which had been quietly watching, dropped on the deck, and a moment later, the slow pounding of Montain's hammer echoed across the deck.

"Alright, let's plan out how we do this then," Irwin said. "We will be setting out as soon as we can."

As soon as we could, it ended up being almost an hour later, with Earila behind the wheel and Irwin and Montain reforging cards at a slow pace.

Hou'dor and the other rank-five's kept the barrier strong enough for the wind to have only a little effect on the ship, making it easy for Earila to keep it on course.

Soon after they left, Greldo headed back out to Sesnaner to prepare Ulaan.

As he saw his friend vanish, Irwin hoped they wouldn't be running into any other unexpected surprises.

--

Pain… Why wouldn't it stop? Flashes of anger constantly raged through his mind- even the usual solace of his soulscape was nothing but a constant reminder of everything he hated.

Perhaps I waited too long.

The thought slithered up through the mire of muck and bubbling anger that had a stranglehold on his thoughts.

An image of Darkix's bloody body overlaid the rubble-filled street he walked through. His anger roared a furious approval, but deep within his haunted mind, Nralt felt a shiver of discomfort.

Why…

He couldn't finish the thought as he picked up Zirt's shuffles behind him. Just thinking about the other Emnonriz made him furious. They were all against him, trying to kill him, and Zirt was the worst. If he wasn't so weak, he'd have killed him. His anger soared, begging him to give in, and Nralt stopped, frowning.

Yes. Why would he let the dangerous kin live?

He glanced over his shoulder, and he saw Zirt freeze- a look of pure terror in his eyes.

No. He is weak.

He turned around and continued walking to see the merchant, that thought himself the ruler of this shithole. What was his name again?

Ulaan.

Nralt held back a roar of rage. It wouldn't do to scare the man away. No, he needed to force him to give his supplies. There was no way he hadn't hidden enough for himself, and those would do nicely. After that, he'd help them set up an ambush for-

"Thievery," he hissed as he recalled the shadowwalker. First, he'd distracted them, got him to destroy some buildings so his accomplices could steal the maps, and after that, as he pursued that one, that damnable shadowwalker had returned to steal his cards. HIS, cards.

"Kill them, kill them all," Nralt muttered as the world turned a shade of red.

--

"They are coming!" Hadirun said, rushing into Ulaan's room.

Ulaan looked up, face growing pale.

"Already?" he whispered, looking at Hadirun in horrified disbelief. "How many?"

"Just Nralt and Zirt," Hadirun said, shaking his head. "But Nralt, he… he's even more insane than we heard. He actually killed someone on his ship, the second strongest from what I could tell."

"That's good, right?" Ulaan asked.

Hadirun took a deep breath, then shook his head. "I'm not sure. He was fast, Ulaan. Faster than he should be. I think he has a ruby rank soulcard dedicated solely to movement speed…"

"By Yilda, if that's true," he whispered. "We won't stand a chance!"

"Maybe, but we have to try. Even if we would want to do as he says, it's not going to work. He is coming here for blood," Hadirun hissed. "I've got the others ready downstairs. Get ready. I need you to hold him long enough for me to try and blend with his flesh and hope I can keep him pinned down. The others will deal with Zirt."

Ulaan got up, glared at his leg, then nodded.

"Alright, let's hope that the shadowwalker and his ship arrive soon. Otherwise, there won't be anything left when he does."

--

Greldo shot forward through the storm, then crossed the barrier. As soon as he entered the reasonably calm area around Sesnanser, he knew things weren't going as he'd planned.

Raging flames covered parts of the town, while dull explosions shattered a roof near where he'd spoken with Ulaan. The Ruby's Revenge was still anchored, which was at least something. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Dammit! he cursed, speeding up. He contemplated teleporting to the shadows, then held back. He would probably need the energy later.

It took him only moments to reach the town, where he found people running everywhere, heading for the edges and away from the center of destruction.

Did they attack early? he thought, moving through the shadows toward the center of the destruction.

When he reached the location where the inn had been, all he found was a mass of stone and wooden debris littering an area with nothing of the previous building left standing. Bodies lay strewn everywhere, and only two people still stood upright.

Ulaan stood, leaning on a bit of rubble, his face pale and one dimly glowing hand raised and pointed at Nralt. He was shaking, his face pale, and blood was dripping from his nose. Still, his jaw was set as the glow around his hand continued to increase slowly, seeming to build up to something.

Nralt stood a few dozen steps away, his arms stretched, and his too-wide mouth stretched into a snarl. His eyes were glowing as he shivered, and as Greldo watched, he took a shaky step forward.

Greldo almost moved right then and there, and only Coal's warning made him stop. He focused on a nearby building, finding Zirt hidden within and peeking around the doorframe.

Why isn't he helping? Greldo thought, backing up a bit more.

Perhaps he was hiding from someone else? He looked around in search of Hadirun, finding no sign of the pale Yuurindi. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't around.

Perhaps he's hiding from Hadirun?

A soft humming began, and he focused back on Nralt, who had moved one arm down, now holding a long, deadly-looking sword. A slimy, orange liquid began leaking from it as the Captain continued to force it to point at Ulaan. The merchant leader didn't react, still keeping his shaky hand pointed at the other, the torch-like glow still increasing.

Need to figure out what they are doing, Greldo thought. If he moved and got in the way of either of their attacks, he probably wouldn't enjoy himself.

He glanced at Zirt, but the other Emnonriz was still hiding in the house. A nasty grin was on his face, his eyes gleaming as he seemed unable to keep his eyes from the scene. Greldo almost got the feeling he was waiting for something.

He hesitated, then began circling the area, heading towards Zirt. If he could take the first mate out quickly, that would save him some trouble. As he moved, he kept an eye on Nralt.

The Captain had managed to almost get the sword to point at Ulaan, but something seemed to be holding him from the last bit. He let out a snarl and finally jerked to point at Ulaan, and a gurgle came from his throat, like someone being strangled trying to laugh.

The orange liquid flowed up to the point in the blink of an eye, creating a fist-sized sphere. As it launched forward, the muscles on Nralt's arm rippled horrifyingly, and his arm jerked sideways just as the orange blob shot through the air, missing Ulaan and instead striking a building to the side. The building blasted apart amidst a massive explosion that hurled debris through the air, which pelted the nearby roofs and the rubble-filled square.

Greldo felt his skin shiver as he thought about what he'd seen, replaying the way Nralt's muscles and skin had moved. I had looked like fingers poking them from the inside.

Is Hadirun inside him?

An angry roar came from Nralt, and he stopped moving forward, moving his hands together instead. All of his movements were slow and jerky, and now that he knew what to look for, Greldo saw the muscles in his neck and jawline rippling oddly.

A sense of unease came from Coal, which he completely agreed with. He asked his friend to surround the back of the building with a few clones, getting a confused question.

This is a great opportunity, he thought to his friend as he moved through the shadows and appeared inside the building Zirt was hiding in. The first-mate was still staring at the scene, an odd hope in his eyes.

Coal moved slowly to the shadow behind and left while Greldo did the same to the right. He stared at the first-mate, feeling no issue with what he was about to do.

Kill him, he hissed, moving as one with Coal.

--

Zirt couldn't believe his luck. Who could have known there was someone with a skincrawler-card here!?

Come on, kill him already! he thought, staring at the merchant.

He had no idea what kind of cards he had, but his senses told him the silvery light was powerful, already at a level that he'd have to dodge it himself.

If he kills him here, I can just leave before-

A desire to kill appeared behind him, and only his well-honed instincts saved him as he dodged forward, crashing through the door and onto the ground before it while snaps came from behind. He didn't need to see to know what had happened, and he ran, ignoring the two -or technically three- people standing on the rubble.

I hate shadowwalkers, he thought, trying to sense the emotions that would tell him the next attack was imme-

He forced himself to drop down just as something slashed across his back, ripping through his armor's top layer, only to be stopped by the thin metal shirt below.

"Fucking, little-" he began as he tried to roll to the side when a massive weight thudded onto his back, pinning him to the ground.

A sickening and slimy sensation came as something wrapped around his neck. His mind moved as fast as it ever had, coming up with a plan.

"Don't kill me," he shouted as he felt the pressure increase. "I can tell you who is behind abducting the smiths!"

For a moment, the pressure continued, then it stopped.

"Tell me," a cold, growly voice said behind him.

"You have to let me leave first," Zirt hissed. "Then I'll tell you!"

The pressure increased again, and the voice came closer to Zirt's head.

"I'm pretty sure I can find someone else to tell us."

Zirt felt his heart skip a beat. He was so close, was this seriously how he was going to end!

"No, wait! I'll tell you, just don't kill-"

The presure vanished while his back heated up a something bright flashed over his head. A dull boom rattled his teeth and he looked up to see the building behind them had been turned to rubble. Not hesitating one bit, he got up and began running again.

I'll get you for this, he thought, burning the voice in his mind.

Dashing through a half-collapsed building, he jumped out the other end, freezing in his tracks. A dozen black shadowy hounds, each large enough to look him in the eye, stood before him. He sensed zero emotions from them, and he backed up a step only to bump into something soft and cold.

He barely managed a scream as massive maws tore him to pieces.

--

Greldo thanked Coal as he rushed towards Ulaan. The small merchant had crumpled to the ground, his arm a mess of flesh and bone, while Nralt was standing a few steps away, shivering and shuddering.

Greldo appeared beside Ulaan and instantly knew whatever the merchant had wanted to do wasn't going to happen. Blood was flowing from his nose and mouth, and his eyes were fluttering open and closed.

"Kill…. Killl…”

Greldo froze, looking up to see Nralt breathing raggedy. He was moving in bursts of rapid movement while scratching at his chest, the jerkin covering it reduced to strips of thick cloth and leather. With a starling screech, he suddenly punctured his own chest before ripping something from it and tossing it aside.

Greldo felt his stomach clench as he watched a bit of flesh squirming on the ground while Nralt doubled over and made a gagging sound. Then he vomited up a pile of goo, which splashed on the ground before him like thick ooze in a swamp. It lay there for only a few moments before quickly reshaping itself into Hadirun. The Yuurindi was covered in deep wounds, not unlike those on Nralt.

A peel of ragged laughter rose from Nralt as they moved forward like a blur.

Damnit, he's turning into an Addled! How, why-

Greldo shoved his confused worries away and stepped out of the shadows, grabbed Ulaan, and yanked him back inside with him. There was no way of telling if the man would survive it, but he was definitely not going to survive here.

"Shadowwalker! Vile! Repulsive! I'll rip your throat out!" Nralt screamed as he dashed around, moving around almost as if he were teleporting.

Not right now, at least, Greldo thought.

Not sure what to do, he rose and looked around for the most distant building he could find while ignoring Nralt rampaging around. He spotted one not too far away and zipped through the shadows, away from the rampaging crazed monster.

You better get here fast, Irwin!

--

Irwin moved to the prow as he saw the distant whole corridor approach. The chaotic soulforce was running rampage around, making it hard for him to see anything other than the faint outlines of the town.

"Get ready!" he shouted, turning to Hou'dor. "Ready?"

"As ready as can be," Hou'dor grunted. "Just try and get them before they start beating the shield like a drum."

Drum… the image of his tiny nephew played through Irwin's mind, but he quickly pushed it away as he focused on the incoming barrier.

"If I have to, I'll teleport aboard and blow up the ship," he said.

Or try to.

As they passed through the barrier, the black, billowing storm- laced with multi-colored, but pre-dominantly purple soulforce- the ragged harbor of Sensanser appeared. Fires ran rampant all across its central area while a building exploded in a purplish ball of energy. A raging ball of soulforce was rushing through that area of town, moving so fast it seemed like it was teleporting.

"What…" Irwin muttered, and then his eye fell on The Ruby's Revenge, which was still there. "What is going on?"

As they closed in on the town, he saw hasty movements aboard the Ruby's Revenge. He was about to call out that they would move when Hou'dor and Sibil shouted 'shadowwalker' at the same time.

Greldo thudded on the deck together with a bleeding figure.

"Boohm, he needs healing!" Greldo shouted before anyone could speak. Then he turned to Irwin. "Zirt is dead, Nralt is becoming an Addled, and he's raging through town, killing everyone! We need to take over the ship and then get rid of him!"

Irwin blinked, then took a deep breath.

"Sibil, get ready to bring Montain to that ship. Greldo, follow me, but stay in the shadows unless I need help!!"

Then he jumped up with a burst of kinetic energy, rocking the ship before teleporting along a soundwave heading towards the Ruby's Revenge.