Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

"I'll be fine," Irwin said as he stood beside Scintilla in the tiny sloop.

Crumblecrag was far below them, and a glance down saw the few tiny dots that were his friends and family, seemingly unmoving right below them.

"If that's true, why can't I follow you?" she asked.

"Because you can't survive without air," Irwin said, not for the first time.

Scintilla sniffed, then glared at Greldo. "You better keep him alive!"

Irwin hugged her again while she muttered to him. "This moon is perfectly good. Why should we risk going all the way there just to find something that might not be there?"

Irwin didn't answer, as he knew she didn't want him to. They had discussed this for days, ever since Dahlia had said she remembered her grandfather telling her that multiple moons usually orbited a gas giant.

"Don't worry, we will be fine," Greldo said as he looked up with gleaming eyes. "I'm ready!"

Irwin pulled his friend into his soulscape, feeling the slight imbalance it created. With the rest he'd had over the last few weeks, he knew he could hold him in there for weeks, if not longer.

"Make sure you find out how much faster the time dilation goes up there," Helm said from the front of the ship.

Irwin nodded, turning to Scintill and giving her a quick hug.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said.

Scintilla rolled her eyes. "Very funny! Just don't do anything stupid."

Irwin stepped on the sloop’s edge and looked up.

"Who, me? Never!" he shouted the last bit and shot along the soundwaves up to the distant gas giant.

Within moments, he was thousands of feet away, and every time he reappeared, he felt the soulforce turn more chaotic and denser. With this increase in density, the gas that made up the atmosphere turned thick, and although Irwin could still breathe it, it took more effort.

The best thing, though, was that his speed continued to increase.

Sound goes faster in some places than others, Irwin thought, as he remembered moving through the sea on Igniz.

Every time he appeared, he tossed a pebble that he'd collected in his soulscape down, checking on them as he went further up. Soon, it became evident that the time dilation was still increasing, as when he tossed the twentieth pebble, the first ten seemed to be hanging motionlessly in the sky.

'This feels pretty insane, 'he said. 'If we can find a place in this time dilation to live, we could stay here for a hundred years!'

'The chances of that are tiny. Even if we find more moons, they will be far out, and thus, the time dilation there will be more like what we found on the other moon.'

Irwin sighed, knowing Ambraz was right. Besides, was he really interested in staying here for a hundred years, gathering strength? He would miss his mother and brother, and when he finally returned, he'd be so much different.

He continued onward, and eventually, he came across what Helm had told him would happen. The speed at which he fell back when he appeared began slowing down.

'We are almost there!'

After another few bursts, the sensation slowed even more. Finally, he was almost hovering in the gaseous cloud. After a few minutes, Ambraz joined him, and they both hovered there, looking down at Crumblecrag. Greldo remained inside his soulscape, as Irwin had no idea if he could survive, breathing the odd stuff around them.

"How much longer till we reach the first shadows?" Irwin asked, surprised at how quiet it was up here.

"Probably an hour or so. We are already falling toward the gas giant, and we will soon start speeding up," Ambraz said.

"Falling is that much faster?" Irwin muttered, noting that Ambraz was right. They had begun falling, and their speed was increasing pretty fast.

"Yes," Ambraz said.

Irwin sighed, and he continued looking around as the speed with which he was falling returned to what it had been before. It felt odd, as now it felt like Crumblecrag was up while before it had been down. Ambraz had moved back into his soulscape, now talking to Irwin's otherself.

An hour later, he was hurtling down, and the moon above had turned tiny. The shadows were rapidly approaching, and he warned Greldo again before pulling him out as soon as they hit the shadows. Greldo grabbed him, and a moment later, the sense of movement stopped. They hung in the shadowrealm for a few moments before Greldo began pulling them through. As fast as he had been falling, it was nothing compared to the speed of Greldo shooting through the shadow realm, and soon, their surroundings were nothing but billowing clouds and expansive planes.

They continued until they reached the perpetual shadow of the largest ring, at which point Greldo shot along its edge, rushing forward so fast Irwin wondered how long it would take him to circle the entire gas giant. Ambraz and Dahlia had estimated that it would take a week, but as they sped along and he saw the stars, rings, and what looked like a debris field pass by, he wondered about that.

Half a day later, he was bored out of his skull and doubly glad for his other self. He'd put most of his focus on that part of himself and was playing around with his soulstrum guitar. He was slightly distracted as he thought about his kids and Scintilla, knowing for them only a short time had passed.

He was almost shocked when he felt his otherself ejected from the shadow realm.

"What's going on?" he roared as they began falling down, hanging on to Greldo's arms.

"Look!" Greldo shouted, staring in the distance.

Irwin followed his gaze and was stunned to see two moons, tiny due to how far they were, hanging in the distance. One was dark blue with pale silvery bands, while the other looked like a brown-green marble.

"Get us as close as you can!" Irwin shouted, and a moment later, they were back in the shadow realm.

'Any idea if those are better than Crumblecrag?' he asked Ambraz, knowing he would have been able to pick up most of the same that he saw.

'The blue one is probably icy and cold,' Ambraz said. 'But the other one. It was partially green. Perhaps those are forests or jungles?'

Irwin grinned, grabbing his guitar and wondering how long it would take them to reach it.

---

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Captain?" Youritz asked in a hushed voice.

Rindiri didn't bother answering. It didn't matter what she thought. Scander had ordered them to be ready, and so they were. Thinking about the man who had fathered her last clutch, she shivered. Over the last few months of battling it out with the Currant Hunters, he had begun changing. Ever since he'd found the trapped smiths, he had gotten the idea in his head to free them so they could work for him in gratitude. The idea of having a few dozen smiths reforging his cards had made him start making increasingly dangerous decisions. When he'd learned that there would be some type of feast for the Currant Hunter captains, drawing all away from the warehouse, he had been unwilling to let go of what he saw as the perfect opportunity.

"The geezer is right," Dagger whispered as she appeared beside them from the shadows. "This is stupid, and you know it. If we wanted to commit suicide, we could just go and try to find…"

Rindiri glanced at Dagger, causing her to fall silent as she realized what she'd almost said. A quick glance around the shadowy alley showed no reaction. She hoped that none of the others hiding there had heard Dagger's whispered remark. The complaints she didn't mind, and if someone asked, could defend, but if they told anyone that one of the ships might be drifting out there…

Not that it's likely to be in any condition to fly, she thought.

A few minutes later, a dark, hooded figure appeared, quickly signaling that he was with them.

The figure closed in, then stopped, and a gritty voice came from the cloak.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Attack as soon as the distraction starts. You are to take control of the cellar, then work your way back up."

Rindiri held back the desire to strangle the man for his idiotic ideas and nodded.

As soon as the man was gone, she turned to the others huddled in the alley behind her.

"Get ready. Youritz and I will go in first while Dagger moves around to take care of any sneaks. The rest of you try to stick together and stick to what we practiced. If you don't do anything stupid, perhaps we can all get out of this alive."

All she got in reply was a host of worried and angry purple eyes looking at her.

At least if they are angry, they aren't scared out of their mind, Rindiri thought.

How Scander thought it was a good idea to send her crew of untrained Yuurindi was beyond her. He knew they would likely take heavy casualties! If he hadn't allowed her to keep the younger females on The Sonata, she might have tried fleeing, no matter the outcome. Now, all she could do was make the best out of it, though it pained her. She expected this from the other species, who treated her kind as cannon fodder, not from one of her own.

She turned to Youritz, nodded, and then snuck toward the building on the other side of the alleyway. It was a dark, empty-looking warehouse, but she knew it was far from abandoned. When she reached the door, she waited for Youritz to get into position before raising her hand. She hesitated for a moment, then steeled herself. If she didn't follow orders, Scander was likely to take his fury out on her crew.

She knocked, wondering how many would survive the attack.

--

Scander strode ahead of his group, his mood growing ever better. They were heading to the hidden compounds of the Currant Hunters, and inside, there would be his price.

"It feels like a bad idea to send that old woman and her rabble to the side entrance."

Scander felt his mood plummet, and he glared at the older man walking beside him. With gleaming gray hair, eyes like glowing coals, and skin of burnished steel, most people thought he was some unknown type of Loydin, but Scander knew better. He was a human and one of the oldest members of his crew.

"It's the least important entrance, Faal," he snapped.

"It's also the only easy escape if something goes wrong," Faal replied, staring at him.

Scander held his righthand's glare for a few seconds, slowly feeling his anger grow. Just when he was ready to take Faal's behavior as a challenge and act on it, the man glanced ahead.

"Just pointing out that it feels stupid," Faal said.

Scander didn't react, though his good mood was gone as they stepped through the final alley and into the small open area. Ahead of him was the warehouse's main entrance. Deep down, he knew why he did it, and he knew Faal knew, too.

"Open the way," he snapped, glaring at the likely reinforced metal double doors.

Faal rushed forward, and Scander watched to see if there would be any reaction. According to all his planning, there should be only a minimum crew there right now, with all of the captains far on the other side of the district. There might be one or two lieutenants left, but he knew they could take those.

When this is over, I'll show you who isn't worthy to be a captain, he thought, anger flooding him as he recalled the faces of the Currant Hunter captains.

--

The wall exploded out beside Rindiri, and she only just managed to raise her arm to block the splinters from blinding her. An angry shout came from the guards who stepped out of the door, and she quickly backed up.

"What are those idiots doing up there?" Youritz hissed, stepping forward and blocking the thrust of the guard. He took a step and raised his blade to block four pin-like bolts that appeared out of nowhere, and the guard took advantage, moving after him. Two more followed him.

"There's more behind us!"

Rindiri didn't answer Dagger's cry but focused on her oldest card. The ground below the guards that were fighting rippled, and short tendrils of wood wrapped around their feet. Of balance, and before they could respond, Youritz moved like a blur, his long rapier slicing through necks while dodging around defensively raised weapons to pierce anything it could.

Within moments, the guards were down, and Rindiri thanked Yilda that there were only handcarded guards.

Turning around, she saw two guards at the back of their group fighting four of the Yuurindi she had brought. One was already on the ground, and from the angle of his neck, she knew he wouldn't get up. She focused on the ground below the guards, then cursed as she ran close enough for her skill to reach it. When she did, tendrils moved from the wood, grabbing the guard's boots, while more moved from the door and held onto their hands. One immediately ripped free, but Rindiri didn't care. Her card wasn't a true binding card. It was meant as a distraction, and it proved as much as Dagger seemed to flow from the wall and slam her namesake into the guard's neck.

A few moments later, the room was quiet, except for the hard breathing of what remained of her crew.

"They lied," Dagger snapped as she walked up. "These weren't a handful of carded! There were dozens and two soulcarded!"

Rindiri didn't respond but turned to where the remnants of her crew stood behind her. Barely half remained, and those were all injured. Still, she only saw the resolve in the purple eyes that looked back at her, and she felt a wave of pride. They had fought well for the little training they had. Then her eyes fell on two of her crew, one missing an arm, the other looking around dully, a bleeding gash where his eyes should be. A sinking feeling almost made her shout in anger, but she drowned it out. Her people had been through worse, and this was not the time to act out. All that mattered was to get out of here, hopefully with the smiths.

"If there were this many in here, we have no idea what is going on up there," she said, glancing at the ceiling.

"So? What do we do?" Dagger snapped.

"Calm down," Rindiri growled, feeling the passive ability of her second soulcard to react to her emotions.

"We are going down into the cellars," she said, pointing at the staircase in the center of the room.

"What? Are you crazy? There is no way out of there-"

"That we know," Rindiri said, interrupting Dagger. "The way back is closed; the way up is suicide."

"We could go further in," Dagger said, pointing at the door the guards had just come from.

"We have no idea what is there," Rindiri said as she began preparing to head down.

"It can't be worse than going down there and being stuck," Dagger snapped.

"You are forgetting about something," Rindiri said, slowly feeling her calm return. She saw the light go off in Youritz's eyes, but Dagger just glared.

"The smiths will have cards," Rindiri said. "They can either fight or get us out of there."

"That's if they are even there," Dagger muttered, but Rindiri saw her eyes turn to the stairs.

"Everyone, get ready," Rindiri said, turning to Youritz. "You take the lead; I'll be right behind you."

Youritz nodded and calmly walked to the staircase. It led down into the dark depths, and looking at it, Rindiri hoped it wasn't another trick.

A massive explosion caused dust to drop from the ceiling while the wood all around them creaked dangerously. Rindiri wondered for a moment if Scander would make it out alive, and part of her hoped he didn't. She lingered in her anger for a moment, then she pushed it down. If he died, that meant she had nobody to rely on but herself, and she wasn't sure she could keep The Sonata out of greedy hands.

"Let's go."

Youritz walked down ahead of her, and she heard Dagger hustle the others after them.

The narrow staircase led down into what she knew were some of the oldest parts of Dimarintsia. Millennia ago, this part of the city had been a wealthy harbor, but eventually, it had been changed into what was now known as the Skerin Harbor district. Still, much of the old harbor remained if you just went a little below the upper layer of the undercity.

The staircase ended in a long hallway with dozens of doors. Small hatches sat roughly at eye height, and Rindiri grimaced. She recognized a prison when she saw one.

Youritz stepped into the hallway and froze. Rindiri readied her card, looking around for whatever had caught his attention. Then Youritz turned and beckoned her, signaling it was safe. Rindiri stepped after him, and all the sounds and shaking from above vanished. The sudden silence was unnerving and lasted for only a moment. Then she heard groaning and crying from deeper in the hallway.

"Soundblocking runes," Youritz whispered.

Rindiri nodded, then turned and stepped back to the others.

"There's sound-blocking runes ahead. Follow us, and keep silent," she ordered a lanky Yuurindi with partially burned hair.

"Yes, Captain."

Rindiri looked at Dagger. "Block the way down…"

Dagger's eyes narrowed, and she seemed ready to reject.

"If we can't get out down there, we are dead anyway," Rindiri snapped, pointing up where the explosions kept ringing. "Scander brought a dozen soulcarded, and if they are having this much trouble, do you even want to imagine what would happen if we go back?"

"That entrance was supposed to be the safest, "Dagger muttered.

"Exactly," Rindiri said, staring at her.

Dagger held her gaze, then sighed and looked away.

"Which means the other places are worse," she muttered as she headed up.

Rindiri turned and headed after Youritz.

"Let's go and see what's here," she said, not showing her growing worry.

She snuck to the first door and listened but heard nothing. Seeing a handle on the small hatch, she pulled on it, trying to prevent any noise. There was a soft creaking sound, and then it slid to the side. It took her eyes a moment to get used to the dark; then, she almost wished they hadn't. Two bodies were strung up in a small room, naked, safe for a small loincloth. One was human, the other Viridian and both were covered in wounds.

Soulcard dampening chains, Rindiri thought, shivering as she stepped back.

She examined the handle and the bolt that blocked it. It was made in such a way that it would be impossible to open except from this side, and with two hands, probably to prevent races with long, narrow arms from attempting to get out.

"Let's check the rest," she whispered, looking ahead to where the shouting and crying came from.

A few minutes later, she stood before the door at the back of the hall, staring inside in stunned disbelief. The room beyond the door was like a torture pit, with cages filled with people, some strung up from the ceiling, others standing in piles around. There had to be over a hundred, though from their lack of movement, she wasn't sure how many were left alive.

"He said there were a few dozen," Dagger hissed, turning to Rindiri. "This is horrible! Why would anyone do this to Smiths?"

Rindiri had an idea why, but she wasn't going to share it. Instead, she turned to her crew. Many were looking into the room with disbelief and sadness, and she knew they were remembering stories that their parents or others told them.

"We need to get them out of those chains and see if there's any that can help us get out of here," she said. "Go around quietly and make sure they don't start shouting."

Her crew nodded and began spreading out, moving into the room and towards the cages.

"Captain…"

Rindiri turned to see Youritz staring at the back of the room and another door. It was open, and behind it, she saw the corners of more cages. The shouting and crying came from inside.

"Let's go see," she said.