Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Rindiri slowly walked through the room and saw that many of the captive smiths were looking at them, faces hollow and covered in gruesome wounds. She had expected screams and shouts to let them free, but none of them let out as much as a groan. Somehow, their quiet suffering made it worse.

The crying became louder as they reached the door, and as they looked inside, Rindiri swallowed back some bile. Beside some empty cages, a single smith was strung up on the far end while a Ganvil was bound on a pole in front of him. Fist-sized, there were no wings to be seen, but the sobbing came from it, and as Rindiri walked inside, she saw his mouth was open in a snarl.

She shared a worried look with Youritz, and then the two of them moved closer to the Ganvil.

"Here to do more? It won't help!" the Ganvil suddenly roared, causing both of them to jump back. "You already killed him, and there's nothing left to threaten me with! Besides, I can't tell you what I don't know!"

Rindiri hesitated, then swallowed.

"I don't know who did this to you, but we are not with them. We were sent here to free the smiths…"

The sobbing and growling stopped instantly.

"Who are you?" the Ganvil hissed. "How did you get past that demon upstairs? No, never mind! Let me loose! I… I will…"

The angry, growling voice broke into a sob.

"I want to kill it, but I can't. Nobody can… You are too late. Too late for Kester and too late for me," the Ganvil muttered.

Rindiri reached the side of the Ganil, noticing that the pole he was attached to was made of the same soulcard-dampening metal as the runes.

"There's still fighting going on above," she said. "We need to get out, but we are stuck. I'll free you and the others, but we need a way to get out of here that doesn't involve going back up."

As she spoke, she examined the Ganvil. He was a dull gray, and scratches and puckers showed that they had done something to him.

"I…" the Ganvil fell quiet, then spoke again, softer and in a voice laden with tension. "There is no use, and still… I want… neeeed vengeance."

Rindiri shared a worried look with Youritz. Had the Ganvil gone insane?

"What is your name?" she tried.

"Name… I'm X… Xan…," the Ganvil's voice cracked, and his lips curled back to reveal his slab-like teeth. "No. Call me Kesdor. I will take some of Kester with me."

"Alright, Kesdor," Rindiri said, carefully. "How do we free you from this?"

The Ganvil was quiet for long moments, and when he finally spoke, his voice was filled with a deep, bubbling hatred. "Twist my prison until the bottom comes free. Make sure not to touch the spear. There's a rune in the hole."

Rindiri hesitated, then put her hands on the sides of the Ganvil. She felt the deep gouges in Kesdor's metal body as she turned him around. A minute later, the pole came free, and while making sure not to touch the pole, she put the Ganvil down on its side. It was surprisingly heavy.

A small angular rune at the bottom of the hole gleamed softly. Rindiri hesitated a moment, then put her finger on it, causing the rune to glow brightly. A soft click came from the pole, and Kesdor rolled free. Two wings appeared on his back, torn and mutilated but seemingly still functional, as he rose hesitantly in the air. As she turned, Rindiri readied herself in case it went berserk.

The Ganvil ignored them and slowly flew to the strung-up body, landing on the wounded shoulder.

"I will find that monster, Kester… and when I'm done with it, that filth will wish it hadn't left me alive," the Ganvil whispered. Kesdor remained with his dead smith for a few moments before letting out a long, saddened sigh.

Rindiri carefully watched him fly away and towards her. Kesdor hovered before her, his wings moving in jagged, uncertain flaps.

"Thank you for freeing me," Kesdor said. "You said we need to leave. There were two smiths with Stonewarping cards among Kester's apprentices. If they are still alive, they can make us a way out."

"Would you recognize them if you saw them?" Rindiri asked softly.

"Yes… can I land on your shoulder? I can't…" Kesdor didn't finish, but Ridiri nodded. From the way his wings were moving, it was obvious how much trouble Kesdor had to remain afloat.

"It is fine," she said.

A moment later, she walked out of the backroom with Kesdor on her shoulder, the weight less than it had been when he was on the pole. Close to fifty smiths were huddled all around, free of their cage,s and looking around wearily. There were far more than she had expected, but she ignored the worry that brought. It wasn't like she could leave any here.

What did they do to them, and why? she thought before focusing on Kesdor. The Ganvil had said something about not knowing what, whoever the monster was, had asked. So, what had it asked?

First, we need to get out of here, she told herself.

"Which ones?"

"Her. Senna," Kesdor whispered, and a faint blue light hovered above a smith.

Senna was a stocky, middle-aged woman with half her hair remaining, while the rest looked like it had been ripped out. Her arms were thin and covered in long, partially healed wounds.

Rindiri moved to the smith, who didn't react to the light, nor did any of the others.

She knelt on the ground, staring at her and grimacing as blank eyes looked back at her.

"Senna, can you hear me?" she whispered.

The smith's eyes focused on her, showing barely any hint that she had heard.

"We need to get out of here before they return. There's no way up, so we need to break through the walls."

The smith blinked, then she struggled to stand. As she did, she looked around before focusing on Rindiri. Although her eyes were still dull, Rindiri saw the question in them.

"Dagger, show her the wall we need to go through," Rindiri whispered.

Dagger beckoned the smith, who very slowly walked forward, every step seeming to cost her great effort. When she reached the wall, she raised her hands and seemed to hesitate before putting them on the dusty wall.

What did they do to them to turn them into this, Rindiri thought, shivering as she saw some of the nearby smiths, looking at the ground with hollow, unfocused eyes.

Below Senna's hands, the stone began glowing dimly, and then the wall cracked and rippled. Stone dust billowed out as the stone curved inward, and the smith kept walking forward slowly, pushing the wall further inside. Twenty feet in, the folding wall opened up into a dark opening with cobwebs and dust everywhere.

"Everyone, get ready to follow her," Rindiri said.

Ten minutes later, they were slowly shuffling through a long hallway. The sounds had returned after they left the room, but the distant rumbles showed that the battle was still ongoing. Rindiri was relieved that as they continued ahead, the sounds began fading. By now, they had passed multiple paths leading up, but she had decided to stick to the barely populated lower regions. With Senna helping them move through any wall they encountered, it was only a little slower but a lot safer. The few people they had come across had fled upon seeing them, and with Dagger's help, they would be able to reach the hideout without any issue.

Another half an hour later, Rindiri finally recognized some of the parts they had crossed.

"Dagger," she called out to her second in command.

"Captain?"

"Head back to the ship and check if we can reach it. If not, return, and we can plan from there. If you can, start gathering food and loading it onto the ship. Have everything nonessential moved out of the cargo hold and prepare for another fifty people."

Dagger stared at her, then glanced around. "You can't be serious…"

"Also, try and get your hands on as many cards as you can," Rindiri continued, ignoring her second-in-command's grimace. "And hurry up," she added as Dagger seemed ready to complain.

Dagger sighed, then turned and ran off, shaking her head as she vanished into the maze of corridors.

"You have a ship?" Kesdor asked over her shoulder.

Rindiri looked at him and nodded.

"If I get you cards, can you strengthen the shield so we can move through the storm?" she asked.

"You plan to leave," Kesdor said, and Rindiri could hear anger creep into his voice.

Rindiri had tried to get some information on the demon, but each time she brought it up, Kesdor had become overcome with anger and grief.

"I need to get my people and the smiths to safety," she whispered. "Which isn't here."

"That demon is here," Kesdor growled, and she could feel him vibrate on her shoulder.

"I know, and he will probably remain here for a long time. We can't fight him now, and what use is there in us dying?"

Kesdor let out a shuddering breath that smelled like sulfur. "I need to kill him…"

"I know," Rindiri said, looking around. "And I'm sure many of the smiths here will want to help you, but they can't do that if they are dead."

It took her over half an hour of quietly talking to him to finally get Kesdor to agree, and when she did, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Where will we be going?" Kesdor asked a question she had expected much earlier.

"I'll tell you when we are on the ship," she replied, hoping he would be fine with that.

Kesdor was quiet for a bit, then sniffed.

"There is nobody in a large area around us, if that's what you are worried about. I would have warned you otherwise."

"You can detect others?" Rindiri asked, slightly surprised.

"It's something I gained during my last rank-up," Kesdor grunted. "Now… where are we going?"

Rindiri looked back to see her remaining crew helping the smiths while Youritz was at the back to ensure they weren't followed.

"It's too dangerous to discuss," she whispered.

Kesdor snorted. "Fine. But you will tell me before we leave because if I don't like it, I'm not coming."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Rindiri nodded, hoping Kesdor would be fine with bringing the tiny Sonata to where the other ship should be drifting and hoping the smiths could repair it. That was if it was even still there.

So many uncertainties, she thought.

It took them almost an hour to reach the hideout's bottom layers where The Sonata was hidden, and when they breached the wall at the back of the hangar, deafening explosions greeted them. Senna backed up, arms raised as if to block some attack.

Rindiri jumped forward to see the Sonata hovering above the exit, the few of her crew that remained working on the sails, while others were carrying large crates on the deck. The only exit was closed, and Dagger was there.

"Get to work helping the others," she snapped, ordering those of her crew who had survived the attack to get moving.

As they ran forward, there was a shout from the ship, and Dagger came running towards them. She almost tripped as the building around them shook from an explosion.

"What is happening?" Rindiri shouted.

"The Currant Hunters followed Scander here, and now he's fighting some kind of monster," Dagger replied.

Behind them, Youritz began moving the smiths to the ship.

"You are crazy. There is no way we can get all these people on that tiny ship and away," Kesdor snapped.

Rindiri looked up and made a snapshot decision. Without Kesdor's help, they wouldn't be getting out of here, and he seemed ready to leave.

"We have hidden another ship a little out in the storm," she hissed, hoping he would believe her. "It's frigate-sized."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Kesdor grunted.

Rindiri frowned, wondering what she should say, and the Ganvil snorted.

"I can detect if you are lying," he snapped. "So don't try to trick me!"

Rindiri narrowed her eyes. She had never heard of a Ganvil that could do that, but it was true she had to be careful with what she said. Especially because she wasn't sure the ship was even still there.

"If someone outside of this room found out, they would have gone to steal it," she said, deciding to keep it simple. She expected more questions, but to her surprise, after a few moments, Kesdor just sighed and flew up.

"Fine. I'll prepare to integrate with the shield's soulforce. We need to get out of here because the people fighting above us are way stronger than anyone here."

Rindiri watched him fly to the ship, and she waited for a moment to make sure he wasn't just leaving. When he reached the ship, she sighed in relief and turned to Dagger.

"He can sense people's power?" her second-in-command whispered. "How strong is he?!"

"If he's like the Ganvils, I know; he can probably just sense soulforce power and maybe card rank," Rindiri said, looking at crates and trying to determine how much food they would have while absently continuing to talk to Dagger. "That doesn't always translate to combat power."

"Where are we going after we find that ship, and how are we going to repair it?" Dagger whispered.

"The smiths should be able to fix it," Rindiri said.

"You hope… But fine. It's not like we can stay in this shithole. And after that?"

Rindiri looked at Dagger and hesitated. She'd planned something long ago, but with the smiths, another option had opened up: one she'd been thinking about for the last hour. If she went with that, it would be a massive change from her initial plans.

Her hesitation lasted for a few moments, then she decided it was worth the risk.

"Suderfuix is the nearest large world, and it has the main Smith charter…"

Dagger's eyes shot wide as she realized what Rindiri meant. Her gaze lingered on the smiths, and then she swallowed.

"They would be very happy to see them back," she whispered.

"Exactly. Now, go and help the rest. We are leaving as soon as everyone is onboard," Rindiri said.

Dagger rushed away, and she stared at the barricaded doors. For a moment, she wondered what Scander would be doing. Had he survived? Was he still fighting?

It took almost half an hour to get everyone on board, with the most wounded of the smiths cramped together in the hold, rooms, and hallways while those able to use their cards remained with her crew on the deck. There was barely a square foot unused as they had bolted the crates to the deck, creating a chaotic maze.

"I'm ready," Kesdor grunted.

He looked more energetic, which made sense as he'd just consumed seven cards, but Rindiri wasn't complaining. The shield around them was already fully powered, probably stronger than it had been in a long time, and the cards were nearly useless for them now.

"Dagger, time to leave!" Rindiri shouted as she focused on The Sonata's helm and its runes.

Her second in command shouted orders, and soon, the ropes holding them still were chopped away while the enormous wooden doors fell down.

The sound of a raging battle, howling explosions, and pained and scared screams greeted them as Rindiri navigated The Sonata down.

As soon as they got a clear sight of the bottom of the harbor, Rindiri held back a curse.

Three Current Hunters were baraging two other ships, one of which was Scander's flagship, in what looked like a highly uneven fight. The harbor around them was a burning wreckage, while a purple glowing ball of crackling energy hovered in the air before it. The faint outline of the figure was visible within.

Kesdor let out an angry, inarticulate bellow of rage, and his shape grew half a foot.

"Kesdor, calm down!" Rindiri shouted, worried the Ganvil would leave them as he charged, what she knew had to be the thing that had tormented him and killed his smith.

"That's the demon!" Kesdor snapped, but he remained where he was.

Rindiri increased the Sonata's speed, turning the ship away from the battle. Keeping an eye on the battle, she saw a tendril of purple energy crackle from the ball and slam into Scander's flagship. The pale barrier around it dimmed rapidly, but it held as the energy tendril dissipated.

"We've got incoming!" Dagger shouted.

Rindiri saw one of the Currant Hunter ships start to speed up towards them. It wasn't much faster, but she knew it would catch up before they could reach the storm. She clenched her hands around the helm as she wished she had the speed of The Concerto now.

~ Don't let those smiths escape! ~

Rindiri felt her mind go blank as a voice thrumming with power echoed from seemingly everywhere. All around her, the weaker of her crew stumbled or fell on the ground, grabbing their heads.

"What…" she muttered, shaking her head and focusing on her soulcards. It took a moment before her mind seemed to return to the here and now.

Looking back, she saw the purple ball drift after them, slowly picking up speed. From the path it took, it was clear that she couldn't go around the Currant Hunter. The only way to evade that thing would be to go through it.

"Everyone who can, fire at the incoming ship!" she roared.

For one moment, nothing happened, and then a few weak attacks rippled away from the deck of the Sonata.

Most came from her crew, and only a few smiths joined in. The others had their hands clasped over their ears and were huddling on the ground, their faces blank with terror.

~ There is no way to run, little smiths… ~

Rindiri shivered as the voice came again, and she saw the few smiths who had been helping falter.

"Fight," Rindiri shouted. "If you don't, they will catch us!"

Her shouts seemed to fall on deaf ears, as none of the smiths seemed able to overcome the fear of whatever had tormented them.

Rindiri gnashed her teeth, shouting at them a few more times while the Currant Hunter closed in, heading on an intercept course that would overtake and block their direct way out.

A deafening explosion came as Scander's second ship exploded in a ball of yellow and orange fire. The shockwave ballooned out and blasted away the barrier of his flagship. Rindiri got her first clear view of the ship, and she saw a lone figure at the helm. Her gaze locked with the familiar, haunted eyes of Scander, and for a moment, time froze. She saw the pain, anger, and sadness fade for a moment as Scander faintly smiled at her. Then, a barrage of attacks from the other ships ripped into the ship. The front half of Scander's flagship exploded, wood and debris flying around as the back section dropped to the rocky wasteland far below the city. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

All of it happened in no more than a split second, and Rindiri glared at the smiths. She knew they were in pain and had gone through hell, but if only they-

"Don't let that bloody demon get to you!" an ear-rattling roar echoed from the front of The Sonata.

Kesdor had grown again, now being almost eight feet high, and he loomed over the deck, his lips curved in an angry scowl.

"Are you willing to go back? Back to that device? To be drained and tortured as that filthy monster tries to get what it wants?"

Kesdor's voice seemed to drown out all other sounds, and part of Rindiri knew he was using an ability. But the rest of her didn't care. A surge of anger and fury filled her as she glared at the incoming ship and the purple thing moving after it.

"Move! Fight! Resist!" Kesdor roared, the sense of anger Rindiri felt growing to the point only her decades of experience kept her from turning The Sonata on a ramming course with the incoming ship. A roar of defiance came from the smiths.

The sound of their combined voices cleared Rindiri's mind, pulling her free of whatever skill Kesdor was using.

She looked around and was startled to find that all of the smiths had come from below deck and now covered the deck, some holding onto each other, others onto the crates. There was no free spot left, and all of them were glaring at the purple aura and screaming in rage. Hands shot up, and a surge of multi-colored fire erupted as the smiths used their abilities.

"THE SHIP!" she screamed. "AIM FOR THE SHIP!"

Most of the smiths either didn't hear her or didn't care as their attack shot toward the demon, but luckily, some did.

Rindiri shivered as she realized just how many had two or more soulcards, as the power of the attacks dwarfed anything her crew was capable of. Even better, many smiths had firebase projectile attacks, which were very suited for ship-to-ship combat.

The blinding torrent of attacks continued for minutes, some smiths crumbling on the deck, having drained what little energy they had regained, while the strong ones continued on. The incoming Currant Hunter's barrier flared up under the attacks but seemed to hold until two beams of pale, almost white fire slammed into it. It dimmed rapidly but held until a flame shaped like a spear pierced through it and ignited the main mast. With the barrier gone, Rindiri saw the Currant Hunter's crew scramble to stop the fire, while the ship turned, quickly disengaging.

The attacks continued for a while longer, though many missed the ship. When they finally stopped, Rindiri blinked away the bright spots and looked behind her, expecting to see no more sign of whatever the purple thing was.

Her eyes widened as she realized her expectations were wrong.

Against a backdrop of fire and destruction, the purple figure pushed itself out of the flaming remnants of the hanging harbor. Its aura was slightly weakened, and as Rindiri finally got her first good look at the figure, she shivered.

Two clear, almost white eyes filled with tendrils of purple stared straight at her. Filled with malice, they sat in a narrow face, almost like an arrowhead, while blood-red hair floated around its head, covering two sharp-tipped, curved horns.

What is that….?

Rindiri shook her head, trying to clear away the sudden pressure she felt. Managing to rip her gaze from the incoming figure, she turned her head around and tried to eke out any bit of speed she could from the small ship.

As they sped away from the city, she glanced back, but the red-haired figure was gone. The only indication it was still around was a purplish energy coming from the Currant Hunters. She fully expected it to come after them, but it remained hanging there.

I hope their sail is broken, she thought.

They continued to fly away from Dimarintsia, and soon, what had looked like an enormous area of destruction shrank to nothing more than a dot on the scope of the vast harbor city.

"What was that?"

Rindiri looked up to see Youritz next to her. His face was pale, and his hands wrapped around the railing.

"I have seen five-soulcarded fighters before, and not even those had soulforce pressure like that!"

“I have no idea,” Rindiri said. "But can you get the smiths back down? Also, find out who those powerful attacks came from and see if they are able to talk. We might need their help later."

Youritz nodded as he walked away, and Rindiri watched the distant Portal Gallery barrier close in. The raging storm behind it had never looked as inviting as now because inside, she could change course and hide from whoever might chase them.

I hope that thing wasn't a Guidar, she thought, as she pictured the red-haired, horned demon surviving the barrage of attacks that might have taken out a Hegliron Patrol Frigate.

Because otherwise, I don't think we have any chance…

--

The crew of the lead Currant Hunter stood frozen, unable to even move as the six-foot demon stalked towards their captain, a short, bald human with skin that gleamed oddly in the light. Tiny scales seemed to cover it, while his eyes had vertical, amber pupils.

~ You will follow them. ~

"All of my ships are either damaged or destroyed, and I need time to prepare," the captain said, showing no fear.

As the demon reached the captain, its form shimmered, and it shrank to barely five feet while its horns vanished. Within moments, the only thing that remained the same was its blood-red hair, though it had pulled back to barely a hand's length.

"Desmand, this wasn't a request," the demon rasped, the massive pressure that had come from each of its words gone.

"Don't try to threaten me, Lasther. I am not one of your Shadow puppets," Desmond said with a slight lisp as he took a step forward, his scaly eyebrows lowering. "Why don't you send some of your minions?"

Lasther's red hair rose slightly as the pressure oozing from him increased, but Desmand's only reaction was a thin, black tongue slipping between his lips as if tasting the air.

"They are already chasing them," Lasther finally said. "But I want those smiths back alive!"

"Why? You have been trying to get them to answer your stupid questions for months, and no one knows anything! Even that precious machine of yours hasn't gleaned you any answers," Desmond snapped. He seemed ready to say something else when he cocked his head and stared up and to the side, his eyes seemingly following something.

A moment later, a hooded figure in dark gray leather armor stepped out of the shadows beside Lasther.

"They are changing course to the outer regions," the hooded figure whispered.

"Bah! That Yuurindi is a fool! She should have gone to Suderfuix to get a reward for bringing them back," Desmand snapped. "If she thinks she can hide on some of the fringe worlds, she's doubly a fool. Even with a Ganvil powering her shield, there is no way she can get that far."

Lasther hummed, then stepped back. "I will remember this," he whispered before vanishing in the shadows, followed by the hooded figure.

Desmand's eyes focused on something and followed it up, then back to the harbor. He waited for a bit longer before turning to one of his crewmen.

"Get us ready to move. I want us out of here before the hour is full."

There were no questions or comments as the ship became a bustle of activity.

Desmand turned to stare at the wreckages that were his two secondary ships, both barely able to stay afloat. After a few moments, he walked to the railing and stared down at the burning mess of shipwrecks.

"At least I won't have to bother with that pathetic fool anymore," he whispered.