Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin woke feeling warm and comfortable. It took him a few moments to realize that he'd been woken up by a whispered conversation. He stretched his slightly sore legs and rolled over on his other side with a content sigh.

His body felt better than it had in a long time, and he was a two-carded!

He could hardly believe it. A week ago, hoping for one had seemed like a miracle, and now he had two. Better yet, one was comparable to a high-rank body-improvement card, meaning he would grow beyond his previous small-statured, weak-bodied, bleak future. He became excited just thinking about it as the previous night’s happenings returned to his mind, and he remembered how much he had already grown in a single night. If this continued, where could he end?

If we survive the training and the real portals, at least, he thought. Slowly, the content sensation faded as he realized he'd be forced to enter portals in less than a month.

"Irwin, you awake?"

Greldo's soft call made Irwin wonder if he should answer or pretend to be asleep.

"We need to head downstairs for breakfast, and after that, find the eastern training rooms."

Irwin took a deep breath, clenching his left fist as he focused on both of his cards. Their presence felt like a faint body part, a finger or toe, that he could move if he wanted to. His flame card -he couldn't get himself to think of it as Fire-Sensitive Body- was the clearest of the two. Almost like a finger, easy to flex and point, while his new card was more like his ear. He could move it if he focused only on that card, but it still wasn't easy.

He sat up and pushed the blankets from his body. The cold air of the room seemed to engulf him, and he shuddered, pulling them back.

That's going to take some getting used to, he thought, when another struck him. Another benefit of being a smith! He'd get to stay close to a roaring fire most of the day.

As soon as he thought about smithing, he thought about card reforging, and he realized what he'd forgotten the evening before.

Ambraz!

He pushed the blankets away a second time and jumped out of bed, catching a glimpse of the others sitting on and standing around Daubutim's bed. Then he reached his jacket and quickly put it on, gently patting his inner pocket.

"Thanks a lot."

The whispered snort of Ambraz was too soft for the others to hear, but Irwin sighed in relief before scolding himself for just dropping the coat and the Anvil on the ground. What if someone had wanted to steal his coins? Shivering at the idea and his cold feet, he gazed at his boots. He didn't want to wear them, but what other option was there?

Perhaps we will get some better gear. We are in the advanced training group, after all, he thought as he quickly put on his boots before walking to the others.

"What happened to your…" Twintin began before giggling loudly.

A second later, Rachel and Olban were laughing just as hard.

Irwin sighed and shrugged at Greldo. His friend only gave his boots a cursory glance before inspecting Irwin, his eyes widening briefly. Then he shook his head and looked at Irwin's hand.

"So, you've got a second card?" Olban asked, his voice going up two octaves before cracking halfway into the question.

"Yes," Irwin said as he stood at the end of the bed next to Greldo.

A quick look sideways showed he was now just as tall as his friend, meaning he'd grown at least an inch during the tempering. He was still short, but at least he was growing in the right direction.

"Good… wanna share a bit about it?" Rachel asked.

Irwin saw everyone, even Daubutim, staring at him with interest. It made sense. He was now the only one of them with two cards. He thought for a second, then decided it probably couldn't hurt to tell them about the body improvement part.

"It's a body improvement card," he said. "Not a single type one, but it should help with where we are going."

There was a round of sighs and congratulations, which he had expected. It was always good to have at least one body improvement card.

"So, they didn't give you an uncommon one then," Olban said.

"Course they didn't! He wouldn't have been able to join us into a common portal if they did," Greldo said, shaking his head. "They would have sent him to another group!"

"I know that!" Olban snapped, his voice rising before breaking as it sometimes did. It didn't stop him from continuing angrily. "But he might have just come here because he had to sleep and then tell us he wouldn't be staying with us?"

There was a stunned silence, and Irwin didn't know what to say. He'd played with the idea… but he was here now. He still wasn't sure if it was the right choice.

"Well, he is here, so that means we need to figure out what to do," Greldo said.

"What do you mean?" Irwin asked.

"We've been trying to come up with a plan on what to do to survive the next training portals," Rachel said.

There was a soft sniff, and she sighed and hugged Twintin, who was leaning into her like a kitten.

"I've told them what I remember from the basic training, and we were just coming up with survival strategies."

"Do you think they will send us into other training portals without any training again?" Irwin asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "But we only have ten minutes before breakfast. After that we have to get to the advanced class. It's best we prepare as much as we can."

Irwin nodded, surprised and slightly annoyed that they hadn't woken him up before they started. Something must have shown on his face.

"He wouldn't let us wake you," Olban said, pointing at Greldo. "Something about you needing your sleep!"

Irwin looked over and saw Greldo nod resolutely. "When you came back, it was the middle of the night, and you'd not even had any rest after exiting the training portal."

Irwin couldn't help smiling.

"You are right, and thanks for that! Now, how about you tell me what you've discussed, and perhaps I can help."

"Alright," Greldo said, clenching his fist and returning the grin. "Let's make sure we perform so incredibly well that they are going to hand all of us a second card!"

Or a third, Irwin thought as he listened to Greldo explain what they had gone over.

–

"You're lucky the others don't know you as I do," Greldo whispered as he walked with Irwin at the back of the group.

Irwin looked at his friend, almost afraid of what he meant.

"You've grown… which isn't something that should happen if you get just a common. Even if it's a body improvement card."

"I..." Irwin began, about to deny it before stopping. Greldo was his friend and his only one at that. He was very sure he wouldn't rat on him. The problem was that they weren't somewhere safe. Irwin looked around to check if anyone was nearby.

Greldo raised his hand, drawing his attention, eyes narrow. "It's fine. I already knew something was up back in the training portal. Too many things didn't make sense," he whispered, eyes gleaming.

Irwin worriedly looked ahead, but Rachel and Twintin were a good deal ahead, talking loudly. Olban and Daubutim were at the head of the group. With nobody else here, he guessed that as long as they didn't talk about anything dangerous, this might be the most secure moment.

He nodded with a grin, and Greldo's widened before he visibly forced it back.

Greldo took a deep breath, then looked at him seriously. "I won't tell anyone. But... I hope whatever is happening with you will strengthen you enough to help us survive the real portal. Let's watch each other's back, alright?"

Irwin nodded without hesitation, surprised Greldo thought he wasn't going to have his back. He was even more surprised to see a look of relief on his friend's face before Greldo looked ahead, lowering his voice even more.

"Definitely," he whispered.

"Alright, because there's something odd about Rachel's story, and let's not even begin about Daubutim," Greldo whispered.

Irwin expected him to continue, but Greldo seemed to have said his piece and continued forward quietly.

Irwin frowned as he looked at Rachel, whispering and grinning with Twintin. She seemed like a nice girl, behaving like a bigger sister around Twintin. Going over her story, or what he recalled of it, he didn't notice any weird things. She and her first party entered a training portal that led into a jungle. Within minutes, they had been jumped by odd, wooden-stick monsters that killed them. Then, they had exited amid an all-out attack on the tower that wiped out all of them except for Rachel. She had managed to use her shield and hide till the guards managed to restore the peace.

Wait… shouldn't weapon summons be uncommon? Irwin thought, suddenly distracted.

He looked at Daubutum, recalling the wooden club. Something was odd about those two. He wished he had a moment to ask Ambraz if shields and clubs counted as weapons or utility cards. Perhaps they were like the hammer Ambraz had pointed out?

Mind buzzing, he followed the others down the stairs and into the main room, which was still filled with tables and a large kitchen area.

After waiting in the long line, he piled up as much food as they let him before following the others to a quiet table.

"You eat a lot," Daubutim said, the first thing he'd said that morning, which wasn't an answer to a question. He nodded approvingly at Irwin's plate, which held as much as his own. "Eat more, grow stronger," he added before turning his attention to his food and digging in.

Irwin didn't know what to say and shrugged.

"Did you not have a lot of food where you are from?" Twintin asked softly, and he saw a knowing look on her face.

"No," Irwin said with a pained laugh. "Mom tried, but food was hard to come by."

"We always heard Malorin was a nice, quiet place with enough food," Rachel said through a mouth full of bread.

Greldo barked a laugh and shared a knowing look with Irwin.

"Only if you are noble or a carded crafter," Irwin said.

"The same as everywhere else then," Rachel said.

"My father says if people don't have enough food, they don't work hard enough," Daubutim said.

The others, including Olban, looked at him in disbelief. For a moment, nobody spoke, and then Olban barked a laugh.

"You sound like a noble," he said.

"I am," Daubutim said with a short nod.

"You what?" Olban shouted, drawing the attention of nearby tables.

"Keep it down," Greldo hissed.

Irwin quickly focused on eating, trying to give the impression that nothing was wrong. A few moments later, the nearby conversations picked up again, and they all looked at Daubautim.

"You're an actual noble?" Greldo asked softly.

Daubutim looked up from his plate and nodded. "The youngest son of Lord Coulwater," he added before frowning and adding in the sharp voice he sometimes used. "Pleased to meet you."

"Why are you not with a noble group?" Rachel asked, leaning forward.

"Mother said to stay away from them and find a group that I could trust," Daubutim said, waving his fork around. "She said it would be best not to go with a strong group because that meant I would have to go into more dangerous portals."

Irwin's fork was halfway to his mouth as he looked at the tall, dull boy. Daubutim didn't seem to notice the attention of the others, and when nobody spoke, he happily continued eating.

Someone kicked his shin, and Irwin looked up to see Greldo stare at him for a second before mouthing see? He wasn't sure what to say and just nodded before focusing on his food.

Ten minutes later, when everyone had finished, the main gates began opening. There had been no warning or message, but as it widened enough, Mouldir stepped inside. He looked around before pulling the doors closed so hard the resulting boom rattled all the plates.

"Right! You should have had your fill by now! Now, everyone who got picked for the advanced class, follow me! The others, wait here. You will be divided among the available teachers."

Mouldir turned and stomped through the room.

There was a moment of hesitation, and then groups of youths began getting up and running after him.

"We better go before he gets angry," Irwin said, grabbing a few remaining slices of bread before getting up and walking forward.

The others followed him, but he barely noticed. Surprised gazes were following him as he walked towards the exit that led to the large staircase. He could hardly blame them. One look at the other groups showed they all had a few things in common. They were nearly all tall, most the size of regular adult men or bigger, and they wore decent clothes.

He was small, wore rags, and had shoes without toes.

Irwin felt his face grow hot, but he ignored it, including the whispers he picked up.

"Think they are trying to fake it?"

"How can he get in? He's scrawny!"

"Maybe he lucked out on some great card?"

Irwin sped up as he reached the edge of the dining area, then rushed to the exit after a group of what had to be nobles. Most were male, but a tall redhead with a ponytail looked at him as he followed her, and her eyes shot up in surprise.

Irwin shrugged, then stopped and waited for Greldo to catch up. Walking beside him, he slowed down and let Daubutim and Olban take the lead. Daubutim's size would stop any questions.

"Forty-two," Daubutim said softly. "So, seven groups."

Irwin looked at him in surprise. When did he get the time to count that?

"Only so few?" Greldo muttered. "I'd expected more if they chose us..."

"Clearing that training isn't a little feat," Irwin whispered.

They fell quiet as they began slowly crowding together with the others. Eventually, they walked through wide corridors toward an open area larger than anything but the room they ate in.

Mouldir moved to the center of the room, where four men and one woman stood, all holding weapons. Racks of weapons stood to one side, filled with worn swords, clubs, staffs, and bows, while archery practice targets stood at another.

"Alright, listen up you punks! Normally, we would give you lots of time to get used to the idea of having to fight for your lives, but there's no time for that now," Mouldir shouted as he glared at them.

"Right now, we are twenty common-carded groups short, and the pressure on the uncommon groups is growing. In a surprising turn of events, we actually have more cards right now than trained people to give them to. So! We will be giving the two most promising groups here an uncommon card at the end! They will get one week of practice in real portals before they get them, after which they will be sent into uncommon portals!"

There was a surprised outburst as everyone, including the Nobles, began whispering amongst themselves.

Irwin didn't even bother joining in. He knew from one look that their group was by far the weakest. Besides, uncommon portals were far more deadly than common ones were!

Olban, however, was looking stunned and happy. "Can you imagine if we can get an uncommon card?!" he hissed, his voice breaking up and remaining high-pitched. "After we return home, we could join the rangers, or become crafters, or-"

"Enough!" Mouldir boomed, causing the entire room to fall silent. "That was the good news! The bad news is that we don't have the four weeks we had hoped. We have two weeks. In two weeks from now, you will be teleported to a village to start clearing out portals."

A deadly silence hung in the room.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Mouldir snapped. "For each portal you close, you will get points, and if you close enough, you can pick another card!"

If we live, Irwin thought.

"Whatever! This is how it's going to be," Mouldir grunted. "We will start by gauging your skills, so if you have carded weapons, bring them out; if you don't, go pick a weapon from the racks! Choose the one you are most comfortable with, but no metal! If you don't have a carded blade, you're out of luck!"

There was a moment of hesitation, and Mouldir stomped his foot, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

"Move!"

Irwin turned and walked to the racks, worried already. What should he pick? The weapon he'd used most had been his own flame and the imp daggers. He gazed at the clubs, which looked like something he could use.

"Take a staff."

Irwin blinked, looking up at Daubutim, who was looking wistfully at the swords before grabbing a heavy club and a shield.

"They are easiest to learn, have range, and you can make one in the wild."

With only slight hesitation, Irwin grabbed one of the staves, grimacing at the weight. He looked around for a lighter one, but they all looked identical.

Hoping things wouldn't go as bad as he feared, he walked back to the group, noticing that Greldo also had a staff, while Olban also had a wooden shield and a club. Rachel had a bow, but from how uneasy she was holding it, Irwin wondered why. Twintin was holding a club in two hands and seemed afraid it might hit her.

"Alright! All of you go with Edwan!" Mouldir boomed, and Irwin saw he was pointing at them and the group beside them while one of the men, a tall, clean-shaving, black-haired sorcerer, walked towards them. He had a short broadsword loosely in one hand.

"Alright, follow me," he said, walking towards one of the corners of the room. It held training dummies, wooden constructions with pegs for arms and legs that vaguely looked like horned demons.

"How the hell did you lot get in here?"

Irwin looked up to see a tall noble stare at him and Greldo. He looked as if he'd bitten down on something incredibly sour.

"Skill," Greldo said before looking back ahead.

Irwin saw the noble's mouth fall open before his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Alright, stand with your groups and shut up," Edwan snapped.

Irwin looked up to see the tall, lean man glare at him and Greldo, and he swallowed.

"You are either very good with that staff or your cards are special," he said. "Which is it?"

Irwin felt himself turn pale from the full attention of the sorcerer and the group beside him. The only saving grace was that the others had all been divided and were far away at the other corners of the room, not noticing what was happening.

"Whatever. All of you find a training dummy. You, bow girl. Have you ever used one before?"

Rachel muttered something, and Edwan's eyes narrowed.

"If you think this is a joke, don't come crying to me if you die in a portal," he said. "What do you mean, you've never held one? Why did you pick it up?"

He heard that? Irwin thought.

That meant he had some kind of hearing-enhancing card, just like some of the Rangers. He shared a quick look with Greldo. They had to be very careful about what they said.

"Yes, the range is good," Edwan said. "But if you can't use it, why- Agh! Whatever. Go back there and grab a club!"

Rachel ran back to the racks while Edwan turned to them. "Training dummy. Now!" he snapped.

Irwin ran to the nearest free dummy, staring at it stupidly.

Even this thing is taller than I am, he thought.

"Alright, everyone not with me, go hit the training dummy the best way you know. I'll see what you can do and then decide who needs what training."

Irwin licked his lips as he looked at the dummy before raising the heavy staff. Dull thuds rang out from all around him, and a quick look showed the most proficient had already begun unloading a barrage of strikes on their wooden targets.

Seeing one noble wielding a staff and swirling it around left and right with ease, Irwin sighed and focused on the dummy.

Raising his staff, he let it slam into the wooden side, and he only just held back a yelp as the staff reverberated in his hands.

Gritting his teeth, he hit it again, softer this time.

Within a minute, sweat was running down his face, neck, and back. He barely heard Edwan talk with people nearby, and only when someone prodded him did he jerk around. He could barely raise the staff, his arms shaking.

Edwan was looking at him in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered. "Is Mouldir going-" he held back whatever he was about to say and looked up quickly.

Irwin saw Mouldir at the far side of the room. He seemed to be beating up two tall nobles with just his bare hands, blocking their clubs with ease.

"So...?" Edwan asked, looking at Irwin. "You look like you are going to fall over any moment. Why... are... you... here?"

Irwin shrugged. "Lady Yrinta said I couldn't talk about it."

Edwan's eyes widened. "You're the... impossible!"

He stared at Irwin for a while longer before sighing.

"Fine. There's nothing I can do to help you... Keep hitting the dummy for as long as you can. With two cards and plenty of food, you should grow stronger. If you can't raise your hands, go run around the room."

Irwin looked at him, feeling fear settle in his stomach. He had to do this... for the entire day?

"Move," Edwan muttered.

With shaky arms, Irwin raised the staff and struck the dummy.

Edwan looked at him for a few moments before walking away, cursing something under his breath.

Irwin continued forcing his arms up, slowly wondering if perhaps it wouldn't have been better to be in the training portal.