Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Daubutim quietly held onto the shivering and screaming boys' thin arms. His respect for Irwin grew with each passing moment.

He has only tried to pull back a few times, he thought.

Another loud strike hit the curious Anvil, and he forced Irwin's hand to remain on the Anvil while he howled in agony. It wasn't the first time Daubutim had heard something like that, and he shivered as he recalled the practice his father had forced upon him and his brothers. The nightmares from those days haunted him to this day. Still, there was a benefit. Without those sessions, he'd never have been able to hold his hand on that surface.

No, he thought as he shivered at the memory. That sensation of his hand being crushed again and again had been horrible.

The next bang didn't occur, and he waited for a moment. Was it done? There had been eighty-seven strikes this time—twelve more than were needed for the morningstar.

"Right, and another one done!"

Daubutim was both surprised and annoyed by the cheery tone. He didn't say anything and slowly led Irwin away. The scrawny boy had changed again, his arms having gained the barest hint of muscle. His gaze moved to Irwin's hand. The middle card was still glowing, the lines clear as a painting. A pair of red eyes sat in the center, with a wide cone of fire bursting out towards the edge of the card.

"Ugh," Irwin muttered, and Daubutim lowered him to the ground.

"Rest. I'll guard you," he said.

Irwin muttered something he didn't catch, and suddenly he began shivering. His teeth rattled, and his entire body seemed to vibrate.

"What is going on?" Daubutim snapped as he looked up.

"Ah, right! Forgot about that part," Ambraz said. "You might want to wake him up! He needs to use his flame and heat himself up, or he might die.."

Daubutim blinked, his mind blank as he stared at the boy. What did that mean? With a jerk, he pulled Irwin back to his feet and slapped him across the face. There was a startled yelp, but he was glad to see Irwin wake up and look around in fear. He raised his arms as if to hit back, then his eyes widened, and he flung his arms around himself, shivering madly.

"Co-ld," he said with chattering teeth.

"Ambraz says you must summon your flame!" Daubutim ordered, using the commanding voice his father had taught him.

Irwin blinked dully, then slowly raised his hand. A flame as long as his lower arm rippled above his hand, and intense heat washed over Daubutim.

It became larger again, he thought as he gritted his teeth. And hotter. The heat was rapidly increasing to painfull levels.

"Get- me. To-… furnace," Irwin said haltingly.

Daubutim nodded as he pulled him along toward one of the dark, cold and dead furnaces. The heat had turned scalding, and he felt blisters appear on his arms. Reaching the large, almost closet-like area, he shoved the boy inside. Irwin stumbled but managed to remain standing as he huddled in the center of the furnace. The coals below him were black, but within moments a dull glow began to appear on the outer ones.

How hot is that flame? Daubutim thought as he watched the coals begin to turn dark red. And how could anyone still be cold standing that close to it?

Irwin's shivering had stopped, but he huddled on the glowing coals.

What kind of card is that? Daubutim barely believed what he saw as the other boy pressed his flame into the coals, seeming intent on igniting the furnace. His movements were slow and unsteady, and his eyes kept blinking stupidly as if he was still half asleep.

Slowly the coals turned orange and began to crackle. Heat wafted from the furnace, forcing Daubutim another few steps back. He quietly and in disbelief looked on as the coals turned white in the center, and the forge ignited in earnest. When flames reached up, curling around Irwin's legs, he almost ran forward to pull the fool back. But Irwin didn't shout or scream. He simply remained, letting the flames lick across his leather jacket, which was turning black and fizzling.

Should I have undressed him? It's too late now, Daubutim thought.

He continued to watch over Irwin, who remained inside for at least an hour. At some point, his skin turned red. His leather jacket was black, parts flaking and falling off when Irwin suddenly yelped. Eyes wide and awake, he jumped out of the fireplace, running away as if he hadn't just been standing inside.

What now? Daubutim thought.

When Irwin reached him, he felt the heat emanate from the boy.

"Are you alright?" he asked. He had to repeat the question twice before he finally got an answer.

"Yes… Tired," Irwin replied with a loud yawn, swaying on his feet.

Daubutim looked in wonder as Irwin took a few steps, lay down, and began snoring.

"Is this normal?" he asked as he turned to the Anvil.

"For him? Yes. It's that second card of his! It's pretty good, really. Surprisingly so. He will be a bit stronger again when he wakes. Good gains!"

Daubutim had no idea what the Anvil meant, and he didn't ask. So far, Ambraz had spoken in cryptic terms, referencing things he had never heard before. Ignoring the thing, he waited for a while, staring at Irwin. When he was sure the other was sleeping soundly, he turned to the Anvil.

"Can you do my other card, or do you need to rest?" he asked, suppressing his rising fear.

"Right away? Shouldn't you wait for Irwin to wake and help you stay there?"

Daubutim frowned as he heard the fake worry in the Anvil's tone. His father had him practice with dozens of courtiers over the years to pick up the nuances of lies and deceit, and though Ambraz seemed genuinely interested in Irwin, Daubutim wasn't sure why.

I wish Dianor was here, he thought as he pictured his older brother. A desire to be reunited with his family threatened to engulf him for a moment. He knew they didn't think too highly of him, but with the exception of their father, they had never acted upon it.

Daubutim let the feelings linger for a moment, then, with well-practiced ease, pulled up the mental image of his old room. He pictured the familiar weapons on the wall and the chipped and worn training dummies. The more details he added, the calmer he became, and quickly his raging emotions faded. When he was sure he had them within his grip again, he realized Ambraz had said something as he was zoned out. Something about unbound cards and reforging.

"What is the difference with reforging unbound cards?" he asked.

"The difference is, like I just said, that I can't do that inside a common world shard," Ambraz huffed. "Either you socket it now, or you will have to wait until we are outside."

Daubutim bit his tongue. He'd almost said he'd wait. The Anvil's words rang with truth, and he had no desire to go through the pain again. But his father's gruff voice played through his mind. Never delay something just for convenience! Problems will crop up that make you wish you had done it the hard way! He had time now, and the only downside would be the pain.

Steeling himself, he looked at his hand, then at the card with the chestplate. After debating it for a moment, he placed the new card on his hand. As it sank down, he shook his hand in disbelief. His father had told him not to slot any commons, and he had done so twice since leaving home. It was good that Ambraz could reforge them, or his father would have forced him to unslot them.

"If the option is to make it cover more versus becoming harder, try to make it harder," he said.

"Oh? An unconventional desire, but alright," Ambraz said.

Daubutim didn't answer but placed his hand on the Anvil.

My brothers, give me strength, he thought, picturing his siblings' faces.

---

Irwin woke up with a start. A vague and chaotic dream of being incredibly cold, then walking into a burning furnace to curl up in the flames faded.

It was quiet in the room, and he shivered as the sensation of having his hand crushed, the bones turned to dust, and the skin ripped apart replayed in his mind.

I don't know if I can go through with that again, he thought as he let the painful memories wash over him. He shivered, then couldn't hold back a groan and opened his eyes. He lay on the ground of the smithy, and as he pushed himself up, he saw Daubutim slumped on the floor. Ambraz was still in his larger form.

I'm stronger, he thought as he raised his hand, staring at it dumbly.

"Ah, finally woke up? I think all that screaming you two did finally drew a crowd!"

Irwin pushed himself up, his mind too fuzzy to comprehend what Ambraz meant. "Wha-"

A dull thud came from the door, loud enough to rattle it. Muted voices came from behind.

He turned and almost fell as his legs threatened to buckle. The door shook again from a second hit.

"They've been trying to get in for a while now," Ambraz mused. "Luckily that door was made to hold out far stronger things. Curious, that."

A dull groan came from Daubutim, and Irwin turned to him. He vaguely recalled that the big boy had helped him somehow, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember what had happened after the reforging was complete.

He did remember the forging, though. Memories of pain and screaming cropped up, and his hands began to shake. Later, he thought as he shoved the growing fear back. He was about to move to wake Daubutim when he recalled the previous time he'd done so. Not interested in getting assaulted, he gently kicked the larger boy's leg.

Daubutim moved with a start and pushed himself up to a standing position in a single motion, startling Irwin, who jumped back. Daubutim's hands were up, his eyes open but appearing to see nothing as they flashed around.

"Wu- what?" Daubutim said, blinking his bloodshot eyes.

"Are you alright?" Irwin asked.

"Yes," the boy replied, seemingly mechanically. Then he raised his hand, staring at it, and Irwin saw there was a third card outlining there. A chestplate with a bird's claw on it.

So, he slotted it, Irwin thought, staring at the now full hand of Daubutim. His hand unconsciously moved to his pocket, to where the Coperion Fists card sat. If he slotted that, he would be a full-hand! If I do that, I'll have to go through that reforging again! No! He shivered, quickly focusing on Daubutim.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," Daubutim said as he looked up. "Are you alright? You went into that furnace."

I what? Irwin thought as he looked back dumbly. Then the dream came back, and he turned around to see a glowing furnace. How had he not seen that before? It hadn't been a dream?

"Right then, what will your second reforging be?" Ambraz asked, ripping him out of his attempt to remember the dream.

"Second?" he muttered before turning to Daubutim.

"He already reforged that chestplate," Ambraz said, humming approvingly. "As both of his weren't that special-"

Daubutim let out a strangled grunt, which Ambraz seemed to ignore.

"-I have enough energy for one more! Which will it be?"

"You, you did another one while I slept?" Irwin asked as he gaped at Daubutim. He'd thought Daubutim had just slotted the card, but if he'd actually had the second one reforged? He shuddered.

"Are you… alright?"

“Yes. I am fine,” Daubutim said.

Irwin saw him shudder and pull up his shoulders slightly.

"Can't you… reforge the cards without us slotting them?" Irwin asked, trying to recall what Ambraz had said about that.

"No, no. I told Daubutim already. To do that, we have to get outside first."

"Then I'll wait till then," Irwin said as he shook his head violently. He didn't know how Daubutim could stand the pain, but just imagining it made him want to turn around and flee. No. He'd wait till he was outside!

"That is not a good idea," Daubutim said slowly. "We will have been gone a day or more when we return. If there are others outside, they might steal our cards if we are not strong enough. Also, if more surges have happened or will happen between here and home, we need all the strength we have to fight our way through."

Irwin blinked. Daubutim was right, but… He shook his head. "No. I can't-"

"Perhaps you can hold him?" Ambraz opted, and Irwin took a step back.

"I can't-"

"We can wait a few hours," Daubutim said. "But not doing it now will make things harder down the line."

I'm telling you I don't want to, Irwin thought. He gritted his teeth and glared at Daubutim and Ambraz.

Daubutim returned his gaze without emotion, but after a few moments, Irwin saw annoyance appear in the other's eyes.

"Let's try out our new cards," he said. What did it matter if Daubutim was disappointed? A little voice in his mind said it mattered, but he suppressed it. He focused on his hand, sensing the Eyes of Blaze. His connection was much stronger than it had been before, and he sensed the increase in power.

He tried to pull it forward, to use the skill, but failed. His mind was in too much turmoil. There was a flash from the side, and he looked up. Daubutim stood there, a shield in one hand, a massive morningstar in the other. His torso was wrapped in a leather hauberk with a gleaming black chestplate covering most of it. Between that and his set jaw, he almost looked like one of the noble's guards.

I guess he chose to make the chestplate harder instead of making it cover more of his body, Irwin thought. He wondered why. Having more armor seemed like a better idea. Then he shrugged. If Daubutim was doing something else, that meant he was trying to make him go through another reforging. He quickly turned and walked away. It was time to use his own skill.

Almost three hours, a morsel of carrot and a flask of water later, he finally succeeded just as he was about to call it quits. Tired and annoyed, he tried a final time, not really focusing on it and letting his mind wander slightly. His eyes began heating up, and the world changed to shades of yellow, orange, and red.

What… Irwin thought as he looked around in surprise. Even the parts of the room that had been shadowy before were easily visible now.

There was also a build-up of something behind his eyes, almost like a burp about to happen. He instinctively knew that if he let it go, his skill would trigger. Looking around, he saw an anvil a dozen feet away and focused on it. Then he burped.

The room lit up with red light. Then, two cones of fiery light rippled forward through his vision, the edges turning the room oddly indistinct. They hit the Anvil almost instantly. Flames licked around it, the central area where the cone hit turning a dull red. A few pieces of leather on top burst aflame, and the red turned to orange. Then it whisked out.

Irwin gasped as a sense of fatigue hit him. And hunger. Still, the skill was clearer in his mind now, and with it came the sense that the stuff that let him eye-burp was rebuilding. It was fast, but it would still take a few minutes.

"Hmm, not very focused and short," Ambraz said, sounding displeased.

Irwin looked up, unsure what the other meant. The fire beam had lasted for at least six seconds!

"Well, I guess we will have to reforge the card some more to make the duration increase," the Anvil lamented. "Like this, you can't even heat up the softest of metals."

Irwin was confused for a moment until he remembered what Ambraz had said long ago in the tower. He said he could use the eyes not just for combat but also to help with forging. Wait, wasn't that just a few weeks ago? He barely recalled everything that had happened since, but it felt like a year had passed. He suddenly wondered how his mum and brother were. It was still only the start of the winter, and snow hadn't even fallen yet.

A hiss and grunt drew him out of his melancholy, and he looked up. Daubutim had unsummoned his shield and was moving through attack stances with his morningstar, wielding it in two hands. He didn't seem to have noticed him using his skill, or if he had, he was ignoring it. Instead, he spun around. His movements were fast and snappy. However, they seemed to lack the oily aspect they had when he was wielding the shortsword.

Not that it mattered. Irwin had no illusion that he would be helpless if he had to face someone like Daubutim. He sat down, back against one of the anvils. He wanted to try out his new skill again, but it would need a few more minutes to recharge. So, he quietly watched as Daubutim continued and slowly drifted off in thought. His mind conjured up images of the hounds from the previous portal, roaming the lands and attacking people. Galubs attacking the cities, and legendary portals appearing.

--

"Irwin?"

Irwin snapped awake, blinking around as a nightmare about the world-shattering faded. He'd dozed off at some point, Daubutim's movements and his own weariness getting to him. He had no idea how long he'd slept, but Daubutim's morningstar was gone, and he was sitting not too far away, staring at him.

"You need to do your second card now," Daubutim said as he got up.

Irwin felt his heartbeat jump up, and he shivered.

"I know you're afraid of the pain, and I understand, but you can't let it define you," Daubutim said as he held out his hand to pull Irwin up.

"Imagine when you have both of the cards, you-"

Irwin grabbed the offered hand, causing Daubutim to fall quiet. He was shivering violently but pulled the Coperion Fists card from his pocket. Daubutim was right. If their world was going to explode into shards, he needed strength. Strength to save himself, his mother, his brother, and everyone else he cared about. He didn't want his world to shatter!

It was a simple, clean desire, and it barely balanced with his fear. He felt like he was standing on a narrow ledge, about to fall as the edge seemed to crumble. The fear constantly tried to pull him down, and he quickly put the card on the back of his hand. He had to do this now. As the card sank into his hand, there was none of the joy and happiness that he had when he got his second card. Instead, there was just the struggle.

A dull feeling spread across his hands, and for a moment, they shimmered with a polished copper gleam. Then it stopped, and his fear momentarily gave way to wonder as his hands grew stronger and stronger. There was a soft squeaking sound like metal across metal as he clenched his hands into fists.

Two hands gripped his shoulders, turning him around, and he stared into Daubutim's eyes.

"This will hurt. But pain is fleeting, and life is full of it. This is more than normal pain, but if we are to survive, what is to come…"

Irwin licked his lips, then nodded. Daubutim's words didn't help, instead drawing his attention back to the pain. He closed his eyes, trying to sense the new card. Having practiced on the other two, he almost instantly sensed its presence, like a heavy, strong weight in the back of his mind. With a tug, he drew it forward, and a card appeared, hovering above his hand.

Trying to suppress any thoughts, he stepped towards Ambraz, who had been silently waiting. With each step he took, the fear and memories of the pain increased, but he forged on and, without stopping, put his hand on the forge. He suddenly realized that tears were running down his face.

"About time! So then, full body or stronger hands?" Ambraz asked.

"Full body," Irwin croaked. He steeled himself for the-

The first hit struck his left hand, and he screamed. Something held his hand on the surface as he pulled it back, and he howled as the second blow came.

Hit upon hit followed, and his mind tuned out, awash with pain. A tiny part of him felt how Daubutim struggled to keep him at the Anvil. Somewhere halfway, blissful unconsciousness took him.

--

Daubutim sat on the ground, watching over Irwin. The screaming had lasted shorter this time, and he'd almost let him drop when Irwin suddenly slumped, having gone unconscious. Still, after he'd gotten a good grip, things had become easier. Without the screaming and thrashing, it would have been almost tranquil if not for the steady, evenly-timed strikes.

He is so heavy now, he thought with a frown as he recalled the moment Ambraz had finished. Irwin's weight had more than doubled almost instantly, catching him off guard. Even now, the other's skin glimmered in the torchlight. Somehow, he didn't expect his father would have found the card agreeable. Limiting one's speed was dangerous.

After a few minutes, he summoned his morningstar and began moving through the forms he'd learned long ago. He was rusty, not having used them for a long time, but he would become better.