Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 274: Intercept course

Varidia shivered as her mind kept wandering back to the moment the raider had reached her house. She tried to push the memory away, but it wouldn't let her, and she saw how the carded sword slashed through her dau-

A wave of soulforce rammed into her mind, the music sad, deep, and melancholic. It forced all thoughts from her as she bolted upright in the bed, staring at the ship's wall before her. She heard the others exclaim and mutter things, but she couldn't catch anything they said. All she could do was listen and feel as the soulforce in the small room flowed in tandem with the beautiful sound that was starting to become clear to her ears.

What… who….

Her mind kept trying to conjure haunting images, but the song's haunting sound seemed to wash them away before they could take hold, and for the first time since they were saved, she got out of bed. Swaying on her feet, she felt the bark on her back taut from where the wounds were still healing, but she ignored it as she stumbled to the door.

There was a cry from one of the others, but she ignored it as she opened the door- the soulforce all around, normally faint and softy humming, was surging like the sea during a storm.

Who can do this? she thought as she stumbled through the ship's hallway, barely noticing the doors that opened as the other smiths came out.

The sound of an instrument began joining the voices; two, deep and rumbling as they intertwined in a wordless song, and a half dozen others creating higher notes. A part of her recognized those- Ganvil voices, the metallic twang in them something she had heard before, but the other two she couldn't pinpoint. One could be a Ganvil, but if it was, there was something different to his voice.

She barely noticed as she reached the top of the stairs, and as she opened the door, her mouth fell open as the concentration of soulforce seemed to skyrocket to an amount she'd never heard of before. She could sense it all around her and hear it as it seemed to boost the song's haunting melody. How long she stood there, gaping and seeing nothing as she felt the soulforce ripple and hum.

Then, the song gained a hopeful, empowering quality, and the two singing voices increased in power. The ship deck below her bare feet trembled, and she looked around as she felt someone gently push her out onto the deck.

Four Ganvils stood in the center of the deck, smiths behind them. Waves of soulforce rippled from all of them, and the density of soulforce in their immediate area was so dense that she couldn't sense their presence. It took her a moment to move her attention away from the soulforce and to the smiths.

She recognized three Granitians, tall and powerfully built, and one… Loydin? No, that wasn't right.

A Fiz'rin, she thought, recognizing the rare species.

He was the one singing, his deep voice having a slight metallic quality, though not as much as the voice that came from the Ganvil before him. It was instantly obvious that he was like her and used the musical style of smithing but at a way higher level.

But where's the instrument player? she thought, looking around.

She could hear it, as well as sense the influence on the surrounding soulforce, but-

She froze as she finally registered the surroundings beyond the ship. A barrier sat around them, gleaming so bright it looked like a shell of metal, so dense it looked physical. Beyond it was a enormous monstrosity with tentacles that constantly struck down on the barrier. Every few moments a crack would appear, to be closed instants later.

"What… is that?" she shouted in fear, snapping out of the reverie the music had pulled her into. Part of her realized it was also the first time since being saved that she wasn't wallowing, but she had no time to think about it.

"An Oculithar," a coarse feminine voice replied.

Varidia looked up in surprise to see another Fiz'rin smiling at her. She realized she'd seen her before, walking through the room she'd been in and even handing her food. She should know her name, but trying to think back caused pain to bubble up, and she quickly stopped.

"That's impossible," she heard herself say, shaking her head. "Oculithar should be much larger, and we would be dead even if it wasn't. They are incredibly powerful!"

"Then it's a good thing we have a bunch of high-rank Ganvils here to create that barrier," the Fiz'rin said, smiling, comforting. "Don't worry. We should reach the intact corridor soon."

Both their voices were barely audible over the loud music, and it took Varidia a moment to understand what the other had said. She shook her head, not sure how to respond, as her gaze drifted back to the four smiths, and she focused on the other Fiz'rin.

"Is he a ruby rank smith?" she asked. "I've never heard of a Fiz'rin high-ranked smith."

There was no reply, but she didn't mind as she moved to the cabin wall and slid down, staring at the smith at work. His movements were smooth and practiced, and the delicate way he manipulated the soulforce around him- the insane detail he managed to craft in the song caused her to sigh in awe.

I hope I can do it like that one day, she thought before she felt her mind go blank as she simply sat and enjoyed the song and music.

--

Irwin struck the card before him, almost in a trance from the half-a-dozen cards he'd reforged. A shimmering image of a rope attached to a metal spear showed while the card's resonance told him it was a Topaz summon-utility card.

"We will reach the stable corridor soon! Finish this card and we should be fine!" Ambraz said in his soulscape, his companion's voice weary.

Irwin grunted in acknowledgment as he focused on the new card, realizing he was going to need another song. He'd gone through a few, changing them slightly while forcing the cards along, sometimes so far beyond their initial desire that he'd ended up with two that would never be able to be increased ever again, and if he'd try, they would likely explode.

Risking a quick look around, he saw that Hou'dor and the other rank fives were gleaming with soulforce. Hou'dor's lips were pressed tight, showing just how taxing keeping up the portal was, even with the dense soulforce that surrounded them.

It's not as dense as when we did the heartcard, though, he thought. Part of that was because of the much larger size, but it was also because he couldn't put his all into these cards. The only reason Hou'dor and the others were even managing was because of the other three's contributions.

He glanced at Esther, Selene, and Montain, who seemed completely engrossed in their reforging. All three of them wouldn't be able to continue much longer. Their soulforce was becoming dangerously low, and the fluctuations coming from them were getting weaker.

They aren't the only ones, he thought, feeling his own soulscape rapidly draining. He could still continue for a while, if he had to, at least a few cards, but he'd be out for a while after if he did.

His gaze flickered to the barrier. It was able to resist the whip cracks of the massive tentacles for now, but with each hit, some cracks appeared, which were closing ever slower.

Even with all their focus, the barrier can barely handle that thing, he thought, glaring at the monstrous Oculithar.

He grimaced as he imagined what would happen if he failed.

Knowing he had no more time, his other-self began playing a tune before Ambraz could even suggest anything, and both of him grinned as he started singing the last song he'd sung with Skylar and the girls. It had been Roubi who'd done the singing that time, but he knew the words by heart.

--

Greldo couldn't help grinning as he heard Irwin's deep bass rumble the almost angry song, Ambraz joining in like a screaming banshee as the soulstrum guitar echoed from the barrier, creating a haunting sound.

It's better with the saxophone, but it's still a fun song, he thought.

He noticed that Sibil's head kept turning around, her eyes roaming across the storm, sometimes moving to Irwin and the other smiths. Although he knew there was little they could do, he couldn't blame her.

Zender stood near his sister at the helm while the others were spread out across the deck. Only Hind had moved to stand with the smiths which they had saved. Just seeing their bandages or malnourished, wounded bodies made him angry.

If I figure out who is doing this, I'm going to see how they enjoy being dragged through the shadows and dropped beyond the barrier, he thought. His eyes focused on the tentacled monster beating at them behind the barrier. It was odd how distant and unreal it all seemed now that he couldn't hear the storm howling and see raging beyond the barrier and the impacts of its strikes.

It's a shame Hou'dor and the other can't always keep it up like this, Greldo thought as he saw the relative safety of the intact corridor close in.

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"Get everyone below deck," he said as he turned to Sibil. "The smiths will likely stop soon, and I have no idea what that will do to the barrier."

"What? Why would they stop?" she asked, the sudden fear evident in her tone.

"Because even Irwin won't be able to keep this up for much longer," Greldo said. "I've seen smiths reforge many times, and it drains them. Why do you think there's not more high-rank, specialized cards around?"

Sibil looked at the monster and then at the smiths, her face turning even paler.

"What if it follows us inside?"

Greldo didn't respond because he had no answer to it. After a few moments, he shrugged.

"Get them below deck."

Sibil swallowed, then vanished into the shadowrealm. He saw her trail rush to the middle of the deck while Coal sent him a message.

'Yeah, she isn't that bad,' he agreed.

--

"We are inside!"

Irwin continued with the final card, feeling a sense of intense relief at Greldo's shout. He wished he could look up to see what would happen, but if he did, he'd ruin the card.

"It's unable to enter!"

A cheer rose from the deck, and a few moments later, Irwin sensed someone beside him finish forging.

"Thank the Elder Core," Montain rumbled, and something thudded onto the deck.

"Should we continue?" Esther asked from the side.

"It should be fine," Greldo replied.

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Irwin continued for two more hits, slightly rushing his work even though he knew it wouldn't make the card as good as it could be. As he struck the final blow, he didn't bother looking at the card as it moved to Emerald rank, instead taking a step back and looking around.

The Oculithar was far behind them, its tentacles wrapped around the cracked parts of the corridor, seemingly trying to pierce it.

"Hey. You alright?"

He looked up to see Greldo beside him.

"I'm fine, just tired," Irwin replied, rolling his head and cracking his shoulders to get the tension out. "I'll be fine after some rest."

Greldo's eyes flicked behind him, and he grimaced.

"Think you could do with just some food and light sailing?" he asked.

Irwin followed his look to where Earila was clutching the helm in a death grip, her face pale and Zender hovering beside her, looking worried.

"She did great, but she isn't as strong," Greldo said.

Irwin was already nodding, trying to force his greater endurance to kick in. His soulforce was low, barely ten percent remaining, but he knew it was still more than many on deck even had. Not that it was that simple, but it would have to do.

"Boohm, can you get everyone some food?" Irwin shouted, getting everyone on deck's attention. Seeing the eyes focus on him, part of him sighed as he knew he'd probably have to say something. Boohm was hovering near the door, seemingly having realized the same, and Irwin grunted at the Onyxian's grin. After a quick thought, he decided to just keep it simple.

"Great job," he said, looking at Hou'dor and the other rank-five Ganvils. "Hou'dor, how long do you all need to rest?"

"At least a week," the Ganvil said. "Longer would be better."

Irwin gave the Ganvil a quick nod. As much as he'd prefer to keep going, he knew it would be stupid to head into the storm without their barrier at full strength.

"Esther, Selene, Montain, thanks for your help. You did great," he said.

Montain and Selene were sitting on the deck, their backs against their Ganvils, both looking like they were ready to sleep in a moment. Only Esther was still standing, though from how she was swaying, it was based on pure willpower.

"Try and get some rest. The rest of you, head downstairs and get something to eat," Irwin said, smiling at the Viridian smiths sitting and standing near the door. Two older humans with their topaz ranking stones embedded in their foreheads stood a bit to the side, and Irwin could see that they wanted to talk to him.

They will have to wait, Irwin thought as he turned to the helm and forced himself to walk towards it without stumbling. As he approached, he saw Earila stifle a yawn.

"You did great," he said, unable to stop himself from rubbing her purple hair, which was now touching her shoulders, almost as long as Zender's. "Go eat and rest. You can come take over when you wake."

"But Captain," Earila muttered, stifling another yawn. "You were here before, then the smithing! You need to-"

Irwin slowly pulled her away from the helm, gripping it with one hand to keep it on course.

"Go and rest. I'll be fine," he said. "Zender, get some food, then check the sails."

"Yes, Captain," Zender said, his grin wide as he pulled Earila away.

Irwin could only just hear a whispered 'I told you so' before they were out of earshot.

"You going to be alright?" Greldo asked.

"Sure, just get me something to eat that's not a skewer! I hope I never have soaking wet and cold meat again."

"I'll get Boohm to make you some Ignitzian thing," Greldo said with a grin.

Coal appeared beside him, lying down on the deck as he walked away.

Irwin sighed as he gripped the steering wheel.

"Kid, I have an idea," Ambraz said from his shoulder.

"Tell me," Irwin said.

"After we return, we stay there for a while longer and take some rest."

"Great idea," Irwin said.

"Yeah. I'll go and sleep now. Wake me if there's something wrong."

Irwin was jealous as he felt Ambraz move into his soulscape before focusing on the corridor in front of him. It was wide enough to be called a sidebranch, and as he looked in the distance, he realized he'd been here before.

This is close to where we breached that barricade, he thought as he slowed the ship down to the slowest speed.

"Hou'dor, you can lower the barrier as much as needed," he said, glancing at the storm still raging around outside. Still, compared to what they had just been through, it seemed barely worse than a spring storm in Malorin. "Just get it back up when food arrives, please?"

"Yes, captain."

Irwin slowly felt the temperature drop, and he couldn't wait to be in his bed.

--

"Do you think we could become like that if we could bond with a Ganvil?"

"No. I've seen bonded smiths before, and none of them were anywhere near this good."

"The captain…"

Sibil tried to ignore the chattering smiths that filled the galley or the happily singing Boohm. She was surprised at how much better they all looked, even the three that had seemed catatonic.

Perhaps it's because of the smithing? she thought, recalling the scene of the four smiths reforging on the middle of the deck.

She'd never seen one reforge a card before, and now that she had, she realized just how difficult it was. She could faintly sense soulforce, better than most people on her homeworld, and the things she'd felt while they were working- she shook her head.

As impressive as that all was, the thing that really kept playing through her mind were the Captain's songs. Especially the one that had sounded sad and lonely before ending in a thunderous frenzy that still made her blood boil.

Someone stopped beside her, and she looked up to see Greldo, a massive bowl of something that was steaming and smelled spicy in his hands.

"Come and find me when you are done. We need to scout ahead soon, and I need to know how long till you are up for something."

She nodded, trying to chew, swallow, and answer, and almost choking.

"Calm down, no rush! Enjoy your meal," Greldo said, his silvery eyes shining as he grinned.

Sibil watched him leave before sighing and focusing on the rest of her meal. Her stomach had mostly calmed, but she knew if she did anything strenuous, she'd be right back to feeling sick. Her soulcard needed time to recover. Not that she'd tell Greldo that. Although he seemed reasonable enough, she still had no idea what to expect. After the Ruby's Revenge, she wasn't going to take any chances.

At least the food is much better, she thought as she wondered where The Ruby's Revenge was. Had Nralt really gone crazy and chased after them? If it had, she hoped they came across that tentacled monster.

--

Zirt gritted his teeth as he heard the raging coming from below the deck. Occasionally, things shattered, and he hoped it wasn't the windows or the aquarium. Replacing those would be impossible until the storm stopped.

He glared around at the barrier, which was recovering from their trip through the nearly destroyed corridor behind them. The storm still roared behind it, but little of the sound could come through.

If that old bastard damages my ship-

Soft footsteps made him look up to see a Kraniox walk towards him.

Darkix, Nralt's most loyal supporter. His mask was split in the middle, showing a tiny bit of the gruesome face he knew hid behind it. It was a wound the Kraniox bodyguard had gotten while defending Nralt from a shadowwalker. The crack was his badge of honor, and when drunk, he couldn't stop bragging about it. They all knew the story and its dozens of versions by heart, but nobody dared complain... Darkix's temper was too volatile, and being a three-soulcarded who was fully focused on close combat, he was the second strongest person on the ship.

All around, the other crewmembers were working, but he could see they were faking it. They were watching to see what would happen.

"Darkix?"

"He's getting worse…" the Kraniox said in his raspy, cracked voice. "Are you certain you will get permission from the Captains and the Admiral?"

Zirt hid his surprise. He'd expected something, but this was more than just something. This was the final opening he'd been waiting for as he sensed the anger oozing from Darkix. He'd never been able to influence him, not like he could the others. Just like the Captain, he had at least one soulcard that was emerald, which blocked his own and was the reason he'd had to do this the slow and tedious way.

"Yes. I was officially named to replace him when he quits the next time we returned," he said. "Only that disgusting Scander didn't like it, but who cares about him. Besides, do you think I'd lie about this? My fate would be the worst imaginable."

"Don't make it seem our fate would be much better if we do this," Darkix hissed, leaning forward and causing a foul stench of rotting meat to waft into Zirt's face.

Zirt didn't react but stared into the slits of the mask.

"You would get off with a warning and a few extra years," he said. "I'd be ripped apart."

Darkix stared at him, and Zirt began worrying.

A scream of rage came from below as the entire ship shook from a blow against the hull.

Darkix let out a weary sigh. "Fine. I'd have followed you after Nralt left, so why not start early."

Zirt didn't believe the other one bit, but he smiled sadly.

"Aye. It's a shame it has to go this way," he said.

"So then. How do you want to do this, Captain?" Darkix asked, taking a step back and putting a hand on the ax handle sticking from his belt.

"We are going to use someone to give us a hand," Zirt said as he couldn't stop smiling. Perhaps coming here prematurely wasn't such a horrible thing after all.

Darkix's eyes narrowed. "What? I thought we couldn't track them?"

"And we can't," Zirt said, turning to the helm and nodding at the Loydin. "But there's no need to track someone if you know where they are going."

He turned to the cabin leading down.

"I'll warn the captain that we have a lead on the map thief," he said. "Get everyone ready. We are heading to Sesnanser. Either we will catch them before they reach it or grab them when they are there."