Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin lowered Jort to the ground in front of the gate. The guards and rangers on the walls were calmly looking down.

"By Yilda I'm glad we are back," Jort whispered.

"Yes," Irwin said as he watched the door open up.

A familiar guard walked out, nodding at him.

"Irwin," he said before looking at Jort. "Jort, report."

"I'll be reporting to the rangers in a moment," Jort said. "Just come along, and you will get the same information."

Irwin saw the guard's eyes narrow, then the man glanced at him and nodded. "Fine."

Jort said his goodbyes, and a few moments later, Irwin stood alone before the gate, trying to ignore the curious eyes of guards and rangers.

He was about to head back home to see his mother when a ranger in dark leather armor came running through the alleyway that led to the castle. When she noticed Irwin, she ran forward, stopping a few feet away.

"Irwin! Lord Rhym asks for your presence. The Sorceress Clarish has returned," he said.

"Lead the way," Irwin said, hoping Clarish had good news.

The city was slightly more busy than the previous times he had walked through it, and as they rushed towards the castle, Irwin saw that many people were talking animatedly—an almost palpable excitement hung in the air.

Did Rhym tell them we are leaving? Irwin wondered.

"What's going on?" he asked.

The ranger turned to him, grinning widely, her eyes sparkling. "Lord Rhym told us you are going to bring us to a safe new world."

Irwin blinked, then smiled. "So Clarish brought good news?"

"News and a really interesting fellow by the name of Greldo!"

Irwin's eyes widened, and he increased his pace. If Greldo was here, that meant Daubutim was ready to change the portal's location!

Wait… what does he mean by very interesting?

Before he knew it, he was sprinting through the narrow corridors, the ranger barely able to keep up.

He ignored the guards at the castle's main gate, who quickly got out of his way and barreled through the castle until he reached the room where he'd last seen Lord Rhym. He ran up the stairs into the room and saw Lord Rhym looking up from where he had been talking with a guard.

"Damn, but you make a ruckus when you run," a familiar voice said from the table to the side. Irwin looked up to see Greldo sitting beside Clarish.

"Greldo!" Irwin shouted as he walked forward, clasping hands with his friend. "How are things on-"

"Eluathar," Greldo said, interrupting him.

Irwin stared back in surprise, opening and closing his mouth a few times. "What?" he finally muttered.

"That's the name of the world," Greldo said with a shrug. "I'm not sure who first called it that, but before I knew it, everyone was calling it that."

Irwin thought about the word before slowly repeating it. "Eluathar… It sounds good."

"I hope so because I don't think we are going to change it anytime soon," Greldo said with a grin. "So! I just talked with our old Teacher. Can you believe how much has changed in this shithole?"

Irwin saw Lord Rhym glare at Greldo, and he sighed. "It's not that bad," he said, ignoring Greldo's glittering eyes. "So, is Daubutim ready?"

"Yes, finally! The last Degonda group will arrive at the portal in three days," Greldo said.

Irwin sighed in relief. That meant that even if all else failed, all of the people of Degonda would at least be safe.

Greldo grinned. "More importantly, I hear you're having some trouble finding where the portal might open here?"

Irwin sat down beside him. "The Bablibon is inside the forest, searching for something," he said.

Greldo nodded. "So I heard," he said. "Any idea what it's looking for?"

"None," Irwin said." But whatever it is, it's probably best for us if it doesn't find it."

"Irwin, could you tell me if your trip was successful!?" Lord Rhym asked loudly.

Irwin looked up and found that the guard had left, and sorcerer Uldrot was standing beside Lord Rhym.

"We managed to clear out a few hundred Imps, and I collapsed a cave with a portal," Irwin said.

Lord Rhym's eyes widened while Sorcerer Uldrot frowned in disbelief. Irwin ignored it, knowing they would hear from Jort soon enough.

"I've also managed to gain a bit more information on the Bablibon. It has been searching for me and somehow managed to find its way here. I have no idea how it managed that, but it seems to be out for vengeance."

"Vengeance for you hurting it?" Lord Rhym asked.

Irwin shrugged. "Probably. There is nothing else that makes sense," he said, recalling what Gelwin had told him about Bablibons being incredibly spiteful.

Lord Rhym quietly watched them for a bit before turning to Greldo.

"Are you able to scout Gloomforest and find out where it is and where the portal could potentially be?"

"Sure I can," Greldo said, leaning back and glancing at Clarish. "You said something about a map of the forest?"

Clarish nodded before looking at her uncle. "Uncle, can I get the map?"

Sorcerer Uldrot looked at Greldo for a moment before nodding.

"No need. I'll get it," the older sorcerer said before vanishing, leaving behind a momentary shadowy version of himself that faded within moments.

"Look at that, another shadow teleporter," Greldo said, crossing his arms with a grin. "I'm going to have to ask him for some tricks if he has any."

"Will you be using some of those cards to upgrade my guards to heartcarded?" Lord Rhym asked, clearly ignoring Greldo.

"Two," Irwin said with a nod.

"Rare?" Lord Rhym asked hopefully.

Irwin thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Two at uncommon or one at rare."

"You have only gotten ten cards, then?" Lord Rhym asked.

Knowing the old man was fishing, Irwin shook his head but didn't answer. He wanted to use at least fifteen of the cards to create one, or hopefully two, rare heartcarded rangers. With his brother being one of the captains, he'd prefer them to have more power, and he was going to ask his brother which of his own squad should be elevated to heartcarded.

"I see," Lord Rhym said.

A few moments later, Sorcerer Uldrot returned with a soft crackle of black swirling shadows. He was carrying a rolled-up scroll, which he placed on the table, unfolding it.

Irwin leaned back, watching Greldo inspect it and ask questions. When his friend finished, Lord Rhym was humming softly.

"Will you be leaving right away?" he asked.

"No," Greldo said as he got to his feet, grinning at Irwin. "I'm going to be looking around a bit first. I'll leave later today and let you know when I'm back."

Irwin held back a grin as he saw Greldo pull a face while walking away. His friend had never liked Rhym, not even back when they went to school.

Neither did I, he suddenly thought.

He recalled how Rhym had favored the young nobles on many occasions. Greldo and he had both been on the receiving end of what he had then thought were unjust punishments on more than one occasion. Still, his mother seemed certain about Rhym, and she wasn't one to trust easily.

Behind Greldo, Lord Rhym shook his head before turning to Irwin.

"Irwin, please let me know when I can send the first guard."

"Tomorrow morning I'll be inside the Ranger Tower's cellar," Irwin said.

Lord Rhym sat down with a weary sigh. "They will be there."

Irwin nodded, then waved to Sorcerer Urdoth and Clarish before quickly following Greldo.

His friend stood below the stairs, his head tilted and clearly listening to something. Irwin walked up to him, but Greldo shook his head, raising a finger for silence.

Curious, Irwin remained where he was. A short minute later, Greldo grinned as he began walking.

"What was it?" Irwin asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just listening to see how Teacher Rhym would react to our little interaction," Greldo said, his grin widening.

"And?"

"He was mightily annoyed by my behavior and is talking with that sorcerer to come up with an alternative for when I fail," Greldo said, then laughed softly. "I can't wait to rub his face in the fact that I won't."

Irwin sighed, shaking his head. "You do remember we are here to save people?" he asked.

"I do," Greldo said, scratching his chin. "But that doesn't mean I can't have some payback while doing it. Anyway, how about a tour of this place? I've always wanted to see how those noble brats lived."

Irwin was about to say they didn't have time for it, then held back. This might be the last chance they ever had… and he remembered many times that he and Greldo had discussed, in all seriousness, what this place would look like inside. Was he really willing to surrender this last opportunity?

"Alright… let's take a quick look," he said, grinning as he looked around.

"Hidden dungeon first!" Greldo shouted as he sprinted towards a corridor leading down.

--

After running around the castle for a while, Irwin and Greldo made their way outside and began wandering the familiar streets of the inner city.

"You remember how we hid there so Bast and his cronies wouldn't find us?" Greldo said softly, pointing at a low building with a ledge.

Irwin knew there was a small alcove above due to how the roof of the nearby building angled over it.

"I do," he said, raising his eyebrow as he softly elbowed his friend. "Wanna know who was one of the first people I met here?"

Greldo looked back, eyes widening. "You didn't! Did you kick his ass?"

Irwin snorted. "No, and you shouldn't either. Bast isn't like what we remember," he said before slowly explaining what had happened.

"Hah, so that fool is an old wrinkly bastard now," Greldo said. "That makes me very happy!"

Irwin didn't respond, but he looked at Greldo. There was only one reason he could come up with why he was acting as aggressively as he had been, and he licked his lips nervously.

"Do you want to see if your mother survived?" he asked softly.

Greldo didn't respond for a while, and they continued through a narrow street they had moved through many times in the past.

"I already asked," Greldo finally said, his voice cracking. "She was one of those killed when the Nyzir swarmed the city."

Irwin felt his skin grow cold. He knew his friend had little love for his mother, but even then, this had to hurt. "I'm sorry to hear that," he whispered.

"Yeah," Greldo said. "It gets worse… Remember she was seeing that abusive old bastard, Tyson Bas?"

Irwin nodded slowly, remembering the nasty piece of work.

"Well, apparently, he died trying to protect her and managed to save some of the other people. They say he's a hero… Can you believe that?"

Irwin grimaced at the deep pain in his friend's voice, and he sighed. "No, not really," he said truthfully.

"Me neither," Greldo snapped. "But they swear it's true."

They continued walking through town for a while longer, and slowly Irwin began guiding them to his brother's house. "Do you want to see my mother?" he asked.

"Yeah, I could do with some happy news right about now," Greldo said before glancing at Irwin. "I'm really happy your brother and mother are still alive."

"Me too," Irwin said, gripping his friend's shoulder and squeezing it before they continued walking.

It took them only a short while to reach Bronwyn's house, but by the time they did, Greldo seemed back to his old, happy self. Irwin knew it was a facade and suddenly couldn't wait to be away from Giard. After everyone was safe on Eluathar, they could leave this place behind where it belonged: in their memories.

Carla was the one to open the door, smiling when she saw him. She was holding Drum in one arm, and the baby was gurgling happily, trying to reach one of his mother's stray locks of hair.

"Irwin, it's good you are back," she said before turning to Greldo. "You are…?"

"This is Greldo, who I told you about," Irwin said.

"Oh! Welcome," Carla said as she beckoned them both in.

A few moments later, they were sitting at the kitchen table, Irwin's mother tutting as she brought both of them some water.

"Greldo Domnyr! I didn't expect to see you again until Irwin told me you had survived," she said as she sat down, examining Greldo. "You did well," she said with a firm nod.

"Thank you," Greldo said, smiling.

Irwin saw him sit a little straighter and remained quiet as his mother began asking Greldo questions about what he'd been up to and how he had survived. After a while, the discussion went to what they would have to do now, and his mother frowned.

"So you are going into Gloomforest on your own? Will you be alright?"

Greldo grinned as he got up. "Definitely," he said, stepping to the side and appearing on the other side of the small kitchen. "I'd love to see anything try and catch up to me."

Irwin saw his mother frown worriedly.

"Don't underestimate demons," she said. "Many good people got killed due to their hubris."

"We won't," Greldo said as he looked at Irwin. "I'm going to set out and see what I can find. I'll probably be back tomorrow morning."

Irwin got up, slightly worried suddenly. "Alright. Make sure you do, or I'll have to come and get you," he said.

Greldo grinned, shaking his head. "What, and burn down the forest?"

Irwin raised an eyebrow. "That might not be such a bad idea."

"Well, don't do anything like that while I'm inside," Greldo said. He grinned, then vanished into the shadow.

Irwin watched at the empty corner worriedly.

"He will be fine," his mother muttered, but Irwin could hear the worry in her voice.

--

Greldo looked around his old street, then glanced at the house he'd grown up in. A small family was living there now, and he sighed. Stepping back into the shadows, he used his heartcard's skill and reappeared outside of Malorin in the shadow of the wall.

He looked at the rangers atop the wall and snorted. They hadn't even looked down yet, their eyes only trailing on the distant forest.

They need to learn to look everywhere, he thought as he summoned Coal.

The massive hound appeared beside him, and he felt a sense of worry from his companion.

I'm fine, Greldo sent back as he looked at the distant Gloomforest. "Ready to do some hunting?"

Coal stepped up to him, rubbing its massive shoulder against his chest.

"Fine, fine. We won't be doing anything foolish," Greldo said, rubbing his friend below the chin. "Let's go and see if we can find that ugly chicken."

He focused on the distant forest, sensing the shadows almost like a distant wind that played across his face. A small focus later, he appeared a great distance from Malorin below a gnarly old tree. Coal stepped out of the shadows beside him. The scent of rotting leaves, musty moss, and… something odd permeated the air.

Focusing around, he frowned. There was a sense of wrongness over the forest that he wasn't sure had been there before. He'd never actually been in Gloomforest when he was young, and it might just have always been like this, but somehow, he doubted it.

Let's stick to the shadows and see what we can find, he sent to Coal, stepping back into the shadowy realm.

They moved through the Gloomforest, everything dark and quiet, and the further they went, the more worried Greldo became. There were no signs of life anywhere, and as he went deeper, the sense of wrongness increased.

As the last rays of sunlight vanished, they reached the southern edge of Sultur Crevice. Even the start was so deep he couldn't see the depths of it, and it was already forty feet across on its narrowest point. He knew it would continue widening until it was hundreds of feet wide, and he wondered how the ranger had even found that Bablibon.

Be alert, Greldo sent to Coal. This is where the ranger said the demon chicken was.

They continued gliding through the shadows, and a mile from the start, Greldo was starting to wonder if the other ranger had been lying. Then Coal signaled him that he was hearing something. Greldo didn't hear anything, but he knew Coal's ears were even better than his.

So it's down? he thought, staring into the shadows below. Fine, let's have a look.

They drifted down into the omnipresent shadows and darkness, Coal leading, and within a few moments, Greldo began hearing scratching sounds. It reminded him of someone drawing their nails across a whetstone, and Greldo shivered. After a while, he heard a soft voice cursing, laughing, and singing. As they closed in, the words became audible.

"Close, close, so close!" A short burst of laughter followed the creaky voice.

Greldo stopped within the shadows, looking at a dugout tunnel in the wall. Splinters, stone, and dust were billowing and rattling out of it while a large shadow stood deep inside. It was attacking the stonewall with its massive hindlegs, digging down into the rock.

It's bigger than Coal! Didn't Irwin say it was smaller? Greldo thought as he felt a shiver run through him.

He was suddenly far less confident in his and Coal's odds against the thing as he saw it easily drill into the stone wall. As he watched the menacing bird, he remembered something that Irwin had told him about it. If the Bablibon found out that they were there, it would lure them in with the fake idea that they could take it on.

Those claws would rake us open from top to bottom, he thought.

"It's here. It has to be," the Bablibon whispered before letting a loud cackle as it increased its digging speed.

What is it looking for?

Greldo frowned as he looked around. There was no way the portal entrance would be here, he didn't believe it one bit. Irwin and Daubutim said that Gelwin had put them in locations that were at least accessible, and this definitely wasn't that.

He waited, somehow afraid to come to a close as the Bablibon continued digging. Sometimes, it would slow down, muttering to itself before it continued with a burst of speed. Finally, after what had to be hours, it stopped, backing up with a loud screech.

"Wrong, wrong! It's not here… close but still not right," it howled, turning around so fast that Greldo started and dashed back through the shadows in fear. He knew there was no way for it to see him, but something about the yellow eyes with red slits made him wary.

The Bablibon ran through the tunnel and jumped out, catching the edge of the rock with its massive clawed feet before standing on the wall and looking around. It frowned, its eyelids lowering across its bulbous yellow eyes as if it were searching for something. After a few moments, its eyes gleamed with a dangerous intellect, then it shivered and looked around.

Did it notice I'm here somehow? Greldo thought, floating further back and getting ready to teleport away.

The Bablibon scanned the wall, suddenly focusing on something.

"There! Of course, so close!" it shouted as it dashed across the wall as if it was a flat surface and reached a spot Greldo saw nothing odd about. There, it began slashing and hitting the wall again, only two dozen feet below the tunnel it had just made.

It knows something is here, but not exactly? Or is it just insane?

Greldo frowned as he looked around. The darkness of the crevice down below was so deep even he could barely see through it, and he hesitated for only a moment before telling Coal to keep an eye on the Bablibon. Then he began zipping through the shadows and, within moments, found more dead-end tunnels dug by the Bablibon. He didn't see any indication why the tunnels were dug there, and after searching further around, even going a good distance deeper, he returned, more confused than before. Each tunnel was almost the same depth, which told him that there was some plan for the madness he was seeing.

Perhaps it only knows something has to be here? he pondered, calmly watching the Bablibon, already a few feet inside the wall, chips of stone scattering behind it.

Deciding to see why the Bablibon was picking the locations, he waited till the Bablibon dug roughly the same distance, listening to its constant laughing and rambling. Most dealt with finding it, but sometimes it said different things.

"I'll find you, little painbringer. You and everyone that smells like you. Revenge will be sweet as I drink your blood and rip your tendons from your screaming husk!"

Painbringer? Does it mean Irwin? Greldo thought, feeling an intense fear that the Bablibon could somehow smell Irwin's presence on someone.

The Bablibon snarled, dashing out of the tunnel again. Greldo moved closer, following its gaze. As soon as it landed on something, he zipped through the shadows, hovering above the spot just before the Bablibon reached it. For one moment, he saw nothing, and then his keen eyes noticed something—a seemingly fresh crack in the otherwise old, dusty, and stone-riddled wall of the crevice. The Bablibon's claw jutted into it and began pulling and cracking as it tore open the wall.

Odd, why was there a new crack there, Greldo thought, hovering back a bit in the endless shadows of the chasm.

Curious, he began scanning the wall, and he quickly found that there were dozens more of the fresh tears in the wall. They almost looked like something had sliced into it.

All but one.

As he went lower and to the side, he noticed another crack, larger than the others, and as he hovered beside it, he saw the edges were blasted outward. Almost as if something inside had pushed itself out. Hovering before it, he peered deep into the hand-sized crack. Far in the distance, he saw a dim gleam. Blueish and pale.

A portal?

Greldo frowned when he suddenly realized something had changed. It was quiet. Wait, why did it-

Coal's warning made him dash to the side, only just in time to dodge a blur of nails that clashed with the wall he had been hovering before.

"Found something? You found something little shadow! Good shadow, nice pet! I'll allow you to feed on the crumbs of these weaklings after the dust settles," the Bablibon screeched while looking around.

Its eyes passed over Greldo before snapping back, the red slits narrowing as it focused. "Nyzir? No… something similar! Curious. I smell a card?"

Greldo backed up further while the Bablibon's eyes narrowed further.

A soft humm permeated the air, and Greldo didn't hesitate but teleported to the edge of the crevice far above. As he appeared inside the dark, moonlit forest, he instantly knew something was wrong, as he felt a combative feeling projected from Coal.

No! Don't attack, he sent back, just as laughter rang up.

"Just a shadow hound?" the Bablibon screeched from below, followed by Coal's roar.

Greldo unsummoned Coal. He was only barely in time as he felt a shock of pain from his friend, signaling at least something had wounded it. Then he was at the place he had gone when he was not with Greldo, sending a feeling of sorrow and fear.

It's fine, it's not your fault, Greldo thought as he hovered back from the edge.

Loud scratching was rushing up from below, and without another thought, he teleported a few hundred feet back into the treeline, high up near the top branches. Hiding below and behind the branch, he watched the Bablibon run up the rocky crevice side, then jump up and land on the edge, glaring around.

"My price," it roared, looking around. "Don't come back here, inbred mut! I'll eat you! No matter how many cards you've eaten, you won't be able to beat me!"

Greldo shivered inside the shadowy realm, watching as the Bablibon began walking around the edge, tearing into the ground for a while before jumping back in the crevice, leaving behind deep claw marks like a sign of its dominance.

Greldo looked at the crevice, hesitating before mentally shaking his head. He wanted to see what the Bablibon was going to do, but there was no need. It had been looking for the portal, somehow knowing it was there, and probably was planning to either go inside or let something come here. Looking around so he would be able to return here in a single teleport, he focused on his heartcard, feeling it shiver as he felt its energy drain as he triggered his teleport.

He vanished in a deeper layer of the shadows and reappeared a moment later below the wall of Malorin. A sense of weariness and weakness ran through him, but he ignored it. He floated up the wall along the shadows, and after a few moments, he entered through the window of Bronwyn's house.

Irwin was lying on a makeshift bed in the corner.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to cut your rest short, Greldo thought.