Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 318: Mountains

Rindiri glanced over the helm, watching Youritz hover above the front of the deck, his eyes closed and gleaming. His arm was still jotted forward, pointed straight into the storm that howled around them. Even after sailing through it for days, most of the crew rarely dared come up on deck, fearing the thin barrier might shatter at any moment.

Not that any of them had wanted to be left behind. No, many would rather be killed outright instead of that, something Rindiri understood well. Still, except for a handful of her crew, the rest were hiding below deck, preferring to be stuffed together in overcrowded quarters or shoulder-to-shoulder in the tiny galley.

That left just herself, Youritz, Dagger - who was rushing across the sails, keeping the spotless sails clean, and Castibal, the only non-Yuurindi person on the ship.

The burly Simlari stood with his arms leaning on the railing, staring at the storm in reverent awe. His shoulder-length, gray, and silver hair was floating around his head as was common for his species, sometimes flowing along with the storm beyond. He’d been standing at the same spot ever since they entered, seeming almost offhandedly to be powering the barrier separating them from certain death.

“That obsessed son of a fart has more soulforce than anyone I’ve ever met…”

Rindiri glanced up at Dagger. Her second in command was hovering above her. Her whispered voice had been loud enough that Castibal had probably heard it.

“Don’t agitate the one thing keeping us from dying,” Rindiri said, narrowing her eyes as she gave Dagger the glare she usually used on Zender when he’d pulled some shenanigans again.

The thought of her son made her think of her other living children, and for a short moment, her mind wandered of- wondering how they were doing. She knew most would be and stay safely tucked away, but Earilla and Zender were bound to follow Irwin. As much as she approved, she couldn’t hold back a tiny worry that this would cause them to be lost to her.

Before her thoughts could cause her to be distracted, she focused on Dagger. The short, almost criminally average-looking Yuurindi shook her head, her piercing purple eyes glimmering with glee.

“He won’t mind, Captain. He’s got a good sense of humor for one of dem stormy ones, even though he can’t seem to pull his head out of the clouds.”

Rindiri held her gaze for a bit, but with Castibal giving no reaction, she let it drop. She’d have to talk with him after her shift was over and make sure he wasn’t harboring some grudge.

She looked up to see that Dagger was gone again, crawling across the sail with as much ease as most would over a grassy field. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Time continued to pass, and the storm showed no signs of abating, raging on as it had for over a year now. Rindiri kept her full attention on sailing the ship, mechanically adjusting for the powerful gusts of wind shoving them around and keeping a constant eye on Youritz’s directions.

Hours must have passed, though no more than a few, when Youritz snapped his fingers and held up his hand.

Rindiri’s hands flew across the runes, causing The Sonata to slow down to a crawl. She’d have preferred stopping entirely, but with the winds still buffeting the ship, she needed some forward motion to prevent ramming into the barriers.

Youritz thudded back onto the deck before slowly getting to his feet. The older Yuurindi let out annoyed groans as he stretched and cracked his arms and legs. Rindiri heard him mutter something about being too old, and she held back a smile, knowing that many eligible females would gladly overlook his gray hairs. She had even seen Dagger, who was notoriously against spreading her genes, glance at him occasionally.

“The intel was mostly correct, Captain,” Youritz said as he looked at her. “There are three ships out there. A Currant Hunter, a Deadpact Mecerany ship, and… one that I have never seen before. The hull is pale and sharp, like an arrow tip, with blueish sails that occasionally gleam with some purple light. It’s roughly the same size as the Current Hunter and seems able to generate a larger barrier. The three of them are latched together inside.”

As Youritz spoke, Castibal had finally ripped himself from his obsession with the storm and moved closer. Dagger hung above them, listening in.

“The species on the ship are pale, like the hull, and their hair is either blue or… purple,” Youritz said.

“What? Are they Yuurindi?” Dagger snapped, letting go of the sail, flipping midair, and landing beside them.

“No, definitely not,” Youritz said. “Besides it being a different purple, their faces are longer and sharper, there’s something… very strange about them. They didn’t have any card slots.”

“So they are soulskilled,” Yuurindi mused, only for Youritz to frown.

“I kept an eye on them for as long as I dared, and in that short time, I saw a few of them use two distinctly different skills. If they are soulskilled, they seem to have multiple soulskills.”

“That’s impossible. You probably just didn’t seem right,” Dagger snorted.

“Oh, you think so?” Youritz said, raising an eyebrow. “One of them summoned a sword before moving away from the ship to scout the perimeter, moving like a blueish cloud. Another had been working on the sails, attached to them while using short-range teleports to move around. He also had a summoned weapon that he used to cut away a small section of the sail before repairing it somehow.”

As they spoke, Rindiri crossed her arms, holding back a shiver. She recalled the things she had learned while traveling with Irwin and speaking with Daubutim. Although her memory wasn’t as prodigious as that of the lightning-eyed leader of Eluathar, she vividly recalled the conversation about the ancient war they had spoken about. She hadn’t been confided in all the minutia, but the story about the species that stole and absorbed soulskills from others was something she’d likely never forget.

Some species from another part of the Portal Gallery, she thought, trying to recall their name. Glider, Guider?

It was something like that, she knew.

“Did you manage to gain any insight into what they were doing there?”

Youritz sighed, shaking his head. “No, the best I can tell you is that they spoke about the storm as if it was something that was created. Also, there seemed to be some tension between them.”

“Wait, they weren’t allies?” Rindiri asked, her attention diverted from wondering what the new species was.

“No… it felt more like the captain of the Currant Hunter was trying to get them to do something, and they seemed reluctant.”

“Alright. Do you have enough energy to continue observing them?” Rindiri asked.

Youritz nodded, though she saw the weariness in his eyes deepen.

“Good. If there’s any open conflict, warn me immediately,” she said. “If we can get them to fight among themselves, perhaps we can end up with one of their ships.”

“That sounds like a very unlikely scenario, Captain,” Youritz said as he turned and returned to where he’d been sitting.

Rindiri thought for a bit more before turning to Dagger. “Prepare everyone for a potential fight.”

Dagger’s eyes gleamed almost hungrily as she nodded and walked away, almost fading into the background.

“Why do you want to take one of their ships?”

Rindiri looked at Castibal, who was frowning. Ever since the Simlari had come aboard, he’d seemed slightly confused and absent-minded, and she realized she’d somehow just ignored him. Now, she realized just how much she’d let herself be lulled into a fake sense of security as his sharp gaze seemed to pierce through her. She felt a shiver of worry as she reminded herself that, although he was a four-soulcarded with a focus on soulforce and soulforce abilities, making him physically weaker than her, he was still highly dangerous in the current situation. If he withdrew his power, he could get them all killed.

He must have another card to allow him to seem… so inconspicuous, she thought. Normally, she’d never have just let herself slip up like this. Worse, if she was being influenced, that meant none of the others had even a remote chance to resist.

“I thought we were just here to do reconnaissance for Scander?” Castibal said.

“We are, but if we can gain one of their ships, that is a secondary objective,” Rindiri said. “We need to reduce the difference in ship power between us if we can.”

Castibal watched her quietly before raising one of his thick eyebrows so high it almost touched his hairline. “Let’s assume you aren’t taking me for a fool. Scander told me nothing about this. We are here to gain as much information as possible and potentially capture someone for interrogation. If I find you deviating from this plan, I’m going to have to act accordingly. Captain.“

Rindiri didn’t respond, while Castibal turned and walked back to the railing, where he returned to staring into the storm. As he did, Rindiri felt her attention drift away from him, almost out of her control. It took all of her willpower to think about what had just happened and keep the sensation she’d just felt alive instead of letting it fade.

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It took a minute for her to somehow resist the outside influence, and as soon as she did, she suddenly recalled multiple earlier events where Castibal had acted strangely.

Great… So now I need to figure out how to get one of those ships while not getting killed in the process by the potentially most powerful carded on board, Rindiri thought. She wondered why Scander had sent him and if he knew beforehand what Castibal was capable of.

--

Irwin leaned back in his chair, chewing on the last of the firespiced fish that Boohm had made.

They were currently hovering a few hours’ travel from Igniz inside a small, intact section of Portal Gallery surrounded by the storm. The crew of the Basalim was sitting on one side of the galley, looking worried. Irwin didn't blame them. The Basalim was covered in a thick layer of ice, and a lightning bolt had already ripped a hole in the hull. With the trip to Yuclan being weeks away, the chances of The Basalim making it without being reduced to ruin were looking small.

The rest of the galley was filled with his crew and the Igntizians, most of whom were enjoying the food while chatting softly. Many had been stunned by the storm, and their initial joyous optimism had faded. With Boohm in the kitchen, that meant that only Greldo and Dahlia weren’t there. Greldo was manning the helm, and Dahlia reforging some cards to refill Nim’ron’s drained soulforce.

Irwin’s eyes glanced at a duo sitting a bit further away, whispering.

I wonder if she can convince him, Irwin thought as he watched Hind speaking with her father.

After their far-too-dangerous getaway, Helm reluctantly agreed that returning was no longer an option and decided to go with Gi and Bri.

I wouldn’t mind having him on the crew, Irwin thought, recalling just how useful Helm’s cards had been during their getaway.

Immediately after they came through the exit portal, they had ran into a large contingent of Igntizin soldiers who were waiting for them with orders to take them into custody. Before anyone could act, Helm had used one of his cards to rip nearly all the nearby metal free of what held it, causing a sort of shrapnel explosion that gave Irwin the time to draw his steam around them. Between more metallic explosions from Helm and some brutal actions from the Igntizians with them, they made their way to the edge of the dock. By then, Helm had been so drained that Hind had been forced to carry him, but it had been well worth the effort as they had gotten there with zero losses.

Scintilla prodded him in his side, and he held back a grin as he looked up to see her intent stare.

“They aren’t ready yet?”

Although he already knew the result, Irwin still checked on his children. The result was the same as the previous ten times he’d checked. Playing with Gi and Bri, his three oldest were now incredibly close to solidifying fully, but still not completely there yet.

“No, but they are close,” he said. His attempt to keep any hilarity at her growing worry hidden must have failed as she snorted.

“Don’t you laugh at me! These will be my first Bladedaughters, and three of them aren’t even daughters!”

Irwin grinned as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Stop worrying. Everything will be fine. Besides, it will be a while before the last three solidify.”

As he spoke, he felt a warm glow as he realized that Scintilla had included Glow, as if he were one of her embers.

“Oh right, so having three children instantly isn’t that hard?” Scintilla muttered, leaning against his side.

“Be happy they aren’t like human babies,” Irwin said. “Can you imagine having to feed all three? Or waking up at night from their crying?”

Scintilla elbowed him while the Ignitzians who sat nearby burst out laughing.

“Wait, so Pyroflux is like water?”

Earila's shout of surprise caught Irwin’s attention, and he looked to the side where Earila and Zender sat together. His gaze landed on Sting, nestled happily on Zender’s shoulder. He’d been very proud of the young Yuurindi for immediately taking the Leafarit out of his burgeoning soulscape.

“Well, not exactly,” Zender said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It’s a bit thicker and so hot that I burned my finger when I put it inside.”

You what? Irwin thought, barely holding back an annoyed snort.

Seeing Zender’s remorseful grin, he didn’t react. Still, he worried about his own children when they first encountered a permafrost region. Shelving that worry for the Irwin of the future, he listened to Zender. The young Yuurindi was telling the story about when he was battling the Earth Titan from the inside. Apparently, it had caused tidal waves of Pyroxluc to crash across the beach and deep into the forest.

“There were really that many Embers inside?” Earilla asked, looking up and spotting Irwin watching her. “Really?”

“Sadly, yes,” Irwin said.

“Shouldn’t they get the other Earth Titans and free the embers?” Earila asked, sounding almost offended.

As she spoke, some of the nearby conversations fell silent. Earila looked around and turned slightly pale, seeming to understand how loud she’d been. Irwin, however, wasn’t surprised to see that the surrounding Ignitzians didn’t appear angry. Instead, there were many nodding, while a few looked somewhat sad.

“Don’t worry,” he said, drawing the attention back to him. “Tiscian is going to do just that.”

“Good,” Earila whispered, moving closer to Zender and lowering her posture as if she were trying to hide.

“I heard from Greldo that the two of you have been practicing your blade work?” Irwin said quickly.

Earila turned a shade of red as she nodded. “Just a little,” she said, barely more than a whisper.

“Good, then I take it you want a bladed weapon for your next card?” Irwin asked.

This time, Earila perked up, staring at him wide-eyed. “Yes?”

A murmur came from the surrounding Ignitzians, and Irwin saw a few appraising looks at Earilla. He had the feeling she, like Zender, would be learning some specific Igntizian sword-fighting skill soon.

“That's good. Then you and Zender can come with me after we're done eating, and we can get to that,” he said.

“Are you going to make us Heartcards?” Zender asked, his eyes gleaming.

“That’s impossible,” Earilla exclaimed before blinking at his stupid grin and slowly turning to Irwin. “Right?”

“We are going to see, but I think I know a way,” Irwin said, causing Earilla’s eyes to gleam in the same way Zender’s were.

The conversations resumed after a short while, though Irwin saw Zender and Earila keep glancing his way, seeming ready to jump up and run after him if he were to move.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Scintilla asked softly. “Head to Yuclan, leave Gi and Bri with my sister, perhaps Helm if Hind fails to convince him, and go straight for Dimarintsia?”

Irwin leaned back, thinking about her question before just blurting out the first thing that came to mind. Between Gelwin’s warning and what they had seen of the storm, he didn’t expect that they would get a chance to head to Eluathar anytime soon. That meant they might be stuck here, and if the Guidar were actively making moves, things could get troublesome soon. Worse, he still had no idea what the purple-blooded people wanted. All he had was the information they had gotten from Zazir, who called himself of the Waiters, and what that purple-cloud monster, Wizteriaz, had told him.

Besides needing information on those, what they needed was a place to hide if needed. One that wasn’t on the other side of this entire main branch, but preferably one that wasn’t known to anyone else. As an idea began shaping in his mind, he hummed thoughtfully.

“No,” he finally said. “Before heading there, we need to find another world, preferably a previously unknown one. We need a safe haven, not just for our children, but also so we can hide if needed.”

“You want to find a previously unknown world in the most searched-through part of this entire branch?” Scintilla asked, looking at him in disbelief.

“Yes,” Irwin said, feeling more sure of himself as he let the idea play through his mind some more. “If possible, I don’t want to bring everyone when we head to Dimarintsia. It would make moving around much harder.”

“You aren’t planning to get rid of me, are you?” Scintilla asked, her eyebrows narrowing dangerously.

“Of course not,” Irwin said quickly, though he had been thinking of just going there with Greldo. “I’m thinking of finding a safe place for our children and probably most of the people here right now.”

“We could leave them on Yuclan,” Scintilla said slowly, though Irwin could see she didn’t like that idea at all.

“No. It’s a known world, and although I don’t think the Matriarchs will go there to find us or can even do so if they would want to, too much could go wrong. Zazir and his people were trying something on Igniz, and there’s no saying they won't do the same thing on Yuclan. Which reminds me, we need to warn your sister when we are there.”

Scintilla nodded slowly, staring at him as if trying to figure out what he was up to.

“How do you expect to find something then?” she said. “Or do you plan to go beyond where the barrier used to be and find some other place?”

Irwin pondered it for only a moment before dismissing it. “No, that’s way too risky. If the storm does suddenly stop, we could be trapped. Who says we could even find something? Worse, what if we run into a full-grown Oculithar?”

Scintilla shivered and nodded. “I still don’t believe you fought small ones of the Shatteromens.”

“Well, trust me, if we ever come across a full-grown one, it's not going to be a fight. It will just engulf us and swallow us whole before slowly digesting as soon as the barrier breaks,” Irwin said before humming again. “But to answer your question. I think we are going to be looking for rank one worlds. Those are incredibly hard to find due to their weak signature. Better even, the heat they give off is just as weak, meaning it would take a very long time for it to grow beyond the immediate area, thus making it even harder to find.”

“A glowing portal in mid-air will draw attention if someone does pass by,” Scintilla said.

“True,” Irwin said. “Which is why we are going to search in the Graboul’s Teeth.”

Scintilla just stared at him before shrugging.

“I’m not surprised you don’t know of it,” Irwin said. “It's a section of the Lambrast Branch that isn’t that well known or documented. If we call Dimarintsia north, then Suiderfuix would be northeast. They are the two largest cities, as you know, and they are over a month's travel apart on The Concerto. Well, that is if there was no storm. In between them is a mountain range called Graboul’s Teeth. It is inhospitable, almost cold enough to be called a permafrost zone. Except for a single rank two portal, no others were ever discovered, and the one that was discovered led to an inhospitable, cold planet home to a race of airborne predators large enough to carry off a charbull.”

Scintilla stared at him for a while before shaking her head. “Okay, besides wanting to know how you even know about this place, didn’t anybody search for more portals inside?”

“They did,” Irwin said. “But they didn’t try very hard. With two very high-rank worlds relatively nearby, the chances of a third being in between were deemed small.”

“How do you know all this?” Scintilla asked.

“Part of it was from Daubutim’s research, some of it was from Ambraz, but the rest was from him,” Irwin said, pointing at Helm.

“Okay, so we are going to search for a low-rank world in some dangerous mountain range,” Scintilla said. “After which, we are going to Dimarintsia to get as much information as we can about what’s going on.”

“Pretty much,” Irwin said.

Scintilla continued asking him questions until everyone finished eating. Some of the Ignitzians began leaving, usually in groups, and Irwin knew they were likely going to start training. According to Scintilla, that was what they did on most trips.

When Irwin rose, Zender and Earila jumped up.

“So, you two ready, or do you want to do this tomorrow?” Irwin asked, hiding his amusement.

“We are ready!” Zender shouted while Earila nodded excitedly.

“Alright, let's go.”