Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 272: Choices

The Concerto slowly struggled its way through the raging storm and into the corridor that was partially destroyed.

As soon as the whipping winds stopped yanking the ship left and right, Irwin let out a sigh of relief.

"Great job," he grunted, getting a round of weary thanks from the Ganvils.

"Captain, we should rest here for a day," Hou'dor said before yawning. "We need to regain some energy before we do something like that again."

"You and me both," Irwin said as he looked over his shoulder at the roiling storm.

It had taken them two days of non-stop flying to reach the first part of the map without a single place to rest. He shivered as he recalled the ten-foot section that had nearly completely been blasted away.

He removed the Faerit from his pocket and put it on the deck.

"Earila, you can come and take over," he said.

Only a few moments later, there was a flash of blueish light, and the Faerit vanished to be replaced with Earila. The young Yuurindi looked around, pale and wide-eyed.

"That was a bad one…" she whispered, taking the helm.

"Yeah," Irwin said as he stretched.

His entire body plopped before his massive endurance kicked in, causing a sense of relief to wash over him. Still, it did little for the bone weariness he felt. His other-self was already slumbering, and he couldn't wait to join it.

"Greldo asked that you come to see him right away," Earila asked as she looked ahead.

The cabin door opened, and Zender and Esther walked out.

"Alright," Irwin said. "If you reach a storm, stop way before."

Earila nodded, and Irwin walked for the cabin.

"Captain, Greldo is alright," Zender said. "I'll go and clean the sails!"

Irwin nodded before turning to the door.

"Selene, come help Zender with the sails," he shouted. "Boohm, go and stand on the prow and check for trouble!"

"On it, captain!" Boohm's voice erupted from below.

There was a softer, muffled response from Selene, which Irwin hoped was agreement, and he turned to Esther.

"How is our guest?" he asked.

"Malnourished, mentally spent, and agitated," Esther said with a frown. "She woke up a few times, and the first time she saw me, she vanished only to reappear a step away, unconscious."

"Teleportation?" Irwin asked as he walked into the cabin with Esther in tow.

"No, she is a shadowwalker called Sibil. Greldo woke before her, and he put one of Coal's shadow clones there. The second time she woke, she remained in bed, though she seemed anxious."

Who did you bring here, Grel, Irwin thought with a frown.

"I talked with her a bit and found out a bit more," Esther said.

They reached Greldo's door, and Irwin pulled it open to see his friend lie propped up in bed, slightly pale but otherwise in seemingly good health.

"So, are we safe?" Greldo asked, raising a hand in greeting.

"Glad you are still alive," Irwin snorted. "And I think so. We should be in a half-a-day-long section leading toward Sesnanser. There's a small storm overrun part left, and then we have reached the end of the map you brought.

"Already?" Greldo grunted, putting his head back. "I thought I was only out for a day?"

"Two, almost," Esther said.

"So, how about you tell me what the hell happened and why You'gyn muttered something about Chaos Whales?" Irwin asked.

Greldo's room was smaller than his but still big enough to have some luxury, and he dropped down on the couch, which groaned in protest at his weight.

"Oh, right, those things," Greldo said, scratching his cheek. "We passed a group of three of those Whales circling some random spot in a corridor on the way there. When we returned, an entire section of the corridor was gone, not even a single bit of the barriers remaining… except for where they were. They were singing, but it didn't sound happy like with you. It sounded… sad and scared?"

"Did you see why?" Irwin asked, wishing he could have seen them. The Chaos Whale song was one of his favorite songs, and many parts of it had found their way into his card reforging.

Greldo sighed. "If I had to guess, It felt like they were stuck there… Coal said he saw something in the storm, but when I looked, there was nothing."

"What did he see?" Irwin thought as he thought of the enormous monsters he'd seen when crossing the exit portals.

"Movement," Grelo said, shrugging helplessly.

Irwin frowned, then looked at Ambraz, who had been silently sitting on his shoulder.

"Can you warn Hou'dor and the others to keep an eye out for Chaos Whales and other things? Tell them to warn me if they see anything, no matter how small," he said.

"Sure, kid," Ambraz said, flying away.

Irwin was surprised his companion made no remark or complaint, then waved it away and focused on Greldo.

"So, what happened?"

Greldo grinned as he put his hand in his vest and removed a stack of cards.

"I stole some stuff from the Currant Hunters."

Irwin took the cards, looked at them, and noted the powerful soulforce fluctuations. Flipping through, he saw that all of them were topaz, and one was emerald.

"Is this why you looked like shit?"

"Nah, thats because when You'gyn returned with the map some crazy monster chased him and tried to destroy a whole district to kill me," Greldo said, shaking his head. "Let me start at the start."

Irwin and Esther listened quietly as Greldo told them how he had reached Tulpil, found Sibil, and planned his theft of the map.

"So you used yourself as bait, and while they were chasing you, You'gyn got the map," Irwin said, shaking his head. "You couldn't come up with anything else?"

"We can't all just go in hammers swinging," Greldo snorted. "It was a perfectly fine plan all the way up to when Captain Nralt came and began slicing apart the entire building we were in."

"Well, at least you got what you came for," Irwin said. "Now, what do we do with Sibil?"

Greldo shrugged. "No idea. With a little luck, we can leave her at Sesnanser."

Irwin frowned, then turned to Esther. "You talked with her? Did you find anything useful?"

"Not a lot," Esther said. "She is from a small world that has near-perpetual night and specializes in shadowwalkers. They have a big Nyzir problem, and most of her people are either at constant war or leave. She said she was tricked by some empty promises from Zirt and then got stuck when the storms happened."

"Zirt," Irwin said as he recalled the nasty Emnonriz. He glanced at Greldo. "You said they might be chasing you?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Greldo said. "That Nralt is insane, and his ship is able to move through the storm. Even if he isn't chasing us, he might be trying to get to us some other way."

"Great," Irwin muttered.

He was about to ask something else when Boohm's roar echoed through the entire ship. "Captain, trouble!"

Irwin was teleporting along the hallway before he fully knew it, reappearing at the staircase.

"Stay there," he said, knowing Greldo could hear him. "If I need you, I'll say."

He teleported up the staircase and, a moment later, reappeared on the deck. Boohm stood at the prow, and Irwin hummed, then shot along the soundwaves to reappear beside his cook.

Three small, battered ships covered in greenish barriers were moving through the storm toward them. Dozens of heat signatures stood on deck. Soulforce rippled from their sails.

"They appeared just now and are heading straight for us," Boohm said. "Look like raiders to me!"

"Why would they be here?" Irwin asked as Ambraz landed on his shoulder.

"Perhaps they are stuck between the storms?" the Ganvil said. "Their sails look barely able to hold in this relatively calm part. If they went into the broken sections, they will probably be destroyed within moments."

"Captain, we are still pretty low on energy," Hou'dor rumbled. "It would be best if it didn't come to us having to block any attacks."

Irwin wished Greldo wasn't still out of commission, though if he had to, he'd call his friend on deck. For now, though, he would try something else. Esther and Montain came running up to him, and he turned to Esther.

"Is Sibil able to move?"

"She is in better condition than Greldo because he brought her along in his soulscape," Esther said, looking at the incoming ships. "You are thinking of having her scout?"

"Yes. Go and get her on deck," Irwin said.

Esther didn't question him but turned and ran away while Irwin looked at Montain.

"Get everyone ready for a potential battle."

Montain's pale gray face wrinkled as he grinned hungrily. "On it!"

Irwin turned back to the incoming ships. They were being shoved around, their pale green shields barely able to cope with the muted storm within the corridor.

"You are right. If they tried to cross the bit behind us, they would be swept away," he said.

"Don't sound so surprised," Ambraz replied, but with no heat. "I wonder if they are stuck here… they don't look like merchants."

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A soft thud came from the side, and Irwin turned to find Sibil standing there. Now that she was awake, her silver eyes gleamed dully as she eyed him with weary expectations. She was human, or close enough, and of average height- which meant she barely came halfway to his chest. Her hair was a mess of black knots and curls, and Irwin had no sign of any large body improvement cards. The soulforce she was emanating wasn't too strong, weaker than any of the other soulcarded on board, which meant she was probably amethyst or topaz ranked.

"Captain?" she asked hesitantly, staring up at him.

"Captain or Captain Irwin is fine for now," Irwin said as he noticed her glance at Ambraz. "I don't know what to think of you being aboard my ship, but as you are here, you will have to pull your weight. Greldo is still out of energy, and we have potential trouble incoming."

He pointed at the ships.

There was a look of surprise, then relief in Sibil's eyes. "You want me to scout them?" she asked quickly.

"Yes. Find out who they are and, if possible, what they want. Be careful of nullifiers."

"Those are old type C class merchant vessels meant for narrow corridors," Sibil said quickly. "There's no way they have nullifier runes." Then she blinked and turned pale. "Sorry, I mean, I'm sure you know this, but-"

"It's fine," Irwin said. "It's possible they have a soulcarded that can nullify."

"I'll be right back," Sibil said, seeming to swallow an objection before vanishing from where she stood.

"At least she is quick on the uptake," Ambraz said with a snort.

"She has a topaz-rank soulcard, which is pretty impressive for a shadowwalker that's not part of a big family or guild," Hou'dor rumbled. "She also has a summon card, a weapon, or an armor, from what I could tell."

"A weapon," Ambraz said. "Probably a dagger or something."

Irwin listened with half an ear, wondering if he should wake his other half.

Time slowly passed while everyone but Greldo arrived on the deck. Irwin ordered Zender, Montain, and Esther to guard Earila while Boohm and Selene stood with him. Both had proper ranged attacks.

The ships kept closing in, and soon Irwin was able to make out individual people on deck. Just when he was starting to worry if Sibil had left or gotten caught, she returned.

"Captain, they are raiders, and they all look like they haven't had anything to eat in weeks," she said quickly. "They are arguing if they should surrender or attack."

"Any powerful soulcarded?" Irwin asked.

"I'm not sensitive enough to detect those…," Sibil said, looking worried. "I didn't hear anything about any nullifiers, and nobody saw me, so there shouldn't be any shadow walkers."

Irwin frowned. Great, so they might attack or might not.

"Anyone have a brilliant idea? If not, let's wait till they are close enough and see what they want. If they start blasting, I'll teleport on board and destroy their ships. If not… well, we could share some food."

"It would just be prolonging their death," Hou'dor said. "If this ends in a massive storm area like behind us, they will be stuck, and I don't know a way to get them out."

'Don't even dare opt to bring them in your soulscape,' Ambraz snapped.

Irwin grunted, waking his other-self.

'I wasn't planning on it,' he said, yawning.

'Good, because it's a bad idea!'

"Two are slowing down," Hou'dor said.

Irwin quickly focused back on the ships, noticing that two were stopping, and then bolts of green fire launched from the ships that were stopping. He nearly teleported forward, only to stop when he saw them striking the third ship.

"What the hell are they doing?" Ambraz snapped.

"Sibil, go and check what is going on," Irwin said

Sibil vanished, and everyone stared stupidly at how the ship that had gone their way began turning, and bolts of blueish fire began hurling toward the ships behind it.

"Do you think the lack of food made them go crazy?" Boohm asked, surprisingly quiet. "Starvation is horrible…"

Nobody replied as the single ship's barriers began weakening, pelted as it was by the lances of green energy.

For a moment it looked like it was doomed, then the blue fire that was shot from it ripped through the barier of one of the other two ships, causing an explosion middeck.

"Should we help them?" Boohm asked.

"Which ones?" Selene replied in disbelief.

Boohm shrugged.

The battle lasted for barely a minute, then one of the ships lost its greenish barrier, and instantly, the raging storm ripped its sail apart. Irwin saw heat signatures blow from the ship, falling to the icy soil below.

Sibil appeared beside him, eyes wide. "Captain, the one that was coming toward us wanted to attack us; the other two wanted to request aid. When it attacked, the other two decided to backstab them in the hopes of garnering goodwill with us! Now they are panicking! There's a two-soulcarded fire blaster on that one."

Irwin frowned, not sure what to do, when Sibil seemed to hesitate before she continued.

"There are also captive smiths inside those ships. I think these are some of the raiders that-"

"What?!' Irwin and Selene shouted at the same time.

Sibil's mouth snapped shut, and she took a surprised step back, turning pale.

Irwin growled as he turned to the ships, seeing that the last of the two ships that had turned on their leader was being destroyed rapidly. Its barrier wouldn't hold on much longer. He felt Ambraz move into his soulscape, but he ignored it as he turned to the others.

"Dammit! I'll take care of that lead ship! Earila, move towards where the other ship dropped! Sibil, get over there and see if there are smiths in that one, and if so, get them out of there!"

"I can't take anyone-"

Sibil's voice was cut short as Irwin teleported across the nearly unending soundwaves. Halfway to the ship, the wave he was dashing along was interrupted, and he appeared amidst the storm for a split second before finding another one.

Two seconds later, he felt a slight tremor as he pierced the green barrier before appearing on the deck.

A dozen screaming raiders stood around him, the raging storm so loud it was hard to understand what they said.

Irwin spun around, his hammer appearing in his hand. He instantly found the leader, a short, bearded man with burning blue eyes and blue fire wrapped around his hands and lower arms. The man was forming a massive ball that cast a blinding light on everything.

There was a warning shout that was cut off as Irwin flowed along a soundwave, reappearing beside the leader, putting his hammer on the side of the man's head.

"Move, and you're dead," he roared, focusing soulforce on his voice.

The man froze, staring at Irwin with a look of disbelief. For a moment, Irwin thought he would make it easy, but then the man's eyes blazed with fire, which engulfed him, Irwin, and a large section of the deck. Irwin felt his own flame ripple out before the blue fire could even touch his skin, and then he was blazing with a golden-red fire that shoved the blue fire away.

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"Wrong choice," he growled, grabbing the shocked man and teleporting beyond the bounds of the barrier.

He reappeared, released the man who was making strangling gagging noises, and teleported back down. The crew had taken a collective step back, and as he glared at them, a few raised their hands. A barely audible cry came from beyond the barrier, but Irwin ignored it.

"Drop your weapons, unsummon whatever you have, and sit down," he shouted.

A few of the crew looked at each other, then at Irwin, and then the first dropped a long, narrow shortsword. Immediately, the others followed suit. The ship was creaking dangerously, and even though the other ship had stopped attacking, the shield was still failing rapidly.

We gotta get out of here, he thought.

"Alright, get the smiths you have below deck up here!" he shouted, pointing at one of the crewmen, a skinny slit-eyed Emnonriz.

The man nodded as he got up and rushed toward the cabin. Irwin looked around and saw The Concerto fly down to the wreckage. Boohm stood on the prow, and Irwin didn't hesitate.

"Boohm, tell Sibil to come and bring the smiths over to our ship!" he roared as loud as he could.

Terrified screams came from the crewman beside him, and he saw all of them clutch their ears.

"Yes, captain!" Boohm's voice came, muted by the storm but still somehow managing to reach them.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with these guys, Irwin thought as he looked at the raiders.

--

Sibil felt like vomiting as she reached the deck of The Concerto. Another smith, the last she had found, stumbled away from her, landed on his knees, and began throwing up. Thick slime splattered on the deck.

Sibil turned away, trying to speak. "That is-" The sour scent filled her nostrils, and she stepped to the side of the ship before vomiting over the edge.

It took her a few moments to get a grip, then she wiped her mouth on her tunic and turned to where the Captain stood. Just looking at him made her shiver. The intensity with which he was staring at the raider before him reminded her of Nralt before he had gone insane. Even the pressure coming from him was enough to make her want to run and hide. She wasn't sure if he was a Loydin because she'd never seen one with eyes like his, but he was definitely brutal enough. He'd just teleported to a ship on his own and terrified the entire crew into surrendering. The fact that he had a Ganvil on his shoulder, showing he was probably a smith made it even more terrifying in her eyes.

As she watched him, he looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"That was all of them," she said, grimacing at how her voice came out like a terrified squeal. She couldn't recall ever taking so many people along through the shadows in such a short time. Seeing no surprise in anyone's eyes, she wondered how strong Greldo really was that they thought this was normal. She barely knew anyone back home who could have done what she did.

"Good job. Go and rest."

Sibil nodded, quickly walking to where the Onyxian -Boohm?- was standing.

She nearly took a step back when the dark-skinned Onyxian looked at her and shouted- "You okay?"

"Yes… I- I’l be fine," she managed, almost stepping away. Why was he shouting? The Onyxian smiled, then focused back on the deck.

Why do I feel like I made a horrible mistake, Sibil thought, turning to where her new Captain was interrogating the raider.

To the side, one of the Granitians, she had no idea who, led the final smith down. The smaller Viridian with pale green hair stumbled as he walked, leaning heavily on the other.

She licked her lips, wondering who the raiders were. With all those smiths they had to be-

"What are you going to do with that filth?"

Sibil shivered as she looked at the Viridian, who was glaring at the raiders. Irwin turned to him.

"Why?"

"They raided our world! Killed everyone but those they could get their hands on. They didn't even spare the saplings!" the Viridian shouted, trembling and only seeming to remain standing out of pure hatred.

"We didn't have a choice," the raider shouted, his narrow, triangular shark head. "The captain made a deal; if we didn't, we'd be killed!"

Sibil felt anger bubble up as she glared at the raider. She only noticed she'd taken a step forward when a strong hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. Looking back in surprise, she saw the Onyxian shake his head.

"Don't worry, the captain will take care of it."

Sibil swallowed, wondering what would happen. Irwin had taken a step forward, and she felt her skin crawl as he began humming a low, frightening tune. She saw the raider try to back up, to be stopped by one of the other Granitians.

"So, because you feared death you were fine with butchering children?"

"We… we…" the raider muttered. "It was the captain!"

"You all did it," the Viridian shouted, pale tears running down his bark skin. "Don't think I don't remember what you did! You deserve to be debarked for your crimes!"

Debarked? Sibil thought, her heart skipping a beat as she realized what that meant.

"Hou'dor, what is the usual punishment for raiding a planet or harbor and slaughtering people?"

Sibil froze as he heard the barely contained fury in the Captain's voice.

"If proven, they are subjected to a mindscan then either hung, or if the crimes are very severe, ejected out of the barrier and into chaos space," a rumbling voice came from one of the massive Ganvil's nestled near the prow.

"How do we prove this?" the Captain asked.

"The Viridian wasn't lying, and this raider's own words are enough to sentence him."

Sibil watched as the Captain grabbed the raider around the neck, hoisting him up.

"I can help you- tell you where the others are, where they are gathering the smiths!" the raider screamed, grabbing the metal-like arm. "I even know they were planning another attack but were stopped by the storm!"

"Speak fast before I throw you overboard!'

"We have to bring them to Dimarintsia, to The Holy Shadow Inn! Please, don't kill me!"

"What attack are they planning…"

"There are rumors that a bunch of smiths were moved from all over the Langost Branch to a hidden portal near Igirian Prime! It's on the Captain's maps!"

Sibil swallowed as the Captain turned to stare at her.

"Go on the ships and bring me all the maps you can find!"

Sibil's stomach clenched at the mere thought of having to use her card again, but she didn't dare speak up.

"On it, captain," she croaked.

As she stepped into the shadowrealm, she saw the Captain walk to the edge of the ship with the dangling raider in his hand. Then she turned and shot back into the storm towards the nearest ship.

--

Irwin stared at the raider, his weary, overstrained mind conflicted. Part of him wanted to toss the man overboard for what he'd done, but another part blanched at the idea of killing someone in cold blood. His emotions roiled below the surface, barely contained below his stoic look of rage. What should he do? Not just with this one, but with the two dozen other raiders. He glanced at their ships and hesitated. He could do the easy thing, just leave them here. They would be killed by the storm. Probably.

'You can't let them go,' Ambraz said in his mind. 'Kid… I know this isn't what you want, but if they can do this once, they will do so again. If you let them go now, any future horrors they inflict are partially on you.'

Irwin shivered and turned to look at Boohm, who shrugged and made a tossing gesture. Esther stood with the Viridian, who was still staring daggers at the raider.

I wish I could talk with Greldo, Irwin thought.

Then he looked at the raider a final time, knowing he'd never forget the man's terrified face, and hurled him into the storm, feeling a tiny, innocent part of himself die as he did.