Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 303: Squeeze

"That is almost as much Purperion as we had in that disk before," Ambraz shouted excitedly in his mindscape. "Try and find out if this Tang wants to sell it or trade it!"

Irwin didn't answer, staring at the mask. As his excitement slowly died down, he noticed a few things. For one, the mask seemed ancient, covered in tiny scratches and worn around the edges. Also, the mask was too big for him or anyone else he knew. Even Tang's large head seemed too big to fit it.

"Alright, enough pleasantries. What's the issue?" Helm said.

Irwin pulled his eyes from the Purperion mask with difficulty. He had barely heard the short conversation between the two - something about coming to visit more and Tang being happy to see Hind.

"There's trouble near Lavafalls. An Earth Titan is trying to force its way up from below," Tang said in a slow, cumbersome voice. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, making him look like a small, grumpy mountain. One that towered over a surprised and worried-looking Helm.

"Why would it do that?" Hind asked, standing a few steps behind her father. "They never come up that high!"

Tang shrugged, causing his heavy muscles to look like a slow-motion avalanche. "I don't know. I was planning on heading there, but…"

The Fiz'rin frowned. "Tell me about those invaders. Are we finally seeing destabilizing portals appear, or did they take over the exit portal?"

Finally?

"What do you mean, finally?" Boohm said from behind him, his voice as loud as his name said.

Tang looked up, almost looking surprised to see them.

"Ah, right, the Onyxian. I haven't seen one of your kind in a while. Not since old Ramburst," Tang said. He glanced at Tang, then at Irwin and Zender.

The dull arcs looked at Irwin a little longer than the others, and Irwin noticed a sharp gleam deep inside. It reminded him of Daubutim when he had tried to look like a fool, hiding his disease and smarts behind the facade.

"You bring interesting folk, Helm. Those two… the one looks like us, but he isn't, while the kid… He's a Yuurindi?"

Zender took a step closer to Irwin, lips pursed and worry gleaming in his eyes. Tang cocked his head, then smiled kindly.

"Don't worry, kid. I won't harm you. Your people and ours don't like the same worlds. I find it a miracle to see one of your kind here… I presume the smith made you something special?"

"Tang, don't scare my guests," Helm said as he turned to Irwin and the others.

"The smith is Irwin, the one that saved Hind. The kid is Zender, and he's been turning a lot of young heads in Smelter, while the Onyxian is Boohm," Helm quickly introduced them.

Then he focused on Boohm.

"To answer your question. In the last few decades, there has been an increase in problems in the adjacent worlds around Igniz. Except for one, the Ignitzians had to close all others, and the last one is only used to farm cards," Helm explained calmly. "We are expecting the instability to reach Igniz at some point."

"With so many soulcarded to stabilize it, that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Irwin asked.

Helm shrugged while Tang let out a dull laugh.

"Igniz will not destabilize to the point of it shattering anytime soon," Helm said. "But nobody likes having invader-spewing portals around their world. Anyway, normally I wouldn't be telling you all this, but with the storm cutting us off from everyone else and those invaders that attacked us… Either way, keep this knowledge to yourself for now. The Igniz council of Matriarchs wants to keep it quiet for now."

"Then how do you know it?" Boohm asked, seeming unfettered.

Tang laughed loudly. "I like this one," he rumbled.

Helm shook his head, waving for Tang to continue.

The giant Fiz'rin grinned as he kept his eyes on Boohm. "Because our young lads go out to the fancy Igniz cities to have some fun with the Blademaidens. They bring back a lot of useful information!"

Hind snorted.

"Some of the girls do too," she said, causing her father to give her a curious look.

"I never did," Hind added a bit too fast, her face turning a shade darker. "Everyone knows about this!"

"Right," Helm said, drawing out the word before turning to Tang. "A few days ago, an unknown type of demon attacked Igniz Harbor. They had mainly white and purplish hair, and they bleed purple blood. Some managed to reach the Obsidian mountains, and…" Helm hesitated, then grimaced. "They reached then decimated Barrenrock outpost. There were only a handful of survivors that made it to Smelter."

Tang's eyes narrowed, and a dense wave of soulforce rippled away from him.

"We are sure they were demons?" he asked, his voice a dangerous drawl.

"No sign of handcards," Helm said, before hesitating. "The survivors did say they used multiple abilities."

"Gloves or some carded ability to hide them?" Tang asked.

"There was a youngster with a perception soulcard that survived. She said there was nothing covering their hands," Helm said. "She also said that when they used their abilities, their eyes glowed."

Irwin felt a slight shock run through him as he remembered what Daubutim had told him. Gelwin had spoken about the Guidar, and he'd explained that they somehow managed to steal soulskills from others!

Ambraz vanished from his shoulder and reappeared in his soulscape, flying to the other part of him.

"Do you think these demons are Guidar?" Irwin asked as the Ganil reached him.

"What else?" Ambraz snapped, flying around him, seeming highly agitated. "But why did they come now? And how did they even pass the barrier that was mentioned?"

Irwin shook his head, having no answers to that. But he did have an idea.

"The chances of them being involved with the abductions just became pretty high," he said. "Which means they might have a base of operations in Dimarintsia."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Ambraz said, finally seeming to calm down enough to hover before Irwin. "More important is that we figure out if they are what's attacking the other side of the portal gallery."

Irwin felt his mood sink lower as he thought about armies of Guidar attacking them from all sides.

"Perhaps we should return to Eluathar," he muttered, sitting on the ground beside the lava lake where his three embers were swimming and playing without a care in the world.

"No," Ambraz said after a few moments. "If they are attacking here, the chances are they are attacking many places. If we return, we could be showing them exactly where the others are. What we need to do is figure out if it's really the Guidar, and if so, what their plan is. Are they just planning to conquer the central worlds? Why are they attacking a remote branch world like Igniz? Is it coincidence, or are they doing this everywhere?"

Irwin nodded as he listened to Ambraz.

"So, we just continue to Dimarintsia," he said before looking at the ground, sinking into thoughts.

Should they warn people? But what would they say? Some ancient enemy is attacking, and coincidentally, they are hunting me and the rest of my ancient race of smiths! That would just create more trouble. Besides, what would it help? They didn't know any of the Guidar's weaknesses, and from what Daubutim had said, Gelwin had never found any either. They didn't even know for sure if the beings hunting the Galadin were even the Guidar or if it was something else. For all he knew, it could be one of the many soulskilled races coming back for revenge.

Besides, who do we warn, he thought.

As his soulscape self continued pondering, the other part of him was listening to Helm and Tang.

"That would explain a lot," Tang grumbled. He moved to one of the massive stone slabs and sat down, causing the slab to groan dangerously.

"If one of them has a frost skill, it might be why the earth titans are going up. They are hunting."

"Earth titans hunt frost?" Irwin said in surprise. He walked to another slab and sat down, the stone not impressed as his weight settled down on it. He wondered what that told him about Tang's weight.

"Earth titans love heat and hate cold," Tang said, glancing at him before turning to Helm. "If we go to the Ashwinds caverns, we would be fairly close to where one is roaming last I checked."

Irwin leaned back against another block of stone, his mind racing. Could that be Scintilla?

"Then we should go and check," Helm said, cocking his head when Tang grunted. "Or not?"

Tang waved around." Something's been wandering around here, trying to sneak inside my home. I'm afraid if I leave, it'll grab some of the more dangerous things here."

Irwin involuntarily glanced at the mask, and Tang sighed.

"Yeah, the Purperion mask is one of them, but it's not the problem," he said. "I've got some things here that are simply too heavy to carry for more than a few feet, and with how they resonate, it's not like I can bring them into my soulscape."

Irwin felt Ambraz jump out of his soulscape, and the Ganvil began talking as soon as he appeared on his shoulder.

"What else do you have here?"

"The Ganvil speaks," Tang rumbled. "I was wondering if you were ignoring me on purpose."

"I… what?" Ambraz said. "I didn't ignore you."

"Marble warned me of your kind," Tang said. "I will not be giving you my rare metals just for a pittance."

Irwin looked at Tang, then at Helm, who was frowning.

"Tang, what are you on about?" Helm asked, seeming as confused as Irwin. "What do you mean, Marble warned you?"

"The ancient one came here many times when I was younger, and he always spoke of the cunning Ganvils that would steal his things without giving anything in return," Tang said.

"Ganvils are not thieves," Ambraz snapped before his lips pursed. "Well… I know of a few, but that's beside the point. Most of us are not!"

Tang didn't seem impressed and focused on Helm.

"If you need my help, I need you to find out who is trying to steal my stuff," he rumbled.

Irwin felt his mood drop. He wanted to find Sctinlla and was starting to regret not leaving earlier the day before. He'd expected to just hire a guide, not have to do some task beforehand.

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Perhaps we can find another guide, he thought, looking at Helm, who seemed deep in thought.

"Or I could just remain here and guard it?" Hind asked.

Helm's head snapped up, his eyebrows lowering. "Not on your own," he said. "You just returned, and I'm not letting you stay here while some potentially dangerous thing is roaming around."

"I can stay with her," Boohm said.

"What if it's one of the demons," Helm said, seeming disinclined to agree.

"Why don't we just catch whatever it is?" Ambraz snapped as he flew up from Irwin's shoulder. "I'll be right back!"

Before Irwin or anyone else could respond, the Ganvil dashed out of the room.

"I don't like that thing roaming around my quarry unattended," Tang grumbled, rising from the slab.

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"He won't steal anything," Irwin said. "Though, I would like to ask if you are willing to sell the Purperion mask?"

Tang looked at the door, seeming to hesitate, before focusing on Irwin.

"I expect you to reimburse me if anything goes missing."

For a moment, Irwin thought he was joking, but then he understood Tang was serious.

"You just told us you have a thief roaming around," he said slowly. "Anything could be missing."

"That thing only seemed interested in coming inside and left everything outside alone," Tang said.

"Tang… remember when I told you that you needed to learn to socialize?" Helm said as he let out a soft groan. "This is what I meant. You can't keep going around acting like this. How do you expect to return to Smelter like this?"

"I don't," the towering behemoth said, snorting a plume of pale smoke from his nose. "I'm perfectly fine here. Now, I'm going to make sure that Ganvil doesn't steal or break anything, and as for the Purperion-" he looked at the mask. "-I'll think about it. I do need something made… you know normal smithing or only the fancy kind?"

"I can smith some of the regular things," Irwin said. "What do you need?"

Tang thudded away. "We will talk about it in-"

"IRWIN!!!!"

A deafening scream tore through the silence of the cave outside, stopping whatever Tang was about to say.

Irwin was on his feet, zipping along the soundwave before he fully realized he was acting. Had Ambraz ever screamed like that? He wasn't sure. He landed in front of the building, looking around, when another shout came. It sounded inhuman and pained, and Irwin let out a loud shout, using the sound to zip toward the direction he sensed Ambraz.

A few seconds later, he reached the top side of the quarry, staring at the scene a dozen feet away.

Ambraz was in his largest form, pinning down a madly flailing four-armed thing that made hissing and clicking noises. The soulforce within it was roiling and shuddering chaotically. A pool of green and yellow acid was steaming around it, and where it touched Ambraz, his previously pristine dark metal surface became puckered.

"Irwin, don't touch that stuff," Ambraz shouted, his voice hoarse. "I think it's breathing. Just suffocate it with steam before it turns Addled!"

Irwin didn't bother asking what was going on. He just pulled on his card's sweltering ability, drawing massive amounts of steam forward and around Ambraz. Condensing it more and more, he watched as drops of water formed, hissing as they dropped on the ground and Ambraz. One dropped into the green pool of acid, and a flash of bright green light was followed by a sharp explosion. As more drops of water followed, so did more explosions, debris, stone, and sand spraying everywhere. Ambraz groaned as a drop of acid sprayed his side while he and the thing below him began slowly sinking into a cracking hole.

"Don't stop! Drown it!"

Irwin hadn't been planning to stop and instead sped up. Within half a minute, a twenty-foot-deep hole was filled with bubbling water that swayed and sloshed as explosions continued below its muddy surface. Vapor was constantly trickling up from the surface.

"Captain, everything alright?" Zender asked as he came speeding up. "The rest is coming, but they need to walk around."

"I have no idea," Irwin said, keeping more water flowing into the hole as it was either leaking away, seeping through cracks, or evaporating.

Another few minutes passed, and he heard more running close in.

Hind was the next to arrive.

"That's the first time I've seen that much water here," she said.

"I don't think there's ever been that much liquid water on Igniz," Helm said as he stepped up next to her. "What is going on?"

"Ambraz pinned some four-armed insect to the ground, and it began leaking acid that was melting him," Irwin said. "He told me to drown it."

"By the Flames of Aghos, a Quadroz! Those never even move up to the lower regions of the burrows! Quick, get it out! Perhaps it can tell us why it's here!"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Irwin said. "Its soulforce was in chaos, and I won't be surprised if it turned into an Addled soon."

Helm's face fell, his metal skin turning a shade paler.

"An Addled Quadroz… that's enough to give anyone nightmares. Did you get any of its acid on you?"

"No…" Irwin said, looking up. "But Ambraz did."

Helm grimaced, and Irwin saw Hind look very worried.

Come on, Ambraz, he thought, focusing on the hole.

They continued waiting, and it took another few minutes before Ambraz, back to his small form, flashed out of the murky, green-tinted water. He hovered before Irwin, its bottom and sides covered in scratches and puckered scars. A thin film of a smoking, watery green acid still covered him.

"That took forever," Ambraz said, sounding weary. "Can you clean the rest off?"

Irwin pulled in more steam, creating a small cloud with Ambraz in the center. Within moments, green muck dripped down and slowly cleared up. Irwin only stopped when the water was completely clean.

Ambraz flew out of the cloud, landing on his shoulder.

"You don't look too good," Irwin said, looking at his companion.

"Don't even remind me," Ambraz grunted. "I feel just as bad as when I was caught in the metal grinder back when I was rank one."

"Are you… going to be alright?" Irwin asked, staring at the horrible scarring on the bottom of Ambraz's normally sleek form.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, kid. Just don't ask me to do any reforging for the next few weeks," Ambraz muttered.

"I won't," Irwin said.

When it became clear that Ambrz wasn't going to say more, he turned to Helm and Hind.

"Any idea what we should do about this?"

Helm sighed, then shook his head. "They are usually solitary, intelligent creatures that trade with us. They enjoy some of the food and drinks of Smelter but fear the opening of these larger caverns. Normally, I'd say we burn the body and send it back to the eternal flame, but now? Perhaps we should just put a big rock over the hole."

Irwin grimaced, then looked around.

A few minutes later, they were walking back down the quarry along a long winding path.

"I think the Quadroz was probably looking for one of the ore's Tang has stored away. It might have called out to him," Helm said.

"Do you think he became crazy before or after he came here?" Irwin asked.

"Not sure, but I've seen Quadroz before. They don't like the open area, but if what you told us is all true, this is way beyond this."

"So, whatever is riling up the earth titans might be behind this," Irwin said. He absently patted his pocket where Ambraz was slumbering. It had been a while since the Ganvil had been sleeping in his pocket, and he might feel some nostalgia if he wasn't slightly worried."

"Sounds logical, Captain," Hind said.

She looked at her father. "Dad, do you think Tang will help us now?"

"Truthfully? I'm not sure," Helm said.

"Do you know of any other guide?" Irwin asked.

Helm was quiet for a while as he walked with them. Then he let out a long sigh. "No. Not one I trust like Tang. I think there's something I can do, but I really don't like it."

Hind put her hand on Helm's shoulder, smiling at him. "I'll be fine!'

Helm patted her hand, but his smile was forced. "Sure, little ore, sure." Then he turned to Irwin.

"I'll offer to stay here. Tang should be alright with that. You just take good care of my daughter, alright?"

Irwin felt a wave of relief at the prospect of finally setting out, and he nodded.

"I'll take good care of her, don't worry. I'll treat her like family," he added.

Helm held his eye for a bit, then nodded. "Good."

When they returned to the building, Tang was standing before the door, arms clasped and watching them approach.

"It was a Quadroz that was close to turning insane," Helm said before Tang could ask anything.

Tang stared at him, and Irwin saw a slight pain in his eyes.

"I'll stay here to guard your quarry while you help my daughter and her captain find their friend," Helm continued, stopping in front of the towering Fiz'rin.

Tang put a massive hand on Helm's shoulder. "If it's that important… fine. I trust you, and you can trust me. I'll make sure nothing happens to her."

Helm nodded before turning to Hind.

"Better get going. I'll be here when you come back!"

Irwin watched as the two said their goodbyes, then followed Tang to the large ore-filled airship.

"I'd wanted to head to one of Smelter's outposts to sell this, but that can wait," Tang rumbled.

The towering Fiz'rin moved a few handles, and with a clattering, the ore tumbled out. Irwin recognized most of it as Copperion, though there was a smattering of other metals mixed inside, recognizable by the colors, the sounds they made, and a specific resonance.

"I'll think about the Purperion," Tang continued. "Say I do sell it to you. What will you do with it?"

Although Tang was still dragging some of the ore that had been stuck out and seemed busy, he saw the intelligent gleam in the other's eyes.

"I'll purify it," Irwin said. "That will help me with my soullake and some other things."

Tang's hand froze for a fraction of a second, then he continued.

"Purifying Purperion isn't that easy."

"I know," Irwin said. "The stuff is tough, impliable, and it takes a lot of focus, but I've done it before."

"Have you now," Tang rumbled, looking at him and holding out a hand. "That requires a lot of strength."

It took Irwin a moment to realize what he wanted, and he grabbed the other's hand. It felt like his entire hand was engulfed by a metal clamp, then it began pressing down. Irwin didn't wait a second but squeezed back.

Weird ritual, he thought, wondering if this was something between Fiz'rin or just with Helm and his friends.

The pressure continued to increase, and soon Irwin was squeezing as hard as he could, feeling his arm shake slightly. The pressure continued for a bit, only stopping when he felt the pain as his bones were clamped together. Tang was still showing no effort, and Irwin had the feeling he had stopped here, but he still wasn't showing any sign of letting go. Instead, he calmly continued to hold his hand, the pain starting to nag at him.

Irwin was about to summon his hammer and clobber the other over the head when Tang let go and continued pulling out the last of the stubborn ore.

"Not bad for someone with one soulcard," Tang rumbled. "You have promise, though if you are going to focus on strength, you need to gather a more pure soulcard after this one. Your focus is all over the place, which isn't too bad for your first card, as it turned your weak body into something useful. However, if you continue like this, you will end up weaker than you could be. Even if with that card you have… perhaps because of it. Anyway, Don't try to spread your focus so much, but pick one thing. In your case, heat, strength, or… that odd steam you have."

Irwin watched Tang while he rubbed his sore hand, surprised at the large amount of information. Another person who could tell his card wasn't just some random Diamond? He felt slightly annoyed, but he contained it. Perhaps it was something else, the fact that it made him look like a Fiz'rin.

"How can you sense all that?" he asked, scanning Tang again. He sensed only power from the other and a tightly coiled and wound soulforce that seemed to resist his attempt to discern the cards the other had.

"I've been searching for a way to break my limit for a very long time," Tang said as he looked at one of the clumps of ore. "I came across some odd things as I did, and one of them… I'll tell you about it another time, but let's say it left some scars, some that actually ended up having some benefits."

There was a loud bang as the ore in Tang's hand exploded, throwing shrapnel everywhere. They tinged harmlessly from Irwin and Tang, but there was a surprised shout from the others.

"Let's go," Tang shouted, wiping his hand.

--

Scintilla sprinted along the dusty, narrow ledge as roars of pain filled one of the innumerable caverns below The Burrows.

Come on, come on.

She felt her soulforce ever so slowly refill, and as soon as she knew there was enough, she triggered her card, turning into a streak of fire that zipped toward a distant, narrow crack in the wall.

As she landed on the ground, she dropped to her knees, drawing in deep, ragged breaths.

The roaring behind her continued, but she ignored it, scrambling to her feet and walking deeper into the narrow gulch. A few hundred feet in, she had to squeeze further, holding her breath. The first time had been terrifying, but after a few dozen times, she no longer worried. She continued forward until she plopped out into a larger room.

A dozen small holes ended in the tiny cave, and she looked around before finding the hole she needed. Crawling into it, she moved through a narrow tunnel, slowly turning until she saw the soft gleam in front of her. When she reached the end, she dropped out into another small cave with a basin of Pyroflux on one end. Streams of the clear golden watery liquid trickled out of fist-sized holes in the wall, but the basin didn't seem to overflow, showing there was a drain somewhere.

A swarm of small fiery-red shapes swam around, but as soon as she walked to the side, they rushed to where she was standing.

"Yes, yes. So hungry," Scintilla whispered. With a tired smile, she removed a cloth bundle from her waist and removed three slightly crushed fruits. She began ripping it apart above the basin, tiny pieces and juice falling down, quickly caught by greedy little hands.

Far too soon, the rain of fruit stopped, and Scintilla's smile faded.

"I know it's not a lot, but you will have to make due until someone finds us," she said.

It was quiet for a bit, then she leaned down, shaking her head.

"No! You can't try to find food below! Those vile invaders will find you and eat you!"

The tiny embers flitted around the basin for a bit before resuming their playing, and Scintilla said down, looking at her finger before liking the remaining juice.

"A little sleep, then search for more," she muttered to herself. A moment later, she slumped onto the ground, not noticing how a few of the tiny embers disappeared through a narrow crack at the bottom of the basin.