Irwin's Journey 515: Party?

Authors note: So, a little game! Come up with a card you think would be in Irwin's drawer! If its really cool, and others like it (and its not to overpowered) I'll add it to the drawer!
------
"I'm sure it will work," Ambraz muttered to himself as he flew around the smithy. Two cards lay on the table, and after a moment, he returned to them, checking them again. 

Card: Hearthfire

Type: Fire, Quartz

Owner: -

The wielder of this card has the ability to light fires in a hearth from range.

Passive: Slightly increased mental stability when near a hearthfire 

Active: Light a no longer active hearth, you can see [200 feet distance]

"This one…" he muttered, focusing on the underlying resonance. There was something about this card that gave him the impression it could be linked with soulforce. But how? 

I really wish I could get an even more in-dept reading, Ambraz thought, focusing on the other card.

Card: Simmering Soup-kettle

Type: Summon, Heat, Amethyst

Owner: -

The wielder of this card can summon a small soup kettle that is self-heating. Food prepared in it causes the consumer's [???] to [???]

Active: Summon Simmering Soupkettle

"And then this," he grunted, glaring at the card. "What do you mean by the question marks?! You are an amethyst-ranked card!"

The card didn't answer, not that he had expected it to, but it would have been nice if someone had been able to help him. 

Either we reforge and see what the Kid notices as he does so. His perception really skyrockets when he is reforging, Ambraz thought.

He stared at the card for a while longer and wished he had a head so he could shake it, Irwin did when he didn't understand something, and found it highly annoying. He flew up and angled his anvil-body left and right a few times as if to do it, before snorting at his own odd behaviour.

I don't understand what this thing is, he decided, staring at the card. But there's something about those question marks and the sense it has… some use. How did we ever miss it?

"Well, I know why," he answered himself, looking around the massively filled library shelf. Large books filled with categorized cards stood side-by-side, stacks of semi-sorted ones, while those he still had to check were all stacked on the bottom of two large bookcases.

We really did come a long way from when we first met, he thought, realizing that by now they had even more cards than he had had before Beardyface Gelwin had captured him. 

He had found both of the cards that currently held his interest in one of the semi-categorized stacks over the last day while searching for cards to add to the 'fit for consumption stacks'.  He'd found plenty of those, and almost added these two. The first he'd noticed while doing an indept reading that it had some soulforce resonance, while the Kettle? Well, he didn't usually see such low cards that he couldn't get a good reading on. No matter what he did, the question marks wouldn't go away. 

"Whatever, let's just continue," he said, moving back to the stack he'd found the Kettle in. He didn't expect a lot from it, but the Kid already had two summons. It didn't really matter if he got more, and if they had overlapping aspects, perhaps they could combine into something when they got to the world-card rank. Though how a hammer, a soulstrum guitar, and a kettle would combine, he didn't know. Utility type perhaps?

Another day passed, and he found no other cards that had odd question marks or that could potentially combine heat and soulforce. He did find two cards that he thought could be sideways reforged into shadow, and put them with those in the stack tentatively.

That's good enough for now, he thought, knowing he had only scratched the surface. It took him five minutes to fully analyze a card, and the Kid had collected tens of thousands by now. Many of those that were type-sorted, he hadn't even really fully analyzed, meaning technically he had only gone through about a thousand since they had begun the journey.

A slight focus told him the Kid had covered most of the distance, and they would reach the last stretch to Carbuul's Teeth in half a day. They would ignore the main corridors and take the side lanes. It would normally be the slower route, but with the Kid dragging everyone along, it was still much faster than any normal route.

'About time for a break? he sent, feeling a slight relief from his bonded smith.

'We are an hour from the next larger area. I was going to have the Caldera out and let the others take us forward for a while,' came a slightly weary reply. 'So yes, a break sounds good.'

'Great! Because I have a few interesting cards for you to look at,' Ambraz said, knowing full well that the cards would get the Kid excited. 

The response proved him right, not just by the words but by the wave of excitement and curiosity.

'Oh! Did you actually find one with both fire and soulforce?'  

'Potentially, but we have to reforge it at least once to be sure,' Ambraz said. 

'I'll be there in a bit!'

Ambraz grinned, happy with just how easy they could communicate. The moment they began sensing each other's emotions had been somewhat horrid initially; he clearly remembered his shock, but as the decades passed, it had become one of his favorite parts of their bond. Well, besides the insane amounts of purified soulforce. And the fact that being bonded to Irwin meant he wasn't bonded to some idiot that might die within a few hundred years.

Technically, the Kid might become older than me if I don't reach rank seven, he pondered.

The thought made him focus on his current reservoir of purified soulforce, and he hummed. It was slowly filling up again, not yet problematically so, but if he guessed right, they would likely be doing a lot of reforging and other things on Mudball. He just wasn't willing to risk going to rank six and see if Irwin could bring him out with him within his soulscape. Not yet. Not until he returned to Granvox to see how things were.

Well, at least if I create another batch of rank zeros, the Kid can move them back to Eluathar, he thought as he stared at another stack of cards.

He hesitated, then just snorted and continued while he waited for Irwin.

--

"I'll keep an eye out, but I will be slightly busy," Irwin said, standing beside Rindir on the deck of the Caldera. 

Rindiri didn't react instantly, but guided the ship towards a distant, narrow corridor. The sleek warship would fit, but it wouldn't leave much room for error. Not that Irwin worried. Rindiri had been able to navigate things before he even met her, and she'd only improved her skills since.

When the entire ship was floating through the corridor, barely a few feet between all edges, she sighed and looked up.

"Are you sure it's not safer to reforge in your soulscape?"

Irwin shook his head as he sensed the thousands of Simlari moving around his soulscape. He'd found it massive, but that was based on only people who couldn't fly. Now, with beings of whom many could fly, those with high enough heat tolerance had gone exploring. Within a day, he had realized that, as big as his soulscape was compared to the others he knew about, it still wasn't nearly big enough for a group of this size and ease of movement. 

"It's best like this. If I do that, and something happens, I'll disturb everyone inside, and you remember how they reacted to my last reforging," he said, recalling a few days ago when he'd reforged a card in his soulscape for someone back on Eluathar. 

"They were just afraid," Rindiri said, smiling crookedly. "It's not every time you see the soulcards of a smith cause resonance throughout a soulscape like yours."

"Afraid is one word," Irwin muttered. "They were hiding in their houses for a day. No, it's fine. I'll only work on low-end cards, so it should be more than fine."

"Well, it'll be nice," Rindiri said, smiling. "Reminds me of when we first set out, long ago."

Irwin nodded as he recalled that, only to be distracted as Mia began complaining to his otherself about something Flux had done. 

A lot has changed since then, he thought.

"Just come get me if something goes wrong," he said, walking to the hull of the ship.

--

Rindiri only watched the Captain leave for a moment before redirecting her focus on moving the beauty of a warship through the narrow corridor. She still felt it was a shame that they hadn't been able to use its capabilities yet. The best had been when they had powered up the shield fully in preparation. Still, it wasn't like the time wouldn't come. She knew that much.

"He's a bit addicted to working, isn't he?" Blade asked, dropping on the deck beside her. 

Rindiri glanced at the young man who so reminded her of his ancestor and her old friend, Dagger. 

"Hey, I don't mean anything by it," he said, grinning. "Just… well, he just keeps working? We've had three small parties and gatherings over the last month, and he has been to exactly none."

"The Captain is not just here," Rindiri said, shaking her head.

"Right, he is also with his family," Blade said, nodding. "But that's at another time dilation, right? I would assume he could do with some calm here, too? I mean, the peace isn't going to last much longer. The closer we get to the top of the Langost Branche, the more we will run into Guidar troops."

Rindiri wanted to dismiss Blade's words, then thought for a bit. Brecka had been annoyed lately, and having some fun might be good for her. Besides, the Captain had been right. Many of the Simlari were a bit weary of him. Not fear, just… like they were around a scary monster.

"I'll ask him when he is done," she finally said.

"Nice! Because Skylar won't stop talking about how awesome they were as a band, and I'd love to hear that for myself," Blade said, jogging off to the side of the rail and scurrying.

Rindiri sighed, realizing that had probably been the real goal. 

It didn't take long until the beautiful, yet sometimes haunting song of the Captain's soulstrum guitar echoed through the ship. Rindiri had heard it many times in the past, but ever since they had begun their next journey, she had found that the Captain's skill had improved. It had always been good, but the slight hesitations and almost probing quality that it had sometimes had were now gone. If he knew the songs or not, she didn't know, but he sure made it sound like it.

She risked a quick glance up to find Blade balancing on the ridge of a sail, eyes closed and swaying in the beat of the music. His long hair, made like all Crathan's of something almost like steel wire, barely moved in the wind, hanging down his back while his loose shirt flapped behind him.

Perhaps a party isn't such a bad idea, Rindiri thought.

Hours later, as the Caldera flew into a small area with no sign of a portal or reason for it to be there, Rindiri slowed down the ship. She sensed the Captain's approach through the vibrations his heavy gate left in the ship. Apparently, so did Blade, as he appeared beside her just as the Captain appeared on the deck.

"How did the reforging go, Captain?" Blade asked.

Rindiri saw a flash of joy in Irwin's eyes before they returned to their deep lava-like calm. 

"Better than I had expected. I might actually be slotting my first few cards soon."

Rindiri looked at the Captain, noticing his joy. She could imagine why. He had finished his last soulcard a while back, and still hadn't slotted a single card. This was, in most cases, unheard of, as people would have had years or longer to ponder their next set. 

Then again, the Captain has far more cards and grows stronger faster than anyone I know, she thought. I guess he doesn't always have time to prepare everything perfectly.

--

"A party?" Irwin asked, looking at Rindiri.

"Yes, Captain. It will give you some time to unwind, and we still can. Many would also like to hear you and Cardsmith Skylar play your songs. "

Irwin saw her glance at Blade, who was visibly vibrating with excitement.

'Just do it, Kid. You could use some rest!'

Irwin hesitated, thinking of the Hearthcard they had reforged. It had become Amethyst, but had gained another passive, allowing it to increase soulforce regeneration while at a hearth, proving Ambraz had been right. The issue was, could he change it so he didn't need the heart, and so it increased soulforce with heat? If he couldn't, the card would be far less useful for him.

The desire to experiment warred with the knowledge that taking a break wouldn't be too bad, and as he watched some of his children rush through a game, he nodded.

"Why not?"

"Finally!" Blade exclaimed, grinning madly as he ran off and scrambled back up the sail.

Irwin watched him start cleaning some spots that seemed perfectly clean, humming happily.

"Did I miss something?"

Rindiri sighed. "Yes. Apparently, there are a lot of people who want to hear you play in a way that's not smithing."

Irwin snorted, pretty sure there was something else to it, but deciding it didn't matter. 

"Well, let's see if this area is safe, and I'll bring you back in," he said, walking to the railing.

--

A chatter filled the new building that stood near the side of Irwin's soulforce sea. The constant hot air that seemed to originate from the enormous volcano and the volcanic mountains of two of his soulcards created gentle waves to slam into the coast, while a host of small fish-like Soulforce Constructs swam around.

A soft rumble came from a hill in the distance, and a soulforce wyrm dug out of the side, looked around, then went back down.

One of the smaller ones, Irwin thought.

He stood on the balcony adjacent to the stage and watched across the mountains and hills of his first soulcard. Somehow, he felt that it should be closing in on evening. Sadly, it was one of the things he hadn't managed yet, and the best he had been able to do was move one of the massive clouds, making it darker than normal.

I'm glad I decided to do this, he thought, as he listened to the muted chatter and occasional laughter behind him. A smile crept up on his face as he recalled Flux'x anyonace that he wasn't allowed to come. Irwin had told them, and now they insisted he give a party in Eluathar and that Skylar had to be there. It had taken him some time to let them know it wasn't safe to bring anyone there, no matter how much he trusted them. Only those who would stay.

"Hey, hotstuff, what do you think?"

Irwin turned around, and his eyebrows shot up. Scintilla was wearing an almost skintight black and golden tunic with a long flowing robe that blended gold and black in a hypnotizing pattern. Her hair was up in a pony tale that fell across the side of her shoulder, and she was grinning wickedly.

"I think that I like that dress a lot," Irwin said, walking up to her and rubbing his thumb along her jawline before giving her a long kiss, which caused her eyes to twinkle.

"Where did you even get it?"

"Ambraz helped make them, and Brecka even got Pur'am to join in. Here, this is for you," she said, turning back and taking a stack of clothes from the table.

Ambraz helped? Irwin thought, sensing his bonded Ganvil as it was flitting around the room with Pur'am, seemingly explaining Ganvil dancing as he had last seen it.

Irwin raised the clothes, letting them unfold in a long tunic that was clearly made to match Scintila's and a pair of dark pants. Clearly well made, and obviously, now that he wasn't distracted and touching them, not real but soulforce constructs. 

"Make sure you don't try to take them outside, because these only work in here as they are soulforce constructs," Scintilla said with a grin. "Or if you do, make sure it's just me present!"

Irwin grinned. He wanted to say something when Skylar's saxhorn began echoing out from behind.

"Right, time to get ready," he said. "Have fun!"

"Don't worry, Brecka and I will have great fun," Scintilla said, walking away with a wave. 

Irwin blinked, wondering what that would mean, and decided it didn't matter. He quickly switched into the new clothes, which fit perfectly, before summoning his soulstrum guitar. Taking a final check at his other selves, one just about to go to bed with Scintilla's main self, and the other waiting in the small portal gallery area, he nodded.

I'd have preferred to do this with one of my actual bodies instead of an Aura Clone, but it should be fine, he thought. 

He had considered putting a giant body in the portal Gallery, but it was just too conspicuous. If anything moved around, the mere soulforace signature he had could be spotted from who knew how far. 

Soulstrum guitar in hand, he walked on the stage where Skylar stood, eyes closed as he played a beautiful song. The large building that Ambraz had made was made up of one main floor, filled with tables, and long balconies with more tables. Most present were Simlari, with only Irwin's own crew being the exception. 

As he walked to Skylar, Irwin noticed that some of the Simlari were watching him wearily, while others seemed to have only eyes for Skylar.

Whatever, let's just have some fun, Irwin thought.

He moved beside Skylar, who wound down his song, while Irwin noticed a table near one of the two large, corner bars. Scintilla, Brecka, Blade, and Hilbarin sat there, some waving at him. Behind them, at the bar, Rindiri was just accepting a tray filled with drinks that he hoped weren't all from his personal collection. If they were, he'd likely have nothing left by the end of the night.

"So, what shall we start with?" Skylar asked.

Irwin looked at his old friend and grinned. "How about we start with some action?" he said, letting his fingers flicker across the strums to start one of their more energetic songs. It was also that they didn't need their two missing friends.

As the music began, Irwin saw many Simlari jolt as if shaken, which was somewhat what he'd wanted. After a minute, some began bobbing their head to the rhythm, only to fall silent as Irwin began singing, quickly followed by Skylar. 

It took another few minutes until the sky elementals started to relax, their towering frames, weighing less than Irwin's arm, moving to the music. Hair that had already been floating about began moving more erratically.

Three songs later, Irwin was grinning as he saw seven couples of Simlari dancing in the air in a way he'd never seen before. They moved both left and right, forward and back, and up and down while floating around each other in complex patterns, sometimes changing partners. He'd never seen anything like it, but from the laughter and joy everywhere, he understood they had definitely made the right call.

--

"He really is good with that soulstrum guitar," Hilbarin rumbled, tapping his foot to the melody. "They could use some more people, though."

"They used to be four," Scintilla said, not looking up as she kept staring at Irwin, who was smiling broadly, eyes gleaming as his fingers rushed across the snares with a speed she could hardly grasp.

"So, what happened to the other two? Are they on…" Hilbarin shrugged, not continuing as he raised his drink and downed half of it.

"No," Scintilla said. "From what Irwin said, they are in another main Portal Branch, somewhere far away."

Hilbarin's eyes widened, and he whistled before turning to Brecka. "Now that sounds like an adventure, don't you think?"

"That's what we are doing now," Irwin's adopted sister said with a raised eyebrow. "I know you want to be out there, but first we need to get somewhere."

"I know," Hilbarin said, his head moving in the beat of a rapidly increasing beat that Irwin and Skylar were stomping on the ground. "I'm just not used to being carried along like some weak baby. Still, I guess after we reach this Greldo, I'm sure things will become more interesting again. That said, traveling to an entirely different Main Branch? That just sounds really interesting!"

"It's boring and takes forever," Rindiri said as she glanced from her empty cup, the surface plate, to Blade, raising an eyebrow. 

The younger man rolled his eyes, but took away the empty glasses and cups as he headed to the bar.

"Moving from here to the nearest one would take years at a regular speed," Rindiri continued. "Worse, most of it is spent in Glacial Corridors. They mean that, in many cases, you can't even go to the deck. Worse, from the very little we have heard from some of them-" she made a head gesture at the happy Simlari. "-there are more than just Chained moving around. One of those I spoke with said that merchants who moved to Dimarintsia shared stories about merchant caravans being attacked and destroyed. So far, they don't even know by what."

Hilbarin sighed, leaning back. "I wish I had gotten a better movement card so I could do what Irwin does."

"Don't we all," Brecka said with a snort.

"Come now, you can still get a new card. I'm locked by this," Hilbarin snorted, tapping on his chest where a large armored plate appeared for a moment before vanishing.

"You could ask the Captain to destroy it and make a new one?" Blade said as he sat back down, placing a filled tray between them. 

"I… what?" Hilbarin snapped, leaning forward, his stool thudding down with a thud that wasn't audible due to the loud music.

"What? I thought everybody knew?" Blade asked, suddenly giving Brecka a worried look.

"No. Irwin did his best to keep that to himself. So far, I know, he only did it a few times, the last time for Flowrishin," Brecka grunted.

"Oh. Oh!" Hilbarin said, rising slightly before seeming to realize where he was. He said back down, a suddenly manic grin on his face. "Good. I'll ask him about that. The card helped me greatly back in the day, but now? I would prefer something that allows me to move quickly across the Portal Gallery."

"I'm sure he would be willing to help," Rinridi said, clapping loudly at the conclusion of another song. 

The group continued chatting merrily about many things, while the partiers continued around them.

--

"Most of these are taken from Chaos Whales," Dahlia said, her face downcast as she stared at the stack of dozens of cards.

"Irwin's not going to take this well," Greldo grunted, sitting across from her. "How did you even figure it out?"

Dahlia waved at Juul'rish, who floated down from the rafters of their simple house. 

"They have a specific resonance that shows up if I analyse them," the silvery Ganvil piped as she landed beside the stack. "It is very faint, which is why it took me weeks to find it."

"So, does this mean all these cards are somehow related to Chaos Whales?" Greldo asked, picking up the stack and flipping through them. "I don't see anything that resembles a fish."

"Because these are mere parts of the soulskill a specific Chaos Whale was forming," Juul'rish said. "But don't discount them. They all either have significant boosts to physical stats like constitution and endurance, or even give soulforce skills. They are rare, and a stack like this?"

"Yes. Just a shame they had to kill all those Chaos Whales for it," Greldo grunted, shaking his head. 

When he saw Dahlia glare at him, he blinked, then quickly turned to Juul'rish. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to suggest you were happy with that," he said, leaning back and rubbing his eyelids. "I'm just… tired. Tomorrow we have to go out for another scouting mission. I've told the others we will be gone for a while, probably a month or two."

Dahlia's glare faded, and she leaned out, touching his hand. 

"What is wrong? You have been like this for days. It's not all because of the Chaos Whales, right?"

Greldo sighed, clearly forcing a smile on his face. "No. I have a bad feeling. Something… in the shadowrealm is changing. More and more fish and other shadowrealm creatures are flocking to my shadowpocket. Don't you see any of that?"

Dahlia's pupils dilated for a moment, her face going passive, then she was back, shaking her head. "No. But you are far more attuned than I am. What did Gloom say?"

"He has been anxious and keeps calling me Lord. It's getting under my skin. When I asked what was happening, he said there was something brewing, but that he had no idea what."

Dahlia was quiet for a bit, seemingly pondering it before answering. "So, you both have a bad feeling, and it has to do with the shadowrealm. It has to be about those Shadow Oculithar."

"Probably," Greldo muttered. "I can't imagine what, though. Unless we run into far more than we have so far, we can either deal with them or flee."

They were quiet for a bit longer, then Greldo shook his head.

"So, did you get any further with-" Greldo stopped talking as Dahlia banged her head on the table.

"I don't understand," she muttered. "I'm sure I'm on the right track, but I just can't get through the final bit. I do everything right, then when I need to find the final resonance, everything shatters. I really hope it's not something that can only be done by Music Style Smithing, because then I'm doomed."

"I'm sure when Irwin gets here, he can help you out," Greldo said.

"If he gets here," Dahlia snorted. "It's been over a year!"

"He will come," Greldo said. "I guarantee it."

Dahlia just sighed. "Let's just go to bed. If we leave tomorrow, we should go early so Koudi doesn't find us and complain about the lack of cards."

"What did she say this time?" Greldo asked as he pulled her to her feet. 

"Same as always. We need more heated-type cards that give resistance, more water cards, and more plant cards. More of all the cards that are hardest to get, especially out here."

"Well, then, if she does catch us in the morning, just tell her we are going out to find her those cards," Greldo said with a weary grin.

--

Irwin shot out of the soundwaves and skidded across the rocky hill. Ahead of him, Graboul's teeth dominated the horizon, their tips touching the barrier high above. 

And we are back, he thought, staring at the distant mountain range. 

He'd spent a great deal of time there, in the hidden worlds within, and he knew he still hadn't scouted even a tenth of it. 

'No sign of any life. No addled either,' Ambraz said. 

Irwin frowned. The last time they had been here, there had been a lot of addled. 

'None?'

'Not within my range at least,' Ambraz said. 'You could spread your aura and see if you can find some?'

'And draw anything our way that is here? No thanks,' Irwin replied as he shot up and towards the mountains, reappearing every few miles. 

He stopped when he landed on the peak, scanning around. 

'Right, time to get the Caldera out. Hiblarin has been giving me the stinkeye for days,' Irwin said.

A few hours later, he stood on the deck of the ship, watching Hilbarin and Brecka stand at the prow, talking and pointing. 

"You would think he would have had enough of pointing at Addled by now?" Irwin muttered; another part of him focused on his senses, which were spread out as far as they could go. 

"He's never seen one," Rindiri said. "He only knows them from our stories."

Irwin nodded. "But still…"

"Captain, did you notice there were only very Addled on our journey here? Usually we see far more," Rindiri said, "I hadn't even noticed until we saw these."

"Yeah, I-" Irwin broke off as his senses picked up something. His emotions went from joy to worry as he turned to Rindir. "Greldo is up ahead, and he's fighting…"

Irwin shook his head as he tried to make sense of what he felt. They were definitely shadow typed, but large. 

'More of those Shadowy Oculithar,' Ambraz snapped.

"I'm pulling you in, but prepare yourself for battle," Irwin shouted. He pulled the ship into his soulscape before anyone could react, let out another shout and disappeared into the soundwaves.