Irwin's Journey 517: Mudball take two

Author note: So, my jaw is still not well healed. A bit of jawbone was broken of during surgery, and although it was cleaned, the part where it broke free from has a sharp ridge. It's unsure if it will heal by itself, but due to inflamation they can't fix it yet. So, that means I'm still sleep horribly and on pain meds, for at least another weak. Luckily the meds work, so I found time to write, and should have time tomorrow.

Now, better news. A lot of you gave a great listing of cards! I'll be creating another post about this tomorrow, were I'll list the cards that WILL be in Irwin's drawer. Some that I really liked, won't, because I'll be using those for future characters ;) Those will get an honorable mention.

You have until tomorrow to 'vote' - which means put a heart - on the cards you liked best in the previous chapters comments. I'll take the top patreon voted one, and the top one I like, and will find a way to make them pop in the story! Not sure yet how or when, and it might even be during edits in retrospect (though if that is the case I'll make sure to share it)

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“Seriously, you grew it bigger again?!” Greldo groaned, leaning his head back against the couch.

Irwin watched his friend, who was sitting across from him in the lounge area of the shadow mansion. Greldo had arrived while he was still telling his story, after having brought them through the Exit Portal onto Mudball. Now, at the right time dilation, his friend had clearly decided that he wanted to hear the story before the final track to Hammerblade Town.

Currently, Gloom was hovering around outside to keep an eye on things, giving them time to talk without interruptions.

Irwin snorted, looking around the mansion. “What are you complaining about? The next shadow card will enlarge your shadow space, and that’s on top of your own soulscape!”

He knew it wasn’t entirely fair. There was a big difference between his own soulscape and Greldo’s shadowrealm pocket, but he also knew that at some point, he would help his friend to a World Card.

Assuming I can even make my own first, he thought.

“Both combined could have fit ten times into your soulscape, and that was before it grew again,” Greldo said, shaking his head. “Whatever. So, I see you haven’t gotten any cards slotted yet? Why is that?”

Irwin raised an eyebrow. By now, between Ambraz’s continuous excitement and demands to inspect the cards on the table, and Greldo’s and Dahlia’s insinuations, he had an idea of what was going on. They had found a card which they thought would suit him. Probably something they knew he wanted.

Perhaps another soulforce card? Or something that increases soulscape stability?

“Worldcards,” Irwin said, instantly seeing both Greldo and Dahlia focus on him. “So, between Urdwel, that elder tree I told you about just now, and Preganrúadh, the Ghulnithair, I learned a lot more.”

“Guli… tar?” Greldo said, frowning.

“Ghulnithair,” Irwin corrected him. “They look like giant snakes of flaming rock that become sleek dark shapes with age.”

“Right, those things,” Greldo said. “You did mention they told you things, so, what does that have to do with not slotting cards?”

“Impatient! I’ll get to that,” Irwin said. “So, if all the things I’ve been told are true, to get a worldcard, someone needs at least five soulcards. Less won’t work because they won’t form a world card seed. Besides that, to eventually create one, the soulcards need to be either very similar or have very strong bridges between their type.”

Greldo frowned, while Dahlia began nodding.

“Bridges… You mean that if you have a stone and a fire-type soulcard, that you need one that sits in between?” she asked.

“Exactly,” Irwin said. “If a person has too many card types among their soulcards, creating the world card will become increasingly difficult and dangerous.”

Greldo leaned forward, eyes narrow. “I… like you? I mean, you’ve got a lot of different types already?”

Irwin noticed a sudden worry in his eyes.

“Yes, which is why I’m focusing on creating bridging soulcards,” he said. “Don’t worry too much, though. I already have a plan, and have two cards that will likely form the core of my new heartcard, which would fix part of the problem.”

“Right,” Greldo said, sharing a quick look with Dahlia.

“Now, besides this, there are two types of world cards,” Irwin said. “To make them, you need an enormous amount of soulforce within your soulscape, and if you have only just enough, you reach what Preg called the Shackled Path. You will need to go to a world and stay there until your soulcards have become in tune with the world.”

Dahlia opened her mouth, but Irwin raised his hand to stall questions.

“Before you ask, I have no idea how that would work, because from what I know, it is the other way around. The world’s soulforce resonance eventually starts resonating with our soulcards. It might be, because he was talking about worldskills, that something is different between worldskills and worldcards.”

Dahlia closed her mouth, nodded, and leaned back.

“Now, the Shackled Path of a worldcarded means you will not be able to return through the Exit Portal, and will be locked out of the Portal Gallery.”

“Damn, that’s not good,” Greldo grunted.

“It’s worse,” Irwin said with a grimace. “The world you do this on will be greatly changed in the process, and Preg said it would be best to choose a world without life.”

“Are you kidding me?” Greldo complained. “That means if one of us reaches that, we are locked on a lifeless rock? Why would we do that? Having all that power and not being able to use it is stupid!”

“There are potentially ways around that, by having multiple bodies and selves,” Irwin said.

“And the other path?”

“Preg called it the Real Universe path, and for that, you need near-perfect balance among your soulcards and a vastly greater amount of soulforce in your soulscape.”

Dahlia frowned. “How much is vastly greater?”

“Ten times is what Preg said,” Irwin replied, before letting out a sigh. “Just so you know, before my previous soulcard, I didn’t have enough soulforce for even the first step.”

“You… really? But you have more than anyone I know,” Greldo grunted, laughing ruefully. “No wonder we never heard of someone. Great. So what’s the difference between the two paths?”

“The Real Universe path allows you to attempt forming the worldcard in the Portal Gallery,” Irwin said. “If you succeed, apparently, your soulscape becomes a real world in what Preg called the material universe.”

“No other risks?”

Irwin grimaced. “Again, you need a second self and body, because otherwise you become part of the world.”

“Part of the world?” Dahlia asked.

“Preg didn’t explain,” Irwin said. “What I do know is that it's one of the things I need to ask the Titan Sliver, if it's still there. Did you-”

Greldo shook his head before he could ask.

“All I did was harvest a few more of those template cards. We stayed far away from the gas giant.”

“A few?” Ambraz exclaimed from the rafters. “How much is a few?!”

“Three,” Greldo said with a grin.

Ambraz let out a long, soft stream of the harsh, clanking sounds of the Ganvil language, which caused Juul’rish to giggle.

Irwin leaned back, his mind spinning as he began thinking of ways he could use more of those template cards. What should he duplicate?

“I was wondering,” Greldo said, pulling his attention back. “You don’t seem to be surprised by those Shadow Occulithar. Did you already encounter them?”

“A few,” Irwin, suddenly realizing they hadn’t even discussed that yet. “Do you know anything about them?”

“Only that more and more have been showing up,” Greldo said. “We-” he glanced at Dahlia. “-well, we also have an idea where they might have come from. Do you remember that giant Oculithar we saw that was moving through the shadow realm?”

Irwin’s eyebrows shot up as he remembered the moment. They had been at the Elder Shipyard, which had been defended by some of the Portal Guardian Ships, when an immense Oculithar had begun attacking the barrier. Eventually, it had left, but not before Greldo had said something about it moving through the shadow realm.

“You think these are its offspring?” he asked.

“It makes sense, right?” Greldo said as he shrugged. “Besides, for the last few years, Gloom and I have been sensing something within the shadow realm. It’s hard to be sure, but it's like pressure. As if something is building?”

Irwin glanced at Dahlia, who shook her head. “I haven’t been able to sense any of that.”

“Great. So we have a giant Oculithar that can move through the shadow realm, and now it's creating a lot of tiny Oculithar,” Irwin grumbled. “As if a war against the Guidar isn’t enough.”

“About that,” Greldo said. “We’ve found multiple Chained ships that were destroyed by them, so I guess it's not just us who are having issues.”

“Well, that’s something at least,” Irwin agreed.

He thought for a while, contemplating whether he should show the others how to create Soulforce Constructs before deciding against it.

“I think we should continue,” he finally said. “Unless you have anything to ask?”

“No, and I think you are right,” Greldo muttered. “If we don’t return to Hammerblade Town soon, Koudi is going to complain even more. She will already be unhappy that we didn’t find any heat, plant, or water cards.”

Irwin raised his eyebrow. “For those survivors you told me about?”

“Many can’t even leave their houses, and with the near constant superheated rains, it's dangerous,” Greldo said. “We were lucky there were some Ignitzians among them, and a few with proper resistance. Those are the ones handling most of the food, but it's touch and go.”

“I think I can help with that,” Irwin said.

“Oh, you found more cards on Scour?” Greldo asked, while Dahlia leaned forward, curiously. “Any shadow ones?”

“A lot of shadow ones, and a few very special ones,” Irwin said, thinking about the Shadow Teleport card he’d gained from the Derlin. He was about to mention it, when he stopped.

They want to give me a present? Why don’t I return the favor, he thought, his grin widening.

“Don’t worry, let’s head back and I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

Greldo looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

Irwin didn’t respond to the unasked question, instead focusing on another part of what Greldo had said. He’d never really found a use for his first cardseed, Candelit Glow, as it was a basis for fire cards. Back on Scour, there were innumerable fire cards, so people already had fire abilities aplenty. Now, however, he could use it as the base for something that might give people some resistance and other things.

“I might also have a solution for the heat resistance,” he said.”

“Great,” Greldo said, holding his gaze before snorting and getting up. “Let me get us back! Won’t take too long.”

The shadewalker vanished, leaving Irwin with Dahlia.

“So, what shadow cards did you find?” she asked, her excitement clearly visible. “Also, when there’s time, can you help me fill my soullake?”

“I can bring you back to Eluathar and see how the Chaos Whales are doing in the harbor,” Irwin said. “Or perhaps we can find some that remained at the gas giant.”

“Yes, Chaos Whales,” Dahlia said calmly. “Well, show me some of the best shadow cards! If I can fill my soullake I’ll be ready for a new card, and I want to focus even more on shadow, perhaps find some overlap with my old soulcards.”

Irwin grinned as he pulled a stack of cards from his soulscape.

The best, except for one, he thought, moving more stacks from his soulscape onto his lap.

For the next half an hour, they sifted through the stack, with Dahlia moving four apart for herself, and three that she thought would fit Greldo. Discussing the potential reforges the cards could hold, they barely noticed when Greldo reappeared.

Only when Greldo loudly cleared his throat did they look, seeing him, arms crossed, grin at them.

“Please tell me you haven’t been looking at cards this entire time?”

“I won’t,” Dahlia said, smiling at him. “I’ll also not tell you that I found a few very promising cards for you then, or that Irwin will help us fill our soullakes.”

Irwin grinned at his friend, who raised his hands in defeat.

“Right, right,” Greldo said. “Let’s go. I brought us next to the main gate so we can show Irwin what’s changed.”

Irwin felt himself being pushed out of the shadow realm, and unlike when he was pulled in, he couldn’t resist it. It was as if he were on a slippery slope, and a soft push shoved him right out. He reappeared in a familiar dark forest with a gray sky above. A constant downpour of superheated rain clattered across everything, creating steamy puddles and rivulets.

A damp, hot wind blew through the forest, and the sounds of a distant town mixed with the rustling of leaves and the thick, heavy droplets.

“I’m not sure I wanted to see it this badly,” Irwin muttered as he felt himself soak within moments.

“Let’s see if you still think of that in a minute,” Greldo said, stomping forward, and seemingly not caring about the water streaming down him.

Irwin noticed Dahlia glare at him, pulling her hair back, before vanishing into the shadow realm. The way she had glared seemed to promise retribution.

Right, let’s see what this is all about, Irwin thought as he followed them through the dark forest.

Unleashing his soulforce senses, he felt a surprising amount of signatures ahead, thousands. The ambient soulforce resonance had also grown far stronger since the last time he’d been here with his family, though he had no idea what had caused it.

Sloshing forward, they reached the edge of the forest, and Irwin couldn’t hold back a whistle.

Well-maintained orchards of fruit trees and bushes that he didn’t recognize stretched away from a wide, stone road that led to a distant, walled town. Perhaps a small city wasn’t a bad way to name it. It had three towers set in the walls, and Irwin sensed the soulforce rippling between them. The buildings, towers, and walls were made from the dark gray and rusty red stone that made up Mudball.

How much time passed for the survivors? Irwin thought, sensing dozens of people moving around the fields.

They moved onto the stone road, and Irwin stomped down, pretty sure everything had been made by stoneshapers.

“You expanded it a bit,” he said, raising his voice to be audible over the constant rain clattering down. “Do you still call it Hammerblade Town?”

“Definitely,” Greldo said as they continued ahead.

Closing in, Irwin noticed that the soulforce that rippled between the towers was covering the town, while streams of water shot out from holes in the side and into a river that flowed partially around the left wall, before disappearing into the city.

“Did you cover the city in a barrier?” he asked, eyes wide.

“We didn’t have another choice,” Greldo said as he continued forward, occasionally whipping some water from his face. “Most people can’t stand this heat. Even Dahlia can only stay for a bit.”

“She didn’t look too happy just now,” Irwin muttered, glancing at his friend.

Greldo just grinned, shaking his head like a wet dog. “It’s her own fault for almost handing away the secret. Now, let's go!”

Greldo began jogging forward, and Irwin quickly increased his pace to keep up.

“She’s right, though,” Greldo said when they almost reached the open gate. “We need to finish our current soullake so we can prepare our next card. Between the Shadow Oculithar and some of those Chained, I’m not as strong as I wish I was.”

Irwin froze, looking at his friend who walked through the gate.

‘Don’t feel bad,’ Ambraz grunted. ‘Even if you had done things differently, you would have still not been here much faster. Besides, there is plenty of time left. Also, it will be his last heartcard…’

Irwin sped up, following his friend through the gate as he pondered both Greldo’s and Ambraz’s words.

His last card, he thought. That meant Greldo needed a massive boost in his soulforce ability if he was to get a worldcard in the future. It also meant his last card had to become Ammolite rank.

I need to find a way to create a soulseed that can increase soulforce or soulscape capacity, he thought.

He was so lost in these thoughts that it took him a moment to realize the rain had stopped, replaced by a distant, loud, and constant tapping and ticking. Looking up, he saw the rain hit a faint orange barrier that lit up more where streams of water flowed to the side.

“It takes a lot of soulforce to keep it up during heavy rainfall,” Greldo said. “So we have a rotation where everyone in town has a day where the only thing they do is power the barrier. Currently, there are probably a thousand people helping, but if it gets worse, we have had three thousand.”

Irwin whistled as he scanned around to see how they were doing it.

“Juul’rish and Dahlia came up with it,” Greldo continued, constantly wiping water from his hair and face. “It’s based on how shields work.”

“Impressive,” Irwin said, sensing hotspots of soulforce within the three towers. Focusing on it, he realized there were hundreds of people in each, moving soulforce into something.

They continued walking through the city until they reached a long, wide road with narrow side roads leading to a dozen familiar buildings.

“We surrounded the original town,” Greldo said, leading Irwin through a narrow path and into a square.

Irwin stopped moving and looked around, remembering the last time he’d been here. Little had changed, though some of the houses had been increased in size. The house he’d occupied with Scintilla and their children was to the side, and it seemed empty.

“Yeah, I didn’t let anyone live there,” Greldo said. “We have plenty of space, and I had expected you back earlier. Anyway, let's go and see Koudi first.”

Irwin nodded, following him to one of the houses the Ignitzians had used to live in. He sensed a faint soulforce signature and one stronger one.

The door was open, and as they walked in, Irwin was greeted with a spacious, empty room with beds on all walls. An older woman stood beside a bed on which a young boy was sitting. She had her eyes closed, and Irwin felt the soulforce flow from her as she healed the boy.

It took a few minutes, then she opened her eyes and stepped back.

“Right, that should help for now,” she said, before pointing at the boy. “Now! Jaep! You are not to climb on roofs again without supervision, do I make myself clear?

“Yes, Healer Koudi,” the boy said, looking at his hands. “Thank you for healing my ankle.”

“You are welcome,” Louki said, frowning at him. “Now, be off before your parents get worried.”

The boy hopped off the bed and seemed ready to dash for the door when he saw people there. He instantly froze, then his eyes widened.

“Greldo and Dahlia are back!” he squeaked, causing Koudi to look up with a frown.

Irwin saw her eyes snap on him, widen, and fill with relief.

“Thank you, Yilda, you are here. Please tell me you can bring us all back home?” she asked, walking forward.

Irwin hesitated, then shook his head. “I could, but I’m not going to bring all these people to Eluathar. We have no way of telling who they are, and this could cause issues.”

Koudi’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly continued.

“I do have a lot of cards with me,” he said. “I hear you need vegetation, water, and heat resistance?”

“Yes, especially the latter,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I would like you to reconsider. There is no way for any of those here to return without help, and it would be safer if we return.”

“I know,” Irwin said. “But for now, I won’t be bringing just anyone back. Besides, Mudball is safer than many places. Now, how many heat-resistant cards do you need?”

“Fifteen thousand would be nice,” Koudi said, holding his gaze as if challenging him.

She changed a lot since I last saw her, Irwin thought, remembering the calm older lady that he’d had the others join.

“I see. How is the plague going?”

“Here? Gone. We also cleared a few dozen worlds between home and here,” Koudi said. “I also shared how it can be healed with the few healers we found who could use it. Even better, we found some merchants on ships that could still reach the bigger worlds and gave them a few of the cards you prepared.”

Irwin stared at her in surprise and wonder. She had done better than he had expected, and more so, from what he was sensing, she had slowly become the one to pull the strings. He glanced at Greldo, who shrugged.

“Dahlia has been mostly working on her cardsmithing, Gloom, and I have been out, finding survivors and hunting Shadow Oculithar,” he said. “Koudi made sure everything here went as it should.”

Irwin nodded, focusing back on Koudi. “I don’t have fifteen thousand heat-resistant cards, as you can probably imagine,” he said. “But I’m able to get you several hundred now, and potentially a few thousand more depending on how things go in a few days.”

Koudi’s mouth fell open, her previous calm annoyance gone. “That many? Wait, what will happen in a few days?”

“I’ll be heading to the gas giant, which has a very high time dilation,” Irwin said. “That means I can make more. I’ll also see if I can create one that allows someone to lower the temperature in an area around them. That should help even more.”

“It would,” Koudi said. “I… thank you. I don’t want to come over as rude, but we have been here for many years now, and a lot of people have been locked in this cramped city. It is starting to… chafe.”

“It’s fine,” Irwin said as he motioned for her to be calm.

Koudi smiled for the first time, easing her face in a way he’d seen happen with his mother before her last card had rejuvenated her by a lot.

Irwin pulled out a few of the cards he had said, focusing on those that he’d practiced on and wouldn’t be able to go much further, or those that held little potential beyond what they had.

“Here, why don’t you start with these?” he said, separating them into three stacks. “Water creation and manipulation. These help with the growth of vegetation in one way or another, and these are cards that will grant heat resistance and some other things.”

Koudi seemed overwhelmed as she accepted the hundreds of cards, staring at them for a moment before swallowing.

“Captain Greldo, can you send Coal with me just in case?”

“Sure,” Greldo said, as a giant hound appeared.

A few words later, Irwin and Greldo left the healer’s house, heading towards the one Greldo shared with Dahlia.

“So, why Coal? Are there issues here?” Irwin asked.

“There are always issues if you have this many people in such a small spot, with most not able to leave,” Greldo said. “But don’t worry. Those cards alone will make a world of difference. Just knowing there are cards coming again will take a lot of pressure away.”

Irwin hummed as he followed Greldo into the house. A short while later, he was shown a room where he could stay, Greldo explaining that the house he had lived in would have to be cleaned first.

Greldo left to get some dry clothes and arrange for some food, leaving Irwin alone to sit down at the small table. The reinforced wood and stone chair groaned under his weight, but held.

‘So, any idea what this card is they are going to show me?’ he asked.

‘Yes, and I’m not telling,’ Ambraz grunted. ‘Juul’rish wouldn’t leave me a moment of quiet if I did. Don’t worry, kid, it's great. Fantastic even!’

Great, Irwin thought. Then let's hope they tell me soon.

--

“You are going to head out in that direction until you find the edge of the branch,” Slaudi ordered, staring at the Shaidin. “When you do, check if there are any mysterious worlds or people. If you think you can wipe them out, do so. If not, return with new. Do you understand?”

Zeit stared at the Guidar, wishing he could resist answering just to spit the being.

“I understand,” he said, as the chains woven throughout his soulscape pulled tight.

“Good. We will be heading further south. Locate us by finding him,” Slaudi said, staring at the only other Shaidin still with them and awake. “If I find you go missing like the other one of you, I will react this out on your friend.

Zeit glanced at Nabr, using a set of micro emotions to greet his friend and wish him luck. He didn’t bother answering the Guidar, as it hadn’t been a question, and the less they spoke, the better. Instead, he turned and dashed off the ship.

I still don’t understand why he believes there is anything here, he thought, recalling the maps he’d been shown. According to everyone on this branch, this was the end of this part, and there lay nothing beyond.

He let the confusion last for a few moments before pushing it away. Still, time was relentless, and as he continued forward, his thoughts kept drifting to Umbral.

Where did you go, brother? he thought.

He still remembered the moment Slaudi had gone still on the deck, swayed in a moment of uncommon weakness before exploding in a fit of rage. It had taken a while before it had been clear that his control over their brother had been broken. Not by death. That would have caused a different reaction. No, because Umbral had someone manage to break free, or have someone break the chains.

The result was that Slaudi had sped forward with their fastest ship, reaching the designating split point in months instead of years. The rest of his fleet had been redirected to one of the worlds still resisting. Sadly, none of this helped him or his brothers.

How did you do it? And where are you heading now?

They had expected Umbral to either return quickly and deal with Slaudi or not return at all. It depended on how he had been freed. It was unclear if he could even return. Who knew? Maybe he was imprisoned?

Time passed as he continued forward, reaching the glacial region.

Nothing yet, and now this, he thought.

He had ways to pass it as long as it wasn’t too long, and he had been told to go to the edge of the branch. That wasn’t where the Glacial area started.

Compressing himself more and drawing from his soulscape, he prepared for the arduous journey ahead.

I hope I find nobody, he thought to himself.