Irwin's Journey 479: Time manipulation

Slaudi leaned back in his chair, glaring at the tablet on his desk. They had been traveling for over a week, and all the news he'd gotten as he closed in on the first of his bases had been bad. 

How can such a small force still hold us back? They are just chunks of flying metal!

He glared at the tablet, harder, almost wishing to shatter it. After a few moments of showing no reaction, he took a deep breath.

"Fine," he snapped. "Pull back our forces before we lose any more. Have you at least found anything more about that anomaly that killed the Occulithar?"

A slightly hesitant voice came from the crystal tablet. Just hearing it made Slaudi know there was more bad news to come.

"No, Lord Slaudi. Uh, but we have been closing in on that Terlo."

It took Slaudi a moment to remember who the Chained was even talking about, and when he did, he held back a curse. Close in? They hadn't even managed to get their hands on that annoying teleporting informant?!

"You told me last time we spoke that you had him cornered," Slaudi hissed. "Are you telling me he got away? Again?!"

There was a long silence this time, and Slaudi almost worried the Chained had run away when the voice came again, sounding miserable, worried, and not a little bit angry.

"He tricked us…"

Slaudi blinked, barely believing it. Yet, he knew that the Chained couldn't lie to him. From this distance, he could refuse to answer, could try to run, and could even attempt to work against him in a minor capacity. But he wouldn't be able to lie. He almost wished the other could. 

What was this one's name again? he thought, gnashing his teeth.

"Ruglim, you will find him and capture him before I return," he said, letting a snarl creep into his voice. "Or I will hold you personally responsible. Now. You had better tell me you found out where those Accenti managed to hide."

"We have found their trail," the man said, voice raised to a squeak. "They were last seen moving within the Graboul's Teeth, a mountain range between Suderfuix and Dimarintsia."

"..."

Slaudi's hands clenched around the reinforced wooden armrests of his luxurious chair, causing dangerous creaking. He knew where that mountain range was, because it was where a larger portion of those bloody Chaos Whales had vanished.

"You mean, the last time a sizeable part of my forces were seen, was between the only two cities we can't get near because they have a larger fleet than us?" he said, his voice going from a snake to a roar. "Forces that somehow managed to break free?"

"There are also rumors that some managed to break through into Scour," a pathetically fearful whisper came from the crystal tablet.

Slaudi closed his eyes, shaking his head.

Of course they did.

"Find me that teleporter!" he growled, before flashing his soulforce and closing the connection.

It took him a good while to calm down, and when he did, the armrests of his prized chair had splintered. Throwing the wood to the side, his eyes drifted to the back of the room where the Shaidin sat around a small table. Their eyes were closed, and he knew they were either meditating or faking it. 

"Have you decided which of you three will head onto Scour?" he asked, his voice cold.

"I will," one of the Shaidin said, his eyes opening, and the blood red orbs glowing dully.

"Good," Slaudi said, holding the powerful being's gaze. "When you are there, your first priority remains the same. Find out everything you can about that Amnathair. If it's there, kill it. If you can't find it, find the Accenti and kill every single one of them."

"That will be years from now," the Shaidin said, lips curled up. "Remind me later."

"If I find that teleporter, he will be chained," Slaudi said, wondering if even these dangerous monsters were too stupid to add up things. "So, with some luck, you will be there within months. So, kill the Amnathair and all Accenti. Do. You. Understand?"

A hint of disgust grew in the red eyes.

Slaudi felt his temper flare up, but ignored it. "Answer me," he said, taking joy in seeing the Shaidin struggle.

Somehow, their old enemies had found a single way to resist. If they didn't confirm things, the Shaidin could somehow ignore their orders. So, he'd been told repeatedly before leaving to force them to confirm every order and never send any of them away without clear instructions to return after a mission or set time frame. 

"I will do as you say," the Shaidin finally said, his tone emotionless, but his eyes riddled with a hate that might have terrified Slaudi if he hadn't known the details of what bound it.

"Good," Slaudi said, turning back to the tablet and wondering what his other shadewalkers would tell him. Likely nothing good.

--

Irwin stood beside Nimlarel, taking a final look at the Silverleaf Smiths Guild Charter. The shadow teleporter had already brought everyone besides him and Rinbus to Trunkle, and he'd said his goodbyes. 

"Nothing," Rinbus said as he appeared beside Irwin and Nimlarel.

Irwin frowned, looking around, his soulforce senses spread across the city and a large region around it. He felt nothing odd, and the sense of being watched had left. 

"Fine. Either there's nothing there and I'm just imagining things," he said. "Or whatever there is, left."

Rinbus shrugged, moving beside Nimlarel, their shoulders close enough to touch. 

"My father told me never to underestimate the senses of a warrior," he said. "I've left a few of my people behind with clear instructions to keep an eye on things. If anything happens, we will hear about it."

Irwin gave him a thankful smile before turning to Nimlarel.

"Right, bring us to Trunkle, please."

"Yes, Guild Master!"

Nimlarel sounded almost happy to be leaving the desert city, which surprised Irwin. Most Oxarites preferred them over the Viridian cities within the groves. 

A ripple of shadow, and a jarring moment later, Irwin felt the hot, dry air, replaced by a cooler, fresher one. 

Irwin looked around to see that he stood on the edge of a dense forrest, with trees that were far smaller than those inside the central groves. Still tall compared to most worlds that didn't hold Viridians, of course. The grassy clearing seemed almost idyllic, and on the central hill stood a small city, about half the size of Silverleaf.  

Trunkel City. A few weeks' travel to the east of Silverleaf, within Rootknot Grove, and what he guessed would be his home for what… two years? Three at most?

We will see, he thought, walking towards it.

--

A year after Irwin had arrived at Trunkel City, if he'd recalled his thought, he would have shaken his head wearily. Things never went as planned, and he should have known.

He was standing deep below the ground, in a hollowed-out chamber that still lingered of the scent of blood. Not that there was any sign of the Insectoids he'd killed, as he'd burned their remains.  In the center of the chamber hung a portal, one of the innumerable that he knew existed below Scour's surface. 

Topaz ranked, he thought, wanting to shake his head. 

Rinbus and Nimlarel had scouted for over a year, and they hadn't been able to find a single portal below topaz. He knew there probably should be some, but due to the time dilation, nearly all portals had existed on Scour for hundreds, thousands, or more years. He should be happy that they hadn't found only diamond-ranked ones, instead of none. 

To many ruby-ranked ones, though, he thought, wishing he could enter the portal himself. 

The problem was that he'd likely rip the entire portal corridor apart, which, although it would successfully close the portal and likely shatter the world beyond, would also leave him stranded in the primordial chaos.

"Guildmaster?"

Irwin sighed as he turned to the group standing behind him. A hundred and twelve carded warriors and two carded healers. Many young, though not as young as he had been when he'd first entered a portal. Decked out in the best wooden weapons and rune-covered armor he could find. Many had weapon cards, and some, like both healers, had a carded armor that would protect them from most harm. Most… not all.

'They aren't children to be coddled,' Ambraz said, sounding weary. 'Kid, I know you don't want to send them in, but this is their world, more so than it will ever be ours. If those portals aren't closed, this world will never be truly stable and safe. Eventually, one of those Insectoid Queens, or something worse, will grow too strong and overrun the world above. Or something worse than Insectoids finds its way here. You have trained them for over a year, they have the best cards they could possibly have, and all the information you could find.'

Irwin took a deep breath, knowing Ambraz was right. Still, as he watched some of the younger members of the first group to enter a Scour portal, he wished there was another way. If only he could just forcefully close the portal and keep it closed. Sadly, even if he managed the first, the portal would just reopen moments later.

He took a quick glance to the side where Nimlarel and Brecka stood among a few other teleporters, quietly watching him, before focusing on the group.

"Alright, you all remember what to do?" he called out, looking at the four shadewalkers that would go in first. 

One of them, an older, graying Centi, smiled, his gray square eyes flickering with mirth.

"Yes, Guildmaster. We will go in, jump into the shadows, and scout around. If we find anything we can't handle, like those Nyzir you warned us about, we will return immediately."

"Good," Irwin said, waving at the portal. "Good luck."

The four shadewalkers ran forward, and Irwin felt his gut twist slightly as he saw them jump inside. Since when had he become so squeamish?

Since I'm asking others to take the risks, he told himself.

"They will be fine, brother."

Irwin smiled, but kept his gaze on the portal. 

Time flowed, minutes turning to hours, until, after four hours, Irwin was pacing in front of the portal, worried and angry. 

With an almost anticlimactic pop, the first scout came back out, quickly followed by the others.

"What happened?" Irwin asked, walking forward and scanning them for injuries, but found none.

The older Centi stopped, looking at him in surprise.

"Nothing, Guildmaster. It's a cavernous world with Insectoids everywhere. I located a queen, old and weak, barely able to move. She seems to be the linchpin."

Irwin blinked, and it took a moment for him to realize what was going on.

"Time dilation," he grunted. "How long were you there?"

"Six minutes, maybe seven?" the Centi said, eyes narrowing. "How long were we gone?"

"About four hours," Irwin said, shaking his head. "I should have guessed."

"That long?" the Centi asked, his eyebrows shooting up. "I guess that means we will be gone for days or weeks while we close it."

"Yes, you will," Irwin said, looking at the group that had been quietly waiting the entire time. Most were standing up from where they had been resting, seeming almost eager to go in.

"Alright, everyone," Irwin shouted. "The time-dilation means that for every minute you are in there, about half an hour will pass here. Does anyone need to warn someone in the city?"

There was a hushed silence before a few people came forward, asking if they could go back and explain this.

Irwin gave the teleporters a nod, and within moments, about ten of the warriors had vanished. He knew that most of those remaining had no family to warn. It was the reason most were here in the first place, as they had lost theirs to a burrow overflow.

It took about half an hour for everyone to return, and by the time they did, the Scouts had explained what they had found. Apparently, it wasn't a very big shardworld, and there weren't all that many Insectoids either. Mostly just a very old queen.

Irwin watched quietly as the group walked to and into the portal until only he, Brecka, Nimlarel, and the teleporters were left.

"Go up and tell the healers that they need to be on standby for the next day," Irwin said, looking at the teleporters. All but Nimlarel vanished in either faint shadowy clouds, smoke, or, in one case, a slight flicker of light.

"You think they can't deal with a single weakened queen?" Brecka asked from beside him. "I know they are only handcarded, but they are almost as strong as a lot of the weaker heartcarded."

Irwin hesitated, then shook his head. "If I thought they couldn't, I wouldn't have let them inside. No, I think they can. But that doesn't mean things will go as they should. 

Brecka didn't answer, simply glaring at the portal.

"I wish I could just go in there and clear it out," she grunted. "Are you sure you can't make a card that allows me to go through without ripping apart that portal corridor?"

"Ugh, you little brats," Ambraz snapped from Irwin's shoulder. "People have attempted that for thousands of years. There's simply no way. The only portals you two could maybe go through are diamond-rank portals, and even then, you risk ripping the corridors apart."

"We can go through diamond-rank portals?" Brecka asked, sounding almost hungry.

"Maybe I said," Ambraz said. "And only because you both have a very stable soulforce and can reign it in. The risk is too big, though, because if you fail, you are going to be lost in the primordial chaos."

Irwin didn't answer, having already had this conversation with Ambraz long ago.

He remained quietly standing there, ignoring Ambraz and Brecka's conversation, and later, how they moved to chat with Nimlarel. He knew he could just sit down and wait, as it would likely take a day or more for them to close it, but he just couldn't make himself.

Hours crawled by, then a day, and finally, almost two days later, the portal spat someone back out.

Irwin jumped forward, noticing bleeding gashes across the warrior's face and rips in his leather armor as he staggered.

"Get the healers here," he shouted, helping the warrior aside as another appeared, then another.

Within moments, he lost count, but when a large group had gathered, he knew that at least most had returned.

The old Centi was the last to come back through, and by then, the healers had arrived, moving around the warriors. 

"Guildmaster," he said, walking forward, favoring his left leg. "The portal should-"

Behind him, the portal closed with a soft pop.

"- close soon," the Centi said, before blinking. "Right. The queen was stronger than we had expected, and she had ten guardians burrowed in the ceiling of her chamber. They dropped on us from above… if we had known…"

"How many losses?" Irwin asked.

"Only seven," the Centi said. "But only thanks to the two healers who came with us. Without those, we would have lost over twenty, perhaps more."

Irwin took a deep breath, then exhaled explosively.

"Alright, you did well," he said. "Go and get healed."

The Centi nodded and walked away, leaving Irwin to stare at the place the portal had been.

"One down, a million to go," he whispered. 

Will we lose seven for each portal?

He hoped not, but he also knew there wasn't another choice. 

--

Months flew by, then years, and slowly a new rhythm emerged. 

For half a year, Irwin practiced on his card seeds, taught the young smiths, and kept an eye on the groups' closing portals. Then he returned to Eluathar for almost two days, the best of the entire month, where he laughed with his family, talked with Daubutim, and moved three, then four, and eventually groups of seven to and from Eluathar. Most were Yuurindi, and his small species that had started with one began growing.

He still occasionally had the idea someone was watching him, but neither he nor Rinbus had been able to find anyone or anything that could be responsible.

Rinbiri's shipyard was rapidly growing, and she'd started producing small, ten-man vessels. She was slowly working her way up to larger ships, with the goal of eventually building warships that Irwin could bring with him.  

Irwin began wondering if everything would continue like this as they built up their forces. Then, three and a half years after the first portal had been closed, something changed.

"Ambraz… do you sense this?" Irwin asked, opening his eyes on his bed on Eluathar, where he had just arrived for another two days of bliss. 

"The pressure… It's different," Ambraz grunted. "It's almost as if it has weakened.'

Irwin agreed as he gently pushed against the constant sense of being compressed that had been with him every time he moved back to Eluathar. Before, it had felt immovable, like being stuck in metal. Now he sensed a slight give, and very carefully, he pushed against it. As he did, he felt the headache grow quicker, the drain on his soulforce increase. He almost stopped when he noticed something else. The leaves that came through the windows in his room on Scour moved faster, faster even than they already were with the slight time discrepancy. 

His eyebrows rose as he pushed just a bit more, and the movement of the leaves turned into a blur while the drain on his soulforce increased further.

'Kid! You are speeding up the time back on Scour!'

Irwin didn't react, stopping his pushing and shivering. He'd just burned through a chunk of his soulforce so large that he would have to leave at least one person behind this time. Not that he worried about that. Ambraz was right. He had sped up time there, or at least, from his point of view.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the now-familiar growing headache. There was only one reason he could think of for what was happening. Closing the portals was having an effect, and it wasn't exactly what he'd expected.

'The portals,' Ambraz said, as if reading his mind.

'It has to be, right?' Irwin agreed. 'This means I can match time as best I can, then move here, and have it speed up again…'

As he said it, a host of ideas popped up in Irwin's head. One was that he could have the benefit of starting something and not having to be there for every moment, and the second was that, unlike the last time, a large swath of time passed when he'd moved to the Portal Gallery, he could still keep check on how much time passed and if he was needed.

He pushed himself up, hearing a happy cry from the kitchen.

"Dad is back!"

'Let's wait till later to discuss this,' he said as he pulled Ambraz into the real world.

His eyebrows shot up again as he felt another change. The cost had become less! Not a substantial amount, but enough to be noticeable.

"Kid?"

Irwin shook his head as the door was shoved open.

"Later."

Flux and Glow raced inside, a moment later followed by Mia.

"Dad, we did it! We-"

Irwin did his best to listen to the three hyperactive kids, smiling as he did. Still, he remained distracted all the way till late in the evening, when they were all asleep and he and Scintilla were sitting at the table.

"So, are you going to tell me what is going on?" Scintilla asked, frowning at him as she put a second drink in front of him.

Irwin sighed.

"Daubutim should be here in a minute. I sent Ambraz to get him."

"So, that's where it's off to," Scintilla said. "Zan and Silv'am were really sad he wasn't there."

"He will be back soon," Irwin said. "They will have all of tomorrow to play with him."

"Is it bad news?" Scintilla asked.

"No… I think it's possibly good news, but I'll need Daubutim to help me think about it."

Scintilla frowned, but before she could answer, the sound of footsteps came from the hallway, and a moment later, Daubutim entered, closely followed by his heartbound, Lisbeth. 

"Irwin, it's good you are back. What is wrong?" Daubutim asked calmly as he sat down.

"Nothing… But I just found out something," Irwin said, as he sipped from his drink. "It seems I can speed up time on Scour while being here."