Irwin's Journey 473: Assassins

Rubini walked into the building, followed by a curious and excited Julla. The entrance was already cleaned of sand, and as Rubini looked around, they saw a towering Oxarite use a comparatively tiny broom to wipe sand from one of the sides of the buildings. Her dark, slightly gleaming arms bulged with muscle as she hummed happily.

Well, at least she looks like a Smith, Rubini thought.

From deep within the building, another sound came, high-pitched and odd, and clearly an instrument, though Rubini had never heard anything like it.

"Hey there!"

Rubini blinked as she saw the giant's burning eyes focus on her, sparkling happily.

"Are you two here to… Hey! What happened to your hand?"

Rubini almost dashed back as the woman stomped towards them, towering three heads over even her and looking at Julla, who barely reached her waist. The younger girl blinked as she looked up, her hopeful smile fading, eyes turning slightly dull.

"I was attacked during the Burrow overflow that wiped away Gleitown two years ago," she muttered.

Rubini swallowed as the woman knelt next to Julla, still dwarfing her, gently taking her right hand and turning it around, looking at the empty cardslots at the back.

"That's no good," she muttered, turning her attention to her stump. "Did you have three cards before you lost them?"

Rubini almost barked a sad laugh of disbelief, barely holding herself back as she stared at the woman in disbelief. Was she serious? Why would anyone who could afford to give their kids three cards by that age join an effort to create a new town in a dangerous area?

"No," Julla muttered, seeming as confused as Rubini felt.

"Oh. Stay here."

Rubini watched as the burning-eyed giant got up and almost rushed out of the room, leaving them alone. 

No… not alone.

She frowned as she suddenly noticed a Centi man sitting at the back of the room, arms behind his head, eyes closed. Had he been there before?

"Don't worry, she will be back in a moment."

Rubini jumped back, spinning around to see a beautiful woman standing behind her. A dark shadow seemed to linger around her silver eyes that matched well with her pale, silvery skin, which Rubini knew meant she was from the far north. The eyes, however, were what stunned her.

Heartcarded… 

She pushed a sudden fear. What had they gotten themselves into? The only heartcarded in Silverleaf were the heads of the noble families, along with some of their family members, and none of those came into these parts of Silverleaf.

She heard the odd music stop at the back of the building, and a moment later, footsteps came stomping back. 

The silver-eyed northling merely smiled gently as she waited with them.

A few moments later, the giant woman came walking back into the room, followed by a man at least a head taller than her and nearly twice as wide. His skin was different, a pale copper, but he had similar hair and eyes, making the two of them resemble each other a great deal. 

Confused, Rubini almost forgot about the heartcarded standing behind her as she watched the two. Did they have similar types of cards? They couldn't be related… right?

"Brother, she's got no left hand! It's… horrible! She doesn't have cards either…"

Rubini felt tiny as the two giants reached her and sank down beside Julla, who was holding her stub, eyes wide and confused.

"Hello, little one," the man rumbled, his voice so deep Rubini felt it resonate through her entire body. "What is your name?"

"Julla…"

"Hello Julla, I'm Irwin. Why did you come to the Smiths Guild?"

So it really is a Smith's guild? Rubini thought.

She took a quick step forward, knowing Julla might start rambling about joining before they had any idea what was going on..

"We heard there is a way to earn soulshards and cards here," she said before her friend could speak up, drawing the man's attention.

His burning eyes reminded her of some of the metal and flame shaping skills of the defenders of Gleitown as they tried to fight off the seemingly infinite number of insectoids. She swallowed, trying to expel the memories and focus.

"There is," the man said with a nod. "But you would have to join the guild, and there are a few rules. Would you like me to explain those to you?"

Rubini felt the little excitement that remained with her vanish. She disliked rules. Those nearly always required them to do things they didn't want to, and meant punishment when not followed. Still, she nodded, focusing on the man who had called himself Irwin. Listening wouldn't hurt, and she couldn't rightly say no without potentially creating problems.

"Everyone who wants to can join our guild," Irwin said. "Right now, the only requirement is that you help with the things we need. Most of those are simple: cleaning the guildhouse, finding people who are willing to pay to have handcards reforged, and learn one of three trades."

Even though she'd already decided to leave as soon as she could, Rubini still found herself looking at him in disbelief. What was going on? None of those things would be worth paying someone soulshards for… let alone cards. There had to be a trick.

"What… what do you mean by trades?" Julla whispered from beside her, asking the question Rubini had wanted to ask.

"Primarily, we need people who can learn to reforge cards and become Cardsmiths," the man said, causing Rubini's mouth to fall open. "For those who can't learn that, or don't want to, we also need people who can, or want to learn how to fight and become Rangers. Lastly, we need some who are willing to become teleporters, healers, or-"

"Me!" Julla exclaimed, jumping forward before Rubini could stop her. "I want to become a healer!"

Rubini felt her heart sink and her throat clench as she looked at her friend, then at her stump. What was wrong with her? She knew that wouldn't work. She couldn't slot any cards, and-

"Very well," Irwin said, nodding slowly. "You will have to wait till Hyroot has his heartcard so he can regenerate your hand. Until then, you can help us with little things."

Rubini felt her legs so weak, and she barely managed to hold herself to the wall so she wouldn't fall. This had to be a trick. A lie. Right?

"Brother, you are still helping her even if she doesn't want to join, right?" the tall woman asked, frowning at Irwin.

"Brecka, you know I will."

Rubini, stunned and trying to understand what was going on, still shelved the name for later. Then she managed a quick breath and a shake of her head to clear it.

"Just like that?" she whispered.

The fire-haired woman, Brecka, snorted, while her brother looked at her with a slightly crooked grin. As he turned his attention to her, Rubini swallowed as she felt a sort of weight push against her. Her single, lone handcard almost seemed to itch.

"We have a simple runic system that will add you to the Guild Register," he said. "But yes… right now, we are looking for a lot of people. So, just like that."

Rubini shook her head, feeling a desire to run away. Also, what was this pressure?

"What's the catch?" she whispered, wishing she could pull Julla away. She needed time to think, to understand.

"In a few years, when the first groups of Rangers are ready, we are going to start closing portals," Irwin said, his smile fading as he became more serious. "And for them and some of the healers, it's probably going to be dangerous."

Rubini felt her mouth fall open, but she didn't care. Go into portals? These people were crazy!

"I… Julla, let's go to the cleaners. We need to think about this," she managed to croak out.

"Wha…? But Rubi-"

"Julla!!"

Julla flinched, then her shoulders slumped. "Alright."

Rubini swallowed as she kept a close eye on Irwin and Brecka, who were quietly watching her.

"I… we need to think about this first," she managed, slowly backing away, afraid they would grab her.

"That's fine," Irwin said as he rose and took a step back. 

He seemed slightly sad, but Rubini barely noticed. She turned and practically dragged Julla out of the building, across the square, and into the nearest alleyway. Only when they were out of sight did she slump against the wall, her breathing ragged.

What is going on? This can't be normal, she thought.

"Rubini?" Julla asked, looking at her worriedly.

"Let me think for a moment," Rubini whispered, weakly gesturing for her to be quiet.

"But Rubini! What if you made them angry? Maybe we can’t join anymore… and… my hand…”

Rubini flinched as she heard the pain in her friend's voice. She looked up to see Julla's blue eyes wide and tear-filled as she stared at her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they aren't," she said, suddenly feeling horrible.

What if she is right? What if this was the only chance for… for.

"No, it will be fine," she muttered. "Let's go and clean so we can eat. Then, tonight, I'll find out all I can about this supposedly new Smiths Guild. Also, about going into portals… I mean, that's crazy! Nobody survives that. Right?"

--

Irwin hummed as he watched the taller girl pull the other with her, almost seeming to flee.

"You scared them," Brecka exclaimed, arms clasped angrily.

"You know how jumpy those orphans here are," Irwin said with a sigh. "They will come around. Now, seeing as I'm done with reforging for today, tell me how many new people joined us."

Brecka's shoulders slumped, her anger fading as fast as it came. "I'm sorry, brother. Did the card…"

"It's fine," Irwin said. "It was only a quartz card and not an important one."

Brecka's face fell, and Irwin reached out, squeezing her shoulder. "Don't worry. It's fine. Just… don't come barging in like that next time, alright? You could have waited a few moments."

"I know, I was just…" Brecka shrugged, looking at where the little girl had left. "I've never seen someone who lost their left hand before they got atleast their cards. She can't even slot a regenerate card now!"

Irwin beckoned Nimlarel, who had been watching calmly, before turning to Rinbus.

"So how are things?"

Rinbus sat upright, and a small crystalline tablet appeared in his hand, which he placed on the table before him. It glowed a dim teal as his fingers flicked across it.

"We now have seventeen official new members, meaning with the rest of us, that makes twenty-three. Two days from now, Nimlarel and I will head to the main Smiths Guild, Flamerock, and Cinder Grove to get the others. My friends told me that Flowrishin is no longer the Guildmaster, while over a dozen older cardsmiths left with her. Officially, the main Smiths Guild statement is that she is going to create her own specialized Smiths Guild."

Irwin smirked at that, wondering who had come up with that original idea.

"We will have close to a hundred Centi joining, along with close to that many Ignitzians, and-"

Irwin listened calmly as Rinbus continued summing up the state of their Smiths Guild. When he finished, he was surprised at just how fast things were moving. 

"So, we will have close to five hundred people in a few days," he said, looking around the building. "I'm not sure we can house that many here yet."

"There will be a few dozen stoneshapers with my people," Rinbus said, before looking with a grin. "Also, I got an interesting response from Emperor Hilbarin. Let me read it to you…"

Irwin looked curiously as Rinbus flicked through the crystalline tablet until he found what he was looking for, cleared his throat, and began reading aloud.

"Tutor, I can't tell you how happy I am you are back! Perhaps things will finally start becoming interesting again. You said you could use any potential cardsmiths or warriors we have to speed up your plans, and I think we can help. A few of my great-grandchildren have been mostly wasting their time, and I've been looking for a place for them to learn things for a while. If you can-" Rinbus looked up. "There's something scratched out here that looks a lot like 'beat some sense into them,' but I could be wrong." 

Irwin shook his head, wondering how much Hilbarin had changed since the last time he saw him. In the meantime, Rinbus continued.

"-can… help me with that, I'll add a group of soldiers with them. I'll pick those with the highest soulforce sensitivity, because I know how much you like those. Oh, before I forget, Sandrihna wants you to come over as soon as you can. She has a ton of questions, and she wants to show you something. Anyway, as soon as one of my offspring shows they aren't-" Rinbus grinned. "Another bit is scratched out here, though I think he forgot the word aren't. It continues as follows: 'are capable enough, we will come and find you. I've even got some presents that I found over the years.'"

Rinbus looked up. "That's it. Do you want me to bring the people he suggested, or return a message to him when we are heading that way?"

Irwin hesitated, tapping his chin before making up his mind. "I'll give you a message, but you can also bring the people Hilbarin suggests. We can use all we can find."

Rinbus nodded, moving his finger across the tablet.

Irwin pushed himself back up, humming happily. "I'm going to return to reforging. Let me know if there's anything I need to help with, but-" he smiled at Brecka. "-make sure to give me time to finish the reforges."

Brecka's shoulders slumped, and Irwin walked towards her, putting an arm around her shoulder. 

"Don't worry. Mistakes happen," he said with a grin, before walking away. 

Things are finally going well, he thought as he thought about how little time he'd need till he could see Scintilla and his kids again.

--

Sjeeklin watched the other Guidar leave the central chamber, waiting till only the Fivefold and Slaudi, the one in charge of the Langost Branch, remained.

"Alright, tell me what made it so important that you speak to us in private," Sjeeklin said, staring at the younger and weaker member of his species.

Slaudi nodded, his two horns glowing dimly before he spoke.

"If you recall, I told you about one of those fringe worlds, Scour, in the Langost branch?"

Sjeeklin needed only a moment to remember the name, and he frowned.

"That highly unstable world with the extreme time-dilation? Was it not closed?"

"It was, Lord Sjeeklin," Slaudi said. "So, I was somewhat surprised when my scouts detected a large number of the juvenile Oculithar heading towards it. One went to investigate and reported that the exit portal had been opened, and…"

Sjeeklin was surprised to see a slight fear grow in the younger Guidar's eyes. As weak as he was, little should bring him fear.

"What?" he asked, leaning forward.

"He found hundreds of Oculithar, all dead, and remnant soulforce traces that indicate a near-adult one had been heading there, only to course correct towards the nearest Branch Corridor."

"Hundreds?" Sjeeklin asked, his full attention now on the other, while he faintly noticed the Fivefold do the same."

"Over six hundred, from what he was able to count," Slaudi said. 

"So, what kind of being did this? There had to have been some more remnant soulforce traces that he could detect?" 

"He did, Lord Sjeeklin," Slaudi said, his hands wringing the side of his long, flowing robe. "According to him, a single being did this, one that… My lord, these are his words, not mine, but… on par with you or one of the elders."

Sjeeklin's lips pursed closed as he felt his worry grow, only for Mindrach, the oldest besides Sjeeklin, to speak up.

"Could he detect what type of being? Was it another Guidar?" he asked, his voice calm and collected.

“No, Lord Mindrach. From what he could tell, it was something unlike anything he had seen before. He did return with a soulforce signature, and I had it checked. The historians say it strongly resembles one of the ancient Amnathair, though at only a fraction of the power."

"Impossible," Mindrach hissed.

Sjeeklin felt a memory of one of his oldest wall fragments pop up. He currently knew barely anything about the Amnathair, except that they were enormously powerful beings that ruled in ancient times before his people reached this Portal Gallery. Still, he knew he had to find the knowledge, and he knew he was going to have to change his plans that evening and reintegrate those memories, if only temporarily.

"The last Amnathair was no more than a sliver of its previous self when we came here," Mindrach said, his horns burning bloody red. "Even defeating that mere sliver nearly cost me and three others our lives. We used its remains to validate that no more of them exist within any viable range. Even if one had started moving towards us from that moment, it-"

"It could have come through a World Portal," another of the Fivefold, Puilanis, interrupted him. "It is fully possible that they survived somewhere else. I know we have searched for them and not found any, but there could be World Portals that we have yet to find, or one in a nearby portal gallery we have yet to explore."

Sjeeklin clicked his tongue sharply, causing Mindrach, who had been ready to say something, to fall quiet.

"Slaudi, I will send an additional fleet with you, and I want you to locate this… Amnathair, or whatever it might be," he said. "I will allow you to bring two Shaidin Assassins with you."

The last words caused a deep hiss from all the Fivefold, while Slaudi's face froze into a rictus of fear. 

"Sjeeklin," Mindrach said softly. "We have only eight of them left… this is-"

"What we need to do," Sjeeklin snapped, turning to the Mindrach. "Go and personally wake two of them. Instruct them to focus solely on the specific areas of Scour and this Amnathair. They have one year. If they can't find this thing before then, they are to return."

The Fivefold shared a look, but Sjeeklin ignored it as he turned to Slaudi. 

"Take the extra fleet and barricade Scour's minor branch. Don't let anything in or out of it, and scout through the Exit Portal. If you find the Amnathair inside, close the portal and blow up the minor branch. The Shaidin are not allowed to enter."

Slaudi nodded, while Sjeekling heard a sigh of relief from Mindracht. He held back his annoyance at it. What use were tools, no matter how rare and powerful, if they weren't used? Even without his own memories of the Amnathair, Mindrach's told him all he needed to know. If even a mere sliver of one, a remnant, was able to nearly kill four of their kind, he could not take the risk. Who knew how they reproduced, and one of them was potentially on a world with such an intense time dilation? No. Sometimes it was best to act fast and decisively. 

"What about the other parts of the Langost Branch?" he asked.

"It is nearly completely under our control," Sjouki said. "Only the most northern parts are still resisting, mostly due to help from the nearby Branch Corridor leading to the Tweelak Branch. They have blockaded the four main routes inside, and since the storm has left, we are having a hard time getting to them."

"Interesting," Sjeekling said, frowning slightly. "They are one of the few branches beyond the Wandering Verge that managed to keep our forces out. This is because…?"

"We couldn't move through the southwest region of the Langost Branch," Slaudi said. "The section is one of the largest frozen areas, completely devoid of soulforce we know of. It is likely none of the fleets found a way through."

Sjeekling thought for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. Focus on Scour for now, and as soon as you have finished that, send word."

Slaudi bowed, knowing he was dismissed, and left in a rush, leaving Sjeekling and the Fivefold behind.

"It is possible something is destroying our fleets," Sjeekling said softly, turning to the Fivefold and focusing on Mindrach. "It hasn't happened many times, but it is not unheard of. Tell the Shaidin to take a detour and investigate the region. They are not to tell Sjouki about this, and no matter what they find, they are to return here without."

"You know there could be Chaos Whales there," Mindrach said slowly. "They are rare here, and few ever manage to remain within the corridors, but it is possible. "Must I remind you what will happen if they detect the Shaidin?"

"It is a risk worth taking," Sjeekling said, dismissing the worry. "Waking them will already weaken them for any future missions, so we can just as well use them to their full extent. If we lose two, it will be a shame, but no big loss. We are closing in on our goal… must I remind you that two of our fleets are pushing into the Wandering Verge and will reach the Tangled Core branches soon?"

Mindrach's eyes flickered with excitement. "Will you allow more of us to go there?" 

Sjeekling hid his distaste at the others' desire for direct combat, faked a moment of hesitation, before lowering his head slightly. "Likely yes," he said. "I take it you would want to go?"

They both knew it was one of the reasons Mindrach had left Jieldinis in favor of him, but the others didn't, and secrets like these were best kept.

"Yes," Mindrach said. 

"Then you may prepare," Sjeekling said. "You can take your personal fleet there three years from now. That should give them plenty of time to create a foodhold."

"And we are sure there is a large Galladin remnant there?" Puilanis asked, showing more interest than Sjeekling had expected.

"Yes," he said, hiding another bout of annoyance. 

"Then I would like to go there too," Puilanis said.

Sjeekling hid the slight shock he felt at that, merely staring at the female Guidar that he knew was one of the few of their species that had managed to reproduce over the last few centuries. 

"Are you sure?" he asked calmly.

Puilanis's smile turned hungry, her horns glowing a bright red before fading to their previous pale gray.

"Very well," Sjeekling said, already pondering who he should have replace these two. "The same as for Mindrach. Three years from now, you may set out."

Puilanis merely smiled wider, and after a few more short discussions, they all left for their private quarters.

A few hours later, Sjeekling walked out of his memory storage chambers, his eyes narrowed. Kalidara had been waiting for him quietly and fell in step with him.

"My lord?" she asked, sensing his annoyance.

"Go and find Mindrach and tell him to awaken a third Shaidin Assassin."