Irwin's Journey 458: Wrestling

“Alright, that's enough for our first day,” Irwin said, staring at the small groups of students in his classroom. “I expect you to practice the resonance for the different types of fire in the coming week,s and I’ll be holding another test during the next class.”

A round of hushed excitement echoed through the classroom. Surrounded by their friends, the top prospects in his class, Rorin and Doire looked ready to fight. 

‘Those two are going to be fun to watch,’ Ambraz said as his spark hovered beside Irwin.

Iwrin hummed in agreement, seeing Beithe and Siella glare at each other. The girls’ rivalry hadn’t diminished over the nearly a month that they hadn’t seen each other. 

Interesting how there are two Oxarite and two Viridians vying for the top four spots, Irwin thought as he watched them all gather their belongings and begin to leave the classroom. His gaze drifted to Shashelin, the only Ignitzian in his class. She was performing admirably, but never managed to reach the same heights as the top four.

A minute later, the classroom was empty, and Irwin walked to the door, closing it shut.

‘They all practiced more than I expected,’ Ambraz said. ‘Still, these four can’t be all the school has. Are you going to check the other classes and see how many other talented juniors there are?’

‘I will, but not right away,’ Irwin said. ‘First, we need to talk with Headteacher Flowrishin and start planning to clear out the Deslote Stretch.’

‘I can’t wait till you get everything done and we can leave Scour for a bit,’ Ambraz said. ‘Even if it's only long enough to create your next heartcard, it means I’ll be able to leave your soulscape for real for a while.’

‘And maybe, depending on how the card works out, you can move out in Scour after that,’ Irwin said.

‘That would be ideal,’ Ambraz agreed.

Irwin hummed as he walked through the school, barely noticing the interested stares and looks he garnered from teachers and students alike. When he reached Flowrishin’s private chambers, the door was already open. A quick look around showed the Headteachers standing in front of a large wooden board attached to the far wall. Attached to it were a map and notes.

“Tutor, I’m glad you returned safely,” Flowrishin said, looking up and showing no surprise at seeing him. “I hear you’ve managed to influence the future of the Oxarite Empire?”

Irwin joined her in front of the map, noticing Cinder Grove in the center, and dozens of dots with names across a greenish area. Along the borders of what he assumed was the equator grove were yellowish, red, and black stretches, which likely depicted the deserts. Areas were drawn out with names scribbled beside, and he quickly spotted the Oxarite empire depicted to the north west, a sprawling area that bordered a grayish area in the far north. 

Other, smaller areas surrounded the Viridian territories, some designated simply as Oxarite, or Accenti, with a narrow set of regions on the borders that all read Parealion Flock. 

All throughout the different areas were small and large red areas, some with skull symbols and numbers.

“The gray areas are the limits of what we have explored,” Flowrishin said, seemingly noticing the target of his interest. ”Legends say we had more knowledge long ago, but if that is true, it was all lost together with so much else. Now, all we know is that it's too dangerous to venture far into the desert, and even the Ignitzian explorers. That is not why I had this brought into my office, however.”

She pointed at a stretch of red that sat in an area just within the Viridian groves, close to the deserts that bordered the Oxarite Empire. It held three skull symbols, each with the number seven.

“That is the Deslote Stretch,” she said. “Long ago, it was called Cardsmith Gorge, because most of it is a massive ravine, with mines dotting its sides and depths. Now it is one of the most dangerous regions outside of the deep deserts, with three known Insectoid Queens, each strong enough to require four of the Elite Grove Guardians to take down. However, due to their location and the swarm of Insectoids that are there, trying to retake it would likely require the entirety of the Viridian forces.”

‘Sounds like a nice challenge,’ Ambras said, floating before the map.

“How far from here is it?” Irwin asked.

“It’s about as far as Flamerock,” Flowrishin said as she pointed at a tiny location further up and to the left, on the edge of the Oxarite empire.

“So, I could get there in about a day if I hurry,” Irwin said. “When is the next break?”

“In six months,” Flowrishin said. “Which will give us the time we need to prepare.”

Irwin raised his eyebrow, wondering what she meant with that.

“I presume you expect that you can clear out the Deslote Stretch by yourself?” 

“Unless the power of the queens is greater than you have told me,” Irwin said. “That’s the plan.”

“What if all three fight you together?” Flowrishin asked.

Irwin hummed softly as he thought about that. “From what everyone told me, the queens are roughly the size of a small room and fight largely with their bodies and some poison. Largely clouds and sprays?”

“Yes. They are also nearly immune to fire,” Flowrishin agreed. 

Irwin had pondered the same thing a few times, but what made him expect little to no trouble was that Rustbeard, Hilbarin, and Lady Selderine had been able to defeat a queen on their own when there was no other option. Although they had been greatly wounded, they had managed. If two soulcarded with weaker soulcards than him could do that, he couldn’t come up with a reason why he would have much issue. Besides, it wasn’t like he was going alone. 

“I should be fine,” Irwin said. “I’ll bring Brecka, and she is at least as strong as Hilbarin.”

‘That’s an understatement,’ Ambraz said as he barked a laugh. ‘I seriously doubt Hilbarin would be able to keep her down. Maybe if Rustbeard helped him out?’

‘Yes, but it's good to keep some secrets,’ Irwin said. 

“She’s that strong?” Flowrishin asked, sounding surprised. “I see… But even if that is true, you will need some days to weeks to fully clear it, and require some rest. I was thinking of going with you, perhaps together with Uvaran, Borekliff, and Sandrax. Although we don’t have combat cards, all four of us are close to the strength of the Elite Grove Guardians.”

Irwin’s first reaction was to decline, as it would bring with it the risk of some of them getting hurt or dying. Even if he ignored the fact that he liked them, they represented the current best of the Smiths. If one of them died, it would set back what he was trying to accomplish by years, which meant he would have to remain even longer.

‘It’s not a bad idea,’ Ambraz said, before he could answer. ‘If you bring Nilish and the other heartcarded Blademaidens she brought, you would have a strong group. Just clear out one of the higher trees and bring some woodshapers. They can create a temporary place to rest.’

Irwin hummed thoughtfully before examining Flowrishin. She was powerful, there was no doubt about that, but not in any physical confrontation. That said, unlike him, she and the others didn’t have to do things by themselves.

“Alright, but we will need enough woodshapers to create some homes. I also don’t want any of you going in by yourselves.”

“I suggest we also bring some more shadewalkers,” Flowrishin said, showing no surprise that he agreed. “They can scout, and also help us hunt and gather some food so we don’t have to bring it all.”

“That’s a good idea,” Irwin said, again wishing he could just bring all the things they needed within his soulscape. 

For the next few hours, they planned what to do, and by the time Irwin walked back to the Adumn Estate, it was close to evening. 

The best change they made is sleeping during the evening again, he thought as he heard shouting and laughter coming from beyond the gate. 

Curious, he pulled it open and found a ring of Ignitzians around the practice circle. Inside, Brecka and Blademother Nilish are wrestling. Brecka had one hand tied behind her back, but the disadvantage clearly wasn’t enough as she was pushing the Blademother back. She kept making snappy moves to try and unbalance her, and the burly Blademother was red-faced as she struggled to remain standing.

“Come on, Nilish, at least put her on her back a single-” one of the Ignitzian blade maidens began, only for Breka’s gaze to land on Irwin. 

“Brother!”

Irwin grinned as Brecka moved forward, shoving the blademother back, before kicking her legs out from under her, and just stepping over the fallen warrior. 

There was a moment of silence, then laughter rang out from the group that had been watching. Irwin saw the blademother push herself up while shaking her head, a weary smile on her face.

“Please tell me we are going to go and beat some stuff up soon?” Brecka asked as she bounced in front of him. “It's fun pushing around the Ignitzians, but I need something to vent!”

Irwin saw Nilish grimace at that, but she managed to laugh it off as she walked away with the other Ignizians, giving Irwin some space with his not-a-sister, Brecka.

“Yes, but only in six months from now,” Irwin said.

“That long? That’s almost a year from now!”

“I know, but we need some time to prepare,” Irwin said.

“At least practice with me some more? It’s no fun if I keep winning,” Brecka said, looking grumpy.

Irwin saw the Ignitzians who had been moving away stop and turn around with interest.

‘Come on, Kid, just go easy on her, and it should be fine! How long has it been since you had some fun?’

Irwin hesitated for only a second, cracking his head and grinning at Brecka. “Sure. I don’t mind pushing you around a bit.”

A short while later, we were all sitting in the large dining room, Becka sulking as she poked at her food, while those of the Ignizians who had managed to get a seat were holding whispered conversations.

“How strong are you exactly?” Nilish asked.

Irwin looked at her, wondering how to answer that. He ended up with what he thought of as the truth, without having to go into details.

“I have yet to see anyone stronger in the Grove.”

“Are you stronger than Hilbarin Deadslate?”

“Yes,” Irwin said without hesitation.

“I see… And Brecka?”

Irwin looked at his sister, who was sulking over her food. He didn’t know all there was to know about Hilbarin, and the man did have two soulcards, one of which was better than most he’d seen. Still, Brecka’s soulcard was made by him, and it favored physical combat.

“I don’t think Hilbarin would be able to defeat her without tricks,” he finally decided.

Nilish let out a weary sigh. “That makes me feel a little better.”

A round of laughter came from the group of Ignizians, and the Blademother looked around with raised eyebrows. “I think we will be practicing some more tomorrow,” she said. “I’d love to see who of you can hold out against me or Brecka!”

The laughter turned to groans, and Irwin saw a smirk appear on Brecka’s face, showing she wasn’t as absent as it appeared.

They continued chatting for a while, and after finishing her food, Brecka regained her good mood. 

A short while later, Irwin sat Brecka, Nilish, and Rinbus in the basement, which also doubled as his private smithy.

Before he could start planning, another figure walked in.

“Tutor, I apologize, but-” Baytim began.

He looked very uncomfortable, hands clenched and eyes on the ground as he moved to stand before Irwin.

Not this again, Irwin thought. The Oxarite had found him as soon as he returned, apologizing profusely for having spoken with the Empress behind his back.

“Baytim, we have talked about this,” he said, interrupting what he guessed would be another long explanation of why he’d done what he had. “You did what you thought was best, and no harm was done. You can remain here for another month, then I expect you to head back home.”

Baytim paled, his hands clenching tighter.

Irwin felt slightly bad for him, but not enough to let him stay. As much as he understood the man’s choice, and likely would have made the same one, there was no reason for him to remain here. Zou was still locked up, and although she would probably be set free in another few months, she would have no reason to look for him. She would have her own issues, because by then Irwin hoped Hilbardin would be officially named Emperor of the Purperion Throne.

“I understand, and this is not why I came here. I was asked to tell you that  Zou Steelshaper was found dead in her cell this morning,” Baytim muttered.

The others had been quietly discussing something, but now fell quiet as all attention moved to the nervous Oxarite.

“The guards can’t find any clue on how anyone even got in there,” Baytim continued. 

“How was she killed?” Irwin asked with a frown.

“She was stabbed through the back, likely while pacing her cell. Whatever cut her was sharp enough to pierce a hole in the rune-reinforced walls, cut straight through up through her body, and left her decapitated.”

Irwin frowned, pondering it for only a moment.

“From what I hear, she had a tendency to make enemies,” he said. “As sad as it is for her, I don’t see why this has anything to do with me?”

“I don’t know,” Baytim said. “But Grove Guardian Stehlla asked if you could see her as soon as possible.”

Why would she want to see me? Irwin wondered. They couldn’t believe he had anything to do with it, could they? If he had wanted to harm her, he’d have done so immediately after her attack on Brecka. Or he could have just not stopped Breck.

“Fine,” he said, turning to the others. “I’m going to get this over with now, because I want to focus on teaching for the next half year. You three try and determine what we need to prepare and let me know tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, brother, just go and see what happened,” Brecka said. “I’ll make sure we have great plans!”

Irwin laughed as he walked away, noticing that Baytim was walking along with him.

“Baytim?”

“Tutor, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be leaving tomorrow. There’s a caravan heading back home, and with a new Emperor likely coming to power soon, things might get busy. I would like to thank you for what you have done for me and the Empire.”

Irwin eyed Baytim for a while before letting out a weary sigh.

“You are welcome. Stay safe. Perhaps we will meet again.”

Baytim bowed, and when they reached the end of the hallway and the intersection that led to different areas of the estate, bowed again before walking away.

 Irwin watched him until he disappeared in the hallway before walking to the exit.

A short trip later, he reached a tall building at the edge of the level, which housed the Grove Guardians. Two Viridians flanked the large gate, and as he approached, one stepped forward.

“Tutor, welcome to the Grove Guardians. Stehlla is in her office,” one of them said. “Please follow me.”

Irwin followed the tall Viridian into the building, which had a spacious indoor training area that was currently largely empty. Around the edges were rooms, some open, others with closed doors, and Irwin was brought to one far in the back. The door was open, and Irwin saw Stehla look up from her desk, a massive pile of papers before her.

“Tutor! Thank you for arriving on such short notice,” she called out, bouncing up from behind her desk and walking towards them.

The guard that led Irwin there turned and walked away. 

“Please follow me, I think it's best for you to see this for yourself,” Stehla said. 

“Baytim said that she was killed, but not a lot more,” Irwin said as he followed her. “Except for being curious as to why you asked me here, do you have any idea how this could have happened?”

Grove Guardian Stehla shook her head.

“I’m afraid it's best for you to see what happened first,” she said. 

Ambraz’s tiny spark appeared beside Irwin, floating beside him.

‘This seems interesting!’

‘I would have preferred nothing,’ Irwin replied as he followed Stehla down into the depths of the building.

Soon they were walking through long corridors with cells on each side, until they reached one at the back. Intricate runes were carved all across its surface and the thick walls surrounding it, but Irwin barely noticed. His entire attention was on the bloody scene in the middle of the cell where Zou Steelshaper, one of the seven, lay on the ground in two pieces. Her left shoulder, neck, and head lay to one side, while the rest of her body lay in a pile of thick, congealed blue blood a foot beside it. 

Splatters of blue blood colored the wall to the side and back, while more had hit the ceiling.

Even that, however, wasn’t the cause of Irwin’s sudden shock. 

Instead, he felt his worry grow as he sensed a complete absence of soulforce in and around the body. 

‘Kid… do you sense that?’

‘It’s like her soulforce was drained away…”

‘Not just that, focus on her body. Don’t you sense it?’

Irwin removed all limits on his soulforce senses, something he only did if he had to, due to the overload it brought.

He instantly saw, heard, and sensed the tiny eddies of every soulforce ripple that occurred around him.

Those near the body were faint, but inside the dead Oxarite’s body, he sensed something disturbing. It felt like something had ripped a hole in her, not just physically, and removed something.

‘Her soulcards got ripped out,’ Ambraz exclaimed.

Irwin stared at the body in shock.

‘That’s not possible… is it?’

‘It shouldn’t be,’ Ambraz agreed. ‘But we both see it before us. We need to get closer. Those runes are still causing passive interference.’

Irwin shivered, then turned to Stehlla. “I need to get a closer look.”

Stehlla walked forward and moved her hand across some of the runes. A section of the barred wall slid down into the wall, and Irwin walked forward. In the room, the sense of wrongness was even stronger, and it took him some effort not to vomit all over the place.

‘It’s not her soulcard that is ripped out,’ Ambraz grunted. ‘She was killed, and whatever did that somehow condensed her soulforce into a card. That’s what was ripped out… part of her essence was condensed into a card and forcefully removed.’

‘How does something like that even work?’ Irwin replied.

‘I don’t know, but I’m starting to have a bad suspicion,’ Ambraz said. ‘What do we know that can do things impossible with normal means? Something we talked about not all that long ago?’

It took Irwin a few moments to connect the dots.

‘A Derlin card? You think a Derlin card did this?’

‘Not necessarily,’ Ambraz said. ‘Perhaps someone got something from a Derlin card?’

Irwin examined the corpse and the soulforce resonance before walking out of the room.

“Why did you ask me to come here?” he asked, looking at Stehlla.

The Guardian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You noticed what we did, I presume. Something is wrong with the soulforce?”

“I did,” Irwin said. 

“Well, from all we have heard, you are highly sensitive to soulforce. We were wondering if you could shed some light on what might have happened.”

“Someone killed her, then forcefully caused a card to appear by ripping all of her soulforce out somehow,” Irwin said.

Stehlla looked stunned, and it took her a moment to gather herself enough to ask a question.

“How?”

“That’s the question,” Irwin said, staring at the body again. 

“It is,” Stehlla said. “Because this isn’t the first time we've seen this. A few months ago, a similar body was found in Teinnoran, and there have been rumors for a few years now about heartcarded disappearing. We finally got some information on those earlier today.”

“Disappearing? How was that even kept a secret?” Irwin asked. “There are so few of them…”

“Most were either Grove, or Mountain Lords and Ladies,” Stehlla said. “The news I got said that it had been assumed that they were killed by rivalries, and the specifics weren’t shared until the recent killing in Teinnoran\.”

“So they just kept it quiet?” Irwin asked, stunned.

“Exactly,” Stehlla said. 

How many heart or soulcarded are hiding out with those nobles, and why aren’t they helping with the Burrows? Irwin thought.

“Is there anything else you can tell us about this?” Stethlla asked, causing Irwin’s attention to focus back on her.

“Not right now,” he said. “But I need to have a word with the Headteacher.”