Irwin's Journey 439: Sensitive

Irwin hummed as he sat on the sloop, which was swaying slightly as the runic formations on the bottom kept it in the air. The deep resonance of his soft song vibrated through the wooden vessel, along the long cables that bound it to a Teinefola, which was swaying as it pulled them forward. The dark gray, smooth creature let out a shrill thrum, almost like a dozen people lightly tapping their nails on a table really quickly at the same time. It was picked up and echoed by the one a few dozen feet ahead, pulling another wagon.

"The old girl hasn't been this talkative in years," the old Viridian sitting beside Irwin said. 

Irwin grinned and slowly wrapped up the song he'd been humming. As he finished, Gabadoch let out a contented grunt.

"Thanks, young one," he said, thudding Irwin with the side of his shoulder.

The impact was slight and, as Irwin had found in the last few days, a way for the old wagoner to show his approval. Even then, the momentum behind it would have likely tossed anyone not as heavy as Irwin from the wagon.

Irwin rubbed his shoulder, shaking his head in mock pain. "Gabadoch, you really should learn to control your strength."

"Bah, don't give me that Scrif," the old man said. "It'd take a whole lot more to hurt you."

Irwin didn't react, and Gabadoch snorted. "Besides, you are probably heavier than I am."

"Not sure about that," Irwin said. "And I am still impressed how this sloop is still airborne."

There was a slight groan from behind, and Irwin knew it was from Brecka, who probably realized they were going to have the same conversation they had a dozen times now.

"Told you, young one, the runes below this one are meant to howl a full load of Sinistriz Ore. There's no way it will have issues with a few people, no matter if one of us weighs as much as a hundred others."

"Uh-huh," Irwin grunted. "Still amazed you weigh that much."

The old Viridian laughed softly, even if they had gone through the same joke only that morning. The groan from behind came again, and Irwin glanced back to see Brecka with her head in her hands. She looked up to meet his gaze.

"Brother…" she pleaded.

Hidden from her, Gabadoch's smile widened. Her reaction, and that of Rinbus, who was now on another sloop, seemed the main reason for his behavior. Irwin wondered if that was why he was alone on this sloop.

Weird old man, Irwin thought, smiling at Brecka and shrugging before focusing back ahead.

"Well," Gabadoch said, his smile fading. "A shame we are going to reach our destination soon."

Irwin was surprised at how much he looked forward to that. He wasn't sure if it was because, with Giard gone, this was the place he'd spent most of his teen years. 

He was about to ask Gabadoch a few questions about Cinder Grove when he almost stood in shock. Leaving enough to have a normal conversation with Gabadoch, he moved most of his focus to his otherself.

-- Irwin's Soulscape --

"Are you sure?" Irwin asked, staring intently at what was happening around his body, which still remained on Eluathar.

"Yes," Ambraz said.

The fact that he wasn't annoyed or made fun of the question told Irwin all he needed to know. He focused on the image.

Her arm is a bit lower than it was yesterday, he thought, focusing on Scintilla, who still seemed frozen in time. Still, no matter how much he focused, he couldn't perceive even the slightest movement.

"Perhaps the time dilation isn't constant?" he said slowly. "Perhaps instead of smooth, it jumps at some moment to-"

"No, definitely not," Ambraz grunted. "Although some time-dilated worlds have historically been known to lose their time dilation, this only happened when they became increasingly unstable. This isn't what's going on here. We can both sense that, although the surrounding soulforce isn't as stable as a rank four, five, or six world, it's much more stable than any other rank three worlds we know."

"Definitely," Irwin agreed.

Besides that, he had eventually realized just how much ambient soulforce there actually was on Scour. Not nearly as much as on Eluathar, but far more than there should be on a rank three world. Roughly on par with the stability…

"I've been thinking about it for days now," Ambraz continued. "Remember how they used to close the Scour portal? It was supposedly to increase the time dilation, but I'm wondering if it wasn't to keep the world stable. From everything Rinbus has told us, Scour has no more adjacent worlds left, or they are hidden from the public. Now, if there are no more, that means there's nothing to destabilize it. There are also no rumors about any recent portals. Only legends about how the Parealion came here through them. Unless any current portals are being kept hidden, I wonder if opening up the exit portal hasn't started slowly destabilizing the world, starting with the time dilation."

Irwin slowly nodded. It would make sense. There was very little known about time dilation besides the fact that destabilizing a world eventually pulled the world into sync with the portal gallery. That and how stronger time dilation seemed less stable.

"It would also match with those Burrows from showing up," he said. "Perhaps I should head back and close it before we continue."

"No," Ambraz said. "Definitely not. If you do that, there is a chance that you can't open it from the inside. You have never done so before, and… there's a tiny chance the time-dilation actually stops working like we think it does. Besides, we don't know what that might do to your connection to your other body. Right now, if you really need to, you can pull everything into your soulscape and step back into that body. It will probably hurt and might be dangerous, but it's possible."

Irwin frowned, focusing slightly on how his otherself was bantering with Gabadoch. If opening the exit portal was the cause of the Burrows' appearing and potentially destabilizing an entire world, leaving it open might cause untold death and destruction.

"Kid, if we don't stop the Guidar, they will eventually come here and send their armies into this world," Ambraz said. "They will chain everyone. We need the time Scour gives you so you can practice, learn, and figure out how to create more powerful soulseeds. Besides, with your presence here, the stability of this world is all but guaranteed. Your influence on the ambient soulforce might change it, but it will also keep it incredibly stable."

Irwin focused on the still world of the bedroom back on Eluathar, watching Scintilla and Zannia frozen in time. 

"What will happen if we change the ambient soulforce resonance and then leave?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," Ambraz said. "Changing the ambient soulforce resonance is a localized phenomenon that will largely offset the imbalance. If you leave and close the exit portal, the imbalance from that will stop, and the changes your soulscape's power eventually created will change again. The worst that could happen is that some of the people born around you might be slightly different from what they would be otherwise."

Irwin sighed in relief. That meant he only had to find a way to prevent those Burrows from causing too many issues.

"I just thought of another reason, "Ambraz said, sounding thoughtful. "For those Burrows, I mean. They might be appearing because those insects are drawn up by something or… someone."

Irwin sighed. "That's what I've been worrying over ever since he told us about those Burrows appearing."

"It's probably the most logical conclusion," Ambraz grunted. "If it was opening the exit portal, that is already decades or more ago for the local time, and if it was the fact that it was open, well. It's been open even when it was calm. The only issue is… why haven't they come towards you yet? If you are the reason they are drawn up from the bowels of the earth, why didn't they come up in the desert and find you?"

Irwin didn't respond, pondering the issue.

They continued their discussion for a while, reaching two conclusions. If the Burrows started appearing around Irwin, they couldn't remain in any largely populated areas. Secondly, they couldn't rule out that something else was going on. The Burrows had already appeared in other areas and had been doing so for a long time.

Eventually, Irwin moved his focus back to the sloop.

A few hours after his final round of jokes with Gabadoch, the old Viridian raised a hand, pointing at an enormous tree they had almost reached. It was blocking the view of what lay beyond, while its canopy caused the entire area to be dim and shadowy. 

"That's one of the border giants, and when we move around it, you will get our first view of Cinder Grove City."

Irwin leaned forward while Brecka stood up behind them.

The minutes passed slowly, something Irwin had long since gotten used to. When something was about to happen, the final moments always seemed either much slower or faster, depending on whether it was a good or bad thing.

Ahead of them, the first Teinfola pulled its sloop up and over a giant root that almost acted like a giant road. The rest of the caravan followed, and as they rounded the tree, Irwin let out a sigh of relief. 

"That's amazing!" Brecka exclaimed. "It's as if every tree has a city carved in the side!"

Irwin didn't react, watching the beautiful lake of crystal clear water that sprawled before them, flanked by three enormous trees. As large as the others they had seen were, the three that comprised Cinder Grove dwarfed the others, though Irwin couldn't say if they were larger than they had been. What he did know was that the cities had sprawled further across the enormous network of roots around their base and had connected. 

It's almost the same, he thought, as he glanced up and around as their sloop glided further.

The fact that the city looked largely the same after what he knew had been tens of thousands of years both surprised him and made him happy. He knew that when he started wandering it, he would likely find that the details and the places he'd been to long ago were gone, but the general sense? It was the same.

A tiny part of him hoped that the Burrows wouldn't follow him. Because if they didn't, he could remain here for atleast the foreseeable future.

I wish I could show the kids, he thought.

"Stunning, isn't it?" Gabadoch said. "It is said that the city grew from the core of the world and that all Viridians are descendants of it somehow."

Irwin just kept looking at the city. Perhaps he could eventually share what he knew of the truth with the people living here, but for now, that was too soon. 

I can't wait to wander around, he thought.

--

Jieldinis watched as the small harbor that surrounded the Zidoulahn exit portal came into view. The ships around it hung frozen in place, locked in their own time dilation. To them, it would seem like Jieldinis and her ship would suddenly appear out of thin air.

She glanced at the deck where five robed figures sat in a circle, hands clasped, while a shimmering haze seemed to flow from them. The robes, made of metallic strings, gleamed and reflected the portal gallery's blueish glow. They weren't clothes in the traditional sense, but a way to hide the beings below it from the crew of Chained that manned her ship. 

Not just that, she thought to herself, as she recalled the last time she'd seen the Xini without their coverings. 

She knew they hid a being that was only humanoid in the most general sense, having a head, two arms, and two legs. That was, however, where the similarities ended. The Xini's faces were a single smooth shape, like an egg, with runes engraved on it, while their bodies were thin, and parts of their joints stuck out through their incredibly thin skin. All of this would have been something she herself could have dealt with if not for the single tentacle that tapered out from the back of their head. It had a single, fist-sized yellow-pupilled eye on its tip, and if she gazed into it, it reminded her of staring at a very horrible apex predator from hundreds of thousands of years ago. A predator that existed back in the other portal gallery, the one she'd been born in. Their eyes never showed any reaction, no emotions. Combined with the Xini's tendency to speak rarely, she despised interacting with them.

No, if not for their unique soulskill, that, and she felt an old annoyance crop up for a flash, she had still not managed to separate and take for herself, she would have wiped them out thousands of years ago. 

Sadly, they were one of her few hidden weapons- a way to change the local area of time-dilation around her, speeding it up in such a way that she could travel faster than anyone else. 

"Should I tell them to stop?" Mozarath asked from beside her.

She hesitated for only a moment, knowing that having them stop now would mean the slow-breeding, horrid things would require dozens of years to create another group powerful enough. Normally, time was of no issue to her, but if she had to move quickly, she would be forced to move the slow way.

It doesn't matter. Sjeeklin has lost his chance to stop me now that I'm here. My plan is foolproof and has hundreds of contingencies. I will be the one to bring us to the real universe and reap the benefits.

"Yes," she said.

Mozarath walked away from her, his horns starting to pulse with what she knew was agitation from having to be anywhere near the Xini. 

His deep voice echoed out loudly, but it took a few times before he managed to get through to the five beings that were deep in a trance as they used their soulskill to change the time dilation around them. 

Jieldinis didn't hear their response, nor did she want to. Mozarath answered with a loud yes, and a moment later, the five figures slumped down on the deck. At the same time, the time dilation that had been sped up so fast that time around them had seemed to stand still snapped back to normal. Ships in the docks glided around while Chained and Unchained moved in the distance like ants.

Mozarath walked back to her, his face warped in disgust.

"I'll have the deck cleaned and a message sent to these vile beings that they are to start breeding," he grunted.

Jieldinis nodded, her mind already on more important things as she looked at the distant, supposed end of this part of the portal gallery. A dozen Chaos Whales floated there, chained to an enormous pillar. A single, enormous U-shaped ship hovered below them. 

Now, let's see how my other experiments fared in my absence!

--

Brecka sprinted across the seventh floor's main boulevard, away from the main staircase, unable to keep her grin from her face. 

He's going to be so amazed!

Reaching the Tupil square, she slowed down as she saw the busy vegetable market. After a few minutes of weaving her way through the busy area, she moved into one of the larger side roads and towards a large, two-story building. It was surrounded by a few feet of garden, but as she passed through the spacious corridor, she walked into an open area filled with more plants. Passing through the corridor, the sounds from outside were silenced while a beautiful song came from ahead, Irwin's deep voice entwined with the sound of his Soulstrum guitar and accentuated with the occasional loud, metallic strike.

Right, he's practicing again, Brecka thought.

She slowed down her rush and stopped below the veranda that encircled the courtyard. Long, winding vines grew from the floor, grafted deep into the wood of the giant city tree, and wound up and around pillars she knew were there but were completely hidden from view. Bushes decorated the sides of the small railing, and on two of the sides, some grew up to the balcony on the next floor. 

It wasn't an extremely large compound within the city, but for something on the first ten floors, private and with a courtyard, it had been expensive. Well, to the people who lived in the city, at least. Brecka still recalled how Irwin had simply bought it, not interested in the confusing rent system that might have meant they would have been ejected if the owner decided to. The previous Viridian owner, a small-time noble who had multiple other properties in the city, had almost choked when Irwin handed him a bag with over fifteen thousand soulshards as if it were nothing.

Apparently, it had been half of the man's entire wealth, and they had soon found that most of the wealthy people had only hundreds of soulshards saved. Irwin hadn't cared much at the time, and Brecka knew he'd been happy to be back. 

Irwin stood in the central courtyard, focused on his rather plain anvil, singing and hammering. The arm he'd once lost had fully recovered, and even the thinness that had shown somewhat was wrong with it before was gone now. 

Brecka quietly waited, wondering if Rinbus was still out in the city, gathering information on The Cardshool, the oldest entity in Cinder Grove and a place that was incredibly guarded. It covered the entire tenth floor, which was off-limits to all but their teachers and students and the small number of other people who worked there. 

It was one of the two things Irwin wanted information on, the other being what she'd finally managed to unearth. It had taken a month and most of the time since they had reached the city.

The song began slowing, and she watched with bated breath as the square of glowing fog above the anvil began burning brighter and brighter. Finally, a single tone reverberated out, and the next moment, the square seemed to implode, and the fog dissipated in the air as a small card fell onto the anvil. 

"Success?" she asked, walking out from below the veranda and onto the golden orange grass.

Irwin looked up, his face a wide smile. "Yes, and we managed to hit eighty-eight percent! If we continue like this, I'll be able to reach a hundred percent stable cardseeds for the simplest of my types within a year."

"Good, and we have plenty of time," Brecka said, unable to keep her excitement at bay.

Irwin seemed to notice as he focused fully on her.

"Did you find something?"

"I did! The oldest grove of elders is maintained by an elder called Fireza," she said. "She's one of the oldest living Viridians, and she lives in district four in her family estate. According to some of the historians I spoke to, her family line links directly to the Urdwellans, and if there are any trees that were once Urdwellans anywhere, they will be in her family grove."

"That's great," Irwin said.

Brecka grinned, happy that she was able to help Irwin. Although she called him brother and felt like that, she knew he would never truly feel the same, no matter how hard he tried. It didn't surprise her, as she fully knew how odd their situation was. Still, she wanted to help him where she could, which was already hard enough as he seemed able to do everything by himself.

"Fireza is known to be interested in anything old and frequents the historian's and the city library every few weeks," she continued. "From what I could find, her main interest is in unearthing ancient history."

"Good," Irwin said as he pocketed the card. "Let's go out to eat, and you can tell me in detail."

"Sure! Any news from Rinbus?" she asked as they walked to the gate. 

"He returned a few hours ago and validated what we already knew. The only way to join the Card School as a non-Viridian is as a teacher, and for that, someone has to be invited," Irwin said.

Brecka held back from saying that he would be able to easily become a teacher there instead of waiting for Irwin to continue. 

"Did you find any more information on those Oxarites on the twenty-seventh floor?"

Brecka's good mood faded as she recalled the encounter she'd had that morning.

"Oh, I did," she grunted. "They are obnoxious rust-buckets!"

She didn't notice the sudden sharp look from Irwin or the worry as she continued.

"They are part of something called the Bronzar Mercenary Group," she continued. "And their leader is some scrawny piece of ore called Baytim, though he makes everyone call him the spear!"

"And what happened?"

Brecka clenched her hands. "Apparently, he liked the way I looked and asked me if I was bound. When I stupidly said I wasn't, he began acting stupid, telling me how many Sectides he'd killed and how many Burrows he'd survived. Then he wanted me to have a meal with him and said something about being a great cook."

Brecka recalled the slimy little blue-haired man staring up at her with enthralled eyes. He was a head shorter than her, of a slight build, and she could probably throw him with one hand.

"When I said I wasn't interested, he just kept following me, asking what I liked, who my parents were, where I was born…" She raised her hands and let out an annoyed cry. "You should have heard him, brother. He just wouldn't stop telling me how beautiful he thought I was, telling me my skin was like the most fabulous burnished Copperion and my eyes like some volcano!"

She was about to say something more when she heard Irwin snort. Turning to the side, she saw him put a hand in front of his face, but not before she saw his grin.

"What? It wasn't funny! It was super annoying!"

"I'm sure it was," Irwin said, raising his hands in defense.

Brecka looked at him and noticed the twinkle in his eyes. 

"Fine," she muttered. "Perhaps it wasn't that bad, but it was annoying. The only redeeming thing was that two of the others kept laughing at his behavior, and one actually fell down at one point."

Still, if he makes another remark about how nice my hair flows across my shoulders, I'm going to throw him through a building!

--

Irwin held back his laughter at Brecka's indignant look as she stomped beside him. Her jaw kept working, the muscles on the side bulging as she seemed to gnash her teeth.

Guess I'll have to make sure she doesn't kill him just for thinking she is pretty, he thought.

Still, he guessed that was a good thing. He'd wanted to know if they could continue acting like some tiny offshoot of Oxarites, using their cards to explain their coloration and some mutation to their size.

It took them a few minutes to reach his favorite and the only Ignitzian restaurant on their level. Very few Ignitzians had remained in Cinder Grove, with most of them now living in the Oxarite Empire. Luckily, some liked to travel, and as he sat down at one of the terrace tables, he already knew what he was going to eat.

For most of their late lunch, Brecka told him more about Fireza and a few more things about this Baytim. 

When they finished and headed back home, Irwin noticed a slight soulforce signature within a nearby alleyway. Only with three handcards, he was pretty sure from the signature that it was Oxarite. For a moment, he thought it was following him, but as they passed a group of very well-dressed Viridians, he sensed the figure move after them. 

Probably some wannabe thief, he thought. Sensing that the Viridians were atleast twice as strong as the soulforce resonance following them, he ignored them. There was no reason to get involved. Besides, he had to keep a low profile if he wanted to remain in the city and perhaps join the Cardschool. 

If I can join them and start teaching other smiths, I can start spreading a way to create cards, he pondered.

--

Baytim slumped against the wall, shivering. The sense of the monstrous soulforce flooding out and rippling across him returned, and looking sideways, he vomited his last meal across the dusty ground. It took him a minute to regain himself, and when he did, he pushed himself up.

He stumbled out of the alleyway and back towards the staircase, wondering if he could even walk up.

If I hadn't moved as fast as I did, I'd be dead now, he thought, as the last ten minutes played through his mind.

He'd followed Brecka to see where her house was to send her a present, then saw her walk out with the towering man. His first thought had been that he now knew his competition; then he'd heard her call the man brother, and he'd felt relieved. When they discussed what to eat, he'd followed them, hoping to find out what her favorite meal was to send it to her… 

Just thinking about her beauty and the glitter in her eyes made his fear ease and his stomach stop clenching. 

Until he recalled how the man beside her had focused on him. 

Baytim knew for a fact that he was, if not one of the, then perhaps the most sensitive soulforce scanner he knew of within the city, but he wasn't sure he would have been able to sense himself if he'd not known he was there. The other man, Irwin? He had scanned the entirety of the district, his soulforce spreading out like a tidal wave. Normally, power didn't equate to sensitivity, Baytim knew, but this time? That… monster had noticed his presence and singled him out as if it were nothing!

Only his old infiltration training had saved him, quickly moving to the best alternative target and faking interest. Even then, the sense of looming danger?

I think I'll be having nightmares for a year, he thought.

It took him twice as long as normal to reach the staircase and even longer to return to his mercenary group's building. By then, he'd managed to gather himself, and as he walked into the room, he waved the dozens of mercenaries as if nothing had happened. 

"Baytim! So, did you manage to find out where she lived?"

"Nope," he said, smiling as he continued walking. "I do know she has a brother."

"Then you better get in his good book," someone else shouted.

Baytim smiled and nodded as he walked out of the common room.

Only when he reached his private area did his shoulders slump and the shaking return. He staggered to the table and grabbed a bottle of Scorchi, poured himself a cup, and downed it in a single swallow. The warm sensation spreading through his body made him relax slightly. He downed a second glass, then poured a third before sitting down at his desk.

He put the cup down and removed a large tablet covered in tiny runes, staring at it for a few moments before putting it on the table. He closed his eyes, focusing on his soulforce before moving it with excruciating detail through a specific pattern only he knew.

It took a few moments before the tablet activated in a quick wash of bright, colorful runes.

"Baytim? You're only due to report in four days," the familiar voice of the Bronzar family head said, sounding confused.

"Sir, I just came across an Oxarite that has atleast two soulcards," he said softly. "One of them has to be detection-based."

"What? You are still within Cinder Grove, right? That's impossible! None of the seven are there!"

"I know, sir, and he is definitely not one of those," Baytim said.

There was a long silence, and Baytim almost wondered if the runes had broken down. He was about to speak when another voice came from the tablet. A hazy, feminine voice that he knew as well as any Oxarite.

"Mercenary leader Baytim, explain everything in as much detail as you can."

Baytim swallowed, then licked his lips.

"Yes, my Empress," he managed.