Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 285: Swat!

Irwin and the others continued talking softly while watching for anything dangerous.

Greldo came back to check on them twice. The first time, he told them that they had found tracks leading both north and south. The second time, he returned with the news that the tracks north ended in the territory of a sizeable pack of Sixtusk Boars. The scattered remains of some smaller rabbits and no tracks leaving meant they likely didn’t have to worry too much about any heading further north.

When Clarish finally returned, the sun was at its peak, burning away the few clouds that dared encroach on the blue sky, and the temperature was higher than it had been in weeks. Summer might finally be arriving.

“Sorry that it took so long! They were split up a bit, and it took me some time to gather them,” Clarish said as she stepped out of the fog that accompanied her teleportation.

Three lightly armored people walked out behind her, and Irwin recognized each of them.

“Nasar, Gleemi, Itweeg,” Daubutim said as he nodded, then looked at Clarish. “Did you inform them?”

Clarish nodded, rubbing her neck.

Irwin could see from her soulforce that teleporting around as much as she had with people had taken a lot of energy. She could probably still do more, but not much. Even the increased energy from her heartcard wasn’t enough to offset the expenditure.

“Lord Daubutim,” Nasar said, his silver eyes gleaming as he inclined his head.

He was a man in his late forties with black stubble that couldn’t hide the jagged, round scars dotting his cheeks and chin. Irwin remembered how he’d arrived, looking at him as emotionless as he was right now, staring at Daubutim.

He's the one with that fire dash crossbow card, Irwin thought, quickly recalling the odd emerald heartcard he’d made out of the troublesome set of handcards. They had been on the edge of being compatible, and he’d had to remove a lot of active and passive effects, much to Nasar’s dislike. Still, the man had been able to keep his small summoned hand crossbows, and his simple fire teleport had turned into a move that allowed him to teleport to the spot where any of his flaming bolts were. He didn’t even have to shoot them, and they had yet to find a range limit to it besides the energy it cost him.

“So, someone finally found another portal,” Gleemi said, standing behind him.

She was a middle-aged woman with overly large lower canines that caused her lip to seem like a perpetual grin.

Due to her body-altering heartcard, her face had an otherworldly, animal quality, and she was almost as mobile as Greldo. Irwin quickly scanned her, recalling her card from the dozens he’d made. Besides her impressive physical agility, she also had a shape-change ability that allowed her to change into a large cat-like being, which allowed her to move through the forests and jungles like a predator.

I know why they are here, but I didn’t expect him, Irwin thought as he looked at the final one.

Itweeg stood a few steps from the others, his head constantly turning as his intense dark silver eyes scanned the glen. It was impossible to determine his age, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a week, which had been the case the last time Irwin had seen him. Something about the man was highly disconcerting, and if Irwin hadn’t known, it might have taken him a bit to realize what. Itweeg didn’t breathe. Or, at least, no more than once every few minutes.

As Irwin sensed the resonances of Itweeg’s cards, he grimaced.

I still don’t like that card, he thought.

It was a good card, but that wasn’t the problem, as it allowed Itweeg to turn into a poisonous smoke-like substance and move freely. According to Ambraz, it could allow Itweeg to enter someone’s body before poisoning them from the inside. A tactic used by assassins. The problem was that its resonance seemed almost slimy, and the song was one of the few that Irwin had ever heard that made him shiver. It was one he’d made based on Ambraz’s directions, though it hadn’t been easy.

As part of him pondered what could cause his subconscious distaste for the card, the rest of him was observing the three portal scouts and walking after Daubutim toward the entrance.

“I’ll check if that demon is inside,” Itweeg said. He turned into a pale green, yellowish mist that quickly spread out and moved away, vanishing from sight as he headed into the cave.

“Still think his old card was better,” Gleemi muttered softly before quickly looking at Irwin. “No offense to your work, Smith Irwin, but every time I see him, my hairs stand on end.”

Boohm snorted while Irwin looked at her, surprised by her remark. Had she read him somehow? He didn’t think she could have, as he’d not been using this part of himself to think about… perhaps he wasn’t as split off as he thought.

“He is good at what he does,” Nasar said noncommittally as if that was enough for him.

“That’s for sure,” Gleemi snorted, her lip rippling even more.

Within a few moments, the poisonous-looking cloud that was Itweeg returned, reforming into his human shape.

“There is no sight of any rabbit, large or otherwise,” he said.

“Alright, Daubutim said, turning to where the shadow clone of Coal lay. “Greldo, could you return please?”

The shadowy hound looked at him, then blinked lazily. A second later, Greldo stepped out of the rock’s shadow.

“Are we starting?” he asked.

“Yes,” Daubutim said before turning to the three scouts. “The three of you can scout the other side. If anything happens, all of you return right away. If not, one of you will return to tell us what is on the other side, while the others will scout around for no more than an hour. Keep an eye out for time-dilation.”

“Yes, Lord Daubutim,” Nasar said, moving towards the entrance, followed by the other two.

“Greldo, can you follow them and remain in the cavern to make sure the rabbit doesn’t waylay them?”

“Err, won’t they fall into the water if they exit the portal?” Greldo asked.

“No, they will be fine,” Daubutim said. “They have trained for many things, including that.”

Greldo nodded. “Okay. I’ll keep an eye out.”

He vanished back into the shadows, leaving the rest of them standing in the shadow of the large boulders.

“So, captain, what do we do now?” Boohm asked, looking around curiously. “We could go search for something to eat!”

Irwin let out a surprised laugh and shook his head. “Daubutim asked you to come here in case something happens,” he said, while Daubutim stared at the entrance thoughtfully for a moment.

“As long as Greldo doesn’t come and get us because the rabbit attacks, we will wait till the scouts return. After they tell us what is on the other side, we are going to be taking care of that large rabbit,” he said.

“Why not earlier?” Boohm asked, confusion causing his voice to rise to its more normal deafening volume.

“Although small, there is a chance that something on the other side will take offense if we deal with the rabbit. There is a non-zero chance that it is part of a sentient race,” Daubutim said, showing no problem with the curious Onyxian, instead quietly answering his question.

Boohm hummed, rubbing his chin. “Oh, I didn’t think of that. Sure, if it's actually just some baby, those on the other side might be angry if we just kill it.”

I don’t think it is, Irwin thought as he recalled the large monster eating its own kind.

“Irwin, you are sure you can deal with it if we have to?” Daubutim asked, drawing his attention.

Irwin thought back to the Rabbit and its movements, then to the smaller ones.

“If we assume it might have more than just size, it would be best to have everyone on standby, including Greldo,” he said. “But yes, it should be fine.”

Everyone fell quiet after that. Hind and Boohm looked around the treeline, still curious about a world so unlike their own. Clarish was staring at Hind, then turned and began staring at Irwin.

Seeing her stare at him, then scan his body, Irwin raised his eyebrow.

“She looks like she could be your sister,” Clarish said, turning slightly red.

Hind looked back, eyes wide. “By the Infernal Crevice, he could barely pass as a cousin twice removed! His eyes are the only thing, but his nose and jaw are all wrong for my family line! He’s also way too burly!”

Clarish looked between her and Irwin, then shook her head as if she didn’t see it.

“You people just all look so different! I still can’t believe you looked like this, Captain,” Hind said, gesturing at Clarish and Daubutim.

“We aren’t small. You two are just freaks,” Boohm said, staring up at Daubutim. “Though I agree that their skin looks way too soft.”

“We can’t all be made of stone or metal,” Clarish muttered.

Hind’s eyebrows rose, and she seemed ready to say something when Daubutim raised his hand.

“Quiet! Something is happening!”

Everyone turned to the cave, the tension going up within a heartbeat.

Irwin heard a shout, and then Greldo appeared in the shadows beside him.

“We got trouble,” he shouted while he vanished from where he stood, reappearing together with Irwin beside Hind, grabbing her arm. “Daub, get down there!’

Irwin felt the world blur as he was yanked through the shadows, and a moment later, he reappeared in the cave, still in the shadowrealm.

Gelwin's balls, Irwin thought as he saw what was going on.

Two of the massive rabbits stood on the side of the underground lake, staring up at the portal with hungry eyes. Water streamed from their bodies, pooling below them, leaving no doubt where they had come from.

If the scouts returned now, they would be in big trouble. As he prepared for battle, Irwin saw a dozen of Coal’s shadow clones appear around the rabbits, biting and yapping at them. The two massive beasts reacted immediately, biting back. In a blur of motion, one kicked back with one of its large legs, caught a shadowclone, and kicked it away and into the wall. The shadowy version of Coal slid down, unmoving, before vanishing.

Irwin felt his perspective shift as Greldo pulled them further to the side, and then the real world asserted itself. The low growls of Coal’s clones mixed with the sounds of bodies clashing, flesh rending, and angry howls from the much larger rabbits. The shadowy hounds were forcing the rabbits away from the water’s edge and towards the wall of the cavern.

A streak of red lightning shot into the cavern before appearing beside Irwin, changing into Daubutim.

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Irwin kept his attention on the fight. For a moment, he thought Coal’s clones could handle them when another one got kicked away. As if realizing their advantage, the two rabbits began kicking out more, and within moments, another three of the clones were gone.

Alright, so stay clear of their large feet, Irwin thought.

He watched the speed and ferocity of the rabbits for a moment more before turning to Greldo.

“I’ll take the left one. You, Coal, and Hind focus on the other one,” he ordered. He felt Ambraz slip into his soulscape as he turned to Daubutim. “You and Boohm be ready to assist whoever needs help.”

Getting nods, Irwin barely registered the slightly surprised look on Daubutim’s face as he walked toward the battle. Both of his selves were now paying full attention to the fight. Should he use his hammer? His other self wondered for only a moment if the others would be fine, and then it dismissed the worry. Coal’s shadowclones had held up long enough, and with all of them on one, joined by Greldo and Coal himself and Hind, there should be no problem.

First, let's see how they like fire, he thought as he focused on the left one.

“Hey!” he shouted, moving along the sound waves of his own voice.

He reappeared beside the rabbit, almost atop one of its feet, and grabbed it while covering his entire body in a wrestling mass of flame. The coarse fur of the rabbit felt oddly wet to the touch, and a screeching hiss came from where his fingers dug into the fur, skin, and flesh below.

The Rabbit froze for a fraction of a second.

Are they-

Irwin felt himself be pulled up and along as the rabbit leaped away with a screech that sounded terrified. As he felt himself yanked along, surprised that the rabbit could move his massive weight, Irwin saw the water approach.

Without hesitation, Irwin dashed along the sound waves generated by the screeching rabbit, reappearing just on the edge of the lake. One of him focused on the incoming Rabbit, still screeching and with part of the fur on its hind leg scorched away, while his other self summoned a hammer and swung it up while making it as large as possible.

For a fraction of a second, Irwin wondered if it would be enough. His barn-door-sized hammer looked a lot smaller than the massive rabbit. Then, the hammer struck the rabbit, and his kinetic energy spiked. A loud, wet thud drowned out the sounds of bones breaking and the sounds of the other fight going on in the cave.

Irwin’s feet slid back slightly while the Rabbit was flung back to where it had come from. Irwin shrank the hammer, then used one of the plentiful sound waves and shot after it. He reappeared as it slammed into the wall, causing dust and rubble to explode out, while a tremor ran through the cavern. Irwin didn’t wait for it even to slide down, but as soon as his feet hit the ground, he used his kinetic energy to hurl his hammer forward, resizing it to the maximum size just as it left his fingertips.

The hammer exploded up, striking the rabbit’s head as it slid down, crushing it against the rocky side.

A loud crack came as blood and gore sprayed the sides, and Irwin took a few steps back as the massive body slumped down. His hammer vanished, and he grimaced as he looked at the bone-riddled mincemeat that was the rabbit's head.

Irwin kept an eye on it when a slight gleam caught his eye.

What…

He stepped forward and snatched the card as it slid from the dead rabbit’s chest, staring at the yellow-bordered topaz card in wonder. Ambraz slipped out of his soulscape as he examined it.

“Interesting,” Ambraz rumbled. “It’s a body-enhancing card with an active shape change.”

Irwin wondered if that meant the person who slotted it would get rabbit ears. Slipping the card into a pocket, he quickly turned to the others to help if he had to.

There was no need.

Hind was holding the other rabbit's head back, her feet planted in its back, her hands gripping the edges of its large ears. Two of Coal’s shadowclones were hanging down from the exposed throat area, teeth biting deep, while blood flowed down. Hind’s armor looked mangled, the back of it almost completely torn away, exposing her firesteel skin that showed only a few scuff marks.

As Irwin walked forward, the Rabbit’s struggles turned weaker, and it finally slumped forward.

Irwin walked to where Clarish, Daubutim, and Boohm stood. Daubutim’s face was as emotionless as it always was during combat, but Clarish looked slightly pale.

Boohm snorted. “Dammit, Captain! You couldn’t have kept them a bit more whole? I’ll be picking out bones from that thing for hours to get it edible!”

The Onyxian’s annoyed voice echoed loudly through the cavern while Greldo and Hind moved towards them.

“You alright?” Irwin asked, looking at Hind.

“I’m fine,” Hind said. “But…” she put a hand behind her back and sighed. “I think I’ll need some new armor.”

“I’ll make sure you get whatever you need,” Daubutim said before turning to Irwin. “Did your kill drop a card?”

“It did,” Irwin said, taking the Topaz card from his pocket and looking at the image that showed a faint outlining of a human-rabbit hybrid. He quickly repeated what Ambraz had told him.

“Good, let's wait and see what's behind the portal then,” Daubutim said.

As minutes ticked by, Irwin wondered what was happening on the other side. Between their initial wait, the fight, and now this, at least ten minutes had passed. One of the scouts should have easily been able to-

The portal shimmered, and a large feline beast fell away from it.

“She’s-” Greldo vanished from where he was and reappeared below where the feline fell to the water. “-wounded!”

A moment later, he reappeared beside them, placing Gleemi on the ground. Her ruddy fur was matted with blood, and large gashes covered her flanks, some deep enough to show the ribs. A soft yellow light surrounded her, and her shape changed back to the middle-aged woman Irwin had seen before. The armor she wore had been slashed apart, and blood welled up from three deep gouges in her waist.

“I’ll get a healer,” Clarish said, mist rippling around her before she was done speaking.

“Lord… Dau-” Gleemi whispered, her eyes swirling in her sockets.

Daubutim knelt down, grabbing her hand.

“I am here,” he said. “What happened?”

“The… other side-” she whispered before continuing in a halting voice. “It is a jungle with monsters everywhere. The portal is dozens of feet above the ground, in the crown of a tree. When we exited, we managed to land on a branch but were immediately attacked by dozens of flying insects with blade-like arms. Nasar ordered me to return while he told Itweeg to scout the tree.”

Everyone quietly listened, then waited as she struggled for breath.

“And Nasar?” Daubutim asked when she had regained her breath.

“He said he would remain near the portal and keep anything from entering,” Gleemi whispered.

A swirling cloud appeared beside them, and Clarish and a familiar person ran out. Lilinethe rushed to Gleemi’s side, muttering to herself. She put her wrinkled hands on the younger woman’s wounded side, and a soft green glow appeared around the wounds.

“She lost a lot of blood. I can close these wounds, but she needs to be brought back immediately,” she said, not seeming to care what had happened.

“I’ll bring them,” Clarish said, her voice shaky.

Irwin looked at Clarish, who was slightly pale, and he saw her hands were shaking.

“You need to stay here before you faint,” Irwin said, looking at Greldo, who was already moving forward. “I’ll bring them,” his friend said.

“Are you sure you will be able to return?” Daubutim asked. “You might have to go through the portal to help the others.”

“I’ll be fine,” Greldo said as he put his hands on Lilinethe and Gleemi.

The three of them faded into the shadows, and Daubutim rose to his feet, looking at Irwin.

“I didn’t expect your new movement skill to work as effectively as it does. When Greldo goes in, will you go with him?”

“Yes,” Irwin said without hesitation. “Those insects likely won’t hurt me, especially if I coat myself in flame.”

“Can I come along, captain?” Hind asked.

“Not yet. You don’t have a movement card,” Irwin said, shaking his head. “Besides, I need someone to stay here in case there are more of those large rabbits in the water.”

“Wouldn’t they have come out during the fighting?” Hind replied.

“The second one didn’t come when the first one fought with us,” Irwin said, staring at the water. “We need to figure out if there are more in there.”

He frowned and focused his soulforce senses and hearing to try and pick up something in the water, but the besides the ambient watery soulforce that rippled around the surface he couldn’t see anything in its murky depths.

He looked around, wondering who could check that, when his eye fell on Ambraz. As he focused on the Ganvil, Ambraz shivered.

“Kid, if you think I’m going to scout in that filthy liquid, you’re out of your mind! Go do it yourself, or-”

A splash came as something dropped into the water. Irwin and the others looked up to see Boohm wipe his bloodied hands on his trousers without a care in the world.

“There, let's just see if we can lure them out if they are there,” he said.

Irwin opened his mouth, then closed it again before staring at the water.

“I… I’ll go check,” Ambraz muttered from his shoulder before zipping into the water and vanishing with a slight ripple.

Nobody spoke for a short while, though Irwin felt somewhat relieved when Ambraz shot back out of the water.

“There’s a tunnel at the bottom that leads away,” he said as he landed on Irwin’s shoulder, dripping water. “I followed it a short bit, but I think it continues to the sea.”

That means there’s the possibility that more of those things are out there, Irwin thought before looking at the mass of bones. If that was the case, why had they even remained here?

Daubutim’s eyes became swirling masses of red lightning, lighting up the area before him.

“As soon as Greldo returns, I want you to take a look on the other side and clear it out if you can. Then, send Nasar back with the news. I’ll head back with Clarish to get wood and stoneshapers so we can create a base around this side, then when it's clear, also around the other side,” Daubutim said.

Irwin nodded, looking at the portal curiously. If there was a completely wild jungle world on the other side, the chances of finding monsters to hunt for cards would be large.

They discussed some details, including Irwin telling Hind that she would need to remain when Greldo stepped back out of the shadows.

“Gleemi will be fine. Everyone in the Healers Tower was already fussing about her,” Greldo said. “So, are we going in?”

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Irwin wasn’t surprised that Greldo had already figured out what they would do and just nodded.

“Yes, we will go in together. Get ready to grab me and pull us into the shadows if need be,” Irwin said. A weight left his shoulder, and he felt Ambraz return to his soulscape.

“Be careful,” Daubutim said. “We will wait here for a few minutes in case you have to return. Then Hind and Boohm can stay here while Clarish brings me back… are you feeling up to that?”

Clarish nodded. “Yes, I just needed some rest. As long as you don’t ask me to bring all the shapers back here right away, I’ll be fine.”

“No, but after we arrive, I need you to get the other teleporters so we can move as many people here as we can in as little time as possible,” Daubutim said.

Greldo moved to Irwin, grabbing his shoulder.

“Ready?”

Irwin nodded, and the world turned dark and quiet as he was pulled into the shadow realm. A moment later, they approached the portal, and Irwin wondered if Greldo would throw them in somehow when he touched the surface.

The world turned into true blackness, lasting only a moment, then reasserting itself.

The temperature skyrocketed, and Irwin felt himself wrapped in the humid, warm embrace of true summer. A ray of sunlight streamed in through the canopy above, and the air smelled fresh as if it had just rained. Pale yellow, gleaming leaves rustled all around him as gravity asserted itself, and he began falling. A quick look showed Greldo a few feet above him, vanishing as soon as he left.

“Smith Irwin, look out!”

Irwin looked to the side. Nasar stood on a branch, his armor ragged and blood dripping from the two short crossbows in his hands. He snapped them up, and two fiery bolts blurred forward, passing Irwin, to thud into a large flying insect.

Irwin stared at the long, sharp arms, almost like green blades.

It's like a giant grasshopper mixed with a fly, he thought as he felt something grab his arm.

The world turned dark and shadowy, and he knew Greldo had picked him up. It hadn’t really been necessary as he could have used his own cards, but he wouldn’t complain as Greldo dropped him on the branch beside Nasar.

The man showed zero surprise as they appeared, instead looking around constantly.

“Gleemi?” he asked, raising his hands and snapping two more bolts, one of which drilled into another incoming insect.

“Alive,” Irwin said as he watched the insect drop down, its pale translucent wing burning like paper. Below them, branches and leaves continued as far as he could see, and he saw dozens of burning insects amidst small pockets of flame on the larger branches.

“Good. There’s a cocoon filled with these things up there,” Nasar said, pointing straight up and to the side.

Irwin looked up to see a pale gray pasty blob stuck to the side of the tree a hundred feet higher. A mass of insects was swirling around before it, hundreds of green and black eyes staring back down at him.

“They haven’t attacked in force yet,” Nasar said. “Itweeg is scouting around, but he said the entire area around us is just more forest. This is the largest tree in the surrounding area, but there are many more in the distance, like mountains among hills.”

As Nasar spoke, his small crossbows snapped up to bring down another insect.

“These bugs don’t like fire at all, and I think that’s why they haven’t attacked yet,” he continued. “I shot a few bolts at their nest, but I can’t reach that high. Even then, each bolt was intercepted, and now it's as if they keep sending down these distractions.”

“I’ll go and check,” Greldo said. “Coal is still reforming the shadow clones he lost, but he will leave a few here.”

“Don’t attack on your own,” Irwin said. “If they don’t like fire, it might be easiest just to come and get me.”

Greldo looked at him, then around. “Yeah… also. How, by Gelwin’s hairy ball sack, did those rabbits get up here?!”

Irwin looked around, then shook his head.

“I have no idea,” he said, only to see that Greldo was already gone.

“Smith Irwin, what is the situation on the other side of the portal?”

“We killed two large rabbits and found that there’s a tunnel underwater that might lead to the sea,” Irwin said before he quickly brought the scout leader up to speed. As he did, Nasar kept killing the insects, his eyes seeming not to miss any, even the occasional one that tried to rush them from the sides.

After a few minutes, Greldo reappeared. He quietly looked at Irwin, shaking his head.

“There’s some insect queen in that hive that could probably eat those rabbit things in a single bite,” he said. “That hive grows into the tree, spreading out all around. For all I know, it goes through all of it.”

Irwin looked at the tree, and a fleeting thought moved through his mind. He also recalled the Bablibon.

Perhaps we should just burn it all?