Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Fuchsia ran through the clean, well-maintained street, juggling the bag in her arms. The spicy scent that drifted up from it made her eyes tear, but she wouldn't drop the bag for anything.

Ahead of her, Lord Harborth's estate appeared, the walls separated from the rest of the district by a few dozen feet of empty stone. As she reached the gate, one of the guards stepped aside, a grin appearing on his stoic face.

Beld, she thought, feeling a little color come to her face.

"You are too nice to those two," the guard said. "Always bringing them their lunch. You are making the rest of us jealous!"

Fuchsia slowed down, smiling back at the tall guard. With his almost square silverish eyes, tall and lanky stature, and infectious grin, she wished he were a Yuurindi. Then, she could have shown her real self and perhaps asked him out to eat. As it was, she juggled the bag and removed the small package pushed in the side. Without saying anything, she tossed it at him and took off, not wanting to give Beld the option of refusing.

She heard a startled outcry of surprise, followed by a loud- "Thanks, Fuchsia!"

Fuchsia knew her face was probably pink and purple, but she didn't care. Her card's ability would turn it red, a weird color for a blush, she thought. As she continued running through the beautiful forest garden, she couldn't believe how lucky she'd become.

They had been here for just over a month now, and she almost wished they didn't have to leave soon. Everyone here was nice to her, and the two Ignitzians had started training her to wield a sword. Even if she was the weakest here, with flawed genes, nobody seemed to care.

"No, no! Spin it fully before dodging. If you try to interrupt the flow, it won't help! Trust your defense to hold against a few hits!"

The loud, angry shout made Fuchsia grin even more. She dodged through the trees, away from the path and into the forest, until she reached a small open clearing of dirt. Nisziz stood at the side, arms crossed, shaking her head as if all things were hopeless. Klatzi stood in the center, lowering her sword.

A large form of black metal with a shock of red, molten metal-like hair pushed herself back up, shaking her head. Her hand was wrapped around an axe with a blade as wide as Fuchsia was, but she raised it with a smooth effortlessness. Sadly, as strong as she was, Nisziz still wasn't impressed with her movements, and as she stepped forward, Fuchsia could see the imbalance in how she planted her foot forward. If she'd been opposite her and not too afraid of the intimidating figure, she would have swatted at the ankle right away.

Brecca really needs more practice, Fuchsia thought with a grin as she ran into the clearing.

"Ah! Lunch! Everyone! Gather around. It's time for a break," Nisziz shouted.

Fuchsia saw her grateful smile, and she felt incredibly pleased with herself. While Irwin was working and Greldo was busy talking to Nobles and other important people, Nisziz was in charge. She had a sort of natural authority that caused even the guards to listen to her. It was why Lord Harborth had even asked her if she'd be interested in staying on as one of his guard captains and given her some more authority while she was there.

And somehow, the tall, stoic Ignitzian liked her!

"You are the best, Fuchsia," Nisziz said, smiling at her and taking the offered bags. "Let's sit and eat!"

Fuchsia grinned as she sat down at the side of the training field, as Nisziz and Klatzi called it. Brecca thudded down beside her, a grimace on her face.

"Failed again?" Fuchsia asked, smiling at the large woman.

Brecca snorted, causing a few burning sparks to come from her nose. "You try and keep up with two people that are so much lighter on their feet and wield a much faster weapon," she said.

Although she sounded annoyed, Fuchsia had learned she was nice and calm, and although she was the biggest one present, she was still considered a girl to her own people. Not that she looked a lot like the other Onyxians that Fuchsia had seen over her life.

Instead of the dull, smooth black skin, bald heads, and short, incredibly wide stature, she was taller than most of the guards. Her skin wasn't dull but gleamed in the sun, like burnished metal, and she wasn't stocky but had long, muscular limbs like some of the Lord's guards. There was also something to her face… a sharpness that resembled Smith Irwin's.

Besides, unlike any Onyxian she had ever seen, Brecca had hair! And what was more, her hair glowed in the dark and lit up when she got angry. It was fun to see how the dark, black, and red mass began glowing red and orange every time her emotions got the better of her.

"Rodd asked us to come and see him in a few hours," Nisziz said. "I assume it is to tell us we will be leaving soon, so after eating, I want you all to gather your stuff and prepare."

Fuchsia felt her good mood fade as she looked around. She didn't want to leave but wished they could just stay here for a while longer… perhaps a few years?

"Have we found out where we are going yet?" Klatzi asked.

"Not yet. Lord Harborth has again stated that he will only share where Rindiri went after his grandson is saved," Nisziz said.

"Rodd must have liked that," Brecca said, grinning around a mouthful of spicy stew.

Fuchsia shuddered at the prospect of eating that, as it would likely burn a hole in her throat before even reaching her stomach. Brecca said she'd never been able to eat it before, not until her heartcard had been fixed.

"He didn't," Nisziz said. "But he says he will abide by his side of the deal later today. From what he has shared, he hasn't had any failures for over a week, and the reforged heartcards are all over ninety percent."

Ninety percent, Fuchsia thought, looking down at her cards. She wondered if Irwin was willing to create her heartcard when it was time. She thought he probably would. He seemed nice, always treating everyone kindly.

"You are probably going to miss Beld, aren't you?" Brecca said, grinning at her mischievously.

Fuchsia felt her face heat up, and she buried her face in the fresh bread. The first time she'd had that, she'd almost died from joy- now, she was somewhat used to the sensation. Still, chewing on it helped her ignore Brecca's teasing.

"At least she has someone to flirt with," Nisziz said calmly, raising a fiery eyebrow. "Who have you been hunting?"

Fuchsia always wanted to shake her head. The Ignitzians had such a weird way of courting! They just went after whoever they liked, seemingly as if on impulse! The stories she'd heard from Klatzi about Ignitzian puberty still scared her. Having almost zero control over their sexual impulses? Horrible!

She fully enjoyed the banter and was almost sad when they finished their meal.

"Alright! Go and gather your belongings," Nisziz said. "Fuchsia, thanks again for getting the food."

Fuchsia smiled at the round of thanks, but as she got up and followed the others, she couldn't shake the sadness she felt.

I wish we could stay.

--

Irwin sighed as he took a step away from the figure crumpled on the floor. The young man with grimy hair and ragged clothing would wake in an hour at its earliest, but probably no sooner than four. He'd started figuring out what caused the people to go unconscious and what caused it to last longer. The heartcard he'd shattered and remade just now had been reasonably well done, at almost ninety percent and with mostly well-resonating cards. That meant that the blowback from shattering it would be minimal. The worst he'd done and succeeded had been unconscious for almost a week.

"What do you think?" he asked, focusing on Ambraz.

"You are ready. You were ready last week, but you did improve again," the Ganvil said before grunting. "It's time, Kid. Lord Harborth has already awoken the kid multiple times, and he has slotted the cards we prepared except for the final one."

Irwin nodded, turning to the door of the large smithing area he'd been given to work with. Pulling it open, he nodded at the guard.

"Done, Cardsmith Rodd?"

"I am. Bring him to his room, will you? He should wake in a few hours," Irwin said before turning to the stoic, grumpy woman who stood at the back wall.

"Mallada, can you tell Lord Harborth that I'm ready? We can commence later today."

Mallada frowned as she walked forward. "Honorable Cardsmith, are you sure it wouldn't be best to continue practicing? Firgus is weak after what has happened, and…"

Irwin just looked at her calmly, and slowly, she fell quiet.

"Very well," she said. "I will tell Lord Harborth that you think you are ready."

Mallada turned before Irwin could react to her barely constrained hostility, and she stalked away.

"Please, forgive Lady Mallada," one of the guards whispered softly. "She was the protector of Lordling Firgus and his siblings and has never forgiven herself for being too late."

Irwin nodded, but he wasn't able to stop feeling annoyed. It must have shown as the guard continued in a low whisper.

"She was also here eighteen days ago when… well…"

Irwin grimaced as he recalled his single, true failure. The screams of the man as his soulscape and being were ripped apart would haunt him for the rest of his life. The memory made his annoyance at Mallada's reaction fade, and he sighed.

"That won't ever happen again," he said as he recalled the moment when things had gone wrong.

The heartcard of the middle-aged man had been only topaz, but it had been riddled with mistakes and ice-typed. A simple heartcard that allowed someone to survive at subzero temperatures while also keeping other things around them cold. He'd been working in a restaurant, keeping the produce good for much longer… His card had been so different from Irwin's, the resonance at odds with his own, that when the card had shattered, and he'd been trying to keep everything together, it had been like trying to hold a canteen of water in his hands. Things had leaked and leaked until a point of no return had been reached.

"I can tell beforehand which cards are undoable," he said as he looked at his own hands.

"I know, Cardsmith Rodd! I didn't mean anything by it, just that it's why Lady Mallada reacts as she has," the guard said quickly, seeming worried he'd offended him.

"It's fine," Irwin said. "I'll be preparing. Please let me know when Lord Harborth is ready."

He closed the door, staring at it as he thought about the penetrating screams.

"Kid…"

"I'm fine," Irwin said, shaking his head to clear it.

"You aren't," Ambraz snapped as he shrank and flitted to his shoulder. "You did all you could to prevent what was happening, and with the things you have learned over the last month, you will be able to shatter and rebuild many types of heartcards, increasing the odds. Also, between the soulshards and soulcards you gave his family and the initial reward from Lord Harborth, his entire family will be set for the next hundred years, wanting for nothing."

Irwin walked into the room, sitting down on the massive couch that Lord Harborth had put there for him. It had been larger initially, but as he kept shrinking, he no longer filled it entirely.

"I know why we are doing this," he said, thinking about his family. "And you don't have to worry so much."

Ambraz didn't react, and Irwin looked at the ground.

He had been practicing for a month now, a little longer even, and the number of things he'd learned about shattering and rebuilding cards was immense. By now, he could reliably determine which cards he could shatter and rebuild and which were impossible. Initially, it looked like he could do all of them, but it soon became clear to him and Ambraz that those he could do were the ones that resonated with his soulcards. That meant that he could do most things that dealt with fire, sound, and soulforce, while ice and the uncommon types of vacuum and absolute stillness were impossible for him. Not that he'd found anyone with either of the latter two, but their experience with ice had been enough.

Besides shattering cards, he'd also been creating dozens of regular heartcards, as Lord Harborth's hope was still that he could remove the cursed card's influence while creating the heartcard. Irwin doubted it, as the two true tests he'd been able to do with people that had cursed cards had shown that he could only remove it after the initial heartcard had been forged. Why the cursed aspect wouldn't be removed before that was still a mystery, though Ambraz said it might be because after the heartcard had formed, the cursed card had somewhat fulfilled its purpose.

"We need to return and teach others how to do this," Irwin said as he leaned back. "As many cards as I can do, there's far more that I can't."

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"You are right, but don't worry too much. If you continue becoming stronger, you will get to a point where you can use force to overcome the type disadvantage," Ambraz said. "Also… kid, I don't think it will be easy to find others who can do this. Those who I could think of right now will have the same issue as you have because their cards are also fire, sound, and similar things."

Irwin nodded as he focused on his Gentril Body Control card, feeding it more soulforce to increase the shrinking rate. He'd now gone down to eight and a half feet, and he knew that in a few more months, he'd be able to reach his target of seven and a half. After that, progress would be so slow that it would take a year to shrink to seven feet."

When his soulforce dipped to eighty percent, he slowed down to let it recover.

There was a knock on the door, and he rose.

"Enter."

The door swung open, and Lord Harborth entered. He was followed by Lady Mallada and a young girl with bloodred curls and pale skin, not unlike Lord Harborth. As soon as he saw her, Irwin knew what was going to come.

So, he had this as a final test, he thought, crossing his arms.

"Cardsmith Rodd, I hear you have succeeded again, and from the reports I was given, a great one at that. From an eighty-one percent amethyst heartcard to a ninety-six percent topaz one. If the main branch of my family heard about this, they would try to get you married into the family right away."

Irwin forced himself to smile.

"I fear my soulbond wouldn't be too happy about that," he said before focusing on the young girl. "And this is…?"

Lady Mallada's face turned grim.

"This is Lady Mallada's cousin, Terusa Dirquas," Lord Harborth said calmly. "I have gifted her with six cards of my own, one of which is a cursed card. In return for the promise to help fill her soulcard and the next, I would ask you to create her heartcard, hopefully removing the cursed card. If not, shatter it and remove the cursed aspect, then…"

Irwin stared at the Lord, noticing the grim look on his face, before turning to Mallada. Suddenly, her anger and desire for him to continue practicing made a whole lot more sense.

She almost glared at her, but there was a sense of fear within her eyes.

Why did she agree to this, he wondered, stopping himself from glaring at Lord Harborth. It wouldn't help anybody if he antagonized the Lord now. Besides, Irwin could understand someone wanting to do anything in their power to save their children.

He took a deep breath before turning to Terusa Dirquas. The young girl was looking up at him with barely restrained fear, and he wondered when he'd become the demon to cause fear in people.

"Do you mind if I check your cards?" he asked, trying to smile as he held out his hand.

The girl nodded, though her hand shook as she took hold of his.

Irwin closed his eyes, focusing on the girl before him. He'd long since managed to learn to control his newest card, and with his greatly enhanced sensitivity, her cards almost seemed to hover before him. Most of the details were clear, and the third, the cursed card, stood out from the others like a harsh scream in an otherwise soft song. That said, there were no parts to the song that caused any horrifying dissonance with Irwin's soulcards, and as he inspected the cards, he felt his confidence grow more and more until he finally released Terusa's hand.

"It should be fine," he said, turning to Mallada. "There's no way she will be hurt. The worst possible outcome is that her heartcard will be slightly less optimal than it could be, but the chances for that are very low."

Mallada stared at him for a while, not looking very relieved, and Irwin could fully understand. If it were one of his children…

"I would dare do this with one of my own children if it would benefit them," he said, raising his chin.

Lord Harborth said nothing until Mallada let out a sigh and knelt beside Terusa.

"It will be fine," she whispered. "And after this, you will have the highest potential of any in our family to be taken in with one of the larger family branches."

Terusa didn't seem to feel much better, and Irwin went down on a knee to get his head a bit more on her level.

"There is nothing to worry about," he said. "Your cards are all very neutral, meaning there is little to no clash with mine. Do you know Brecca?"

The girl's eyes widened, and she nodded. "Your little sister!"

Irwin blinked, then barked a laugh.

"Well, I guess you could say that," he said, thinking about how much Brecca had changed after her very long rest. How much was from how he had shattered and reforged her heartcard, he didn't know, but she did look almost like a darker version of him.

"I had to shatter her card because Lasther had infected it. When I was doing that, I was able to replace any soulforce she lost with mine. If something odd does happen, I can do the same for you."

Terusa cocked her head, her eyebrows going up. "Does that mean I'll get metal skin like you two?" she asked, sounding excited.

"Perhaps," Irwin said with a grin. "Now, how about we get you a nice heartcard?"

Terusa nodded excitedly.

Irwin shared a look with Lady Mallada before walking into the center of the room. Terusa followed him, and he pointed at Ambraz, who was still on his shoulder.

"This is Ambraz, and he is going to help us create your heartcard."

"He's a Ganvil, right?" she asked, staring at Ambraz with wide eyes.

"I am," Ambraz said, flitting from Irwin's shoulder and landing on the ground before them.

There was a slight flash, and he grew a bit over his normal working size to compensate for Irwin's still larger stature.

"Now, put your hand on my back and try to summon all your cards," Ambraz rumbled.

"Aunty Mallada taught me," Terusa said as her deep red eyes narrowed with concentration. She put her hand on Ambraz, and Irwin watched as she pulled out her cards, one at a time. The third and cursed one was easily recognizable, as it showed a wide-open maw with gnashing teeth that gave him a bad feeling.

Yeah, definitely need to get rid of that, he thought, as he roughly sensed what it would do.

No child should need a card that would allow them to go into a bloodthirsty frenzy when they were attacked. From what he could tell, the card wouldn't even differentiate between a playful attack and one truly meant to harm. A bit of rough play with her friends could trigger the card and a horrendous outcome.

As he sensed the card's details, Irwin turned back to glare at Lord Harborth.

"You had no other cursed card?" he asked.

The Lord's pale face turned slightly paler, and Irwin quickly reeled in the pressure from his soulscape.

"I…" the Lord said, his shoulders slumping. "I just want Firgus back."

Irwin glanced at Mallada, who was clearly holding back from glaring at Lord Harborth. Irwin wondered how much the Lord had told her about the cursed card.

He turned back to Terusa before he let his anger grow. Although he'd been able to keep the titan card quiet ever since he'd let it grow, he wasn't willing to risk seeing what could trigger it.

He summoned his hammer, showing it to Terusa, resizing it to the size of his hand, then to one that barely fit below the ceiling, before turning it back to the size he would use it at.

"That's so awesome…" Terusa whispered. "Do you think I can get a growing weapon?"

Irwin hummed as he quickly had his otherself riffle through their cards. After a second, he nodded slowly.

"I have a spear that could grow to a hundred feet long," he said. "You can have that after we are done and slot it if your aunt agrees."

Terusa's eyes went wide, her pupils turning a glittering red, almost like gemstones.

"Now, are you ready? I can't promise this won't hurt, but I'll try to keep it as painless as possible," Irwin said.

Terusa nodded, and he saw her excitement over metal skin and growing weapons dull. Before she could really lose that, he focused on her cards and struck down on Ambraz, using the resonance from the hammer to wrap his soulforce around her cards.

He was going to make this card a hundred percent, even if he had to use half of his soulforce!

--

Mallada's fists were wrapped around her upper arms, squeezing her armor so hard she could feel it start to compress.

Harborth, you bastard… You said that cursed card wouldn't be too bad!

Why had she listened to him? She knew he would do everything for the two relatives he had left, no matter who else it hurt.

Holding her anger back, she decided that when this was finished, and Harborth had given the cards he'd promised, she was taking Terusa away from here. Although Harborth wasn't too bad for a noble, he had their tendency to only think of themselves, and she'd had enough of that.

She ignored the fact that she was technically a noble, too, though only of the lowest rank. Dame Mallada, or Lady Mallada, they called her now. Her mother would have been proud, but all she could think about was that she'd become just like Lord Harborth.

A soft singing distracted her angry thoughts, and she focused on the towering smith. He had begun singing, his eyes glowing pools of molten metal, focused on Terusa's cards. Her niece looked like a tiny doll compared to the massive Smith, his eyes larger than her entire body. Still, the look of anger he'd turned on Lord Harborth and the immense pressure, unlike any she'd ever sensed before, made her feel slightly better. He'd said he had children, and from the way he had-

A wave of power, intangible and without form, pressed down on the room as a sound like metal screeching over metal came from the smith. Well, if metal across metal could be beautiful and energetic at the same time!

The power would be soulforce, something she couldn't really sense except when it was strong enough to press down on her own soulscape. She wasn't that powerful with only two topaz rank soulcards, but even Lord Harborth's full anger when his family had been found dead hadn't put as much pressure on her as what was happening now. The difference was that there was no furious, impotent anger and fury, just a sense of beauty.

That lasted for only a minute when a horribly dissonant horror rippled through the song. She could almost hear the cards screaming as they were ripped apart, and the only reason she didn't rush forward was her knowledge that it would only make things worse. Still, when she saw fear but no pain on Terusa's face, she relaxed slightly.

The song continued becoming worse, and time seemed to lose its meaning.

Finally, after what felt both far too long and far too short, she saw the most horrendous heartcard start to form. The card looked like an amalgamation of parts that didn't fit, and it seemed ready to shatter at any moment.

A quick look showed that the smith looked as calm as before, hammering down again and again. Slowly, the card changed as the song became slightly less obnoxious, and finally, something clicked. Mallada felt the heartcard form, and she grimaced. It was powerful, far more than even her own, but it was also horrible. Even with her paltry soulforce senses, she knew it was an abomination.

Why didn't he make a better one? she thought, gritting her teeth. What if he failed?

She expected him to stop as the card settled, but he didn't. Instead, he did something to the heartcard, and it began cracking. Before she could shout in panic, the pressure exuding from him almost caused her knees to buckle. The heartcard, barely formed, collapsed like a house of cards. Terusa was incredibly pale, her hands clenched and her lips pressed in a tight, pained line.

I'm going to get you for this, Mallada thought, as she glanced at Lord Harborth, only to freeze.

The Lord's face was a rictus of worry, his alabaster face now completely white, and his hands clenched together at his sides. Drips of blood fell from between his knuckles while the tendons in his neck stood out like metal cables.

Mallada looked at him, not sure what was happening. Was he upset about Terusa or worried because of what this meant for Firgus?

"Now we make your real heartcard," the Cardsmith's deep bass voice rumbled. "Don't worry, and enjoy."

Mallada snapped her attention back to the smith and Terusa. He was still striking the Ganvil, but now the beat was different. Gone was the monotone, heavy thudding, replaced by one that was sometimes light, sometimes sharp, sometimes heavy. It was like the beat of one of the songs she'd heard during one of the Lord's old feasts back when his family was still alive.

The energetic instrument joined in, slow and soft at first, but rapidly increasing in speed.

Then, the smith began singing. Unlike his somewhat subdued, almost sad bass of before, his voice rose, drifting between a baritone and a bass, building upon the electrifying music and the almost cheery hammering.

Mallada drew in a breath as she realized she'd stopped at some point.

She still remembered the times her heartcards had been created, but one had been with a smith who used absolute force to bend her card to her will, while the other two had been with a smith who constantly showed her graphs on floating, card-created paper. The first had been so painful that she still remembered the sound of cracking molars as she clenched her teeth, and the second and third ones had been horribly boring and itchy.

This?

She saw Terusa look at the swirling pool of lights and shattered card fragments, her eyes wide with wonder and awe, no sign of pain.

Father said that the better a smith is, the less pain someone feels, she thought as she felt her soulcards start to resonate with the song. What he'd done before had merely been him creating a card to break… now? Now, he was making something beautiful, even without sensing the soulforce; she knew she was watching a master at work.

Minutes slipped by as the force increased and the song turned more powerful. The soulforce that had looked like a swirling, chaotic mess began spiraling faster, parts ripping away as if tossed aside, and at some point, she thought she heard a distant, almost malevolent, angry scream mixed in. Then it was gone.

She watched with awe as Rodd raised his hand, causing two cards to appear, and with an almost casual gesture, he threw them into the spiraling maelstrom of light. They shattered instantly, more soulforce flowing out of them, and as the song continued, she slowly saw order appear in the chaos. The color of blood began spiraling around the center, almost forming a crystal, while the gold she knew from the sun swirled around it. Most of the other colors had begun fading, leaving only an almost infinite amount of tints of red, darker in the middle and paler further out, with golden lines in between. Very slowly, a form began crystallizing, and she watched in awe as a faint, pale red mask appeared with bloodred crystals for the eyes and swirls of golden lines that glowed like fire around the edges, winding inward in a dazzling pattern.

The card almost leaped into completion, and for a moment, Mallada sensed its powerful pressure descend on her. Then it was gone as it flowed into Terusa's chest.

The girl's eyes widened in a moment of pain, then she crumbled.

Rodd caught her with one arm, slowly bringing the hammer down for a final, echoing beat that seemed to echo throughout the room for a minute. Then the song was gone, and Mallada almost wished it hadn't. She knew that, as much as she had lived through her own heartcard creations, Terusa's first heartcard would be the first thing she ever thought about if she imagined a heartcard being created.

Perhaps I should ask if he can reforge my heartcard, she thought.

--

Irwin looked at the little girl sleeping on his arm, her face calm and peaceful. He was glad, though he felt almost as tired as after his fight with Lasther. Making her card a hundred percent had been far, far more difficult than he had expected, but he didn't regret his effort or decision for a moment.

Just looking at the heartcard thrumming within the girl made him happy. For one, because he knew she had one of the best heartcards he was able to make. For another, because it showed just how far he'd come. So far, he'd had to destabilize the heartcards of those who came to him by force in a way that mirrored what Lasther had done. This time, he'd done it differently. He'd made her first fake heartcard with a weakness, one he could easily exploit after. It had made it almost too easy to polish out the cursed card's effect, even letting him keep a few of the positive aspects of the card.

He looked up and blinked.

Lord Harborth's face was a mess. Blood tears ran down his face, and small pools of blood had gathered on the ground beside him. His hands seemed to be bleeding profusely.

"I… am sorry I gave her that card," the Lord croaked, not even making an effort to wipe his face clean. "But I will never forget this moment. I've seen many heartcards made, but this… You can save my grandson!"

Irwin sighed, wanting to be angry at the man and failing. Instead, he rose and carried Terusa to Mallada, who was beaming at him.

"Thank you for taking care of my niece," she whispered. "If I can ever repay you, just tell me how."

Irwin smiled wearily.

"It is fine. Now, I am going to need a day to rest before I can help Firgus."

"I'll have food sent over," Lord Harborth said, his voice still broken as if he'd been screaming.

He bowed, lower than Irwin had seen him do before, then turned and hurried away.

As he left the room, Irwin smiled at Mallada.

She bowed, then turned and carried Terusa out, closing the door behind her.

Irwin sighed as he walked to the couch and thudded into it.

"You keep impressing me, kid," Ambraz said as he landed on his shoulder.

"Thanks," Irwin mumbled sleepily.

The last thing he thought before he fell asleep was that he wondered what Harborth and Mallada would think when they looked at their soullake.