Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin watched the smaller woman as she walked forward. By now, the Viridians had gone back at least a dozen feet, and he glanced to the side to find Greldo looking around. His lips were curled up in a grin, and he seemed to be glancing around the shadows, sometimes raising an eyebrow.

Probably keeping an eye on the other shadewalkers, Irwin thought as he focused on the Carsmith's Guildmaster of the entire Langost branch.

She stopped before him, her gaze on Mazzareth, glaring slightly. The soulforce pressure coming from her was more subdued than that of the vice Guildmaster, but Irwin could immediately sense she wasn't any weaker, which shouldn't surprise him.

Although the Langost branch was one of the newest, smallest, and least densely populated from what he knew, it still had thousands of populated worlds, and anyone who was in charge of one of the guilds that spanned such a place couldn't be weak.

Still…

I don't think she is much stronger than me, he thought, as he gauged the pressure he felt from her against his own. It didn't necessarily mean he would be able to beat her in a fight, as that depended not just on the power of her cards but also on what types she had. He did know it wouldn't be one-sided. That was, unless he'd have to fight more than just her… He glanced at Mazzareth, who was scowling at the other women but showed no signs of doing anything bad.

Besides, with Greldo here, he was pretty sure any attempt to hold him anywhere against his will wouldn't be easy.

"Mazzareth, I have warned you many times not to bully our juniors," the shorter woman said, causing Irwin to blink in surprise. Were they mother and daughter? The Guildmaster didn't look old enough for that, but for all he knew, she was a thousand years old.

"But Guildmaster, he-"

"Enough," the Guildmaster said, shaking her head. "We will talk about this more later."

"Yes, Guildmaster," Mazzareth muttered, her glower vanishing while she shrank back to her previous size. She looked both guilty and annoyed and somehow gave off the vibe of a young girl chastised.

Irwin watched the two, not sure how to react. He didn't know what he'd expected from the Guildmaster of the Langost branch, but he definitely hadn't expected this from the vice Guildmaster.

"Cardsmith Irwin, I am sorry for this," the Guildmaster said, turning her attention to him.

She smiled widely, the apparent joy reaching her eyes. Irwin had the feeling she meant it. Still, as he saw the Viridians visibly relax and the surrounding tension seemingly defuse, he wondered what the Viridians had worried about.

"Let me welcome you to Suderfuix, and I hope we can forget about Mazzareth's childish behavior. I am Mei Joulihn, Guildmaster of the Langost Branch of the Smiths Guild and representative of all its charters," the Guildmaster said. "You must be very confused right now, so perhaps we can go somewhere less public where I can explain things?"

Irwin didn't see or sense any hostility from Mei Joulihn, but after what had just happened with Mazzareth, he didn't feel like heading to the Smiths Guild, at least not yet. He pondered going back into the ship, then looked at the city sprawling below them. As strange as the last ten minutes had been, he was here with a reason and would need to head into the city to find Rindiri while warning people about the Guidar.

"Perhaps we can find a place to eat," he said, checking how the Guild leader reacted and wondering how he should address her.

"A great idea," Mei Joulihn said, smiling widely. "I know just the place. It's near the harbor, just below where we are, and serves very well-made Ignitzian dishes."

Irwin quickly looked at Greldo and Klatzi before nodding at the Guildleader.

"Sounds great," he said, feeling slightly awkward.

Mei Joulihn's smile widened, and her brilliant silver eyes glittered as she turned to the Viridian Guards.

"Gentlemen, if you could let the Ruadh'trom family know that one of the Guild's cardsmiths has returned and that we are, of course, taking full responsibility from here on out."

Irwin saw the older guard lower his head.

"Yes, Guildmaster Joulihn," he said, seeming to hesitate. "We were told to bring him in for some questions about the state of Dimarintsia…"

"I can imagine Seizer is curious," Guildmaster Joulihn said, nodding. "Head back and let him know I'll contact him within a few hours. That should placate that old tree."

Irwin saw the guard's face freeze for a moment before he nodded.

"As you say, Guildmaster," he said before taking a few steps back, bowing and turning away. As he rushed away, the others followed him without taking a look back, leaving Irwin, Greldo, and Klatzi with the Guildleader and Vice Guildleader.

"Now, let's head down," Guildmaster Joulihn said, smiling at him. "It's not just Seizer who is curious!"

She surprised Irwin by smiling at him as her form slowly grew two heads taller until she could almost look him straight in the eye. Her clothes seemed to easily resize, making Irwin slightly jealous.

"As you seem to be stuck at that size, I hope you don't mind, but I'd rather not hurt my neck," she said, surprising him again by putting a hand on his arm and gesturing forward.

Not sure what to think and sensing no malice from her, Irwin began walking forward, hearing a soft snort from Greldo.

"From what I have read about you, you have never been to Suderfuix?" Guildmaster Joulihn said. "What do you think of the city?"

Irwin glanced at her, wondering what was going on. She shouldn't know much more about him than that he was a promising ruby-rank smith. Even if they knew many things about what had happened to Granvox, why would she go out of her way to welcome him, and why had Mazzareth acted as she had? Also, she seemed genuinely curious, which made little sense. She should know he'd never been here… or did she think he was someone else?

"I have not," he finally answered the patiently waiting guild leader, before adding. "It's a beautiful city."

"It is," Guildmaster Joulihn said as she glanced down, smiling at the city. "When I first arrived, it was much smaller than this, but the Viridians have been very busy, expanding on the city without turning it into a monstrosity like Dimarintsia."

Irwin stared at her. Was she fishing to hear if he'd been to Dimarintsia? Well… he was going to tell them about Lasther anyway, so it didn't really matter.

"You don't like Dimarintsia?" he asked. "I thought it was all right. A bit chaotic, but some of the districts were incredible."

"Oh no, it reminds me too much of some of the Scrimaril worlds I've been to," Guildmaster Joulihn said, smiling softly.

"Scrimaril?" Irwin asked, curious.

"You have never seen one of our kind, have you?" Guildmaster Joulihn said, pointing him to a basket at the side of the platform that reminded Irwin of his time on Scour. It was attached to vines on the tree, and an older Viridian was already opening the door of the basket for them.

"I have not," Irwin said, more and more curious as to why he was given the special treatment.

"Not a big surprise," the Guildmaster said. "My species originates from a main branch beyond the Tweelak Branch and usually doesn't come out this far. To my knowledge, there are only a handful of us in the Tweelak branch, and just Mazzareth and myself are within the Langost Branch."

They reached the basket, and the Guildmaster smoothly returned to her smaller size, allowing them to all fit in the basket- if only barely.

The old man nodded at Joulihn; then the vine slowly rose up and to the side, dangling them over the edge. As it began smoothly descending, Irwin looked across the city, noticing a few small lakes around the edges, their crystal clear water sparkling in the light.

"The Viridians moved a lot of water here from one of Suderfuix's adjacent worlds, one of which is a water moon," Guildmaster Joulihn said. "You would have to go a few major branches up to find anything like it, really."

"Up?" Irwin asked.

"Ah, I forgot people further out aren't taught these things," she said. "Not all branches are as flat as the Langost branch. Most branches further in are layered, not as spread out."

Irwin stared at the city, wondering what it would look like. He knew the Langost branch wasn't exactly flat, with many branches angling up or down, but from what she said, other main branches had parts going straight up. He noticed that Greldo and Klatzi were looking just as curious, and it seemed the guildmaster picked up on it.

"Imagine it like a tree, if you will," she said calmly, pointing at a towering tree below and to the side. "The outermost rim of the branches and leaves is almost flat, connected to only a single leaf in many cases. However, further in, the branches are above and below, growing from different larger branches, all connected to the same trunk."

"But there's not really an end to the Portal Gallery, is there?" Greldo asked, slightly confused.

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Mazzareth seemed to bristle at his question, but the Guildmaster just laughed, her voice clear like a bell.

"Not as far as we know. However, look over there," she said, pointing to a few trees that stood closer together. "Do you see how many of their outer branches and leaves touch? It is our current understanding that this is more like the Portal Gallery, where main branches like the Langost Branch and the Tweelak Branch touch each other, allowing us to travel between them. Some believe that portals are like the fruit or nuts that adorn some trees."

"So, the Portal Gallery is like a forest of trees?" Klatzi asked, seeming emboldened by Greldo's question to ask something of her own.

"Yes and no," the guildmaster said, her eyes glittering. "We have never found anything like a trunk, so it seems more like bushes."

Irwin stared at the trees, and as he did, his mind spun, little things he'd learned over the years connecting together in a pattern that made him glad they were standing still. He didn't hear the others continue to chat as he gazed at the tree. It wasn't just the branches of adjacent trees that overlapped. Branches in the tree itself also did.

What if we are in a single, enormous tree, he thought, staring at the tree and imagining every tiny branch being a corridor in the portal gallery, some larger and thicker, others short and thin. It made sense…

Looking at the massive trunk, his eyes widened.

Perhaps it is just so incredibly massive that nobody has ever found the trunk, and the trunk is just like the most enormous section of the portal gallery, he thought, and his thoughts went to the Guidar and the vision of the enormous portal. Was that how they had come here? Maybe the portal didn't connect to a world but to another Portal Gallery Tree?

A jut in his side caused Irwin to snap out of it, and he saw Greldo glance at him, eyes narrow. Irwin minutely shook his head and smiled, telling his friend he was all right before letting his otherself ponder what he'd just come up with.

He himself focused on the city that was rapidly closing in. A few minutes later, the basket thudded down on the ground, and Irwin looked around in slight awe. From above, the city had looked almost flat, but as he was now beside the massive tree on a square bordering the rest of the city, he realized it was merely an optical illusion. Most buildings had at least a second story, and some even a third, while those that didn't were high enough to allow him to walk through the door. He felt a slight awe at the enormous scope of the city.

It felt far larger than even Dimarintsia had, likely because the latter had been made up of layers.

If we were to build a city this large, it would easily connect all cities on Eluathar, he thought.

"This way," Guildmaster Joulihn said, walking in lockstep with Irwin as she grew back to her larger self and took his arm.

Irwin wondered if that was a normal way of doing things for her species or just some peculiarity of Mei Joulihn herself. Whatever it was, he saw Greldo grin and roll his eyes, causing Mazzareth to turn her glower on him.

The Guildmaster led them across the square, which Irwin was surprised to find was short-cropped grass with gravel paths leading through it, something he only noticed as they crossed it.

Although hundreds of people moved everywhere, the spaciousness of the roads and buildings made it feel like it was a quiet time to be out.

"Everyone looks well-fed," Greldo muttered from beside him, causing Mazzareth to snort.

"Of course they are," she said, frowning at Greldo. "Why wouldn't they?"

"I would assume because the other places they have been to have not done so well," Grandmaster Joulihn said, raising an eyebrow at Mazzareth.

"They haven't," Irwin said. "Dimarintsia has a lot of hunger and even starvation."

"That is horrible!" Mazzareth shouted, her hair rising from her shoulders with her voice while her eyes flashed with silvery fire. "Why does anyone allow that?"

Irwin stared at the vice guildmaster in disbelief. Was she really this oblivious? How was she even the vice guildmaster?

"Mazzareth, why don't you run ahead and warn them that we are coming?" Guildmaster Joulihn said, smiling at the other women. "I'll explain this to you later."

Mazzareth frowned and looked at Irwin and Greldo as if wondering if it would be safe to leave the Guildmaster with them.

"That wasn't a request."

The sudden sharpness in the Guildmaster's voice caused Mazzareth to jolt, nod, and run forward. She didn't even glance over her shoulder as she ran ahead, eventually vanishing in the thin crowd of people- mostly Viridians.

The Guildmaster sighed softly, and Irwin saw a short flash of sadness across her face.

"I am sorry that you had to see this," she said, looking at Irwin, Greldo, and finally at Klatzi. "Mazzareth is going through her Skeilrin or third puberty. Due to the strength of her cards and soulscape, she is more volatile than most of my species. I've tried keeping her in the guildhouse, but being cooped up makes it worse."

"Third puberty?" Greldo hissed, looking horrified.

The Guildmaster laughed softly, seeming unbothered by the question.

"Yes, Scrimaril has three, and each is slightly worse, with the last one…" she sighed. "It is why Mazzareth was sent here a few decades ago. Her mother requested that I keep her here out of fear that she would embarrass her."

Irwin just stared at the Guildmaster, wondering why she would tell them all this. They had just arrived, they didn't know anything, and this seemed highly personal.

"I'm telling you this so you understand that if she acts… odd, you understand it is not completely her fault. Human puberty is meek compared to even our first, and many eons ago, our species nearly wiped itself out with wars started by those in their puberties," the Guildmaster said calmly.

They continued walking for a short while longer, this time quietly, until Klatzi asked the question Irwin had been thinking about.

"Why… why is Mazzareth the vice guildmaster?" she asked.

The Guildmaster laughed softly, shaking her head. "There is no such thing as a vice guildmaster. However, Mazzareth is used to being in control, and to prevent issues, I gave her a temporary role. She has no true power beyond being the third most gifted smith currently in the city."

Irwin's eyebrows shot up at that, wondering what that meant.

"Can I ask what her diamond rank is?" he asked softly.

"She is one of the youngest second-rank diamond smiths," Guildmaster Joulihn said with a smile. "Only just a hundred and one, quite hard to believe."

Irwin nodded, but as he did, he saw her eyes examine him, a slight, humorous gleam in them.

"And who are the two more gifted smiths?" Greldo asked, sounding curious.

"That is for later," the Guildmaster said, smiling as she waved at a road that led left. "We are there."

Irwin looked into the road to see it ended in a beautiful park with dozens of tables nestled between the trees, and an open restaurant just visible through the dense plants. Mazzareth was standing anxiously near a large table, talking with a confused-looking Viridian serving woman with bright green hair.

Irwin and the others walked over, and as they approached, the Viridian woman's eyes became larger before she turned and dashed away. Irwin wondered what she was up to, but before they even reached the table, the woman returned with two others, carrying a large chair. They put it beside the table, dashed away, and came up with another a moment later.

Irwin took a deep breath, smelling the freshness of leaves and grasses mixed with a familiar spiciness. He didn't recognize it exactly, but he knew it was some sort of Ignitzian stew, like hot.

"Thank you," Guildmaster Joulihn said as she sat down, waving Irwin to the other larger chair to her left.

Irwin sat down slowly, but the wood didn't so much as bend under his weight. Greldo sat down on his right, and Mazzareth made to sit down across from them when the Guildmaster tutted.

"Mazzareth, I had to leave my class mid-lesson, and I won't be able to return in time. You are to head back and teach the third years. They should be having a lesson in using soulforce and their own hands to purify grade four metals."

"But…" Mazzareth began, only to stop as the Guildmaster shook her head.

"I'll be back later today," the Guildmaster said, her thin, gleaming eyebrows raising up. "Now, Mazzareth."

"Yes, Guildmaster," Mazzareth said, her shoulders slumping. She glowered at the table before turning and stalking away, muttering something.

The Guildmaster waited until she was gone before turning to Irwin, who had to been quietly watching everything. The more he saw of the Guildmaster, the more he liked her. That said, he wasn't foolish enough to trust her just yet. Who knew what her ideas might be? She might want to have him carted off to some hidden world for safety.

"Now, with that young one away, let us get to the more interesting parts," Guildmaster Joulihn said. "As I said, my name is Mei Joulihn, and while we aren't in the guild buildings, you may call me Mei. Guildmaster Joulihn is incredibly tedious, and it makes me feel older than I already am."

Irwin blinked at her, unable to keep from examining her face. So, his guess had been right? She was older than she looked?

"How old are you?"

Irwin's eyebrows shot up as he turned to Klatzi, who was curiously looking at Guildmaster Joelighn- Mei, he corrected himself.

Mei laughed softly, shaking her head. "Usually, it's the men I have to tell, not ask, but I always forget how curious you Ignitzians are. I wonder what my mother would say if she'd been able to meet some of you."

Klatzi blinked and looked confused.

Staring at her, Irwin was surprised at how much younger she looked than Nisziz and Scintilla, while being from the same group of blade maidens. She was technically the same age, but her behavior made her sometimes look like she was twelve.

The Viridian waitress arrived back, holding out three wooden sheets to them.

Mei waved it away and quickly ordered a few dishes that Irwin knew to be both spicy and hot. Besides himself and some Ignitzians, he knew of nobody who would eat them. Feeling hungry, he ordered the same, though a slightly larger portion. Sadly, when he asked for meat, he was told none had been available for a few years now, but the woman suggested some Burning Earth Mushrooms, which she told him were a local delicacy that should mix with what he'd ordered.

A few minutes and some more orders later, the waitress left, and Mei turned her gaze at Irwin curiously.

"I see some of the things I was told are at least correct," she said.

Irwin stared at her, holding back a slight annoyance at how she knew as much, and decided to just ask.

"Exactly how much do you know about me, and where did you get this information?"

"I know everything, starting from when you joined Tensor's Guild and went from a Quartz rank smith all the way to a Topaz rank smith in a few months," Mei said calmly, leaning back in her chair. "Then, I was told you had reached Emerald rank in a few years while on Scour, after which you disappeared for some years…" She glanced at him as if expecting him to say something, but Irwin merely nodded, surprised at how much she knew. In hindsight, he realized it made sense. He'd had to officially join Tensor's guild, and as he thought that, he wondered what had happened to Tensor himself or the deal he'd made with the man many years ago.

"You eventually showed up on Granvox, where you went to their academy, which makes sense as I am told you have been bonded to a Ganvil?" she asked, looking at him curiously again.

"I have," Irwin said, wanting to see how much more she knew before he was going to answer any questions.

Mei hummed thoughtfully, then nodded.

"I have no more information after that, and also very little from your stay there. My last known information is that you became a ruby rank smith," she said before leaning forward. "Now, after that, you left and took a few very promising young smiths with you that have not been seen since."

Irwin sighed. "They are fine," he said.

"But you aren't going to tell me where they are… or Dean Salwek den Valarn's granddaughter, Dahlia?" Mei asked, her eyes narrowing.

A slight annoyance flickered through her eyes as she leaned back.

"No, but they are all safe," Irwin said, hoping that Dahlia would be back by now, as that meant Scintilla and their children would be too.

"I see," Mei said. "Then, perhaps it is now your turn to tell me some things? Perhaps, why you are here if you are not to stay, and what you meant by a warning."

Irwin looked at her, taking a deep breath. It was time to begin spreading the word about Guidar and hope people not from Dismarintsia would believe him.