It took Irwin a long time to get the others to leave, and he knew that even then, Monyque wasn't satisfied with his explanation. He couldn't really blame her, as he didn't actually have one he could give. It was harder for him to determine what Nimdal or Syndal thought as they just nodded and left.

As the door closed, he looked at it and sighed.

I really need to get a lock.

He sat back down, trying to reason out what had happened. He had no idea what to think of Lord Urdwellan's appearance or the knowledge he also had an Anvil of the Gods. Then there was the warning he had given him in the end. For a few moments, he wondered if it had been a lie. Then he shoved the notion away. There was no reason for Lord Urdwellan to lie to him, and it had seemed like some sort of last moment mentioning.

Smiths disappearing? Does he mean that they are getting abducted? Why would-

No, scratch that.

He had a good idea why someone would want to abduct Smiths. To get better cards or perhaps to prevent someone else from getting those. No. If that was the thing happening, how was a better question? From all he knew, the Smiths guild was incredibly powerful and influential, and he was pretty sure they wouldn't just let this happen.

I wonder if any smiths disappeared here? he thought, then frowned. Wait, were they only disappearing here? Was this a local issue? Somehow he had the sense that Lord Urdwellan had meant more than that, but perhaps he was seeing too much into it.

For the first time in weeks, he thought about Daubutim, wishing he could talk with his friend.

I'll talk with Balarn and Yogog when they get back, he decided.

His mind kept spinning for a while before he let out a snort.

"Whatever!"

He rummaged in his pocket. It was time to see what the card had changed to. As he looked at the purple carded card, the clarity of the image showed that it was a high-percentage craft, and he nodded. If it was as good as Ambraz had insinuated, Greldo would be happy.

Card: Shared Physique

Type: Amethyst, Minion Coupling, Reforged by Irwin Roddington

Owner: -

An especially rare mutation of a rare card. Can connect to a summon card, causing a permanent sharing of physical aspects.

Passive: Change physical attributes to resemble those of the connected minion

Active: Change all physical attributes to match those of the connected minion

"..."

Irwin swallowed, reading the card again to make sure he had read it right.

"How is this an Amethyst card?" he asked.

There was no response, and he exhailed bruskly. It even had an active ability now! Was this what Ambraz had said when he was talking about a little benefit?

I guess this includes Coal's heat resistance, he thought.

Looking at it for a while, he was almost inclined to keep the card for himself. He could find a summon somewhere, and with this…

Irwin shook his head. He only had two slots left, and his physique wasn't a problem. No. What he really wanted was mobility and a way to lock someone down. Besides, if he could make this, he should be able to make better things.

Blankly looking at the far wall, he leaned back.

He had been working on his smithing a lot. Wasn't it about time he created a new card for himself? He still had two slots open, and Ambraz had said he could reforge his hammer to legendary. That meant he could, at the very least, find a card that removed one of his weaknesses.

Or something to fix my water issue, he thought as he realized how dry his mouth was. A quick look at the nearby cupboard showed that the water jar had survived the rumbling. Within moments he drained it dry before looking at it with a wry smile.

Yeah. I really need to figure out how to stop being thirsty all the time.

Hesitating for only a moment, he grabbed the stack of finished mission papers and walked out of the room. The halls and shared areas were empty, though he heard some rustling from the other rooms. It took him only a few moments to find Nimdal in the smithing area.

The taller of the two cousins, who Irwin still thought could be brothers, was pounding on a card. A flickering image of a thick chain hovered above the beaten and battered anvil.

Almost done, Irwin knew as he inspected the card.

Three strikes later, there was a flash, and the card shuddered before the quartz edge turned a dull purple. Irwin heard a weary sigh coming from Nimdal, then he turned to Irwin.

"Here to see how it's done?" he asked dryly.

Irwin grinned. "No. I'm going to hand in some mission letters and was wondering if you knew where Scintilla is?"

"Your loss," Nimdal said, a corner of his lips tugging up. "I think she is back near the edge, staring at the lake."

"Thanks. Do you want me to hand in anything?" Irwin asked.

"What? And tarnish your reputation with my eighty percent successes? Nah! But if you could get me one of those silvery blue fruits when you return…?"

"Will do," Irwin said as he waved and left.

Scintilla was easy enough to find. She stood near a small clearing surrounded by low pale green bushes with azure flowers and turned when he approached.

There was a dull look on her face that instantly vanished as she saw him.

"Hotstuff! Finally! Tell me we are going to grab something fun to do," she said as she walked towards him.

Seeing her sparkling eyes and wide grin, Irwin felt his mood improve.

"Almost! First, I need to get another card," he said as he tapped the empty second slot on his right hand.

"Get a sword card! I'll teach you!"

Irwin grinned as he began walking towards the route down. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to take the stairs. At least down. He didn't have that many soulshards right now, and he'd rather go up with the Skytendril.

"I already have a weapon," he said, summoning his hammer in his hand.

Scintilla let out some hazy laughter as she knocked a fist against it.

"That's a crafters tool. Not a weapon! It might work if you battle low-rank enemies, but it won't work against anything with heartcards or similar skills."

Before Irwin could react, she grabbed his right hand and pulled it close. He felt a hot breath on the back of his hand.

"Only amethyst? Good! If you want to use that in battle, you should reforge it to have a battle form."

Irwin blinked in surprise. "Battle form?"

A few minutes later, he almost regretted having asked. Scintilla seemed more than willing to talk about anything revolving around battle, and a waterfall of information about weapon cards came.

She only stopped when they reached the Greenbark Mission Center, and by that time, Irwin's head was spinning.

From what Scintilla had said, weapon cards could almost always gain active abilities to have different shapes, while high-rank utility cards could gain battle shapes allowing them to act as weapon cards temporarily.

"Thanks a lot," he said seriously. "Now, let's see if we can find anything useful."

To his surprise, there were a few other smiths inside, handing in mission papers. From what he could see, all of them seemed off-worlders, their guards hanging around in the shop's large front area. Most were roughly human, like him, but he saw two Ignitzion guards chatting near a wall that he knew from his first time here had Ruby rank cards.

"Come get me when you're finished," Scintilla said as she waved before walking towards the other two fiery-haired women.

I wonder why there are only Ignitzion girls, Irwin thought as he headed toward Driseog.

Seven smiths, all roughly human from the looks of it, were whispering in front of the counter. Driseog was working through the stack of mission papers they had handed in.

The five women all had earrings with topaz gemstones with a smith ranking on it, while the two men had thin bands across their heads, that had theirs embedded in them. A few looked at him curiously, nodding in greeting.

Probably all from the same charter, Irwin thought as he returned the gesture.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Apparently satisfied, the smiths ignored him, refocusing on Driseog and their conversation. One of them, a woman with silver eyes and matching hair, stood in the center, the others appearing focussed on her. She was wearing a long dark green robe with wide sleeves that couldn't completely cover up her athletic figure. Her entire focus was on Driseog, who nodded as the tablet before him chimed softly.

"And you are sure we can take on enough new missions for all of us?" a woman with piercing red eyes asked.

The silver-haired girl smiled. "Sure? No. But we should have succeeded in over half of the missions," she said. "So, in the worst-case scenario, a few of us will need to go out and procure more cards."

Irwin blinked in surprise. Why wouldn't they be able to take on enough missions? he thought. Was there some kind of limit?

A soft crackling sound came as Driseog put the final card on the emerald-colored crystal tablet, and he smiled ruefully. After putting the card to the side and writing something on the mission letter, he turned to the smiths.

"Lady Relinda! It brings me great joy to tell you that Greenbark Mission Center accepts twelve of the missions as complete. Five of the cards don't match the required specifications, and four were delivered without a card. A very respectable result! On top of this, as the seventh charter to successfully complete over ten missions, you are granted two additional missions."

Lady? So she's a noble or something? Irwin wondered.

He was surprised at how little this idea bothered him. If it had been a year ago, he knew that he would have been apprehensive of coming anywhere near her. However, after having been around Daubutim and other nobles, he knew that, as with regular people, not all nobles were necessarily bad.

A joyous bluster came from the smiths while Irwin saw the silver-haired smith Relinda clench her fists. An annoyed look flickered across her face before being replaced by a neutral smile.

"Thank you, Driseog. Then I would like to see the mission log to select the next fourteen missions."

"Of course, Lady Relinda! Please take a look and let me know which of the missions takes your fancy!"

Relinda nodded and moved to the next counter, the other smiths following her, still chatting excitedly.

"Honorable Smith Irwin," Driseog said, giving Irwin a nod. "Balarn isn't with you today?"

"He is still on a mission to the east," Irwin said as he stepped up to the counter and put the mission slips down. "I'm here to hand in the missions and take new ones."

He noticed Driseog's eyes widen a fraction, but he simply smiled and nodded.

"Of course! Let me see how many are acceptable, and I'll let you know the number of new missions you may take. Are all of these for yourself…?"

Irwin shrugged, not really sure. He wasn't really interested in working through another set if he could help it. Only if he could find a mission with cards that fit his own requirements would he do so.

"Well, let us see how many you may take first," Driseog said.

"About that. Could you explain how this works?" Irwin asked. "Balarn never mentioned that we might not be able to take new missions. I've only been a smith for a short while."

Driseog looked up in surprise, his gaze locking onto the Topaz ranking signet in Irwin's braided hair before focusing back on Irwin. At the same time, there was a bit of laughter from the smiths standing further away. Irwin wasn't sure if it was because of his question or not, and he didn't rightly care.

"Of course! As you must know, there is a limit to the number of quartz cards, especially those that align with people's desires. As this century's cardstorm has only just started, and many charters are still working on their initial or second set of missions, there are still plenty left. However, in a few months, the backlog of missions that have gathered over the last few decades will be gone. As soon as that happens, Mission Centers like mine will be far more careful about who we hand out missions to. There will be more missions with only three or even just two potential cards."

Irwin nodded, getting where this was going.

"So, to find the best smiths, you only hand out missions based on success," he said.

"Exactly! Now, don't worry too much. I know you are new here, but there are always mining, gathering, and other missions you can take to earn cards. If needed, you can even take the more dangerous missions and try to find some cards on your own, though I would advise against that until you are heart-carded," Driseog said.

"Thanks," Irwin said, bobbing his head at Driseog's good intentions.

"You are welcome. Now, let's see how well you did," Driseog said, turning his attention to the stack of mission cards. "Let's see… seven completed missions, with two designated as difficult for their rank."

Irwin waited quietly, noticing that the smiths to the side had fallen quiet. A quick look over showed that half of them were watching Driseog. One of them, a man with a small, well-manicured black goatee, looked him in the eye and grinned.

Something about it caused Irwin's hair to stand up, but he just smiled back.

"Oh dear, two difficult ones? I hope you did really well on the others, Brother. Next time I wouldn't pick those unless-"

A soft ping from the green crystal tablet in front of Driseog interrupted the sharp words. Driseog's eyebrows had risen, and he was nodding while mumbling to himself.

They should all be acceptable, Irwin thought to himself, ignoring the goatee. Either that or Ambraz had made a mistake in his explanation, which he could barely believe.

Driseog began writing something in a book before placing the mission letter and card with it. Irwin could see his eyes glitter as he looked at the card.

After a few moments, he continued with the next card, which also caused a chime. Listening to it, Irwin realized it sounded a lot like those he heard when he successfully reforged a card.

Driseog continued, working through the cards, the smile on his face wider with each successive one.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Maybe they were all really easy?"

"They must have sent him with only those they were sure of, keeping the others…."

Irwin ignored the muted conversation, though he couldn't help glancing over quickly. Except for Lady Relinda, who was still leafing through the available missions, the other smiths had moved closer, staring at Driseog and the quickly dwindling stack of mission cards.

Two cards left, the group of smiths had hushed, and Driseog's eyes were glittering. As the single last card was put on the successful stack, one of the smiths hissed.

"This has to be a joke! Driseog, are you trying to fool us?"

Driseog looked up, his eyes narrowing.

"Please refrain from implying my Greenbark Mission Center is in any way attempting to commit fraud," he said coolly.

Irwin frowned as he looked at the smiths. The smith who had just spoken out was the one with the tiny beard, and he was glaring over his crossed arms.

"Oh? So you are implying that their charter managed to succeed in nearly every mission, including a difficult one?" he asked, his disbelief evident. "What would that make us?"

Irwin opened his mouth, about to say something before closing it and shaking his head. He had almost made a snide comment when he remembered he was new here and alone.

"What? You have something to add?" the smith asked, his hands clamped on his arms.

The other five smiths were looking at him with a frown, and Irwin saw that Lady Relinda had stopped going through the list.

The female smith with the burning red eyes looked around in confusion, then stepped forward.

"Come on, Hilber… These things happen. Stop causing-"

"No," the smith snapped. "We've been working our ass off for weeks, trying our absolute best, and this makes it look like we are-"

"We are what?" Relinda's cold voice caused Hilber to freeze as his eyes widened in sudden fear.

"Lady Relinda! I'm just trying to go-"

"Trying to do what? Make our charter look like a bunch of troublemakers?" Relinda said, her voice turning even colder. "Go back to the smithy."

Hilber swallowed audibly, glared at Irwin, then stomped away.

"I'll make sure he gets there," the red-eyed woman said, running after him. Two of the guards quickly followed them out of the mission center.

Irwin frowned as he saw them leave, wondering if Hilber was going to cause trouble.

A soft chime made him look up at Driseog, who was nodding as he smiled widely at the final card.

"Seven out of seven," he said, turning his smile to Irwin. "Remarkable! Although you haven't reached ten yet, if you manage, you will be the third flawless result! It looks like there are great things to expect from Tensor's charter this run."

Irwin was about to answer when someone stepped up beside him. Looking to the side, he saw Lady Relinda.

"My apologies for Hibler's behavior," she said, looking at Irwin before turning to Driseog. "Also to you, master Driseog. Hope you will forgive my charter's foolishness."

Master Driseog? Irwin thought, wondering what that was about.

Driseog waved his hand around. "It is fine, Lady Relinda. The day I hold one person's actions against an entire group has yet to come."

Relinda bowed. "Thank you. I have marked the new missions and will return when they are finished."

She turned, and Irwin saw her cold gaze on him for a moment before she moved away. The other smiths filed out ahead of her. The remaining Ignitzion guard nodded at Scintilla before following. A few moments later, only Irwin and Scintilla remained with Driseog.

Driseog smiled as he motioned to the mission slab.

"You may select up to seven new missions while there are some left. I'll subtract the cost from your earnings."

"Thanks," Irwin muttered as he stepped in front of the green crystal slab.

Now let's see if I can find something useful, he thought.

What felt like an hour later, he walked out of the mission center, glad Scintilla was with him. The weight of the bag of soul shards surprised and worried him.

As soon as they exited the shop, Scintilla pushed him along the side of the building. Looking up in surprise, Irwin saw her look around with a sharp gaze.

"Come on, hotstuff, it's time to get out of here," she hissed.

Irwin's mind spun, and he quickly connected the dots.

"Are we in trouble with that other charter?" he whispered.

"Lady Relinda of Haudur's charter is known for being spiteful to the extreme. The only reason she was as calm as she was just now was because if she pisses off any more Mission Centers, she won't be able to get any more missions."

Fantastic, Irwin thought, narrowing his eyes as we looked around.

"So now what?" he whispered as they rushed through a smaller road that he knew led to another staircase up.

"I think we should wait till Hotzli and Ignalia are back, then set out on a mission. Preferably a longer one outside of Equator Grove."

Irwin frowned, keeping an eye out for any of the smiths he'd seen.

Either by luck or because none of them had been waiting in ambush, they returned to the smithy without issue. On the trip, Irwin had been thinking and discussing things with Scintilla.

He quickly gathered the others, who were staring at him in surprise. The surprise quickly turned to upset anger when he explained what had happened.

"I've never heard of Haudur's charter, but there's no way the Smith's guild would allow behavior like this," Monyque said, thudding her fist on the table and causing it to creak dangerously.

"We should wait for Balarn or Yogog. Either of them has probably dealt with them or knows of them," Irwin said as he stood up, causing the others to fall quiet.

He turned to Scintilla. "Can you get us a mission like the one you suggested? Preferably one without a time limit, so we can leave when we want."

"Sure thing!" Scintilla said. "You stay here until I get back, alright?"

Irwin raised his eyebrows. "Afraid I'll get into trouble?"

"Without me or that punk here? Definitely!" she said as she turned and walked away.

"Make sure we can bring Greldo too!" Irwin shouted after her.

"Fine!"

He heard her mutter something under her breath but decided to ignore it. Then he turned to the others, noting Nimdal's smirk.

"Let me guess. You are going to be noisy in your room again?" the brown-eyed smith asked, eliciting a soft laugh from his cousin.

"Yes. I'll finish another three missions if I can. Apparently, there's some kind of reward for it," Irwin said as he removed the bag of soulshards from his pocket.

He had taken a look before and was shocked to see there were over three thousand inside. After some hesitation, he'd taken a thousand for himself. He was the one who'd finished them, but he knew the others wouldn't be able to pay for anything if he took it all.

After a quick hesitation, he tossed the pouch to Syndal, the quieter of the two cousins.

"In case something happens, hand those to Balarn," he said.

Syndal weighed the pouch, his eyes widening.

"I'll be back in my room if you need me," Irwin said, turning and heading up the stairs.

As he walked away, he heard the others talk amongst themselves softly. He was curious, but not enough to stay. No, what he really wanted was for Ambraz to wake up, and he was hoping he had the trick for it.

When he reached his room, he hesitated, then closed the window shutters. Although he didn't think it would happen, he'd prefer nobody sneak up on him.

He placed the seven new mission letters and spread out their cards on the table before sticking his hand in his pocket until he reached Ambraz. The anvil was surprisingly warm, even to his heat-resistant fingers, and as he pulled him out, he heard a weary groan.

"Wu- what?"

"I need your help," Irwin said.

"Ughhh- come on, I said I need rest," Ambraz said before letting out something akin to a yawn.

Irwin pointed at the cards. "Pick the worst one so I can feed it to you, and then we need to talk."

"Two!" Ambraz said before yawning again.

Irwin grinned as he leaned back.

Time to find a new card!