Irwin snuck after the others, the thin sand of the desert flowing down below his feet and making it hard to climb up without sliding back down. When he reached the top, he barely held back an angry hiss.
The flowing hills and dunes had been shattered apart, a deep crevice looming dangerously.
Irwin could see sand constantly trickling and flowing inside from above, dropping far into its depths, while a familiar glow sat deep below. The rippling glow made him shudder as he turned to the others.
"Portal…"
The others were quiet, then Yogog began cursing softly while Crithann let out a deep and weary sigh.
"That's an emerald portal," he said.
"How can you see that from up here?" Scintilla whispered.
"One of my cards," Crithann said without elaborating as he turned to the others. "Is there any amongst you that has no card above emerald?"
It was quiet, then Greldo sighed as he looked around at the others. "Me."
"I…" Scintilla said as she shared a quick look with Ignalia, who nodded at her.
"Yeah, me too," she said.
Crithann nodded as he looked at them quietly. Irwin saw Greldo pale slightly, and he shook his head.
"You can't be thinking of asking them to go inside," he whispered.
Crithann sat down, staring at the depths far below.
"We need to clear that portal out before more appear," he said. "But you are right, they can't go inside with just the two of them."
The others frowned, but Crithann closed his eyes and seemed to ignore them.
"What is he-" Scintilla whispered.
"He is using a form of communication card," Ambraz rumbled from Irwin's shoulder.
Everyone looked at him, and his metal lips curved into a smile.
"What else did you think? That he was going to sleep?" he snorted.
Yogog grinned while Hotzli held a hand before her mouth to stifle a giggle.
"How do we even know there's no more portals around us? Why risk this if it might be a drop on a hot plate?" Irwin whispered as he looked at Yogog.
"Don't ask me! I'm with you on this one," the burly bald smith grunted as his grin faded. "I think we should go in and clear out the imps as we planned."
"We could just go inside and take a look?" Greldo whispered.
Irwin grimaced at the idea of Greldo heading into an emerald portal.
If I hadn't slotted Smouldering Heart, I could have gone with him, he thought.
They continued whispering for a while, keeping an eye out for any of the flying imps when Crithann finally opened his eyes again.
"Four of my fellow townsfolk are on their way. They are part of those that helped me guard against smaller threats, and they will go with you into the portal," Crithann said, looking at Greldo and Scintilla.
"I hope they are as big and strong as you," Greldo muttered as he shared a worried look with Irwin.
"They are strong," Crithann rumbled before looking down at the portal,
"Let's clear out whatever is hiding down there. Irwin, are you ready?" he said
Irwin nodded, his expectancy growing as he recalled Crithann's plan.
"You are sure about what you said?" he asked. "This big hole won't cause any problems?"
Crithann looked at the hole, his eyes gleaming brightly.
"If anything, it will help," he rumbled. "The Groveheart tree seeds need a solid foundation for their roots and plenty of water. Normally, that would be from a large vein of Frostiron, but with you here…"
"Are you sure you can keep that skill up long enough?" Greldo whispered.
Irwin saw the worry in his friend's eyes and nodded.
"From what I've found, I can keep it up for the same time as my Coperion Body, which is over an hour. Then, I can use it again an hour later."
"Alright. Let's go down," Yogog grunted. "Irwin, stay at the back. If we can catch that little white bastard, we can just clear it out normally, but if there's more than one, do your thing."
After some whispered preparation, they began crawling down the hill, heading toward the edge of the deep crevice. A few sides had slopes of sand leading into part of it, and they were moving towards the nearest.
At the back, Irwin watched how Greldo moved with incredible ease. His friend had used his own transform skill and was now in his taller, fur-covered form. Coal was beside him.
They reached the edge of the deep crevice and still hadn't seen any movement.
"Maybe they all headed back in?" Yogog whispered as he glared across the edge.
Irwin leaned forward, staring down into the depths. To him, it looked like a dull red hole with looming shadows and rocks and sand sliding and moving everywhere.
I wonder when this happened if everything is still so unstable, he thought as he searched for any movement.
"Over there," Greldo whispered as he pointed further and to the back of the crevice.
Irwin blinked, searching the narrower areas, almost like an anthill. It took him a few seconds to see what Greldo meant. Ruddy figures moved through the hole, tiny from this distance and easy to overlook.
"They made some sort of hideout," his friend whispered. "I only see-"
"Get them!"
The high-pitched scream almost caused Irwin to stumble as he looked around and up. There was no sight of the flying Imp whose voice had just erupted from somewhere nearby. The sand around them began swirling, arms and heads of imps bursting out.
"Ambush!" Yogog roared. "Stay close together and look out for the pale one!"
Irwin gritted his teeth as he triggered Coperion Body and summoned his flame. It rippled around him, but remembering the Ignitzion's fears, he kept it tight around him, the flames almost rippling over his skin like fur.
Two imps were struggling out of the sand nearby and jumped forward, grabbing at their flailing arms while trying not to slide and plummet down the hill.
A startled shout was instantly shut down when he wrapped his hands around them.
"Keep away from the big shiny one!" the flying Imp's voice screamed from somewhere.
Where is that one? Irwin thought as they turned away from the bundles of ash wafting away from him.
"Where is that one?" he shouted as he saw the others fighting atop the flowing hill. Coal was having the largest trouble, his massive frame gliding down a dozen feet each time he moved too abruptly.
There was no sight of the-
"Irwin!" the startled scream was all the warning he got as he raised his hands before his face and threw himself to the side.
Something sharp slashed across his arm, and looking to the side, he saw a familiar, hateful face. Wielding its curved dagger in its single remaining hand, the pale Imp glared at him.
"I'll cut off your hand and use it as my own soulstealer," the Imp snarled as he backed up a few steps.
Irwin kept his eyes on the Imp. He knew if he tried to rush it, it would just dodge him effortlessly, and it would leave him open for another attack.
Where's Scintilla? he thought just as a red blur slammed into the Imp.
It let out a screech as Scintilla's arms wrapped around it.
"Irwin, now!'
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Irwin was moving before she could finish talking. As he closed in on the Imp, he summoned his flame, keeping it small so he wouldn't accidentally hit Scintilla. Even then, he saw her eyes widen slightly at it.
The Imp began struggling, but just as Irwin reached for him, the Imp's eyes gleamed, a dangerous smile appearing around his sharp lips.
What-
Irwin jumped back and coated his entire body with his flame in a single move. He was almost fast enough.
A sharp pain came from his left leg, followed by a startled scream of pain from below. Looking down, he saw another curved black dagger pull back into the sand, the hand blackened by fire. Then his leg buckled, blood pouring from a deep gouge just above his boot that cut through flesh, muscle, and tendon.
Slumping into a seated position, Irwin felt his heart skip a beat as he could see inside his own leg, the pain becoming worse.
"Irwin!"
He looked up to see Scintilla struggle with the now laughing Imp, both seeming roughly equal in strength. Forcing thoughts of his leg out of his head, he struggled up on one, then threw himself forward, hands outstretched.
A tiny movement came from the sand between him and Scintilla and the Imp, then a hand holding a black curved dagger shot up in his path.
Not again, Irwin thought as he focused on his Eyes of Blaze. A mass of roiling flames rippled out from them, slamming into the Imp that was partially out of the sand now, and it let out a startled scream of fear and pain before being engulfed. The sand began gleaming and turning a red as Irwin struck it, then he crawled the last foot to Scintilla.
The Imp in her grip was screaming and slashing, going ballistic as he closed in, but Irwin ignored it as he reached and grabbed its ankle.
"No! No- no- no-" the flying Imp screamed from somewhere, but it was too late.
Irwin let his flame ripple over the ankle. For a moment, the Imp seemed able to resist whatever it was that his flame was doing, then it froze, its mouth gaping open and its eyes wide and furious. Scintilla let go and backed up as she looked at him.
"Finish him, quick!" she shouted, looking around.
Irwin let his flames grow and encompass the pale Imp. A second later, the entire body crumbled to ash. He took two deep breaths, then pushed himself up, risking a look at his leg. To his surprise, the massive gash had closed slightly, and he saw the muscles and tendons inside squirming oddly. As soon as he saw it, he felt it, a dull burning pain.
"The other one just hid again," Ambraz's calm voice shocked Irwin out of his worry, and he looked around. Ambraz was right, the second pale Imp was gone, the hole beside him now an empty, slightly torched area.
All around them, the others were slaughtering the imps, their numbers unable to overcome the individual strength difference. There was still no sight of the flying one nor the second pale one.
I hope there were just the two, Irwin thought as he stumbled toward the nearest fighting. As he did, the imps saw him coming and ran away, getting out of his way.
Great! Gritting his teeth, Irwin looked around, hoping his friends would be fine.
Coal moved around nearby, Greldo appearing from his shadow like a blur, slashing apart any imp that came too close while the large hound rampaged through the imps as if they were dry wood for kindling.
Yogog was moving around, grabbing any imp that came too close and ripping their heads off, while the two Ignitzions were swirling their blades around like small hurricanes.
A bit away from the others, Crithann stomped around in a growing cloud of sand, moving far faster than his size should allow. His hammer was like a blur, crushing any imp it hit. Even then, the number of imps seemed endless, more and more crawling up out of the sand while their brethren slid down the hill, some dropping into the crevice.
As if he felt Irwin watching, the towering Viridian turned to Irwin.
"Do it!"
Irwin nodded through gritted teeth. The pain in his leg had gone to a dull thrumming while an infernal itch was growing.
Clenching his fists, he triggered Sweltering Heart while stumbling further down the crevice away from the others. He tried to keep a tiny hold on it, as he didn't want to accidentally catch any of his friends. Greldo had shown he wasn't able to stand the full power of his ability, and he had no idea if the others could.
To his surprise, the fog began swirling up from the hole rapidly, much faster than it had any time before.
There has to be more moisture in the ground, he thought as he watched the mist begin to intensify around him. Unlike on the previous occasions, he let the power of the skill run rampant, and a tiny cloud seemed to form below him.
"Whoa… this feels so amazing!"
Irwin was shocked to see Scintilla stand behind him, moving her hand through the superheated fog with a wide smile.
"Quick, back up a bit! It will get hard to breathe soon," he said.
Scintilla grinned as she shook her head and remained where she was. Within moments the sand around them had gone slick and dark with moisture.
"Holy shit, that's hot!"
Yogog's voice came from a distance away while the sounds of combat rapidly died down. Irwin could hear the Imps scatter and run, but there were also some noises as if someone was suffocating.
Within a few more moments, even he could hardly see through the dense mist. Everything had turned into a world of glowing white. At the same time, the pain in his leg was nearly gone, the itching the only thing that remained. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he had a moment, he stared down in surprise. A jagged line crossed his leg, the skin stretched and cracked. It looked slightly gruesome, but compared to the massive wound before, he could barely believe what he saw.
It has to be the increased healing from all my cards, he thought, then suddenly realizing that the pain hadn't actually been that bad. It must have been due to his enhanced endurance!
It wasn't that it didn't hurt, it just wasn't unbearable, he thought after a few moments of analyzing what he had actually felt.
"Irwin, we are clear!"
Greldo's shout jogged him back to reality, and wondering what would happen, he released the tiny bit of control he had maintained over his card. For the first time since he got it, he let it ripple out. A soft hissing sound came from all around, and he saw streams of steam shoot out of the few tiny crevices he could still see. As the fog became denser, he sensed a slow change in his card as a sense of his surroundings began appearing. It was almost as if he could see without seeing or hear without hearing, and as he stood there in bewildered surprise, he realized he could sense anything moving within the sprawling cloud, even near the edges.
Greldo and the others had clambered back up the hill and now stood at least a hundred feet away while some of the Imps were struggling inside the outer edges, trying to move out.
"You have to let me enjoy this when we aren't fighting," Scintilla groaned beside him, and looking up, he saw her stand there, eyes closed and head back as if they weren't fighting.
Irwin didn't respond, instead focusing on the odd sense of perspective he was having. It stretched into the cavern before him, the fog still expanding that way, and he could feel Imps moving about, hurrying through tunnels to get away. Then he sensed something else, just above the edge of his perception and perhaps twenty feet high. A tiny movement. Something.
It's the flying Imp!
Irwin looked up, but he saw nothing but a dense white fog. Still, if he took ten steps to the side, he'd be standing right below it…
He slowly eased toward Scintilla, trying to make no noise. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, and he quickly raised his finger to lips when she seemed about to say something. The smile that had begun disappeared, and she frowned, cocking her head.
Irwin leaned closer.
"The flying imp is almost right above us," he whispered.
Scintilla blinked, then a predatory grin came to her face as she nodded and raised her sword.
Irwin pulled her along, trying to make no sound, until he positioned her right below where he sensed the imps flapping about. Then he pointed up.
Scintilla nodded and waved him away. Irwin took two steps back, and then Scintilla vanished in a red blur that shot straight up. Normally he could hardly see her, but the fog somehow allowed him to sense how she pierced through his cloud of steam. There was a startled scream that tore through the silence.
A moment later, things thudded to the ground, then Scintilla appeared back next to him, her form foggy even when she was two steps away.
"Got him," she grinned.
"Good job," Irwin said, grinning back.
"How did you know he was there?" she asked while taking a few breaths of the steam that was hotter than boiling water.
Irwin hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "I can sense things inside the steam cloud."
"Really? Damn, hotstuff! You really need to come along and meet my mother! She is going to be so impressed!"
Irwin blinked, suddenly slightly uncomfortable when he saw the twinkling eyes and wide grin staring back at him.
Mother? he thought before quickly turning around.
"Let's get the seeds planted," he said as he looked around, using his newfound ability to find where he should go.
Although he wasn't using his eyes, an image of his surroundings had formed, and he knew that he could walk with his eyes closed and still find his way. Even the tiny cracks in the ground showed up perfectly clear, and he grinned.
Wait… what if I use Eyes of Blaze? Could I see anything?
Curious, he triggered the ability, and then he sucked in a breath. The world changed into a mass of swirling white, yellow, and pale orange colors, the fog blooming out like a real cloud in the evening sky. Looking around, he almost stopped it when his gaze moved across Scintilla. She was a flickering, white shape in his vision, the fog swirling around her and accentuating every part of her form.
"Irwin? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that!"
"Nothing, just trying out two cards at once," Irwin said as he turned and began moving toward a part of the slope that would lead further into the crevice. By now, he could detect dozens of Imps moving around below, staying just out of reach from the cloud but somehow close enough for him to perceive.
He climbed down, and as he did, the cloud followed him, the Imps below screeching in panic as they ran back. Irwin grinned as he continued when a shudder ran through the cloud. A dull sense of tension came from the edge, and as he focused on it, he realized the border of his steam cloud had reached the portal. It was now wrapping around it, and the portal was causing a reaction with the steam.
I wish I could pull it back, Irwin thought.
He frowned, then tried to, only to find that the only options seemed to be to block the card's full power and shrink the area and turn it less hot or leave it.
Even with him perceiving where he was going, it took a long time to reach the bottom part of the crevice, and when he finally reached the bottom, the others had followed the edge of his steam cloud to nearly the edge of the crevice.
"So, this should be fine, right?" Scintilla asked as she stomped on the mud-covered stone below their feet.
"Let's hope so," Irwin muttered.
By now, they were both drenched, and Irwin could sense the streams of water running down from everything. He could also sense the energy keeping up the steam cloud was costing him. It was far more than when he had practiced it on a small scale, and he wondered if part of that was because he could use it to detect things.
Taking out some of the seeds Crithann had handed him, he knelt down.
"So, remember what he said. Plant them in, then get out of the way," he said as he made a mental note of where the way up was.
"If we have to, I can get us out," Scintilla said. "Just promise me you'll let me enjoy this steam cloud again sometime!"
"Sure, I'm sure we can find a way to do it safely," Irwin said as he inspected the mud, wondering if one spot was better than the other. Crithann had said it was fine, so he just shoved his hand and the seeds down. Rocks scratched harmlessly across his Coperion Body's skin as he stuffed the seeds down as far as he could.
He sensed the tiny nuts shudder between his fingers, then something shoved his fingers apart and back up. He gaped at the green plant pushing his hand away before growing while a rumbling came from the ground below.
"Move!" he said as he turned and ran back to the steep slope up.
Scintilla was following him as they scrambled up the hill, quickly finding that mud made for a bad thing to climb up. Sliding back down for the second time, Irwin looked back, and his eyes widened as he saw branches with golden-colored leaves a foot from his face.
"Get us out of here!" he shouted.
"Get ready, here we go!"
Scintilla slammed into his middle, wrapping her hands around him, and then the world turned into a blur of red and white. It only lasted a moment, then they stumbled out of the fog a few feet from the crevice. Irwin felt his stomach heave, and he ground his teeth, trying to keep his food down. Scintilla stood beside him, hands on her knees and her face pale. For a few moments, it looked like she was going to vomit, then she drew a deep shuddering breath and stood back up.
"I hate that feeling," she muttered.