Irwin took a deep breath, looking at Bronwyn, pinned by Ambraz, arms gripped around the Anvil's sides, and face stretched in a snarl as he tried to free himself.

"Is that even doable?" Irwin asked.

"Not if he had been conscious," Ambraz said. "But I've been checking, and he is only physically resisting. Whatever that thing is doing to him, it seems unable to use his cards."

"Alright, I'm ready," Irwin said as he took a deep breath, wishing he wasn't so close to being out of energy.

"Good, feed me a few cards because I'll be the one handling the energy this time," Ambraz said.

Irwin took out his cards, taking the top ten, then hesitated. It would hurt having to feed all these, but there was no other option. He did a quick split, returning all cards above Topaz to his pocket while keeping the rest at hand, over half of his remaining stack. If need be, he'd feed them all to Ambraz.

Tossing six cards at Ambraz, the Anvil quickly chewed them away before letting out an energetic hiss.

"Alright, follow my hum, and as soon as the first card appears, we are going to start," Ambraz said before starting a hum.

Irwin followed along, quickly recognizing familiar patterns and melodies.

--

"What do you mean that you were sent back down?" Lord Rhym said as he stared at the rangers blocking the staircase up. "There was fighting and screaming while the whole building shook as if someone was trying to bring it down. Now there's some odd singing and thudding, and you haven't checked again?"

"Lord Rhym, I have checked, and Smith Irwin said there was something infectious happening," a ranger said, seeming worried but not moving from blocking the staircase up. "He told me not to go up."

"Did he say I wasn't allowed up?" Rhym asked as he walked up to the group of rangers.

The rangers shared, worried, glancing. Some seemed slightly ashamed, but none showed a sign of moving out of the way.

"Lord Rhym, I think he is upgrading his brother's cards," Melli said. She was leaning against the wall, looking pale and weary, and barely reacted when Lord Rhym focused his attention on her.

Rhym's eyebrows shot up. "He is doing what?" he asked.

Melli's eyes widened in shock, her face paling. "I… I…" she began before looking around at the other rangers for help.

"Lord Rhym, Irwin, and Bronwyn request we keep this a secret for now, and I'm sure they will be able to explain this later," an older ranger said as she glared at Melli.

"I know Irwin can reforge cards," Rhym snapped, his previous stoic calm evaporated. "He told me. What I don't understand is why he's doing it now. Explain what is going on."

The rangers hesitated again, and finally, the older ranger, who had been glaring at Melli, answered.

"One of the scouts returned, heavily wounded. He was being tended, but Irwin and Bronwyn ran up, looking panicked. One of the rangers here followed them shortly up, and shortly after, sounds of battle came from above.

Rhym sighed and shook his head, glaring at the roof before turning to the others. "They better have a good explanation for this later. And you are sure he is doing this right now? After some major battle in the middle of Malorin?"

"When he did my card, he was also humming," Melli said softly. "I'm sure."

"It's his brother, sir. I'm sure he'd not be doing anything to risk Bronwyn's life," another ranger added. "It has to be important."

Lord Rhym looked at the rangers, then up, and finally nodded.

"Very well, we will wait for a while," he said before turning to the guards. "Warn the guards on the wall of potential trouble and keep a cordon around the ranger tower."

One of the guards that had followed him nodded and ran towards the exit.

"Tell me everything that happened up to this point," Lord Rhym said. "Did the scout say anything about the Bablibon when he returned?"

The rangers, seemingly eager now, began explaining what had happened while the humming continued, increasing in tempo and volume.

--

Irwin struck the card on the last beat of the crescendo, his vision blurry and a headache pounding away at his concentration. It was a good thing this hadn't been a Ruby card and that Ambraz had taken care of nearly every detail, or he'd never have made it. Even now, he felt like he'd gone through a week of sparring with Crithann with no rest.

He mechanically raised his hammer, only to realize the card was burning in a deep amber light before sinking down and into Bronwyn's chest. Although it didn't happen fast, he was so weary that he barely saw the image of a bear on its hind paws, a third eye seemingly glowing in its forehead. Immediately, his brother's warped face froze, then slowly smoothed into a more relaxed look. He blinked, and a burst of silvery light shot out of them, burning away the purple haze.

Irwin thought he heard a barely audible scream of pain and anger, but that could just be his weariness.

"It's done," Ambraz whispered. "Just in time, too. The people downstairs are losing their patience."

Irwin barely registered words as he dropped to his knees beside his brother, who was blinking stupidly, slowly looking around. His armor was slowly pulling tighter around his body, the folds disappearing, and Irwin saw the hairs on the back of his hands become coarser.

"Irwin?" he asked, his voice holding a low growl, which couldn't hide his weariness. "What happened? Why do I feel… weird? Strong and weak."

"You were infected, and we had to make your heartcard. Can you sense it? Is it gone?" Irwin asked, staring at his brother. He heard a muted conversation from below, and he knew they had to hurry.

Bronwyn frowned, his mouth opening and closing. Then he sighed. "Yeah. I felt it being burned away from within me when I woke. It's gone, I'm sure."

Irwin stared into his brother's now silver eyes for a few moments, but he saw nothing of the purple hue left. He exhaled loudly. "Good. Ambraz, you had better-" The Anvil shrunk in a flash of light and, a moment later, hid back in his pocket while Bronwyn pushed himself up.

Bronwyn pushed himself up and looked around before staring at the room a few steps away. The charred destruction was clearly visible. "What happened after… that mist crawled into my nose?"

"I managed to kill it," Irwin said, looking into the room. "However, I didn't manage to save the others."

Bronwyn flinched and slowly pushed himself up before stumbling into the room. Irwin followed him, and they stood side by side, quietly staring at the five bodies. After a few moments, Bronwyn wiped his face.

"We need to get off this world," he whispered. "Before we all end up like this. Let's go. The others are waiting below, and I'm sure they are worried."

Irwin took a final look at the bed where Slither had been before following his brother.

"Only one came up, and that was after the battle was finished," he muttered. "It's a good thing they didn't come, but… why didn't they come?"

Bronwyn sighed. "It's a standing rule we have. If the tower is infiltrated, which has happened before, the rangers are to group together and lay an ambush. None are allowed to engage until the guards arrive."

"Right," Irwin said, wondering why they had created such a rule.

"Do you feel your soulforce?" he asked softly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Bronwyn grimaced. "Yes. It feels great, and I wish I could have enjoyed it more. But, Lord Rhym is below, and he seems upset," he said, stopping at the top of the stairs leading down.

"You can feel emotions now?" Irwin asked curiously.

"It's almost like I have a second sense of smell," Bronwyn muttered. "I can feel people below and outside the tower, but I can't sense their emotions. But… at the same time, I can smell them." He shook his head angrily. "Like I said, it's hard to explain."

"I wonder if you could sense that purple mist now," Irwin said.

"He senses soulforce," Ambraz whispered from his pocket. "I'll show you two of his cards later- it's pretty impressive for an Emerald rank card."

"Emerald?" Bronwyn muttered, confused.

"Very rare rank," Irwin said as he gently prodded his heartcard.

It was nearly entirely drained, and although he felt a constant stream of soulforce from his lake leak into it, he knew it would take hours before it was anywhere near filled enough for him to do any serious battle.

They looked at each other, both seeming to realize they were procrastinating the confrontation below, then grinned at each other. Bronwyn raised his head, stretching to his full length, and stared into Irwin's eyes.

"Same height," he said.

Irwin blinked, then stretched out before sniffing. "Nope, I'm still an inch taller."

Bronwyn's grin remained for a few moments before faltering. He took a look across his shoulder and sighed.

"Let's go," he said, and they slowly stumbled down the staircase.

As they turned around the small platform halfway, the room below appeared. Dozens of armed rangers stood in the room with a line of guards behind them while the tables and chairs were shoved against the walls. Lord Rhym stood in the middle, arms crossed, and with a look in his eyes that Irwin recalled from his time in school. Rhym was annoyed.

Still, to his surprise, his old teacher and the current Lord of Malorin started with something else.

"Are you alright?"

Irwin felt slightly surprised, then nodded. "We will live," he said before realizing what he had said. "But I'm afraid the others were not so fortunate," he added sadly.

Rhym sighed. "Is it safe to clear it?" he asked Bronwyn.

Bronwyn turned to Irwin. "What do you think?"

Irwin wanted to say it was, but he hesitated. If the purple mist entity had any bits of itself left, it might be hiding, waiting for a moment to go with someone. He felt like he'd cleared it, but could he be sure?

"I don't know," he finally said, looking back and realizing that meant he had to go back up and inspect the entire area. "I need to rest, then I'll go and make sure."

"Alright," Lord Rhym said. "Then could you tell me what happened and why, in the name of Gelwin, you decided to reforge a card at such a time?"

Bronwyn placed a hand on Irwin's shoulder, shoving him to the side. "Go, sit and rest. I'll fill Lord Rhym in," he said, smiling. "It's the least I can do."

Irwin snorted, then smiled and walked past the rangers to a chair and sat down.

He closed his eyes as he leaned back, wishing there was a way to refill his heartcard faster. He quietly tried to recover as he listened to Bronwyn explain all he could. He only added a few things when Bronwyn reached the part where he had gone unconscious. When they finished, Rhym was looking worried.

"We need to figure out if there are more of these things. It mentioned its master, and we need to find out if that's the Bablibon or something else," Lord Rhym said. "How long will it be until you can reforge another heartcard?"

Irwin shook his head appologeticaly. "I can't. It costs cards, and lots of them, for me to do that. I've used what I could on Bronwyn, so unless you have twenty to thirty cards that can be destroyed…?"

"You destroyed thirty cards to create one heartcard?" a ranger snapped from the side, staring at him incredulously.

"Can they be utility cards?" Lord Rhym asked, ignoring the muttering rangers and guards.

"Any card will do," Irwin said, wondering if Rhym wanted a heartcard.

"Can heartcarded resist the purple fog demon?" Lord Rhym asked.

Irwin was about to say they wouldn't when he felt a tiny shiver from Ambraz.

Wait, they do? he thought, frowning. He had thought it was his brother's sixth card, now part of his heartcard, that had removed the purple fog. Then again, maybe if he'd been a heartcarded he wouldn't have been infected in the first place?"

"I don't know for sure," he said after a few moments, deciding not to commit until he had a moment to discuss this with Ambraz. "But it seems likely."

"In that case, we will need to get at least two more," Lord Rhym said, seeming dissuaded by his uncertainty.

"Any utility card found from now on is to be brought to Irwin," Rhym ordered, looking at Bronwyn, the rangers, and finally, the guards.

There was a stunned silence, then a few visibly reluctant nods.

Lord Rhym turned back to Irwin. "As soon as you have enough cards to create another heartcard, I'll send you my two strongest guards, and-" Rhym caught himself, looked at Irwin, and sighed. "Please change their cards to a heartcard."

Irwin glimpsed at his brother as he remembered what he'd said before looking back at Rhym.

"Will they be trustworthy? People with heartcards are much more powerful than those with only handcards."

Rhym showed him a crooked smile, and he nodded. "I'd trust them with my life," he said before turning and slowly walking away, favoring his left leg. "Everyone remain here until Irwin says it's safe on the next floor. Then recover the bodies and find their families. Also, spread the word that if anyone sees any purple smoke or gas anywhere, they are to sound the alarm immediately!"

He really knows what he's doing, Irwin thought as he watched his old teacher leave the exit, followed by two guards.

He was starting to recognize parts of Rhym's old dominating schoolteacher personality now; then again, he knew a leader would need to be sure of himself as he ordered people around.

As long as he remembers I'm not his to blindly order around, Irwin thought, guessing that Rhym did, and that was why he had added the please.

Bronwyn walked to the chair beside Irwin's and slumped down in it. The heavy wooden chair creaked dangerously as he did.

"Why is there such a large difference in cards you need for a heartcard," he asked.

Irwin had expected him to warn him about the guard's cards, and he was surprised by Bronwyn's question.

"It depends on the highest handcard someone has," he said. "Yours was very rare, meaning it was more expensive to reforge."

Bronwyn's eyebrows shot up. "What's the disadvantage of just reforging someone who has only a common card?"

"They will be much weaker and have less growth potential," Irwin said before humming. "Though there's a step beyond heart card, and to get there, it's quicker if your heart card is weaker."

As he spoke, the rangers slowly drifted towards him.

"How many cards do you need if someone has only uncommon cards?" an older ranger asked as he stepped forward.

Irwin noticed that he was a full-hand and one, something that would have been very impressive in Malorin a few years ago. He frowned, trying to recall the difference between his own heartcard and the one he had just done. Before he could answer, he felt four very quick vibrations in his pockets.

Only four? he thought, rubbing his chin and feeling the thick stubble on it.

"Four or five," he said, deciding to make sure he wouldn't get into trouble. "But it only works if you have two fullhands."

"Only five?" Bronwyn hissed before leaning back.

Irwin saw his eyes narrow and knew he was probably thinking about the thirty-plus cards he'd used on his heartcard. "And how many for a rare card?" Bronwyn asked.

Irwin waited as he felt a host of shivers in his pocket. He lost count at some point, but he knew it had to have been twelve or thirteen. Still, to be safe, he added a bit.

"Fifteen."

Bronwyn nodded and turned to one of the guards. "Run after Lord Rhym and tell him about this. Also, tell him that the rangers will take the first ten cards they find to create two uncommon heartcarded."

The guard nodded before sprinting out of the building.

"If I bring you someone with two fullhands and five cards, can you please create a heartcard for them?" the older ranger asked, staring at Irwin.

Bronwyn jerked up, glaring at the ranger. "Sebas, are you implying you would withhold the cards from the rangers?"

The older ranger looked at Bronwyn with a glint. "Bronwyn, you know I have lost all my children except for one! I'll be damned if I let him succumb to some purple fog!"

Bronwyn rose, looking at the ranger, then the others.

"You've all heard the rumors that we are preparing to leave?" Bronwyn asked, turning back to Sebas.

"We have," Sebas said, sounding unconvinced.

"Your son is a good crafter, and a great one, but to get where we have to go-"

"Which is where?" Sebas snapped. "We have yet to hear more than rumors. You and the other captains haven't deemed us worthy to share anything."

"Dammit, Sebas," Bronwyn said, glaring at the much smaller man. "I've told you before, we don't know the exact location! That's why-"

"Why our three best scouts went into the Gloomforest, and all ended up dead," Sebas interrupted him. "To go to some mystical portal that nobody has heard about based on what your brother has told us?"

Irwin looked around, and he saw that the rangers were all paying close attention, some seeming to agree with Sebas.

"The fact that I know how to upgrade cards doesn't give enough credibility to my words?" Irwin said calmly, remaining seated.

Sebas snorted, then held back some angry retort. "I only asked if you would be willing to create a heartcard for my son if I bring you those five cards."

"Because you believe the portal I spoke about isn't there," Irwin said, partially ignoring his words.

A bulging vein appeared on Sebas's head. "And you blame me for this?" he asked. "You just show up out of the blue and tell us there's some safe place for us to go to."

Irwin sighed, then shook his head. "Not really, no. I'd probably have a hard time believing it myself. However, just because you don't believe it doesn't make it not true, and Bronwyn is right. If we need to move everyone in Malorin through the Gloomforest, we need every powerful fighter we can."

Sebas gazed at him, then sighed. "It's always the same with you people," he muttered as he turned around. "You can never just help."

Irwin frowned as the man stalked away, and he was relieved when none of the other rangers followed him out.

"Remember when I told you there were a few rangers that we shouldn't make more powerful?" Bronwyn said as he sagged back in his chair. "Well, Sebas would be one of them. He's always been a cancerous old man, and although I feel for him for losing three of his children, he's always been like this."

"There's a bit of truth in what he said," one of the rangers said as he moved towards them and sat down in another chair. He looked at Irwin and sighed. "No offense, but what if you are wrong?"

"I think it's easier if I just tell them," Irwin said as he looked at Bronwyn.

"I guess you're right. Lord Rhym had wanted to prevent people from rushing into the Gloomforest to find the entrance, but perhaps we'll just have to accept that there are always idiots around."

There was a soft chuckle from the rangers, and even some of the guards grinned.

"Fine. I still need some more rest anyway," Irwin said as he looked around. "Keep an eye on the exit, and I'll share what happened to me."

A few more rangers turned so they could stare at both entrances.

"After I was brought to the sorcerers, escaped, went through a few portals, and reached Degonda over half a year ago-" Irwin began, deciding to keep it as short as he could.