Irwin hummed happily as he struck down on the large chunk of deformed dark red and orange metal. It was flattening rapidly, but he had to make sure not to use too much force because he didn't want to puncture it. Instead, he needed to make it into a large, flat sheet.

Two days had passed since he'd returned, and a group of woodsmen were working hard at chopping a path through the forest. It would take weeks, even with their carded abilities, making Irwin even more happy that he'd brought the massive chunk of ore.

Even if it was a pain, he thought, remembering carrying the ridiculously heavy object through the forest and into the smithy. He'd had to split it apart by heating it with his flame and then ripping it into chunks before he could even get it inside.

"I can't wait to see the first pots, pans, and utensils," Endil shouted happily from the other side of the smithy.

Irwin looked back, grinning at the other smith. Endil was puffing loudly as he worked the smelter's bellows. Even then, he was grinning happily. The chunks of metal lay beside him, ready to be tossed into the smelter.

"We have to make sure we don't forget some butcher knives," Irwin shouted back over the constant bubbling and hissing of the smelter and the whooshing of the bellows. "I'll also need to make myself a proper shaving knife!"

The idea of finally removing the thick, metal-wire beard made him happy, though he worried if the Degnin wouldn't be too soft.

He shoved the needless worry away and looked at the mass of contained fire rippling around the metal he was hitting. A part of it was licking the sides of Ambraz, but the Anvil wasn't bothered. He could have used his flame to melt the rest of the iron ore, but Endil had said they couldn't only rely on his card. If he wasn't there, Endil would need to be able to melt things, and he didn't have a fire card.

I really need to get some proper smithing cards for him when I can, Irwin thought as he looked over his shoulder. Endil had one full-hand of cards that mostly dealt with body-improvement. His first card, an uncommon hammer card, was the only true smithing card he had; it was a gift from his grandfather, Rhym.

Irwin thought about Rhym for a bit while he kept the flame at the exact heat the Anvil had instructed him to. As he kept hitting the now uneven, squarish metal sheet, traces of grimy stone and other impurities were slowly oozing down. He absently wondered why they had remained in the metal even after Endil had melted it. According to Ambraz, his strikes pushed out the remaining impurities due to the soulforce infused blows.

I still wonder why purifying works if you don't have your own soulforce, Irwin thought.

He'd asked Ambraz, who had actually been stumped, and eventually muttered something about the ambient Soulforce.

Irwin continued hitting it, pondering the many oddities. He was wearing nothing but his rough leather smithing pants and tiny sparks and metal globs pelted his chest and arms harmlessly as he worked. It didn't take long for the metal to be changed into a large, roughly one-inch thick sheet, slightly bent and still uneven on some parts. Examining it, he nodded. He was pretty sure it would be enough for their eventual goal. Besides, they would cut it up before creating anything out of it anyway.

Ambraz seemed to agree.

"Alright, that's enough for now," the Anvil shouted. "And make sure to wipe some of that grime off me! It's disgusting!"

Irwin grabbed the glowing hot metal sheet, only slightly painful to his fingers, and quickly placed it against the temporary stone anvil. Three others stood on the other sides, now effectively hiding the stone from sight. He clapped his hands a few times before wiping off most of the gunk from Ambraz. When the Anvil seemed content, he walked towards Endil.

"How much metal do you think is in here?" he asked, patting the remaining chunks of metal that lay on the ground. He knew that Endil had far more knowledge about the more archaic form of smithing they were doing now.

Although Endil was slightly younger than he was, he had learned smithing from his father, who himself was the son of a blacksmith. This meant that Endil had a wealth of knowledge that spanned generations.

"Hard to say. Some parts of it have far more impurities than others," Endil said in between ragged breathing.

Irwin grinned as he waved him from the bellows. Endil didn't seem to mind at all, quickly stepping away. Irwin grabbed the handles of wooden makeshift bellows, forcing them open and closed with ease. He was still surprised at how fast they had made them. Endil and one of the carpenters had cooperated on it, and although it was obviously not perfect, it would do for a while.

"Let's just say that it's a good thing that we don't need to make any weapons or armor," Endil said as he looked at the stone pot into which the slag was pouring. "There will be enough to make tools for the butcher, the carpenters, and the inn, who will need more pots and pans. Still, there should be enough if you want to put some things for sale?"

Irwin thought about it for a bit, then nodded. "That might be for the best," he said. "If we just give away everything, people will get the wrong idea."

"Alright, then, we will need someone to furnish and man the shopfront unless you want us to do it?"

Irwin hummed, then shrugged. "How about you decide on this? I'm not sure how long I'll be here, and eventually, you are going to have to do most of the work. It's best if you find someone you can trust."

As he spoke, Irwin saw Endil's eyes gleam happily.

"Sure! My wife's younger brother needs something to do."

Irwin just nodded, not really caring that much. Although he was enjoying working with the metal, he quickly found that it wasn't what he really wanted to do. His true passion had become reforging cards. Even if he had stayed here, that was what he'd want to spend most of his time on, and for that, they needed cards.

"Can you decide on what to make with this?" he said.

Endil's smile faded, replaced by a thoughtful look as he gazed at the metal ore and then at the sheets they already had.

"Sure. I'll go and find some paper and a pen. It's best that we start keeping a ledger," Endil said as he turned and walked out of the smithy.

Irwin took a deep breath and looked around happily. The smithy was an empty mess with just some makeshift tools, missing all of the more luxurious things he'd had back on Scour. Even then, it felt his, even more so than his smithy back in Grianfál. Part of him felt odd about that, knowing he'd just asked Endil to take care of so much.

He remained dazed off, enjoying the view for a short while before focusing back on the bellows.

The rest of the day passed rapidly, and they stopped when the sun ducked below the buildings around the square.

As Irwin walked back home, he was carrying a simple but effective frying pan. He'd made it himself under the guidance of Endil and an incredibly annoyed Ambraz.

"Stop looking so content with that! You need to practice smithing more," Ambraz said, not for the first time.

"We will," Irwin said. "But only for a bit. I prefer working with cards."

"Ugh! Of course you do," Ambraz snorted. "Everyone would! But what kind of smith can't even make a proper pan?"

Irwin grinned as he looked at the slightly uneven, wooden-handled dark gray pan. "It's not that bad."

Ambraz snorted, then muttered something in his own language that Irwin didn't catch. Probably for the better, he thought.

As he passed through the streets, many people eyed him and his pan. One older woman, thin but with almost burning eyes, stepped forward.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Smith Irwin, are you going to have some useful things on sale soon?" she asked, her gaze not leaving the pan in his hand.

"There should be some things starting in a few days," Irwin said.

"Will you accept cloth or leather worked products instead of copper?" the woman asked.

Irwin blinked, then inspected her, noticing that her clothes were simple but of good quality, as were her belt and boots.

"Probably," he said. "We will need smithing skirts, pants, and some other things for the smithy. You can see Endil for the details tomorrow before we close up."

"Perfect," the woman said as he stared at the pan before looking up at him. "I'll make sure to start on some things I used to make for the smiths in Degonda!"

Irwin nodded, and with a final look at the pan, the woman turned and walked away.

"See?" Irwin said as he looked at Ambraz. "It's not that bad."

Ambraz let out a long, weary sigh. "Kid, that's because beggars can't be choosers! You better practice before you actually sell a pan with the smithies symbol on it!"

Irwin nodded, but the woman's interest had increased his mood even more.

He reached their house without any more interruptions, knocking on the door. After a few moments, it was opened, and he was surprised to see Bronwyn.

"You're early," he said, happy to see his brother would join them for dinner.

Bronwyn didn't react, and seeing his tight face, Irwin immediately knew something was up.

"What?" he asked.

"Let's sit down first. I'll tell everyone at the same time," Bronwyn muttered before looking at the pan Irwin was holding. "What do you have… oh! Mom's going to love that."

Irwin nodded, but his previous joy was dampened. He didn't say anything but followed Bronwyn to the kitchen where his mother and Carla were sitting. Both looked slightly worried, but as his mother's eye fell on the pan, she almost jumped to her feet.

"Where did you get that?!"

Irwin forced himself to smile as he walked to the table and handed the pan to his mother.

"I made it, of course," he said.

"Of course? I thought you only did cards?" his mother asked as she examined the pan, nodding thoughtfully.

"I can make other things, too," Irwin said as he sat down, turning to Bronwyn.

"Good," his mother said as she rubbed her hands across the pan. "Good, now if we could get some eggs…" she muttered.

Irwin nodded absently. "So… what's wrong?" he asked.

Bronwyn sat down beside Calra, seemingly collecting his thoughts. After a few moments, he began talking, quickly making everyone focus fully on him.

"Clarish just arrived with a message from Daubutim. Xi'kroak returned from his scouting mission early. He spotted three Galub ships… or ships that the Galubs raided more like. They were roughly a day's travel west of the exit portal and disappeared through a narrow strip of the Portal Gallery. Apparently, it was a similar passage leading away from the mounts as the one you said you used. Xi'kroak said that the path likely leads back to the branch that Sesnanser is on."

So, there are more ways to get here? Irwin thought, annoyed. He and Daubutim had hoped that there was only a single path to this branch, which they would have been able to block and guard. Now, they would have to find out how many paths led back. Hopefully, it would be only this other one, but somehow, he doubted it.

"Dammit," he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.

"Irwin Roddington, no cursing in my house," his mother said, but there was little fire in it. She was looking at him, then Bronwyn. "Does that mean we are going to get attacked"? she asked with a deep, profound sadness in her voice.

"No," Irwin said before blinking and turning to Bronwyn. "They didn't see or follow Xi'kroak?"

"He says they didn't," Bronwyn said. "Daubutim and Lord Bron have sent every carded that can help to the exit portal to speed up the growth of the trees below the portal even more. They didn't expect any trouble but asked if you can go there just in case…"

Irwin had guessed at much. "I'll go and talk with Greldo in the morning," he said.

"No need," Bronwyn said with a half-grin. "He's sleeping in the guestroom."

Irwin immediately felt better. His mother and Carla began asking questions while his mind began wandering off. If there were Galubs nearby, that meant the portal Ambraz had suggested was there could be closer than they had thought. That, or the Galubs, were scouting far from home.

If we can grab those ships, he thought.

They continued talking and eating, but Irwin's mind wasn't in it. When he finally lay in his bed, the door closed, he was wondering about some things.

"Ambraz, what if we close the portal temporarily?" he asked. "You said we can open it from the inside again, and that way we could just-"

"It's not going to work," Ambraz said. "It's going to take a long time for the temperature around the portal to drop to any normal levels again. Even those Galubs will know that something is up, and they will likely start searching. Because the portal was open, it will be much easier to find for a long while."

Irwin grunted, placing his hands behind his head and glaring at the ceiling. Why couldn't they just be left alone? First, it was those things chasing them because they were Galadin, then whoever was kidnapping the smiths, and now-

Irwin's mind locked up for a moment as a bunch of thoughts suddenly connected. Then he pushed himself up, staring at Ambraz, who was lying in a nook in the wall.

"You said you were surprised by how fast me, Endil, Trimdir, and the others learned card reforging, right?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah. It's ridiculous, really," Ambraz said. "I've only heard rumors about anyone becoming topaz in under a year from the mainbranch."

"I'd say it's pretty likely because we are Galadin?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Ambraz snorted. "What are you getting at?"

"What if that's why someone is searching for cardsmiths?" Irwin said. "To find the Galadin?"

Ambraz was quiet, then flew out of his nook and began flying around.

"That… makes sense. Perhaps after Fiverion opened the portal to Giard, they somehow detected Galadin's but couldn't find them?"

"And they are trying to find smiths to determine what is going on…." Irwin agreed, becoming slightly worried. "Who is even doing this so that they can search and kidnap smiths all across the Portal Galery?"

"Who says it's everywhere?" Ambraz snorted. "If this is true, I'd say it's probably only the Langost branch, which would explain why the Smith's Guild is pulling everyone away from it."

"How can they even detect us across such distances?" Irwin muttered.

"No idea, but that's probably the question the Galadin of old have tried to figure out for…. Well, forever, probably," Ambraz said.

Irwin kept thinking, but eventually, his mind drifted off, and he fell into a deep, restless sleep.

--

"Alright, you boys, be safe," Irwin's mother said as she looked at Irwin and Greldo. She had her arms crossed before her chest and looked calm, but Irwin could see the worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry, we will be fine," Irwin said, smiling at his mother. "I'll send a message if anything happens, but we will probably stay in Portal Keep or on the ships for a while."

His mother nodded, then gave him a quick hug.

Irwin looked at Greldo, who grabbed his hand and took a deep breath.

"We could ask Clarish to-" Irwin began, only for the shadows around them to wrap around them like a blanket, muting his words.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in a small room with a single bed and some clothes and other things lying around. Greldo stumbled forward, breathing raggedly.

"You alright?" Irwin asked as he looked at this friend worriedly.

Greldo swallowed a few times, his face pale. Finally, after a minute, he stood up straight and exhaled.

"Ambraz, if my second heartcard is fully focused on teleporting, will this stop happening?" he asked with a rough voice.

"Yes, but you will get better results if you focus on increasing your soullake and soulstability," Ambraz said. "Getting more teleportation cards won't help with this one unless you plan on taking a second, different teleportation skill."

Greldo shook his head. "No way. One is plenty; I just want to be able to use it without nearly vomiting if I take anyone along beyond a short distance."

"Don't worry, Hairy, I'll keep an eye out for the cards to help with that," Ambraz said with a laugh.

"So… this is your room?" Irwin asked as he looked around, noticing the tightly closed, shuttered windows on one side.

"Yeah. Basil got all of us one. Yours is beside mine," Greldo muttered as he waved to the side. "Then there's a few for Rindiri and her kids, Bendi and Monique."

Irwin looked up in surprise. He'd not seen either Bendi or Monique since a few days after they found Eluathar and had almost forgotten about them.

"What have those two been up to?" he asked.

"Bendi has been going out with the rangers, and if you ask me, he will probably hide if you ask him to come along. I hang out around him for a few days to make sure he wasn't up to anything, but all he's been doing is scouting, hunting and… well he just looks like he is very happy with where he is."

"Really?" Irwin asked, feeling surprised by this. Bendi had been to other worlds from what he knew.

"I think it's because of the exploring," Greldo said. "Some of the rangers he goes out with asked him about it, and his answer mostly coincides with this."

Irwin hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. "Good, then it's best we leave him here for the foreseeable future," he said. "He's too much of a troublemaker. We can pick him back up if we ever head out to Dimarintsia or one of the other large worlds."

"Yeah, that's probably the best," Greldo said with a grin.

"And Monique?" Irwin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Greldo grinned. "She's been trying very hard to be helpful and ingrain herself with Basil, but to her utter annoyance, her very subtle attempts have been met with a total shutdown."

It took a few moments before Irwin realized what Greldo meant, then his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. "She was trying to seduce Basil?"

"Yeah, it was really fun to watch," Greldo said. "I'm pretty sure it started out as a way to get a form of power for herself, but as Basil stonewalled her again and again, it seems she's actually interested in him now."

Irwin barked a laugh, then shook his head. "Well, I'm glad to hear that she's going to be leaving me alone from now on."

"Oh, don't worry about that. From what I've seen, she's afraid you are going to take away her chance of staying here and creating a future for her family," Greldo said with a grin. "I think she should have been a merchant instead of a smith!"

Irwin nodded. "Did she do any smithing?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Only the bare minimum," Greldo said. "She reforged a couple of cards, but mostly to get in a few of the guard and ranger's good books."

"Do we need to be worried about her?" Irwin asked with a frown.

"Nah! I had a chat with Basil and some of the others, and they all know exactly what type she is. It’ll be fine," Greldo said. "Besides, Clarish seems not to like her, and she's keeping an eye out, too."

Irwin thought about that and couldn't help but smile as he recalled when Clarish and Endil were chatting. He faintly recalled the smith having an eye on her long ago, but it seemed it might be more mutual now.

"Well, you feel better now?" he asked.

"Course I do," Greldo said as he walked to the door. "Let's go and tell Basil we are here and head out to the ships."