Irwin tapped the table slowly as he gazed at the dozens of differently-sized stacks of cards without really looking at them.

There was one stack for each of his types, a thin stack with generic cards and a thick stack with cards he couldn't use but were meant for practice and forging Daubutim's heartcard. To the side lay three other stacks, which he'd already sorted out of the others.

"This is going to be a bit more difficult than I had thought, isn't it?" he finally said, leaning back.

"Kid… I told you it would be," Ambraz snorted as he landed on a stack. "Every card makes it harder to slot the next one! Be happy you have so many types to choose from already. There are many carded that get stuck with two or three."

Irwin took a deep breath, then nodded. He knew Ambraz was right. Someone with a topaz or emerald soulcard would be limited to only a few types. He had Fire, Devouring Flame, Steam, Metal, and Physical Improvements.

"Is it normal that I'm limited to Firesteel for the metals and Strength, Endurance, and Constituation for the body improvements…?"

"Yes," Ambraz said. "The more specific a card's ability is, the more powerful. If you had some general metal type, you could have used all metals, but it would have been far less powerful."

Irwin hummed as he gazed at one stack of fire cards. It was one of the thicker ones, with over twenty cards and a few he even recognized. Many either had no type or a very generic one. To his surprise, there had been a few growth-type cards spread out amongst them, and even two impersonate and a hidden card.

The last one had made his eyebrows raise when Ambraz told him about it. A Topaz rank summon called Verdant Snake, with Grass and Hidden type. He'd put it on one of the thinnest stacks with cards to give to Drum. He was going to reforge those up to Emerald, then ask Bronwyn what he thought before either leaving them like that or reforging them to Ruby… if he could.

"You do know you don't have to pick all of your cards now… right? You can't slot them anyway. Just like with your first card, it will take you between hours and weeks after slotting a card before you can reliably slot the next one."

"I know," Irwin said as he picked up one of the stacks. It only had three cards. The only three Ambraz had said he had to look at. He'd left them for last after sorting through the others and getting a general feel of what Ambraz had decided to keep.

"This one looks similar to Eyes of Blaze," he said, tapping the first card, a Quartz card that showed an eye with a tiny flame in its pupil.

"Yes, it's called Hazy Eyes. Right now, it only lets you dimly see in the dark. You could reforge it in something similar to Eyes of Blaze," Ambraz said. "But that's not why I added it to the stack. We might be able to reforge it to help you see the resonance you sense."

Irwin frowned. "That's nice, but I can already feel it?"

"I know that! But it's hard for you to direct, and it's all around you," Ambraz said. "If you can use it with vision, you can see much further by focusing the sense."

"That would be useful on the ship," Irwin said hesitantly. "So I can see the portals from far away?"

"Exactly, and you might be able to find the adjacent world portals on Eluathar! That way, you can find those things, and we can leave sooner!"

Irwin grinned, putting the card to the side. "Or we could reforge it to that and give it someone else to do that," he said. "We would just need another card that enhances resonance senses, like this."

Irwin poked at the second card in the stack. It depicted a simple musical note.

"We only have one of those, and they are very rare," Ambraz snorted. "My idea was that you slot that one, too. It will boost your senses even more, which should help you with card smithing… including that silly dream of yours. But if you want to give them away, by all means!"

"You think I can use it to forge cards from ambient soulforce?" Irwin asked, his interest rising.

"You can sense the ambient Soulforce better than most Ganvils," Ambraz said. "If you can find a card to improve on that, when we try to combine it as we make your next heartcard, who knows? Maybe nobody has tried that before. Well, I guess that's unlikely, but it would still help you with forging!"

Irwin nodded and, after some hesitation, took both cards and put them to the side. He wasn't completely sure about it yet, but his desire to forge cards from nothing, which had started as a simple idea, had grown even more since they returned.

If I can just forge cards… we wouldn't have to go out and hunt things, he thought as the faint, insane giggles of the Imps and their deaths passed through his mind.

"There's something I wanted to ask," he said. "Why don't we find any utility cards with musical instruments? I know there were some people with them back on Giard…"

He blinked as he said his old homeworld's name. Images of old Malorin, the haunted landscape, and the forests played through his mind. He'd not thought about it for a while, but somehow, he felt a lingering, melancholic sadness.

"It's hard, isn't it," Ambraz said softly.

Irwin blinked, realizing his eyes were wet. Confused, he wiped them clean and frowned.

"It will go away eventually. I had thought you would have noticed by now, but I guess with all you've been through… Giard shattered. Probably a few hours after we left."

"There was only pain and suffering there," Irwin muttered as he focused on the cards again. "Why should I-"

"It's because you were born there, and the ambient soulforce's song is what your body was grown in," Ambraz said softly. "Most people here won't sense it, but you were stronger and more sensitive even before you left for Fiverio. Then you returned after, and your soulforce resonated with the Giard's ambient soulforce again."

Irwin didn't respond, quietly listening to crackling fire and the soft wind outside the smithy.

"It's why beings go insane and become Addled. Do you remember the horrible sound of that world's soulforce?"

"I do… So the beings from that world became crazy because their own soulforce was resonating with the broken ambient soulforce?"

"Yes…"

"But I thought you only got soulforce when you got a soulcard?" Irwin said, slightly confused.

"Kid, every living thing that's not Addled has a bit of soulforce, and it's debatable if those things count as alive," Ambraz said. "But without a soulcard it's so little that what you have is needed to keep you alive."

Something about what he said made Irwin frown. He had the feeling he was missing something, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Well, now that we are talking about these things anyway, there's something else you need to know," Ambraz muttered.

Hearing the desire in his voice, Irwin looked up curiously.

"What's that?"

"Knowing you, you are either going to slot those two cards yourself or give them away," Ambraz said. "After that, I take it we are going to head to Granvox?"

Irwin put his elbows on the table as he thought about the question. He'd kept pushing the design on what to do after away. First, because they needed to find a world for their people, then because of all the issues after. Now, however, the excuses were fading rapidly. It was time he did decide what to do.

However, as soon as he thought about leaving, he thought of something else.

"Do you know how far away Igniz is?" he asked.

"The Ignitzion homeworld?" Ambraz asked. "It was found pretty soon after the discovery of the Dimarintsia portal at the founding of the Langost branch. I don't recall exactly where it is, but from what I recall, it should be only a few weeks from Dimarintsia. You're thinking about going to see Scintilla?"

"Maybe," Irwin said as he thought about Scintilla. All the happy times he'd had with her played through his mind, but her final act slightly weighed them down emotionless.

I wonder if any of my children left those lava rivers, he thought, picturing tiny red Igntizions streaking and swimming through lava. Wait, were they even red?

"Well, Granvox is younger… we only got the world a few thousand years ago," Ambraz said, pulling him out of his distracting thoughts.

"It's much further from Dimarintsia, so we can go there first, and you can just think about what you want to do later."

"So Granvox is on the Langost branch? How far is it from here?" Irwin asked curiously. He'd somehow always pictured it incredibly far away, potentially on another branch.

"Of course, it's on the Langost branch," Ambraz said with a short laugh. "From here? If we go with The Sonata, it will probably take us a year, maybe more."

Irwin stared at Ambraz in stunned silence, not sure if he'd heard him right.

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

"A year?" he finally blurted.

"What? Yes! The Sonata isn't meant for long-distance traveling, and it's got a pretty crappy sail!"

Irwin took a deep breath. "Is there a way to get there faster?"

"Kid, you need to learn patience! You'd have to know of a soulcarded teleporter that can move between worlds. Well… perhaps we can find some merchant selling better sails when we get to a more civilized area."

"Do you think they have better sails on Fiverion?"

"Probably, but I'm not sure it's a smart thing going there," Ambraz said hesitantly.

Irwin quietly stared at the cards for a bit longer, then shrugged.

"Let's continue with the cards first. I'm not sure what to do… There isn't some type of fire or metal version of the shadow cards Greldo is using, is there?"

Ambraz snorted, then began laughing.

"What?" Irwin said, annoyed.

"I can just picture it now," Ambraz said, giggling. "Teleporting through the veins of metal in the ground- but then only the Firesteel."

"Well, there's fire everywhere, right?" Irwin muttered, slightly annoyed as Ambraz kept grinning.

"Yes, yes. But you are in such a rush! You do realize that after you get your next heartcard it's going to take way longer to fill up your soullake again, right?"

Irwin nodded, grimacing. "Because there's no Imps anymore?"

As he said it, the images of the crazy, laughing, insane Imps played through his mind, and he shivered.

"Worse. That won't work the next time," Ambraz said. "Well, unless you find another card with Devouring Flame, which might be a problem because I didn't even know that existed."

"What? Why not?"

"The heartcard you fill is the one that determines the filling of the soullake," Ambraz said quietly. "It's not that weird, right? Think about it: if you do it the regular way, which you haven't done much, you need to absorb cards that are similar to the one you are growing. The only reason you could do what you did is because…"

Irwin stared at Ambraz, then at the cards, and finally at his empty handslots. "Because I had the Devouring Flame card. You said you've never seen that type before?"

"No, and I've been wondering where that card came from for a long time, and I think I've got an idea. The Imps knew it and feared it, so I think it dropped from a creature from one of their worldshards. Probably some type of predator from their home world."

Yeah, that makes some sense, Irwin thought. He'd have to ask Bronwyn if he remembered stories about some big, fire-draining monster. As he absently looked at the stacks of cards, he was surprised he felt a tiny bit of relief. It took him a while to latch on to it and realize what it was for, and then he smiled ruefully.

He was happy he didn't have to drain Imps anymore… The business back in the nameless world had left a bad taste in his mouth.

Besides, I have a soulcard now, he thought. It would be fine if the next one took a bit longer.

After a few moments, he realized Ambraz hadn't answered his first question.

"So… utility cards with musical instruments?"

"Those don't actually drop a lot," Ambraz said. "I think there was one in the batch Daubutim and Lord Bron took. A flute, if I recall."

"They are rare?" Irwin asked, surprised.

"No, they just don't drop from Imps and the sort a lot," Ambraz said. "We can probably find one in the next large port we reach… why? I know you like singing, but I hadn't thought you were the type to slot a musical instrument. Although…” Ambraz began humming as he flee around. "You know, with your resonance cards, it might not be a weird idea! I'll think about it!"

Irwin grinned, shaking his head. "I wasn't asking for myself, but for Carla! Remember how she liked the sound of the reforging? I was thinking of getting her a card like that before I leave."

"Yes, yes," Ambraz muttered absently. "I'm sure if we get you the right instrument, something you only need one hand to play, you could use it to supplement your humming and singing. Now, which instrument needs only one hand…"

Irwin followed Ambraz as he continued flying around, then focused back on the cards.

I think I'd like a card that allows me to see these cards myself, he thought. Although Ambraz could tell him, it was convenient to be able to do it himself. Focusing on the Hazy Eye card, he wondered if he could do both things. Give it the resonance view Ambraz had spoken about and the ability to read other cards.

For a while, he kept thinking about the cards he wanted to slot. In the months before, he'd pictured getting cards to let him fly or teleport, but which one?

Scintilla's fire dash!

He perked up as he recalled how Scintilla had dashed around. That would be perfect for him! It would mesh well with his current combat abilities, and he could use it to supplement his movement. Would his forward motion carry over as he used… what was it called again? Inferno Blink?

"Was there a card like Scintilla's Inferno Blink here?" he asked.

Ambraz let out a surprised snort as he landed. "What?"

"Inferno Blink, that dash movement Scintilla used," Irwin said.

"Oh, right! No, there's none, but you should be able to find something similar in any major port. There's not many non-fire elemental beings that use fire skills all that much."

"What? Why not?" Irwin asked.

"Because full-body fire skills like yours are rare," Ambraz said. "So unless you are nearly immune to fire damage, you could harm yourself. There's some, of course, and those usually all live around the fire and lava worlds."

Right, that makes sense.

"Alright, talk me through these cards again," Irwin said. "Let's see if we can find some for Mom, Carla, Endil, and the others."

--

"Irwin Roddington!"

Irwin jerked up from where he was lying over the smithing table, staring at the open door of the smithy. His mother was glaring at him angrily while Bronwyn stood behind her, grinning ruefully.

"Wha-?" Irwin asked as he got up. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong!? You didn't come home yesterday!'

Irwin looked around stupidly, realizing he had fallen asleep in the smithy while thinking about cards. Most of the stacks were gone in his pocket, with only one remaining, having been spread out across the table during his sleep. He quickly swiped them together, and as he shoved them into his pocket, his hand touched Ambraz, who must have gone there after he fell asleep.

"Sorry, I forgot the time," he said, cracking his neck and grinning at his mother. "I was picking out presents for you and the others!"

His mother blinked, then tapped her foot. "You said you would be back, and you didn't. Don't think you are going to just get out of trouble that easy," she said. "Besides, there are important people waiting for you!"

Important people? Irwin thought as he watched his mother walk inside, followed by Bronwyn.

A moment later, he was surprised to see Lord Bron, Daubutim, and Clarish follow her. Lord Bron was grinning at him while Clarish's eyes were gleaming in humor. Only Daubutim was looking at his usually stoic self. Irwin looked at his friends, then stepped forward as he thought of something.

"Your eye is back!" he shouted, staring into his friend's red, lightning-filled eyes.

“Yes,” Daubutim said. "Which is why I'm here."

"Should we go somewhere else to talk?" Irwin's mother asked as she looked around.

"No, no, there's no need, miss Roddington, this is fine," Lord Bron said.

Irwin raised an eyebrow, nodding at Bronwyn as his brother moved beside him. Daubutim stood beside Lord Bron, and Irwin grinned as he saw both healthy eyes.

"I thought it would take longer?" he said.

"One of the healers got another healing card from those you brought back," Daubutim said. "With it, she got two full-hands, and her power grew."

"That's great," Irwin said. "So I take it you are here for your heartcard then?"

Daubutim's eyes flickered with red lightning, but Irwin noticed a slight reluctance. Before he could ask, Lord Bron stepped forward.

"Irwin, I'm really happy that you are awake and healthy, but I'm afraid there's little time for you to rest and relax. Greeny said that with you awake, we can't keep waiting anymore. We need to finish the deal with Doomblade."

I totally forgot about him, Irwin thought, feeling a weary resignation grow. He could always say he didn't want to go, but that meant that the odd sentient Soulcrystal shard would probably tell everyone about where they were. There was no way he was going to risk the safety he had finally gotten for his family.

If we go away, it might be time to continue on ahead to Granvox, then Igniz, and finally Dimarintsia, he thought before frowning. Ambraz had said he could bring the other Ganvils with him, but that would require him to return here, which meant he'd lose three years? One to Granvox, then another returning here, and finally a third to reach Igniz. Unless…

He focused on Clarish, who had been quietly watching everything.

"How far can you teleport across the Portal Galery?"

Clarish eyes widened. "I… I don't know. Going from the Imp portal here was easy, so probably further than that?"

A soft grunt came from his pocket as Ambraz wiggled out and flew to his shoulder. "Ugh! If you are asking if she can teleport between Granvox and here, you can forget about it. If we reforge her a heartcard, the best she could do is a tenth of the distance."

"Granvox?" Lord Bron asked curiously.

"The Ganvil world," Daubutim said as he focused on Ambraz. "We can send another ship along, and that one can return with your people?"

"That's way too dangerous! If we just bring a few hundred Ganvils, someone is going to notice," Ambraz said. "Even if they are only rank zero."

"A few hundred?" Irwin asked, looking at Ambraz in disbelief.

"What? Did you think we'd just bring a handful?" Ambraz shot back. "You probably have more potential smiths in this world than in any single branch that I know of, and to create a proper enclave, we need at least three or four hundred!"

Everyone was staring at Ambraz with different levels of shock.

"How many Ganvils are there?" Lord Bron asked softly.

"How many? How should I know? Hundreds of thousands at least," Ambraz said. Then he sniffed. "It takes a long time to split off another Ganvil and-"

"Split off?" Daubutim asked curiously.

"Ugh. No! We are not going to do a: how are Ganvils born story!" Ambraz said loudly. "Suffice it to say, it takes time, it's difficult, and we lost over ninety percent of our population when our world shattered."

"So, how are we going to get them here then?" Irwin asked.

Ambraz was quiet, his lips pursed. When he kept quiet, Irwin was about to say they could figure something out when Ambraz sighed.

"I can ask my progenitor to upgrade The Sonata so it's fast enough to make the return trip in a month," he said.

His progenitor? Irwin thought. He was very curious to ask more, but they had already been getting sidelined enough. Besides, one look at Daubutim told him that if he went down this path, his friend would stop being as quiet and start asking a barrage of questions.

"And you are sure he will be able to do that?" he asked instead.

"Yes…" Ambraz said. "I'd have preferred doing this without letting him know, but I don't think it can be helped."

Irwin looked at the others, noticing Clarish was looking conflicted, his mother worried, and both Lord Bron and Daubutim incredibly curious. Only Bronwyn was hard to read, though Irwin was pretty sure he wasn't too happy to see him go.

"I think we should finish Daubutim's heartcard first," he said.

"That might be for the best," Lord Bron said, his eyes suddenly gleaming with interest. "Can we stay?"

Irwin hesitated, then shook his head. "It's best you didn't. Ruby is the highest I can confidently reforge with Ambraz's help, and we are going to need our full focus."

Lord Bron smiled ruefully but nodded. "Then I'll go with Bronwyn to talk with the Ranger's Council. We need to figure out a good way to get more metal from those mines."

As he spoke, he turned, and Bronwyn and Clarish followed him out.

"Irwin, be careful, alright?" Irwin's mother said.

"We will be fine," Irwin said with a wide grin.

He waited till she closed the door behind her before turning to Daubutim.

"Where's Greldo?"

"I have warned him beforehand, and he is wrapping up some things," Daubutim said calmly. "He will be ready to leave as soon as you are."

Irwin nodded before turning to Daubutim, who had one hand raised. It took a few moments before he saw what was going on. A simple outline of two crossed arms sat in Daubutim's sixth cardslot, something that hadn't been there the last time he'd seen his friend.

"You slotted a sixth card!"

"Yes, based on what Ambraz explained when we arrived here, I have a simple body improvement card," Daubutim said. "It's only Topaz rank, and it's called flexible hands. It has no types, so it should be easy to mesh with the others."

Irwin nodded as he began recalling the complex problem creating Daubutim's heartcard would be. With as many types as he had and a heartcard that would only become ruby rank, he only had room for five active or passive abilities. Having a simple, almost ignorable card in the sixth slot would make things a lot easier.

"How many cards do you think we will need?" Irwin asked as he headed towards the forge area. Technically, it wasn't needed, but he'd found his mindset was better when he was in an environment like this.

"Ten will be too many, but you can never know," Ambraz said as he flew forward and changed to his working size.

Irwin removed his jacket before putting ten nearly useless utility cards on the table. Then, he focused on Daubutim.

"Alright, you are going to have to put your hand on Ambraz. After that-"

He quickly explained every step they were going to take before summoning his hammer. "Ready?"

Daubutim looked up, his eyes flashing a stormy red. "Yes."