Irwin dully gazed at the trickle of smoke running from between Ambraz's lips.

"I ruined another one," he muttered, thinking about the simple utility card that had just shattered—the third of the nine Daubutim had brought.

"Don't act so surprised," Ambraz grunted. The Anvil flashed dimly and returned to its smaller shape, floating shakily to Irwin. "That's all I can take for now. We will practice more tomorrow evening.

Irwin sighed as he nodded and moved to the table. Daubutim, head resting on his arms, was back to sleep while a small stack of the remaining six cards lay below his hand.

"I don't understand how I'm supposed to hit exactly at the right moment if the moments keep changing," Irwin said, feeling closer to an anger tantrum than he had in a long time.

Ambraz landed on his shoulder, grunting angrily. "Orwin, you are able to sense the vibrations better than most prospects can that had months of preparations and a year of metal refinement practice. If you continue like this, you will be able to reforge a card within a month. That's a great accomplishment."

Irwin sighed and leaned his head on his hands. "Yes, but I need to get my cards to rare before I combine them… right?"

"Fine, yes, that would be for the best," Ambraz agreed with obvious hesitation.

They sat in silence for a bit, Irwin staring listlessly ahead. Part of him wondered why the Anvil seemed uncertain, but for the most part, he was angry with himself for not being able to do what he wanted. There just wasn't any flow, rhyme, or reason behind it! Or at least none that he saw! So all he got were the occasional solid hits, which weren't enough. It was almost as if he was missing something.

Ambraz sighed deeply. "There is a thing we could try… but I really won't like it," it grunted.

Irwin forgot all about his worry and sat up more. "What is it?"

"If I eat another of those cards, I can use its energy to boost my own ability for a short while. It will let me partially guide your strikes. It would probably be enough to reforge one of your cards while giving you an idea of how it should feel… but…"

Irwin's eyes widened, and he was nodding. Losing one of those commons was fine. There hadn't been a single interesting one amongst them, and even Ambraz hadn't noticed one that could have a good potential for reforging. He waited with bated breath for the Anvil to continue.

Ambraz kept his lips pursed, and Irwin could almost sense his annoyed reluctance.

"But, what?" he asked after he couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"It will hurt, and I don't like pain," the Anvil grunted before muttering something Irwin didn't understand.

Irwin stared blankly at the solid metal anvil, not sure if he had just heard it right. Ambraz, the one that had hurt him and the others more than he thought possible, and had literally said that he should clench his teeth, was afraid of pain? Enough to not do something?

Perhaps it's way more painful than what I felt? It had to be something like that… right?

"Alright, but… how sure are you? Perhaps we should practice on one of the commons first? Get it to uncommon, then attempt to get it to rare?" he asked. He didn't feel like risking any of his cards.

Ambraz, lips pursed, muttered some more before sighing exceedingly loud. "I guess we should do that, but I'll need a day to prepare. Give me one of the cards. I'll have to extract the energy." The Anvil rushed to the center of the room and changed back to its bigger shape.

Irwin's hand moved to the stack, then he hesitated. Ambraz seemed to enjoy eating cards… it wasn't tricking him, was it? Does it matter? He thought. The alternative was doing it himself and just ruining the card like that. He grabbed the top card, another utility card, looked at the shoe on it, and tossed it to the Anvil, which snatched it up.

As he watched Ambraz chew, Irwin began leafing through the cards, wondering which one they should try.

In the end, he decided on a simple card that kept lice and other small bugs away from the wielder. He had no idea how it would evolve, but perhaps it would resist more things? It might be another good bargaining chip.

With Ambraz back in his pocket, he woke Daubutim with a kick, guided the sleepy boy to bed then moved to his own. Curling up under the blankets, it took him a while to fall asleep.

--

"I think we need to wait until we are both a full-hand," Daubutim said as he leaned back in the chair.

It was early in the morning, dim light glittering through the cracks in the shutters. There was no gale today, and Irwin was glad. Less storm was okay with him. He realized Daubutim was still talking and quickly focused back on his friend.

"-will give us enough power to at least have our voices heard. If we can get rare cards before then, even better."

Irwin nodded, agreeing with Daubutim but also happy the other trusted his opinion. Still, he asked again just to be sure.

“So, Trimdir first? Not Bron?”

Daubutim frowned, his eyes flickering around as if he was trying to recall something. Then he nodded.

"Yes. I... think my father would agree to that."

"Alright, well, that leaves us with one problem," Irwin said.

Daubutim just looked at him quietly.

"We need to have a plausible reason for having a rare card," Irwin said. "How likely would it be that you managed to sneak one from the shard-worlds you were in without someone noticing?"

"Not," Daubutim said immediately. "First off, we were never alone. Second, there weren't any monsters there that could possibly drop a rare."

"I'll try and come up with something," Irwin muttered as he got up. "Let's go. I'm sure Hutch will be glad to see you and Pytin back!"

"Alright," Daubutim said hesitantly.

Irwin blinked and looked up. "What is it?"

Daubutim frowned, then looked at Irwin. "The portals I was in were both uncommon, but each was far easier than any of the portals we entered. It was… stunningly different. There were far fewer mobs than in the Hound and Tower portal we were in. Less powerful too."

Irwin blinked, standing near the table as he stared at his friend. "Perhaps you just didn't find them stronger monsters?" he asked.

"No. We closed the portals. Had there been more, they would have attacked us. One of the linchpins was a larger monster, but it paled in comparison to the large hound we saw.

That makes no sense, Irwin thought. They had only entered common portals… how could an uncommon portal be weaker?

A door slammed shut somewhere nearby, and he jolted back to reality.

"Right, I'll think about it," he said.

Daubutim nodded, and Irwin decided to ask Jousithr if he knew any reason why a common portal could be more powerful than an uncommon one.

They headed out, and after a quick meal together with Pytin and Jousithr, they made it to the training hall. To their surprise, Hutch was already there. With an angry glare, he was striking one of the wooden dummies.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Ah, the first ones, as usual," he snapped as he saw them coming. "Wait for the others."

They moved to the side, out of earshot, as they waited.

"Think he's upset because of the incoming Frozir surge?" Pytin asked, staring at Daubutim.

"Don't know," Daubutim said.

As Hutch's angry striking continued, they quietly waited for the rest, which didn't take too long. As soon as the group had gathered, slightly bigger than the day before, Hutch let out an angry shout and threw off his practice gauntlets.

"Alright! You all heard about the incoming surge," he snapped.

It wasn't a question, but Irwin still saw a few surprised looks.

"So, we have less than two days before they arrive. You are all coming with me for proper gear, and you will be divided into groups, and starting tonight, you will be positioned around the walls. You should rest and take it easy the rest of today. There is no practice until this is resolved. Now, follow me!"

Hutch stared at them for a moment, then gnashed his teeth as he turned.

The group followed after him, and Irwin saw many worried glances.

An hour later, he was walking through the city wearing a thick, padded leather vest covered by a simple breastplate. A pair of leather and metal gauntlets, heavier than he was used to, dangled from a wide leather belt on his waist. Though he knew he didn't have to be at Trimdir's, he had decided to go anyway. Ambraz had said he would need a few more hours, so he'd agreed to meet Daubutim in their room later.

Opening the smithy, he saw it was quiet, with only a few smiths at work. Trimdir was nowhere in sight, and neither was Lamia. Greeting a few of those there, he agreed to bring them some metal before switching to his leather apron. After finishing the chore, he put down a stack of ore and began the process of purifying them.

As he hammered the ore, the steady pounding of the hammer and the warming of his muscles began to take his mind away from his worries. Noticing himself getting distracted, he decided not to fight it, letting his body move as it willed while he simply focused on the movements and sensations. Within moments he fell into an almost meditative state while striking, turning, heating, and striking over and over again.

At some point, he noticed a soft humming from his cards, and absently he focused on it. There was something…. odd about how his special card resonated compared to the other two. Something-

"Couldn't just sit still and do nothing?"

Irwin looked up in surprise, noting Trimdir looking at him. The smith had a hammer in hand and was leaning against another anvil.

"It relaxes me," Irwin said with a shrug. He tried to recall what he had been thinking about, but the threads had unraveled.

Trimdir's eyes flared brightly, and he seemed ready to speak. After a few moments, the corner of his lips curled up, and he nodded. "Good. Well, don't overdo it."

Irwin dumbly nodded back, but the smith had already turned, making his way to another anvil. A massive pile of raw ore lay beside it, and Trimdir immediately grabbed one, holding it in the nearby furnace.

I guess it calms him too? Irwin thought.

Trimdir struck the ore with a thunderous blow that almost resonated with Irwin's own cards, and he shivered as he saw the smith pound it again. His shoulders were tense, and the power behind his strikes seemed fueled by anger.

He watched Trimdir's fluid movements for a minute, then turned and continued working.

After a few minutes, he was surprised to find himself falling back into the same state, and he let it happen. Soon he lost track of time.

A painful clenching and rumbling in his stomach were what snapped him out of it this time. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he turned to see Trimdir was gone, as was the massive pile of ore. In its place lay an equally impressive pile of purified metal.

There were even fewer smiths than before, for a moment he worried he'd worked till late. Turning to the door, he saw the afternoon sunburn at its full -weak- power.

Time for some food.

After emptying a water jug, he donned his new armor, waved his goodbyes, and stepped outside.

A clear blue sky sat above the town, the sun high in the sky, actually giving off a little warmth for once. The wind was barely noticeable, and Irwin grinned. Good weather for once! Perhaps it was a good sign?

"You ready?" he whispered, padding the pocket that held Ambraz.

"Yes," came a muted response.

Grinning, Irwin walked through the city. It wasn't as cold as the last few weeks, and he was glad he didn't have to use his Coperion Body skill. Instead, he walked slowly and leisurely, inspecting the tiny huts, trickles of smoke showing people were doing all they could to stay warm. By now, many of the buildings had been finished, but though a lot of people had been moved there, there weren't nearly enough buildings for all the refugees.

I wonder if lord Bron is going to expand the town come summer, Irwin thought as he watched an old woman shove some snow against the side of a shack. Perhaps it was the weather or something else, but she was humming and smiling.

A deafening roar from above made him duck down. There was a moment of silence, then frightened shouts came from all around him as people ran out of houses and huts alike. The old woman dropped the shovel and rushed towards the shack, quickly moving inside.

Irwin looked up, searching for whatever had made the sound. The sky above was empty, then something big and white flashed by, swishing toward a nearby building. It disappeared over the roof, nearly clipping it off.

"What-" Irwin whispered.

A muted explosion from beyond the building drowned out his voice, and the street beneath his feet shook. Buildings all around rattled as more panicky screams came from all around.

What was that? he thought as he tried to make sense of what he'd seen. His heart was pounding like crazy, and he barely refrained from triggering his Coperion Body.

Another roar came, sounding far too close. He flinched as a second shape appeared above a nearby building, angled down. It moved down so fast that before Irwin could act or think, it slammed into a set of shacks in front of him, splintering the wooden constructions. Snow, wood chips, and segments of wood hurled through the air, and Irwin stumbled back, pressing up against the wall behind him.

The crackling rumbling died down, and he heard a pained crying coming from inside what remained of the shacks.

As the snow and wood fell, a large shape crawled out of the wreckage.

A frog? Irwin thought as he paled at the size of the massive thing.

It was at least as tall as he was but easily twice as wide and a sickly white. Instead of round, it had rough, angular shapes. The front of its head comprised over half of its body, while two enormous feet made up most of the rest. Small limbs to the side were dangling down almost uselessly as the giant demon frog kicked part of the building away.

A soft groan came as a man crawled up, freed by the debris pressing down on him.

Irwin felt his blood freeze as the man looked up at the demon frog, just as the frog's large blue eyes focused on him. The lips that had been pressed closed until now opened, and a purple tongue darted forward almost too fast to see. It wrapped around the man, who had time enough for a single terrified cry before he was ripped from his feet so fast that Irwin could hear his neck snap from where he was standing.

Dumbfounded, he watched as the demon frog ate the man in a single bite.

I need to get out of here, Irwin thought as he took a careful step back.

A soft cry came from another part of the building, and he froze as two small figures climbed up. A boy that looked barely six and a slightly taller girl stared in horror at the frog. Irwin fumbled with his gauntlets, ripping them free from the cord and stuffing his hands inside while running forward.

His mind was a mess, and he had no idea what he was doing, but as the frog turned to the two children, he drew in a deep breath.

"Over here, fish fodder!"

His voice boomed across the small square, and the frog's eyes swished to him.

Irwin tightened the clasps around his wrists just as the frog turned to him, lips parting.

Irwin triggered two abilities nearly simultaneously as his body turned heavy from Coperion Body, and an arm-length flame burst over his left hand. With a control born from fear and anger, the flame changed shape faster than he had ever managed, turning into a thin, round shape hovering a few inches before his arms.

He barely saw the tongue flicker towards him when something struck his raised arms, stopping his forward momentum and pushing him back a step. A startled croak came from the demon frog as he saw the tongue jabbed through the fiery shield and wrapped around his left-hand gauntlet. Boils covered the slimy purple tongue, many of which had popped from the heat of his flame.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the frog glared at him, the children stood frozen on the spot, and Irwin desperately tried to come up with a plan. Then he saw the children.

"Run!' he shouted, his voice much deeper than normal.

The moment shattered as the children turned and scrambled away, and the purple veins popped up in the frog's eyes. The glare deepened, and Irwin felt the tongue pull him forward. He'd expected to be pulled off his feet, but as he dug his heels in, the frog grunted with effort as his forward motion slowed. As he gritted his teeth, Irwin pulled his flame around his left gauntlet, willing the flickering fire to cover the gauntlet like a protective coat.

A startled scream came from the frog as the purple flesh of its tongue began bubbling and hissing. Irwin was jerked forward a few steps, then managed to hold his ground. He was barely ten steps from the frog now, and as he stared into its ugly eyes, he saw them begin to radiate with a cold blue light.

Knowing it was about to do something, Irwin did the only thing he could think. He used Eyes of Blaze, and as his vision turned red, a wide cone of fire flashed forward, scorching the front of the frog.

A second scream that made the first seem like a whisper caused his ears to pop. Feeling the tongue try to release him, he clamped his gauntlets around it, holding it in place as he continued. As the frog screamed, the flames licked into its wide-open maw and covered its eyes, which turned pink, then red, and finally began ballooning. Irwin barely managed to turn his face away when the two eyeballs exploded into a shower of disgusting fluids.

Almost at the same time, the frog stopped pulling on him, and when he looked back at the frog, he saw it had slumped on the ground. Purple liquid flowed from between its lips, the tongue limply hanging from Irwin's grasp.

"I killed it…" Irwin muttered as he stared stupidly at the giant frog.

Only then did he realize more screaming and fighting was coming from other parts of the city. Ripping the tongue from his gauntlet, he stepped back and looked around. There was no sight of the two children, and he hoped they were hiding somewhere safe. Then he looked at his gauntlets, at the frog, and finally sensed the remaining energy in his Eyes of Blaze.

Enough energy for two more, he thought as he turned to the nearest sounds of screaming.

Steeling himself, he forced his heavy body into a run.