Irwin quickly looked around for Daubutim, hoping his friend was alright.

He saw him immediately, together with Hutch and a dozen others. They were fighting with more of the uncommon Frozir. Behind those stood a dozen smaller common ones, moving their arms in weird patterns. Blueish glyphs hung in the air before them, and a dim glow expanded from them, covering the group of fighters.

Some kind of aura? Irwin thought. Probably to strengthen their allies. It had to be because the air was colder here than it should be.

A low, constant, and thunderous flapping came from above, and a quick look showed a Frostwyrm hovering menacingly above them. Its eyes were focused on Basil, but it didn't move. A thin chain of ice was wrapped around its ankle, leading back to the long-haired Frozir leader.

"Irwin, free Basil!" Daubutim's voice caused a momentary lull in the sound of clashing steel.

Irwin looked up and saw his friend look with hope-filled eyes as he tried to hold back the rapid slashing blades.

"Stop him."

The cold voice made Irwin shiver, and he slowly turned to see the Frozir leader staring at him. Its eyes were so cold he shivered. There was movement from the woods as a short female Frozir appeared, moving fluidly.

Irwin blinked. Where did she come from? And why hadn't he seen her outlining? As the Frozir stalked towards him, Irwin shook his head to clear it. He needed to stay focused!

Distract first, he thought as he connected to his Eyes of Blaze and gazed at the Frozir Leader.

He felt his energy dwindle rapidly as he forced it through his eyes for a short, strong burst. Have to leave enough energy for a few more attacks, he thought as he triggered his skill.

The area lit up bright as two lances of roaring fire shot toward the leader.

Its eyes widened, and it dropped one arm, snapping it around in a chopping motion. One of the chains dropped to the ground, and a barrier of blue appeared blocking the streams of fire. The fire rippled across the barrier and loud popping came as cracks rippled across it. For a moment, it looked like it might shatter, then Irwin's attack stopped, and the barrier remained.

"Kill him!" the leader snarled, his voice having lost some of its cool.

Irwin jumped back, readying himself to fight the female Frozir. He took a quick look at Basil, hoping he could break free now there was only one chain left. The chain had slid down, revealing the guard-captain's face, which was warped by strain, lips drawn back, and teeth bare.

"Behind-" he croaked.

Irwin jumped forward mechanically as something wooshed through the air as he rolled over the ground. A long thin blade of ice whipped over him and then down, and he shoved up his grappling gauntlets, summoning his flame around them while turning the fire as hot as he could.

It felt like an anvil had been dropped on his hands, and he grunted as he felt the palms of his grappling gauntlets strain but hold. The Frozir was staring at him in disbelief, her lips pursed and eyes wide and cold.

Irwin made his flame surge up and out, causing her to jump back while the air around them suddenly rippled with heat. Tiny water drops appeared on the snow below and around Irwin.

He scrambled to his feet and backed up.

How did she just do that? he thought. She'd been in front of him, and he only took his eyes off her for a fraction of a second!

"Again… Do. It. Again."

Basil's whisper was barely audible, strained and staccato, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Irwin almost looked, barely stopping himself in time. As his gaze snapped back to the female Frozir, he only just saw her form turn to a thin mist that flew to his side so fast he almost didn't catch it. He instinctively jumped to the other side just as another blade slashed through the air, still almost hitting him.

Without waiting, he summoned his flame and slashed it like a long sword through where she stood, only to hit nothing but air. The mist solidified five steps back, but a blue hand threw a twirling blade at him before Irwin could even think about his next move. Jerking his head back, he slapped at it with his gauntlet. There was a dull thud, then a sharp pain from his palm, and as he yanked his hand back, he stared in horror at the blue curved dagger embedded in it. An intense cold tried to spread from it, and he could feel his body fight it.

"Come, little soul thief," the female crooned. She smiled at him, and two more daggers appeared in her hands. "I'll cool that hot heart of yours."

Irwin gritted his teeth as anger pushed the pain from his hand away. The way she laughed showed she didn't think of him as an equal but as no more than a tiny nuisance. He growled deep in his throat as he enlarged his flame and pressed it against the dagger, holding her gaze. There was a shattering sound as tiny fragments bounced from him, then he clasped his hands. The tiny root of frost in his palm was burned away, and he felt the wound slowly shut as his healing kicked in.

The Frozir's eyes narrowed, then, without any warning, the two daggers shot from her hands to his face.

This time Irwin raised both his hands as he threw himself back, the flame expanding as a shield. At the same time, he cranked up the heat of his flame as far as it could. One of the daggers barely missed him while the other struck the thin shield of fire. It shattered on impact, and Irwin rushed forward.

I need to get my hands on her, he thought. He wasn't even halfway when she turned into the frozen mist and swirled away, only to reappear a dozen feet from him with new daggers. Annoyed, Irwin raised his shield, and another two daggers shattered on it.

"You won't be able to keep that up forever," she crooned.

We will see about that, Irwin thought as an idea popped into his mind.

He ran at her again, trying to determine where she might move. He watched her eyes and caught her look to the left. As she turned into a fog of ice, he used his Eyes of Blaze at full width, creating a cone and blanketing the area the mist covered. The roaring flame struck the cloud, and the sound of a thousand glasses shattering echoed out. Then a wail drowned out the still ongoing fighting behind him as the Frozir appeared, stumbling a few steps from Irwin. Her entire body was blackened, and long cracks ran across her face, a white goo dripping from it.

Irwin suppressed his desire to vomit and jumped forward, jabbing his flame at her. She shrieked, jerked to the side, and he felt something sting his face. She almost got away, but then the tip of his spear ripped through her upper leg. It exploded, blue and white shards scattering around as she howled. Irwin didn't wait. Daubutim had always told him never to underestimate a downed enemy. Another stab of his flame burst the Frozir apart, cutting off her howl.

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Irwin stumbled and caught himself. His face stung, as cold spreading outward. Raising his left hand, he swallowed back his fear as he hesitated, pressing the flame against it. Even after all that had happened, the idea of putting a flame on his face scared him. But only for a moment. As the cold spread rapidly, he closed his eyes, shoved the flame against it, and sighed in relief as a gentle warmth caressed his flesh. The cold receded instantly.

The sounds of battle still ongoing, Irwin turned around to find the leader had created a new chain. It was hanging a few inches from Basil as a golden shield held it back. The guard-captain was still clutched by the other chain. Daubutim and the others were slowly losing ground, confusing Irwin. His friend was moving slow and awkward, as if-

Those common Frozir!

He turned his attention to the line of Frozir behind the floating runes. It had to be! He took one look at Basil, then rushed towards the common Frozir.

No way to know what last resort that demon has, he thought.

The Frozir saw him coming, and looks of fear and horror came to their faces.

Only months ago, Irwin would have hesitated at killing something that couldn't resist. Not now. Not after all that had happened. As soon as he was close enough, he struck out with his flame, which moved through the rune as if it wasn't there. The Frozir dropped his hands at the last moment and jumped back, just out of range. As it did, the rune in front of it whisked away.

As Irwin rushed the others, they all began dropping their arms and reaching for swords.

Not happening, Irwin thought. He'd wanted to keep his Eyes of Blaze ready for the boss, but they didn't leave him with another option. As he triggered the card's skill, he felt the energy rush out of him, leaving him winded. Still, the interrupted screams and shattering, as four of the Frozir exploded, made it worth it. The others had jumped out of range, probably when his eyes turned red, and he rushed forward.

A minute later, he finished the last one and turned to Daubutim just in time to see his friend decapitate one of the uncommon Frozir with a quick swirl of his massive claymore. The other guards were easily pushing back the others, and Irwin rushed to help them. The dozen guards and rangers quickly showed why they were the best in Degonda. With the effect of the runes gone, they destroyed the defense, and soon they were stalking towards the boss.

"You alright?" Irwin asked as he noticed a few odd blue gashes on Daubutim's arms and face. White lines seemed to be very lowly expanding from them.

"No. Most of us got infected by something on their weapons," Daubutim grunted. "But we can fix that later. We need to-"

"Evil soul-stealers…" a voice laced with a freezing hatred interrupted him.

The Frozir leader's eyes were glowing with a bright blue. The second chain had dropped to the ground again, and instead, he held the tiny chain that led up to the Frostwyrm.

"We will kill all of you, wipe your rotten existence from these worlds," he snarled. His eyes stared at Basil, then turned to Irwin, who felt the temperature around him drop.

"You. I will remember you," the leader hissed. Then his hands flashed and he was jerked up by the chain.

Arrows rushed after him, but a blue aura came around him.

"Can you use those fire eyes of yours?"

Irwin was spun around, and he stared at Hutch, looking at him hopefully. Realizing what the other wanted, Irwin pulled up the skill, instantly sensing that the energy was still refilling.

"Not yet," he said with a shake of his head.

"Dammit!" Hutch snapped as he let him go.

Irwin and the others watched helplessly as the Frozir reached the Frostwyrm. It threw one more icy stare at them before the massive winged beast flew away. They heard its wings for a few seconds, slowly turning softer until finally disappearing into the distance.

“Well… that was fun…”

Irwin looked back at Basil's annoyed snarl. The guard-captain was ripping apart the chains, freeing himself before joining them. He cast a look at Irwin before turning to the others.

"Don't just stand here! Go and clean up the rest of these demons!"

Hutch jolted, then began barking orders. Within moments the group dispersed toward the distant sounds of violence. Irwin moved with Daubutim when a soft voice stopped him.

"Orwin."

He turned to see Basil look at him calmly.

"Remain for a moment."

Irwin nodded.

"Don't worry," Daubutim whispered.

Easy for you to say, Irwin thought as he watched his friend rush after Hutch. Somehow, he had the idea that cleaning up the remaining Frozir might be easier than talking with Basil right now.

"How many skills do you have?" Basil asked as soon as the others left. "And don't give me this noble, I can't tell you our house's secrets, crap!"

Irwin swallowed as he saw the Guard Captains barely contained anger. He could imagine Basil was upset with him for holding back potentially important skills, but… it wasn't like he had known he could use his eyes like this! He licked his lips, about to answer when Basil took a deep breath and exhaled brusquely.

"Sorry… I just… I hate feeling useless, and that blasted fool caught me good," he said, shaking his head.

Irwin quietly waited as Basil began pacing across the open square, stomping over severed limbs and through piles of blue and white ichor.

"Our scouts didn't return, and I'd planned to wait in the pass," Basil muttered. After a few moments, he turned to Irwin.

"Alright. Out with it. You can do what? Turn into metal, wield some ridiculously hot flame, read cards, shoot fire from your eyes, and see in the dark over large distances?"

"Yes," Irwin said.

"And you think anybody is going to believe you have two uncommon cards and a common?" Basil snapped before taking another few deep breaths. "Never mind. Let's just say there have been rumors about special cards that somehow look like uncommon cards. So, is that it? Is one of your uncommons actually special?"

Irwin didn't respond, not sure what to say. In Malorin, everyone always tried incredibly hard to keep knowledge of their cards and skills a secret, going as far as covering their hands in gloves.

"Whatever. You don't have to answer that," Basil said after a few moments. "Still, as powerful as you are, you can probably close most uncommon portals by yourself."

Irwin blinked and couldn't hold back a snort as he recalled the last two portals he'd been to. He wasn't sure about the Hounds, but he was sure he couldn't have defeated Doomblade Heardswing or the Bablibon.

"What?" Basil snapped. "I've been to rare portals where you would have been able to destroy most things."

"I've been to common portals with things more dangerous than those Frostwyrms," Irwin retorted before he could stop himself.

Basil stopped pacing and turned around, staring at him. He blinked, opening his mouth before closing it again. He repeated that a few times as a host of emotions ran across his face, resulting in weary resignation.

"By Yilda, you aren't lying…. Are you?"

Irwin shook his head, already regretting he'd spoken up.

"Well," Basil said. "Most uncommon and rare portals I've been through don't have things-" he waved up at the empty sky. "Nearly that bad. But… I have seen things like that in the only very rare portal I was in."

Irwin looked up in wonder, his gaze drifting to Basil's hand.

Basil sighed, then tapped the sole card on his right hand. "Keep it to yourself, but see it as a sign of trust." He frowned and looked up. "Ah... I think the fighting is done."

Irwin realized it had turned quiet.

"Let's head out," Basil said. "If you feel like sharing some more, come find me. Until then, you are at the front. If you see anything, tell me right away."

The guard captain began stomping away, and as he did, there was a flash from his right hand. His body shrank while the massive armor vanished. There was another flash from his left hand, and his sword disappeared too.

He must have an even better version of Daubutim's card, Irwin thought as he followed Basil.

Did that mean if he could turn Daubutim's card into a very rare one, he would have similar powers? And what would that have meant for his own cards?

Too late to wonder about that now, he thought as he glimpsed at his locked left hand. Then he gazed to his right and thought about the cards he was carrying. He had two uncommons, Burning Hands, which he wondered what would happen with if it became Rare, and the Derlin Rabbit one, which he still had no idea what it might do. Ambraz had seemed highly interested in that, and it had question marks all over. Moreover, how long would it take him to reforge up to rare himself, and better... beyond that?

Before that, I need to think about what to get for my next three slots, he thought.

Bronwyn had told him that most people waited for a very long time after becoming a full-hand, trying to find cards that would offset weaknesses in their full-hand or wait until they found high-rank cards. But he could just reforge them. As he thought that, he shivered as he recalled the pain that had brought with it.

If I can get them reforged without socketing them first, that would be best, Irwin decided.

"Orwin!"

A dull shout ripped him back to reality, and he saw Daubutim waving at him. Hutch, his party, Desmir, and the others were all nearby, and Irwin was surprised to see Lous on his feet and seemingly fine too. Then he noticed a familiar figure, Lilinethe the healer, moving around with a pained face.

"Go to your friends, but come to the front as soon as we start heading out," Basil said, giving him a quick look.

"Alright," Irwin said, getting a nod as the Guard-captain turned and moved away.

Bodies lay everywhere, most of them Frozir, but Irwin saw far too many guards and rangers. He quickly turned away and headed to Daubutim.

I need to find some time to talk with Ambraz, he thought, while hoping the others wouldn't ask too many questions about his cards.