Irwin closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation of the soft bed against his back. Sleeping on the sand for weeks, then running and carrying Desrin, had worn him out greatly.

For a moment, he wondered if the guard was still alive. He'd wanted to ask after him, but Daubutim and Trimdir had been relentless. After that, Lamia and the others had wanted to know everything that had happened in the portal. Now he was trying to stave off his body's desire to fall asleep.

A soft snoring came from another bed, showing Daubutim had finally fallen asleep. Irwin sighed, turned his head to the side so he could look at the door, and raised his blanket slightly. Ambraz lay on his chest, lips drawn in a tight line.

"About time," he whispered.

Irwin grimaced at the annoyed tone, but he was glad the whisper was so faint he knew nobody would be able to hear it. Before he could even begin to ask the anvil anything, it continued talking.

"You need to go through that portal, and don't worry about any potential issues on the other side. The most likely scenario is that the portal is situated in a limited access room within some family's main facility, and this is why nobody ever returned through it. Likely, anyone entering is moved straight out, and that's that," Ambraz whispered.

"Then how would I even get back?" Irwin whispered.

"If you join the Smith's Guild, you will be allowed entrance. Besides, there should be more portals that lead back here."

Irwin closed his eyes, relaxing as he pondered the things he'd learned. His mind was fuzzy, making it hard to pinpoint the things he wanted to ask, but he finally managed another question and opened his eyes again. The door was still closed, and he heard nothing from the smithy beyond.

"If that is true, why didn't anyone find their way back through another portal?" he asked.

"Because even that beardy face would be nothing but a tiny figure in that hubworld. The chances of him being allowed through a portal here are small without a family or guild backing him," Ambraz retorted.

Irwin sighed as he wondered if that meant he might find Gelwin on the other side.

"Are you going to do the reforging tomorrow?" he asked softly, unable to stifle a yawn. He didn't want to fail and have to explain that to the others.

"Bah. Lazy brat," Ambraz hissed. "Fine. But then I want you to practice by yourself at least once every day until we leave!"

"If I can get cards," Irwin agreed easily.

"Also, make sure you use your hammer. It should help, even if I do the heavy lifting," Ambraz said.

"Uhuh," Irwin muttered.

He closed his eyes again, trying to come up with another question. As he did, images of Malorin played through his mind.

--

"Orwin?"

Irwin blinked, then shot up, looking around.

I fell asleep!

He looked up to see Daubutim looking at him, already fully dressed.

"Trimdir got breakfast. I'll wait for you in the smithy. After that, it's time to head back to Lord Bron."

Irwin nodded, rubbing his sandy eyes. "I'll be right there."

When Daubutim left, he got dressed, replaced Ambraz in his pocket, and got ready to leave.

"Did you decide what to do?" Ambraz whispered.

Irwin stopped and stared at the door. He really didn't want to make this decision, but was there any choice? Lord Bron was right. How was he going to fix all this if he didn't know all that was happening and wasn't powerful? Besides, after he taught Trimdir and shared his knowledge of Bron, did they really need him here?

Sensing the decision forming, he sighed again.

"We will go to the hubworld," he whispered.

There was a joyous hiss from Ambraz.

"After we teach Trimdir reforging," he added.

"Of course, of course. That won't take more than a week," Ambraz said quickly.

Only a week? Irwin thought as he walked to the door. For some reason, that felt way too fast to him.

Exiting the room, he saw the others sitting around a bunch of crates that he recognized to house raw ore. He guessed Trimdir had pulled them into the main smithy. Food covered the top, and Lamia and Daubutim were both eating while Trimdir was leaning back, sipping from a steaming mug.

As Irwin noticed the absence of any other smiths, he sighed sadly before sitting down. There was an empty plate and a massive jug of water ready for him.

"Uncle Burt let me take a lot of food, but most of it would spoil soon, so make sure you finish everything," Lamia said in between bites.

Irwin took a slice of meat, noting it was slightly discolored but still smelled fine. He knew that if regular, non-carded people were to eat it, they would likely get pretty sick. Shoving it in his mouth, he chewed it down quickly, noting a slight aftertaste of salt. As the meat hit his belly, it rumbled loudly, and with a hungry grin, he began wolfing down everything in front of him, barely using the plate.

When he finally took up the final slice of sweetbread, something he'd left as a sort of dessert, the table was cleaned of food while Lamia was looking at him in stunned silence.

"You are like a bottomless pit," she muttered.

"He is still growing," Trimdir grunted as he put his mug down. "It should slow down in a year or so when he reaches his full potential height."

"Wait? He is going to grow bigger?" Lamia asked as she let her gaze run unabashedly over Irwin.

Trimdir nodded. "Probably half a foot more."

Irwin mostly ignored their chatter as he took up the jar of water, which was already half empty. Without care, he put it to his lips and drained it in a few massive gulps. As he placed it back on the table, Daubutim rose.

"Let's go see Bron."

Irwin frowned but remained seated as he looked at his friend. After a few moments, Daubutim realized something was up and sat back down.

"You want to enter the portal," he said matter of factly.

"I think I will have to," Irwin said softly.

"What?" Lamia snapped, looking between in confusion. She obviously had no idea what they were talking about.

"Why?" Trimdir asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Because I think Bron is right when he said the people that enter are being stopped from returning. I think I'll be able to return," Irwin said.

"Why do you think so?" Trimdir asked.

"I'll come with you," Daubutim said calmly.

Irwin stared at his friend, unable to hold back a frown even though he felt joy at the prospect of not having to go alone. If he brought Daubutim, wouldn't that put his life in danger? Would he even be allowed to join him in the Smiths Guild? Not sure what to say, he turned to Trimdir.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"My card and my ability to reforge should allow me to join the Smith's guild. From what I know of them, that would give me enough social pull to return," he said.

Trimdir put his fingers together as he seemed to drift deep in thought.

"Can I come too?"

Irwin looked at Lamia in surprise before shaking his head.

"You don't even know where we are going… Why would you want to risk going with us?" he said.

"Because I want to become stronger," Lamia said as she raised her chin. "And even without knowing what you three are talking about, I'm sure that if I go with you, I'll have more chances for that than if I stay here!"

Irwin swallowed, about to say he didn't think it was wise when Trimdir scraped his throat.

"Can you teach Lamia too?" he asked softly.

"Teach me what?" Lamia asked, looking even more curious.

Irwin blinked in surprise. Right! If he could teach Lamia, perhaps she could join the Smith's guild. That would give them more chances!

"I think so," he said, almost expecting a buzz from Ambraz. When there was none, he wondered if that meant he was right or wrong.

Trimdir shoved the stool back as he got up.

"Alright. That's settled. Let's head to Bron and see what he came up with. Lamia, you join us."

Without waiting for the others, Trimdir headed towards the door, and the others shared a surprised look before getting up and running after him.

As they walked through the tranquil town, Irwin noticed that many of the destroyed areas were either repaired or being repaired.

"So, what are you going to teach me?" Lamia whispered as she looked at him.

"I'll tell you after we reach Lord Bron," Irwin said. He wasn't interested in speaking out loud without the Lord's barrier to block any outgoing sounds.

Lamia sniffed, then nodded.

The tower was as still as the previous day, with only a single group of four guards patrolling the hallways. They nodded at them but didn't ask anything as they continued on their way, and Irwin wondered what the Galub assassins had done so far.

When they reached Bron's room, the door swung open almost instantly, and Bron stood there, dark bags below his eyes, as he waved them inside.

"Come, come! I tried to get everything ready for what you might need!" he said as he almost pulled them inside before slamming closed the door. He only gave Lamia a short glance but didn't seem at all bothered by her presence.

Irwin stared in surprise at the room, which was now far more empty than the evening before. Well… empty wasn't the right term. The table and some other things were shoved to the side, as were the chairs and smaller tables, clearing out the center. There stood a large old anvil while more than a normal amount of wood filled the fireplace. As he looked at it stupidly, Irwin even noticed some coals.

"Bron… what's that?" Trimdir asked cooly.

The Lord waved his hand, and the barrier rippled out again. "Yes, yes. I know it's not as good as the real stuff, but I want him to show me here, and I'm pretty sure this should be good enough?" Bron said as he waved at the makeshift smithy.

"Orwin doesn't need an anvil," Trimdir stated.

"What, but-"

"Orwin, get started. I'll fill them in with all I know," Trimdir said, motioning Lord Bron to be quiet and Lamia to move closer.

They must be really good friends, Irwin thought, watching the Smith just silence the Lord.

He nodded and licked his lips as he suddenly realized something. "I still need some common cards," he said softly.

"Right, right! I have them," Bron said absently as he removed a small stack from his pocket and handed them to Irwin. He opened his mouth as if to add something, but Trimdir pulled him away and began whispering rapidly, instantly drawing Bron's full attention.

Irwin took a look at the cards and saw all six were common, none meant for combat. One showed a quill and a paper, while the others ranged from different kitchen utensils to something that seemed to indicate increased hair growth. He didn't get a single indication from Ambraz that there was anything special, so with a shrug, he took the first one. Curious, he activated Eyes of Blaze to see what it actually did and what it looked after he was done.

Card: Quil of rapid writing

Type: Common

Owner: -

A utility card that improves the wielder's writing speed, making for a great card for scribes. If the wielder improves his own writing speed, this will result in a greater speed when using the actively summonable quill.

Passive: Doubles the wielders writing speed with the summoned quill

Active: Summon a quill

Irwin grimaced. Years ago, when he had slowly started getting used to his weak body, he had thought about becoming a scribe or librarian. He'd have loved this at that time.

I wonder what it will get when it's improved, he thought as he stared at the passive. Probably more writing speed.

"Orwin, are you ready?"

Irwin looked up to see all three of them staring at him. Lamia was looking at the stack of cards with wide-eyed wonder, which Irwin could fully understand. Not that long ago, he would have had the same feeling. Now, as he looked at the stack, his only thought was that none of them seemed really useful.

"Yes," he said as he slowly pulled Ambraz from his pocket.

Then he focused on his Eyes of Blaze, making his eyes flesh fiery red as he tossed it on the ground. Ambraz thudded down and instantly changed into his larger form. As before, there was no sign of any lips, and it just looked like a normal, though slightly oversized, anvil.

With a flourish that wasn't needed, he made his hammer appear, and as he did, he suddenly felt like a true carded smith. He was about to focus on reforging the card when he realized why he was even here. He was supposed to explain what he was doing.

It took him a few moments to order his thoughts before he turned to the others.

"Alright, in a moment, I will place the card on the surface of the anvil. Then, I need to focus on my cards just like what one does when purifying metal," he looked at Trimdir and Lamia.

"If I do it properly, an image is going to appear above the anvil, and I'll hear a humming sound, almost like a melody. Also, my cards are going to vibrate, but not all at the same time. This will… hurt a bit, and I need to keep them all vibrating at the same time. As I strike again and again, the humming and vibrating will increase, and I need to hit it just right. You won't hear anything, which is one of the reasons this is so difficult to learn." As he said it, Irwin realized how true that was.

"What kind of image will there be?" Lamia asked, wide-eyed.

"An image that represents that card, with stars, lights, and fuzzy clouds," Irwin said. "There will probably also be black, nasty-looking areas that look like tar."

Lamia's pulled a nasty face, but Irwin just grinned at her.

"No, those are good. It's the card's potential. What I'm going to do is strike those spots while attempting to keep the harmony of the sounds, chimes, or ringing the same. I'm not sure if the sounds will be the same for you… Now, this will continue for a while until I finish, and at the end, there will be another sound to signal the completion. Then-"

He broke off as he realized something and looked around, suddenly worried. Even though he knew Ambraz was supposed to do the reforging, he had no idea if there was a potential for him to fail. What if there was?

"What's wrong?" Trimdir asked.

"If I fail… the card will explode," Irwin said, quickly spinning up a convincing thing to do when that happened. "Normally, I'd throw the card in a deep pit or something and cover it," he said hesitantly.

"I'll take care of that," Lord Bron said. "If you fail, signal me. I'll surround the card with another barrier that will contain the explosion."

Irwin stared at him in disbelief before recalling that Lord Bron's card was a very-rare.

"Alright. Can you do it fast?" he asked, trying to recall how much time he had the first time he failed.

"Instantly," Lord Bron said.

Irwin wanted to whistle in amazement but managed to curtail his surprise.

"Alright… the sound you should not hear is a scratching whine, like metal against metal. If that happens," Irwin shrugged. "Boom."

He saw Lamia swallow, her face slightly pale. Then she nodded, and Irwin turned to the anvil, placing the card on it.

"Alright, here we go," he muttered, not just for himself.

Wondering what the change would be from hitting the card with his hammer instead of his hand, Irwin held up the hammer, then brought it down.

A melodious chime rang out, and the image of the card appeared above the anvil. Wobbling white and colorful lines surrounded a vague and cloudy quill. Four black smudges dotted it, and dozens of tiny bright stars.

"Beautiful…" Lamia whispered from behind him while Lord Bron stepped closer, leaning forward with wide eyes.

"Incredible! I've never seen anything like it," he said, raising his hand before stopping. "Can I touch it?"

Irwin blinked in surprise, thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, so let's not."

Lord Bron nodded and stepped back.

"Alright, now, each time I hit, I will attempt to keep the hum in tune and increasing," Irwin said as he brought the hammer down, suddenly incredibly excited. He totally forgot that Ambraz was supposed to take over and instead grinned widely as he felt his cards all chime in perfect harmony. There was a dull pain, but compared to what he had gone through over the last few weeks, he barely noticed.

Perhaps it's because I'm a full-hand? Or the hammer? he thought as he struck again, feeling the melody build, his cards showing not even the slightest inconsistency as they hummed with joy.

Trying to keep the others updated, he kept talking about the types of sounds he heard, how his cards acted until all of a sudden, he heard a beautiful gong. There was a flash of light from the card, and the image vanished.

"Did you succeed? Do I need to..." Lord Bron asked as he stepped forward, hand raised.

"No," Irwin said as his smile widened and he stared at the card.

"I succeeded." The simple statement brought him great joy because he also knew that Ambraz hadn't done anything to help. Though he was curious why, right now, all he knew was that he was capable of reforging common cards with little effort!

The border burned bright for a moment, turning from a pale silvery white to a deep purple. It flashed once more, then the color dulled.

"Incredible," Lord Bron shouted as he stepped forward, almost reverently taking the card from the anvil to inspect it. "It's… actually uncommon now!"

He swirled on Irwin, eyes wide and glittering. "Tell me, can you do this again? Make it rare?"

Irwin quickly shook his head. "Not me. But I've heard it might be possible, so I'm hoping-"

"Yes! We need people who can do that!" Lord Bron shouted as he began excitedly pacing around, fiddling with the card.

"Which brings me to the following," Irwin said, licking his lips. "I think I should be the one entering the portal."

Lord Bron blinked, then looked at him. His excitement seemed to die down instantly, replaced by a calculating look.

"Because of the Smith's Guild?" he asked, staring at Irwin.

"Yes. I think it will give me a better chance of returning."

Lord Bron was quiet, then he sighed. "I think you are right, but… I would request that you only do anything dangerous like that until after you teach others how to do this."

"Of course," Irwin said, nodding rapidly.

"Good. Then, I suggest you do another card so we can observe once more, then I think Trimdir should attempt."

Irwin nodded, taking a utility card with the image of a fork and placing it on Ambraz. As he started hammering, he felt an enormous sense of contentment and joy.