Irwin tried to keep from running as he, Daubutim, and Balarn strode to the Central Registry, dodging the other people moving through the streets.
"You are sure I have to take him with us and pay for the damage?" Irwin asked, gritting his teeth.
"Well, if it's proven he's your relative, and if he cannot pay for it himself? Afraid so," Balarn said.
"Proven?" Irwin asked.
"The central soulgem can verify blood relatives, which is the only one you have to be worried about," Balarn said.
Irwin grimaced as he shared a worried look with Daubutim. "What do you think?"
Daubutim's face turned dull as he stared ahead. Irwin waited quietly, hoping his friend would come up with something. As it was, the best he could come up with was denying any relation with Indoutor and having Daubutim wait outside to make sure they wouldn't pin things on him due to their blood relation. The problem was that he knew that would probably either get Indoutor moved to some mining world where he would work for the rest of his life… Something about that just didn't sit well with him.
"If we can pay for it, we should help him," Daubutim said, ripping Irwin from his worries.
"Why?" Irwin asked as he dodged around a pair of fur-covered men with massive horns that reminded him of those that Charbulls had.
"If we succeed with our plans and have to return at some point, having him along will be incredibly useful," Daubutim said.
Then we better hope we can pay the soulshard cost, Irwin thought.
He noticed that Balarn was smiling, and as he looked at the smith, the other shrugged.
"Don't worry too much, alright? Everything should be fine," he said.
Irwin nodded, wondering how he could be so sure before turning his head back around. The Central Registry was ahead of them, an enormous cylindrical building on a hill with a sprawling park around it.
When they reached the entrance, he saw there were far fewer people milling about, but instead, dozens of armed guards were positioned near every entrance and exit. A large group of people was gathered near the central pillar. A single one instantly stood out to Irwin.
Indoutor, covered in blood and grime and with three cuts on his cheek, stood flanked by two guards.
A soft chime came from the flat soulgem as they walked past it. "Irwin, Amethyst rank smith, please head to the central register immediately!"
"We are on our way there," Balarn said while Irwin looked at the mass of guards standing around.
Were they all here because of what had happened? Or was something else going on? He hoped the latter… because if this would be added to any potential cost, he wasn't going to be able to pay it.
"Daubutim, stay here and out of sight until I beckon you," Irwin whispered.
Daubutim stared at him for a moment, then nodded and walked away from them, heading towards a smaller group of people near the sidewall. Irwin hadn't noticed them before. The brooms and carts they had with them told him they were serfs.
With Balarn beside him, he walked forward, getting more and more jittery as he saw a tall well, dressed man, arms folded, staring around. All of the guards and Indoutor were watching him.
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, the worst thing the Grinwron Trade Federation can do is force you to work for them for a few decades," Balarn said, obviously trying to calm him again. "They wouldn't dare turn you into a real serf, not with you being a member of a Smith's guild charter."
Just a temporary one then, Irwin thought as he paled at the idea of having to work for some group for tens of years.
He saw the tall man's silver eyes focus on him.
Let's hope this goes well.
"Finally. I was starting to think I'd have to go and find you personally," the man said, his voice booming loudly and silencing the soft chatter that had been going on.
Irwin saw a look of relief come across Indoutor's face, but as their eyes met, Indoutor's relief turned to a deep frown.
"You are the one this barbarian calls Orwin?" the man asked as he remained where he was until Irwin and Balarn reached him. Irwin saw his gaze flicker to the smith's rank token in his hair.
"I am," Irwin said after a moment's hesitation.
The man nodded while a green sheen covered his silvery eyes.
"Irwin, last name unknown. Amethyst ranked Cardsmith with Tensor's charter," he said slowly before looking at Balarn and nodding minutely.
"Lord Tomeron Grinwron," Balarn said, bowing slightly.
Irwin quickly copied his action.
"Now then. According to this barbarian, you are his relative. Seeing as he is not a citizen and is thus likely unable to pay for the damages he has caused, you are hereby surmised to do so for him," Tomeron Grinwron spoke.
Irwin saw his flicker around as if he was looking at something and nodded.
"Three wounded guards that needed healing, slight damages to the containment unit. Including me having to come here to take care of all of this, twenty-eight thousand soulshards should suffice to cover the expenses."
Irwin felt the blood drain from his face, and he barely managed to stop shouting. Twenty-eight thousand? How expensive was healing? It would take him years to earn that much!"
"Esteemed Tomeron Grinwron," Balarn said as he stepped forward. "I would like to remind you that your wage is partially paid by our charter and that part of your job entails being here to take care of things."
Irwin gaped at Balarn, only partly due to how he spoke. Was he actually talking back against the lord?
There was a soft snort.
"Perhaps, Smith Balarn, however, you must admit that this is a rather unusual circumstance! Besides, I was dragged here in the middle of the night!"
Irwin stared at the lord in disbelief. Wait… which part of that cost was actually the damages done by Indoutor?
"I fully understand the trouble this might have caused you. However, this barbarian is in no way solely to blame for any of this. Besides… I hear your guards are yet to find and apprehend the one that got away?"
Tomeron Grinwron stepped closer, his brow furrowing while the green haze left his silver eyes.
"This is just a matter of time."
"I would hope so, seeing as he is supposedly not even a heartcarded," Balarn said, sounding slightly confused. "Now, if you would be so kind as to tell us the exact cost of the damages done, excluding any perceived slights?"
Irwin licked his lips, and a quick look around showed him that he wasn't the only one. Dozens of guards were staring at Balarn, most with disbelief etched on their faces. Whatever was happening right now definitely wasn't something that had happened before.
"Very well," Tomeron Grinwron said, sniffing disdainfully. "But I will be having words with your charter head about this."
Why doesn't he look surprised? Irwin thought, trying to figure out why Tomeron didn't seem one bit upset about being talked back to.
Tomeron's eyes flared green for a moment, and he sniffed again. "The total cost of healing and damage repairs will result in three thousand four hundred and twenty soul-shards," he rattled.
There were some sucked-in breaths while Irwin looked at the lord, dumbstruck and unable to keep the disbelief from his face.
He barely noticed when Balarn turned to him.
"Irwin, seeing as you haven't had a chance to accumulate any wealth, Tensor is willing to loan you these reparations on the condition that you will accept working for Tensor's charter for ten years."
Irwin blinked. Another ten years? Tensor would pay over three thousand soul-shards if he worked at the charter for ten years? Wait... would that mean that he'd get no pay? What about his friends? Unless they managed to become citizens, how was he going to pay for them?
"Would I still be paid…?" he asked.
"Of course," Balarn said, his eyebrows raising in evident surprise.
So… if I fail, I'd have to work here for twenty years? Irwin frowned, then turned to Indoutor. The lord of Coulwater Tower was staring at him coldly.
Not even going to ask me to help you? Irwin thought before turning back to Balarn.
"What would happen to Indoutor?" he asked.
"He will be added to your list of serfs, and you will be responsible for his behavior going forward," Lord Tomeron Grinwron interjected. He was looking at Irwin with seeming interest.
Irwin's mind spun quickly, but he knew there wasn't anything he could do. He would have to stay here to learn smithing either way. Then he thought of something and turned to Balarn.
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"If I succeed and am allowed into Scour, what time counts? My time there, or my time here?"
Balarn shrugged. "The time there would count."
"So if I would stay in Scour for ten years, I would have already worked off all my time after I exit?" Irwin asked, wanting to make it absolutely clear.
"Definitely," Balarn said.
Irwin nodded as he began to realize what was going on. Tensor was hedging his bets. If Irwin failed, he'd work for Tensor for ten years, yet if he succeeded, he'd still have to work for him.
But why not just tell me the time here would count?
"Irwin, let's discuss the details later. It's about time we let the Esteemed Tomeron Grinwron deal with the rest of the trouble."
Irwin nodded. "Fine. I'll accept," he said, feeling like a vice was wrapped around his chest.
"Perfect," Tomeron said. "I've taken the liberty of letting Christaliz listen in. She will alert you of this when you exit!"
Christaliz? Irwin thought.
"Now! Off with you. I have more things to deal with, and this has taken enough of my time," Tomeron said as he turned to the guards. "Release him into the smith's custody."
The guards stepped away, and a shimmer came from around Indoutor as he stumbled, barely seeming able to remain on his feet.
They had him locked down somehow, Irwin thought.
"This way," Balarn said as he beckoned Indoutor and Irwin.
Irwin followed him while Indoutor managed to stumble beside him.
"Thanks," Indoutor said, his voice soft and cracked.
Irwin just nodded, slightly angry about everything and hoping he wasn't going to be relegated to working here for twenty years with all the consequences that would bring.
They remained quiet as they headed for the exit. Indoutor's eyes widened when Daubutim joined them halfway, but he remained quiet until they reached the door, and an emotionless voice echoed from the flat gem slab.
"Irwin, Irwin, Amethyst ranked Cardsmith. You have accepted a deal with the Smith's charter of Tensor," the voice stated before quickly stating the terms of the deal.
"What...?" Indoutor hissed, looking around. The other's ignored him, as did the voice.
"You have already accepted this deal, and your term starts immediately. Good day."
Irwin sighed as he shook his head and walked out of the door. When the four of them stood outside, Indoutor muttered something, and Irwin saw he was looking around the city with wide-eyed wonder.
"Why did you come here?" Irwin asked.
"Not now," Daubutim said, cutting off any reply Indoutor might have given. "Let's go to our room so we can speak freely."
Irwin saw Balarn give an appreciative nod before the Smith grinned at Irwin.
"See? Told you things would be fine. The worst thing that could happen is that you have to remain with us for a few years, but you will find that that's only going to be beneficial to you in the long run!"
Irwin forced a smile on his face as he nodded.
"Don't worry so much," Balarn said as he thumbed him on the shoulder before turning back in the direction of the smithy.
Irwin, lost in his own thoughts, followed along, barely hearing when Indoutor began asking Dauburim questions about things he saw.
Eventually, they reached the smithy and then their room. As they entered it, Irwin realized they would need another bed. Still, as it was still in the afternoon, the room was empty now, with no sign of Greldo or Lamia.
"Now, I'll leave you three for now. I suggest you go back to training after you explain how things work to your… cousin?" Balarn said.
Irwin nodded, and Balarn laughed as he thumbed his shoulder again.
"You did good! Saving family is important, even if it comes at the cost of a few thousand soulshards to line the pockets of that greedy Tomeron Grinwron."
"What?" Irwin said, looking up in surprise. Wasn't he only going to pay for the reparations?
Balarn sighed. "Healing a few guards and repairing a containment room will, at most, cost four hundred or so soul shards. The rest? That's all going to Tomeron. Why do you think he was happy? Don't worry, though. It's much better for you to keep that one happy. If he wanted to make things difficult for you?" Balarn raised an eyebrow. "You'd be in deep shit."
Irwin swallowed a barrage of angry words while Balarn laughed as he left. "I'm waiting for the good news to hear you are coming along to Giard! It's going to be dangerous, and another blade will be great."
Irwin blinked as the door slammed shut.
Dangerous?
"Indoutor, why did you come here?" Daubutim asked, and Irwin was surprised by the coldness in his friend's voice.
Indoutor let out a snort before sitting down on Greldo's bed and leaning against the wall.
"Is that your way of saying sorry for leaving in the dead of night, getting Uxin'tar so riled up that he nearly exploded? Making me look like a fool?"
Irwin stared at the lord of Coulwater tower as the man rubbed his arm while glaring at Daubutim. A vein was throbbing on his head.
"Or for bringing someone in my tower who has a way to turn common cards into uncommon ones, and who knows, even higher? Something I could have really really used when two rare portals appeared in the hills behind my tower and a swarm of thousands of Nyzir spilled out in the middle of the night, swarming us and all the other towers?"
By now, Indoutor's face had turned red, and he was leaning forward, spittle flying from his lips as he shouted at Daubutim.
Irwin's mouth had gone dry, and he stared at the burly, wounded lord.
Indoutor drew in ragged breaths until he finally slumped back down with his back against the wall.
"Or, perhaps, because you left without warning me about what is actually going on?" he said as he looked around the room. Then he stared at Daubutim, who by now had taken a step back and was looking back with dull eyes.
"You could have taken us with you…" Indoutor said, his voice laced with pain.
Then he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
"I came here because there was no other place to flee to. Those disgusting snakes slithered in during the storm in the middle of the night, and before we could even think of defending ourselves, they had slaughtered the uncarded and common-carded. Uxin'tar managed to break us a path out, and between me, Jondir, and a few of those guards that came with you, we managed to reach the ruins."
Irwin saw that Daubutim was staring dully into the distance, his face slack.
"And so you fled through the portal?" Irwin whispered. "Why did you think you would survive?"
Indoutor let out a small laugh. "It seems that Uxin, that old demon, also knew more than he was letting on. He told me that Hult had given him credible information to believe it was safe to enter…"
"Safe!" Indoutor struck the bed weakly. "And I, in my gullible idiocy, believed him."
His face fell.
"That filthy old bastard... I should have guessed that something was wrong," he muttered, sounding more like he was lamenting to himself now. "As if Hult would know anything about this."
Uxin'tar, Irwin thought as he recalled his meeting with the ancient sorcerer.
"They say someone escaped from the containment room," he asked slowly, suddenly afraid to hear the answer.
Indoutor sighed, and his eyes fluttered open as he looked at Irwin.
"How he did that, I might never know, but he just raised his hand and… blasted a hole through that wall, summoned one of those birds of his, and flew off before any of us could react. We couldn't even use the hole to flee as dozens of those silver-eyed freaks came through a door that I swear hadn't been there before. I managed to knock back two before they had us. I've never felt that weak in my life! They just held me, and there wasn't anything I could do! None of my cards would even work!"
Irwin only partially paid attention. How could Uxin'tar have blown a hole in that wall? According to what he'd heard, those walls were able to contain the blast of a powerful heartcarded! Then he blinked as he suddenly realized what Indoutor had said before.
"You said some of the guards that came with us followed you?" he asked as a face appeared in his mind's eye.
"Yeah. A tough one, bare-armed. He actually managed to grapple one of those silver-eyed guards to the ground before they knocked him unconscious."
"Hutch!"
Irwin swallowed as he turned to Daubutim.
"We need to-"
"I'll go find Hutch," Daubutim declared, interrupting Irwin. "You need to successfully reach Topaz rank if we want to have any chance of saving people."
Irwin stared at his friends. Daubutim was right...
"How about you two fill me in on what's going on?" Indoutor asked, pushing himself up. "I shared all that happened with the two of you… and from how I see it, you owe me."
"We don't owe you anything," Daubutim said before blinking. "But I will tell you. Irwin has more important things that he needs to do, and we are running out of time."
Irwin stared at Indoutor, imagining all the people that inhabited the Esterdon towers dead, butchered, and perhaps even eaten.
He is right… I need to do this, he thought as he took a deep breath and steeled himself.
"Alright. Make sure you get Hutch out of there. I'll tell Balarn you can add him to my list," he said as he turned to the door. As he pulled it open, ready to leave, Indoutor called his name.
"What?" he asked as he looked at what he guessed was now the former lord.
"I don't think it's likely, but when we fled our tower, a group of sorcerers was racing to the ruins as well. I think they were led by Hult, and… well, there is a small chance that they will reach the portal."
Irwin thought about the sorcerer, recalling the harrowing moments as they fled through the ruins and how Lamia had been wounded.
"Then I hope they resist the guards," he said before closing the door.
--
Indoutor stared at the door, stunned at the youth just closing it on him.
This is… going to need some getting used to, he thought before turning to Daubutim. He felt his hairs rise as he had to resist the urge to summon his blade and gut his cousin.
"Now, Lord Coulwater," he said. "How about you tell me what is going on here?"
Daubutim stared at him calmly before nodding. "I will, but after that, I need to get Hutch and warn the Central Registry about potential enemies."
As if they need help, Indoutor thought as he recalled the massive blast of purple energy that Uxin'tar had created.
--
Stretching his weary body, Irwin gazed at the trickle of smoke rising from Ambraz's mouth.
"How close?" he asked.
"Close to the fifty percent mark," Ambraz said as he crunched the remnants of the card.
Irwin nodded as he took the next card and placed it on Ambraz's surface. He closed his eyes for a moment, slowly focusing on the next attempt.
Five days left…
The thought shattered his concentration, but he ignored it. The same had been happening for days now, but he'd learned to let it happen, wait for a moment, then try again. When he felt his worry fade to the background, he opened his eyes, summoned his hammer, and struck the amethyst card. A dull thud came as a shuddering image appeared of a spread hand with large areas of skin between the fingers.
The soft resonance began from his cards, and taking a deep breath, he struck the card again, harder. His cards resonated almost as one, with only his hammer marginally off. It wasn't enough to trouble him. He barely even noticed it, really. Instead, he searched for something, a pattern.
The third strike. Then the sixth, and still nothing.
There, he thought, when he hit it a twelfth time. He finally found the slight pattern in the resonances. It was something that had taken him days of nonstop practice, wasting over a hundred cards to detect.
He struck another four times, just to be sure, then nodded.
Each card was different, creating differences in how his cards resonated. This one? It caused the start of the resonance to be slightly higher and then drop off, while after the first hit, the resonance of the next three came much faster, before there was a momentary pause after the first, causing an interesting pattern. Hitting them again, he hummed low, then faster, along with the next three strikes. Sensing how accurately he was hitting, he smiled.
Time for the next step.
He'd not bothered with the black blotches at first, but as he struck the card again, he tried to angle the hammer minutely, aiming for one of them. Juggling, holding his cards in his mind, he managed to strike the blotch at the exact right moment, causing the resonance to suddenly soar. The resonance changed slightly, but he'd known it would, and as he struck again, he managed to hit it again.
Minutes passed as he continued striking, sometimes missing the blotches but ignoring it as if it didn't matter, remaining fully focused on keeping up with the slowly shifting tempo of the song. He continued to hum, sometimes louder, sometimes softer.
As the speed of the resonating tempo switches increased, he felt his calm fade, but he stoically continued.
Then, after what felt like forever, he finally heard a dull, shaky chime. It seemed ready to crack and break if sound could even do that.
Stopping mid-swing, Irwin stared at the card, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the image shake and shiver before slowly settling, one blotch gone. There was a bright flash, which didn't bother him, and he stared at the card's border change from a bright purple to a dull yellow.
"This is… insane... you succeeded…" Ambraz muttered, almost too soft for Irwin to pick up.
"I succeeded," he said, staring at the card. "I succeeded!" he shouted again.
"Calm down, kid," Ambraz said, though Irwin could hear an increasing excitement in the Anvil's own voice.
"What percentage?" he asked.
"It's…" There was a hesitation before Ambraz continued. "Sixty-five percent! Your first card... Been practicing less than half a year... Are you even normal?"
Irwin ignored the anvil, picking up the card and holding it as if it was the most precious thing he'd ever seen.
Calm down, he told himself as he took deep breaths, trying to regain his calm. With shaky hands, he put the card on a nearby anvil that he used as a table.
"How long did it take?" he asked.
"How should I know? Do you think I'm Daubutim?" Ambraz shouted. "An hour? Maybe more?"
Irwin nodded, barely hearing it, as he stared at the stack of purple-bordered cards and picked up the top one.
"Enough time to try again," he muttered.