Irwin's Journey 516: Surprise?

Author note: It seems sleep deprivation has removed my ability to do complete copy pastes. Sorry about that, and if you go the bottom you will find the little bit that was missing. Also, if you find typos or spelling mistakes, let me know. I'll fix them tommorow. Now back to bed.

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"Hold back those on the left!" Nybrilde roared as she focused on her soulcard to project a hovering shield forty feet in diameter to block one of the horrendous monsters attacking their shields.

The Jewel, the only battle-worthy ship in their small four-ship fleet of survivors, reacted as it moved forward, propelled by a quick pulse of pale blue from the stern. She knew that Sygmin, the captain, was going to be out for the count soon if he kept overusing his soulcard to maneuver, but she couldn't complain with the result. The old -oh, who was she kidding?- ancient, and battered battleship barely managed to intercept the three dark and tentacled monsters before they could reach her and the other three merchant vessels. 

Great, that leaves you two, she thought, watching how two of the tentacled monsters were trying to wrap around her own old ship. The shield, normally a bright green when full, was rapidly fading into unhealthy yellow, a trick she'd had installed to make it ever so clear when things were going wrong. 

"Bouly, where are my airslashes?" she called, looking at her first-mate standing at the side. 

"Coming, Captain," the younger man shouted, his face a mass of focus as he kept swirling his arms around.

I really should have gotten more energy attacks for my crew a few years ago, Nybrilde thought.

The air around Bouly began shimmering silvery as if something was building up, then with a sudden hiss, two half-circle blades of shimmering energy appeared, circling him rapidly and following the swirling of his arms.

"Ready, Captain!"

Nybrilde focused on the two monsters. One was battering her shield, luckily seeming too stupid to understand that it could go around it, leaving the smaller one. "The left one!" she shouted.

Bouly flung his arms forward and kept them pointed at their attacker. The two blades slashed through the air, growing bigger as they did, passed through the barrier without issue, and sliced through the midsection of the monster. They took off three tentacles, eliciting a high-piercing screech, before causing the creature to dash back and down, into the shadows of the mountain, and vanish.

Why are there monsters like this here? She thought. She'd been in Graboul's Teeth many times and was one of the few who knew most of the shortcuts. She had never seen things like this.

Pushing her annoyed worries aside, she focused on the other one. It was still battering her shield, and she could feel from the drain on her soulforce reserves that she wouldn't be able to hold it back for more than a few minutes. Still, hopefully, this gave the barrier time to refill slightly.

A quick look back showed the Jewel had managed to scare off two of the beasts, leaving the last one wrapped around the bottom of the ship's barrier, crushing it. 

Dammit, their ship won't hold much longer, she thought. It still boggled her mind how battleships at the time weren't foreseen with stronger barriers. How had they ever been able to handle more than a few attacks when they were still truly used?

"Bouly, they need your help! How long till the next attack?" she called out, watching her second-in-command, already swirling his arms rapidly.

"A minute or two! I'm also almost drained, one or two more attacks and I'll be out!"

Dammit, I don't think they have half a minute, Nybrilde thought as she watched the pale blue barrier start to fade.

Before her worry could grow, something moved in the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see something that should be impossible. One of the shadows of the mountain tips on the opposite side of the valley bent towards the shadow they were in. She'd never seen anything like it, and it happened fast. 

Please tell me there's not more of those things coming, she thought, instinctively taking a step back. 

Something flashed out of the shadows, almost too fast for her to keep track of, and then a figure appeared beside the monster attacking the Jewel. A tentacle vanished, while she caught a glance of a man with dark clothes and dark hair, slashing at another tentacle. His cut didn't go cleanly through, and he vanished just as another tentacle slammed into the spot he'd been. A second figure, smaller and decidedly feminine, appeared and cut through the already harmed tentacle. It dropped away, while the second figure vanished.

The tentacled monster released the ship's barrier, dropping down before vanishing in the shadows.

"What is going on?" Nybrilde snapped. "Who even lives out here?"

"Captain, look!"

She spun around to see one of her crew point up at the final tentacled monster. It had been battering her shield, still too stupid to go around, but now shadowy hounds had appeared. They were standing on her shield, biting into the tentacles, tearing chunks out. The tentacled monster shot away and back, ripped its tentacles clear, and vanished. 

"What… is going on?" Nybrilde muttered as a wet splatter came from below. She ran to the railing to see three tentacles and a sliced apart midsection sliding and tumbling down the mountainside into the valley below. Her soulcard-enhanced eyesight picked up a tiny rectangular shape, but before she could ponder having the card retrieved, the first figure appeared, snatched it up, and vanished.

I guess that might answer it, she thought, feeling a slight relief settle. Perhaps these were card hunters, though what these tentacled things were, she had no idea. 

A swish and thud came from the deck beside her, and she saw the woman she'd seen before appear. With a slightly sharp face, high cheekbones, and big silver eyes, she was beautiful in a dangerous way. There was also that odd darkness that her enhanced vision had picked up in many shadewalkers. 

The man appeared beside her a moment later, taller and with an almost feral angle to his face. Eyes just a bit too slanted, and hair a bit too shaggy to ever be seen as normal. He also radiated even more of the darkness compared to the woman.

"You are a merchant, I take it?" the man asked, scratching a slight stubble on his chin. "Did you lose anyone, or did we get in time?"

Nybrilde felt Bouly move beside her, and she nodded.

"We are, and you were," she said. "I am grateful that you helped. You saved at least one of my ships."

"Yeah, those old warships have gotten fragile," the man said, glancing at the Jewel. 

"Fragile but fast and with good firepower," the woman interjected. "I am Dahlia, this is Greldo."

"Captain Nybrilde, and this is my second-in-command, Bouly," Nybrilde said. "Do you know where those thighs were?"

"Shadow Oculithar," the man said in distaste. "Luckily, there were only a few, because they tend to hunt… in… ah, why did I go and say that?"

Nybrilde frowned as the man, Greldo, suddenly turned around and looked up at the tip of the mountain beside them. 

What is he?

"We need to get out of here! How fast can this thing move?" Greldo snapped, drawing her attention back. "There's more incoming."

Nybrilde hesitated for only a moment, but her many years of experience had taught her that sometimes it was best not to ask questions.

"Bouly, at the helm, get us moving," she snapped, before moving to the railing and staring at the other ships. "We are getting out of here, fast! Follow us!" she bellowed, her enhanced voice easily bridging the distance.

As she turned around, she faintly heard Greldo mutter something about 'Irwin' as he rubbed his ears. 

"Ah, sorry. Enhanced hearing?" she asked, grimacing as he nodded. "I should have warned you."

The ship below them was already floating away, and she followed the two unfamiliar shadewalkers as they walked to the hind-deck.

"I hope this thing can go faster than this," Greldo muttered. "Because there's even more appearing."

"How many are we talking about?" Nybrilde asked.

"That many," Greldo said, pointing at the tip where a flood of dark, tentacle-like movement poured over.

"..."

"Bouly, use everything we have left to get us out of here," she shouted, ignoring Greldo's flinch. Then she ran to the other side, where the other three ships were moving away with them. The Jewel, their fastest ship, was already moving ahead.

"Sygmin, we need maximum speed! If you have any energy left, use it to increase their speed!" she bellowed.

A faint figure on the deck of the Jewel raised its hand as the Jewel slowed until it was behind the other two ships. A soft wave of silvery light rippled from the deck, and where it touched its own sail and the other two, the ships began increasing speed. Not a lot, but they slowly began overtaking them.

Nybrilde turned around, seeing the two strangers staring at her.

"Impressive, but it won't be enough," the man said. 

"Can you… do anything?" Nybrilde asked, already knowing the answer before it left her mouth, but hoping she was wrong.

"No," the woman, Dahlia, said, looking at her companion. "Grel, we can't stay. If they overtake us, we might not be able to get away. How many can you bring?"

"All of them, but not the ships."

"Wait, you can teleport us away?" Nybrilde asked, her eyes widening. 

"Not exactly. Do you want to come or take your chances?" Greldo asked.

Nybrilde opened her mouth, looked back at the rapidly approaching Shadow Oculithar, and shuddered.

"Leave," she muttered. "There's no use in ships if you are dead."

"Good, get everyone on deck, and hurry!"

Nybrilde turned around, noticing many of her crew watching.

"You heard him! Get everyone up here!"

"Can you do the same for the other ships?" Greldo asked, putting a finger in his ears.  

"I can," Nybrilde said, turning to the rail and roaring orders to prepare to move to safety.

"Right, I'll move you first," Greldo said, putting a hand on her.

Nybrilde had no idea what would happen, but a moment later, she stood on a dock in a world that seemed made of shadows and darkness. A distant building stood on a shadowy hill, while a long, sleek slip hovered beside her.

"What? A soulscape?" she muttered, looking around only to find no sign of a barrier. Besides, who had a soulscape this big?! With a giant building that looked like some old castle?

Figures began appearing beside her, one of them Bouly. 

"Do you think all shadewalkers have a place like this and are just not telling?" her first-mate asked in a whisper.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed, as more appeared. "Come on, let's get off the dock before people fall into… whatever that is-" she waved at the dark, shadowy mass that swirled beside the dock. 

Are those… fish?

She shivered as she drew her eyes away.

--

"That's the last one," Greldo said in a rush, jumping into the shadowrealm, Dahlia right beside him. 

That was almost too close, he thought, as he shot away backwards, looking at the hundreds of Shadowy Oculithar that reached the still-moving vessels. The one furthest back was struck first, the barriers instantly failing, and the wooden ship shoved forward, then down and into the ground.

 A shame about the vessels, but-

His thoughts stopped as an enormous, very familiar figure appeared in mid-air, near the Shadowy Oculithar. The figure let out a roaring bellow, as an insanely oppressive sense of being crushed shot outward.

Irwin? Greldo thought as he felt himself suddenly and quickly dragged himself and Dahlia deeper into the shadowrealm. It was barely enough, and he began backing up, trying to get out of the enormous blast radius.

As he did, a voice rumbled through the world, loud enough for him to hear.

"Grel! I'll take care of this, get back here when my aura drops!"

That's one way to say hi, Greldo thought, as he watched the Shadow Oculithar shivering in place. 

Irwin, a giant compared to them, could reach them from where he stood on the mountainside, grab them, and tear them apart as they seemed stunned by his pressure. Half were dead before the rest broke free, but they had no chance to move as Irwin let out a bellowing roar that seemed to create a silvery ripple that moved outward and caused them to be blown up and away, into the side of the mountain and into the barrier above. 

Fine… I guess I'll have to ask him to help me get my next heartcard and soulcards up and running, because this is getting ridiculous, Greldo thought. 

A part of him knew the difference was that his friend was built for mass brutalisation, and he was more of a stealth fighter. Still, this much…

He must have finished another heartcard. He wasn't half this strong before.

--

Irwin flashed through the sound waves, appeared behind the final two Shadowy Oculithar, grabbed a pair of tentacles, and slammed the midsections together until they turned to mush.

'Not bad, I think three cards dropped,' Ambra said. 'That's a high percentage for monsters in the portal Gallery. I think I'm sensing shadow-typed cards, but it's a bit far.'

Irwin grinned and looked around as he fell down the mountainside. He unleashed his senses, quickly picking out the three cards, but before he could get there, a shadowy figure appeared near one, snatched it, and vanished. The same happened at the other two spots a second later.

"I guess he heard me," Irwin said, rolling his shoulders as he looked around the carnage and destruction he'd caused. "Did that feel… easier than it should be?" 

'Kid, you finished another soulcard, one that again boosted your soulscape and soulforce. That's to say nothing of what all those Soulforce Constructs are doing to stabilize and empower you. It would have been weird if it hadn't been easier.'

Irwin nodded as he sensed Greldo's shadowy presence appear nearby. It felt like it was both closing in and becoming apparent, meaning his friend must have gone deeper in the shadows. That was the only way he wouldn't have sensed him approaching earlier.

'Kid, you might wanna stop those ships?'

Irwin looked up and saw the surviving three ships float away towards the next mountain on a collision course. 

He reached out, trying to move them from where he stood, but it was too far. Snapping his fingers, he flashed through the sound waves until he was below them. For a moment, he contemplated just grabbing them, then wondered if he wouldn't just shatter the shields and sails if he did and reached out with his aura. This time, the distance was fine, and they vanished and reappeared in his soulscape. He quickly put one of his aura clones on them to stop them from crashing into something before focusing back.

"We can give them back later," he grunted. "For now, let's change to something smaller."

He dropped his Surging Growth, shrinking down to his normal size, which was still far too big. After the slight dizzy spell left him, he moved his giant body into his soulscape while at the same time switching to his normal-sized one. As he finished, Greldo appeared nearby, a moment later followed by Dahlia.

"What took you so long?" Greldo exclaimed, walking forward, grinning madly. "You missed so much!"

Irwin closed in, locking arms with his best friend and realising just how much he'd missed him.

"To me, over sixty years have passed," Irwin said, raising an eyebrow. "I think you missed way more."

Greldo's face fell, his eyes widening. "I… sixty years? Were there difficulties in creating the cardseeds?"

Irwin kept his smile on his face even though, for a moment, he recalled everything that had happened.

"No, just some annoyances," he said. "But there is one thing I have learned from this. I don't like time-dilation."

Greldo held his gaze, almost as if he was looking for something. Knowing they would need to find time to talk, Irwin decided it was best not to do that now. 

"So, how about we go to Mudball first? Also, I took those three remaining ships. Should I move those people into my Soulscape?"

Greldo rolled his eyes, then snorted. "Show off. Right, I'll bring you into my shadowrealm pocket, and you can move them from there. In the meantime, I'll find Gloom and get us there."

Dahlia, who had been quietly waiting to the side, stepped forward. "It's good you are back," she said. "Also, I think we might have missed more, but we have a surprise for you that's going to be one of the biggest of your life."

Irwin raised an eyebrow, while Greldo was suddenly grinning wickedly.

"What is it?" Irwin asked. 

"All in due time," Dahlia said, turning to Greldo. "Let's go?"

Greldo grinned, grabbed both their shoulders, and Irwin felt something try to pull him. It was like a child pulling his arm. It took him a fraction of a second to realize he should move along, but as he did, he saw Greldo's eyes narrow.

The world swirled into shadows, and the next thing Irwin saw was the familiar, large mansion-like castle on the shadowy hill. He hadn't seen it in a long time, but with his soulforce senses still out, he couldn't help but notice the massive increase in shadowy lifeforms that swirled around. Birds sat hidden below the roof-lining of the building, while what he guessed were rats or mice scurried about in shadowy bushes. The sea of shadows was even worse, with more fish of different types than he had seen in a long time.

"What…?" he began, looking at the water.

"Don't know, but we can talk about it later," Greldo said. "First, I think Captain Nybrilde wants to know what happened to her ship."

"Which one was hers?" Irwin whispered, leaning sideways.

"The one that got reduced to rubble," Greldo said happily.

Irwin grimaced, then quickly schooled his look as he followed Greldo to the castle. A few dozen people were standing outside, talking softly. They froze when Irwin and the others appeared, and a Granitian woman immediately began walking towards them. With light brown, smooth skin like a pebble, and dark, slate-colored hair, she was less bulky than most Graniatians Irwin had seen, and she also moved gracefully. She was followed by a younger man who almost seemed like a cross between a human and a Graniatian, with more normal, tan skin but hair like marble.

"Greldo, I take it you managed to get us to safety then?" she asked, glancing at Irwin. 

"In the end, there wasn't any need," Greldo said. "My friend found us and dealt with the Shadow Oculithar."

Nybrilde stared at him as if he were crazy, before slowly turning to Irwin.

'She looks familiar,' Ambraz muttered. 

Irwin blinked at that statement, but he was fairly sure he'd never seen the Granitian before. Still, he felt the faint pondering of Ambraz and let him be.

"I… What of my ships?" Nybrilde asked. "I take it they were destroyed?"

"One was," Irwin said. "I managed to bring the other two into my soulscape."

"Slough, that's impossible," the younger man snapped, only to get a hard elbow from the woman, followed by a glare. "Bouly, what did we discuss about calling people that?!"

She turned to Irwin, shaking her head. 

"Sorry about that. My name is Nybrilde, and this is my first-mate. What he meant was to explain that we had never heard of anyone who could take an entire ship into their soulscape. I… It's a bit hard to believe."

"I can understand that," Irwin said with a smile. "My name is Irwin, and you can examine your ships in a minute and verify, because I'm going to take all of you there. That way, Greldo can bring us to where we need to go."

"I see," Nybrilde said, clearly not sure what to say to it. "I… did you notice which of the ships got destroyed?"

"Yours, I'm afraid," Greldo said, shaking his head. "The Oculithar reached it before Irwin got here."

"Stone damn it," Nybrilde snapped, shaking her head. "I'd only had her for a few decades. Almost as new."

"I feel your loss," Irwin said, recalling his own first ship, the Sonata.

"Well, our lives are more important," she muttered. "I guess the cargo is dust then."

"I didn't see anything left," Irwin agreed, looking at her. "Can you tell your people they will be moved in a minute? Do you want to all be on the ships, or should I put you in a town?"

"A… town. As in, a real town? As in you have more than one?" Bouly mumbled, shaking his head. As his hair moved about, a hard clicking and clacking sound came. 

"I'll see it done," Nybrilde said, pulling Bouly away.

"How long till you find Gloom and we are on Mudball?" Irwin asked. 

"He is an hour or so away," Greldo said. "He was on his way towards us from exploring a distant mountain for potential survivors."

Irwin looked at his friend. "You have been saving people?"

"Yes. Saving them and bringing them to Mudball," Greldo said. "Though most don't like the heat a lot. Can hardly blame them. Now, I'll start moving. We will talk after, and… It's great to see you again!"

Irwin smiled at his friend, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. "It is. Now get us somewhere safe so you can tell me what surprise you have that is so special."

Greldo barked a laugh, then vanished, leaving Irwin with Dahlia.

"So, how many soulseeds can you craft now? Hundreds?" she asked.

Irwin saw the smile in her eyes, and he shook his head. "No, just seven at the moment."

"Just seven, he says," Dahlia said, staring at where the people were gathering. "Well, I hope you found a way to do it easier, because I'm still stuck on zero."

Irwin hummed, staring at her eyes, which were gleaming a brighter silver than the last time he'd seen her.

"How close are you to filling your soullake?"

"Not too long. At this pace, ten more years? Perhaps fifteen? We have been finding a lot of ships, and many of the survivors have been paying me for reforging with the extra cards they had."

"Then we have to see if we can't speed that up a bit," Irwin said.

"Well, I'm sure we can find a way to do that soon," Dahlia said, her eyes twinkling suddenly.

Not sure what she meant, Irwin followed her to the group of merchants and, after a short discussion, moved all of them into his soulscape. When the last was gone, he kept an eye on them with an aura clone, only to hear some people discuss if it was even a soulscape, or just a shardworld, and that they had been teleported.

"Let's go and get a drink," Dahlia said, walking forward. "How is Scintilla?"

"Split," Irwin said, grinning when Dahlia looked at him with wide-eyed horror.

"You two broke up?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, no," Irwin said, wondering how she'd even come up with that. "No, she has two bodies now."

"That was a bad joke," Dahlia said. "The kids?"

"Good, and learning and growing quickly," Irwin said. "They have been constantly asking about their new cards and when they would get their first heartcard."

"It's not safe until they are physically bigger," Dahlia said. "Ignitzians have an odd physiology. 

I know, Irwin thought, but he kept quiet as she led him into the familiar lounge area that Greldo had made. It had changed somewhat, with far more food and drink on one wall, and a larger table filled with cards.

Before Irwin could say anything, Ambraz appeared on his shoulder, shooting at the table.

"Are those?"

A silvery blur intercepted him.

"Not yet," Juul'rish said. "And keep quiet. It's a surprise!"

Ambraz began muttering in his own language, the one Irwin had never managed to learn much of, except for some curse words.

"Yes, yes, we know. There's one for you, and I'm sure we can trade you another."

"Trade?" Ambraz gasped. "Trade?! After all we've been through!"

Juul'rish let out a tinkling laugh, drifting up in the shadowy rafters. Ambraz visibly hesitated, still pointed at the table, but after a few moments, he flew up.

"Explain!"

"Not yet. Just wait till we reach Mudball!"

Irwin grinned as he sat down opposite Dahlia and accepted a glass.

"So... Did you really stay there for sixty years?"

"I did," Irwin said. "But I also moved back and forth between Eluathar and Scour, causing some time to flow by. But, I think we should wait for Greldo."

"He's listening," Dahlia said, pointing at the side.

Irwin looked up to see Coal, or one of his clones, lying there, eyes closed, ears perked up.

"Fine," Irwin said, taking a sip, before sighing. "Well, when we arrived, we found out that many thousands of years had passed, and-"

Irwin settled back as he began telling what had happened over those long years.