Irwin's Journey 457: In the back

Interesting, he thought, his gaze lingering on the one he knew had to be Hilbarin Deadslate, the supposedly strongest of the seven, and since a few hours ago, the most likely candidate to replace the Empress.

Thinking about the Empress made him look at the table where she sat, together with the Teleporter. She was smiling at him faintly, but it was hard for Irwin to understand what she was thinking. He fully remembered that she'd told him she wasn't really interested in being the Empress, which was the main reason he felt she was at least sensible. 

The third group was made up of Lady Selderine and the most curious Oxarite he had ever seen. With two soulcards, and almost as powerful as Hilbarin, he had an orange brown beard and pale, silvery skin. His body wasn't all that big, but it looked gnarled, with corded, ropy muscles. The man's pale blue, almost silver eyes were eyeing him back, and as their eyes met, Irwin saw the man grin.

"So, you are the Tutor? I have to see, usually when people tell me I'll be impressed, I'm sadly let down," the man said, his voice snapping through the previous quiet. "It's good to see the opposite happen for a change. Four soulcards? I guess that's the benefit of being a cardsmith!"

Irwin sighed. Did the man seriously have to shout this to the entire room? He saw Lady Selderine lower her head slightly, a look of annoyance in her eyes.

"Right," he said. "Seeing as you are all here, and I have way more things to do, let's get this over with."

He had already seen that none of the tables were large enough for all eight of them, but he didn't feel like going anywhere else. So, he looked at the proprietor, a small Ignizian called Sizzrin, who was standing behind the bar, writing her hands and looking worried. Over the past year, he had eaten here many times, and he felt slightly bad for her. It couldn't be easy to have these three groups glaring at each other for two weeks. 

Perhaps I can make her a card, he thought, sensing she only had four cards.

"Do you mind if I move a table over there?" he said, pointing at the table where Findekon and Hilbarin were sitting. It was the largest of the tables, meant for four, with one free chair. The third person at the table was a woman who was looking at him with curious interest. Irwin knew she was Sandrihna, another lady, but if someone had told him she was just a regular Oxarite woman, he'd have believed them.

"Of course, Tutor," proprietor Sizzrin said.

Irwin smiled and walked to an empty table, picked it up with little effort, and carried it to the table with the three people, shoving it against the side to create a table large enough for all eight of them to sit. Then he turned to Lady Selderine and the Empress.

"Bring your chairs over here, and let's have a chat."

He didn't wait to see what they would do, but took the last free chair and sat down opposite the man that Rinbus had told him would be the best candidate. If Irwin hadn't been around Rinbus for a while, he might have worried the other would pick someone for his own interests. Instead, he knew the man had picked with both Irwin's and the Empire's best interest in mind. 

"So, you are Hilbarin Deadslate?" Irwin said, raising an eyebrow. "Nice to meet you."

The man stared at him for a bit, clearly confused. 

"I am, and you are Irwin, Tutor, and a very odd Oxarite…" the man said. 

Irwin nodded, turning to Findekon and nodding at him before looking at the woman. "Lady Sandrihna?"

"That's me," the woman said with a nod. "How did you manage to reforge your own heartcard? Why do they all feel so powerful?"

Irwin laughed softly, raising an eyebrow. "Those aren't questions I'm going to answer, but if you want, I can teach you a few things?"

Lady Sandrihna nodded immediately. "I'd love to! Findekon told me you wanted to know why you should with any of them-" she waved at the Empress and  Vaidara, who sat down on one side, then at Lady Selderine and Rustbeard, who sat down on the other. "- I'd like you to consider picking neither. The Empress isn't well loved, and Sachindrian is a fool who would bring nothing but war."

Lady Selderine leaned forward, sucking in a breath and seeming ready to speak, only to snap her mouth shut when Irwin glared at her, raising an eyebrow. Then he turned back to Sandrihna.

"I see. And who would you suggest? Yourself?"

Lady Sandrihna shrugged. "There should be others, but if there's nobody else…"

Irwin could see she very clearly didn't want to say yes, and he wondered why she had even come here if she was so uncertain. Didn't she understand that it might have put him off?

"Well," he said. "I could go around and chat with you all, and make this a whole long issue, but I'm not going to."

"Not even let me have a say?" Rustbeard asked, his eyebrows lowering.

Irwin shook his head. "No. I'd like to talk with you later and find out how you got your first heartcard, but I'm afraid I've already made up my mind."

Rustbeard's frown deepened, and he sniffed before crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back in his chair. "Whatever. Let's hear what you have to say then."

Nobody else spoke, as a tense silence hung in the room.

Irwin glanced around to see that the other people in the restaurant were watching with bated breath. 

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, he thought. After all, how often was the fate of an empire decided in front of an audience like this?

Well, let's finish this up.

"You are called Hilbarin Drigarion?" he asked, turning to Hilbarin.

The man's dark-blue eyebrows shot up, and he looked stunned. A soft gasp showed that not everyone had recognized him yet. It took a few moments before Hilbarin caught himself, and his shock turned to a deep frown. There was even a slight anger sparkling in his eyes, something Irwin hadn't expected.

"House Drigarion is gone," Hilbarin snapped.

Irwin hesitated, wondering if he should try some diplomacy, then decided that he had no interest in it and leaned forward. 

"A very dangerous time is approaching, and I'm here with a very specific reason," he said. "I'll be reinstating the Smiths Guild soon, clear out The Desolate Stretch, and start preparing people. Trust me when I say, nobody should want extra conflict."

He let his words linger in the air, trying to gauge Hilbarin's response. 

Hilbarin's eyes had widened slightly, but there seemed far less shock than when he had mentioned House Dirgarion.

"The Oxarite Empire has some issues," Irwin said. "Do we agree?"

Hilbarin snorted. "That's an understatement. What are you getting at? Why mention some vague danger?"

"Easy enough," Irwin said. "If the Empress stays, there will be war. Even if I were to join her side, Lord Sachindrian won't just give up."

Lady Selderine moved, but one glance from Irwin wiped her suddenly hopeful look.

"Shouldn't you be talking with Lady Sandrihna?" Hilbarin asked.

Irwin raised an eyebrow. "She has the same issue the Empress has."

"She would never make such stupid decisions, or ignore a section of her empire just because she has no other options," Hilbarin snapped, casting a quick glare at the Empress before turning back to Irwin.

"That's not the issue I'm talking about," Irwin said. "Now, I was told you are well-liked, are technically a Lord, and won't allow for a war. I will back you to become Emperor."

The silence was shattered as multiple people reacted at the same time. 

Rustbeard was first, laughing uproariously, while Lady Selderine shoved her chair back and rose to her feet, staring at Irwin in shock. 

Hilbarin's mouth hung open slightly, and he looked dazed.

"You can't just come here, and-" Hilbarin's words were cut off as Lady Sandrihna put a hand on his shoulder, smiling widely. "It's a great solution!"

Irwin saw a weary smile on the Empress's face, but she nodded at him once. Next to her, Vaidara didn't look all that surprised.

"No!"

Lady Selderine's voice was filled with anger and loathing as she glared at Irwin.

"I don't care how powerful you are, you can't just come here and do this!"

Irwin looked at her before snorting. "You were fine if I'd picked that war-like Lord of yours, but now I choose something else, I can't do this?"

"Lord Sachindrian is the only one who can return us to our former glory, stop the decline," Lady Selderine hissed. She turned to Rustbeard, who had regained his calm, though his face still held a wide smile. "Say something! This can't-"

"Oh, be quiet," Rustbeard snapped. "You can't sense how powerful he is, can you? Be happy that he doesn't just take the Purpurion Throne to himself. Even Hilbarin and I couldn't stop him."

At the mention of Hilbarin, the old Oxarite turned his gaze to the now-silent Oxarite.

"Besides, don't act so surprised. There have been people wondering about this for decades!"

There have? Irwin thought, wondering if that was where Rinbus got the idea and information from.

"No," Lady Selderine hissed, shaking her head and glaring at the Empress. "She needs to pay!"

Irwin felt the surge of her soulforce and acted instantly. He stepped across the sound waves of Selderine's own outburst and appeared behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. As he did, he sensed a swirl of soulforce from the table, but before he could react, it vanished into the distance like a streak, moving as fast or faster than he could.

Who… Bluefire?

Irwin had no time to wonder why Findekon had left, as Selderine turned to him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Perhaps you should find another way to handle this," Irwin said slowly. "Now, calm down."

Rustbeard rose from his seat, shaking his head.

"No worries, Tutor. Come on, Selderine, we need to leave. I need to inform Lord Sachindrian that I'll be withdrawing my support."

Selderine swayed on her feet, and only Irwin's grip kept her standing.

"What? Because-"

"Because my main worry is very likely gone," Rustbeard said, glancing at a still, quiet Hilbarin. He was shaking his head, while Lady Sandrihna was whispering in his ears, seeming to very much like the idea. "Besides, if we are going to have some interesting times ahead of us, some of those old fools will start popping up."

"What about our plans?" Selderine whispered, her voice cracking.

"Plans are meant to be broken," Rustbeard said as he put a hand on her and pulled her a few steps away.

Irwin let go, but readied himself in case either tried something. As easy-going as Rustbeard seemed, there was a glint in his eyes and a stance to his shoulders that showed things weren't as easy as he made them seem.

Rustbeard looked at Vaidara and smirked.

"So, I know you probably won't like this, but I'm requesting that favor you still owe me. I need you to teleport me and Selderine to Lord Sachindrian's estate, or as close to it as you are comfortable."

Vaidara, who had been stoically observing things, froze, then turned to the Empress.

"My Empress…. I… He saved my life, and I promised, but-"

"No, it's fine. Bring them, just make sure to remain safe," the Empress said.

Vaidara looked like she wanted to resist, but eventually got up and walked to Rustbeard and a stunned Selderine. The Lady was staring at the ground, her face slack.

"I expect her to return here safely," Irwin said, looking at Rustbeard.

"And she will, Tutor," Rustbeard said. "You have my word. Also, you mentioned wanting to talk about my first soulcard. I might return here soon, and I'd be willing to tell you if you can share how you got your first."

Irwin used his soulforce senses to scan Rustbeard, and again sensed the peculiarities of his first soulcard. It wasn't as well made as Hilbarin, which he also wanted to find out how that was possible, but there was something… very odd about it.

"It's not all that special, but sure," Irwin said.

Rusbeard looked at him intensely before barking a laugh. "Not special? Now there's something I don't believe. Right, let's leave before I have to carry Selderine."

Vaidara's soulforce rippled out, and a few moments later, the trio was gone.

Irwin moved back to his chair, seeing Hilbarin staring at him. 

"I don't want to be the Emperor," he said. "Just support Lady Sandrihna."

Right, I guess it was too much to hope for a quick resolution, Irwin thought.

"She also doesn't want to," he said, turning to Sizzrin. "Sizzrin, can we get some drinks and snacks? Nothing special, just bring what you have."

The owner of the restaurant began bobbing her head, moving behind the bar like a small whirlwind.

"There are others," Hilbarin said.

"Hilbarin, you are the perfect choice," Lady Sandrihna said, smiling widely.

Irwin hummed as he glanced at the seat Findekon Bluefire had been in. Empty now, he wondered why the man had left. Had he feared Irwin and Selderine would come to blows? That seemed unlikely. 

Oh well, let's see how long this takes, he thought, watching Lady Sandrihna do his work for him. 

In the end, it took only a few hours, though Hilbarin didn't seem happy, but just resigned. The main reason he seemed to eventually agree was due to the combined efforts of both Lady Sandrihna and the Empress. Even the latter seemed to have warmed to the idea.

By the time Vaidara teleported back in, Irwin had mostly pulled away from the conversation, observing it and only answering some questions. 

"Fine," Hilbarin finally said. "I'd rather single-handedly clear out a Burrow, but if you aren't willing to back someone else?"

Irwin shook his head at the hopeful question. He had made it clear a few times that he wouldn't back anyone else and wasn't interested in searching for some other candidate.

Hilbarin took a deep breath, then exhaled explosively. "And you will help her get a heartcard?" he continued, glancing at Lady Sandrihna.

"I will," Irwin agreed.

"Fine… Fine!" Hilbarin snapped in a tone that made it clear it wasn't fine at all. 

"I'll become the bloody Emperor," he snapped. "But only until someone better shows up. Got it?"

The current Empress surprised them all by letting out a soft giggling laugh.

"That's what I told my father, long ago," she said. "I wouldn't hold my breath."

Hilbarin glared at her. "Don't act all happy. I haven't forgotten how you were willing to let the Eastern Mountainridges fall because you couldn't find a better solution."

The Empress shrugged, her smile not even faltering.

"I wish you luck solving those issues by yourself," she said. "Vaidara, let's bring our new Emperor to the Capital. It's going to take long enough to get this all handled, but I can't wait to be able to have my life back."

Irwin hummed as he recalled something.

"Empress, I heard a rumor that you might have a special card in your vault," he said.

"Please call me Salezina," the Empress said. "And there are many cards that I thought were special in my vault. That said, I am curious to see what a smith of your caliber might find special."

Irwin was about to speak when he remembered where he was. A look around showed that although many of the other people in the restaurant had returned to eating and whispered conversations, they kept looking and glancing their way.

Right, it might be best not to have people focus on any potential Derlin cards, Irwin thought.

He rose from his seat, dropping a handful of soulshards on the table. 

"Can you teleport us to my private chambers in the Cardschool?" he asked, looking at Vaidara. "I've got a few things to talk to you all about."

"Seriously?" Hilbarin hissed. "Now we go somewhere private? After we just turned all of this into some stageplay?"

Irwin grinned at the Emperor to be. "Yes, but that wasn't important. This is."

Hilbarin rolled his eyes, muttering, "Not important, he says."

A few moments later, they reappeared in Irwin's private chambers.

"I would want to know how you even knew where this was, but I guess it's not important," Irwin said.

"I can sense locations within a certain distance from me," Vaidara said, slightly apologetically.

Irwin sat down behind his desk, holding back a smirk as he saw the current Empress and the future Emperor sit down opposite him in the chairs also used by students.

"Do any of you know what Delrin cards are?" he asked

He felt Ambraz, who had mostly ignored what had been happening before, move his focus to the conversation as his tiny spark appeared in the room.

"Cards that have these odd, furry life creatures on them?" the Empress asked, using her fingers to fake two ears.

Irwin felt his excitement grow. He'd never heard of a Derlin card that was useless.

"How many do you have?" he asked, focusing on the Empress. 

"Only one," she said. "It looks like a simple topaz card, but there was a warning from a previous emperor attached to it. According to the warning, the card wasn't actually topaz-ranked, but much higher, and should only be used when the Empire was threatened with annihilation. The previous Emperor almost used it during the Night of Burrows."

'I wonder why he didn't just use it,' Ambraz grunted. 

'Still, it's good for us. See if you can get it?' 

Irwin was already speaking before Ambraz finished.

"I would like to have that card," he asked, looking from the Empress to Hilbarin. "What do you want in exchange?" 

"I can't give something away without knowing what it does," Hilbarin said before the Empress could even answer. From her surprised look, Irwin was sure she'd have gifted it to him.

'Hah, perhaps you should have done this part first,' Ambraz said.

'Yeah.'

"I'll explain what they do," Irwin said. "But know that exactly which one you have is hard to know, and I can probably replace the effect of many of them. Especially those that give heartcards."

Hilbarin looked at him expectantly.

Irwin opened his mouth to explain about the Derlin world, then closed it with a snap.

I didn't tell them about the Portal Gallery or other worlds yet, he thought.

"I think we are going to have to do this in the correct order," he muttered. "Let me start by explaining something about this world. Scour is one of many worlds-"

For the next hour, he told them about the portal gallery, the worlds that existed, and the origin of some of the species. Lady Sandrihna was a font of questions, asking nearly all of them, while Hilbarin seemed lost in his thoughts.

"There's more, but this should be fine for now," Irwin said.

He was about to tell them about how all of it related to Derlin cards, when Hilbarin asked a question Irwin had known someone would eventually ask.

"When did you open the Exit Portal?"

Irwin held back a weary sigh. Should he lie? He didn't really want to, and as had been the case in many situations over the past decade, the mere thought made him annoyed. 

Whatever. No use waking sleeping dogs, he decided.

"A few years ago," he said, feeling the annoyance bubble up for a few moments.

"And where is the portal?"

Irwin shook his head. "I'm keeping that knowledge to myself for now. There's no saying who might be listening in, and all of what we have discussed so far is not too bad if it gets out. However, this would cause a lot of issues."

Lady Sandrihna hummed. "That means it's definitely not somewhere where other people are. My guess is in one of the deserts. Are you sure none of the dangerous creatures can get through?"

"I don't expect them to be able to," Irwin said. "But even if they do, they aren't as dangerous as what is on the other side. Now, back to the Derlin cards. They are from a world with very peculiar soulskilled that managed to hide their people in cards when their world shattered. It saved them from turning into Addled, and-"

"What are Addled?" Lady Sandrihna asked, leaning forward curiously.

'Hah! About time you get a taste of this,' Ambraz shouted, laughing loudly before he vanished into Irwin's soulscape.

"I think we are going to have to do a bit more history," Irwin muttered. "Let's start with the Guidar."

--

Many hours later, in the Empress's private guestroom in Teinnoran, the Capital of the Empire.

"Do you believe everything he said?" Hilberin asked, rubbing his head as he leaned on the comfortable couch.

"I fear I do," The Empress said from a nearby chair.

Hilberin grunted, turning to her. "I was asking Lady Sandrihna."

The Empress grimaced. "My apologies."

Hilbarin saw Vaidara glare at him, but he ignored her. 

"Sandrihan!?" he called out.

Sandrihan, who had been scribling nonstop in a small book, looked up.

"What?"

"Do you believe him? The Tutor?"

"Oh yes. He wasn't lying, at least not about anything important as far as I could tell," she said, focusing on her book and scribbling some more. "He did leave some things out, but we can hardly expect him to share everything with us."

"That's what I was afraid of," Hilbarin grunted. 

He pushed himself up, walked to the nearby balcony, and stared out across the massive city below. It sprawled across the nearby mountainsides.

"So, how are we going to do this? It's not as easy as you let him believe," he said, glancing at the Empress.

"No," she said. "But he wouldn't have backed anyone else, and it is the best option I can think of right now."

"Fantastic. So what do we do now?"

"Now we start the long process of explaining all of this to the Council of Steel before we start getting the other Lords and Ladies on our side," the Empress said.

"I presume you need me here for that?" Hilbarin asked.

None of the three women answered him as they moved together and began discussing who to notify first. 

Hiblarin looked at it for a moment before turning back to the view of the city.

Where did you run off to, Findekon? he thought, the bad feeling he'd had ever since Bluefire had vanished growing. And what did you do that made you run when you heard I might become Emperor?

--

Findekon reappeared thousands of miles away from Cinder Grove, landing on a wide branch. A vast desert stretched out before him. If he continued to the west, he would eventually reach The Empire, while a little to the east, just on the border of the desert, there was a host of tiny Viridian towns. 

"Well… great," he muttered, turning around and staring at where Cinder Grove would be. 

Anyone without his movement skill would require months to get where he was now, and there was almost zero incentive for anyone to do that. Which meant he had a choice to make. Either he remained here until things calmed down, or he headed west and the Empire. The issue with the latter was that everyone knew him there. Even if he headed the most desolate northern regions, someone would have heard of him.

"Seriously, why did he have to up and pick Hilbarin?" Findekon grunted, sitting down with his back against the trunk. 

He'd gone to Hilbarin to hide out in a place where nobody came, only to be forced back within the day. Then, if that wasn't enough, the bloody Tutor got it into his head to make Hilbarin the Emperor? To him, it had been instantly clear that it would likely happen, and his mind had come up with the best solution. Run. If Hilbarin became Emperor, the man's annoying tendencies to want to do the right thing would mean he'd make all of the seven work double shifts. Worse, Findekon knew that Lord Sachindrian would instantly start spreading rumors about him. True or not, Hilbarin would act.

"And then there's the trouble that Tutor mentioned," he muttered.

He didn't even want to know what kind of trouble could cause a man with that much power to look worried.

It took him a few minutes to make up his mind, and he was about to move when something thudded behind him. He moved instantly, vanishing where he'd stood and reappearing a few branches away.

The blue and fiery trail was still fading from where he'd stood before, but he saw nothing on the branch. A sharp pain burst in his back, and he coughed as he felt something inside him pop. He tried to move himself, but his soulcard seemed distant and unresponsive. Looking down, he saw a long, thin blade poke through his chest. 

A familiar blade.

"Wh- ?"

He didn't manage to finish his question as the blade sliced up and around, and Vindekon Bluefire's head thudded on the ground as a spray of blue blood shot up in the air.