Irwin's Journey chapter 17: Combining (Patreon)

Irwin took a deep breath as he gazed at the back of his hand. He was in the room beside theirs, which had conveniently been empty. At first, he'd found that odd, but after some more looking around, he'd found that in their hallway, theirs was the only occupied room. After telling Greldo where he was, he'd locked the door from the inside by shoving a bed in front and was now sitting at the opposite wall, at the fireplace. The fire was crackling softly, the fire slowly warming the stonecold room.

Ambraz was flying next to him, the tiny silvery wings a softly whining blur moving so fast he couldn't make out any details. "I can't believe you got this and have no idea what it does," he muttered.

"Keep your voice down," Irwin whispered, glancing at the door. "I don't want someone to listen in and ask who I was talking with."

"I can detect any Quartz ranked being within a few dozen feet around me," Ambraz whispered. "So don't worry."

"Quartz?" Irwin muttered, confused for a moment.

"Common is what you backwater plebs call it."

Plebs? Irwin wondered what that was. Then he took a deep breath.

"No, I don't know what it does. Can you tell me?"

"Ugh, you will have to un-slot it for a moment," Ambraz said as he hovered lower, the airflow from his wings cooling Irwin's hand.

Irwin blinked, then shook his head. "How?"

"Dear elders, you know nothing… Put your other hand over it and will it out."

Slightly afraid, Irwin did as told, thinking as hard as he could to have his first card back in his hand. Accompanied by a bright flash, a solid sense filled his right hand.

"Good, now hold still for a moment. Oh, and remind me to teach you reading so you can use your own skill for this next time!"

Irwin didn't answer, staring at his card, as simple as any common if not for the wavy line at the top. "Do all special cards look like commons?" he whispered.

"Quiet, let me focus. And, yes and no. Most special cards start at their weakest, increasing in strength as you combine them with others, changing their outside to reflect the parts you increase. There are exceptions, but those are usually only stronger at the start. As soon as you bind the third card, they are less efficient. Now, quiet!"

Irwin nodded stupidly, staring at his card. So it's going to get stronger after I combine it with Eyes of the Blaze?

"Ohhh my… I don't know where they found this but… oh my!" Ambraz whispered, sounding incredibly enthusiastic. "It's called Fire-sensitive Body, and even for a special card, it's something else. It's got the Growth property, meaning you can actually increase its effectiveness through skill and training!"

"What? That can't be right," Irwin muttered. "Bronwyn said it was called Flickerlight!"

"Don't doubt my abilities! I've never been wrong in reading a card, and if I tell you it's called Fire-sensitive Body, then that's its name."

Irwin gaped at him. For a moment, he wondered if Ambraz was lying to him, but that made no sense. The Anvil wanted him to become a smith. What use would it have to lie to him? No… perhaps Bronwyn had been wrong? Or had Bronwyn's card been changed at some time?

Still…

It doesn't sound that impressive, he thought.

"Don't look that disappointed, you ungrateful brat!" Ambraz snapped before taking a deep breath. "Listen to what it does first. Besides all the passive effects to your body that uncommon and rare cards grant, it increases your resistance to fire a great deal, going as far as giving you an effect similar to Greater Rapid Regeneration, which is a rare card. It does have the nasty side effect of decreasing your tolerance to cold, but we might be able to limit the trouble from that. Perhaps a thicker coat. I'll think about it."

Ambraz hummed a bit while Irwin's frown deepened. He looked at his card with a growing worry. It was more often cold in this part of the world.. Very cold. Especially in the winter. What was he to do now? Find better clothing?

Greater Rapid Regeneration sounds awesome thought. I guess that's what happened back in the training portal, he thought as he raised his hand. Wait. Did that mean his regeneration would drop if he was somewhere cold?

"Right, either way. There's more. You get the ability to see in the dark, but best of all, you can summon that flame. It's a pretty handy one, with the ability to drain the heat from other nearby heat sources. My suggestion is to focus on that active flame part of the card when you combine it with Eyes of Blaze. I'm not exactly sure what the combined effect will be, but the flame will probably grow stronger, while the body tempering part of Eyes of Blaze should increase. "

Irwin didn't reply, slightly overwhelmed by the deluge of information Ambraz dumped on him.

"Give me a moment," he muttered.

He leaned back and stared at the door without really seeing it, his card clenched in his fist. It was hard to believe how many effects his special card had, and he thought about the paltry few things he knew about the card-rarities. Commons had almost always only one effect and no inherent benefit. The best commons were thought to be single-type body enhancement cards and the smaller summons. Uncommons gave a slight passive effect that increased the strength of his body while being the first cards that held weapon summons and summons suited for battle.

Rares… well he knew barely anything about those except for some rumors. A rare single-type body-increasing card, strength, for instance, was said to make you stronger than any other person. Well, besides carded people who also had similar cards… or better ones, which he knew next to nothing about.

"What would happen if I combined the regeneration part of the card with the body tempering?" he asked.

"Well, first off, I'd call you a fool because it's a waste of that flame. Beyond that… I don't know. If you are lucky, only the benefits of the fire-sensitivity go up. If you're out of luck the cold sensitivity also increases, which might become a problem."

"Right… What other options are there?"

Ambraz hummed a bit, seemingly deep in thought, before he continued. "Potentially, you combine the flame with the other effect of Blaze. Though, as just a common, you won't get the eyebeam. You might get some odd ability. I don't know much about combining special cards with common cards... It's not really done."

Irwin licked his lips, then berated himself for it, and asked something that he'd worried about but kept forgetting to ask. "Can you still reforge a card after it has been slotted?"

"Yes, but after it's been combined, I can only increase what is already there. Before that, I can change a great deal of the cards as long as I stay within the normal parameters and typings."

After thinking about it for a bit more, Irwin slotted his card again. "What will give me the biggest chance to survive tomorrow?"

"What I said initially," Ambraz stated, sounding absolutely sure of himself. "Besides your flame becoming stronger and probably a more effective weapon even against non-fire creatures, the passive effect of Eyes of Blaze will be greatly improved from being bound to a special card. It might even rival a normal body improvement card."

"Okay, let's do that," Irwin said before staring at the tiny Anvil.

"..."

"You don't know how to do that either."

Irwin shook his head, not sure what kind of people Ambraz had been with before that even children knew all this. What he did know was that plebs probably wasn't a compliment.

"Hold your right hand over your left hand and focus on your two cards- wait… can you even feel your second card yet?" Ambraz hissed.

"Err…" Irwin looked at his hand and tried to sense the second card like he could the flame. For a moment, he thought he felt something burn in his eyes, then it was gone.

"Practice that until you can feel it. After you succeed, we will continue," Ambraz said, sounding exasperated.

For the next hour, Irwin focused on the second card. It took him twenty minutes to activate it normally by staring at it, which was a weird experience. His eyes became burning hot, and when he put his hand before them, there was a glow on his palm. If he looked at his cards, he saw the like burning red outlines on his hand, now easily able to make out their images. If the eyes hadn't given off light, he'd have tried using it on the others later just to see their images. Another half an hour passed before he managed to enable the skill without staring at the card, at which point Ambraz whispered something.

"What was that?" Irwin asked as he stopped trying to use the Eyes of Blaze skill.

"One of your ancestors must have been an interesting person for you to sense and use a card this fast," Ambraz said. "I had thought it would cost you all evening, but you are doing very well. Continue."

My ancestors? Irwin wondered what Ambraz meant with interesting. He let his mind wander for a few seconds, then pushed the questions away and continued.

Another fifteen minutes later, he was able to more or less start the skill, playing around by illuminating the shadowy corner of the room. He grinned as he saw the two round areas of light darker towards the edges. His mum would have been like this. It'd have saved candles.

"That should be fine. I think you should combine the cards now," Ambraz interrupted him.

Irwin nodded and went back to sitting on the bed next to the fireplace.

"So, as I was saying. Put your right hand over your cards and try to sense them both. As soon as you do, focus on the flame, but only pull up the Eyes of the Blaze. If you don't focus on the eye's ability, it will automatically combine it with the other one."

Hand covering his cards, Irwin had no trouble picturing the flame, but connecting to the Eyes of the Blaze without thinking about the eye part took a little effort. Eventually, he had a precarious moment where he had it.

"Okay, will them together," Ambraz whispered, seeming to sense he was ready. "Just like with taking out the card!"

Irwin held the two senses and began thinking about merging them, having them as a single thing, and combining them. For a moment, nothing happened, then a burst of light came from both cards, and the flame and the eyebrow began pulsing. Lines of fiery red ran towards each other, like spilled ink running across paper, moving towards the other card's outline. Where they touched, sparks flew up, and a beautiful pattern of thin, intertwining flame tendrils emerged.

Irwin stared at it in wonder when a burning sensation started in his body. Within moments he felt like he was back in the cavern near the lava, then it faded as suddenly as it had come to be replaced by intense cold. He started shivering, his teeth clacking together, and he wrapped his hands around himself.

"Wha-t, i..s going o-n," he whispered, his teeth constantly threatening to bite on his tongue and cheeks.

Ambraz was hovering nearby, and the tiny mouth was pursed in a frown. "It has to be the effect of the combination, but-"

A dull droning noise tuned out Ambras, and, terrified, Irwin looked around. There was no source, and his body curled in on itself to try and find warmth. As he saw the flickering flames in the fireplace, he felt a tiny bit of warmth come from it. By now his hands were like ice, and he couldn't even feel his feet anymore. Ignoring the Anvil flying around him, he got off the bed and stumbled towards the fireplace. As he got closer, he felt the warmth from it, and he moved within arm's reach from the cracking wood.

Did I accidentally combine the other part of my card? he thought as he stretched out his hands. Slowly he felt the blood begin to flow within them, but it was not enough. Not enough heat, he thought. A cold stab came from his chest, and he sucked in a breath. Was he going to die?

No!

Without thinking, he put his hand in the flame, and instantly warmth flowed into it, pushing away the freezing cold. Realizing what he'd done, he was about to yank it back out when he realized there was no pain. Not even a little. He moved closer and put his other hand and arm in the fire, the effect of it spreading to them. He was about to step into the fireplace when he saw his sleeve begin to burn, the thick cloth turning black, and he quickly pulled his arms back.

Shivering but without hesitation, he removed his clothes, which took longer than it had ever had. When he was as naked as a newborn, he carefully put his now blue foot into the fire. A sizzling warmth came from it, and the cold seemed to flee up his leg. No longer worrying about the consequences, he stepped forward and kneeled in the fireplace, trying not to disturb the wood. Within moments the droning sound left.

"Incredible… Never seen anything like this," Ambraz's voice muttered, and he realized the Anvil had been speaking for a while now.

"Ambraz," he whispered. "What happened?"

"Ah! You're awake! Summon your flame, quick! Its heat should help too."

Irwin wanted to kick himself for not thinking of it and held out his hand. A hand length flame erupted above it, an intense heat spreading from it. At the same time, the fire around him began whirling through the air towards the flame, which grew. Before he even had the time to cut off the skill, all the fire in the fireplace had disappeared, while the flame had grown another half-a-hand length. The heat from it was rapidly pushing back any tiny bits of lingering cold that had remained in his body. A soft glow from the corner of his eye made him look up and he saw the stones of the fireplace were turning a dull red from the heat.

"Did I make a mistake?" Irwin asked, looking at the flame. He wondered how much bigger it could get now!"

"No, I did," Ambraz said with a weary sigh. "I underestimated the Fire-sensitive Body card. When it bonded with the Eyes of the Blaze, it increased its body tempering by fire ability but also added the cold weakness."

"Does that mean I have to remain like this?" Irwin asked, unable to keep his voice from rising in pitch as he pictured having to stay naked in a room of fire forever.

“No, no,” Ambraz said. "Just until your body has gone through the initial tempering… you will have to make sure not to combine your next card just willy-nilly. When you combine the last card of that hand, this will happen again, but it will be worse."

"Worse?" Irwin thought, remembering his ice-cold feet, the shivering, and the fear of dying.

"Yes, and when you combine them all together in a full hand it will probably be very bad," Ambraz said, hovering before him. His lips were a thin line, and a soft sigh came from him. "Sorry. If I'd known this, I would have told you to pick the hammer."

"How.. how long?" Irwin whispered as he looked at his arm. He didn't see much change, though perhaps his skin was a tiny bit darker, but that could just be the glow from the now orange stones in the fireplace, which he saw, had started cracking in places.

"I'd say, probably ten to fifteen minutes," Ambraz said, but Irwin heard the uncertainty.

"I thought you were the Anvil of the Gods," he snapped, barely able to keep raising his voice.

"Well, yes," Ambraz said. "A Anvil of the gods," he muttered, whispering the first letter.

A? Irwin thought, staring at the tiny Anvil. What did he mean with, a?

Ambraz must have seen the question on his face and snorted.

"What? I didn't say I was the only one."

"..."

Irwin grit his teeth, about to ask for an explanation, when his body started to turn warm, then hot. He quickly moved his flame slightly away from his body, but it barely helped. It was the heat from the now brightly glowing fireplace, and he quickly stepped out, releasing the flame before realizing what he was doing. He flinched, fearing the cold to return, but nothing happened. Instead, the heat turned from burning hot to bearable, and he sighed contentedly.

Finally over, he thought.

"Well, that went almost perfectly," Ambraz said as he hovered nearby, the wind from his wings a cool breeze on Irwin's chest.

A loud knocking on the door made him start and look up in fear.

"Irwin Roddington. Master Mouldir and Lady Yrintha have requested your presence," a deep voice said. "Please stop what you are doing and follow us.

Right, she asked me to come! Irwin thought, cursing himself for having forgotten. What if the guards had come half an hour earlier?

He looked around in a panic, then down, and his eyes widened.

Clothes!

He jumped forward and began picking up the pieces of his undergarments that had been strewn about, glad to see none had any damage. As he pulled on his pants he frowned as he felt how snug they fit. It had been baggy before, and as he pulled on his rough, scratchie shirt, he felt the same there. It wasn't too tight, but he knew what it meant. He'd grown. As he finished with the rest, Ambraz flew over and into the inside pocket of his now well-fitting coat.

A dull knock came. "Irwin, it is not good to keep the Lady waiting!"

"Yes, coming," Irwin shouted as he picked up his boots and held them next to his feet.

Those will never fit, he thought as he stared at the door.

"Last warning, or we come in."

Irwin shivered and ran to the door, noting his body moved better than he was used to. He wished he had time to see how much he'd improved, but that would have to wait till tonight. He pulled the bed away, noting it was still heavy, then opened the door.

A guard with a gray beard and an angry scowl looked at him.

"We are not used to people barring doors here," he snapped as he looked at the bed.

"Sorry," Irwin said, wanting to explain but not sure how to. Staring at the guard, who raised an eyebrow, he managed to hold back his tongue and just shrugged.

"Whatever. Explain to them why you are late," the guard snapped. "Now, follow me!"