If you're supposed to help me, why are you even saying this? Irwin thought as he glared at Bleak.

  "Meh, don't look that upset," Bleak said. "If someone bothers you, I'll get them out of your hair. As I said, everyone already knew!"

  "I didn't know," Suein whispered.

  Irwin glanced at the Snaketribe leader and saw her eyes were fixed on him, gleaming slightly.

  "Smith Irwin, would you mind sharing your rank with us so I can properly greet you?"

  Irwin was struggling to come up with a response, but Bleak snorted loudly and beat him to it.

  "He's better than me, so you can finally stop bothering me with all your annoying requests," he said.

  Irwin glared at him, but the Granitian just grinned.

  "Sorry, metal-man, but better you than me. Besides, you are going to be leaving soon, so the reprieve is much appreciated."

  Metal-man? Irwin felt his eyelid twitch.

  A soft laugh from the side made him frown at Nisziz, but the Ignitzian just smiled back.

  "Fine, stone-man," he grunted at Bleak, whose grin only widened.

  You know what? I'm done with this, Irwin thought. Bleak was right about one thing: he also had better things to do.

  He leaned back and looked at his crew.

  "Rindiri, give them the letters, please."

  Rindiri calmly took four folded letters from within her jacket and handed them to the confused-looking people.

  "Don't read them now," Irwin said, causing them all to stop from opening them. "Head back and read them. Also, I can't tell you anything beyond what's in those letters, so don't bother me with questions."

  Three of the people put their letters away, but Bleak ignored them, opening his letter and lying back on the couch, seeming intent on ignoring them again.

  Davitsin and Boulinde seemed to hesitate at that, but Irwin focused on them with a hard gaze. The stressful day so far, combined with the ridiculous conversation, had reduced his patience to zero. Besides, if he didn't get rid of these people quickly, he was probably going to have to chat with them for hours, when he really wanted a rest and to pursue the idea Ambraz had come up with.

  "I am here to trade cards and raw ores for ships, ship designs, and sails. If there's a deal we can make, you can stay. Otherwise, I'd prefer you leave so I can find someone who might be willing to work with us."

  Bleak burst out laughing, putting the letter on his chest while staring at Irwin. "The Guildmistress said you were pretty rough around the edges, but I'd never thought I'd find someone like me. Good on you!"

  Irwin stared at the other smith in disbelief. How were they anything alike?

  "Ship designs…" Davitsin said, humming thoughtfully. "Well, those are trade secrets. Except for the rather high price, we can only sell those to vetted people, and just because you are high up in the Smithsguild doesn't mean you can get them. Ships, however, and sails? Now, I'm sure the two of us can come to an agreement on those."

  Irwin felt a twitch of annoyance that he couldn't get ship designs, but getting the rest would definitely be useful.

  Boulinde hummed and nodded in agreement. "I've got plenty of cards left, and we can always use more raw ores. Do you have any idea what you require?"

  Irwin felt a wave of relief. That meant he was almost done here. He turned to Rindiri, Youritz, and Nisziz.

  "Rindiri, please discuss the details with Shipwright Davitsin," he said before turning to Youritz and Nisziz. "The two of you can do the trade talks with Boulinde."

  The three nodded, and Irwin was about to ask his final question before having them all leave when Suein delicately cleared her throat.

  "Honorable Smith Irwin, could I have another moment of your time?"

  Irwin held back a snippy remark and looked at the Snaketribe leader, who quickly continued.

  "Here it comes," Bleak whispered excitedly.

  Suein didn't react but just looked at Irwin intently. "I have managed to procure the first card dropped by an Oculithar in known history-"

  "Debatable on both accounts," Bleak whispered.

  "-and I would like you to reforge it so it gains one of the serpent typings," Suein said, ignoring Bleak.

  An Oculithar card?

  Irwin's eyebrows shot up at that. He had only found one other card from an Oculithar so far, and that one had been touched by the chaotic space just before Greldo could catch it, and it had exploded.

  Wait, if I reforge it and someone slots it… Will they get ancestral memories of the Oculithar?

  He felt a shiver run through him at that, and he felt Ambraz stir in his soulscape.

  "Kid, what's wrong?"

  "They found an Oculithar card," Irwin said. "Do you think that if someone slots it, they will get Oculithar ancestral memories?"

  "... Maybe. It depends on what the card does," Ambraz said, and Irwin felt his friend's interest grow. "Do they have it here somewhere? We should inspect it. Maybe we can copy it with the Template card!"

  Irwin nodded slowly as he held Suein's gaze. She'd been staring at him intently, and as soon as he nodded, her face lit up with a wide smile.

  "I might be able to," Irwin said. "But not for free."

  "So you can reforge it?" Suein exclaimed, the tiny scales on her face glinting with flickers of green light. She showed no reaction to Irwin's other words.

  "What rank is it currently?" Irwin asked, glancing at Bleak.

  "No normal one, that's for sure," the Granitian said. "Suein's people have it held together with some barrier runes, and I wouldn't even know how to start reforging it. It's also different from a normal card. More soulforce, and it almost feels bigger."

  Probably like a Chaos Whale card, Irwin thought, keeping those words to himself. He didn't want more people starting to hunt the Chaos Whales for their cards.

  "I have some experience with cards like that," he said. "If it's like the ones I know, it might be that the one slotting it has to have five handcards, as reforging it will require me to create the heartcard immediately."

  "Whoa! You can do that?" Bleak asked, sitting back upright and staring at Irwin. "Here I thought I was talented for reaching diamond rank in a few centuries!"

  Why are you acting like this if you are centuries old? Irwin thought, staring at the other smith.

  "Smith Irwin, if you can successfully reforge that card," Suein said. "My Tribe will owe you a great deal!"

  Her face was tense as if she was forcefully holding back her excitement.

  "I'm not going to reforge it for free," Irwin said calmly.

  "What? No, no! Of course not," Suein said, and she took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she slowly seemed to calm down. "You said you are looking for cards, ships, and sails. My tribe has all of these. Would a hundred quartz and amethyst cards, a scout-class ship, and a dozen sails cover it?"

  Before Irwin could even ponder the offer, Bleak snorted.

  "Come now, Suein. You did hear me saying the Guildmistress herself told me to help and advise Irwin, right? If I can't reforge that card, that means your chances of having it reforged on this branch just dwindled, as there are probably only ten smiths that could do it. There might be one sitting in front of you now, so unless you want to ask the Guildmistress…?"

  Suein glared at Bleak. "It's a respectable offer! Twice-"

  "Twice as much as for a regular heartcard reforge," Bleak interrupted her with a predatory grin. "Yes, yes. I know. But it's not a regular heartcard reforge! I'd say, triple that offer, and it would be more in line with-"

  "TRIPLE?!" Suein all but shouted. "Are you-

  Irwin rubbed his chin as he listened to the two argue back and forth. His annoyance at Bleak was rapidly evaporating as the other smith seemed genuinely trying to get him a good price. After half a minute, he had an idea. He raised his hand, but neither seemed to see it as they continued to go back and forth about different ship types, more sails, and other things.

  The Granitian merchant, Boulinde, was tapping her fingers on her knee, watching the show with a big grin, while Davitsin was still smiling as he looked at one of the distant walls.

  "Bleak, wait a moment," he said, raising his voice to rumble over the other two.

  Bleak looked up with a grin. "You have something you want added?" he asked.

  He's sharper than he looks, Irwin thought.

  "Yes," he said. "I need to rest after that whole battle, so how about you get me the best deal you can from Suein here? I'll send two of my crew, Fuchsia and Dagger, to observe. I prefer information on how to make sails and ships over anything else."

  Bleak's grin widened, and he sat up. "Sure! The Guildmistress promised me some private lessons if I helped, so I'll get you the deal I'd get my great-grandchildren!"

  Irwin had no idea what that meant, but he presumed it was good.

  "Alright," he said before leaning back. "There's one more thing I need help with."

  He waited for a moment, drawing the full attention of the others.

  "While I've been moving around, someone has been following me. I'm not sure who, or how, as they are able to stay out of range…. of…." his voice trailed off as he saw a shit-eating grin on Bleak's face. "You know who it is."

  It wasn't a question, and Bleak snorted.

  "Terlo," he said.

  Irwin almost stood up as he recalled the teleporter that he'd met at Lord Harborth's place back in Dismarintsia. The pretty-faced, longhaired man had been annoying him and the card with his songs after teleporting Irwin to the area where Lord Harborth kept his grandson.

  "Ah, you know him," Bleak said. "Lovely figure, isn't it? How he ever got his hands on those cards is probably the biggest mystery in our entire branch!"

  Irwin took a deep breath before looking at a nearby wall.

  "Coal, if Greldo didn't hear that, tell him to go and search for Terlo. He's probably in the city somewhere."

  The barely perceivable soulforce resonance in the shadow he'd been looking at rippled as if in answer.

  "Thanks," Irwin said. As he turned back to his guests, he saw Suein look at him curiously.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "That was a carded shadow summon, wasn't it?" she asked.

  "Yes," Irwin said, realizing she was probably a shadewalker. "More importantly, do you know how I get rid of Terlo?"

  Bleak snorted. "If that Greldo guy you just warned can't find him, you are probably out of luck. Terlo's skills are somewhat legendary among those of us old enough to remember the Southoria trade war that happened about two hundred years ago. He just popped up back then and began offering his skills."

  "What is he able to do?" Irwin asked. "I know he can teleport vast distances, even take people along…"

  "Well, nobody knows all his cards," Bleak said. "We know he can teleport across the entire Langost branch, and he's got at least one card that allows him to influence what people think of him. It's actually pretty interesting that you even asked… Most of the people he tracks are known to ignore him, which includes a rather interesting story about how he tracked a diamond-ranked five-soulcarded scout from the Tweelak branch."

  "I didn't know that," Davitsin said, tapping his chin. "I've heard he seems a bit too interested in fathering children in every world he visits."

  "My grandmother warned me never to be alone in a room with him," Suein said.

  That caught everyone's attention, as even Bleak looked at her in surprise. The Snaketribe leader shrugged.

  "Grandmother said that he was more dangerous than he looked… Anyway, he has a house on the edge of the Bottles and Bars district," Suein said.

  "You are telling me everyone here knows him?" Irwin asked, leaning forward.

  "Well, we are all somewhat influential," Bleak said with a grin.

  Great, Irwin thought, sharing a slightly worried look with Rindiri.

  "So, you are telling me that besides being able to teleport across the entire branch, he's able to track people in such a way that they just… ignore his presence?" Irwin asked after a few moments.

  "Pretty much," Bleak said.

  Irwin gritted his teeth and turned back to the place where one of Coal's shadow clones was hiding.

  "Make sure to tell Greldo all of this," Irwin said.

  There was a moment of silence before Suein cleared her throat softly.

  What an annoying way to draw attention, Irwin thought as he looked at her.

  "At what time could you reforge the card…?"

  Irwin almost held back a snort and turned to Bleak.

  "You get me the best deal you can, and I'll let you watch," he said.

  Bleak's eyes began gleaming like polished gems. "I was going to already, but now I almost feel sorry for Suein."

  "Can you bring them to a free room and have Dagger and Fuchsia join before you talk with Boulinde?" Irwin asked, looking at Rindiri.

  "I will," she said, standing from her position beside Irwin.

  The others seemed to realize that was their cue, and a minute later, Irwin was alone in his room, his mind spinning. Ambraz appeared on his shoulder, grinning softly.

  "You are starting to get the hang of this, kid. Just let others do the boring things, so we can have fun reforging cards!"

  "I need a rest before we start," Irwin said as he got up and moved to the bed. Staring at the wooden construction, he sighed. "Remind me to get an Ignitzian sandbed while we are here?"

  --

  Greldo stared at the Oculithar's corpse. He could smell that there was something wrong with it, which was an odd thing to even realize. He turned his attention to the distant black hill around which a small puddle of white liquid had pooled. The other Oculithar, the one without the white eyes, smelled like all the others. Disgusting and rancid, like old, rotting meat.

  This red-eyed one he'd killed? Even his soulcards seemed to want to hide within his soulscape or the shadowrealm to get away from the sickly sour stink.

  "We will leave soon," he answered Coal, who was hiding in the shadowrealm and still complaining of the sour, acidic stench.

  "It's as if someone mixed curdled milk with rancid meat and left it for a week in the sun," Brecka complained.

  Imagine having a nose that's a hundred times better, Greldo thought, shaking his head as he turned at the tall warrior. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around how much she looked like a darker, smaller, and decidedly feminine version of Irwin.

  "We are leaving as soon as-"

  A loud cry came from below as Klatzi appeared in a streak of fire. A trail was visible into the main body of the Oculithar, where a person-sized hole was drilled.

  The Ignitzian took two steps before starting to vomit, her hands on her knees and tears streaming down her face. Greldo winced as he saw the white ichor drip smears.

  "Poor Klatzi," Brecka whispered. "I hope Irwin can use his steam bath to clean her."

  "At least it wasn't in vain," Greldo muttered, his keen eyes locking onto the small square shape in Klatzi's hand. "Zir'dor, can you contain that card?" he said, raising his voice.

  "As soon as she's closer," Zir'dor said, sounding unhappy.

  "Yeah…" Greldo muttered, glancing at Brecka. "I'll be right back."

  He vanished into the shadowrealm to reappear beside Klatzi. He held his breath, but the horrid stench still seemed to worm its way into his nose.

  "Hurry," he croaked, grabbing Klatzi's arm on a clean spot.

  As soon as he was in the shadowrealm, the stench became bearable, though he noticed that even the shadow fish were staying far away from the corpse.

  These things have some affinity with the shadowrealm, he thought, recalling his and Coal's battle with the red-eyed Oculithar.

  He pulled Klatzi along through the shadowrealm, appearing beside Zir'dor. The giant Ganvil cursed under his breath.

  "If I could vomit, I would," he snapped. "Give me that, and get her to Irwin."

  Greldo looked at Klatzi, who was still crying, her face warped in disgust. She didn't seem to hear Zir'dor, so he forced himself to grab the ichor-stained and dimly red pulsing card. He put it before Zir'dor, letting it go as soon as a small barrier appeared. It snapped around the card, and both the pulsing and the stench lessened considerably.

  Is that card the thing I’m smelling? Greldo thought, shivering as he imagined what that might mean for the ability it would have.

  "Let's go to Irwin and get you cleaned up," he said.

  Klatzi nodded, her eyes rolling as if she was close to fainting, and Greldo quickly pulled her into his shadowpocket. He was about to tell Brecka to get the ship back when Coal began sending him messages.

  "Terlo, that oddball?" he muttered.

  "What?" Zir'dor asked.

  "Irwin just told Coal that the one that's chasing us is Terlo, that teleporter from Dimarintsia. He's here somewhere, and I'm…" Greldo fell quiet as another message came from Coal. "I'm going to have to find him," he continued. "Well, first, I'll bring Klatzi to Irwin. Keep the ship in one piece, alright?"

  "Of co-"

  Zir'dor's reassurance was cut off as Greldo shot through the shadowrealm toward the distant blocky city. From within the shadowrealm it was more interesting than the other cities he'd gone to, with thousands of shadewalkers moving around.

  I wonder how they managed to get so many here, he thought, watching the much weaker shadewalkers react to his movement. They seemed to be pushed away as if by a wave, and he wasn't even trying to cause a commotion.

  As he reached the city a few seconds later, he zipped through the barrier of the Bigbelly, moved through the hallways, and reached Irwin's captain's room. It was empty, safe for Irwin, who was walking to his bed.

  "Sorry," Greldo said as he appeared between Irwin and the thing he coveted, causing his friend to shout and jump back. "Got something for you to clean before you can sleep. I'll let you know if I can find that Terlo."

  Greldo pulled Klatzi from his shadow pocket, put her on the ground, and rushed away before the stink hit him. He grinned as he heard Irwin's angry shouts, muted and distant through the shadowrealm. It would be fine. He was sure that when Irwin heard about them finding the Oculithar card, he'd forget all about a little thing like sleep!

  "Now, how am I going to find a single person in a city I've never been…?"

  He flew up through the tendrils of shadow that were cast by the ships floating above the city and gazed down at the enormous cube-like city. It was a chaotic mixture of towering stone pillars connected seamlessly to stone and wooden beams, with entire districts nestled within and shipyards on almost every outside. Like before, hundreds of shadewalkers were moving through it, many of them hovering near the top. He could almost feel their eyes on him, and as he saw them, he grinned, sending Coal his orders.

  "Round them up, and let's see if we can't get some help!"

  As he shot down, he let his presence cause a ripple to surge through the surrounding shadowrealm, unbalancing all of the shadewalkers within half a mile of him. Before they could react, Coal's shadowclones were on them, first pinning them down before bringing them toward where Greldo had landed atop an empty, dusty roof.

  Some actually managed to get away? he thought before shaking his head.

  Why was he even surprised? The shadowclones weren't nearly as strong as Coal, let alone as powerful as he was. They might have become stronger through his own new soulcard and heartcard. It wasn't like they could overpower anything but the weakest shadewalkers.

  Still, as he saw a few dozen clones return with their prey, he grinned as the shadewalkers were dropped on the ground before him. Reaching out with his own power, he locked the shadowrealm around them.

  Cries of outrage came from some, while others looked terrified. Two voices drowned out the others.

  "What are you doing? The Snaketribe will not stand for this!" one of the shadewalkers, a teenage girl, shouted.

  "She's right! Do you even know who I am?" another older boy said. "My uncle will-"

  "Pipe down," Greldo snapped, causing another ripple to move through the shadowrealm. With it, the marshlike ecosystem that seemed to always surround him nowadays seemed to become more present, and a gasp came from the surrounding shadewalkers.

  Looking at them, Greldo realized that nearly all of them were on the younger side, either teenagers or barely adults, and their eyes were round as they looked around.

  "Now, before you all go thinking horrible things," Greldo said, drawing their attention. "I'm not here to harm you but to offer you a job!"

  A look of disbelief crossed multiple faces, while the teenage girl who had shouted loudly at the start turned red with indignation.

  "A job?! Do you know-"

  "Yes, yes. No!" Greldo said, waving his hands around. "No, I don't know who you are, and I don't really care either. I'm looking for someone, and the first one of you who can find him for me without being spotted will get a reward."

  As he spoke, he sensed dozens of additional shadewalkers moving around them, and Coal told him more were approaching.

  "What kind of… reward?" a boy who was probably no more than thirteen asked, his eyes gleaming with interest.

  "I've got a friend who is a high-ranking smith," Greldo said. "The ones who help me find the one I'm looking for will get either a handcard reforged or their heartcard created."

  There was a moment of stunned silence, then a presence on the edges of the roof exited the shadowrealm, and a short, gnarly man stared at him. "That counts for anyone?" he asked, eyes wide.

  "Yes," Greldo said.

  "How do we know you aren't lying?" another voice came.

  Greldo waited for a moment as ever more shadewalkers began appearing on the roof. Within a few seconds, over a hundred had joined those he'd initially captured, with many more hovering nearby.

  "Your risk," Greldo said, smirking at the older man. "But do I look like I'm lying? Besides, it's not like it will cost you much, right? I'd say it's a great chance!"

  There was a moment of silence before the teenage girl sniffed.

  "What if two of us find him?"

  "I'll reward the first one to approach me," Greldo said, then hesitated as he saw a few of the younger ones look sad. "Two if you are among those I captured."

  "Who are we looking for?" the gnarly old man asked as he shuffled a bit closer.

  "A guy by the name of Terlo," Greldo said. "He's a blond human who thinks he's really pretty and walks around in expensive, nice clothes. He can teleport, so make sure you don't let him see you."

  "This only counts for shadewalkers?" a high-pitched voice asked from the side.

  Greldo looked at the speaker and was a bit surprised. He saw a small, scrawny kid wearing old, heavily worn clothes. For one second, the image of Irwin and himself overlapped with the weary-eyed boy, then the square purple pupils of a Yuurindi, along with his different features and hair, caused the similarities to vanish.

  "Doesn't matter who finds him," he said. "I'll have my hounds look around the city, so if you find him, go to any of them. Otherwise, I'll be waiting here."

  The boy nodded, and Greldo almost whistled as he saw him step back over the edge of the roof and vanish down.

  I'll have to tell Rindiri that she was right. There's definitely Yuurindi here, he thought.

  He sensed the shadewalkers vanishing, rapidly moving away, and he was about to relax when he noticed that one person had remained behind. The teenage girl who had complained at the start.

  Her eyes had narrowed to purple-pupilled slits, and Greldo noticed the faint scales around the sides of her cheeks.

  "Are the others gone?" she asked.

  Greldo blinked and raised an eyebrow. A quick scan showed that a few shadewalkers were still present, which did not surprise him much. He sent out an order, and a moment later, Coal's shadow clones began chasing them away.

  "They are now," he said as soon as the closest one was gone.

  The girl hesitated, then crossed her arms nervously.

  "Alright. I know where he is, and I don't think any of them will find him," she said. "I can tell you, but I want six cards and two heartcard reforges."

  Greldo's other eyebrow joined his first as he reassessed the girl. Her clothes were well-made but not overly fine, and from what he could sense from her presence in the shadowrealm, at least her shadow-typed card was reasonably strong. Topaz, or above, if he had to guess, though he'd have to ask Irwin or Ambraz to be sure.

  "That's a bit more than what I offered," he said.

  "So? You want him, and they either won't find him, or if they do, that posh git will just find out and hide," the teenage girl said. "Don't even think of offering less!"

  Greldo might have pushed back a bit if he hadn't been as interested in finding the one hunting them as he had. The fact that neither he nor Irwin had been able to detect him had annoyed him greatly. Besides, it wasn't like he had to do anything to pay her, he thought, holding back a grin.

  "Let's say, for a moment, that I'd be willing to entertain this idea," he said. "How do you know where he is, and who are the cards for?"

  "Three for me, including a heartcard, and three for my father, including a heartcard," the girl said.

  As she spoke, Greldo saw her hands clench around her upper arms and a thin sheen of sweat on her brow.

  "And how do you know where he is?" he asked again.

  "I'll tell you if we have a deal," she said.

  Greldo hummed, then shrugged.

  Sorry, Irwin.

  "Sure, but only if he is actually there and the right one," he said.

  The girl's tension faded slightly, and she licked her lips.

  "Alright, can you follow me?"

  Greldo almost rolled his eyes.

  "I mean, please follow me?" the girl said, seemingly realizing what she'd implied.

  "Sure, go ahead," Greldo said.

  The girl looked at him for another moment, then jumped into the shadowrealm.

  Greldo followed after her.

  I wonder why she only wanted to tell me this after the others were gone, he thought.

  Common = Quartz, Uncommon = Amethyst, Rare = Topaz, Very Rare = Emerald, Epic = Ruby, Legendary = Diamond, Mythical = Ammolite