Rindiri took a sip from her drink, glaring at Polern Siemer, the nervous man before her.

He was one of the many humans who worked for the Smiths Guild, making him a somewhat rare sight on Suderfuix, where nine out of every ten people were Viridian. Why it was him again and never someone else, Rindiri didn't know, and the man had dodged any questions about it.

As it was, this was the fifth time he'd shown up to tell her that the Smiths Guild wasn't ready with its investigation, and she was beyond annoyed. They had arrived weeks ago, to great suspicion, which she wholly understood… But they still had her ship locked away, and although she and the others were well taken care of, she wanted to leave! It would take years to return to Eluathar, and she didn't want to waste any more time here. Besides, if the rumors of the storm stopping were true, returning home without being seen would become much harder after that.

"I'm sure they will return your ship any day now," Polern said, wringing his hands. "It's just that the way it is made is different from all other ships. They-"

Rindiri tuned him out, having heard his explanation that the ship was probably from the unknown attackers and that they had to learn everything they could about them first. She agreed, but why did they need seven weeks for that?

"Enough," she finally snapped, cutting Polern off." If they can't or won't return my ship, then tell them to replace it with a ship of equal quality. One that can traverse that storm." She jabbed a finger roughly in the direction of where she knew the harbor of Suderfuix to be.

Polern sighed, his face falling as if what she'd asked would cause him immense grief.

If Rindiri hadn't seen him do the exact same act a dozen times, she'd have felt sorry for him. As it was, she was starting to feel like throttling him. Instead, she raised her eyebrow.

"Also, why haven't I been allowed to contact the Ruadh'trom Family representative?" she asked.

The man blinked his overly large brown eyes before licking his lips nervously.

"The Ruadh'trom are very busy," he said slowly.

Rindiri was glad Dagger wasn't here, or she'd have called him out on his blatant lie. As it was, the Ganvil, Kes'dor, let out a soft snort from his perch on her shoulder. Rindiri had to stop herself from rolling her eyes in agreement, and instead, she gently raised her shoulder to show she agreed with him.

Over the last months, the Ganvil had begun warming up to her, remaining in her room on a tiny perch and on her shoulder when she was out and about. Rindiri knew that it was because Kes'dor's mind was damaged from what had happened to his bonded smith, and he was searching for something to connect. Still, with dozens of saved smiths around, she had been somewhat surprised he'd remained with her.

"Fine," she said, placing her empty cup on the table and leaning back in the chair. "What about Driseog?"

"Ah, Lord Driseog has not yet responded to your request for a meeting, but I'm sure-"

Rindiri tuned him out again, turning her head to stare out of the window to her side.

The street outside the Crackling Undergrowth, the small tavern she was in, was bustling with people walking from or toward whatever they were doing. Most likely to one of the many Farm Trees.

Rindiri still found it hard to believe the difference between Suderfuix and Dismarintsia. The latter had seen rampant food shortages and starvation, the world locked away from others to go to, while Suderfuix seemed entirely unbothered by the storm that prevented ninety-nine percent of trade. The Viridians had simply ramped up their already prodigious food cultivation, easily covering the food supplies for everyone stuck in the enormous city. They did make it so you had to go and gather your own food if you lacked the funds to buy it from one of the many taverns, restaurants, or food stalls, but that was nothing but a minor inconvenience compared to starving.

Now, if only they had some meat, Rindiri pondered.

As much as she enjoyed the seemingly endless variations of fruits, vegetables, roots, and nuts, she missed the occasional bit of meat.

"Captain Rindiri, may I presume I have helped you enough for today?" Polern said before a tiny flicker of hope came to his eyes.

Rindiri again held back the desire to roll her eyes and merely nodded curtly.

"Then, perhaps, you will be alright if I return in a week-"

"Tomorrow," Rindiri said, raising an eyebrow. "Tell the Smiths Guild that I either want my ship back or a replacement. Also, ask the Ruadh'trom family representative if I can meet with him."

Polern's shoulders slumped as he got up and bowed.

"Yes, Captain Rindiri. I'll see you again here tomorrow?"

"Yes, and I hope you have better news for me," Rindiri said.

Polern turned and almost sprinted away through the small tavern, causing two serving girls to glare at him.

"They aren't going to return the ship," Kes'dor spat, his voice still raw and cracked. "I think you are going to have to send Dagger to find that Driseog."

Rindiri looked over at one of the serving girls, a young Viridian with leaf hair almost blue. She raised her glass, getting a smiling wave in response that she knew meant a refill would be there in a short while.

"I know, but there are definitely shadewalkers keeping an eye on us," Rindiri said, letting her fingers run across the smooth wooden table. Almost everything in the city was made of wood, all seemingly grown instead of crafted.

The Ganvil snorted before haltingly flying to the table. His wings were still a mangled mess, and Rindiri knew flying any more than a short distance brought Kes'dor intense pain. Still, she could understand why he still did it anyway. Being completely dependent on someone else for moving around had to be horrible.

Perhaps Irwin and Ambraz can help him somehow.

--

Polern ran through the narrow roads of the Southern Oak district of Suderfuix.

Why can't she just read between the lines?

He held back an angry curse as he dodged around a pair of attendants who came sprinting from a sidepath. The smell of leaves and mulled earth surrounded him, but he barely noticed. He'd long since gotten used to the city's peculiarities, being almost like a forest.

Turning left, he gritted his teeth as the path began to incline. It would take him an hour to reach the Cardsmiths Guild main building, which was much further up the mountain on the very tip of the Southern Oak district. He'd been running the same route nearly every day for over a week, and he was getting sick and tired of it.

Why doesn't she understand she's not getting the ship back? he thought, shaking his head. He'd not been told as much in absolute terms, but the few times he'd spoken with one of the Ruby-Ranked smiths examining the ship, it had been clear they weren't entertaining the idea of returning the ship.

And getting a replacement ship? The only ships that could sail through the storm were prized possessions of the most powerful of the Merchant Groups. Not even the Smith Guild had any left. All those they used to have had left with the most important of the junior smiths to bring them to the Tweelak Branch or perhaps even further to safety.

An hour later, sweating profusely, he slowed down as he approached Diamond Square. In a city of wood, trees, and bushes, it was a singular bastion of stone, the gates towering over the surrounding buildings. Hundreds of people were walking around the square, most frequenting the card and metal shops that surrounded the Smiths Guild, though he recognized a few as fellow messengers.

Jogging across the square and slowly catching his breath, he saw a messenger dash out of another one of the narrow passages mostly used by messengers as shortcuts. Unlike him and the other messengers, this one increased her speed as she reached the square, even going as far as using a movement skill to turn into a blur that rushed at the gate.

What's got her so worked up? Polern wondered.

He hesitated for only a moment before his curiosity got the better of him, and he sped up. He wasn't the only one, either, as he saw three other messengers rush to the main gate.

It was a good thing he'd been ahead, as without a movement card of his own, he barely reached the gate when the blurry figure did. Luckily, nobody was allowed to move into the Smiths Guild compound using any form of movement cards, so he reached the entrance just as the blurry figure did.

He quickly recognized her, Kaina, a messenger who usually moved between the Southern Harbor Tree, one of the four enormous trees that stood on opposite ends of the city. Due to how far it was from them, only those with movement cards were able to take those jobs.

"Kaina," Polern said, falling in step with her.

The younger woman looked up, sweat dripping from her face, her short blonde hair matted against her face.

"Polern," she said between gasps for breath. "Still assigned to that Yuurindi?"

Polern held back a nasty retort and just smiled sadly.

"You know it. Now, how about it? What's got you running for your life?"

The other messengers had started walking alongside them, all looking at her with interest, and Polern saw Kaina's chest expand as if she was proud of something.

It's just some bloody news. Stop acting like you're a hotshot, he thought.

"Well, it's pretty important, really… Because… another ship arrived from the storm," she said, drawing out her words. "It's some small, really expensive-looking scout-type, probably one of those meant for some rich merchant's brat."

"Where did it come from?" someone snapped from the group.

Kaina glanced at Polern, who felt his skin crawl as an annoying grin came to her face.

"From the direction of Dimarintsia," she said.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Polern held back a groan. Was he seriously going to have to deal with another uppity captain?

"Wait, you said it's a scout-type ship," he said. "Is it a known model, or…"

Kaina shrugged, turning to the other messengers.

"According to the report, a giant Fiz'rin is piloting the ship!"

That caused a round of startled shouts while even Polern was drawn from his worry.

"You think it's the one they were searching for a few years ago?" he asked, recalling the time all of them had been warned to keep an eye out for some Fiz'rin smith.

"No idea. The ship was still readying to dock," Kaina said, glancing at him before shrugging. "Anyway, I was told to inform Guildmistriss Joulihn immediately!"

I hope it's the Smith, Polern thought as he held back and let the others walk away.

At least if that were the case, he'd probably not have to deal with him.

--

Irwin cracked his neck, staring at the incoming dock. Attached along the side of a long branch that was wide enough to hold an entire street's worth of buildings, it led to the trunk of a tree that was as big as those on Scour. Paths and houses circled the trunk in swirling patterns, half of them seemingly dug out into the wood, while far below and beyond the tree, the sprawling city of Suderfuix lay. They had been watching it come closer for over a day now, and he still found it hard to believe the scope of it.

Unlike Dismarintsia, which had multiple layers atop each other, built like the head of a mushroom atop the mountain that led to the exit portal, Suderfuix looked like a regular Viridian city, blown up out of proportion. It seemed to continue into the distance forever, and even from their height, Irwin couldn't see the ends of it. Greldo could, though, and he'd told them there were three more trees of the same size as the one they were heading to, also filled with docks and harbors.

The city itself was like a sparse forest of regular-sized trees surrounded by an immense jungle. Buildings seemed to almost organically grow up and out of trees, some having smaller trees or large patches of bushes on their roofs, while vine bridges connected some.

Dozens of Viridian guards were gathering there, many two and three-soulcarded.

"They are really pulling out all the stops," he said, making minor adjustments to their course to land at the designated place. There were no other ships at the dock, though many were clustered around the lower branches that dotted the mountainous tree.

"There are a lot of shadewalkers here," Greldo said, and Irwin glanced over to see him stare at the city below with a raised eyebrow. "And from what I can tell, many have stopped what they were doing and are now hovering around the base of the tree."

"They have sensed your presence, M- Greldo," Gloom said, gritting his teeth.

Irwin hummed as he wondered if that was going to cause an issue.

"You really need to learn how to hide your presence," he said.

"As both of you have been telling me non-stop for the last few weeks," Greldo snorted. "Sure, you just help me fill up my soullake, and I'll get some cards to take care of it after."

Irwin shook his head. "You can't use cards to solve everything. Gloom said your practice has already helped a bit."

"A tiny fraction," Greldo said. "At this speed, it would cost a hundred years. No thanks, let's just focus on the things we can do. Besides-" a predatory grin came to his face. "-I'm sure none of the shadewalkers will be coming anywhere near us without permission. Anyway, instead of worrying about that, shouldn't you have worn something different?"

Irwin glanced down at himself. He was wearing the whisper-steel armor again after having changed it to fit his new size. Part of him hoped he wouldn't have to change it again soon, as redoing the same armor four times in a few months was getting annoying. There was one change, though, as he'd left out the helmet. Giving the entire city the idea that he was a Viridian Elder would likely cause more trouble than it was worth.

"We are most likely going to be meeting with the branch leader of the Smiths Guild, and who knows how many high-up families and merchants," Irwin said. "It's best to make a good first impression."

Greldo laughed softly. "Maybe, but right now, you look like you're my guard again."

Irwin looked at his friend and couldn't help but agree.

Greldo's hair had grown long enough to reach his shoulders, and with his dark stubble, the worn dark-leather jacket, brown pants, and boots, he looked like a captain more than Irwin did. The daggers tied to his waist and his summoned sword on his leg helped with that.

"Perhaps," Irwin said as he gently flexed his soulcards. "But I'm sure I can make them see the error of those thoughts."

"Sure… just brute force your way through life," Greldo said, his grin widening. "Why not? It's worked so far!"

Irwin held back, saying he'd just suggested the same thing instead of focusing on steering.

The Nocturna slowly glided beside the dock before coming to a gentle stop. It bumped against the long bundle of thick green vines that was curled around the edge of the dock, causing a tremor to run through the deck. With some warning shouts, Nisziz and Brecca threw cables to the dock, which were caught by a pair of Viridians who tied them to the lumpy wooden protrusions that grew from the dock like budding leaves.

"Well, let's go and see what our welcome has to say," Irwin said as he walked to the lower deck where Brecca was busy lowering the gangplank.

Behind him, Greldo had turned to Gloom. "You make sure to remain on the ship and keep out any folks snooping around."

"Yes, Greldo," Gloom said, sounding just a tad too snappy.

Still, Irwin was impressed with the improvement from their training. Although Gloom still felt horribly uncomfortable, he'd been able to act almost normal around Greldo.

Not that Irwin fully trusted him yet, which was why Nisziz, Fuchsi, and Brecca would be remaining on the ship, to the latter's great dissatisfaction. Klatzi was the only one who would be coming along with them, as she could teleport out of trouble if need be.

"There are two shadewalkers hanging out behind them," Greldo said, humming thoughtfully. "They keep moving around as I look at them, and I think they are slowly starting to freak out. One of the fishies tried biting one in the toe…"

Greldo began laughing softly, and Irwin sighed as he looked at the gangplank. He wondered if it could hold his weight, and after a second's hesitation, he just jumped across the six-foot gap, landing a few feet from the group of Viridian guards.

One of them stepped forward, looking up at him in surprise. He had dark green leaves, some of which were starting to turn brown on the tips, and had to be close to seven feet tall, making him either an elder or close to one.

"A big welcome," Irwin said, nodding at him. "Can I help you with something?"

The Viridian stared at him in stunned surprise before he smirked.

"Well, we don't get a lot of people from anywhere but the Portal Branch Connection ever since the storm, so I hope you don't mind us asking who you are, why you are here, and how you managed to travel through the storm in… that," the Viridian rumbled.

"What's wrong with our ship?" Irwin asked, glancing at The Nocturna.

"Nothing if there wasn't a dangerous storm out there," the Viridian said. "But those are merely grade three sails, and the ship is many times too small to hold the runes needed for a shield strong enough to survive the storm. That means it's neither fast nor tough enough to move here without some other trick."

Irwin was somewhat surprised at the quick dissection the Viridian had given. He noticed a few annoyed glances and mutters from behind the one he was talking with, but ignored them.

"Astute," he said. "Experience from your own ship, or are they just observations?"

"Both," the man said, smiling widely. "Now, would you mind answering a few questions, starting with who you are?"

Irwin nodded but hesitated.

He and Greldo had discussed this for a long time, initially going with the idea of using fake names again. After some deliberations, they changed their opinion as they knew they needed to spread the news about the Guidar and the Acenti, which would require talking with both the Cardsmiths Guild and many high-ranking people, while also needing to find Rindiri. However, eventually, they decided to go with the names they had used on Dimarintsia. If they needed to, they could always switch later, while doing it the other way around would be impossible.

However, now there was a problem. He'd expected to just bluff their way forward and say the ship was built against the storm, but the man ahead of him was obviously not going to fall for that.

"Rodd," Irwin said, wondering if he should ask Greldo to move The Nocturn into the shadows. "We came from Dismarintsia-"

A burst of light interrupted him as a tall, flaming-haired woman wearing what looked like an elaborate, tight-fitting version of a smithing apron appeared a few steps away. The air around her rippled with heat while flames licked through her hair, slowly fading away. The hair that was left behind looked like thin metal strings ranging from pale gold to dark red. Two brilliant silver eyes glared at him from a face that seemed molded from metal, while slightly too large, pointy ears poked out from her hair.

Before he could even say anything, she raised a hand in which Irwin saw she was holding a tablet and stomped forward. The pressure that wafted from her was intense, and it took Irwin a moment to realize she had at least five soulcards and a heartcard, making her among the most powerful carded he'd ever met.

Irwin saw the Viridian take a step back to let the much shorter woman pass, who was ignoring the Viridians and glaring at him.

"You," she snapped, pointing the tablet at him.

Irwin wasn't sure how to react. The pressure rolling off the woman was slightly more than he could handle, and from what he could sense, she was doing it unconsciously due to being angry.

Besides, with five soulcards, she was likely a powerhouse, and the soul pressure he felt from her was much stronger than what he'd felt from Elders Sigora and Roark, while both had five soulcards. He'd already known not all cards were equal, not even of the same rank, but as he tried to reconcile the difference between the woman before him and the two elders, he couldn't help but wonder how she would have handled Lasther. He also wondered who was stronger between them…

The woman's eyes were narrowing, and he guessed she expected an answer.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"What? Why you- Hold this," she snapped, jutting the crystal tablet forward.

Irwin hesitated, not sure what would happen if he did, but before he could even react, she was in front of him, grabbed his hand in her smaller ones, and shoved the tablet into them. Her movements had been nearly instantaneous, and he'd not even seen her move. Only the swirling soulforce ripples behind her showed she'd actually moved and not teleported.

"Cardsmith Irwin Roddington, potential rank five," a cold, emotionless voice called out from the tablet. "Last seen on Granvox. Current ran-"

The tablet was snatched from Irwin, leaving him stunned as he saw the woman put her hands at her side and glare up at him.

Dammit…

"What exactly is your excuse?" she snapped angrily.

Irwin just shook his head, having no idea what she was talking about.

"For what?" he asked, unable to hold his own annoyance at bay.

"We send out a general message for all Cardsmiths to return," the other Cardsmith snapped. "There was even a specific additional call sent to Ganvrox for you and multiple other potential rank five Cardsmiths! Yet, all of you mysteriously vanished! You didn't even bother going to the local Guild Hall! Do you have any idea how worried we were? We couldn't even send out people to help! Then more and more smiths either ended up dead or found us completely traumatized!"

Irwin stared at her, his anger fading as he saw the clear worry and sadness in her eyes.

He scratched his chin, suddenly feeling like he was being talked to by his mother, which was ridiculous as she barely reached the bottom of his shoulder and likely weighed less than one of his legs.

What should he say? That he had better things to do? That he had no interest in being carted off to some central branch to hide out in some world? Looking into the burning glare, he snorted.

"As far as I knew, it was just a request and not an order," he finally said, which was technically correct. "I had to go back and find my mother first."

It was barely a fraction of the truth, but, in essence, it had been the core of it.

The woman stared at him, then frowned.

"Well, you had better come up with a better excuse for why you never found us after that. It has been years! Whatever. For now, you will come with me to the main Guild Hall so we can figure out what to do with you!"

Do with me?

Irwin crossed his arms. Although her worry seemed genuine, no part of him was willing to have his autonomy taken away by the Smiths Guild.

"That won't be necessary," he said calmly. "I'm only here to bring a warning and find some friends. After that, we'll be leaving."

The woman's eyes flared up, and she took two steps forward, growing with each one until she was the same size as him.

"Don't think just because you are some giant, I can't put you over my knee," she snapped. "I'm the vice guild master of the Langost Smiths Guild! If I tell you to come with me, you had better listen!"

Irwin stared back at her, about to tell her where she could shove it, when a distant shout came from the other end of the dock.

"Mazzareth, stop it!"

Irwin saw a woman with short hair of a similar type as the woman in front of him run towards them. Her face was stern, and she was glaring at the back of the woman before him.

What species are they? Irwin thought, somewhat surprised. He thought that the Loydin and Fiz'rin were the only metal elemental hybrids on the Langost branch.

"But, Guild Master, he-"

"Enough," the woman shouted, and Irwin saw the Viridians had started backing away, seeming highly uncomfortable.

The woman called Mazzareth took a step back and glowered at him.

"Don't think this is over," she grumbled.

Irwin just shook his head, sharing a confused look with Greldo.

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