Chapter 16: Bacon and porridge
Irwin gazed dully at the card before him, waiting for Ambraz's opinion. He didn't even bother to ask what the flowing handwriting next to the card said. His initial joy at all the cards had been tempered by the Anvil's increasing despair at the quality of the cards. A soft rumbling from his stomach showed that he'd not had anything to eat since the large meal that Xourdin had given them back home.
"Another one of these partial things! Durable fingers, even if I reforge it, it will be no better than Durable hands! Bah," the tiny Anvil whispered, his voice dripping with disgust.
Irwin shrugged and returned the card to the shelf, looking around. He'd looked at half of the cards in the room, and so far, not a single one seemed good enough for Ambraz.
Well, if he doesn't like any, I'll just take the one I think is best, Irwin thought as he moved to the next card.
Before he could even see what it was, Ambraz hummed, something he'd not done before. "Oh! Now, this is more like it," he whispered. "If there's nothing better, this would do."
Irwin focused on the card, which had an image of a tiny skeleton. "What's it called?" he whispered.
"Metallic Skeleton," Ambraz whispered before quickly reading out what the text next to it read. "The common version of metallic skeleton makes your bones nearly indestructible but also increases their weight exponentially! It's very good, but pay attention! Don't take this skill unless you have a body-strengthening card that has tempered your body for at least a year! Otherwise, you might not be able to move for months as your body adjusts."
"I don't think I can use this," Irwin said as he swallowed back his rising fear of being squashed by the weight of his own bones. "I can barely move my current body weight…"
"Bah, what does it matter if you can't move for a while? It'll give you more time to learn. Besides, after I reforge it, the weight should become less restrictive."
Should? Irwin thought, not hearing a lot of certainty in the other's voice.
He quickly moved to the next card, which got a disgusted grunt from Ambraz, as did the next six. Irwin absently wondered who wrote the texts on the cards.
There was a startled hiss that drew him back to reality.