Chapter 78: The Burned Pillars
Three days went by in the blink of an eye, and to Irwin, they were some of the happiest he had ever had. With only five people, Trimdir's smithy should feel empty, but the loud, happy shouts as Lamia or the others as they managed to reforge a card successfully, or the angry curses if they failed, made it feel cozy.
"Not bad, Dalrindir. That is your fourth successful reforging of a card? Two in a row now?" Trimdir grunted as he stomped over to the other smith.
Irwin grinned as he looked up from Ambraz. There was another card on the surface, waiting for him to reforge it. It would be the last he did. Tomorrow morning they would be setting out to Esterdon.
Dalrindir grunted and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Well, it's about time, isn't it? I don't like being behind the curve. But I suppose I should thank you for bringing me," the much smaller smith grunted while smiling at the other. "Don't get too comfortable in that lead, though. I'll be catching up soon enough."
"I don't doubt it!" Trimdir snorted.
Irwin absently listened to their banter as he reforged the card before him. When he finished, he stared at the new uncommon and put it on the stack of others. Trimdir had asked him to do all the cards that had any combat potential himself, just to be safe, and this was the last one.
Tomorrow we leave… he thought as he looked around the smithy.
He noticed Dalrindir staring intently at the projected image of the card as he hammered on it, trying to reforge. Something about the way the card-image wobbled made him think the smith wasn't hitting it right, but before he could help, Dalrindir stepped away and cursed. Then he grabbed the card, opened the heavy metal barrel next to him, and threw it inside. Nothing happened for a few moments, then there was a loud explosion.
Dalrindir angrily struck the anvil, causing a few tools to clatter to the ground. Then he looked at Trimdir with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. "I got too impatient and didn't hit it right. It won't happen again."
It probably will, Irwin thought as he recalled the smith's last half dozen attempts. He felt his mind slowly move to what lay ahead, and after a few moments, he brought his stack of uncommon cards to Trimdir, who shot him a glance and raised an eyebrow.
"Going to take a walk before we eat," Irwin said as he forced a smile.
"Alright, take Daubutim along and be careful. There's still sightings of that Slaughter Demon, and those Galubs keep sending new assassins."