Greldo listened to the sounds slowly die down, sitting beside Scintilla, who was surrounded by her and Irwin's five remaining kids. Zan had returned to his lap and fallen asleep while Soot was finally asleep, hugged by his mother, who hadn't let him go since seeing he was wounded. She was softly whispering with Flux and Mia while Ti was staring at the wall, seemingly lost in thought.

I can't stay much longer, Greldo thought.

There was no saying what was happening on Irwin's end, but the Niox carrying Glow should have long since returned. If it wasn't for his promise to Irwin, he'd have returned straight away, soulforce deprivation be dammed.

His soulcard shuddered as if to disagree with him while Coal sent him a humorized image of the two of them dropping out of the shadows halfway, falling unconscious, and being eaten by Skitrats.

Right, right. I'll wait a bit longer, Greldo thought, hoping Irwin would be alright.

A barely perceivable thud -an addition to the heartbeats that he heard all around him- was the only warning Greldo got as Boohm's body jerked. In a single, jerky motion, the Onyxian was up, his hands raised, and a snarl.

"Not going to get past… me… Oh man, what…?"

The energy seemed to leave Boohm, and he slowly raised his hands to his eyes, shaking his head.

"Where… what did you do to me?" he growled, looking around.

Greldo, Scintilla, and the others sat frozen, staring at Boohm- someone they had thought dead, as he looked around, touching his eyes.

"Blinded me…?" Boohm growled, cocking his head as if trying to hear something and taking soft steps around. "Not happening! I'll stop you!"

"Boohm, you're alive!" Soot shouted, looking up as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Soot? Why are you here?!" Boohm shouted, turning to the sound and giving them their first clear sight of his face. His eyes, which had been orbs of dancing silver, were dull and black, not a single gleam on them.

" It's dangerous! Go back to-"

"Boohm," Greldo said softly as he rose to his feet. "The Niox is gone, and…"

"And we are here," Scintilla said, remaining on the ground. She was looking at Boohm with a kindness Greldo had only seen her use on her children so far.

Boohm sank to the ground as if he'd been hanging by a thread that was cut.

"Thank the Stonefather," Boohm said as he sighed. "Is everyone safe? Were you on time to stop that masked monster?"

Greldo shared a look with Scintilla, whose face warped to one of worry.

"He took Glow and went back to his base," Ti said calmly. "But Dad is there, and he's going to have a nasty surprise when he returns."

Boohm sat frozen, and then his head lowered to his chest. "I failed…" he muttered, his unseeing eyes looking at the ground.

Ti ran past Greldo, stopping a few feet from Boohm. "No! You didn't," she said, wrapping her arms around Boohm's neck. "You wounded him so much that he couldn't take more than a single one of us! If you hadn't been here, we'd all be gone!"

Boohm's head rose slightly, but there was no sign of joy or relief. Just lethargy.

"I failed… again…" he whispered, seeming lost in memories.

Greldo stepped forward and put his hands on Boohm's shoulder.

"You fought a Niox meant for combat that had three soulcards," Greldo said. "Nobody would have done better."

As he said it, Irwin's face popped into Greldo's mind. He was sure his friend would have left nothing of the Niox, but he wondered if he'd been able to.

"Do you remember how he put you into that state?" he asked, trying to have Boohm think on something else. "You looked like you were dead, no heartbeat or anything."

Boohm shuddered, then gently wrapped one arm around Ti.

"The last thing I remember was exchanging blows with that… filth! He was starting to get angry; probably thought he could beat his way past me easily," Boohm said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "I'd already dealt with the small fry he'd brought, and he was threatening me… something about not wanting to waste it on an Onyxian."

Greldo frowned. Some one-time use card? As he thought it, he felt the pieces click.

"A one-time use card to bind someone," he said, feeling sure of himself. "Probably meant to bind Irwin. That means, if the Niox hadn't used it on you, he'd have been able to use it on Irwin."

"If he doesn't have more than one," Scintilla said, slowly getting up, still holding Soot. "The fighting sounds almost done! You need to head back to Irwin!"

Greldo nodded, holding back his groan. His soulcard had only slightly refilled, and moving again would probably take him out of commission for a few days, but at least he only had to move himself.

"If I go now, I won't be able to return for a while," he said.

"It's fine," Scintilla said, putting Soot beside Mia and Flux and using a single glare to tell him to stay put or else. "Can you leave Coal's shadows?"

Greldo nodded, staring at Boohm and wondering if the blindness was permanent and why it had happened in the first place. Then he walked back to Scintilla and handed her the still-sleeping Zan.

"Tell Irwin that I'm sorry," Boohm said, looking up with his blinded eyes.

"Instead of that, how about I tell him you are still alive," Gerldo said, wanting to pull Boohm out of his mindset. "When I get back, you better stop feeling sorry for yourself, or I'll bully you with your lack of sight!"

Boohm blinked, then let out a half-hearted snort. "Not even if I were deaf, shadowman."

As he spoke, Boohm managed to rise to his feet, holding Ti close, as she seemed unwilling to let go.

"Fine. I'll go. Just leave me in my existential crisis," the Onyxian rumbled.

Greldo could see it was mostly an act, but he knew that if Boohm was already able to do that, he'd be fine. Eventually.

"If Glow is safe, the Shadowhounds will bark once. If not, they will bark twice," he said.

Scintilla gritted her teeth and nodded.

With a final wave to the kids, Greldo stepped into the shadows, steeling himself for another weary trip.

---

Glow woke with a start, grabbing for something that wasn't there as his consciousness slowly returned.

What… where am I? he thought, looking around a small, square stone room. An open entrance led to somewhere else, and he could hear faint voices coming from it.

"You alright, Glow?"

Glow looked up with a start, then felt himself sink back with relief. Ambraz sat perched in a small, chipped-out alcove in the wall. It looked new compared to the rest.

"Yes," he whispered.

The voice from the other room had gone quiet, and a rush of footsteps came. Then his Father stood in the doorway, a wide smile on his face. There was no hint of the burning fury and rage that Glow had seen the day before.

"Finally awake?"

Glow felt a wave of relief flood him, and he nodded. Then, the memories of what had happened the day before came crashing back, and he shivered, struggling himself free from the blanket.

"What's a Niox compared to an Earth Titan?" he said, trying to sound brave.

His Father's smile widened as he walked into the room.

Glow didn't wait but pushed his legs over the edge and hopped down.

"Where are we?" he asked, realizing something was still wrapped around his arms. Looking at one, he saw it was bandaged.

"Still in the Deadpact Mercenary base," Irwin said, kneeling beside him and giving him a big hug. "Greldo just returned."

"Are the others alright?" Glow asked, his voice muted against his Father's chest.

"They are all fine," Irwin said, pulling back and examining him quickly. "Soot has a broken arm and some bruised ribs, but he will be fine, and there's better news!"

Glow frowned.

"Boohm is alive," his Father said. "That Niox used some skill on him, likely a one-time use one."

"That's great!" Glow said, and he felt a tiny wound-up emotion that he'd not even noticed unwind.

As it did, he began shivering slightly.

"Are we safe now?" he asked, annoyed that his voice cracked.

Then, he was wrapped up in his Father's strong embrace and lifted into the air.

"Don't worry. We are safe, and we are going to make sure that something like this isn't ever going to happen again!"

"Good," Glow muttered, not seeing the serious look on his Father's face. "Are we going back home now?"

"Not yet. Greldo needs to rest, and we can't leave this portal unguarded."

"There's a portal here?" Glow asked, perking up. He only faintly remembered the portals they had used before, the memories fading as his mother had told him was common. It annoyed him greatly, though not as much as it did Zi.

"Can I see it?!"

His Father laughed, carrying him out of the room, where Greldo was sitting on a stone chair. His face was wan, and he leaned back, looking tired. Still, his eyes glowed the familiar sharp silver, and he grinned.

"Glow, you really need to stop getting into trouble," Greldo said. "First those Earth Titans, and now a Niox mercenary?"

Glow snorted, searching for a snappy comeback and failing.

"Let's go and see that portal?" he asked, turning to his Father and ignoring the hairy, chuckling man.

--

A day after Glow woke up, Hind arrived with the mercenaries' small ship. After promising him that he'd be back as soon as he could, Irwin hugged Glow a final time and waved him off.

The ship was loaded with Dahlia, Zender, and all of the wounded Blademaidens, but there was plenty of space.

"She was annoyed," Greldo said softly.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Irwin saw he was watching Dahlia's small figure on the shrinking ship, then focused back on Glow's small form. He was sitting on Hind's lap, getting instructions on how to fly the small ship.

"We need to get more shadowwalker cards," Irwin said.

"It's not just that," Greldo said with a snort. "She'd hoped for some alone time, but that was a bit hard to get here."

Irwin turned to his friend, wondering if he was joking, then saw the big grin.

"Ha, ha," he said, cracking his neck.

"Let's head back. I'm not comfortable leaving that portal with only a handful of Blademaidens."

"I wonder where that portal leads to," Greldo muttered.

"Well, get us back, and we can finally start interrogating that Niox," Irwin replied.

"Sure, but… let me do the talking, alright?"

Irwin frowned, then saw the gleam in his friend's eye.

"Your line of questioning keeps getting our only source of information dead."

Irwin grimaced at the bad joke and grabbed his friend's shoulder. A moment later, they were shooting through the shadows, the sounds muted.

Irwin knew Greldo had been trying to help, making constant jokes to lighten the mood. It helped a bit, but Irwin wished he were done here and could see Scintilla and his children. Knowing they had gone through something and not being able to talk to them ate at him.

I wonder if Mom felt like this when Bronwyn was with the rangers or I was away, Irwin thought, knowing the answer to his question immediately. He recalled vividly how she'd reacted when he finally returned and now, in hindsight, realized just how hard it must have been for her.

I need to get them back to Eluathar, he thought, knowing he'd feel much safer when all of his children were in the hidden world, protected by his brother and the others.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the world reasserted itself around them, and he stood in the underground beside the portal. One of the remaining Blademaidens stood a few steps away.

"No changes," she said.

"Alright. We are going to see if our guest is up to answering some questions," Irwin said.

The Blademaiden hesitated. "Try not to break him," she said. "He almost died last time, and only his ridiculous regeneration kept him alive."

Irwin grimaced and tried to ignore Greldo's soft chuckle.

"I'll be careful," he said.

The two of them walked into the building and into the backroom, where a figure lay wrapped up in all of the soulforce-dampening chains they had. His arms were tied behind his back, even his thumbs wrapped up. His face, chest, and arms were covered in dark blisters- a reminder of Irwin's anger. That said, they were already healing, even the soulforce-dampening chains they had laden atop him, barely enough to slow it down.

"As ugly as the first time I saw him," Greldo said.

Irwin fully agreed. Without the mask, which had netted them another four cards, the ugly, oval, tooth-filled maw looked wrong in a face that still faintly resembled a human.

"Says you, Softlips," the Niox growled. "You should be humbly thanking the Nightpredator for being able to see me in all my glory."

"Softlips? I'll remember that one for when I see Dahlia next," Greldo said, walking closer. A massive form appeared next to him as Coal prowled towards the downed shape.

"Don't think I'll answer any of your questions," the Niox growled, but Irwin sensed the hesitation as the heavily lidded eyes focused on him.

So, I'm the scary one now? Irwin thought, feeling a mix of anger, sadness, and reluctant acceptance.

Trying to keep to his role proved easy, as just recalling what the Deadpact Mercenary had done was enough to make his anger burst out.

"Oh, but I think you will," Greldo said softly, lowering himself to his side. "You see, we let you heal up a bit first so we can continue our previous talk, starting with something easy. Alright?"

The Niox's eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet.

"Alright?" Greldo asked again, this time in a dangerously low growl, while Coal lowered its massive maw toward the Niox's neck.

"Alright," the Niox growled, the confusion evident in his eyes.

Greldo smiled, pulling back. "Good! Now, question one and the one we asked the last time we were here. Where does the portal go?"

The Niox made an oddly hollow sound from deep within his throat, and it took Irwin a moment to realize it was a snort.

"Come now, it's not that hard," Greldo said, leaning forward. "See, we are going to find out eventually. You telling us will just make things a bit faster!"

"You think this pathetic attempt at an interrogation will work on me?" the Niox growled, turning his eyes to the wall.

"Interrogation?" Greldo asked, sounding surprised. "No, no. This is me asking you some simple questions. If you answer, things might look up for you! If you don't…? Well, the interrogation starts when you decide not to answer."

"Your threats are empty, and your promises hollow," the Niox snapped. "I'll tell you nothing."

"Ah… well, that is too bad," Greldo said as he raised himself slightly. "Well, as I think about how to continue, let me tell you a little story."

Irwin kept quiet, but he wondered what his friend was up to. The Niox looked less afraid than when they entered.

"There are a couple of creatures in this world that are pretty dangerous in their own right," Greldo said, tapping his chin. "One of them we called a Scaledape… or was it monkey? Either way, besides being physically pretty powerful, it has a very nasty tendency. You see, it knocks out its prey, brings it to its lair, and then waits for it to wake up."

Irwin kept his gaze on the Niox, but he wanted to look at Greldo, wondering what he was doing.

"Then, after it wakes up, the Scaledape starts eating its prey! Really remarkable if you think about it."

The Niox's eyes narrowed. "Your little stories don't scare-"

Greldo leaned forward, his eyes a hand's length away from the bound-up Niox.

"You will answer our questions, or we will leave you in a Scaledape Lair. When it finishes with your legs, we will bring you back here, let that great regeneration heal you up, and try again a few times. Perhaps you will not talk… and in that case, the only other option is letting him burn you-" Greldo jabbed a thumb at Irwin. "If that doesn't work either, we will let you heal and see if we can't come up with some other ways. I've always wondered what would happen if we leave someone in an Earth Titan stomach for long enough. Also, if you think the other Deadpact will come and save you, think again. I will bring you to the gas giant's outer ring, where we could stay for a year without a day passing here. Perhaps I can see what those Flowlies do with their prey…."

The Niox's eyes never left Greldo's face as he continued talking, and Greldo didn't give him a chance to respond.

"So useful, that regeneration you have," Greldo said mockingly. "Now, we could also do this the easy way. You tell us what we want to know, and I'll just snap your neck. Quick… easy… pain-free.

Irwin couldn't help but glance at Greldo. His friend's words held such suppressed anger that he believed every word. Quickly looking back at the Niox, he saw that he wasn't the only one.

"I… If I answer, you will let me leave through the portal," the Niox said.

"No," Greldo snarled. "You came here, hurt my friends, abducted an innocent child, and did horrible things to the Blademaidens. Your choice is as much pain as I can come up with over as long a period as possible or a quick death."

The Niox growled, shaking his head. "I don't believe you! We have information on you, and neither of you-"

Greldo moved like a blur, his hand grabbing the Niox's head and his suddenly taloned finger stabbing the other in the eye. With a flick, the entire orb was ripped free.

"You know… one of your friends blinded one of mine," Greldo growled. "What do you think? An eye for an eye? Better yet, you don't need to see to feel… right?"

Irwin felt his stomach rebel slightly, but he also saw the fear in the Niox's remaining eye grow.

"This is taking too long," he said, raising his hands and letting the flames flicker around his fingers. "Perhaps I should just give him a bit of a taste and remind him…"

"No," the Niox snapped, the fear growing. "I'll answer your questions, but I don't know that much!"

Sure you don't, Irwin thought, not believing him for a bit. If he'd not known anything, he would have said so right at the start.

"The portal. Where. Does. It. Go," Greldo snapped.

"A piece of the old Imp shardworld," the Niox hissed.

Irwin frowned. "How did you make a portal here?"

The Niox snorted. "You backworld scum don't know anything," he snapped. "There are plenty of ways to make portals appear in low-rank worlds. You just need to know where they are."

"And how did you know where we were?" Greldo asked.

The Niox hesitated, and Irwin moved his flame-wreathing hands closer.

"Lasther, he has a device!" the Niox said quickly. "All we need is some blood or hair of the person we are looking for, and it will create a location beacon… some weird orb that the teleporters can use to create portals that lead to the same world."

A device? Irwin thought.

"Tell me more about the device," he said, leaning forward.

"It's some massive disk filled with runes and cards," the Niox said hastily. "Lasther doesn't like using it for these things because it's always working on something else. That's all I know!"

"What do you mean, working on something else?" Irwin snapped.

"I don't know!" the Niox hissed. "Something about some enemy he is trying to find. It has something to do with the Smiths! He puts them on it sometimes, makes them scream like you wouldn't believe."

"And who is Lasther?" Greldo asked.

The Niox hesitated again, and Irwin moved his hands forward as if to grab him.

"The leader of the Holy Shadow In," the Niox said, trying and failing to pull his head back from the encroaching flames. "He's some weird species I've never seen before. The Captain called them Geitter or something, and he's ridiculously powerful. Has some soulcard that allows him to create purple forcefields!"

Irwin opened his mouth, then snapped it closed.

Guidar…

He shared a look with Greldo before focusing on the Niox.

"You are going to tell me everything about the world, this Lasther, and where he is keeping the smiths," he said slowly.

--

Irwin stood before the portal with his arms closed.

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" he asked, wondering if Greldo was thinking the same thing he was.

"All of it? No. I'm sure he left some things out, and if I'd have to guess, what is beyond this would be one of them," Greldo said.

"Yeah," Irwin muttered. "Too bad. Getting our hands on one of those portal creators would be great. Perhaps find a way to use it ourselves or prevent them from using it near us."

"We could try," Greldo said, sounding as uncertain as Irwin felt.

"No. It's too big of a risk," Irwin said, shaking his head. "Let's just be happy that we finally have a name, a concrete location, and something to destroy."

He thought about the machine the now-dead Niox had spoken about, and his fists clenched together. Apparently, it ate Smiths.

They are feeding it Smiths to find us, he thought. He didn't know for sure, but it made sense with everything else they had heard. The Guidar were searching for what remained of their Galadin enemies and feeding that machine smiths had something to do with it.

He turned to Libriz and Mouzin, the only two people still here. Greldo had brought them along when he returned from his trip back home, while the rest were inside Irwin's soulscape.

"Alright, let's cave it all in," he said. "Make sure there's not even an inch of space around this thing."

Mouzin sighed as she walked to the cliff next to the portal and looked up. "This is going to give me a headache."

Irwin didn't respond but moved behind them while Greldo put his hand on him.

"I'll pull you into my soulscape as soon as this place collapses," he said.

"Sounds great," Libriz said, putting her hands on the wall, followed by Mouzin.

A few moments later, four hands began glowing as the gray rock groaned in annoyance. Cracks formed in a section that extended toward the portal, and Mouzin and Ibriz took a joined step back, the rock following them out. Mouzin hissed through her teeth, but she didn't stop as they pulled a massive chunk of stone out and around the portal. Every spot the stone touched began cracking and hissing as if the portal protested at being wrapped in stone. The wall, already structurally unsound, according to Mouzin, began groaning, and long cracks shot up along its surface.

Just before the stone chunk completely enveloped the portal, the cracking turned louder, and a slab of stone slid down to the side. Dust and shards of stone pelted everything as the chunk slid across the entire portal. Mouzin stumbled, and Ibriz turned to Irwin. "Pull her in. I'll do the final bit."

Irwin didn't question her decision but pulled Mouzin into his soulscape before she could fall over, while Ibriz turned, walked twenty feet to the other cliff, and put her hands straight into the stone.

"I'm going to increase the instability and bring the entire thing down, so get ready," she said.

"Do it," Irwin said.

Ibriz shivered as the glow on her hands brightened, and a deep, agonizing moan ran through the rock. Somewhere deep inside, something cracked, and a moment later, a cavity appeared far above, stone dust exploding out. Large chunks began breaking off, and sheets of stone slid down, slamming into the ground hard enough to cause everything to shake.

"Your singing really did a number on this stone," Ibriz shouted above the constant crumbling of stone. "Let's leave!"

Irwin quickly yanked her into his soulscape, and a moment later, Greldo pulled him into the safety of the shadowrealm.

They moved up and to the side as the stone began crumbling ever faster, the cave-in picking up speed as tons of rock began piling atop the square block. Greldo kept them there until half of the natural narrow chasm had filled, and it showed no indication of stopping. Then they rushed up and out of the caverns.

Irwin focused on his otherself, walking to the group of Ignizians who were staring over his soullake and at the mountains, seemingly enjoying the view. As he approached them, many turned to him, and he saw a few worried looks, which he ignored.

"We need to talk," he said. "I know many of you have specific familial requirements for your cards, but I don't have any of those cards now. What we do have is a lack of power… I have close to two hundred cards remaining, and I'm willing to give all of you enough to become heartcarded. I'll also reforge the heartcard for you."

The Ignizians looked around, and then Mouzin and Ibriz stepped forward.

"We've been thinking about this ever since you first offered it, and in light of what had been happening… and the fact that we both-" Mouzin looked at Ibriz, who smiled reassuringly. "We are enjoying the ability to shape stone far more than we had thought."

Irwin's eyebrows shot up at that, as Mouzin had complained a lot more than he'd expected from someone enjoying something.

"Besides this, we have been looking at how you do things with Scintilla and your kids, and it reminds me of some of the stories from the old times," Ibriz said. "I think we are going to accept Scintilla and your offer to move to a cooler world-"

"One with volcanoes!" Mouzin said hastily.

Irwin nodded, noticing the other Ignitzians looked worried. Mouzin and Ibriz either didn't see it or didn't care, and both Ignitzians grinned.

"Then, if you have a final card that will allow us to stay there, preferably something with stone…?"

"Not yet," Irwin said as he looked at the house, where he could sense Ambraz hard at work, recategorizing the cards with a different purpose. "But I'll have some soon enough."

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