Elloy had his back to me. Which was good because I wasn’t prepared for the conversation just yet. I had to come up with some excuse, and the longer he kept a silent back to me, the more time I had to formulate a response.
Unfortunately for me, back or no, he was gonna speak, and he would be heard. “Why you skulkin’ around out there, boy? Cardsmithing is a deeply private thing, and a privileged matter between smith and client.”
I swallowed. “It is?”
In response, Elloy belched so loudly and forcefully that a few of the candles almost went out, their flames trembling on their wicks. Then he laughed and turned to face me.
“I take it you aren’t here just to spy on my clients. You succeeded, then? You earned your first card frag the good ole-fashioned and honest way?”
I stilled my trembling hand as I pulled my card fragment from my pocket. Next to the fully formed [Uncommon] that Elloy had just forged, my measly [Common] frag didn’t look at all impressive. The light wasn’t as lustrous or shiny. Its aura seemed to have lessened. Or maybe that was my enthusiasm that had dimmed.
Elloy picked up on this. Naturally, he expected me to be a lot more excited about finally having a card forged. After all, it wasn’t a secret that I had kept. I blabbed and yapped to anyone and everyone about my desires. And I’d had plenty of people offer to buy me fragments or even whole cards, but I didn’t want that charity. I wanted to earn it myself. I wanted to find my brother with my own strength and will. Otherwise, how could I hope to stand side by side with him as an equal?
Point being, Elloy could see my hesitation and apprehension. “What’s the matter, Griff, my boy? You have the fragment, and you earned it, yes?”
I folded my fingers closed over the fragment, snuffing out the dull silvery glow. “I thought I had enough, but I was wrong.”
Elloy frowned and folded his arms after putting his cigarro into his mouth. “What are you blabbering about? I didn’t tell you my price yet.”
“But he had to pay you two extra fragments. That means I ain’t got enough . . .”
Elloy furrowed his eyebrows at me in confusion until it clicked in his head what I was talking about. Then he leaned back and let out a monstrous bellow of a laugh, his hands clutching his large belly.
“Oh, Griff, my boy. That wasn’t the regular price. Mr. Jadewell is rich and a bit of a pompous ass, to be quite frank. But his money is good, and he can pay what I charge. For him and his lot, I upcharge for my services. So, for him, it’s two fragments as payment, but for you and the good citizens of this town and the many travelers that come through here, it will usually just be one fragment. It isn’t in my purview to cheat honest folk.”
That was good news to an extent. But I still only had the one fragment that was the foundation of my card. I didn’t have an extra.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that, and I think that swanky bastard shoulda’ had an even bigger charge, but I only have one fragment, Master Elloy. I can’t pay you an extra fragment.”
He looked me over, his lips pursed as he thought. He brought his cigarro to his lips and took a drag before blowing smoke in my face. I coughed, waving a hand to ward off the smoke. He laughed at that.
“You know, I do have a lot of spare fragments, and when someone can’t afford the trade-in cost, I do take silver and gold. Or coppers if you have a truly insane amount. Not everyone in this town trades in fragments, so I accept coins too. One fragment is fifty silvers. Do you have that much saved up?”
“Fifty?” I asked, dismayed. I did have fifty silvers. I actually had about eighty in my bag. I had maybe another sixty at the house, and together, that was going to fund my journey for a time as I traveled. Fifty silver was a big hit, but I also knew I didn’t want to go out and try to get another fragment.
“Yeah, I got it,” I told him.
“Good. Then we can proceed.”
He turned his back to me again and went over to one of the tables against the wall that didn’t have any candles on it. There were supplies that I couldn’t really make out and jars of herbs and potions much like what you’d find in Granny Twellin’s shop. He uncorked a large glass vial containing what I thought might have been tobacco, but as soon as the cork came free and he took a pinch out, the dark herb had a reddish mystical glow to it. He snapped his cigarro in half with one strong hand and poured the glowing stuff inside. I jumped when he snapped it because I thought he’d just broken the cigarro for no reason, but I realized it could be opened from the middle. A neat trick.
Once it was packed, he clicked it back to normal, held the end over one of the nearby candles, and took some drags before it reignited. As he did, the smoke puffed around him, and he turned back to me.
“Now, before we begin, listen closely, because I suspect on your journey, you will go to other cardsmiths across the Badlands, and you should know how card creation works before you do, so you don’t bother them.”
I nodded, eager to learn, though I had a good basis of knowledge already.
“For a [Common] card, you only need the single fragment to form the card, of course. Most Cardsmiths also charge a fragment for that service. But from just a material requirement standpoint, you only need the one fragment for the actual process. The same goes for an [Uncommon] card, though the fragment has to be [Uncommon] too. You can also take four [Common] fragments to make an [Uncommon] card. Now, for [Rare] cards, you need a [Rare] card fragment and two to three [Common] card fragments to be able to forge them. From there, it grows at about the same rate, so you can probably guess how much you need for what level of card you desire. Most Cardsmiths—and even general stores and bookstores—can give you a conversion chart.”
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“And do you have a conversion chart?”
Master Elloy put his hands up. “Fresh out, I’m afraid. I have my original copy, but I use that to make more copies at the printing press. Before you leave town, I’d advise you to head over to the printer. Mr. and Mrs. Calbuck might have a spare. But for now, I think you should be fine with what I told you. I’m not expecting you to be getting [Epic] or even [Rare] cards anytime soon.”
I supposed he was right. It had taken me forever to muster up the courage to go and get a measly [Common] card fragment. Getting anything more would take time. Baby steps and all that. Of course, it was possible to work for cards and fragments, but I could go down that route later if need be. For now, I wanted to get my first card, then hit the road at long last.
“Any questions?” he asked.
I blinked. “I . . . I don’t think so.” I actually had a million questions, but none were super important at this moment, and with my excitement returning to me, I wanted to get this done.
Elloy nodded. He took a long drag as he held his hand out to me. I looked at the open palm that indicated for me to place something in the center. So, I fished out my fragment again and was about to hand it to him, but his hand recoiled as if I had held out a snake about to bite him.
“Not the fragment, your money. I told you it was fifty silvers . . . unless you plan to give me five thousand coppers or half a gold.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Cheeks heated, I found my coin purse, opened the metal clasp, and fished out most of my money, which hurt, but it was what it was. At least now, I knew. Going forward, get multiple fragments before doing anything.
Elloy didn’t count the coins, which I appreciated. I paid him the full amount, but it was nice that he trusted me not to rip him off. He pocketed them within the folds of his robe.
“Okay, let’s begin, shall we?”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Master Elloy smiled. He grabbed his stylus from the small case on the same table as the herbs and potions, and then we got started.
The procedure was much the same as what I’d seen when I was sneaking around and snooping on Elloy and the blueblood. Only this time, I had a front row seat. My fragment floated from my palm and glided into the air with delicate grace before Elloy used his cigarro and stylus in tandem as he took hold of my card fragment, plucking it out of the air with a flourish.
“Is the cigarro part of this or is it just for added flair?” I asked him midcreation.
As much as I’d read about cardsmithing and talked about it with other people, I’d never heard of a cigarro being used. I supposed it could help add smoke and guide it. I had heard some Cardsmiths used other devices like that, so maybe that was it too.
He promptly shushed me, and I zipped my trap shut. He put his cigarro to his lips for a moment so he could retrieve another fragment from his numerous bags beneath his robes. That fragment began to glow in earnest as it was picked up within a swirl of smoke, floating upward. Then, Elloy grabbed the cigarro and began to speak the creation spell.
Even up close as I was, I couldn’t make out the words that he was speaking. He muttered under his breath, and they were unintelligible for the most part. I did hear some sounds, but I gathered that he was not speaking my language, so I stopped trying to guess what he was saying or glean the meaning of the words. It was part of the process, and I trusted him to get it all done. Besides, the precise wording of a creation spell was a guarded secret. Also, functionally useless even if you knew the words unless you had a stylus and a card-making tattoo of your own.
To be honest, I was a bit mad at myself for snooping earlier. This might have been a lot more meaningful and magical to me if I hadn’t just seen him perform the same act for Mr. Jadewell. It was the end result that mattered. The card in my hand, the feeling and burn of it as I placed it on my skin.
When the card began to form in earnest, I did become more excited, and that sense of wonder returned.
My card fragment floated in front of me, large and gray. The one he’d pulled out spun around us with increasing speed as he turned in the smoke, the haze twisting and dancing like figures in the dark. It felt more dramatic than what he did for the rich guy, but I didn’t mind. Maybe it was just theatrics, but I appreciated the effort.
As the creation reached a crescendo, the spinning fragment slowed and came to join with my own fragment. They combined in a flash of bright silver-and-white light that had me covering my eyes with my hands for a moment before the brightness finally dimmed. When it was done, Master Elloy let his arms drop at his sides, and his breath slowed.
“And it is done,” he said.
He guided the card with his stylus toward me. I put both hands out in front of me, cupped together, as the card came to rest in my palms. It was bright, but the glow slowly faded until the image of the card formed, and I was able to make out what it was.
Common Card: Combat Skill: Polearm Proficiency, Tier 1
The image on the card was a stylized illustration of a figure wielding a halberd against some sort of monster, though the image was shadowy and formless, so I couldn’t identify the monster. Even the person didn’t really have any defining features. Just an inky approximation of a human. But the image was clear, and I smiled.
“This is awesome,” I said, breathless. My words were almost reverent.
Elloy bowed to me, and I returned the gesture. When we both straightened, he was smiling, and it was so warm and genuine, I was almost taken aback.
“Is that what you want? I can guide what a card will be if it’s a fragment, but I can’t nail down what it will be exactly. There are some masters who can, but it requires the highest tier of the [Card Creation] skill card and even more knowledge on top of that. The card trader will give you a good deal. We have an arrangement, so you’ll get a discount so long as you use the secret codeword.”
I arched an eyebrow. “What’s the codeword?”
“Smithereens.”
I guffawed. “Okay, I love that.” Then I scratched my growing stubble. “Um, I’m not sure. I was hoping for [Pugilism] or [Swordsmanship], like Deebo and Gareth.”
Master Elloy nodded. “Well, I’m sure Mr. Lyles will have those and others to choose from. If you want to know a secret, [Polearm] cards are a rare find. Everyone wants swords or guns, but I think staffs and spears and the like are very underrated.
I stared at the card for a long moment. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good, good, take your time. There’s no need to rush it, eh?”
He was right, of course. There was no reason that I needed to trade for the card I wanted and leave town that very day. I could take another day or two, and maybe I would, just so I could be doubly prepared for my journey. I’d have to think it over.
The two of us left the backroom and returned to the main foyer. Landrid was back behind the desk, whistling a tune and leafing through a book. There weren’t anymore clients waiting their turns. Typical. Of course, I’d be last, but that was fine. It was done, and I had my first card! Landrid didn’t even bother looking back at us.
I bowed to the Card Master again. “Thank you, Master Elloy.” And as I said it, I knew it was for more than just this card that I was thanking him. It was for being kind to me all these years, for not throwing me out the first moment I skulked into his shop. We didn’t have a perfect relationship. I didn’t have one of those with anyone, but he and the other townsfolk had been kind and neighborly when they didn’t have any reason to be.
“No problem, Griffin. We’ll miss having you around.”
I swear, I did not tear up. I didn’t.
He smiled. “Now go. Think on what you want to do. And if you do end up keeping the card, my brother can get you properly outfitted. If you have the coin.”
Well, that was a big if, but I nodded.
I pulled the door open, letting sunlight flow into the space. Landrid basically hissed at the sudden light, but he grabbed his hat and covered his eyes and continued on with his reading. I eyed Elloy one last time. He was smiling, his cheeks large and plump and jolly. He waved, and I returned the gesture, and I was gone.