He was not going to like this, huh?
Arthur let out a sigh and started to sit down on the bare rock in front of his dragon. Abruptly, he changed his mind and instead grabbed a comfy chair from his Personal Space. Flopping down onto it, he wondered why he had never bothered to stock his Personal Space with hot drinks. It wasn’t like time moved in there, so he could have anything he could stick in there on demand. He was definitely going to fix that the next time he went to the kitchens.
"Okay," he told Brixaby, "tell me what I don't want to hear."
His dragon gave him a jealous look, as if he wished he could pull a dragon-sized chair out of his Personal Space too. That might have been possible when he had been the size of a small donkey, but now he’d grown, that was well out of reach.
"When I consulted my Call of the Heart cart, it appeared that the next in my set is not only on another continent, but is possibly..." Brixaby trailed off for a moment, cocking his head to the side. "It is difficult to explain, except that it seems as if it was telling me the card is phased out of our world… and yet not."
Arthur frowned and repeated, "Phased out and yet not?"
He sat in thought for a moment. Traveling to the other continent was not the issue. The Dark Rower had easily portaled them across the world when they had gone to New Houston. But what could phase a card out of this reality?
Realization dawned on him, and he shot his dragon a sharp look. "It's in a dungeon, isn't it?"
"Very likely," Brixaby allowed, "or possibly locked away within a powerful card vault. We will not know until we get there and steal it."
"It might not need stealing. Just rescuing, or maybe just… being rediscovered again," Arthur said hopefully.
Brixaby shrugged. Apparently, it was all the same to him.
Letting out his breath, Arthur rubbed his forehead. "We have maybe three weeks at best and three cards to go. That’s a week per card to figure this out. We don't have time for any long, drawn-out mysteries. So, did your Call of The Heart say if it's near another city-state, like New Houston? Or maybe Soledad’s city, N’awlings?” It would be convenient to have a local on their side.
"No," Brixaby said. "It is on an entirely new continent."
"Wait, there's a third continent?" Arthur sat up in surprise. “How many are there?”
"At least three."
Brixaby's sense of humor usually was not that dry. Arthur gave his dragon a searching look. "There's something else, isn't there?"
"Only that my card provided a map, though it was less than specific. It is a southern continent with no name and is hot and full of desert. I believe that most of it is dead land. Also, we will need this card to gain access to the final one in my set, though I do not know why."
"Better and better," Arthur muttered, but it was not like they had much choice. They needed that card. On the other hand, each new Legendary made the two of them that much stronger. Hopefully, strong enough to defeat the Mind Singer.
"What about your Master of Combat?" Brixaby asked, as if reading Arthur's mind.
Arthur shrugged. "It’s almost certainly with the Mind Singer, or one of her minions. She'll want to keep it close by. But we’ve got to be careful. Confronting her directly might make her spring the trap under the kingdoms and cities that much sooner, so I don't want to do that until we at least grab your next card."
"So when we strike, the battle will have to be decisive and fast," Brixaby said. He eyed Arthur's comfy chair again. "We must go immediately."
Arthur stood, and as he did, he reluctantly sent the chair back into his Personal Space. "Give me a few minutes. This calls for a slight change of plans."
"What?" Brixaby asked.
Arthur grinned at him. "Well, we do happen to have somebody with a dungeoneer card."
Brixaby blinked.
****
Though the situation was grim, Arthur found himself humming under his breath as he entered the healing caverns.
The place had almost entirely cleared out after the last double eruptions. It was satisfying to see empty beds stocked with clean sheets and tables set up with medical supplies at the ready. His people had done well, and from the preliminary reports that had filtered up to leadership, everybody was swimming in card shards. And now Arthur had done away with the blood price, they could actually keep what they harvested. That was good for morale.
Yes, things would be looking up if they were not staring down the throat of a cataclysm.
Glancing around, Arthur didn’t see Marion among the knot of healers holding a discussion over distributing some supplies. So, he went to the back offices.
Sure enough, he found his friend in his brand-new office, sitting with his feet on the desk and his nose stuck in a book.
Arthur did not bother to knock. "I see you're keeping yourself busy."
"And I see that you probably have more work for me," Marion said, not looking up. He lazily flipped to the next page.
Smiling, Arthur stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
Marion turned another page. The man could sure read fast. Arthur took a closer look at the book’s cover. He had expected a medical text, but the title emblazoned across the spine read: The Mysterious Murder on Mystery Ridge.
"Is that... fiction?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, and I'd make fun of your hobbies if you had any other than filling up that spatial storage space of yours with junk," Marion said tartly. "Cressida and Horatio have complained about it several times."
Arthur shrugged. "They never complain when I have almost exactly what they need on hand."
Deciding that his reading time was thoroughly interrupted, Marion set the book aside with a sigh. "You know, I'd give up my Legendary time card a million times over again now that I can read and actually be surprised about the ending of a book. That is, when I’m allowed time to read. So, what is this about? And no, before you ask, I do not have any card anchors that will let me instantly heal somebody."
Arthur had already had his mouth open to reply, but that last comment thoroughly knocked him off balance. He blinked. "Wait, are those a thing?"
"No, they are not," Marion said, firmly. "And yet people ask me and the other healers about them several times a week. You'd think that if they didn't like getting injured that badly, they would go out and buy a healing card of their own." He paused in thought before adding, "Or maybe think twice before they get themselves sliced up by scourglings."
"This isn't about healing," Arthur said. "You still have your dungeon card, don't you? What was it called? Something Dungeoneering?"
Now it was Marion's turn to look as if he had been knocked off balance. "Material Dungeoneer, and yes I do.”
“It's been a while. Can you show me the description?"
Marion frowned, double-checked the door to make sure it was closed, then flicked his hand outward from his chest. The description shimmered into view between them.
Material Dungeoneer
Rare
Utility
Using mana, the wielder of this card will be able to furnish and manipulate materials inside a dungeon. It cannot create an initial access point for a dungeon, nor alter dungeon creatures without the aid of a dungeon blueprint. Seek cards within the same set to gain additional dungeoneering powers.
"This will work," Arthur said. "Apparently, Brixaby's next card is locked away in a dungeon. Do you and Asha want to come with us and go get it?"
"I'm a healer," Marion said. "You've just put your retinue in charge here, and there's a greater chance that they're going to need healing by the time this is all said and done.” He hesitated. "I have responsibilities. Here."
Arthur winced. He was not wrong, but… "Having someone with your card along with us will make the retrieval go a lot faster. That means Brix and I can return quicker and, you know, probably save the kingdom that much faster."
Idly, he wondered if he needed to use his Subtle Influence card, but that was not the sort of thing he should ever use on a friend. Not even under a time crunch that might spell the end of the kingdom.
But then, looking Marion, he thought he caught a flash of wry amusement. "You do want to come," he said, practically accusing.
"Oh, okay... yes,” Marion admitted and let out the smile he’d been obviously holding back. “Blame all the adventure books I read as a child, but I do like dungeons. Or at least the idea of them.” Then he grew serious. “But Arthur, please do remember that Asha and I do not have combat cards. That is something I've been meaning to talk to you about. I don't want to put anything more on your plate, but..." He trailed off meaningfully.
"You want a combat card?" Arthur asked, surprised. "You think that you can use one?" From what he understood, Marion had only healing and the dungeoneering cards in his heart. Every single one of those had stamped a bit of themselves on his soul.
"I could, if it were also useful in other areas. Probably not Asha, though," Marion said after a moment’s thought. "She is a healer through and through, but she is also a dragon with teeth and claws. Even when I was a prince, I was more utility-focused." He gave Arthur a look. "That hasn't stopped you from winning your share of fights."
"No, it hasn't," Arthur said, then nodded. "Well, there's at least one card in that dungeon. There may be more, but you know that Brix and I will protect you guys no matter what." Then, in slight revenge he added slyly, "I have a time card I could give you.”
Marion gave a dramatic shudder, then stood and reached over to grab a pack hanging off the wall. Arthur recognized it as a go-pack, with several runes etched into it.
Seeing him looking, Marion explained, "It's a healer-grade first aid kit. I've been on adventures with you before, and I believe that we'll both need it by the time this is over."
"Have some faith," Arthur said, rising to his feet. Getting to the next card might be a challenge, but with Marion’s acerbic but capable presence by his side, he felt like he had more of a chance.
As they walked out together, Arthur resisted the urge to hum.