Forge the Cards.

 The tavern door swung wide open as the girl ran in. “Is there a Cardforger around?

 “Depends on if the barkeep has that kind of room.” Sofia replied. “And if… well pretty sure everyone knows the drill by now.” She took a swig of her mug, and then set it down. 

“The card making room is 3 doors down, and to the left, Lass.”  The barkeep said. “Ash, here has been fascinated with making a deck ever since she finally could.”

“No.” Ash said. “I’ve been wanting a deck forever! Not my fault my parents never let me make one.”
 “Well that answers the usual questions.” Sofia chuckled, as she got up. “Safe to say you've got a starting deck in mind then? And brought the ink?”

“Provide you have the iron?” Ash asked.

“I’ve forged cards for 5 years, hun.” Sofia replied. “I always have the iron. Poly? Could you get my hammer, dear?”

A polar bear roughly a head taller than Sofia brought a hammer with his mouth. Sitting right next to her as he dropped it.

“Perfect.” Sofia said. “We’re gonna make a new deck for Ash then.”

Ash followed Sofia down the hallway to the proper backroom. “Well this must’ve been quite the vein of iron.” Sofia said, looking over the anvil.

“Does that matter?” Ash asked.

“No, but I can admire it, nonetheless.” Sofia said. “So? What kind of cards did you have in mind?”
“That’s not decided based on the ink?” Ash asked.

“Yes and no.” Sofia replied. “You can’t just dump ink into a furnace. You need to know what kind of deck you want. You might change your choices over time, but a starter deck works best when you follow the vein of the route you have in mind.”

“Okay well. I was thinking I’d mix water and fire.” Ash said. “Something that can do the first attack, but hold its own in support.”

“Okay.” Sofia nodded. “So just using fire for its offensive, and water for its defense?”

“Mostly, yes.” Ash said. “A couple of cards doing the opposite wouldn’t hurt through, right?”

Sofia sighed. “You are new. It depends on the deck. I was under the impression you knew of the rule of the game Alchanian Fields.”

“I do, and I want to play it!” Ash said. “And I like a deck good at more than one thing!”

“Wise idea.” Sofia replied. “But a deck good at 5 things? Is just as bad, if not worse, than a deck only good at one thing. A deck that does one thing well will win a few matches. A deck good at 5 things will just be out played.”

“Well then I want a deck that shocks people. I want a deck that works where it shouldn’t. Something that is built of cards that everyone says don’t go together. I want a deck made up of cards that people so often dismiss.”

“Now that is a good use of ink.” Sofia said. “So I guess all that’s left is to make it a good use of iron, or at the very least try.”

“How does one do that?” Ash asked. “How do you forge a card you know is good?”Sofia poured some ink into a mold, and slammed her own hammer down on it. “That, my dear, is just it. You don’t.”

“Then why does a card come out at all?” Ashed asked, watching Sofia’s hammer down on the anvil. “Why would they show at all, if they aren’t sure they’ll be any good?”

There was one final shout as the veins in Sofia’s arms were a bit clearer. A final hammer strike on the anvil. “Poly?” The polar bear dropped some of his personal ice on the card. “As for your question? Compare that to any other thing in life. I mean were you sure there was a Cardforger around?”

“No, I suppose not.” Ash said. “And I certainly wasn’t sure that there would be one I would like, I just heard that there  was a rather famous one in our town’s tavern. Was worried I had missed you considering how late I heard that news.”

“Naw. If I’m in a tavern, I stick around for somewhere between a few hours to a few days.” Sofia replied. “My job and ability mean I’m needed pretty much everywhere, so I usually stay around just to make sure I don't miss anyone.”

“And you're not a bit tired of that?” Ash asked. “You've been doing it for far longer than most from what I’ve heard.”

“I am one of the… rarities of the Cardforgers, that is true.” Sofia replied. “But I love a good story, and making decks produces a lot of good stories.”

 Just as she finishes answering some steam comes off the anvil again. The smell of ink reinfecting the air. “Smaller deck than I was expecting.” Ash said, gathering and looking over her newly made cards. “This does meet the minimum though, and I can’t say I don’t love some of these.”

“Yeah, starter decks tend to be smaller. Let’s you add to it later when you know a bit more about your play style.” Sofia said. “Also usually produced some cards you end up keeping for a lot longer than newer players expect.”

“Yeah?” Ash asked. “So you do have any of those?”

Sofia fished out her own deck, and showed off a few cards. One of a polar bear-est minion, one of a spell card that buffed up other things with a hammer as it image, and one other really stuck out to Ash.
“The black sheep card?” Ash asked. “You’re a black sheep in your family?”

“I’m a black sheep amongst my bloodline.” Sofia replied. “Family wise? It’s a found family, but it serves a lot better than the original ever did. Much like your own, from the sound of it?”

“You… you could say that.” Ash replied. “So when I want to build on this, bring more ink to a cardforger?”

“Yep.” Sofia said. “As long as you bring the ink, we’ll have the iron.”