Chapter 19 - The Tarlands

So far, every kingdom seemed to have its own rules, and the Tarlands were no exception.

The Tarland were, for a lack of a better word, bare. The sky turned completely gray, the only thing breaking from its color being the sun. Grass didn't exist; in its place was a layer of tar that stretched into the horizon. Dead trees, covered in the same tar, popped up here and there, their leaves replaced by dripping tar. Despite nothing covering them, the sun's heat didn't feel hot; in fact, it felt cool like night. Worst of all, the place reeked of motor oil.

His body twitched for a moment. The feeling, the very same he felt when he saw his first blood gem, was present in his mind. He felt relieved that it wasn't as intense as the first time around; he might've accidentally killed himself if he mindlessly wandered to it like that again.

"Put your knapsacks against the trees. We're not going to be camping in the Tarlands."

They did as they were told, only carrying their necessities. In the distance, he could see knapsacks like theirs, sitting against the trees too. He cringed. The Elf slipped the flask of blood, which still seemed fresh to him, into a pouch of hers. Then, she took a rock next to the trees and threw it far into the Tarlands. The rock sank a bit, then stopped half an inch in. She waited for thirty seconds, then nodded. At the very least, it seemed that the the ground was walkable.

"If I start sinking, drag me up. If I can't be saved... go back. It's not worth wading through."

They agreed, and the Elf took her first step in the tar. Like the rock, her foot sank half an inch in. She took another step. Then another. As she lifted her foot up, the tar stuck to her boot like slime, requiring more effort to move. But the fact that she could move at all was promising. She gestured them to follow. Maya moved first and, after making sure the coast was clear, he followed. Forced to march from the stickiness of the tar, they moved slowly but surely, the wind whistling in their ears. As they continued, something strange became apparent to them. Despite nothing blocking their view, trees and other objects faded in as they got closer. He looked back; as they moved farther away, the objects began fading too, until they completely disappeared. It was like draw distance in a video game. Seeing those objects disappear, but not the forest wall from Arkalo, freaked him out a bit. He turned around and put his mind to moving. 

"So this is why very few people come back from these lands," the Elf remarked. "How could they, when landmarks disappear like that?"

"But we can still see the wall, right?" He looked back. The wall disappeared. "Oh shit, it's gone now."

"Let's not think about that right now. The last thing we need is to panic."

"Right." He stared at the sun, and realized he didn't need to shield its eyes. In fact, it seemed less like a sun and more of a white, glowing circle in the sky. He shook his head.

The trio were silent as they trudged along, not wanting to risk waking up any enemies. After an hour of constant walking, they reached what seemed to finally be a proper location. Trees bundled together closer, their clusters not unlike a city park. Then, wooden planks emerged uncovered from the tar, forming a small path ahead. Footprints marked with tar were placed on the planks, indicating someone else had been there - repeatedly. They stepped onto the planks, scraping the tar off their boots. At least they could give their legs a bit of a break.

After a minute of walking, they could see a house pop in.

The cabin itself seemed normal, despite the odd environment it was in. Constructed poorly from wooden planks, the interior was slightly visible through the cracks in the wall. The wooden path split into two, circling two trees, before meeting together at the entrance of the cabin. His eye twitched. The blood gem was in there. He knew it was. But how to get inside...?

The Elf stepped up closely, peering through the cracks in the planks. There, she saw a black cloaked figure, channeling magic into a magic circle on the floor with a wooden staff. That was her target. But how to get inside...?

Suddenly, the magic circle's glow ended, and the figure turned around, speaking in a deep voice. "Whoever it is staring into my abode, enter. There must be a reason you came here."

The Elf stepped away, the chance at stealth gone. She signaled to the others that she was entering, and that they needed to stay put. The two nodded, and the Elf, with much hesitation, opened the door to the cabin.

Aside from a candle in the middle of the circle, the cabin wasn't lit with anything other than the light seeping through the walls. No light peered through the hood of the cloaked figure; white orbs floating where his head should've been represented his eyes. Golden chains dang from his sleeves, and a bright scarlet gemstone hung from his neck. She immediately recognized it as one of the gems that Peter stabbed himself with. 

The figure extended a pale, skinny finger towards her. "Good job locating me, intruder. I didn't expect our first meeting to be here; everyone thinks I'm in Arkalo."

"I figured your appearance was merely a projection. Your image in Arkalo never left the circle you drew the ground, after all. They never did find you there, so I thought the next place to look was here. Secluded from every other Kingdom, natural environmental hostility... It's the perfect place to conduct your business, especially since your magic allows you to project that far."

"Good work, miss detective. You want a metal for your troubles?"

"You should give it to one of your followers. I wouldn't have even known about the circles until one of your groups tried ambushing me."

"Hmm. I will have to reprimand them after this. So is this what this visit is about? Petty revenge for something I never told them to do?"

"No. Something more personal."

"Personal? That's exciting. What do you have against me, then? Regale me with your foolishness."

"You know damn well what you did to me, Taykaw."

"Do I?" The white orbs floated away from the hood, observing her. "Now that I think of it, you do look faintly familiar... oh!" The figure cackled, its laugher audible outside the cabin. "Oh yes! I do remember now! My apologies, it took a long while to recognize you. After all, you lack the magical essence you once had when I stole you from your family. I assume your owners ripped your appendix out? I was always very curious about how painful that was."

"Shut up."

"It's quite amusing, really. The idea of an elf, immortal to time, losing the very thing that allows them to live long lives peacefully! How long will it take for time to ravage your body? Fifty more years? A hundred more? I always forget."

"Shut your mouth!"

"No need to get aggressive, elf. I was only partaking in business at the time. If you want someone to blame, why don't you blame Phegolan? They were the ones with a slave contract at the time."

"They abolished that two weeks before you sold me!"

"Oh, I suppose that's true. Oh well. Slavery, indentured servitude... it's all the same thing in the end. You would know that very well, wouldn't you?"

"I'll rip your throat out from your body when I'm done."

"Oh, good luck with that." A white smile spread inside his hood. "Thousands came to challenge me. Thousands died at my feet. What makes you think you and your friends will be the one to kill me?"