Elemental Disturbance by Voss Foster

Author:Voss Foster [Foster, Voss]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-08T16:00:00+00:00

Once more, stepping through a portal into the Kingdoms, I didn't know at all what to expect, besides neons and oversaturation. Tarwald was something completely and utterly different.

"I haven't been back here in a long time." Balaz, my new dwarven companion, whistled impressively as we stepped onto the wooden street. "I remembered the trees and the complete lack of sky, did not really remember how humid this sumbitch was."

Yeah, humid was right. This was a swamp. The wooden road we walked on wasn't carved and polished tiles or slats or anything like that. At first glance, at least, it looked like thousands of mangrove roots all somehow trained out of their natural shape and into a twisting, mostly even cable of sturdy wood. Though, since this was a kingdom ruled by plant elementals, the answer was probably a lot more magical, and hence a lot simpler, than that.

I followed slowly behind Balaz. He was a sturdy little man, about as broadly built as I was, but only a bit over three feet tall. Short even for a dwarf. He wore a similar cut of jacket to Gutt's. Apparently with all the government jobs in and around DC, there was one thriving little tailor who specialized in that sort of business attire for preets. He also carried nothing but a baton. No sidearm. But I guess if I had magic, I wouldn't be so attached to having the Glock on me at all times, either.

"This sector of Tarwald is normally just for vacationers." He led me around a corner. "A regular resident is either very well off and respected, or works directly in the neighborhood."

"Not exactly the sort of place I'd expect to find some sort of scholarly demon. Also, people really vacation here?"

"Oh, absolutely. Tarwald is the Kingdom of Eternal Daylight." Balaz gestured to the sky. Or the lack thereof. "The canopy is so thick that no natural sunlight makes it through to ground level. So they worked some tricky enchantments across the whole kingdom to keep it constantly lit up like midmorning. Plus the food is excellent around here, and some interesting cultural landmarks. War memorials, that sort of thing."

"War memorials?" Fazil had mentioned elemental children being used like this during wartime in the Kingdoms. "Don't suppose you could tell me more about the wars?"

Balaz shook his head, going around yet another corner. "I came for the food, the atmosphere, and the brothels. The brothel game around here is also strong. Probably doesn't hurt the vacationer trend. Plenty of unbetrothed folks meet up here and end up falling in love, but plenty of them stay oblivious of each other and do the local economy some serious good while they have their fun." He stopped dead in front of a massive tree. 'This is the place."

It took me a bewildered minute to actually tell what was going on. Honestly, I thought maybe Balaz was taking the opportunity to fuck with me. After all, this was a tree. But then I noticed the lights hanging from the gnarled branches, and the staircase hidden off around the side.

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