"What! ....Are you guys going to enter the barren lands! Are you mad?"
An old guide who had just escorted two strangers to the rocky borders of the barren lands asked aloud with shocked widened eyes, gasping with surprise he quickly tried to deter the young couple who had dismounted from their horses intending to trek into the danger-filled desert.
Before his clients could move to confirm their intentions, the man rushed to block their path, he looked sternly at them like a father scolding his children and frantically lectured the duo.
"I know young nobles like to adventure to dangerous places, there's nothing wrong with that, but there is a thin line between bravery and madness.
You are so young, there is no reason to put your lives at risk because you clearly don't understand the dangers of entering the desert.
At this point you guys can turn back without shame, I'll tell you some details about the barren lands so you can brag to your friends when you get back.
There is no need to stupidly risk your lives any further. Entering the barren lands without significant strength or protection is a bad idea rhat can only end in death."
The experienced man had a face full of dread and anxiousness as he tried to persuade the young couple.
He was sure this young couple were nobles from overseas. Would he be held responsible for the couple's death when the noble house they were from investigated the matter? The man felt a bead of sweat running down his back as he couldn't help thinking about the ramifications of today's events.
The three people stood on the rocky borders of a landlocked country called Kingston, they had ridden here through the mountain pass over the course of a couple days. As the hilly, rocky terrain stretched further south, the terrain flattened out gradually, eventually transforming into an ocean of sand bleached pale-white by the harsh sun.
The old guide with a head full of white hair pointed out towards the sea of sand with an anxious expression and began telling them about the dangers he assumed they were ignorant of.
"The sand here is a man's worst enemy, one could walk in circles for weeks and not be aware of it, there are no distinctive markings to calibrate your position, dunes pop up and disappear as often as you drink water. Once you get lost it is almost impossible to find your way back here.
Next, one could encounter a member of the beast-men tribe, not many have gone up against one of those savages and lived to tell the tale."
The man shivered at the mere mention of the beast-men as he spoke to the young nobles, his fright and concern visibly displayed on in his face.
"Finally, encountering other humans in the barren lands could be even worse, only the worst of the worst chased from society for horrific crimes would dare roam these deserts, these people have no bounds or morality, a quick death is the most mercy one should expect from them".
The guide looked pleadingly at the young couple as he made his final attempt at convincing them to abandon their mad crusade into the barren lands.
"Thank you for guiding us this far, don't worry we'll be okay from here," the black haired young man wearing a black hooded robe responded nonchalantly with a smile and looking unbothered by the guide's frantic warnings. He then gave a slight bow to the guide and passed the man a bulging jingling coin purse.
The old guide looked at the purse in hand and then at the young man's red haired companion, maybe she would have more sense to heed his warnings. She smiled and gave the worried old man a slight bow as well.
"It really is ok, fret not, no-one will come looking for us, she said in mild amusement.
The old man shook his head in disappointment. For a brief moment he thought about bringing them back against their will for their own good, but quickly dismissed the thought.
"Young people sure're stubborn these days," the man said with a long sigh..
Seeing that he couldn't convince the two people the man turned in disappointment.
"These are the agreed provisions." The old guide handed the reins of a large fierce beast ladened with goods over to the young man and turned to leave.
He regretted bringing these young people to their sure deaths. There was no other way to put it.
He had met the young couple at the capital in an inn looking for a guide to carry them to the barren lands.
Assuming them to be daring young nobles looking for an adventure, he negotiated a hefty sum and agreed to bring them here.
The youngsters also wanted to keep their journey a secret as apart of the deal, this didn't surprise the old man.
The whole time he was under the impression that they only wanted to come and have a look at the famous barren lands.
The old guide had carried many young rebellious nobles who were either forbidden by their parents to go near the barren lands or just wanted to brag that they have been to see the barren lands.
They all wanted to avoid the patrolling soldiers at the border for fear of being forcibly returned back to their families prematurely and these two seemed no different .
The guide knew the mountain routes well and had skirted around the patrols of the garrisoned soldiers from the three prominent countries.
He easily avoided the soldiers stationed at the border of the barren lands and brought the youngsters here to have a look at the border.
The only thing different with this trip was that the nobles under his care actually wanted to enter the barren lands. Never did he imagine that the pampered nobles would want to venture into such a dangerous place. It was either madness or suicidal.
The guide mounted his horse and galloped off back the way he had come after giving them one final gloomy look of pity.
Hartley smiled at Zhi Ruo and watched as the man disappeared back through the rocky terrain heading towards some rolling rocky hills.
He then turned to face the stretching deserts of the barren lands. The sun was high and pouring down its sweltering heat. The parched pale-white sand covered miles in every direction.
The sound of the wind whistled as it blew blankets of swirling sand across the empty and lifeless landscape, the whole desert was clear and sharp in view, nothing could hide unless it blended into the sand.
Hartley gave Zhi Rio a serious look, "this is it, are you sure you still want to come?" ******
The two had left the western hills weeks ago, travelled to east by ship and eventually found their way to the country of Kingston bordering the barren lands.
This was an incognito trip, Hartley didn't want his enemies to know that he wasn't in the western hills, that's why he had hired the old man to carry them on the most inconspicuous route.
Only a few privy people knew the Lord and Lady of the western hills were gone, but none knew the specifics of their journey.
Without skipping a beat Zhi Ruo answered, "sure let's go see this mystery place." ******
The silhouettes of two people moved effortlessly over the wavy velvet sand underfoot, light footprints left behind were covered almost immediately by the fine grains of sand constantly moving with the wind.
If one paid full attention they would notice that the sand grains blown by the wind that usually attacked the eyes and nostrils of unsuspecting travellers like a never-ending swarm of angry insects, didn't seem to affect these two.
In fact if one really paid close attention they would also notice a translucent sphere surrounding the travellers.
As they moved, the tiny grains of sand flying through the air seemed to deflect around them outlining the sphere with a brownish colour as they moved at speed.
Anyone who had walked any distance in this desert would know the torment and torture of the relentless stinging attacks from these tiny sand grains.
At first it would feel like a mild nuisance, but after prolonged exposure, it would feel like a swarm of angry insects were constantly gnawing at one's eyes and skin.
If one was unlucky it could change to a full blown typhoonish sand storm attack.
Horses or fierce beasts would go blind within two days of entering the desert.
The animal would then panic and run wild for miles, bringing the unfortunate rider off course and lost, leaving them at the mercy of the buffeting winds and swirling sand.
Zhi Ruo was on the verge of breaking through to the third layer of the xiantian realm.
With Hartley's sphere protecting them from the sand and the ample supplies kept in Hartley's space ring, they made quick progress across the scorching desert.
Hartley kept looking at his map making sure he was on course. Moving in a straight line through the desert was easy, Hartley's awareness could cover almost 1000 meters.
After two days of moving through the horrible wind, stinging sand and some encounters with giant sandworms which were easily vanquished by Hartley, the bedraggled couple finally saw the end of the desert.
What faced them was hard cracked brown ground with a few withered trees scattered over a dreary looking landscape, highlighting the desolation that was spread far and wide.
Glad to be out of the Sandy mosh pit they made their way further south and deeper into the barren lands.
*****
On another harshly sunny day Hartley and Zhi Ruo had their first encounter with people since entering the barren lands.
As they moved forward carefully through the new terrain. Four robed forms emerged from behind some boulders to block the path ahead.
Dressed in brown hooded robes pulled up against the wind and hiding their faces. Their baggy attire was whipping around with the fluttering breeze.
"Kid you've got guts, not only did you dare to enter the barren lands but you also brought such a pretty snack with you."
A sinister voice came from one of the hooded men.
The barren lands weren't a place for the weak, only capable people could make it through the desert at the entrance. So even though Hartley seemed like a normal mortal, these guys were wary.
"Capture them, let's have fun." Came the order from the sinister voice.