World Of Worlds (Arula: One)

Chapter 9

The night air was warm and humid. The fire that blazed in front of the travelers did not help the case in any way. As soon as Omar put out the fire, colors immediately began to come out. The stars above shined brightly down on them, the trees glowed the blue light and fireflies came out to play. Karma thought it was the most beautiful thing she's has ever seen. She slept peacefully that night, dreaming of her world.

Later on that night, Karma couldn't help the feeling that someone was whispering in her ear. She moaned and tossed to her other side. The whispered was low, it spoke in an entirely different language. Then the sound of feet scurrying around the camp made Karma open her tired eyes. Karma screamed as she came face to face with a tiny green person. The creature screamed and began to shout in his native tongue.

Hearing the scream, Omar jumped to his feet, sword in hand. Agla woke up, startled. With no weapon in hand, she scooted over toward Omar. The small creatures hissed at them as they scurried around the camp with tiny swords in their hands. It took Karma a moment to realize that these creatures were trolls. Only as tall as her ankles, they were moss green with yellow eyes and sharp dagger-like teeth, with a nose as big as a bouncy ball and long thin ears. They're naked save for the loincloth they wore as their pants. They also had small satchels swung over their shoulders.

"They're trolls!" Karma exclaimed.

"Yes, and don't be fooled by their size," Omar said. "They're dirty rotten thieves." The trolls gathered around in a large group, their swords out and their teeth showing. They looked as if they were preparing for a battle. It looked a little funny if you thought about it.

"We're not just thieves," one of the trolls says as it steps out of the group. "We are also cold-blooded killers." It hissed long and deep. The more Karma looked at the creature the more she thought the small thing couldn't do more than scare a bird away. But as reputation would have it, these creatures could do more than scare a simple bird away. The troll that stepped out in front began to shout orders in his tongue to his group. The other trolls followed the orders and began to scurry around the camp, gathering food and other necessaries.

"Hey!" Karma said, as she drew at her dagger and swung at one of the trolls that came too close to her satchel. "This is our stuff!"

"Not no more," the troll hissed a laugh. It was an awful laugh, it made Karma want to cringe.

"What's your name?" Omar asked as calmly as possible. He didn't want to make this situation any worse than it was.

"Jerum." The troll hissed, "Captain Jerum, to be exact." The troll smiled to himself at his name, as if it meant he was the ruler of all Arula.

"Well, Captain," Omar said. "We do not wish to trouble you. But we are on a very important mission..." Jerum snorted at that. "... And we need to get there as quickly as possible. But if it means you will leave us alone, by all means, take what you need." The troll smiled widely, his yellow teeth showing. He shouted more orders at his comrades, who howled in response and began to dig in every bag that they could get their greedy little hands on.

One troll went after Karma's satchel. She quickly snatched it from the ground and kicked the troll. "Nah uh," she said. "This is mine! You better keep your dirty little hands off it." The troll cursed her and swung his tiny sword at her. Karma swung her own dagger at the troll. It squealed and ran off to scavenge somewhere else. When their entire camp was empty of any supplies that would last them a month worth was gone. The trolls scurried out of the camp and disappeared through the bushes.

"Thank you, elf," Captain Jerum said. "You shall never be remembered." With an evil hissing laugh, he scurried after his comrades. Shari, who sat on Omar's shoulder, hissed at the trolls. Jumping off his shoulder, the ferret chased after the thieves. Karma watched as the ferret disappeared into the woods before turning furiously at Omar. The anger in her eyes could not be mistaken.

"How you just let them take our supplies!" She yelled angrily. "Now we have no food, hardly any water and most of our money!" Omar did not flinch at her harsh words. He too was upset and he understood why she was angry with him. But what other choice did he have? A troll might have been weak with just one, but a whole group of them could lead to many puncture wounds that would lead to death.

"Karma, I know you're upset, but it could have gone a lot worst if we didn't let them take what they wanted." Omar said, which made Karma snort. Agla walked up to Karma and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I have ventured many times in these woods with my family, and I've seen what those disgusting creatures can do," Agla said, her violet eyes searching Karma's green ones. Karma took a deep breath and nodded.

"Fine," she muttered. "But this isn't over. We now need supplies that will last us the rest the way to Indigo and then to Abaddon." She furrowed her eyebrows at Omar. Agla though, excitedly jumped up in the air at the mention of her village. She stayed hovered in the air, her beautiful wings fluttering in the night sky.

"Oh! I know!" Agla said, excitedly. "If we just head for the nearest Sprite village you can just leave me there, and I'm sure after I tell them what you did for me, they'll be more than happy to give you supplies for your trip to Abaddon." She came fluttering back down to the ground as she finished her sentence.

"What about your village?" Omar asked.

"Oh, don't worry too much about that," she said. "I'm sure I can find my way back or just have guide take me back home. Trust me, by the sound of how important your guy's mission is, I'll make sure that you get to Abaddon." Karma smiled lightly at the sprite. She could never know such kindness from such a beautiful creature. Karma nodded.

"Fine, if that's what you want." Karma said. The sound of the bushes rustling turned the trio's attention toward the sound. Swords drawn they waited. Shari suddenly came limping from the bushes. It chattered softly as it made its way toward Omar. Sheathing her sword, Karma continued. "So, what's the village called, anyway?"

"It's called Singen," Agla said. "It's just beyond the border, about a day walk and a half day ride." Karma looked at Omar, who nodded.

"Let's go."