World Of Worlds (Arula: One)

Chapter 10

Luckily the Sprite Clan was only a day and half away. Otherwise they would have never made it past a week without food. Karma was still mad about what happened with the trolls, but she couldn't put past herself to stay mad at Omar forever. He was her friend, and they had each other's back no matter what. As they reached the border of the Sprite Clan, Agla squealed with joy and raced ahead of them. She laughed and fell back on the bluish grayish grass. Agla giggled as she started to make grass angels.

Omar and Karma smiled as they made their way toward the sprite. Once Karma stepped on the grass, she felt a wave of cool air. Inhaling then exhaling, the air was wet and moist. The Sprite Clan has been one of the few clans she has never really visited. The forest glowed with a bluish grayish color. Fireflies twinkled every now and then and crickets chirped their songs. "So where is this Singen village you spoke of?" Omar asked as he led his horse, Jack, toward a grassy patch. Agla stood from the ground, dusting herself off.

"Oh, it's just north of here, a week away from the Dwarf Clan. Come on I'll take you there." She said, leading the way. Karma looked at Omar, who shrugged. They followed Agla through the Sprite Clan. The Clan territory was a little bit different than Karma remembered. Squirrels skittered around and deer pranced along their paths. It was a sight to take in. By sundown, Singen came into view. Karma stared in awe as she saw the village. Small huts sat in trees and bridges crisscrossed above them connecting to every tree and hut. Lanterns filled with fireflies' lit up the dark tree dome. "Welcome to Singen." Agla said as they made their way through the tree dome. On the ground beneath the bridges and huts were gardens filled with fruits and vegetables.

Upon entering the village, sprites glanced their way suspiciously. Mothers rushed their children into nearby huts and men watched the new visitors with careful eyes. "They're afraid." Karma said.

"Why shouldn't they be?" Omar replied. "After all that has been happening in Arula, I wouldn't blame them." Karma agreed. The sprites are probably suspicious of humans. They kept walking in the village, taking in the beautiful view. Suddenly, a male sprite flew down to them, stopping them in their path. He was shirtless, except for the leather strap that crossed his bare chest. He was muscular and tall. The sprite's wings were long and dark, not short and bright like Agla's. Bow in hand, the sprite said in a deep voice.

"Dentente donde estàs,"*1 he said. "Who are you and why have you come?" Agla was the one to speak next.

"I'm Agla, and these are my friends." She said. "We have travel far from Arkum, the human village. I was taken from my village and put on the slave market," the male sprite in front of them snarled at the mention of being kidnapped and put on the slave market. "But this nice human and her elf friend had saved me and were taking me home. Our camp was robbed by trolls, and we do not have the food nor the material to continue our journey. We were hoping your village would help us... well them."

When Agla finished, the sprite tilted his head at them. He then spoke in his native to his village. Soon sprites came out from their homes and came to greet them. "What did he say?" Karma asked Agla.

"He said, 'these are our friends. They mean us no harm.'" Agla informed her. The male sprite turned back at them; he waved his hand toward the village.

"Those who save a bird is always welcomed." He said. "I am Boran, by the way. We will give you what you need for your journey. May I ask where you're going?"

"Abaddon." Omar said. "And it's best if we get there quickly." Boran nodded but didn't say a thing. He led them in the village where he began to fly up to the top of the tree dome. Agla flew up with him. She glanced back down at her friends.

"What about them?" She asked. Boran order two of the nearest sprites in his tongue. The two sprites flew down toward Omar and Karma. The sprites grabbed them by the armpits and carried them up to join Agla and Boran. Omar and Karma were placed on one of the bridges.

Karma watched as the two sprites flew off. She hated being picked up, it made her feel small. "Come," Boran said as he led them through the village. He led them to a small hut on the far end of the village. It was a round hut with two circle windows on either side of the doorway. There was no door, only an archway, which Boran walked through. "This is the healer's hut. She would more than happy to let you stay here for the night." He said then he took his leave. The hut was small with one bed, shelves filled different herbs, and a green fire blazing in the center. Karma raised an eyebrow at the green flames. She looked at Agla for an answer.

"The green fire is nonflammable," Agla said. "It's so that whole village doesn't burn down. An old sprite founded it. So now we don't to worry about our villages burning down whenever we start a campfire." Karma nodded. She regrettably did not know that. She sighed hating herself for not knowing so much about her own world. It truly killed her. Omar put a hand on her shoulder.

The sound of wings made them turn around to see an elderly sprite flying into the hut. She had greying blue hair with kind, dull yellow eyes. The sprite walked in. She observed her new visitors. Then with a short cough, she placed a basket that she carried and placed it on a small table. "I was told I would have visitors this evening," she said, her voice was rough and little scratchy. "But I was not told it was a human, an elf and a sprite." The old healer chuckled and continue to unpack her basket. "Might as well make yourselves at home. I got some soup cooking up."

After a nice hot meal, the healer gave them each a wool blanket and a feather pillow. She told them if they needed anything all they had to do was wake her up. Everyone agreed and thanked the healer for the meal and a place to sleep. Grunting, the healer went over to her herbs and started to mix them up. Karma watched the healer for a while until her eye averted toward the green flames. Her eyes grew heavy as she watched the flames dance. Soon she fell into a dreamless sleep.

*1 "Détente donde estas" ~ "Stop where you are"