World Of War (Arula: Three)

Chapter 19

They all sat at a round stone table, which the dwarves called their meeting hall. King Harloff sat quietly and patiently as he listened to the story about the "nothing" that had trapped many of his subjects. He listened to Karma's side of the story, as well as her companions' side, who backed up her story. The King then listened the ten, out of the hundreds of dwarves, story. Each one had similar stories of wandering to the woods by the border and fall into, literally, nothing. They told the King of what seemed like an endless world they had ended up at. They explained how Karma came in and how they wandered in one direction until they found a mysterious door. Karma had also explained how many of the dwarves never made back because they didn't think there was a way out.

When the story was finished, King Harloff sat in complete silence. His stubby fingers folded together, laying softly on his round stomach. He stared across the table at Karma, searching. Finally, he spoke after the long silence. "Valor," he said to his son. "Go tell the Captain Guther to have his men fall back. There will be no war." Prince Valor smiled hugely.

"Yes, Vader!" The Prince said excitedly. He bowed and left the meeting hall. Karma, along with her companions, sighed with relief.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Karma said.

"No, thank you, Creator." King Harloff said and motioned to one of the guards that were standing by. "Take these gentlemen-" he motioned to the ten dwarves "-and help them on their way home." The guard nodded and escorted the ten dwarves out. "Now," the King continued. "Down to more impressing business. The goblins are expecting war. How do you expect me to deal with a bunch of war hungry goblins?"

"I think we should send a peace treaty to Lord Hunjer." Karma said.

"What?" King Harloff hissed. "You want me to send those no good, rock loving, green toads a peace treaty?!" The King stood, hands firmly resting on the table, the tops of his pink flesh turning red.

"Yes," Karma said, standing as well. She gently placed her own hands on the stone table. She leaned forward and stared directly into the King's eyes. "Because right now, Arula doesn't need any more wars, nor bloodshed. And I know that you don't want to be the cause of Arula's tumbling. Do you?" The stare down between the Dwarf King and the Creator seem to last forever. An icy feeling came into the air along with a fiery stench of hate. Finally, King Harloff relax his hands on the table and stood a little straighter.

"All right, Creator. Have it your way." The King said. "Stark!" He called to his advisor. Stark stood right away. His back straight, ready for his King to give him orders. Almost like a soldier. "Make the parchment for a declaration of peace. Send it to Ertum. Have it invited the Lord here in a week in a half to discuss peace."

"Yes, My King." The advisor said with a deep bow and left. The King motioned to the leftover guards.

"Make sure that our guests are comfortable." He said and left, leaving everyone else on the edge of their seat.

----

The week in a half went by very slowly. Karma mostly stayed in her room drawing in her book, trying to get rid of the reoccurring headaches she's been getting. Omar often visited her, just to make sure she was still living. Dagner drunk himself silly, often passing out in the palace halls. And Jason, he found himself wandering the halls of the beautiful palace. If he was going to be stuck here, he might as well enjoy it. He stood in one of the many glassless windows staring out into the huge field beyond the village boundaries.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Said a voice beside him, which made Jason jump. Prince Valor stood next to him, staring in endless wonder at the field. "When my ancestors first arrived here, they call this Gleann an Òir*2 or the The Valley of Gold."

"Was there actual gold beneath the ground?" Jason asked and the Prince chuckled.

"Nope. They called it 'The Valley of Gold' because they found their home. Home is gold. And gold is where your home is. My ancestors didn't care about the actual stuff, they cared about one thing: finding a home for their future generations, and their generations' generations to have. And if you think about it, that's all you truly need." Jason stared at the dwarf for a moment, trying to tell if the Prince was lying or not. And when Jason looked, he saw truth in the Prince's words and eyes. Jason stared back at the valley, a deep thought occurring to him. Was this going to be his home now? Or will he ever be able to enter back his home at Earth.

*1 "vater" ~ "father"

*2 "Gleann an Oir" ~ "The Valley of Gold"