World Of Beauty (Arula: Four)

Chapter 9

The gnome led the group through the bushes and down a small beaten path. With the help of his staff, the gnome was able to maneuver around the unsteady ground. The others had most of trouble as they tried to follow this small creature down a small path that had rocks and roots sticking out. They always had to try and not step on the little guy, which proved to be more than difficult.

"Where are you taking us?" Karma asked the gnome. "To your village?"

"Ha!" Answered the gnome. "My village wants nothing to do me, missy, and I want nothing to do with them either. They're all nimrods to begin with. No. We are not heading there. We're going to my cottage..." he turned and looked up at his giant followers. "Try and not to crush anything under your big feet, got it?" The four nodded in unison. "Good. Come along now, we're nearly there." They traveled for a few more yards until they came upon a small cottage in the distance.

The base of the cottage was made from stone with two small round windows and a door. The roof was a brown cap from a mushroom. Around the cottage was several little gardens that had fruits and vegetables growing. A well sat in the center and a creek ran beside it. From the window of the cottage, Karma could see a small laundry line with clothes pinned to it, stretching out to a small mushroom where it was tied off. The whole place almost gave you a warm, happy feeling.

"This is where you live?" Jason asked, carefully stepping over the laundry line and sitting crisscrossed down on an empty spot. The others followed in pursuit.

"Aye," the gnome said. "I've been living here for many years." He walked over to his cottage and sat down on a small wooden rocking chair. He leaned back in the chair and rocked silently in it. "Mm!" He suddenly said sitting up in his chair. "How rude of me. We didn't properly introduce ourselves!" he cleared his throat. "I am Eon."

"I'm Karma," Karma said introducing herself. "And this Jason, Mika, and Dagner," as she said this, Karma pointed to each of her friends, "and we've come a long way to find a cure for our friends."

"I see," Eon said leaning back in his chair, rocking silently in thought. "What is the cause?" The four friends gave a quizzingly look.

"A cause?" Mika asked. "A cause for what?"

"For your sickness!" Eon said as if it were obvious. "Every disease has a cause. One does not simply get a cold because he or she feels like getting sick." Mika sat back on the grass and thought hard. It was up to her to figure out the cause. It was her who watched her friends and husband fall sick. As she thought about it, Karma reached into her pack and pulled out her jar of mint leaves. She took out a half leaf and popped it in her mouth. That is when it hit Mika. She remembered being there when they gave a mint leaf to one of their healthier horses as an experiment. It was dead within the day.

Mika didn't want to believe it at first. But the more she thought about it, the more she became convinced that it was so. "The mint leaves." She finally said and recited the times she had fed the sick elves the leaves to hopefully make them feel better but hadn't. Karma paused and looked at her jar of whatever was left of her leaves.

"But I've been eating these for longest time now, why hadn't I gotten sick?" Karma ask and having the worse feeling spread over her.

"I-I don't know, I really don't." Mika said, just as confused as Karma was.

"What could it be?" Dagner said after taking a sip from his leather flask filled with ale. Mika shook her head. The gnome, who was watching them debate the argument, rocked silently in his chair, amused.

"How long have had the jar, missy?" Eon asked Karma.

"For about a year now." Karma answered.

"And how long has this sickness been going on?" He asked Mika.

"For about two and half months now." Mika answered him. Eon nodded in thought.

"If anything, missy, you should be safe. If you want my opinion, I think someone has poisoned your mint leaf patches." Everyone stopped and stared at the Gnome.

"Why would you think that?" Karma asked.

"Because... I watched it happened."

————

Karma and the others were dumbfounded. There was a moment of stunned silence before Karma blurted, "You watched it happen!" She yelled standing up from her spot. If the little old gnome were a normal sized human with normal sized house and things that she couldn't crush with one step, she would have stomped over to the gnome and shoved her nose in his face. But she didn't. Eon, showing no emotion, motioned with his small hand for Karma to sit back down. She did.

"Be still, little missy." He said calmly. "And yes, I did."

"How did you see it happen?" Mika asked, stroking Shari on his furry back. The ferret laid in ball on the she-elf's lap, sleeping away without a care in the world. "Please, it is very important that we know." Eon tilted his head over at Mika, regarding her for a moment.

"Very well..." he said, leaning back in his chair. "It started a few months earlier, before the winter storm settled in... I was doing my daily route of gathering healing herbs and started my way to the mint leaves patch... when I got there some time later there was cloaked figure, couldn't really see his face, but he put this weird dark powder on a patch of the mint leaves."

"Dark powder?" Karma said.

"Yes, now keep up, missy," snipped the gnome, clearly irritated about being interrupted. "Then not too long after that, a man riding on a wolf came pounding into the field. He and the cloaked man talked. It was hard to hear with my old age and the distances, but I heard these words: dwarves, goblins, and trust. Don't what it means, but I'm assuming it's not good." As the story settled in, the more it made Karma's blood run cold.

"A cloaked man?" She said looking at her companions. "Are you sure it was a man?" The gnome shrugged.

"I could only guess since his voice sounded deep, but hey, like I said, I'm old and the distances was too far. That and the cloak person was talking to this weird flying rodent."

"Flying rodent?" Jason asked, his heart raced as he remembered the creature and the cloaked man. He also remembered the man saying that he caused this disease. His leg jiggled nervously. Mika took notice of this and gave Jason a curious look, but Jason paid no attention to her, he was too caught up in the events to care about anyone giving him a look. He reached up and scratched Shari under that chin for comfort. The little ferret sat on Jason's shoulder enjoying the attention that he was receiving.

"Mm, yes, I believe so. Never seen a creature like that before unless it's part of the Human Clan?" Karma shook her head. She knew every creature in this world because each creature she spent months perfecting.

"No." Karma said flatly, then, "what's the cure? There has to be one."

"Well," Eon said getting up from his set and walking out to the group. "There is one thing that may help, but I need you get something for me first." The companions gave one another a glance.

"And what is it you want?" Dagner asked giving the gnome a suspicious look. 

"It will take a daring quest, but I think miss red-head here can get it," Karma tried not to look offended, "it involves the mystic waters that a nymph swims in."

"Water that a nymph swims in?" Karma repeated.

"There're nymphs in this world too?" Jason said not long after Karma, which she ignored his comment.

"Yes," Eon said getting annoyed. "Do you have to repeat everything I say?"

"How do you except me to find a nymph?" Karma said. "They keep to themselves and are impossible to find. They only reveal themselves when they see that it necessary that a person needs help."

"And you need help, do you not?" The gnome said with a sharp tooth smile. "Get the water for me, and I will tell you what you need. Do we agree?" Karma looked at her companions. What else did they have to lose? A whole lot, Karma thought glumly to herself. "Well?" Eon said. "Time's wasting away." Karma sighed and nodded.

"Yes, we have an agreement."