Trouble in the Land of Dwarves
Beginning (Prologue)
Once upon a time there was a land of great
adventure called Darrowold, which means
Dwarf World. Darrowold was a magical
land where dragons flew through the skies
and giants stomped across the earth. It was
a world where pirates sailed their ships in
search of buried treasure and knights, both
good and bad, fought brave battles. But
most of all, Darrowold was a world of
imagination created for the enjoyment of a
special young prince and princess who
watched from a crystal palace.
This
was Amiera, Palace of the Heart, a beautiful
white castle decorated with amethyst and
rubys set atop Ivory Mountain, the tallest
mountain in Darrowold where the Prince
and Princess were always safe from danger.
Mount Ivory was so high it�s peak was
above the clouds in the sky so that no one
could even see the Palace from below. It
was also very hard to reach Amiera above
the clouds because there were no roads or
tunnels going up the mountain. The only
way to get to it was by flying or by
magic, so it was a very safe place for
children to live.
Princess Nataleigh
liked her castle in the sky. She would spend
afternoons walking in the gardens, smelling
the flowers that grew in patches of floating
rainclouds, or sit on the balcony of her
fluffy, pink bedroom and listen to the music
of eagles calling from their nests on the
mountain below. She especially loved to
hear the cries of the newly hatched baby
eagles as they called for food.
The
princess also loved to spend time with her
white pony, Jewel. Every day she would
visit her in the palace stable and feed her
carrots and sugar cubes, then brush the long
lavender hair of her mane and tail before
taking a ride. Jewel was a Wind Runner!
(Wind Runners are magic ponies that can
run on the air or even across the water like
they are flying.) Through the clouds and
around the tall mountains Princess
Nataleigh would ride Jewel for hours. They
would chase the young eagles as they
learned to fly or make snowmen out of
snow on the cold mountain tops.
This
had all been great fun at one time, but as
Princess Nataleigh grew older, her heart
was not in her beautiful castle or even with
her dazzling little pony. These things
seemed boring to her now.
What the
Princess really loved and never grew tired
of watching, was the world below. Through
her magic mirror there was always new
things to see. She would gaze into it for
hours to see how things were going with the
good King Balderdash and his golden
knights in their shining castle, or look out
over the dwarven seas to find out if the
pirates were getting into any new trouble.
It wasn�t that she was often surprised
by what she saw in her magic mirror, for
things in Darrowold went pretty much the
same way all the time. King Balderdash
and his golden knights were usually under
attack from the Black Knights of Dingle
Castle, but were always able to chase them
away with their catapults and other
weapons. The pirates sometimes got
involved as well, but no one ever got
seriously hurt and they usually made
Nataleigh giggle. No, what drew the
Princess to the world of dwarves was the
excitement of their adventures and the thrill
of their battles. Nataleigh longed to be a
part of the adventure, the excitement and
the thrills of not just watching, but
experiencing!
That, however, was
the one thing that had been forbidden to the
children of Amiera. The Prince and
Princess were never allowed to leave the
safety of their home in the clouds without
permission and not until they were older.
This was for their safety.
But one
day Princess Nataleigh looked into her
mirror and saw something very serious; so
serious that she decided it was time to leave
the safety of her ivory castle in the clouds
and introduce herself to the dwarves at last.
�Surely I am old enough now�, she
reasoned, �and this is very serious! I must
go and warn King Balderdash!� So up she
jumped, gathered her things and whistled
for Jewel.
As the pony galloped to
her side, she felt a sick feeling in her
stomach and wondered if she was doing the
right thing. �I�ll just tell the Jolly Men in
the Renegade Forest at the bottom of the
mountain.� she told herself. �I�ll be back
before anyone misses me.�
Then, her
mind made up, she mounted Jewel and with
a leap, they were off, galloping through the
clouds, moving toward Darrowold to warn
the good dwarves!
This is the
story of what happened and the
consequences of that decision......
Chapter 1
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