Karma glanced down at the rolled-up parchment with great curiosity. What could possibly be in this letter that had called a meeting? What was going on in the Elf Clan that someone would send a messenger rabbit here? Taking a deep breath, Karma untied the ribbon and unrolled the paper. As she looked at the handwriting, she recognized it as Mika's. It read:

My Dearest Friend Karma and others,

A terrible illness as spread in Abaddon. Every elf has fallen sick, some even dying. Omar has fallen victim as well. I fear he will not get better soon. As far as I know, there is no cure. Please, if you get this, we need you. King Curlus be very grateful if you were to come and help us. There is no telling how many more elves will die. And I do not wish to lose my husband to this disease.

~Mika

Karma's eyes grew wide. She couldn't believe what she was reading. Karma looked up at Head-Council Marcus who gave her a stoic look. "Is this true?" She asked the Head-Council. Head-Council Marcus shrugged.

"I do not know. But your elven friend is very trustworthy, and I do not think she would make up a thing such as that." The Head said. Karma nodded. Dagner took the letter from her hands and read it himself.

"By the Gods!" The dwarf exclaimed. "Omar is sick! I didn't think it was possible for an elf to get sick." Dagner took his bottle of ale and jugged the rest of it. He let out a burp and relooked at the letter. "We must go! We can't let our friend fall victim to this Godless disease!" Karma nodded.

"I agree." She said. "But the storm. It hasn't lightened up for almost a week now. How are we every going to make it to the Elven Clan?"

"That is for you to figure out, Creator." Head-Council Marcus said. "But make a wise choice. You've been making reckless ones recently." And with that, he called the meeting off. Karma drummed her figures on the table in thought.

"We'll go to the library, first. That way we can discuss this in a more private manner." Karma said, and the others agreed.

----

As they made their way to the library, Jason bent down to dwarf and asked, "what did that council guy mean by finding a king or queen? Don't you already have one?"

"Once," answered Dagner. "But let's just say that he was dethroned."

"Why?" Jason asked again. Dagner chuckled and patted Jason on the back.

"He betrayed us all, lad. He betrayed Karma, this land, and all its people and creatures. He was no king... and let's leave it at that." Jason nodded.

"So why does Karma have to choose another?"

"Because she's the Creator. And since the last king didn't have any heirs to the throne. The Council had decided to leave the decision of crowning a king or queen to Karma. They had actually suggested that she, herself, be queen, but Karma denied it in a heartbeat."

"Why is that?" Again, Dagner chuckled.

"Listen here, lad. Some things are left a mystery. And it isn't my place to say why." Dagner said. Karma was already at the library doors waiting for them along with her long-tailed fox, Angel.

"Come on, slow pokes." She said. "Let's figure this out."

————

The library was huge. Bookshelves that touched the ceiling and billions on billons of books. Tables and chairs were spread out among the library. A huge fireplace concluded the room with two comfy chairs, a fuzzy rug, and a coffee table to accompany the fireplace. A fire was roaring when Karma and the others made their way over. Dagner pulled a chair from one of the tables and skidded it by the fire where he sat. Karma and Jason sat on the comfy chairs and Angel laid curled up by the fireplace's base, her back against the flames.

Karma leaned forward the chair and stared at her two companions. "So." She said. "What do we do?" Dagner laughed.

"Ha!" The dwarf said. "That's why you took us here? To ask us a question that we still don't the answer to?" He laughed again. Karma growled at her dwarf friend but said nothing. She knew he was right.

"What we just take those huge wolves like you always do?" Jason asked. Dagner shook his head.

"The ryder wolves won't run in this weather." Dagner said. "They know better not to." Karma sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Then our best bet is wait until this storm passes. As much as it kills me to stay in here, we have to if we want to make it to the Elf Clan in one piece." Karma said, and the others agreed. It was settled then.

----

The winter storm blew harder with each passing day with no sign of breaking or stopping. Jason sat in his room on his bed in deep thought, twirling his crucifix between his fingers as he listened to the harsh winds hit his window. There was a sudden hard hit on that window followed by a desperate meow. Snapping out of his thoughts, Jason went to the window to see a very familiar green cat sitting there shivering. Jason quickly opened the window and the cat wasted no time jumping in. After he closed the window, Jason grabbed a knitted blankets from his bed and wrapped the cat up in it. Jason could feel it shaking. He brought the cat closer to his body to help stop the shivering.

After a while, the cat's shivering was replaced with the rumble of purring. It hopped out from Jason's grip and made itself comfortable by the small fire that was blazing in the small fireplace to match the flames. Jason smiled, happy to see that cat was warm and happy. Sliding down from his bed, he joined the cat by the fire. The cat purred loudly and stretched out toward him until it paws touched Jason's hip. And there it laid, happy as it can be.

----

Karma paced furiously back and forth in her room. She hated how this storm never seem to end. As she paced, Karma saw her book laying on the desk, staring tautly at her. She gave the book a look and continued pacing. On Karma's bed was Angel, who was sleeping peacefully. Curled up next to the fox was Shari, the saber-tooth ferret who Omar forgot to belong with him on the journey back home. I'm so bringing you with me when we leave, she thought as she stared at the sleeping ferret.

Taking in a deep breath, Karma knew she had to calm down, to relax. The storm has to end some time, she thought again. It can't keep going on like this. Karma also knew that if she kept this up, time would move more slowly than it was already. Pulling her chair out from the desk, she sat down and brought her book closer to her. Karma reached underneath her shirt and pulled out the key. She looked at the key for quite some time. Why me? She wondered. Why did I have to go into that stupid market tent. I would still be at home, spending time with my family. Decorating the house for Christmas and opening up presents and giving my presents to my sister, my brother, and my parents...

Sighing deeply, Karma unlocked her book and opened up to the page where she had been drawing. Before she started on her work, Karma looked at the remaining pages. Not much left to go, she said to herself. But when I think I'm going to be done more pages are added. Karma knew that if she kept trudging on with this that she'll might just be able to reach the end. But the end seemed so far off. Often times Karma would be so frustrated with the book that she would throw the book across the room and as far away from her has possible. But her headaches would come back, forcing her to find where she had thrown the book and continue on her work. Often times, Karma would lay awake at night crying. Crying because of the pain and misery the book had brought her.

After spending the rest of the day drawing in the book, Karma closed the book, locked it, and crawled into bed with Angel and Shari. She soon fell asleep. A few days later, the storm cleared up.