The Gnome of Sacladil

"Sound the alarm!" yelled a Gnome. "Eagles!"

"I must alert The King," said Biode. Suddenly a huge eagle dove down and grabbed Biode and took him up into the dark sky.

"I will tell The King," said Roin panicking.

Roin then ran toward The Great Tree to warn The King. He ran up the wooden steps and entered The King’s palace.

The King was sitting in his tall golden throne with the ten wisest Gnomes sitting at a round table in front of him when Roin ran in.

"Eagles, your highness!" said Roin, gasping. "Black eagles!"

"Black eagles? Where?" asked the King, confused.

"Here, sir. Above the trees of Sacladil.

"So soon? How could they have traveled so far so quickly?" asked The King to one of the wisest Gnomes, Giohl.

"I do not know your highness. They were sighted by elves just three moons ago above the Western Sea." said Giohl.

"Why have you warned me Roin, and not my messenger, Biode?" asked The King.

"Biode was taken by one of the black eagles." said Roin.

"Those nasty, evil things! They will regret what they have done!" said The King furiously.

"I thank you for alerting me, Roin the Nut Gatherer. From now on you will be called Roin the Messenger. You will take the place of Biode," said The King.

"Thank you very much your highness. I would be honored," said Roin as he bowed to The King.

"The eagles, sir. What shall we do? The fort is not complete and they have already arrived," said Giohl the Wise.

"I was not prepared for this occasion. I suppose we have but only two choices. We can flee Sacladil and take refuge in Mumbola Cave where we will surely be run out by the dwarves, or we can defend the town our forefathers built and fight the Black Eagles as best we can," said The King in a deep and powerful voice.

"We must fight," shouted Giohl as the other nine wise Gnomes nodded their heads.

"Then it is agreed. We will fight the Black Eagles and save our town from great peril," said The King as he stood up from his throne.

"The eagles have gone your highness," said a Gnome standing in the doorway.

"Good, we must finish the fort before they return," said The King.

"I will tell the fort builders," said Roin the Messenger.

The Gnomes worked harder and faster than they had ever worked before. They shoveled and hammered all through the night until they had finally finished just before noon of the next day. To much the Gnomes’ surprise, the eagles had not returned.

All the Gnomes of Sacladil were now inside the fort, excluding The King and Roin, who were standing just outside of the gate.

"Do you suppose the eagles will return?" asked Roin to The King.

"Yes, I do believe they will." said The King.

"What do horrid creatures like those have to do with..." and before Roin could finish his sentence, a dark shadow cast over Sacladil and the soft rustling noise could be heard again.

"They have returned," said Roin in an unusually calm voice, considering the circumstances.

"Go warn the others!" yelled The King to Roin.

"Yes, sir." said Roin as he ran into the fort.