Despite his advisors’ pleas for him to change his mind, the Dwarven King still went ahead with his plans to ‘infiltrate’ the village.
For safety reasons, he disguised himself through magic to seem like a normal dwarf.
His taller stature slowly became shorter, his fiery eyebrows became tamer, and the intricate beard braid that covered half his face untangled itself to become free-flowing down to his knees.
All the characteristics of his royal dwarven blood were gone, turning him into a normal, honest dwarf.
Anyone who gazed at the Dwarven King would feel as if he was just like any other.
Case in point, the Dwarven King approached a single wooden hut in the middle of the forest and knocked on Thrain’s door.
“Is anybody—” the Dwarven King roared, but he quickly realized that his voice was too intimidating so he had to change his tone. “Is anybody here?”
Thrain came out of the cabin and welcomed the new dwarf. “Hello, have you come to find paradise in the Parched Lands? What is your name?”
The Dwarven King coughed and thought of the first thing in his mind. “My name is Biru, and yes, I seek the place where beer is plenty!”
Thrain laughed to himself. Biru was perhaps the hundredth dwarf that came running to his cottage this week alone. The spread of beer within the kingdom opened the dwarves’ eyes to Michael’s village so much faster than even he could accommodate.
“You are lucky,” Thrain said as he patted the Dwarven King’s back with a SMACK. “The automobile is just about to arrive.”
A couple of minutes later, a loud BEEP BEEP resounded through the forest, signaling the automobile’s arrival on the other side of the wall.
Thrain escorted Biru to the wall, letting the Dwarven King set his eyes on the magnificent white concrete wall towering over the trees.
“Amazing…” Biru commented.
Thrain explained to him about this new material called ‘concrete’ and how it was used to construct these sturdy walls within just a few days.
“By the way, are you from any villages on the outskirts of the kingdom? If so, then you can tell us so that we can build another wall in place of the destroyed settlement,” Thrain asked, but Biru said there was no need.
Finally, they caught sight of the automobile, surprising the Dwarven King.
It was a square metal structure that had no horse, yet could run as fast as one.
“So, this is the automobile…”
And strangely enough, the driver controlling this strange vehicle was a dwarf!
“Thrain, another recruit?” the dwarf asked as he opened the door.
“Yup! Thanks for picking him up!” Thrain guided Biru to the automobile and returned to his post, waiting for the next batch of dwarves that needed help.
The automobile began to drive, and the Dwarven King couldn’t help but stare at the dwarf driving the automobile.
He was astonished at how a dwarf was so integrated into the village’s culture that he was the one driving this vehicle. Dwarves hated being away from their forges for too long, yet this one voluntarily did so.
“This is the only way I can contribute to the village,” explained the dwarf.
The Dwarven King heard that no one was forced to work in that village, yet everyone was working even harder than ever. It didn’t make sense to him.
He became so much more curious as to how the village operated to make the dwarves act like this.
…
…
…
A couple of days later, Biru the Dwarven King, finally arrived at the ‘paradise’ in the Parched Lands.
He could only stand in wonder at this strange civilization. Mankeys and Dwarves alike walked around the streets with smiles on their faces, as if they were happy all the time in their lives.
“You must be the new dwarf! Welcome to our village!” said a dwarf, wearing strange red clothes.
“Yes, my name is Biru…” the Dwarven King said, holding out his hand for the other dwarf to shake.
But instead, Biru felt a SMACK on his shoulders as the dwarf put his hands around him. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get acclimated with the village quickly.
If this was back in the dwarven kingdom, the dwarf would have lost his hand for the crime of touching the King.
But strangely enough, Biru didn’t feel offended. This was the first time someone had actually come close to him without having any reservations, treating him like a normal dwarf.
“First of all, let’s go to the baseball field!” the dwarf said.
“Baseball? What is this strange word?”
“It’s our game!” the dwarf said, pulling on his shirt to show the words ‘Dwarven Miners’ stitched on the front. “Our team finally reached the finals!”
Biru had no choice as the dwarf forcefully dragged him through the streets.
The Dwarven King watched as fellow dwarves and Mankeys greeted them as they went past, either through a simple hello or a playful ‘We’ll beat your team tonight!’
Dwarven and Mankey children played on the streets without a care in the world.
They passed through the plaza, where the smell of wonderfully cooked meat wafted through the air. There were stalls placed around the area, all of which served some kind of exotic food that everyone seemed to love.
Finally, the dwarf dragged Biru to the baseball field, where a lot of dwarves were warming up for the game.
On the way, the Dwarven King was told everything there was to know about baseball, including all the rivalries within the different teams in the village.
It was evident from the dwarf that this was a big deal for them. Biru couldn’t understand why the dwarves took this little game so seriously when there were other things they could be doing with their days.
“Hey guys! We have a new dwarf in our midst. Let’s give a warm welcome, shall we?”
The dwarves, all wearing the baseball uniforms and safety gear that Michael made for them, looked at Biru and gave him their warmest welcomes. They immediately started to teach him about baseball, about how to properly hit a ball or pitch it.
But Biru still couldn’t understand why everyone liked baseball so much.
“Why are you all acting so serious? Baseball sounds easy,” said Biru.
The dwarves froze and stared at Biru. For them, this was a sentence that could not be said lightly without having the skill to back it up.
Their eyes showed a strange excitement, as if they had something special planned for the little newbie.
Biru seemed to have forgotten that he wasn’t a King, but a newcomer in this village. He had a lot to learn, and the dwarves were going to teach him, whether he wanted to or not.