In which James, Monique, and Oaf are shackled by golems, meet Aso and Sih, and Thunder sinks below the surface.

James opened an eye. An orange, hazy light illuminated a strange room. Where am I? he wondered. He lay on his side. Granules of fine dirt scrubbed against his cheek. He lifted his head and looked around.

The room's ceiling was low. Stringy roots hung from it like lace. The orange glow emanated from a glob of something stuck to the wall. It reminded James of honeycomb sticky with honey. Next to the light, a wide doorway opened the room to a curved hall, blocking his view.

Moving slowly, James sat up and looked behind him. Near the room's far wall lay Monique. James scrambled to his feet and hurried to her side.

Dried mud clung to her as if she'd bathed it in. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing was steady and deep. James let out a sigh of relief. They weren't dead. Well, he reasoned, looking about the room again, not totally dead at any rate.

James gently shook Monique. Her eyes opened, and her expression perplexed before realization dawned.

"James," she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm so happy to see you."

James hugged his sister back. "Shh," he warned. "We don't want whoever made this room to know we're awake."

Monique released James and examined the dirt room. "I think this is where the mud dropped us." She pointed at the low ceiling over her. There was a blank patch in the roots directly above her.

"Oaf," they whispered together. James and Monique surveyed the room more closely and discovered Oaf covered in mud laying in a corner. They ran over to woke fae.

"What happened?" Oaf asked, sitting up. "The last thing I remember is," fae trailed off.

Monique nodded. "The mud got us. I think it swallowed us and dropped us in here."

"Wherever this is," James added, "it might be the same place the mud took all of the other folk and the singers."

It occurred to Oaf that those swallowed by the mud might not be dead. Tears of relief flooded faes eyes. "In that case, we need to find those who were taken and get out of here. What about Thunder? Is he here too?"

They searched the room for the fairy but found him nowhere.

"Maybe he got away," Monique said. Her voice carried a bright realization lit, but her face told another story.

Oaf and James answered with a sad nod, their faces troubled.

"We need to find who's responsible and stop them from doing this again," Monique said. She squared her shoulders as she always did in times of trouble and strode to the wide doorway.

James joined here. "Let's find out where this tunnel leads."

Thunder climbed over the rough ground to where the mud had swallowed Oaf. He wiped a tear from his cheek and dropped to his knees, his head drooping as he let the tears flow. They had failed. He was the only one left.

Thunder's mind wandered to the battle they had lost against the watery Oaf. He sat in his despair, unaware of the sound of water moving towards him.

Hugging the far wall, James, Monique, and Oaf followed the winding hall. Off it, they had discovered several more dirt rooms like the one they had awoken in, but all were empty.

"Do you think these rooms coincide with a patch of mud on the surface?" Monique asked.

"Perhaps," Oaf said. "Do you think a new room forms each time a patch appears?

Jams shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. I think the rooms come first, then the mud appears. The patches are deliberate."

"Then that would mean that someone planned on bringing us down here. But how would they know that we were going to be at the boulders and that Oaf would look at his reflection? It doesn't make any sense," Monique said with a shake of her head.

"Unless something followed us through the woods," James said.

"Hyphae," Oaf said so quietly the word almost died on the air.

"What about the hyphae?" James asked. "I thought the mud had cut off communication."

"Exactly," Monique said. "That's how they knew where we were and what we were doing."

"There are folk all over the woods, whether we encountered them or not. They saw us. Their hyphae transmitted their thoughts through the ground, and the mud must have known."

"Do you think the mud is in charge or something else?" Monique asked. She stepped away from the earthen wall and shivered at the mud covering her body. Was it living or being controlled by magic? She had never wanted a shower more in her life.

"Look," Oaf whispered. Fae yanked James and Monique down, and together they crouched against the far wall.

Ahead of them, the hall turned sharply to the left. Bright light spilled around the corner.

"Do you hear that?" whispered James. The sound of murmuring voices speaking in heated tones drifted into the tunnel.

Oaf and Monique nodded, and they crept around the corner for a peak.

Thunder sat. Hot tears trailed down his smooth, wood-like face. At first, he didn't notice the soft pat of water hitting a leaf above him. The drop was followed by another and another. A fat drop landed on his arm, catching his attention. Thunder glanced up and found the water demon in Oaf's shape standing over him.

The full weight of despair engulfed Thunder. This was it. This was how their whole adventure ended. How could he have gotten it so wrong?

The watery Oaf bared its teeth in an imitation of a smile. A hollow, aqueous laugh reverberated through its liquid body.

Thunder dried his tears. "Do what you want with me. We have failed."

The water demon, still laughing hollowly, released its shape. A flood of water descended over Thunder, lifting his tiny body and carrying him on a current before depositing him in a patch of thick, evil mud.

Thunder lay still and let the mud take him.

James, Monique, and Oaf peered around the corner. A large room opened before them. Unlike the hall and the space they'd awoken in, this one had a high ceiling. In the center of the room grew a massive walnut tree. The gnarled, black bark of the walnut gave it a sinister appearance. High in its thick, twisted limbs hung a single large silver walnut.

"Is that tree moving?" James whispered.

Indeed, the twisted and distorted branches swung about as if an unfelt wind raged the tree. The silver walnut threatened to dislodge and fall but held tight.

Monique tore her eyes away from the strange moving tree and surveyed the room. Two impossibly tall thin people stood near the tree's base, their hands gesturing as they spoke. Their voices strained and angry. The figures wore brightly colored ornate robes that contrasted with their dusky skin. Long, white hair cascaded to their knees. Dark crowns topped their heads.

"Who are they?" Monique whispered and nodded towards the figures.

Oaf shook faes head. "I don't know. I'm not even sure where we are."

From behind them came a wet, squelching noise. James swung around and found a group of about twenty small clay figures coming towards them. They reminded James of gingerbread cookies, but instead of being flat, they were round and full.

"Um, guys," James said, turning to face the creepy, walking dessert. "What the heck are those."

"Mud golems," Oad said, frowning.

"What does that mean," Monique asked.

The mud golems continued to move towards the children, their sticky, wet steps unnerving. Suddenly, three of the golems blended to form a single bigger golem. Some of the others did the same.

"Woah," James said and pressed himself against the wall. One of the big golems approached him. With lightning speed, its arms shot out and wrapped around James's ankles.

James kicked at the mud creature, stifling a scream, but it held his ankles fast. The golem then oozed together, engulfing James's feet. His stocking foot grew cold as the mud soaked through the sock.

"Golems are puppet creatures controlled by their creator," Oaf explained. Another of the golems flashed towards Oaf, and in seconds, the mud had encased faes feet.

"What do they want?" Monique asked as the golem nearest her trapped her feet as well.

As if answering her question, the golems shifted, forcing first her left foot forward and then her right until she walked against her will into the large room, heading straight for the two figures arguing before the great walnut tree.

Thunder sat up and looked around the dirt room. He tried to flap his wing, but mud coated them, making them useless. With a resigned sigh, Thunder stood and started walking.

The children struggled to keep their balance as the mud walked them across the large room, their arms cartwheeling like tightrope walkers on a high wire.

As the children came closer to the tall, lith figures, they ceased bickering and turned from the tree to face them.

"Ah, I see you have awakened," said the first. "I am Aso." The tall woman gave a low bow, her knee-length white hair skimming the ground as she bent. "This is Sih."

The tall man next to her bowed as well—his long gray beard pooling on the dirt floor in front of him.

"Welcome to Underneath," Aso continued. "We have been waiting for you."

"Underneath?" James said. "But I thought I was the only one who could come down here. Vates told me that because I have Dark magic in my bones, I can come here." He nodded to Monique and Oaf. "They shouldn't be here."

Aso shook a long pointed finger. "I do believe what Vates said is that you need an invitation if you have Stardust in your bones." She gestured to herself and Sih. "We have invited you all here."

"Being drowned in mud and sucked under the earth against our will is hardly an invitation," Monique spat. The dried mud covering her body tightened, making her gasp.

Aso stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout. "Oh, my dear. I realize this is quite shocking, but we saw no other way. All of our formal invitations have been ignored or rejected. Plus, we've obeyed the treaty terms for thousands of years. We needed a little excitement. You can't deny that the ogres and water demon weren't exciting. Much better than sitting in the Mother Tree wishing for adventure."

"You know about the Mother Tree and the ogres? The water demon? How?" James asked.

"It was all part of our plan. We had to get you far enough away from the Clearing in the Dark Woods to speak to you properly, and the ogres did just that."

"Did you tell the ogres to kidnap me?" James asked. "Were they working with you?"

"No, no," Aso laughed, brushing James's words away with a wave of her hand. "We would never stoop to working with ogres." She leaned forward and whispered as if telling him a secret, "Nasty creatures. We merely adjusted their path to meet yours."

"So they could have eaten me?" James asked. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Oh, they love human meat," Aso assured him. "If your little friends hadn't come when they did, you would certainly be bone by now." She turned to Sih, "Or do they eat the bones too? I can never remember."

Monique seeing James's discomfort with being used as bait opted to change the subject. "How could you possibly know we wouldn't come if you didn't ask us." Monique glared up at Aso and Sih.

"Thousands of years of trying would suggest otherwise," Sih said. "Every winter, we invite the folk, and every winter, we hear nothing back. We became desperate and had to try something new."

"By stealing the singers?" Oaf asked. "Why them?"

"Because we knew Vates would send someone to find them, and then we could start a conversation," Aso said. "We also hoped they would bring us inspiration. That is what they do, no? Inspire?"

"A conversation about what?" James asked. The dried mud on his cheeks tingled and itched. He reached up to scratch his cheek and felt the mud glide across his skin, avoiding his fingers. Startled, he pulled his hand back and peered at it. The mud was gathering together, moving much like the golems.

"We need help with the walnut," Sih answered. He gazed up at the swaying silver nut high in the swaying tree.

"Help? How?" Monique asked.

"Why, getting it down, of course," Sih answered.

"Can't you use the golems?" James suggested. "Just have them climb the tree and get it." This seemed like an obvious solution to him.

"We've tried," Aso said, shaking her head. "The tree can't be climbed or touched in any way."

"What happens when the tree is touched?" Oaf asked. Fae peered at the swaying tree with trepidation. "Trees aren't usually magical on their own."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Trees are trees. When one is magical, it usually means it's holding a magical being. If that's the case, the walnut might be the key to keeping the creature inside the tree," Oaf explained.

"Why do you want the walnut?" Monique asked. "What does it do?" She surveyed the room again. There didn't appear to be a way out. Vates had told her she could travel to the Realm of the Folk without an invitation, but how? How were they going to get back home?

"Why, look at it. It's beautiful," Aso said. She turned her attention to the massive swaying silver walnut.

"So you stole the singers, along with a bunch of the folk, had us go on some bogus quest, all so you could pick a giant silver walnut? Do you even know if the tree is a prison for something magical?" Monique put her hand on her hips like she'd seen her mother do when she had to deal with someone's foolish idea.

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound rather silly," Sih said, pulling at his long white beard. "But you see, we've been trying to get the walnut for over 500 years. It's driving us crazy!"

Monique growled under her breath. "I suppose everyone you brought down here, against their will, I might add, is fine?"

Aso and Sih nodded. "Perfectly healthy."

"We need to see them," Oaf ordered. "Then we will help you."

Sih raised his hand and clapped them three times. The sound rang through the room in an unearthly way. Behind him, a vast patch of the room's dirt wall dissolved, forming a doorway, revealing another room. A parade of folk and three large creatures resembled a wolf, an owl, a toad, entered the tree room. All had mud caking their feet, the same as the children, which forced them to walk into the room.

Oaf dissolved into tears at the sight of all who had been taken safe and alive. "Oh, thank Mone that you are all alright."

Many of the missing folk flashed Oaf broad smiles in return, happy to see fae.

Oaf examined each of the folk and the singers. "Where's Click Clack?" fae asked.

One of the folk held out her hands. A large cricket-like creature lay nestled in her hands. "Click Clack is safe," she said.

Monique's frown deepened. She repositioned her hands on her hips and said, "The singers didn't seem to help with your inspiration problem. Why not send them back with a message?"

Aso glanced with disdain at the singers. "They refused to speak. They've been silent the whole time they've been in Underneath."

A giggle bubbled up in Monique that grew to a full-fledged belly laugh. She doubled over and held her stomach until tears rolled from her eyes.

James and Oaf exchanged worried looks as Aso's and Sih's faces distorted with rage.

The mud covering Monique's body tightened, making her gasp, her laughter dying on her lips.

"You dare laugh at us? We were once the most powerful creatures on the earth," Aso spat. "And then your lot came along, pushing into the earth."

Slowly, Monique stood, her face set in a stern expression. "Once. Now you can't even pick a walnut from a tree. Five hundred years? That's pathetic."

The mud tightened again, squeezing the breath from Monique's lungs. Even as she started to lose consciousness, she never dropped her gaze from Aso's.

(2771 Words)