To the treacherous forest

Though dreadful, Jim had now found the key to stop Eris and he was ready to use it. Melody would go with him, she shared his desperation to get rid of the goddess, her company was a fact.
Jim was surprised, however, to find Milo volunteering to accompany them. Jim knew there was more bravery in Milo than you ought to think, but he never expected him to go into the underworld. Even so, Milo looked pretty determined and so Jim accepted his help.
Kida said she would come too. Her knowledge of the gods could guide them through. Jim gladly accepted her. It would be much better to have information at hand without the need to bring books on the journey.

"How exactly can we enter the underworld?" Asked Jim Kida, after they all had agreed on each other's company.

"There are several places in the world where the ground has been touched by evil. There are quite a few in The Netherlands, really. We just have to go to the nearest one and that would be either in the province Friesland or in Drente. In Drente there once lived a dangerous bandit who killed many innocent people before he himself was brutally killed. You can still hear the screams and pleads from his restless victims. But it is on an open road and we have to avoid the struck of midnight, when the place becomes dangerously haunted." Kida sighed. "Friesland, however is much closer to our island and there are many forests there."

"No Kida, you're thinking too far." Melody interrupted thoughtfully. "We have a dark place here on Terschelling: 'Het Hoornse Bos' or 'The horns' forest.'"

"That forest isn't haunted." Said Kida, almost reproachfully.

"You've been away for quite some time Kida. It wasn't haunted, but a few years ago really dark things started to happen in that forest. There are many dark paths across it and at the centre lies a swamp. So many have drowned there that the place is now plagued by the unquiet dead. At the edge of that swamp, we will find our doorway to the underworld."

Kida looked surprised, but impressed. Clearly she hadn't expected her little niece to know all this. Het Hoornse Bos was located at the shore, a few miles to the east. Melody reckoned the easiest way to get there was to simply walk over the sands when it was low tide. So they gathered everything they thought they might need and set off for the shore.
Jim didn't say it because it was not at all the moment for it, but he felt really excited. He never walked over the bottom of the sea before! According to Melody, the people in The Netherlands call it 'Wadlopen' and it's a reason for people from all over the country to come to these islands. Maybe he'll get to see a jellyfish. He felt pretty stupid about this sudden excitement he was feeling, but he was sure Milo felt it too. He and Milo had tried to make other arrangements, but Captain Amelia didn't feel too keen on another detour. She waited a long time to set sail and when she did she would sail for France as planned. Dimitri and Anya felt the same way. Dimitri was pretty annoyed with his younger brother for ever considering to go on another adventure which didn't concern them. Jim couldn't blame him, Anya had endured enough and Dimitri didn't want to mess with their future together.

it was a beautiful day, the sky had a clear blue color and the sun shone a bright lively light upon the quiet shore. It was so peacefully, it was hard to believe that this sunny trip would led them down the underworld.
"How long till it's low water?"asked Jim.

"I think in about 20 minutes. Look, I can hardly see the sea line anymore." Milo was right, the sands in front of them lay bare and the sea could only be seen as a thing greenish blue line in the distance. Jim stooped down and felt the wet sand, or mud. It was weird. It felt spongy, but heavy and thick at the same time.

"You're sure we're not going to sink through?" Jim wondered aloud.

Melody giggled. "Of course not, many people have walked on it. Ok, you ready?"

"What now? The 20 minutes haven't past yet!" Said Milo startled.

"No, but we don't have to travel very far, the water is far enough and it will move from us as we walk." Replied Melody. "Does anyone have a compass."

"I have one." Replied Milo brightly and he pulled a tiny travel-compass from his bag.

"Good, we have to keep heading east."

"Got it, follow me."

The landscape was surprisingly flat, Jim figured it would be more hill-like, more uneven. The sun shone brightly upon the sands, making it hard for everyone to see straight. Jim tried to keep Milo's thin figure in sight, but he had to change his course a few times when his feet had stirred him too much to the right. At some point he lost his sense of direction and he wondered whether either Kida or Melody knew to recognize their destination. A strong wind blew in their faces and Jim's eyes watered like madness. His excitement had been replaced by annoyance. He swung around to ask the princesses whether they knew how long this journey would take, when he noticed a fifth figure, walking a little behind Kida and Melody.

"Who are you?" bellowed Jim through the wind. Kida and Melody stopped dead in their tracks. Startled by Jim's outburst. "What do you want?" asked Jim on, at the top of his voice. He tried to see the figure more clearly, but the wind blew his hair into his eyes and the sun draped a big shadow over the stranger's features. Whoever it was, he or she was walking fast with firm, demanding steps.
It was now clear that the person was quite small and Jim got a pretty good idea who it might be.
Soon enough, they all recognized Audrey running towards them. Milo, who had been walking on until he noticed that his party had left him, had doubled back.

"Audrey, what are you doing here?" He asked her accusingly when he stopped in front of her.

"Why didn't you include me in this?" Spat Audrey back in the same accusingly tone.

"There wasn't a reason really." Milo said while scratching his neck to avoid eye contact. "You were just not with us when we planned it all."

"But you told Captain Amelia and she told me." Audrey folded her arms across her chest and stared hard into Milo's eyes. Clearly she mainly blamed him for this.

"No one wants you out of this, Audrey." Assured Melody her kindly and she put a caring arms around Audrey's shoulders. Audrey didn't reply, she let her arms down and released Milo from her gaze. Without speaking the five of them continued their journey.

At last they saw some higher ground with long grass ahead. They arrived at a beach, or at least, it used to be when the sea line would touch it's shore.
As they climbed the little hill of green, they used the grass palms to wipe the mud off their shoes.

"Where to now?" Jim yelled while he ferociously rubbed his left shoe on an large palm of grass. When he looked up, however, he saw that his question had been unnecessary . From the beach led only one trail downhill into a thick forest: Het Hoornse Bos.
Kida had already proceeded downhill, followed by Milo and Melody. Silently, Jim and Audrey hurried after them.

"Strange, isn't it?" Whispered Audrey after a while. "This place seems so peaceful, it is not dark at all, even though the trees are standing so close to one another."

"It doesn't have to be." replied Melody darkly. "The dark is trying to catch you off guard. You may think this forest is peaceful, but in its very heart has its share of darkness."

"How do you know all this? You never left you castle." Asked Jim.

"I've heard stories from sailors who once ventured here. They all lost friends here. Some drowned in the swamp, others were taken by the unquiet dead."

Audrey shivered. "So how are we going to survive this?"

"We have to reach the gate to the underworld before the struck of midnight. We must stick together and we mustn't listen to whatever impulse we get into our heads."

AN: So sorry for the wait! I hope you will forgive me and review!