Nina and the Council of Immortals found themselves in a dark, mountainous area. Before them was a gigantic castle made of black stone. It towered above them like an ominous warning.
"This is the Rocky Mountains, where the Awgwas resided, or rather, still reside," the Great Ak told Nina. Looking up at the castle, he frowned. "I do not know how they've built such a structure. It was not here before, though I have not been here for quite some time."
"Be careful," the Great Ak informed everyone. "We don't know what we'll find. The Awgwas are evil and dangerous, and they can turn invisible. Never let down your guard." He opened the castle door, and they all went in together, cautiously.
They entered a large, barren room. The walls and floor were both made of black stone, the same as the outside of the structure. Thankfully, no Awgwa was there.
Nina wrinkled her nose. The air smelled of something rotten. She didn't want to think of what it could be.
Queen Zurline pointed to their left, to a staircase that appeared to lead to an upper level. "Look."
"There's also a hallway there," the Protector of the Knooks stated, pointing to their right.
"We may have more success if we separate," the Great Ak said.
Everyone nodded in agreement and split into two groups. Nina was with the Commander of the Wind Demons, the Queen of the Water Spirits, the Master of the Sound Imps, the Protector of the Knooks, and the Lord of the Sleep Fays. The other group consisted of the Great Ak, Queen Zurline, the Grand Duke of the Light Elves, Prince Flash, Prince Twilight, and The King of the Ryls.
"We'll meet here later and evaluate the situation," the Master Woodsman told everyone. "Good luck."
The group Nina was in went to the right, going down the hallway, while the others went up the staircase.
As they walked down the hallway, the Commander of the Wind Demons asked Nina, "Why don't you lead us, former human?"
Although his tone indicated no disrespect, Nina knew that he was skeptical of her and that he didn't believe she belonged on the Council. Whether or not she wanted to be on it was irrelevant at that moment; they had to focus on finding the missing people, and this castle may have held clues to their whereabouts.
"Alright," Nina agreed, getting in front of the group. No one voiced any objections to this decision.
The hallway was narrow and long and seemed to be endless. There was no noise, and had Nina not known of the others' presence, she would have felt completely alone. The castle seemed like it had been conjured up in a nightmare and made real.
Nina suddenly stopped in her tracks. "I see something," she whispered. She pointed up ahead, where a prison cell was carved into the wall. The bars of this cell were made out of the same black stone the rest of the castle was made of. An Awgwa stood near it.
Nina's eyes widened when she saw Snow Miser in the cage. He was shouting at the Awgwa to let him out. She waited until the Awgwa was gone, then ran to him. "Snow Miser!" she whispered.
Snow Miser ran to her and put his hands through the bars, and she held them. "Nina! Thank goodness you're here! How'd you find me?"
"We'll talk about that later. I'll get you out of here. Where are the keys?"
"There aren't any. This was meant to be a permanent arrangement, I'm guessing," he frowned.
Nina looked at the ax she carried. "Stand back," she told her fiance.
Snow went to the back of the cell. Nina raised the ax and began chopping the bars. The noise alerted the Awgwa, who ran to them. Seeing he was outnumbered, the Awgwa ran the other direction.
"More of them will come soon," stated the Commander of the Wind Demons. "We must hurry!"
Nina used all her strength to chop the bars. Finally, they broke off, and Snow Miser was able to get out of the cell.
Snow Miser hugged Nina, tightly, then Nina asked, "Are the others here, too?"
"I have no idea. I haven't seen or heard anyone except the guys who threw me in this cell."
The Master of the Sound Imps suggested, "If you were being imprisoned here, then the rest of them probably are, too."
The group went further down the hall, and sure enough, more of the missing people were found, each in their own cells. First, they came across Melvin, who looked exhausted and distraught. He immediately stood up when he saw the rescuers. "Nina! Snow Miser! Get me out of here!"
Nina freed him the same way she did Snow Miser, then they found Heat Miser in the same situation. Looking at the Miser Brothers after Heat was in the group, Nina asked, "Why didn't you guys use your powers to break out?"
"I couldn't use mine," Snow Miser explained. "I tried, but they didn't work."
Melvin was hugging Heat Miser for dear life while the latter spoke. "Mine didn't either, or I would have melted the bars."
Nina looked at the Immortals who were in the group. "This may mean none of yours will work here, either. We have to find everyone else and get out of here, quickly!"
As they went on, the Queen of the Water Spirits stated, "We are descending."
Snow Miser looked around. "She's right. It's also getting colder the farther we go."
Soon, more Awgwas appeared and attacked them. The Commander of the Wind Demons shouted, "Free the prisoners! The rest of us will hold them off!"
The group successfully attacked the Awgwas and got the victims out of their cages. Unable to use their powers, they had to use their physical strength and anything they could find along the way to either fight the Awgwas or break the bars of the other cages, which imprisoned the missing people. Tingler, Jingle, Jangle, Mother Nature, Mrs. Claus, and the others were soon freed and joined the group. Unfortunately, the reunions were quite short, as they had to leave as quickly as they could.
"Dad!" Snow Miser shouted when he saw his father in one of the cells. Winter Warlock was laying down and looked very weak and tired.
Winter slowly sat up, hearing his son's voice. "My son!" he smiled.
"Stand back! I'm going to get you out of here!"
Snow Miser grabbed the ax from Nina and furiously chopped the bars. Once they could get in, Snow ran in and carried his father, who was too weak to walk.
They walked until they reached the end of the hallway and entered a large room. It was bare except for a single cage. Santa Claus was being held captive in it, and he was laying down, unconscious.
"Santa!" Nina cried out. She was going to run to him but stopped. A large group of Awgwas entered on the opposite side of the room. The one in front wore a crown. He looked at the group, furious, and his voice boomed. "Who dares enter our fortress?"