Clay started tapping his foot impatiently. He was sitting on one of the rocks by the pool, waiting for Kimiko and Omi. They didn't really agree to meeting here, but he couldn't think of any other way to find them. Also he needed something to keep from wondering what they were going to do when they found Raimundo.

Finally, Kimiko came back to the pool. "Where have you been?" Kimiko said when she saw Clay. "Geez, I've been looking all over for you. Why didn't you signal me with the Star of Hanabi?"

"Omi has it, remember?" Clay replied.

Kimiko looked around. "Well, where's Omi?"

"We split up."

"What?" Kimiko slapped her forehead. "How were you going to signal us if you found something?"

Clay shrugged. "I don't know, but like Omi said, a net cast wide catches more fish."

"Yeah well when a broken bracelet falls, it's not easy finding the lost beads."

They stared at each other for a minute in awkward silence. Kimiko could see perfectly well that Clay was trying hard not to laugh. "Hey, it was my first one, give me a break."

"Well- it wasn't bad, just-" Clay shook his head. "And Raimundo says I use weird metaphors."

The mention of Raimundo brought another awkward silence, this time filled with sadness instead of repressed mirth. Kimiko changed the subject as soon as she got her mind back on the situation. "I'm done helping the wood nymphs. They're doing pretty well, but I thought I'd stick around in case those goblins get up the nerve to ambush them again."

"Like you have a choice." Clay muttered.

"What?"

"Kimiko, do you even have the slightest clue how we're going to get outta here?"

"Yeah."

"What?" Clay jumped to his feet. "How?"

"I told the nymphs how I got here and they told me that the crystal in the cliff was a Merkabah. It's supposed to be a substance that transports beings from one dimension to another. In this particular case, us from our world to this one. The nymphs said that their ancestors used it to get here when humans came."

"When were you going to tell this to Omi and me?"

Kimiko shrugged. "I dunno. When the issue came up, I guess."

"Okay, so where do we find the Merkabah?"

"That's the problem. I don't know. I checked the whole area where we appeared over and over, but there's nothing."

"Well, at least we have an idea of how we're gonna get home now."

Suddenly a wind came up. It wasn't that big a deal, except this wind felt familiar somehow. Neither Kimiko nor Clay said so, but they both felt it. Neither could place it for a moment, but then Kimiko remembered the night of the Serpent's tail. "Clay, I think that's Raimundo!"

Clay knew better than to doubt her. "C'mon!"

They raced against the wind. The wind made their eyes water and they were blinded with tears. Kimiko wiped her eyes and squinted, her long lashes shielded the wind. When Clay tried to wipe his eyes, he tripped on a tree root and fell. Kimiko didn't stop to wait for him. She kept running, eager to make Raimundo pay for betraying the temple, for siding with Wuya, for breaking their-

The ground abruptly ended. Kimiko tried to stop, but the leaves and mud under her feet made it difficult. She slid to the very edge when she finally stopped. She couldn't move her feet because she didn't trust the pile of leaves and mud she was standing on. One wrong move and it all could slide out underneath her and she would be falling down the trench before her. It didn't help that the wind was pulling her in.

Suddenly something brown shot up right in front of her. Startled, she took a tiny step back and the ground slid forward. She waved her arms wildly while falling down on her butt and sliding into the trench.

We got stuck here. I think Clay should grab her, and Iorek thinks we should let her fall. What do you think?