Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Hollow Kingdom series, nor the Artemis Fowl series.

Meeting:

Two figures huddled at the base of a large tree, cloaked in shadows. The two creatures, one goblin and one elf, had been on a mixed patrol of the land when the wind carried the sound of voices to their ears. Immediately, they had cast spells to hide their presence in order to investigate the disturbance. They had skillfully stalked through the forest to the source of the voices. From afar, they counted four people whom neither recognized. One was clearly a human male; one was only three feet tall and wore a strange round contraption over the head—a human child, perhaps; the remaining two had gray skin and odd body structures that neither elf nor goblin could place to a specific species.

The goblin sat back on his haunches and considered a plan of action. This particular goblin was a big, hulking figure with silver skin and pointed ears. His untidy black hair stuck up in all directions. On his face were barely discernable black lines that crisscrossed it from one side to the other—and it was due to these marks that he had been named Tattoo. Between those lines were blue eyes that stared intently at the four figures in the small patch of forest a few yards in front of him. He turned to confer with his companion, the blonde-haired and blue-eyed elf named Hunter.

The strangers were conversing inside the truce circle, so a forceful removal was out of the question, but that was okay. After all, there were other ways to impose one's will on another even within the truce circle.

"You put the two gray creatures to sleep," Tattoo told his companion.

"I don't want to do that. You do it." The blonde man gave a hushed protest, wary despite the silencing spell that protected their words from traveling beyond their little bubble.

Tattoo rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll take out the gray ones. You handle the humans. Whoever can take out their targets the fastest wins."

"Fine."

Both of them focused their attention on their respective targets. Tattoo, confident in his skills, cast his spell silently while Hunter had to mutter the words under his breath. However, the two humans dropped first, one after the other. To Tattoo's chagrin, his first target fought his spell, and it was with some effort that he managed to overpower the smaller of the gray creatures. The other one, to his dismay, wasn't affected at all.

"Ha! I win!" Hunter cried out triumphantly before clapping his hands over his mouth. Thankfully, the silence spell had covered for his folly.

Tattoo, his pride sore, merely grumbled. "I must be out of range. We'll have to get closer." Tattoo moved forward in a crouch, always keeping to the shadows, his footsteps soft in the thick grass. He was glad when he felt Hunter following closely behind, his victory quickly forgotten. Once the shadowed figures were at the outer edge of the truce circle, as close to the group of intruders as possible, Tattoo tried the sleep spell again, sending his magic towards the small creature. A few seconds passed in which nothing happened, then he saw the gray creature turn and look toward the base of the tree, directly at him.

"That's a clever cloaking spell," the creature commented out loud in English.

Tattoo looked at Hunter, whose blue eyes were wide. When the squat gray figure continued to gaze at their shadowed hiding spot, giving no indication that his orange eyes were merely roaming the forest at random, Tattoo began to feel nervous. Magic was an advantage he had held since birth; it was the easiest way to deal with intruders—particularly humans—if they happened to wander too far into goblin land. Now, he faced an intruder who was impervious to his magic, and he wasn't comfortable at the loss of his main advantage. After a long debate, the goblin decided to cancel the spell and stepped forward into the moonlight with Hunter. If the being had intended to harm them, it would have done so already. If it was a trick to lure them out, it was two against one.

The gray creature, upon closer inspection, had plates like armor, with intricate red runes running across its body. A short, squat tail jutted from its backside. Eight toes dug in the grass while eight fingers wiggled past the knees. His face was set with intelligent orange eyes.

It wasn't a goblin, of that Tattoo was sure. Goblins were irregular; they had the genes of hundreds of animals, humans, and elves combined in their race, and these traits could show up at any time. But this, the creature before him, was completely regular. Odd, but regular. Uniform. No, it definitely wasn't a goblin.

"So, is he your cousin or something?" Hunter asked, interrupting Tattoo's silent analysis.

The goblin rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored his companion. Since the creature's chosen language was apparently English, Tattoo used this as well. "What are you? And what are you doing here?"

Qwan, for his part, old and wise, didn't bat an eye at the strange creatures before him. Several millennia as a rock had mellowed him out quite a bit. In fact, he thought the two men looked quite friendly and would surely be willing to help him and the others, and so launched into a condensed version of his predicament. Occasionally, he may have even slipped in a complaint or two about his own woes. But for the most part, the story—from the moment the original spell was cast on Hybras, to their arrival in the present world—was on track.

A long silence followed as the information was processed. Finally, Hunter spoke. "So, how do we get you back to your own world?"

"You believe him?" Tattoo asked in surprise.

Hunter turned up his hands casually. "Sure."

"But it's completely farfetched." True, his magic had not detected any lies in the tale, but elves didn't have that ability. Did the blonde just have really good intuition?

"I've seen stranger stuff, honestly."

This was not the reply Tattoo had anticipated. "Like what?"

"Like that stuff you goblins eat. There are so many colors, textures, layers, and flavors all mixed into one. It's just not normal. I don't know how your taste buds can stand being subjected to all of that."

Tattoo sighed in exasperation. Of course it'd be about food. Returning his attention to Qwan, he asked, "Well?"

"We need to find the source of magical workings occurring in this world and halt it long enough for us to be pulled back into the time stream," Qwan said.

Tattoo frowned. "I think this matter is beyond my authority. We'll have to involve the elf King."

Hunter nodded. "I'll go inform Nir," he said, before disappearing into the woods, leaving the goblin alone in the clearing with the imp and his peacefully snoring companions.

"Why aren't we going with him?" Qwan asked the remaining guard.

"We are. Hunter's just going on ahead to inform the elf King. They'll meet us at the boundary to their land." Tattoo replied. He turned to the gently snoring figures on the grass and began to lift the slumber imposed on them. Shortly, they began to stir.

The human and the imp sat up and blinked owlishly, not yet aware of their surroundings. The small child, however, immediately sprung to her feet and pointed an object at Tattoo. Her stance told him that it was a weapon. A few anxious words from Qwan, however, convinced her to lower said weapon. The details of what had transpired were quickly related, concluding with the need for them to follow the silver figure to meet the elf King, who may be able to help with their predicament.