"You might be a king, but now you have to obey me," Patches grumbled. "Don't help."
"Right," Elliot said. "Sorry."
This time he relaxed his body and did nothing to free himself, no matter how hard Patches groaned to pull him out. Even when it was only his toes remaining in the mud, he still let her drag him forward until he was entirely on solid ground.
"No one can get out of gripping mud on their own," Patches said between breaths. "Sometimes the Brownies call it friendship mud. If you don't have any friends, you stay stuck."
"Thanks for being my friend," Elliot said. "You saved me."
"You're welcome, but don't hug me," she said. "You're dirty."
Elliot heard a river nearby. "Give me a minute, and I'll be back." He ran to the river,
this time being more careful to watch for any signs of gripping mud, then waded in. The water was cool but clean, and he splashed around until all the mud had washed away.
When he got back to Patches, she had caught her breath and was gathering up what little remained from his and Mr. Willimaker's food bundles. "Don't try to hug me now either," she said. "You're all wet."
"That gripping mud is pretty nasty stuff," Elliot said. "Is there a lot of it in the Underworld?"
"No, but you see it from time to time. You can sometimes see a brown glow around it. That's how you know it's there before you run into it."
"So why'd you come?" Elliot asked. "It's dangerous out here."
"I know," Patches said. "But I remembered a few things after you left. Some really important things."
"Like what?"
"Well, I wanted to tell you about the Shapeshifter in case he comes back and tries to trick you again."
Elliot shook his head. "He's on the surface, pretending to be me. That'll keep him busy until I get home."
"But if he does come," she said, "there's a way to keep him from changing forms. Just pinch his ear."
Elliot pinched two fingers against his own ear. "Like this?"
"The tighter, the better."
"Anything else?" Elliot asked.
"Yes. I'm worried about your helping the Pixies. I was thinking about a treaty the Brownies have. A really long time ago, Queen Bipsy agreed not to help either the Fairies or the Pixies while they were fighting over Glimmering Forest. I think the Fairies are going to be mad if they find out."
Elliot nodded. "Your dad told me the same thing last night."
Patches looked around. "Where is he?"
"The Fairies got mad," Elliot said. "They just took him."
Patches groaned. "My mom won't like that. After the Goblins took me, she made it a family rule that nobody else can get kidnapped."
"I don't think it was your dad's choice," Elliot said.
"My mom won't see it that way. She'll think he's trying to get out of weeding the garden."
Elliot shook his head. "He's fine for now, but the Fairies left me a note that said to get him back, I need one of Kovol's socks for the Fairies. I have to get to Demon Territory, but your dad had the map. Do you know how to get there?"
"Of course," Patches said. "Let's go."
"I don't want you to take me there," Elliot said. "Just point me in the right direction."