Brona turned her attention to collecting the herbs and fungi her mother needed to finish dinner. She began picking mushrooms then turned to the number of edible flowers that grew on the forest floor. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she didn't notice the figure watching from behind one of the closest tree trunks. Not until she heard Ronan softly calling her name and touching her on the shoulder. "We are not alone," Ronan said quietly and gestured with his chin towards the tree.Brona looked up and was startled by what she saw. Not because she didn't know they existed but because she had only seen one on one other occasion and her mother was with her. What Brona and Ronan were looking at was known as a gip.Gips were underground dwellers and were seldom seen above. They were gentle creatures about two-foot-tall, a combination of the trees that they lived under and something similar to a pig. They were short with virtually no hair, just a fuzz that covered their bodies. Thin twig like structures grew out of the tops of their heads and cascaded down their backs with leaves growing out of the ends. Their faces were long with a snout in the middle and sharp teeth filled the mouth. Their skin was dark, wrinkly and tough and felt like the bark of the trees they inhabited. With the mixture of their skin and their dark brown eyes they often blended into their surroundings and if they didn't move you would probably never know they were there. Brona and Ronan were not scared of the gip but rather confused by the sighting. Suddenly the ground shook and the gip, who had a scar across his forehead, turned and ran. Ronan stared after it but the gip simply vanished as if it hadn't even been there. Brona and Ronan didn't so much as see their mother standing at the door as they felt her. They slowly continued forward approaching the door and coming face to face with their mom. They could tell immediately that something wasn't quite right. Quinn's face was expressionless, but the kids could see in her eyes that something had gone wrong."Come into the kitchen," said Quinn quietly.Sean was sitting at the table with Conlin in his highchair. Sean was trying to feed Conlin who was only half interested in eating and more interested in playing. Since he was in the highchair, the only thing he had to play with was his food. Sean was deep in thought and wasn't paying much attention either which was weird for Sean. Sean was generally strict about most things and the fact that he was just sitting their staring in to space told Brona and Ronan that something had indeed happened.Quinn sat down next Conlin opposite of her husband. Brona and Ronan joined them at the table setting the basket of herbs and flowers on the kitchen counter."It seems something has happened," started Sean. "Did you guys see or feel anything unusual while you were down below?"Brona and Ronan looked at each other and then they both began talking at once. It was a bunch of garbled words as they talked over each other and no one could understand a thing they were saying. Join Brona as she and her friends begin their adventure to find out what has happened and find out how they save their homes and community!