The Mysterious Flag

I was wandering through a forest when I eventually found myself in an open field. There was nothing to see for miles all around besides the forest I just emerged from and the green grass of the field surrounding me. I decided to keep exploring when I came upon a curious flag poking out of the ground. I looked around and around, but there was nothing else that I could besides this one flag in a sea of green grass. I kept on walking farther and farther from the forest, hoping I could find some way out of this field, but I couldn't stop thinking about the flag I'd seen. What was it there for? Who put it there? What is it marking? My curiosity got the best of me, and I sprinted back towards the forest, hoping I would remember where the flag was. I frantically scanned the green horizon in front of me, but the little flag was gone. After running this way and that, left and right and left again, I stopped and thought surely I must be going mad, for there in the middle of an empty field, I thought I heard the faintest sound of a flute playing. Feeling I had nothing to lose, I started following the sound of the mysterious flute. Surprisingly, the sound grew louder as I walked on. Maybe I'm not losing my mind after all. Suddenly, the flute music stopped, and I halted, disappointed. Maybe I really am just going mad after all. I was about to turn back towards the forest, when the little flag caught my eye. Had the flute led me here? What is going on?

I needed to know what this flag was. I pulled it out of the ground, not really knowing what to expect. All that came out with it was some dirt clinging to the flag post. I began digging into the grass hoping to find what secret this flag pointed to. And I had to know, was that flute music real? Was there some magical musical worm living in the dirt below? I chuckled at the thought as I kept digging. But my amusement was cut short by what I saw. It was no magical musical worm in the dirt. It was a magical musical gnome. And he was surrounded by a crowd of eager gnomes and fairies waiting for him to resume his song. The flag, it seemed, topped the castle of the little village underground. Hoping that I was somehow unnoticed, I slowly backed away from the hole I'd dug, but it was too late. What appeared to be a gnome guard standing in front of the castle gate blew loudly into his horn, staring straight into my eyes. I'd been spotted. Now what do I do? I could easily outrun the little creatures, but a part of me really didn't want to. A part of me really wanted to stay with these magical underground creatures. Did anyone else even know they lived here? Here, in the middle of an empty field? Well, maybe not so empty after all.