Chapter 10: Getting to Know Them

"Isn't it finished YET, Toadwart?!" Igthorn snarled. "You and those troggles have been working on that machine for almost three days!"

Lady Bane's courtyard was beginning to look like an abandoned tool shed. After spotting the location of Gummi Glen, the witch and the duke have wasted no time in searching for blueprints of old Gummi digging machines. They have finally found one labeled "Mole Machine," and have since worked Toadie and the troggles to the bone to get them to build it.

"Toadie is very sorry, oh forgivingness one," Toadie groveled at his boss's feet. "But nasty Gummi machine is very complicated for simple Toadie and witch Lady's troggles. Not a job that can be done in a few days."

"Well, you'd better find a way to simplify it, Toadie," Igthorn threatened him. "Or your days will be numbered." With that, he grabbed Toadie by his pointy ears and tossed him back into the work zone.

As Igthorn walked away, he could hear Toadie call out orders to the troggles. "C'mon, guys, job not as hard as it looks. You finish soon and Toadie will treat you to double dose of slops tonight." This call was answered with troggles squealing in outrage and throwing their tools at the duke's lackey. Apparently Toadie had forgotten he was no longer dealing with ogres.

"Good help is getting harder to find than ever," Igthorn moaned as he approached the entrance to Lady Bane's castle. He found the witch in her lab, bent over a cauldron, with a book open at a stand beside her.

Upon hearing him coming, Lady Bane looked up from her work in annoyance. "Haven't I told you not to bother me in here?" She glowered at him.

"I…uh… I just wanted to assure you, my lady," Igthorn tried to keep his cool, "that I've succeeded in getting Toadwart to work your troggles faster. With luck, the machine will be ready in a few days."

"It had better be," Lady Bane snarled. "We've lost so much time already. Who knows where those bears are by now."

At that moment, two troggles arrived at the room and stood at the door Igthorn had left open. After making sure Lady Bane was not busy with her potions, they entered, dragging what looked like a full sack behind them, and presented it to their mistress.

"Ah, back from Dunwyn at last, I see," Lady Bane eyed them in approval. "Excellent. Now you two can head out back and help your friends finish building our machine."

"Machine! Machine!" the troggles hurried out of the room instantly.

Igthorn looked from Lady Bane to the sack and back again in confusion. "My Dear?" he asked. "May I ask why you've sent these two troggles to Dunwyn?" He tried his best to restrain himself from adding, without telling me?

"You'll see in a minute," Lady Bane replied. "Bring the sack to that desk over there." She pointed to a desk at the corner of her room that had been cleared from its books and charts.

Igthorn obeyed her, relieved to discover the sack was not too heavy. Lady Bane joined him at the desk, and lifted the sack to dump its contents. Igthorn watched eagerly, expecting something exciting that would help them with their scheme, but was soon more confused to find out the sack's contents were anything but helpful. The desk was now piled with peasant garments and hats, a sewing kit, a few old rag dolls, some coins and a comb. His immediate thought was that the troggles had blundered in whatever mission Lady Bane had given them, and expected the witch to explode in fury at any minute, but he was stunned to find her pleased by what she saw.

"These will do fine, for now," Lady Bane said, lifting a doll from the pile. "So this what Dunwynian peasant girls play with?" She tossed the doll into a trash bin under her desk.

"Are… are these important potion ingredients, my Dear?" Igthorn asked, unable to stand the curiosity any longer.

"Potion ingredients?" Lady Bane scoffed. "Have you ever heard of a potion made from such mundane objects?"

"Well, I…" Igthorn tried to hide his offense at Lady Bane's mockery. "I knew you were brewing a potion, so I just assumed…"

"These are not for my potion," the witch replied. "But since hunting the Gummies down is taking some time, I intend to put the delay to good use. I've sent my troggles to Dunwyn to rob the locals a bit at a time. Of course, they can only rob peasants at the moment, as the aristocrats are too well protected. The Dunwynians cannot know who is behind the robberies."

"But how is robbing peasants helping us?" Igthorn asked.

"I assume your last attack on Dunwyn has caused much confusion and fear among the residents," Lady Bane explained. "This serves our purpose well, and I intend to keep it that way."

When Igthorn still looked confused, Lady Bane went on. "Now that Gregor is back on his throne, the Dunwynians are bound to feel more secure. We cannot allow this to happen. Robbing peasants may not be a glamorous job, but it helps create an atmosphere of panic and confusion. And by the time we have the information we need on the Gummi bears, Dunwyn will be in just the right state for the next phase of my plan."

"And what is the next phase of your plan?" Igthorn asked eagerly.

Lady Bane smirked. "Oh, Iggy-Pooh," she said in her best attempt to sound flirtatious. "You wouldn't want me to spoil the surprise, now, would you?"

Igthorn grinned foolishly at her. "Oh, of course not, my sweet," he managed to finally say when he found his voice, and at that moment he stopped worrying about her excluding him from her plans.

Ursalia's central square has never looked more beautiful. Painted lanterns hung all around, sparkling against the night sky like gems. Multicolored banners floated in the breeze from every direction. Surrounding the square were long tables piled with various refreshments.

But the most noticeable change was the dance floor at the center. It was alive with so many new Gummies, all in their fanciest clothes, and the friendly chatter was just barely audible over the music Sunni and Buddi were playing, along with a few Barbics and New Gumbrians who joined them.

"Well, Gummiamigoes, looks like we're a success tonight," Gusto chuckled as he stood by the punch bowl with Gruffi, Grammi and Tummi. The formal outfit Grammi had made for him weeks before consisted of a maroon velvet tunic, a white shirt and crimson belt. "Have you ever seen Ursalia look like this before?"

"I have to admit, things are moving more smoothly than I expected," Gruffi gave him a grudging smile as he sampled the punch. "Even Grammi's punch tastes better than usual."

Grammi smirked at him. "And Grubbi wanted to use alcohol." Then she sighed rather sadly. "I just hope Zummi feels well enough to join us later. It doesn't feel right leaving him home by himself tonight."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come later," Gusto reassured her. "No Gummi can resist an occasion like this." He nudged Gruffi playfully, causing the latter to spill his drink. "Didn't I tell you my masterpiece would attract the crowd?"

The fan-like creation Gusto had made earlier was placed at the top of the square's fountain, and sure enough, several young New Gumbrians were staring at it curiously.

"Look at those kids admiring my work," Gusto gushed. "They just can't wait to meet the artist."

"They're just waiting to see if that thing will fall into the water," Gruffi retorted, helping himself to more punch.

Grammi laughed slightly, but stopped instantly when she turned her attention to Tummi. The younger bear seemed more interested in devouring the sweet rolls than in the dance floor.

"Tummi! Save some food for the newcomers!" Grammi scolded.

Tummi swallowed a mouthful. "I can't help it, Grammi. Watching all the dancers is making me hungry."

"It wouldn't if you stepped out there and tried mingling a little," Grammi replied. "Why don't you try asking some nice girl to dance?"

Tummi eyed the dance floor for a moment, suddenly hit with the jitters. "Uh… I don't know, Grammi…" he gulped. "What if they don't like me?"

Grammi smiled sympathetically. "They can't like you without knowing you first."

"Aw, c'mon, Tum," Gusto intervened. "Asking a girl to dance should be fun. I'll go with you so you can see how it's done."

"Uh… Okay," Tummi reluctantly followed Gusto to the dance floor.

On the way, the two companions ran into Cubbi, who was looking around for some cubs his age to play with. His formal outfit was a crimson tunic with gold buttons in the shape of the Gummi symbol, and the white collar on this tunic was much simpler than the one on his old formal outfit.

"Hi, little Cubster," Gusto greeted him. "Having fun?"

"Yeah, this party's great!" Cubbi beamed at his friends. "Chummi's been telling me all these stories about his training, and some of the kids are getting a real kick from watching Sir Thornberry dance over there," he pointed to a spot a few feet away where several New Gumbrians were standing in a circle, laughing and applauding at Sir Thornberry as he entertained them in his solo rain-dance.

"He's sure making it look easy," Tummi sighed.

"It's a matter of charm," Gusto told him. "Now it's time for us to make our move."

"What move?" Cubbi asked.

"Gusto's going to show me how to ask a girl to dance," Tummi answered.

"Why? What's the big deal about that?" Cubbi asked. "You just say, would you like to dance? And that's it."

"It gets a little harder when you're older," Gusto replied. He scanned the dance floor with his eyes, waiting for the right time to move. Finally, he spotted a pretty female Gummi about his age with chartreuse fur and a peach-colored dress. "Okay, I'm going in," Gusto announced.

Tummi watched Gusto approach the girl and hold out his arm to her. When he spoke, it was in a low, seductive tone.

"Hi, my name's Augustus Gummi, artiest extraordinaire. But everyone calls me Gusto."

The girl stared at him for a moment, and then hesitantly shook his paw.

"I've been watching you for a while, and let me just say your fur can put the spring grass to shame," Gusto continued in the same tone and kissed her paw.

The girl blushed slightly and giggled.

Gusto turned to face Tummi for just long enough to give him a quick wink. Then he turned back to the girl. "Would you honor me with a dance?"

The girl nodded, and within seconds she and Gusto vanished behind other dancing couples. Tummi could only stare in awe for a moment until Cubbi had to tug on his sleeve to get his attention.

"Tummi! Aren't you going to try next?" Cubbi asked impatiently.

"Uh… I think I need another snack before I try," Tummi told him, and hurried away to the refreshment table.

Cubbi rolled his eyes and resumed the task of looking for a new friend.

When Tummi reached the nearest table, he noticed two female Gummies around his age were standing by it too, just a few feet away. His first thought was to back away, but soon he noticed one of them was the red-headed girl he had seen on the shore earlier that afternoon. She was easy to notice in her fancy yellow dress and gold lace sewn on her sleeves and collar, and half of her hair was tied back with a gold ribbon. The other girl was not so easily distinguishable from the night sky. She had dark purple fur and was wearing a simple midnight blue dress that perfectly matched her hair, which was very long and almost hid her entire face.

"C'mon, Larken, do you really want to leave so early?" The red headed girl asked her friend. "The party's just getting started."

"I know, but I'm a little tired from the trip," the girl called Larken replied. "Anyway, you know I don't like dancing."

"But you won't go and play music with the others either," the red-head commented. "I thought we both agreed we'd try and make some friends tonight."

"It's easier for you than for me," Larken replied.

"C'mon, I'm sure these locals don't bite," the red-head pleaded. "Look, I'll prove it to you."

She turned away from her friend, and before Tummi knew what was happening, she headed straight towards him. At that moment, Tummi knew he could not avoid her, but he also had to admit to himself he didn't really want to.

"Hi," the girl smiled at Tummi as she reached him. She held out her paw to him. "I'm Ginger."

Tummi shook her paw, his face turning red. "Hi, Ginger… I'm Tummi," he finally managed to say.

Ginger tilted her head to the side and playfully twiddled her hair. "Great party, huh?"

"Uh… yeah," Tummi answered. He gulped, trying to remember what Gusto had said to the girl he asked to dance. "I… I've been watching you for a while, and…" he tried to remember the rest, but couldn't. All he could do now was improvise. "You're so… you look like…" he sighed with frustration. "I don't suppose you want to dance?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Ginger half laughed as she dragged Tummi to the dance floor.

As they passed by Larken, Ginger gave her an I told you so look. Larken smiled meekly at her, but turned to leave the party nonetheless.

Zummi stood at the edge of the square, watching the party rather nervously. While he promised his friends he would make the effort to show up, he wasn't sure he was ready to encounter any of the Great Gummies again right away. On the other hand, it was difficult to resist the cheering crowd and his friends' excitement at the chance of making new friends. What was more, it was unlikely that any New Gumbrians would be interested in interrogating him at a party. They were far more likely to want to socialize as well. A few moments later, he spotted Gruffi and Grammi by the refreshment table. He sighed with relief, finally deciding to join the party.

"Zummi! Hey, Zummi!" He heard a familiar voice call.

It was Sunni. She waved and was rapidly approaching him, closely followed by Buddi.

"Hi," Zummi said softly as the two caught up with him.

Sunni threw her arms around him, beaming. "Grammi said you might not come tonight."

"I said I'd join you later," Zummi smiled a bit awkwardly as Sunni let go of him. He stared at her for a moment, for the first time noticing the new dress Grammi had made for Sunni. "You look beautiful."

Sunni giggled. "Thanks."

Zummi smiled at her and Buddi. "So… are you kids enjoying yourselves?"

"Yeah," Buddi replied, finally managing to tear his eyes away from Sunni momentarily. The dyed red rama fleece tonic he was wearing clashed horribly with his friend's dress. "We've met some nice bears already. We were just playing music with some of them."

"Yeah," Sunni agreed. "We just thought we'd take a break for a while and join the dance..." her voice trailed off for a moment. She had just caught a glimpse of the dance floor, and her smile faded as she saw Gusto dancing with a girl with crimson fur and hair. The girl wore a very low cut silver dress, and she was holding Gusto a little too close for what the dance required.

Sunni frowned in disdain. "On second thought, maybe I'll go find some girls to talk to. I'd love to know what parties are like in New Gumbria." With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.

Buddi was a bit taken aback by Sunni's sudden departure. "What's with her?" He asked Zummi, staring at the direction Sunni was watching a moment ago. "Oh, I get it," he groaned as he caught sight of Gusto himself.

Zummi followed his gaze, sighing. He had a hunch this would happen sooner or later now that Gusto had the chance to meet some girls his age. "Uh… Buddi, I'm curious," Zummi asked cautiously. "Have you tried asking… any girls to dance tonight?"

"No," Buddi answered, turning a little red. "I've never danced like that before." He pointed to the dance floor where every dancer was holding his or her partner close as the musicians played a slow number.

Zummi smiled at him. "There's always a first time."

Buddi smiled shyly, then he, too, departed to join the dancers.

Zummi headed for the refreshment table, hoping he had not been too pushy. Assuming Buddi would take his advice, he had no doubt about whom the young Barbic would ask to dance.

As Zummi expected, Grammi lost no time and fussed over him the moment he reached her and Gruffi. "Zummi, you made it!" Grammi said enthusiastically, hugging him. "I was moments away from going back to the house to check on you."

Zummi hugged her back for a moment, and then pulled away, looking anywhere but at the dance floor. "Yeah, well… I thought if I didn't come tonight, it would be harder to face the Great Gummies later."

"You did good," Gruffi replied in a somewhat thick voice. "Hiding from your problems is not the Gummi way." He put down his glass, looking a little tired.

"Gruffi?" Zummi asked, a bit concerned. "Are you tired already?"

"It's been a long day," Gruffi answered, picking his glass up again and refilling it with punch.

Zummi sighed and poured himself a glass of water. "So… did either of you dance yet?"

"Not yet," Grammi answered. "Most bears our age we've seen tonight are married or aren't dancing either. They probably feel this party is mostly for the young."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," a voice intervened.

Grammi and Zummi looked around to find two bears approaching them, and Zummi's medallion emitted a bright glow. The speaker was Councilor Chutni, and the other was Councilor Rosetta, their medallions glowing as well. Chutni wore Chartreuse and yellow tunic with about a hundred buttons sewn on, which he had apparently bewitched to flash different colors. Rosetta, however, was dressed in a simple, magenta velvet dress. Zummi fidgeted nervously, hoping they would focus their attention on Gruffi or Grammi rather than him.

Chutni beamed as he joined them at the table, grabbing himself a glass of punch. "I never bought the idea you stop enjoying parties when you're older."

"Chutni, careful with that punch," Rosetta told him. "You already wolfed down half of your wine bottle."

"Aw, c'mon, Rosie, it's a special occasion," Chutni replied, elbowing Gruffi playfully and accidently knocking him on the floor. "Oh, sorry," he laughed as he helped Gruffi to his feet.

"Don't worry, Councilor," Grammi smiled at Rosetta. "The punch isn't strong. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the party."

"Yeah," Rosetta smiled back. "I can tell you were all really looking forward to us coming. You did a great job with our new homes."

"So you found a house you like?" Zummi asked, now feeling more secure knowing the two councilors have come to make friendly conversation rather than bring up problems or judge him.

"I love it," Rosetta replied, beaming. "I was hoping for a nice house like that for when, and if, we decide to stay in Ursalia. It's a good place to raise a family."

"Are you and your husband planning to have kids soon?" Grammi asked.

Rosetta smirked. "My wife is still in New Gumbria," she answered. "We were thinking of adopting a child once we were clear on where we'd be living."

"Oh, I see," Grammi smiled a bit awkwardly, hoping she hadn't embarrassed Rosetta with her question.

But Rosetta didn't seem embarrassed. She only smiled at Grammi and turned her attention to Zummi. "So, are you feeling better after talking to us?" she asked, her tone gentle.

"Uh… yeah," Zummi told her, turning a little red. "Much better. I just hope things will work out for the best."

Rosetta nodded. "We all do," she replied. "But don't worry. I may not have been in the council very long, but I know the other councilors are more than skilled to handle stressful situations…" She hesitated a little, since from the corner of her eye she just caught sight of Councilor Priggy not far away, who seemed to be having another asthma attack as several small cubs climbed on top of him, trying to play with his abacus. "Well," Rosetta continued, "some of us more than others."

"Oh, dear!" Zummi whispered when he spotted what caught Rosetta's attention.

"Please excuse me," Rosetta said. "I have to go rescue someone from the clutches of cuteness." With that, she departed.

"Don't worry," Chutni told Zummi. "Priggy's just got an imaginary allergy to cubs. He's not in real danger, he just… used to be a teacher."

"Who could be scared of cubs?" Grammi asked.

"I don't get it either," Chutni told her. "I love little cubs. They're fun to be around. If I were married, I'd have one cub every year."

Grammi laughed. "I see why Councilor Rosetta was concerned about the wine."

Chutni laughed. "I was only kidding," he reassured her. "I love cubs, but Bachelor life suits me."

"Don't want a woman to nag you, huh?" Gruffi asked, smirking at Grammi.

Grammi glared at him. "Better a nag than a pint-sized mule-head," she retorted.

Chutni laughed again. "Actually, I enjoy being around women," He smiled at Grammi. "I'm just not looking to get too attached to one. But I know I've got to be careful with the ones I find attractive."

Grammi laughed a bit nervously. "So what do you do with women you try not to get attached to?"

Chutni started telling her about the parties and nightlife in New Gumbria. Zummi half listened for a while, when he heard a soft feminine voice speak to him.

"Zummi?"

Zummi turned around to find himself face-to-face with Councilor Mysti. "Y-your honor," he stammered. "Uh… good evening."

Mysti smiled benignly. She wore a black velvet dress with tiny silver jewels sewn on, giving the dress a glittering appearance, and further illuminating her silver-white fur. "I was hoping I'd see you tonight. There are some things I'd like to talk to you about."

Zummi's heart pounded. "Uh… all right," he managed to say. He looked back at Gruffi and Grammi, hoping their presence would provide him with some support.

Unfortunately, Gruffi chose that moment to grab some more punch, and Chutni had taken a break from his stories to try some of the food. "You know, this party's great and all," Chutni told Grammi. "But the food tastes like it's been cooked by a five-year-old."

"Maybe we'd better find someplace quieter to talk," Zummi told Mysti, quickly signaling her to follow him away from the table.

A moment later, he heard Grammi shout at the top of her lungs. "WELL, THERE'S GRATITUDE FOR YOU! EVER TRIED TO PREPARE THIS MUCH FOOD IN ONE DAY FOR AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF GUESTS?!"

"Councilor Chutni put his foot in his mouth again, hasn't he?" Mysti asked Zummi, half laughing.

"He's lucky he's a councilor," Zummi answered. "Or Grammi might've made him wear her food instead of eat it."

Back at the table, Chutni had already made a quick exit. Grammi groaned in fury and leaned back, slamming her paw on her forehead.

"More trouble with the food critics?" Gruffi laughed. Only it wasn't his rare but normal laugh, it sounded somewhat "goofy."

"Shut up," Grammi shot back without looking at him.

Gruffi laughed again. "I guess I'll go mingle now," he stepped away from the table for a moment, but lost his balance as though completely disoriented.

This caught Grammi's attention instantly. "Gruffi?" she asked, starting to feel a bit worried. She hurried over to his side and caught his arm before he could fall on the ground.

"I'm fine," Gruffi told her. "You two could let go now."

Grammi dragged him back to the table, forcing Gruffi to lean against it for support. Then she approached the punch bowl. "Did you drink anything besides the punch tonight?" She poured herself a glass and sampled some punch. Instantly, she slammed the glass on the table. "I'LL KILL GRUBBI! I COULD JUST KILL HIM!"

Gruffi didn't notice. He moved away from the table and was about to move towards the dance floor, when Grammi caught his arm again.

"Oh, no, you don't," she scolded. "I'm taking you back to the house. We don't need you to embarrass yourself in front of the Great Gummies. It seems someone switched the punch while we weren't looking."

Finding a quiet place to talk turned out to be harder than Zummi thought. First, they tried crossing the dance floor to the tables on the opposite side, but the music and chatter was making it too difficult for them to talk. Zummi was slightly cheered, however, when he caught sight of Sunni and Buddi dancing together, and Sunni was apparently making an effort not to let Gusto and his current dance partner bother her. Next, Zummi tried leading Mysti to Ursalia's fountain, but there Ursa and Gritty seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument.

"I told you to stop fussing over me!" Ursa yelled furiously, her arms crossed over her white rama fleece dress. "If I want to see a doctor, I will! But I'm the one who's got to decide!"

"If I leave this up to you, you wouldn't go until something goes seriously wrong!" Gritty snapped back. "Ebony agreed to see you tomorrow, and you're going if I have to drag you there, kicking and screaming! It's for your own good!"

"This isn't working," Mysti told Zummi as the two of them tried to avoid the argument before they were spotted. "You wouldn't mind getting away from the party for a little while, would you?"

Zummi felt a little uncomfortable being alone with her, but as he looked back at the party, he thought for a moment he saw Councilor Stratus watching them through his monocle, looking displeased. Perhaps getting away was a good idea. "All right," Zummi told Mysti.

They left the central square, walking quietly for a while until they reached the tower that used to hold Ursalia's deadliest weapon before the Gummies had dismantled it. They decided to climb the stairs so they could still see the party. When they reached the top, Zummi tried to relax. This was about as high as he could stand it. He watched Mysti for a while, waiting for her to speak.

Mysti smiled at him. "You and your friends did a great job with the party," she said. "And I love the house they found me."

"Good," Zummi answered faintly. He cleared his throat, trying to muster some confidence. "I'm glad. I know it wasn't easy for you to make the change."

Mysti nodded. "Yes, this is going to take some getting used to. I know it wasn't easy for you either," she added gently. "Did Ebony help you?"

"Uh, yes, she did," Zummi turned a little red. He was sure Mysti didn't ask him to leave the party just for this. "She mostly told me things I already knew, but it felt good to have someone professional confirm it for me and understand."

"So she said you're going to be alright?" Mysti asked hopefully. "The attack… you don't have any lasting injuries?"

"Nothing fatal," Zummi told her. "I'm going to be okay. I just… need some time to recover from everything that's happened."

"I can imagine," Mysti said sympathetically. She sat on the platform that used to bear the horn, signaling Zummi to sit beside her. "But it'll probably be easier now that you've talked to us, right?"

"I hope so," Zummi replied as he sat down. "I-I have to admit I was expecting the council to punish me."

Mysti smiled. "I got that idea when two cubs from your family were caught eavesdropping on us when we held our meeting."

"They-What?!" Zummi asked in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "Sunni and Cubbi eavesdropped…?"

Mysti almost laughed at his reaction. "Don't worry, I understand they were worried about you. It obviously means they care," she added in a gentler voice.

"I'm going to have to talk to them," Zummi told her, relieved she wasn't angry.

"Probably," Mysti agreed. "But I thought you should know the council doesn't blame you for what happened. We realize you and your friends aren't professional warriors, and there are so few of you to preserve the old warrens as well as defend a kingdom. What's more, from your description of this Igthorn, it sounded like he meant to destroy Gummi Glen, no matter what. And with an army at his side, all the odds were against you."

"I shouldn't have sent the message inviting you to come back," Zummi said sadly. "Even if the damage to Gummi Glen was inevitable, putting you and all the Great Gummies in danger was not."

Mysti touched his shoulder gently. "Zummi, inviting us to come back would've been risky with or without Igthorn. Even if we someday reach peace with humans, there are bound to be some that will always be dangerous to us. It's just a question of what dangers we can handle. Anyway, we were never going to punish you. It took a lot of courage to save us that day, as well as come clean to us immediately."

Zummi lowered his eyes, unsure how to respond to this. Mysti's arguments in his favor made sense, and they were comforting, but he could not shake off the feeling of responsibility for having summoned the Great Gummies directly into a violent attack.

Mysti seemed to sense his struggle. "You know, if you hadn't summoned us, sooner or later we probably would've returned anyway."

Zummi looked up at her in surprise. "You would?" he asked. "But… we still haven't reached peace with the humans."

"I know," Mysti answered seriously. "But you see, Berryborn was destroyed in a brutal attack years ago, and Great Bearton was invaded by humans once too. New Gumbria remains the only Gummi kingdom unknown to humans, and it's becoming overpopulated. Many of us have come to understand we can no longer wait for it to be safe."

Zummi felt his heart pound at this piece of information. "Were many Gummi bears harmed in these attacks?" He asked fearfully.

"Yes," Mysti replied grimly. "Few survived the attack on Berryborn. The Great Bearton population was luckier. They repelled their attackers, and evacuated most Gummies in case there would be another invasion. Some are still there to protect the place, but the warriors aren't skilled enough to protect so many bears. We needed to re-inhabit warrens near the humans, both for the purpose of peace and to learn their strength if we will be forced to fight."

"But if these attacks happened years ago, why haven't you returned before?" Zummi asked.

"Until three years ago, we didn't know if any Gummies were left in Dunwyn. But one day, we received a gummiscope message, and we knew. I sent my reply, asking if it were possible to re-inhabit our warrens and make peace with the humans. But I never got an answer, just another message asking me to repeat the first."

Zummi nodded. "I sent you that message. We lost the first one because Igthorn attacked us again, and he stole the scope to attack Dunwyn. We had to destroy the scope in the end to protect the kingdom. But before we did, I had to try to find out what you wanted to tell us. But that message was lost too."

"Well, we received more information when Chummi arrived in New Gumbria. But all he could tell us about humans was that he's met some allies as well as enemies." Mysti sighed. "After that, we debated about coming back. We weren't sure if the risk was greater than the reward. Your message was what gave us the motivation to come here to find out. It's true we didn't expect to be attacked right away, but we didn't expect conditions to be ideal for peace either."

"I understand," Zummi replied softly.

Mysti smiled at him for a moment, and then became serious again. "Zummi, another reason I wanted to talk to you now is, I'm going to need some help with analyzing the situation. I need someone who knows this world to provide some guidance."

"Oh, sure," Zummi agreed. "All of us will help you anyway we can."

Mysti smiled again. "Good," she said. "I'll let you know when I need you." She stood up. "I think I've taken enough of your time tonight. You can go back to the party if you want."

Zummi followed her to the stairs. "Are you coming too, your honor?"

"No, I think I'll go home," Mysti replied softly. "I'm a little tired."

Zummi nodded in understanding. "Will you find your way back to your place from here?" he asked. "Or… would you like me to walk you there?"

Mysti thought this over. The city was strange to her, and the offer was too kind to refuse. "I'd appreciate it, thank you."