Tavi smiled My Auntie Toffi! Her smaller job for the council is to keep track of all the old maps. Theyre in her room. They might have something.

Cubbi eyed Corvi. And youre sure just asking them wouldnt work right?

Corvi shook his head, No. Im positive it wouldnt. Youd just make the adults more nervous if you start asking.

Tavi put her hands on her hips, Dont they think we have a right to know? She scowled; again, it seemed they were left out because of their age. That wasnt fair and it was kind of stupid in her opinion. All she knew were the horror stories that older boys got in trouble for telling littler cubs.

Corvi eyed her Emi isnt the same like other enemies.

Well, do you know where we can get more information then? You live here, and youre older than Tavi. You gotta know something else! Cubbi asked. He was bursting at the seams. He wanted to know more and he wanted to know now. He never was very good at waiting. It might have felt like they were going around in circles but he knew enough about adults to know that it was really rare for them to put all their information in one spot, or with one person. It seemed like there were always other areas but sometimes you had to dig for it.

Corvi frowned; how did he get wrapped up in this? Well, the adults wont tell you anything. The Great Book only told us this. Finding the maps and the trial journals Destini mentioned are our best bet.

Cubbi nodded, So when did all this happen again? He was beginning to wonder if Corvi knew more than he was telling.

Corvi groaned, thinking back. He knew a few stories about Emi but his knowledge was pretty limited as well. He remembered that they had trapped Zorlock about seven years before Gummadoon was forced to flee. Hed been very young back then. Emi had been sent away, about two years before Gummadoon vanished from the present. Still, back then, he was still pretty young and the adults were reluctant to discuss a lot of the details of battle with him. But some things stuck firm and hard.

I guess around the same time as the gummi-human wars.

Tavi eyed Corvi, Corvi, you were around then, werent you?

The teenager nodded, pushing some stray golden strands out of his eyes. Yeah, I was but I was young.

So, cant you tell us anything?

Corvi sighed deeply, Tavi, I was eight or nine.

So, what? Thats how old Cubbi is! And you remember your father dont you?

Corvi took a deep inhale of breath at the memory. Maybe that was why he dreaded dipping into this. So much pain had happened, in such a short amount of time. The same year that Emi had been captured, he had lost his father. He didnt like to remember anything from that year. Still, it didnt look like Tavi meant to relent any time soon so he frowned. Well, I mainly remember lots of fear. From everyone. The knights and everyone. I remember that Blastus and the others were always gone it seemed like.

Doing what?

Trailing Emi I suppose.

You think? Cubbi asked incredulously.

Well, they didnt tell me much back then. I just had to go on what I picked up from the ways they acted.

Well, so what do you know then?

Corvi frowned, trying to think. Back then, he had dismissed so much, things that he realized now would have probably been useful. Well, no use dwelling on it now. It was hard to focus on those years gone past, especially when so much had happened. I remember she never seemed to stay in one spot. She was always moving around. I remember that they brought out the enchanted weapons.

Cubbi stared at him, You can enchant weapons?

Sure. Tavi replied, jumping in. The Council just hates to do it. Auntie says that its draining and that it does something funky to the magic involved.

Corvi nodded firmly, Makes it more dangerous, harder to control I guess. He shrugged Im not sure exactly what happened except that the knights came home in less numbers and bleeding. They were all in sick bay for a long time and they looked really sad. I remember all the adults being sadbut beyond that, not much.

Except fear, he thought. So much fear in their eyes. And beyond fear, sadness he still couldnt quite place. Corvi had seen his share of sadness in his life. He had felt the burn of knowing you would never see a family member again. That lesson had been scalded into his mind when he was nine, when his father had fallen. But more than that, hed seen Pluckis eyes when Aldi and Illsi had been lost. He had been young, very young but he still remembered Pluckis eyes if nothing else. Eyes that broken did not leave your dreams for years. He remembered following Blastus and just seeing and hearing such sadness and pain from Plucki, a gummi he usually saw the same as he saw Blastus: invincible, strong and never one to crumble. Yet, Plucki had been in tears, looking a shell of who he once was. His mother had crumbled similarly after his youngest brother was born, when they had to tell her that his father was gone.

But when they had come in from capturing Emi, he had never seen such a darkness or hurt to their eyes. He had been young but even then he had understood that something horrific had happened. It still wasnt a sadness he had ever seen repeated and quite frankly, he never wanted it to be repeated. Seeing it once had been enough. Yet, here they stood, investigating the very thing that had caused such heart break. He understood the adults fear of it, their deliberate attempts to keep the cubs out of it but sometimes, such things were not possible and it seemed that they had been dragged into it.

Yet, all the same, something was telling him that Fate had directed this for a reason. While he was petrified to be walking these forbidden memories, he knew Tavi would not relent, Cubbi either and maybe that was a good thing. Why it could be a good thing he really didnt know but something told him it was. So, nothing to be done but to make due as best they could.

Youll learn more from books than from me. He said with a sad smile. Though, I still say you two are treadin dangerous waters here.

Cubbi nodded. We know.

Corvi wasnt convinced that either of them truly understood. He knew more details than most cubs, partially because he had a right to ask because he had beenwell, they had captured Emi two years before the Gummies had fled and about one year had passed, in regular time since them. Time travel and floating among millennia was confusing for ones math but essentially, for the gummies of Gummadoon, only three to four years had passed since Emi was locked away. It had been five hundred years at least for the rest of the world. Emis crimes still burned harshly within Gummadoons heart. Tavi had been too young to remember very well. But Corvi remembered all too well. His father had been killed on a mission to track her down. He had trailed after him, he had been there when he had fallen. Desperately, Corvi attempted to think back but there was so much blurriness to the memory, no doubt his minds attempt to protect him from the pain. He had never shared the fact he had seen his father die with anyone, not even his blood family. Now, for some reason, that memory seemed vital and important but at the moment, it was beyond his reach presently. Frustrated, he shook his head, almost grateful when Cubbi spoke up.

Tavi, why dont you find the maps in Wooddales room. Im gonna see if any of the other books here tell me anything.

Corvi nodded to that and Tavi took off upstairs. Cubbi headed deeper into the library but turned. Arent you coming Corvi?

In a few minutes.

Now, he was determined. How had their determination slipped into him?

The smaller cub nodded and ran out into the larger room though how he planned on searching out these possible books was beyond him, given he could barely read a story book. However, he was determined to find out anything that he could. He was well accustomed to how a library was organized but that didnt make this any easier. As if his reading wasnt bad enough, his math wasnt a great deal better.

Oh, simple equations were easy, especially the kind used to determine berry amounts or things like that. He wasnt used to calculating things to do with time travel and history though. He knew the approximate time of the gummi-human wars but that was all. Still, it was better to have something to go on than nothing. Setting his eyes upward, he scanned the shelves of the library before starting to walk along, back towards the far east end of the library. He found the shelves only because he saw how thick the books were and he saw a bunch of old maps. Maybe these were the ones that could tell them where Merlinnis room was. Cubbi was determined to find out.

Getting them down, though That was gonna be hard.

Councilor Wooddales Room

Tavi pouted. Why did her aunt feel the need to keep all her maps on insanely high shelves?

She knew she really should wait and ask her aunt but then she was certain that the woman would inquire why and she already knew that any questions about Emi would result in no answers. So, she stood here, looking up at her aunts large shelves, thinking. She could always use magic to bring them down but she doubted her ability to control it and not make a ton of noise. It was better to just do it the old fashioned way.

Pulling herself up, she made her way up the shelves slowly, finding her footing on each shelf and making sure they werent going to give out. She finally reached the top and after looking through some of the smaller maps, she selected a large one and pulled it loose though not without some dust and jumped down, sitting down, folded legs and started to trace a thumb along the inked routes. She realized with irritation that most of the words were written in older language, words she didnt know. However, there was a lot of information; it would just take some time to make her way through them all.

Well, it wasnt like she had more important things to do. This was the most important.

The map contained half of Gummadoons living quarters. The right half. All the wizards kinda lived next to each other, and the knights next to each other, and stuff. She saw the area for wizards, and thats who Merlinni was. She heard stories about him. Old, old stories. Never met him of course. He died a long, long, LONG time ago. Tavi wondered which one of the rooms in the wizards section was Merlinnis. The map didnt say who lived where. Hm. Did she have to search each room? It could be one of the Gummadoon councilors rooms, or one of the rooms of the five other wizards in Gummadoon. Maybe she was going about this the wrong way. Would it be as simple as trying to use the medallions inside her to help her find the room? Was that dangerous? Tavi exhaled a deep and frustrated breath. She liked magic and didnt exactly regret what she did to have the medallions reside inside her but... It sure complicated things like what was right and what was wrong, and worst of all there was no one she could ask!

Gummadoon Sick Bay

Hey there, sleeping beauty.

Toni blinked and opened his eyes the rest of the way, Gumlittles face instantly coming into view. The second thing that came to his mind was how much his wrists burned. The third thing was that his leg no longer hurt. The fourth was that his body felt hot but it felt better than it had before. But mostly was confusion but lightness as well. The darkness and pain that had consumed his heart over the past week or so had been diminished, immensely. It was still there but now, it was as if a haze had been lifted. The thoughts of doubt were there but not like before. The desire to impress was still there but not like before.

And the feeling of being alone and utterly unloved was gone.

Gummie?

The Gummadoon knight smiled and hugged the small child close to his chest, in pure relief. Toni, Toni, Toni, you scared us to death.

Fingering the bandages around his wrists, Toni blinked. Wh..what happened?

We were kind of hoping you could tell us that, Sport. Gumlittle replied, gently, brushing the cubs hair back slightly. Can you tell Gummie what you remember?

The small cub frowned, narrowed his eyes, Well, since when?

Well, why dont you tell me what you remember?

He frowned, thinking. I rememberwell, I remember telling you not to go outside.

That far back? Oh, you mean in the living room.

Toni nodded, then froze. He may have felt better but he still didnt want to think about what could happen. He still had a very real fear of that dream. After all, his mother had turned out as

Wheres Mother? he asked suddenly, his breath a bit short.

Shes fine, lad. Sarrika is taking good care of her. After you ran off, she passed out. She looked worried about you.

That wasnt a lie. He didnt quite know what was going on but talking to Toni was confirming more of his suspicions. Tonis entire demeanor had changed, he didnt remember many detailsall that, plus his mothers sudden slump and then her facial change and now her current state, it was all pointing to magical interference. That in itself made his blood boil.

Gummadoon Sitting Room

So Tonill be alright?

Sarrika said he should be. Hes sleeping right now. Gumlittle reported. His memorys foggy though, like I told you.

Plucki nodded. Unforgiveable, going after the cubs and in such a cruel manner. That was a minor way of expressing his thoughts. To magically influence a cubs feelings like that, and using their own mother! So heartless, so dark, though it did ease Pluckis heart to know one of his fellow gummies had not turned so cold but was instead a victim of outside circumstances. Yet his heart feared that more damage than could be repaired had been done. What to do now

Blastus eyed his two brothers. And you know for a fact that youre already having every thing done that you can, mes frres.

They nodded, but they hated being this helpless, especially with children involved. So it appears. You told the council your suspicions?

Yes. Gumlittle assured him. Theyre keeping a close watch on Toni and his mother. They said that the influence seems to have left Toni entirely. All hes fighting now is a fever.

And his mother?

Gumlittle shrugged They havent said much positive about her.

Silence. They all knew that such things usually meant less than positive outcomes.

Well, then, lets give little Toni something to be happy about. Blastus told them firmly. We still have plenty of time now to take the boys out this night, lets do that. We promised them a reward week, I say its time we give them what we said.

Plucki, despite his worry, smiled. You know, Blastus, youre right. It might ease our own hearts as well. He had been captain long enough to know that if he pondered over something he could not change, it would only increase his stress with nothing accomplished. The Council had said themselves that nothing could be done as things presently were, the boys were probably beginning to pick up on their stress and Gum knew that Toni could use a little bit of fun

So, lets go find our boys.