Gummadoon Council Chambers
Sir Plucki, amid listening and adding input to the plans finally circulating about the Council chambers, glanced over at his young squire. Asleep. He began to wonder how many hours of rest the cub had missed in his secret quest to find answers. Corvi and Toni and Tavi as well. Toni was similarly in the world of dreams. Corvi was holding his own. Only Tavi seemed to power on as if having limitless energy.
"So you're saying Lady Bane was the one possessing Karleni?" Tavi's raised voice broke in.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," her Aunt Toffi replied solemnly.
"That witch is back again? Why can't she leave us be?" demanded Sir Gumlittle, a scowl on his face for all the grief the human sorceress bestowed on gummies.
"Well, I'm glad it isn't more proof of Emi, you know?" Corvi said, trying to cover up a yawn in the process.
Sir Gumlittle wasn't fooled. "Look, we're all worn. It's been quite a... well, we're past calling it a day. At least you squires... and young wizards..." he added, looking pointedly at Tavi. "should be resting up."
"Uh-uh," Tavi replied firmly, taking her aunt's hand with just as much ownership as she had over the situation. "We've only just started."
Sir Plucki stalled his brother-knight's protests with a raised hand.
Giving Councilor Wooddale's hand a little squeeze, Tavi whispered up to her aunt, "Do you know, Auntie? Was it Lady Bane who got you? Or was it... her?"
The councilor eyed her niece with a pained expression of doubt and uncertainty as well as the sorrow she felt for being influenced at all.
"Okay," Tavi said to herself, letting go of her aunt's hand. She stepped up to the book and said, "Book of Merlinni," she addressed it, for she was tired of simply calling it 'Book'. "How and what did Lumina Gummi make as a prison to hold Emi?"
After a few seconds, the rose-hued glow began and words imprinted on the pages thereafter were as follows:
Lumina Gummi constructed one of the most elaborate and draining magic objects ever crafted in the history of Gummi Civilization. She and the twenty high-ranking wizards required for the undertaking literally put a part of their lives into the project, which extracted no less than a decade of life from each participant in the span of a single year to infuse and fuel the spell needed to secure Emi Gummi. A gummi's life energy was the necessary chain to bind her in place to a material object. Shortly after crafting said magic prison, Merlinni Gummi created the book before you with his remaining years and faded into the afterlife. It may now be assumed that Emi Gummi's prison is weakening due to that chain of life force either having begun to run out or is leaking out due to some flaw or break in the object.
Those crowding around to read the words were primarily the whole Gummadoon Council, Tavi, Sir Gumlittle and Sir Blastus. Tavi felt a little crowded but took another look around. Corvi had succumbed to his weariness. Honestly, she didn't feel a lick tired. She felt revved up! Onward!
"And what exactly is her prison? What was the magic object Lumina Gummi made?" The Book of Merlinni wasn't being real forward about that part so she asked directly.
A single sentence glowed briefly to life: That information was kept even from this tome.
Tavi uttered a sigh of frustration at the lack of trust amongst gummies when it came to the subject of Emi Gummi. "All this would be a lot easier if people just talked about her!
The gentle but strong hand of Sir Plucki settled on the cub's shoulder to stay her. "That's entirely the problem on both sides, lass. Part of what made Emi so strong was her far-reaching influence. It became a fear to even utter her name. We don't know how she came to be as she was, nor if even that prison was enough. Obviously it wasn't... So, to be safe, I'd caution you as well. If she can reach any of us, she might even be keen on our talk of her. Who's to know if our fear of her is a fuel to weaken her prison. There's much we don't know, and that not knowing created our silence."
Tavi shrugged. "I guess I get that. But this..." She waved a hand at the book before them. "It's so powerful and wonderful and yet, it can't help us anymore as far as finding Emi. Sometimes I wonder if what we lost was worth losing it is all."
Her auntie hugged her close. "My dear, some decisions were not easy back then but it is time to move on. You've taught us that. Don't look back. Focus ahead."
Berrybottom nodded, smiling. "Indeed. And unfortunately we cannot wait for Cubbi to wake. I'll fetch a messenger to leave immediately. It seems a talk with our Gummi Glen cousins is long-overdue."
The aging yellow councilor turned and left the room.
Playroom Inside Gummadoon
Lady Ivori sighed, a smile on her face as she watched Cori and Mori playing together, stacking blocks. Though she'd none of her own, it was always a pleasure to watch any of the cubs of the castle, though she did find it unusual that little Cori had called their visit a game and that he and his older brothers were playing pretend and that's why they were at the castle. Ah well. Active imaginations.
And currently the pair were playing with a third young one currently in her charge. All three were stacking blocks and sharing in a most absorbed building exercise. She marvelled at the peace and harmony intrinsic in all gummies and felt that nothing could be more perfect - except perhaps if she'd her own.
Well, that simply wasn't the case, so she merely put every ounce of caring and devotion she had into teaching the squires and pages and, on those other occasions, watching the littler residents of Gummadoon while their parents went about their respective chores and what-not.
Gummadoon Council Chambers
Cubbi roused, restless. Some foggy kind of bad dream... He blinked, noted sunlight pouring in from a window, and looked around the chambers. The three knights and some of the Council remained but the other pages and squires were asleep. He caught Sir Plucki yawning and rubbing at his eyes before his favorite knight saw him and smiled.
The Captain walked over to him. "Good morn, Cubbi."
"I guess..." He sat up groggily, then stood. "Find anything new out?"
Sir Plucki sighed. "You're barely steady on two feet, lad. Take it easy. Perhaps you should find your bed and rest up a bit more. Nothing pertinent is going on at present."
"Perty-whah?" He blinked bleary eyes at Sir Plucki.
"Pertinent. It means important. Nothing important will go on for now. We are sending someone out to contact Gummi Glen regarding the questions raised but other than that, we're at a bit of a stand-still.
"Oh." Cubbi sighed. It turned into a yawn. He looked around. "Tavi?"
"With Councilor Wooddale in the library, I think, along with the magical book you found. They're trying to find anything else that may give us more information." Plucki eyed his squire with growing concern. "Look, I know you want to help but you're no use to anyone half-asleep. Go back to bed. Get some rest. Rest here if you like."
"No. 'M okay, Sir Plucki. Just gonna go grab somethin' ta eat." He started wandering out, toward the kitchen.
Yawning again, Cubbi did start to feel like he was waking up, and his stomach really was rumbling for food after that little early morning snack. And, honestly, he couldn't go back to sleep. Bad dreams, a terrible threat looming... Who could sleep with that?
As he passed from the hall to a side-room, Cubbi paused. Not only was the side-room unusually dark, there was somebody sitting in one of the two chairs near the cold, empty fireplace. The pink-furred cub's breath froze when he realized who: Sir Ecri.
The broken knight sat with no lamp or lantern, a book in his hands, his eyes on the pages. He put out a dark mood that kept those close to him very concerned. Even those who didn't hardly know the guy were worried. Cubbi knew his life had been torn apart by Lady Bane, too, when his twin brother was killed. These days, the young knight kept to himself and never seemed to move yet he was rarely seen more than once a day by anyone. And he never spoke a word; not even to his mentor, Sir Blastus.
Cubbi realized he'd stopped walking and was staring at Sir Ecri but he couldn't help it. Should he try talking to him? Should he be told what was going on right now? They could use every available knight they could get but... Ecri didn't look available. He didn't even look able. It was like the guy had sucked in on himself and shut everyone and everything else out. He must eat and drink and sleep. He didn't look like he was wasting away physically. Mentally though, Cubbi began to wonder. Someone needed to help him. Someone probably was trying. Several somebodies. Healer Sarrika and Sir Blastus and probably others. But they weren't here right now. With Karleni healing mentally and needing more help than Ecri, and Sir Blastus busy with helping his brother-knights come up with a plan to sort out this Emi Gummi business, nobody was paying any attention to him.
Cubbi got up the gumption to walk slowly over. The creep of his fellow gummi's darkness made him shudder slightly but he ignored it and looked just at the young knight.
Pained eyes flicked up to him briefly before returning to the book in his lap.
"... Um... Sir Ecri?"
The lavender-furred knight turned a page, not bothering to look up.
"Sir Ecri, your fellow knights will need you."
Again, no response. No indication that the young knight heard him at all.
Cubbi tried again. "I dunno if you've heard? There's a horrible evil trying to get a foot-hold on Gummadoon again and-"
"I know."
It'd been so long since he'd ever heard Sir Ecri's voice, Cubbi's brows rose at how gentle it was. Didn't sound broken at all! Didn't even remember what he'd sounded like. But he still wouldn't look at Cubbi.
"Oh. Um... Okay. Good. Just, y'know, thought you should know. Um, talk to you later, okay?" He couldn't think of anything else to say!
Ecri didn't respond.
Cubbi sighed, then turned to go.
"You should prepare yourself for her assault as well."
That gentle voice caused a shiver to go up his spine and the hairs on his neck prickle up. "Uh..." His voice shook. He cleared his throat. "Um, you, too. They're in the Council Chambers... if you wanna join them."
"I know."
Another shiver running the length of his body, Cubbi picked up his pace and left the unsettling presence of Sir Ecri.
Wow... he mused over a muffin fresh from the oven. He never got the creeps from talking to somebody before. It was just kinda eerie, like the guy knew everything that was going on. The weird part was that, even though he never said, Cubbi was sure that, in his own way, Ecri was planning something to get ready for her, too.
Just Outside Gummadoon
Though she didn't mind too much letting the green-furred young knight take lead on getting them both into Gummadoon, what Lady Bane absolutely loathed were the excited, loving, anticipation/fear/desperation all wrapped up in a mess of mushy feelings for his... ugh... family. Oh, she'd let him know they were still alive - once she saw through his mind who they were. She did not, however, let on that she'd been trying to mess with the annoying little gummi sorceress and definitely had toyed with the mind of that incessant Councilor Wooddale. Heh. She suffered her own bout of glee to know they were related. Oh, this was going to be a sweet coup, once all was revealed...
It was morning but not terribly early. The sun shone brightly. Lucki forced slightly less sluggish legs up and over a low, grassy hill and before them lay the grand vista of Gummadoon Castle. She ignored his hesitation, the unstoppable formation of tears in his eyes at the sight of 'home', and pressed him to get moving or else be forced to relive his death mentally all over again. Sufficiently cowed by the threat, he began the plodding march toward the outter gates.
A grape-furred gummi of young adult age with a knapsack slung across one shoulder came from those gates and started out at a run. Accessing Lucki's memories, Lady Bane knew it was a lad named Crobi. She assumed he'd spotted Lucki from within and came running out to greet him but he nearly shot right past them. Scoffing at such behavior, she was about to have her meat-puppet call out to him when he stopped with a screeching halt just a few feet in front of them. The grape-furred gummi slowly turned and Lady Bane had the greatest of satisfaction at seeing Crobi's expression turn to one of absolute horror. The gummi screamed, tripped over himself as he tried to run backwards, then shot up and ran right back into Gummadoon as if he were on fire.
Ha! THAT was the attitude she wanted all gummies to feel before her presesnce! Incapacitating fear. Yes!
Stop this! Please!
She sneered at the soul and its beggings. Shut up and move it! Or else...
It obeyed and the body moved on, natural as you please. In a way, Lady Bane preferred this method of subterfuge. Not as taxing as a possession and so much easier than trying to control the body without its intended soul to steer it along. And, look. More fun up ahead.
There were two guards at the gate, currently joking about the silly manner in which their fellow just rushed back in. She caught snatches of their conversation, that that particular gummi was prone to forgetting things and perhaps he'd forgotten the message he'd intended to deliver. It made her arrival all the more sweet, for the knights caught movement of a green form and turned to see. And their eyes nearly popped from their skulls in shock and terror at the sight of a comrade, once dead, now before them.
Lady Bane gained a perverse pleasure in letting Lucki speak to them.
Oh, he didn't want to. Didn't even know what to say, but he wasn't exactly in charge so...
Hesitation apparent in both voice and manner, Lucki addressed them personally. "Aendi, Templi." He added a short nod of greeting but as he spoke, he saw their eyes roll back into their heads and they folded unceremoniously to the ground.
And oh, how Lady Bane cackled! Wonderful! More! Go, go!
The body which he was no longer whole went forward - partly at his command, partly at hers. By this time, the sounds of hurried footsteps and commotion could be heard growing ever near.
Where the gummi soul allowed to remain in its body steeled itself for what was to come, Lady Bane welcomed the turmoil with open arms. It was, after all, why she'd done this to begin with. That, and to get inside the castle.
Lady Bane let Lucki have the reigns for the moment for, within moments, several guards with swords raised en guarde were charging right for him. The green-furred gummi dropped to one knee, covering his head with his hands. "No! STOP!"
They did not strike but they did surround him and keep him at sword-point. Every bit of fear he felt was allowed to show on his face as he peeked out from between his arms. And then he saw them... Sir Plucki, Sir Blastus and... and Gumlittle. Oh, they looked furious. But when they parted the guards, their own swords at the ready, he dared uncover his face and gaze at them with eyes full of sorrow and joy and so many things for he knew how he was here but he didn't care at that moment. He was more alive than before, and if he got the chance, he had a lot to say to them all.
But, for now, he let them make the first move. Dressed only in parts of his knight's underdressing which he'd been buried in, he probably looked like he'd crawled right out of his own grave. He knew what this probably looked like to them. He hoped they'd figure out he'd been resurrected and that he wasn't some ghoul. How he wished he could tell them what was going on!
And he felt the oppressive presence of Lady Bane locking his throat tight.
So he could do nothing but watch their expressions carefully and try to make the most of this.
Blastus and Plucki... Their fury turned to outright shock, though Plucki's features became guarded once more. He didn't seem fooled. Good. Gumlittle though...
The big knight's sword clanked to the cobblestones. He looked Lucki up and down a second before taking two large steps and engulfing the green-furred gummi in a giant, swashing, never-let-you-go hug.
Lady Bane wanted to retch. Lucki wanted to cry. She didn't let them do either.
"Gumlittle," Plucki intervened, his sword pointed at Lucki. "Step away from that thing."