Glen Quarters in Gummadoon

Sunni dug through her bag a little more, trying her best to hurry. Plucki had met them at the stairs and shown them the small room before they had split again to gather whomever they could. Plucki had darted off, seemingly receiving word from one of the guards about an injured knight and then there had been shouts that the others were spotted returning. It was very frantic and hectic, with everyone rushing here and there and plans being exchanged from knight to knight. Gruffi had darted off to meet the returning group at the door with Plucki, with Sunni telling him she was going to the bathroom then would meet him in the meeting hall. He was quite reluctant to let her go but he also was not about to follow her into the bathroom either. One of the maids offered to follow and make sure she got to meeting room alright and he allowed it.

Now, she had called to her waiting chaperone that she was coming. She _had_ gone to the bathroom but she had something else on her mind too. She didn't know what she would be able to do if Emi attacked, if anything, but she did know that she would much rather have some means of protecting herself than to simply have to scream and run. As luck would have it, she had at least one possibility. She knew if she asked Gruffi or one of the others, she would just be told to stay hidden and not to approach the threatening gummi. Well, duh. That would be ideal. However, she knew…could _feel_ that things would not be that simple.

When they had started on their journey here, simply on a trip to see Cubbi, she had thrown it into her bag, intent on showing it to Cubbi, to see what he thought. Now, it seemed that such a simple decision would serve her well. After digging through a few more of her things, she finally clasped her hands on her prize. Pulling it out into the candle light, she turned the small dagger over in her hands. It was simple, really, nothing too fancy. Well, to be truthful, it was two daggers, one smaller and strapped to the top of the first.

On her last visit to the Barbics, Buddi had surprised her with it.

"For me?" Sunni eyed the Barbic teenager, smiling widely. "I…I dunno what to say…"

"Well, you said that you were interested in learning some of our ways," he defended, "So, I figured a dagger pair was a good start. Ursa started me on a wooden pair when I was four." He beamed "But you've been in enough adventures that I think you can handle the real ones already."

Sunni moved the daggers a bit, one in each hand "So…how do you work two daggers at once?"

Laughing a little, Buddi corrected her, "You don't use them together Sunni." He took hold of the smaller one, saying, "Two is one and one is none."

Blinking at her friend, she inquired, "What's that mean?"

Buddi clarified, "A survival technique. Two of something means one of something, just in case. If one of your resources breaks or is lost, you have a backup. You should always assume one should fail. If it doesn't, then you have extra but if it does, you're still prepared." He pointed to the larger of the dagger, "You keep the larger one on your belt, the smaller one out of sight."

Sunni eyed his appearance a moment and Buddi, catching on, rolled up his left sleeve, showing her a strap where a small knife was sheathed. He rolled up his tunic a little and she saw another strapped to the inside of his thigh. Reaching into his boots, he pulled a small one, about the size of a finger length from the inside. "Ursa always says if you see one weapon on an enemy, assume there are two others that you don't see." He grinned "So Barbics carry three out of sight."

"Sunni," the female gummi outside the door called, "Are you ready? The others are beginning to file into the meeting room…"

"Coming, sorry." Sunni took the smaller dagger and strapped it on the inside of her thigh before replacing her skirt, pulling it down to hide the weapon and clipping the larger dagger to her belt. It most certainly felt weird but it also felt, oddly right. It was a small comfort and she was sure it would provide little help in the coming battle but…it was _something_. Maybe it wouldn't do anything, given that this was a magical enemy. That was something the Barbics lacked in for certain—the practice of magic. But, Sunni found herself considering, was it going to be an advantage this time?

Gummadoon Meeting Room

Lucki came back to consciousness holding his head tightly, "Ow…so that's why we're not supposed to mess with the sleep sand."

A large hand gently settled in his hair and he recognized Gumlittle's soft voice, "Give it a moment, Lucki. Here." A glass of a foul smelling liquid was pressed into his hands and without even questioning the smell, he downed it. It was just as foul tasting as it smelled but it did alleviate some of his headache. The only good thing about the headache was that at least Lady Bane was staying quiet. She was still there, still quite alert and present but she was not saying anything. Lucki was about ready to burst with everything he had to say but he forced his tongue to be silent.

"Are you with us again, Luckmeister?" Gusto inquired from his seat. The room felt very closed in and small but it was necessary. Looking about, the room was packed, though not so much that there was no room for movement. Gusto and his group had returned just a few minutes ago and Grammi had wasted no time in insisting they reconnect and share information, all the while demanding news on Cubbi. Amazing how such a small gummi woman could be so demanding and forceful. Yet, Plucki had been completely unfazed, reassuring her that Cubbi was fine and that she was "one step ahead of them" as they were gathering folk for a meeting at just that moment.

Lucki only gave a small nod to the elder gummi's inquiry. His entire body felt weird and it wasn't just from the sleep sand effect. He really couldn't think of a word for the feeling. The nearest thing he could think of was that his soul didn't feel so pressed and strained anymore but more open and fitting. Kinda like when you stretched your hands into a new pair of gloves. He could still feel Lady Bane but she was not overwhelming like before. It was becoming more and more like they were on a level playing ground.

She was worried and apparently, after spilling her theory to him about Emi truly being the spirit of her mother in charge, she had withdrawn into quiet. It was an odd feeling. He really hadn't a way to describe it except déjà vu. It felt like…well, it was almost like feeling 'normal' again, save for the lingering spirit of Lady Bane in the back of his mind. At the beginning, he had felt like a small dot in the endless sea of pressure that was her spirit. Then, over time, it had shifted, becoming like they were two bobbing figures in a pool. Now, as consciousness really came back to him, he felt like he was in an oversized coat that was just a little loose around the neck. He looked out through his own eyes and it didn't feel like he had to push Lady Bane aside, rather she felt like a voice in the back of his mind.

And he felt something else…he'd felt it when they entered but he could not put his finger on what it was. Every time he tried to figure it out, the nearest thing he could come up with was the same feeling you got when you spied someone you had not seen for years and yet still knew. It was a deeper feeling. Almost felt like when he and Lady Bane conversed on the spiritual plane. THAT was what it felt like…like he was seeing/feeling someone or something on a spiritual level without actually really SEEING them. It was a weird feeling, not one he was used to. On the other hand, he wasn't bruising like he had been before either so that had to be a good thing! Right? He refocused and his sight settled on the room. The sky blue gummi didn't seem really satisfied by his small non-verbal reply but he really didn't feel like giving a more detailed response.

Sir Plucki took a moment to survey the room. It had taken some time but here they were: the council members, , Sir Blastus, Sir Gumlittle, himself, Gusto, Grammi, Gruffi, Sunni, Lucki, Corvi, Toni with that magic book clutched close to his chest, Tummi, and three other knights…Sir Horli, Sir Quimbi and Sir Ramsei. He had heard something about Sir Ecri coming but that he had needed to attend to something. Given how everything seemed to be falling apart, whatever Ecri deemed worthy of his attention was not argued with. The lad had always possessed good instincts. If he thought it was important, then Plucki would let him be.

"Cubbi's safe?" Grammi inquired again, eyeing the Captain nearly the moment the doors closed behind their last members arriving. She wrung her apron around her hands.

Plucki nodded, allowing himself a smile of reassurance. "Yes, he's fine. Weakened, tired but safe." He eyed the returned group, "Did you have any luck—"

Lucki spoke out, "It's not Emi!" He spat out, Lady Bane's theory still pounding in his ears. "The journals prove it!" He was fully willing to give Lady Bane's theory weight but he figured, given her reputation for double cross that it would be best to present evidence and then back it up with a theory. He was uneasy about her thoughts but Gum if it didn't make sense. He wanted to hear the others thoughts on it but also…wait, Plucki said that Cubbi was safe but where…

Lucki stood up, addressed his mentor Gumlittle, "Where's my sister?!"

The large knight was quiet a moment then knelt, lay a hand on the cub's shoulder, "We are still trying to locate a way to free her."

"Wait!" Lucki protested, looking around the room. "You said that Cubbi _was_ free."

Sir Plucki nodded, his eyes softening in sympathy. "Aye, he is and that was going to be one of my questions to the group. Cubbi is free but we need a way to free Tavi." He addressed the young squire softly, "We have not given up on your sister Lucki but we must be prepared for battle as well. We need only to determine our next course of action then we will set out to free Tavi. We cannot afford for her to linger in that prison. The process for freeing Cubbi from the prison was unique. I will speak with you and your aunt about it and we WILL get your sister out, understand me?"

The cub nodded though his nerves were now on edge. His sister had been caught by Emi? She was stuck in that prison? So many things he had found out and yet through it all, the most important aspect of himself—the protective big brother—did not relent. He could feel Lady Bane in the back of his mind, scoffing and snarling at how the freedom of his sister was not important. A rage rolled out of his spirit and he spat at her, both on the metaphysical plane as well as the physical one "Shut up! My sister is NOT unimportant. If you want ANY cooperation from me, we have to save her!"

Gumlittle lay a strong hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke sharply, "Sorceress," he addressed the entity within his lost squire, "There is no negotiation on this matter. We _will_ retrieve Tavi from her prison. You can accept it or not but that is not something we will relent on. Am I clear?"

Lady Bane scowled and complained and griped about "sentimentality" but she went quiet. "So what is our first course of action?" The tone, while spoken in Lucki's voice, was no doubt directed by Lady Bane. At least she had accepted some of their terms. It mattered not if she was happy with it, just that she accepted it.

Blastus replied, "We need to see what our position is, qui? Mon frer," he addressed his Captain, "Your team has returned with lots of information. What of Lucki's group? Lucki, you mentioned journals found?"

Plucki raised a brow, "Indeed, lad, what are these journals?" Truthfully, he was more interested in the boy's first statement of 'it's not Emi" as it certainly seemed to coincide with Cubbi's own knowledge but the existence of journals could prove invaluable as well. There would be time to delve into Lucki's statement. They needed to consider all their evidence and angles. While the clock was ticking against them, it was foolish to not look at all the knowledge you had uncovered. Sometimes, the smallest details proved invaluable in the end.

"Er, yes," Councilor Berrybottom stepped forward and laid the old, fading tome on the table top. "We found these tucked away in a secret chamber of Lady Bane's palace. One that apparently even she was unaware of."

Lucki felt Lady Bane stir and oh was she angry at the accusation that something had happened in her home without her knowledge. It was an insult to her and she did not like it being thrown around. That being said though, the journals did have some things to back up her theory, though in her gut, she hoped she was wrong. All the same, the idea of those journals and what other information they might possess, scared her. If her theory was correct…if Emi held Mother's spirit, then what potential weaknesses had she written down in those pages?

Why are you wasting your time?! Lady Bane's sharp tone interrupted Lucki's thoughts and he growled lightly.

We're considering all options. Your theory makes sense but I wanna see if the journals back it up. Lucki tried to keep his response short. He wanted to hear this and it was hard with her babbling in his head!

Oh, she laughed here. And you plan to do this through broken translation of Latin?

Well, after that stunt you pulled with your magic book, they aren't gonna let me near them, that's for sure, came his snarky response. Despite how truthful the response was, it only succeeded in irritating her further but to her credit, she knew not to argue bare facts and went silent save for some minimal griping about gummies being such 'miserable thorns in her side.' Lucki opted to ignore the grumbling and try to focus on the topic at hand. He had only caught a few words of Latin. Languages were not his forte.

Gruffi, unaware of the internal battle of Lucki, narrowed his eyes at the old writings. "What do they say?"

Berrybottom frowned. "From what we could decipher, they are detailed accounts of Emi's attacks. My Latin is fair and Lady Bane stated that she was fluent in Latin…"

"However," Sir Horli cut in, "She also attempted to utilize a spell book against us when she had the first opportunity. Brave Lucki thwarted her but I would loathe to give her access to anything we have any more than is absolutely vital."

Grammi spoke out, "But the journals might have some information we need." She eyed Lucki, or more specifically the dark sorceress in her. Oh, how she'd like to whap that witch one with a rolling pin. Taking over a poor cub like she had and then having the audacity to try and turn on them when they needed cooperation the most! She was signing her own death warrant if she was not careful! They had no time for petty arguments.

Plucki nodded in agreement, "Indeed. We need a more thorough look at—"

"What about the book?" Toni interrupted "When Sarrika came in and asked for it to translate a book for her, it did that." Maybe that would fix this whole Latin translation problem. If even Berrybottom had trouble reading it then maybe magic could fix it. It could fix almost everything else, couldn't it?

Quimbi reminded the child "Yes, but that was on a book that it had in its memory. This is not a book written and well known, Toni. It's a private journal." He frowned at the cub "And is the book even responding to you right now?" He inquired. He kept his tone gentle but serious. The young squire blinked in response to the question before shifting his glance down to the book. Toni frowned, glanced about the room then glared at Lucki. He was not meaning it to be for the squire, obviously but for the sorceress inside. Man, she had to make everything complicated!

"Hey, Book!" Toni inquired of the tome in his hands. The room went quiet, waiting but the tell-tale glow did not occur. The book was quiet. Toni frowned, shook it lightly, "Hey, Book! Are you still sleeping?"

Again. Nothing. Toni pouted and his ears dropped, "Guess you're right Sir Quimbi." He looked up at Plucki, "So…anyone else know Latin? Least well enough to read these things?"

Berrybottom spoke out, softly, amid the quiet room "As I stated, I am fair in Latin. I could attempt it once more and perhaps with some help-"

Lucki interrupted, addressing his best friend, "Corv? Can you look them over?"

With that, all attention turned to the cub who had served as their Old Gummi translator thus far. The teenager was stressed, beyond what most could endure but being here and working with the group, he seemed more at ease. He eyed Lucki, seemed to realize that it was truly his friend and not the sorceress and gave a nod "Yeah, lemme see them."

Within Lucki, the sorceress seethed. The gummies' lack of knowledge, at least on certain things, could be an advantage for her. Much as she knew she needed to work with them on this issue of Emi and her mother, the more secrets she could keep from them the better and those journals would be ripe with details, perhaps even mention things about her magic that one just did not want to get out. Wasn't this brat their Old Gummi translator? These words were not written in Old Gummi but in Latin! She took hold of Lucki's mouth, forcefully (and it took far more energy than she cared to admit) and snarled, "Weren't you the Old Gummi expert? This is Latin. How many languages do you speak, brat?"

Unfazed, Corvi stepped up to the table, between his mentor and Plucki and retrieved the old journals from the flat surface. Without missing a beat, he locked eyes with his possessed friend, and for the first time in a while, gave a snarky teen-like response, "Fluently? Four. Semi-fluently? Two. Conversation level? Two more." He raised a brow, pushed his hair behind his ear and out of his face "Any more questions?" When no one spoke out, he turned his attention back to the papers in front of him, stilled his still rapidly beating heart, the thoughts of his brothers, of the coming danger. He had to push them all aside.

A strong hand on his shoulder reminded him…right, he was not alone. Not alone. Shifting to give his mentor a grateful half-smile, he cleared his horrifically cracking voice and began to read.

Cubbi's Hidden Room

Cubbi…

The gentle tone had been interrupting his sleep for quite some time. He wanted so much to ignore it and quite frankly, that was what he had been trying to do for so long. At first, it had been easy. He was exhausted and his body and mind's need for sleep had overwhelmed almost everything else. Despite being an alien bed and a rather small and isolated room, he had felt safe. He had awoken briefly, just once to the deep dark of the room but he quickly settled back to sleep. There was a calming smell to the room. Plucki's smell.

At first, he had thought it was the room itself, given that it _was_ one of the knight's meeting room but upon a deeper thought, he realized that, no, the smell was coming from the tunic the Captain had clothed him in. It must have been one of Plucki's own under tunics. That just made him feel even better, as it literally wrapped him in that scent of strength, of being protected. For a time, several hours perhaps, he lingered in that calm nothingness of sleep. It was a deep slumber, one in which even dreams could not be recalled.

Yet that voice began to chant his name, continuously.

Finally after hearing it nearly without stop for the past ten minutes, he forced himself to sit up. Gum, his head was pounding, pulsating right in the center around his eyes and the concept of moving from this bed was torturous. He felt achy all over and he just wanted to sleep. If they needed him in the meetings or in the planning sessions or whatever, he would be perfectly content to just sleep across someone's lap and answer when prodded, pride be damned. Yeah, that sounded real good. He bet Plucki's lap was really comfortable, always wanted to just lay his head down on him and sleep, like he used to do at the Glen with Grammi or Gruffi. Never tried it though…

Cubbi!

Okay, now he was a little more coherent. Looking around, he saw no source for the voice but he had definitely heard one. Swinging his feet down, he slowly stood, though being tired as he was, he swayed a bit, trying to ease the sleep out of his eyes with his fist. He slipped from the room, cautiously, into Plucki's private chambers. If the situation was not so dire, he would have been faintly aware of how utterly…well, how completely he seemed to fit into the place. To any outsider, you would have thought it was a child walking around their parent's home after waking up a little too early.

Cubbi had a different agenda.

That voice, he needed to find out where it was, plain and simple. It sounded desperate, almost pleading. More than the fact that his heart that always tried to help others though, he knew the voice. It sounded so familiar and yet he could not put his finger on it exactly. Slipping through the halls, he was drawn to a small room off to the side. He had never seen Plucki go in there but then he had not spent a lot of time in these chambers. He felt a sudden sadness at that and made a vow to himself that once this was all over, he would inquire about remedying that.

Slipping towards the small room, the voice grew louder: Cubbi! Cubbi!

Placing a hand on the doorknob, he turned and pushed the door inward.

He found a room seemingly locked in time. There was a small bed, still made as if its owner would return at any moment, a desk with the chair neatly pushed in and a bookshelf filled to the brim with books. Some portraits and some coloring artworks decorated the walls, though the paper was starting to give on some of them. Dust was actually quite absent. It was quite obvious that someone had been coming in and tending to this room. Cubbi crossed the floor cautiously. This…had to be Aldi's old room. It was evident. The way everything had been preserved, the way that it resembled a boy that loved to learn and read just like Aldi had…

Aldi! That was who that voice belonged to!

Whirling around, Cubbi demanded, "Aldi?"

A slight swirling in the nearby mirror. Internally, Cubbi panicked. Not mirrors. Not mirrors…

Cubbi!

The familiar voice propelled him enough to step forward. To his utter relief, he saw only himself in the small mirror. No dark Emi, no threat. The mirror had swirls of mist about it, almost like fog and as he stared, waited with shaking legs from his most recent encounter with a mirror, he saw his face shift, change though only slightly. It grew slightly younger and his hair curled significantly. It took a moment before he realized he was staring at Aldi again. Gum, they really DID look alike!

"A-aldi?" he asked softly, hoping.

The figure nodded and he certainly hadn't! "Yes, listen Cubbi, you hafta hide."

Cubbi blinked, "Huh? Hide?"

Aldi nodded again, "Yeah, something's coming, something bad. Emi for sure but I dunno what she's gonna do so you needa hide. Go get that key I tol' ya to leave and hide in the passageways."

Cubbi felt more confused than ever but Aldi was completely passionate. It looked like he wanted to jump through the mirror and grab Cubbi himself but he didn't. He just insisted, once again, "Go Cubbi! Please!"

Cubbi had never been fond of hiding. He didn't like it. That was a coward's way out. But, all the same, he could at least go get that key that Aldi was talking about. Then, then he would need to warn the adults! Or…wait, could he without sounding nuts? He had nothing to back it up except warning from a ghost! Well, okay, Aldi wasn't exactly a ghost but…still! There needed to be something more tangible to tell them than "Oh, Emi is gonna strike…wait, you knew that. No, I dunno how or where or.."

Cubbi groaned in frustration and cursed his pounding head. "Okay, okay. I'll go get the key but I don't hide Aldi!"

"Cubbi, you have to! She's gonna be coming for you! Especially now that you got out!" Aldi insisted.

"I know." The cub replied "But I'm not gonna hide while everyone else fights for me. I hafta help. Can't you tell me anything else...?"

The spirit of Sir Plucki's only child gave a slight shudder "Nu uh. I mean…I can slip back to the living world if I want but I can't stay too long and it takes times to shift from one to the other. And even then, I can't see everything. If she's here, unless I know where she is so I can go look, I can't tell you anything else." He bit his lower lip, or would have, had it been a solid body, "But…if you try to take her on…"

"I won't be 'lone," Cubbi insisted, narrowing his eyes. Aldi only seemed to tremble a little more so Cubbi couldn't help but inquire, "You…weren't gonna follow in your Dad's footsteps, were you?"

Aldi allowed a slight laugh and blush, "Naw. I'm a bit of a chicken. I'm…well, I'm just scared for you, Cubbi. You can't get killed just yet…not for a long time."

Cubbi rubbed the sleep from his eyes again, "Don't plan on gettin' killed at all, Aldi. I won't be stupid but I have to help. I can't stand by and not do nothing! So…how do I get back into those passages?"

Giving up slightly, Aldi huffed, crossing his arms, "Oy, you act just like Papa!" He caught a half smile from Cubbi at that and well, he couldn't help but smile back. "But...okay. See the bookshelf over there?" When Cubbi nodded, Aldi went on, "There's a weird carving behind it, looks like a dent in the stone. Push it hard and then when the wall opens, go to the left, then go down the stairs you come to. You'll recognize it from there."

Cubbi rushed to the wall and sure enough, there it was, just as Aldi said. He slipped into the opening quickly enough and rushed down the stone corridor, pulling the oversized tunic a little tighter around his body. These corridors were cold! Well, in retrospect, maybe he should have grabbed something else to wear; he was gonna be rushing into a meeting in just his night clothes! Well, not even that, in an adult's shirt essentially and nothing else, not even shoes. Still, if what Aldi said was true, they had no time!