Chapter 4
"The Odd Couple"
At a nearby stream, not far from where he had been hiding, Duke Igthorn bathed himself and used Toadwart as a towel since there were of course, nothing else he could use to dry himself off. However, he did not have anything to change into, so he and Toadwart hid behind a bush and waited until a knight or someone would pass by with clothes that Igthorn could change into.
"All right, Toadwart," he whispered. "As soon as soon as someone comes by, I want you to take this rock and throw it at the head of the one who's clothes look nice enough for me to impress Lady Bane."
"Faithful Toadie thinks this is idea is foolish," replied Toadie, but a stern look by Igthorn made him think otherwise.
"But, no idea is better," he said, forcing himself a smile. So, the two waited low until nightfall when a smartly dressed man on a farm horse was making his way along the road. Igthorn took in the sight of him and thought that his clothes would do nicely.
"That's man's clothes look nice," gasped Igthorn and he handed Toadie the rock. "All right, pea brain, knock him out."
He gave Toadie a stick containing the rock and putting it in his mouth, blew the rock through the stick and hit the man on the right side of his head, knocking him off of his horse and onto the ground. Igthorn emerged from the bushes and grabbed hold of the horse while Toadie was left with dragging the man back into the bushes.
"This man's clothes will fit me just fine," said Igthorn. "Drag him back inside, Toadwart."
Not willing to endure any more of Igthorn's wrath, Toadie dragged the man into the bushes and Igthorn grabbed the horse and followed.
After a while, Igthorn stripped the man to his underwear and now, wearing his clothes, boarded the horse and with Toadwart holding on, left their hiding spot and made their way towards Lady Bane's castle. It had been a while since Igthorn had seen the woman he fell in love with, although she would never fall in love with him, in her view, at least.
Approaching Lady Bane's castle, Igthorn gulped and sighed, not knowing how the woman he was in love with would react to his presence. Making sure that there was no one around, Igthorn and Toadie rode into Lady Bane's castle and Igthorn sent the farm horse away.
"Why did you do that, Dukie?" asked Toadie. "Faithful Toadie don't want to walk all the way back."
"We don't need him, anymore," replied Igthorn. "Once Lady Bane is on our side, we will amass a large army to conquer both the Gummi Bears and Dunwyn and our lives will be back to the way they were before all this happened."
Walking up to Lady Bane's throne room, the knight and ogre could see Lady Bane sitting on her throne, Igthorn taking in her beauty and grace.
"My sweet Lady Bane," he said. "I have returned to you as I have always said in the past. If you would just give me your hand, I promise we will let bygones be bygones."
"Who are you?" she remarked. "And why are you wearing such outlandish clothes?"
"You don't understand," said Igthorn. "I'm Igthorn, Duke of what was once, Drekmore. My latest plan to conquer both the Gummi Bears and Dunwyn had failed greatly and now, I am left with nothing. So, I have come here to ask you for your hand in marriage and as my partner-in-crime."
Lady Bane scowled at the thought of asking Duke Igthorn's hand in marriage. She always had taken a dislike to him and erased the thought from her mind.
"You idiot!" she cried. "I have heard what you did and because of your actions, the Gummi Bears had cut off access to Gummi Glen and I will never find out their secrets now."
A remark like that caused Igthorn's heart to sink like a stone. He destroyed Gummi Glen with the intention of getting their secrets for himself so he could finally conquer Dunwyn once and for all.
"How did you know that Gummi Glen was destroyed by me, my sweets?" he asked.
"I had seen the report from a Gummiscope in the capital city of Ursalia," said Lady Bane. "Those Glen Gummies have now relocated there and are now awaiting the Great Gummies. Once they arrive, those bears will rise up and destroy me and everything I had worked for."
"But, they will come after me," replied Igthorn. "After all, I was the one who did the task, not knowing that it would hurt you."
"See that you correct that error," demanded Lady Bane. "Or you will suffer the consequences."
Igthorn gulped at the thought of what his love had said to him. He wished now that he would fix what he did, but he couldn't.
"My dear Lady Bane," he said. "I may not fix the Gummies' home, but maybe I could convince you to join me in my quest to conquer both the capitol city and Dunwyn and that way, I could make everything up to you for what I had done without knowing."
Lady Bane's face turned to a sinister smile as the man she despised was now willing to make up for his mistake by helping her conquer the Gummi Bears, once and for all.
"You would be willing to help me conquer the Gummi capital of Ursalia, I suppose?" she asked. "Perhaps you will be useful to me after all, Igthorn, knowing that you have been to this location."
"Oh, I will lead you to this location, my sweets," he said. "Everything you could ask for is in this location and by the time we are done; you will have all of the Gummi's secrets for your own amusement."
"Let's see if we could work something out, Duke Igthorn," said Lady Bane. "After all, a man of your strength and wit is just the thing I need to finally control everything about the Gummi Bears once and for all."
So, the two villains were now aligned and after a short while, they were already hard at work on making their plans to conquer the Gummi Bears and eventually Dunwyn castle. After a while, the two villains plus Toadwart left Lady Bane's castle to find the allies needed to invade Ursalia. Stopping a few miles from where Gummi Glen was, they saw what appeared to be a hole that led into one of the underground tunnels leading to the glen.
"All right, Igthorn," said Lady Bane. "Since you know so much about this place, I think you should go down and find the first enemy to join us."
"Anything for you, my sweet," he said and with Toadwart following, made their way into the tunnels to find the first enemy of the Gummi Bears. After a while, they entered a strange part of the tunnels where they saw a large wall that was boarded up and a strange and faint noise was heard coming from behind it.
"Faithful Toadie don't like the sound of that," stuttered Toadwart. "I think we should go."
"Don't be a baby ogre, Toadwart," said Igthorn. "Whatever is behind that wall is just one of the many allies we need to bring those Dummi Bears to their knees. Now, come on!"
So, the man and his ogre kicked down a vulnerable portion of the wall and entered what appeared to be a large room of a house, but suddenly, the two villains saw what appeared to be a giant spider lying on the ground, bound and gagged.
"What is that spider?" asked Igthorn. "Something must have happened here to make her end up in this condition."
"Faithful Toadie will probably wait outside," said Toadwart nervously, but Igthorn wasn't going to have any of that.
"Come on, mush for brains," he said. "Help me get her untied." Taking a knife from his holster, Igthorn spent a great deal of time in cutting the ropes off of the giant spider. After a while, the creature was freed and was now able to breath. But, she was not very friendly upon being freed.
"Who are you?!" she cried angrily, grabbing Igthorn and Toadie with her front legs. "Who dares invade the Spinster's cave?"
"Invade?" cried Igthorn. "Why, we've come to rescue you." This made the Spinster drop them back onto the floor, now realizing that she was grateful for them in rescuing her.
"If you have come to rescue me," she said. "Then you must know something about the Gummi Bears, I suppose."
"You know the Gummi Bears?" asked Igthorn. "Then you are one of the many we are seeking to destroy the Gummi Bears once and for all."
"The many?" asked the Spinster. "What are the many?"
"Why, the Gummi Bears have had many enemies, my dear," said Igthorn. "With your help, we can destroy the Gummi Bears and take their secrets for ourselves."
"I see," remarked the Spinster. "I had Gummi Bears in here that I was going to eat for dinner, but I had an unfortunate accident and as a result, they got away and I was left in this condition until you arrived. But, the Gummi Bear who rescued the other Gummi Bears was a human, like you, but much smaller."
"I think I know who the human you are seeking is, my dear spider," said Igthorn. "He frequently accompanies the Gummi Bears along with his girlfriend, the Princess of the kingdom that I have been trying to conquer for so many years."
"Indeed," replied the Spinster. "Perhaps, if I help you get what you want, then maybe you will help me get my revenge and my dinner."
Realizing that he had gained the respect of one of the Gummies' most feared enemies, Igthorn led her out of her lair and out of the tunnels. Upon her revelation, Lady Bane was amazed by her size and power.
"Igthorn," she said in surprise. "I like this creature very much. She sure is the one who will help us on our quest for power and glory."
"I am honored to serve you," said the Spinster. "I hope that we will work together to finish off the Gummi Bears once and for all."
"I like this creature, Igthorn," remarked Lady Bane. "With her size and strength, she should be a valued ally against the Gummi Bears."
"Perhaps you must realize that if I help you get what you want," added the Spinster. "You will help me get what I want and that is the Gummi Bears must be turned over to me for a nice meal."
"Why would you want to eat the Gummi Bears, my friend?" asked Lady Bane. "Is there more than a giant spider like yourself would rather eat?"
"Because the Gummi Bears that I was going to have for dinner escaped and I will do whatever it takes to put them in my stomach," answered the Spinster.
"Then perhaps," laughed Lady Bane. "We could work something out, my friend. Join us in our quest and we will give you all the Gummi Bears you could ask for."
The Spinster liked what Lady Bane had said and soon she along with her, Igthorn and Toadwart went on their way to regain more and more enemies of the Gummi Bears.
Along the way, they recruited more giant creatures like the Slugger, The Dreaded One and the Leviathan Giant as well as other enemies like the wizard Zorlock from another underground portion of Gummi Glen. The Aerials and the Carpies were also recruited for their air support while the Elf and his assistant were recruited to gain the Gummi's trust and help the others get inside Ursalia.
They had one more band to recruit and that was the trolls, but they were all in the Dunwyn dungeons. They would have to be recruited, but it was not going to be easy. They would find a way, but it would not be easy and every one of them realized that if the Gummi Bears were going to be defeated once and for all, they had to do it.