Prince of Penance

Chapter Seven: Over The River And Through The Woods

It was hard saying goodbye to Gummi Glen. They were nervous and edgy, and in the case of the kids, excited. Gusto sent Artie up into the sky as an aerial guide to when humans were on the road so that they could pull off the road and hide quickly and not be spotted by them, which made the journey much easier by and large, and saved them several potential headaches when Artie spotted an entire caravan of Dunwyn knights camped out around a turn in the road in order to oversee the building of a new bridge. The Gummies had wisely pulled off the road for the day, then pulled on brown robes to make them look like peasants and just rolled on past during the night, and neither the men nor their horses gave them or their covered carts a second look.

Strange how humans and Gummies use all the same roads, and yet have one group be completely unaware of the other, Gusto thought, one they had passed safely.

Sometimes things got a little precarious, having to wait for the humans to pass them by, which could take hours, and the trip was slowed down by having to stop to refill their water supply at various handy rivers that Zummi pointed them to from his map.

"Up here is where our route diverges from the human settlements," he finally said at one point in the journey, and stretched his hand to point. "Its an old road, looks like its just around the trees."

The road they discovered was as muddy and nasty as Gusto would have thought an unused path would be after weeks of cold and rain. It took pushing the ponies through the mud to higher ground, and at points rolling along through the trees diverging from the road completely, before they were onto dryer territory, large expanses of empty grass and the ocean stretching out around them for miles. Rocky cliffs echoed with the sound of sea waters crashing against the shoreline, and the air had a distinct salty smell to it.

They paused along the way at a river that fed out into the ocean, in order to wash the ponies and themselves thoroughly. Tummi recognised, with a pang, the river spillway that they had been washed out from when they first set out on their sea quest that would eventually lead them to discovering Gusto in the first place.

"I can't imagine a more horrible road!" Gruffi ranted. "It took us nearly seven days to go down that road by cart, twisting and turning like an old hose pipe, but it took less than an hour for you and I to get here by boat!"

"I told you there were good uses for that boat!" Tummi argued back. "But you didn't listen!"

Gruffi had been in a foul mood from that moment on, and Gusto had a sneaking suspicion that Tummi had been hiding the boat away just for such a possibility, but that Gruffi had expressly forbid it.

He can only blame himself for not making use of the resources that were open to him... Gusto had thought with a chuckle.

But the bad mood of Gruffi didn't help Gusto any, for it meant sleeping in his sleeping in a tent alone, because an angry Gruffi didn't sleep much at all.

Though Grammi hadn't shared their secret, she had even told them as such with a coy fluttering of her eyelashes, Gusto had a suspicion that they knew. Somehow. In fact when Gruffi had told them in no uncertain terms how everyone would bunk up, Zummi had looked stressed, even uncomfortable at being told everyone had their own tent, but Gusto was going to share Gruffi's.

"I'm still not convinced those two wizards aren't following us, ready to grab him at a moment's notice!" had been Gruffi's excuse.

"They're not," Gusto had said eyes clothes, startling them all, "I can feel they aren't anywhere near."

Every night after that, Zummi and Gusto had both 'searched' for signs of the wizards, just in case, but Gusto was a little more proficient at it than Zummi, much to the older bear's dismay.

"And you say you don't have any powers," Zummi chuckled. "You should be using this medallion!"

"No way," Gusto had said immediately. "I'd rather not start into that all over again. Its better this way, really...Less magic for the monster to feed on if I don't exercise the skills..."

But Zummi had only shaken his head sadly. Gusto felt that maybe he was feeling a bit bereft without the Great Book of Gummi.

Regardless of all their feelings of protectiveness over the book, they knew it would be safer at home then with them on the roads, and had given Calvin express instructions to check in on the book and the Glen, to protect the Glen and to make sure nothing untoward happened to it.

Since Calvin was working on gaining his knighthood status now, he was only too quick to reply. Gusto suspected that he would be sneaking Cala off there at night to court her against her father's wishes. Gusto really really hoped that was all they were doing. Didn't need any baby Calvins and Calas just yet thanks.

But the sea cliffs and the ocean spill water eventually gave way to the coastal shore, to a little village of Dunberry.

"Not many Gummis here," Zummi said, looking around, and then gasped, "Is that a human?"

"Probably a pirate," Gusto said, thinking back in his head. "Back before I left, their was a problem of Gummies and human pirates sailing the same areas and coming to a clash over...hiding place. I think there was some sort of agreement that the pirates and Gummies could both use the waters, but couldn't divulge each others activities to outsiders. So yeah, a pirate probably. Its been fifteen years. I wonder if the...monster...has kept the pirates from being so open around Gummi bears. Its only one really..."

The man turned out to be the only free holding stable for horses on the coast, and they ended up having to leave their ponies with him for their return journey when they came back from Monteray. Calvin had made sure they had enough to pay any fees for the service, but it seemed that things in Dunberry just sort of happened without any transaction of money.

"No paying until you get your fillies back safe and sound, that's how I does it."

Though the Gummies had been alarmed by the human stable hand, they were soon distracted by the Gummi ship, which was the only vessel in port and was the home to some very loudly singing sailer Gummies, one of which was very familiar to the Glen Gummies.

"Chummi!" they cried, at seeing a very familiar face pounding away with a hammer on the main deck.

Gusto felt a bit out of sorts, for even though he had heard of this Gummi Bear from his friends, he had never met him, and it was an awkward feeling just hanging at the edge of the group while they caught up with things.

"So you didn't make it to New Gumbrea after all!" Cubbi said.

"That's right," Chummi said, laughing and putting down his hammer. "My airship crashed again and thought there were as many Gummies as I could ever hope for here in port, might as well stick around awhile and see how I can be of use. Now I'm a Captain in His Majesties Royal Navy. Which means no whit much more than I usually have to do, but I have to wear this weird hat so people can recognise me. You're on passage to Monteray?"

"That's right," said a female voice nearby. "These are the passengers I told you earlier about Captain. I trust everything is all right?"

Gusto jumped about a foot in the air. Councillor Numa had come up behind Chummi from wherever she had been, and now she was looking at them standing on the dock, her eyes roving over them as if counting head, and coming to him, and stopping, then nodding.

"Trust there won't be a problem with provisions?" she asked Chummi at last, sparing no word for the Gummies whose home she and her counterpart had monopolised with magic just weeks before.

"They seem to have brought much of their own," Chummi agreed, looking down at them with their packs on their shoulders. "S'not a worry, but if any of you get sea sick easy you best be staying in your cabin, these be choppy waters."

"Sure," Gruffi said, suddenly looking not the least bit happy to be there at all. "Just get me on the dang boat."

"You can deal with them here I presume?" Numa said grandly, with a distant sound to her voice? "I shall return to my cabin and inform Councillor Venti that all is prepared and we will soon be ready to leave."

Gusto felt bad for Gruffi's sea sickness, and he felt bad for his family, having to load all their stuff onto the boat themselves, though Chummi did them give a hand.

But he couldn't help the feelings of rage at Councillor Numa for the way she simply had brushed off their arrival as nothing more important than a fly landing on her hair.

Treating my family just like we're worthless peasants again! I'll show her! They'll be so popular with the sailors and travellers on the ship by the time we reach Monteray that she'd never be able to push down their good reputation; news travels fast and the city will be all a buzz about the 'friendly visitors' from Dunwyn.

Zummi tugged on his shirt briefly, Gusto turned to look at him and they shared a rather sad momentary understanding look between them about the true nature of this trip and what exactly they could expect from the two volatile wizards for the many long days they would be stuck with them in the small confines of the Gummi ship.

"Don't worry about it," Zummi said, as they walked up the gangplank together. "I'm sure Gruffi won't let them hurt you again..."

Ahhh, so he knows.

But there was nothing more to say on the matter. The gangplank was raised, the whistle was blown, and the next leg of their journey was underway. There was no going forward and no turning back.

From this moment on he was stuck again, stuck and the decisions surrounding his fate were once more out of his hands.