Note to all readers. Yours truly, Amaterusa, has started making a family and I am pregnant. As such, due to the astounding amount of illness I`ve been dealing with lately, new chapters will be slowing down; A very sad thing. I will continue to try and put out chapters as normal, but expect delays and thank you so much for your reviews and comments to date. A special thank you to J Luc Pitard, a very early and continual reviewer and also PhoenixBlade for his recent contribution though you all are greatly appreciated for your time and thoughts.
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Toby spent the next three hours oubliette hopping. He spoke to this goblin or the one on the right in hopes of finding hidden ways into the castle and he was lucky; sort of. There were a handful of passages into the castle obscure enough to be looked over, but they were too well hidden because most couldn't recall where they were.
"I need Skub…" The little goblin had been whisked away by Jareth and neither of them had been seen since. Hana would have been a good person to find for help, but she was not a part of the revolution just as yet and he wasn't sure she would help him if she was. "Dammit…" He was without magic, without ideas and without direction.
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Sarah on the other hand sat with her chair leaning back against the walls of the oubliette. The chair creaked and moaned when she shifted in it, but it held never the less.
"Alright…" She leaned forward and the floor echoed the sound of all four legs leveling. Before her was a very modest drawing of the castle from what she remembered and from what Toby had told her so far. The good thing was that an entire wing of the castle had been burned away to ashes and thus cutting a lot of work aside. "We need to over whelm the Queen. She'll have too many targets to use spells on… I'd expect an attack from the front if I was her, but having Jareth and Toby missing means she'll know that the attack is planned. I need to circle her thoughts around so many times that she wouldn't know what is actually a diversion and what isn't." She thought of how many squads to use to attack the castle and then paused. "She doesn't know the castle like Jareth did." He knew where to hide and one of the reasons she'd made it into the castle before was because there had only been four to her party… the entire army was going to be her diversion.
"Does the Lady need anythin'?" Sarah looked at the heavily armored goblin at the door and shook her head.
"No. Wait, yes. I'd like something to drink and food. I'd like you to ask Moulin to join me as well… That is all. Thank you." The goblin stumbled and bowed a few times as he left and shortly after Moulin came in. "I need to ask you a few things. Tell me about the places you explored while in the castle. I know you were never idle and were always about. Did you ever find hidden passages, tunnels or anything like that?" Moulin sat down in the chair Jareth had once and looked at the drawing on the table.
"Not really. The dungeons I think were below this area though… and I fled down tunnels until they lead me outside. I was lost for a long while though and wouldn't find my way back. But when I did get out there were trees and the city wall was just a short distance from there. I could take you there at least, but to get back to the dungeons? I'd get lost for sure…" Sarah got up and left the oubliette. She had to wander around the tall grass hedges to get a view of the castle, but when she did she knew there was only one side of the castle that lead out into tress. She stared longer at the castle as billows of smoke rose still from the demolished wing Mizumi had attacked. Ashes floated far enough on the wind that they carried to where she hid in an oubliette. Her army also hid mostly in the oubliette. Some had been told to hold Goblin City and make it look normal as possible, but more and more denizens of Labyrinth swarmed in and soon there would be no place to hid them all.
"Sarah?" She turned and began to laugh. Hoggle stood in the glory of a prince while four creatures like Ludo wore clothes about their faces.
"Sarah!" One creature called her out by name and she knew it was in fact Ludo. He lumbered towards her on heavily padded feet and hugged her so tightly that he lifted her form the ground.
"Ludo. Hoggle, you came." Ease set into her then. It had been hard coming back to this place, but seeing two of her friends now lifted so much of her aches away that she laughed again.
"Of course I did. Said I did. He took a while to find though…" Hoggle pointed at Ludo and then at the others.
"Who are these creatures? Do they have names like Ludo?" Ludo placed her down and Ludo walked to his companions.
"Ludo friends."
"Hando." The largest and reddish colored one.
"Shivan" Slight smaller than Hando and grey.
"Tor" Black as the night and Ludo`s height if only taller by an inch or so.
All the creatures identified themselves and oddly enough Ludo was the smallest of them; a frightening thought. They all were all generally the same build and even voice, but they were easily different. Ludo was smallest and reddish in color while his friends ranged from, coal, to mindnight.
"Welcome friends." All four of them nodded their heads and muttered 'friends' under there thick and heavy voices. "Now… where might I hide you guys… your far too large to hide in an oubliette…" Hoggle waddled over and placed a hand on her arm.
"Don't worry. There are some goblins in the city who have already agreed to hide them." Ludo left with his large companions and she watched them go. They really are giants…
"There huge…" Hoggle nodded in agreement.
"I know. The big one picked me up the moment I showed myself. I had been following Ludo and he just took me off my feet…" Hoggle seemed rather hard done by the incident.
"We have to talk Hoggle… A lot has happened since you went to gather people." They walked into the oubliette and Toby sat staring at her own crappy castle drawing.
"Is this the young prince?" Hoggle walked over and looked at Toby like he was something else altogether.
"Hi. I don't remember you from my coronation. Did you not attend?" Toby said that and walked forward then stepped back. "What is that smell?" Sarah shook her head at Hoggle and Toby winced. "S-sorry…" Hoggle handed Sarah a bottle of a yellowish substance and she poured it on to clothes and handed one to Toby. He almost sighed with the improvement that a bit of perfume could make.
"That's why." That was all he said before sitting down with a grunt. "So what are we going to do with the Queen?" He poked at the table and stared at the walls of the oubliette; he was remembering.
"Well, I've decided to do much liked we did before; a battle in front of the castle while a small party of just a few sneak in. We find Mizumi; fend off her magic somehow and… I really haven`t a plan for this… I can't figure out a safe way to get around her magic. Sure Jareth had used magic before, but not like burning down half the castle. I think I can get us in, with a little luck. But dealing with her? I've no clue." Moulin shifted over so Toby could get a better look of the castle. She knew very well an easy way to kill the Queen, but she was not volunteering for it and so she stayed silent. Hoggle gave her a glance, knowing who she was, but ignored it. He trusted the humans a great deal; So much that his own concerns he left as a passing thought. Interesting. Moulin crossed her arms with her umbrella resting in the crock of her twisted limbs.
"If we can stop her magic we can hold her hostage and ransom her back to her kingdom with the agreement that all her army leaves Labyrinth… and that we'll keep Moulin as a sign of good faith. That way they shouldn't really attack. Or at least Labyrinth will be somewhat prepared. We just need to get Labyrinth back into Jareth's hands…"
"What?!" Hoggle tilted back in his chair and near fell out of it. His toes just scrapped the floor while he pushed away from the table with his arms. "You're giving it back to Jareth?" She hadn't told Hoggle very much yet… She regretted it now.
"Yes. I made a deal…" The deal was starting to sting a bit when she thought about the repercussions now. She would lose them all over again and this this time it would be permanent. "I get Labyrinth away from Mizumi and he leaves my family alone. Forever… but it's not that easy. Trust me. We have a lot of work to do." Hoggle looked at her as if she'd hit him and then he looked back to the table long and hard. "Any ideas? We need to divide the army up into manageable sections. I think because Hoggle has a start with Ludo and his friends he should start there and lead them and another unit. Toby, I want you in charge of the major goblin masses because they easily fight for you. You inspire them… as for Moulin and I. We are going into the castle. She knows the rout I want to take best I think… Do you know this Moppet and Hana if you see them?" Sarah turn to the dumb struck Moulin who nodded shakily. "Good. If we find them, we can get their help I think. Same with Didymus… We have to work on a strong diversion and attack to bring as much of her men to the front you'll be attacking leaving us a clear path. What do you think?" Toby nodded like the plan made sense and he was the only one. Moulin and Hoggle looked like they had been shell-shocked. "Alright… I think for now that is as good as we are getting. We need rest and then tomorrow we talk to our groups… We let them know this war is moving onward and with a plan, tell them that Labyrinth will be their home, safe and secure, again."
