Umar crawled out from underneath the table, dusting off his trousers as he got to his feet. "Well." he said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "That was both unsuccessful yet illuminating." He blinked at Judith, who was standing right where he'd left her. "Have you just been standing here all this time?"

Judith barely registered; her mind had gone to the more immediate and obvious problem that one of her crew, who had disappeared only moments ago, had reemerged covered in blood. "The hell happened to you."

Morgana, for her part, took one look and tried to struggle up. Donal kept his hands on her shoulders, pressing her to her seat. "Stay yourself, sweetness, you'll do no good if you can't see straight..."

"I got stabbed by an enormous talking badger," Umar replied. He grimaced at Morgana, and held his hands up. "No worries, Madam," he said. "It comes with the territory. I am a very fast healer."

"So the hell am I and it's still not something I do recreationally," said Judith. "It looks like you got in fine and it spit you right out again."

"I assessed the situation and it seemed like the best choice," Umar answered. "All their weapons are flint. I didn't see any metal, let alone iron." He frowned. "Well, my hostess spat me out. I..." he scratched his head. "I think the Puck is there. But the young lady says she has not seen any children but Portia. And insists that was a long time ago."

"Portia was only gone a few heartbeats together and said she'd been there all day," Morgana said, leaning closer as she balled the train of her dress in her fists. "What was this young lady? Was she a bandit--a highwayman?"

Umar chuckled. "Well, she had the trappings of one," he answered. "She was a child, maybe twelve or thirteen?" he replied. "Not yet grown. She was dressed like a bandit and had a gang of enormous animals, all armed like real bandits. There was a badger named Mellivora and a bear named Jackamighty. The girl called herself Dareen. She was undoubtedly the leader; the animals all acted on her orders. And she..." He frowned. "She said she had been abandoned by her parents and taken in by a creature she called Mister Tumnus. Who sounded curiously like the Puck."

Morgana nodded. "Aye, that's the same girl Portia saw. Did she say if there were any other children?"

"She said there are none," Umar replied. "She...said something curious, too. That if there was another child, she would have to leave."

Judith frowned. "Meg-love. If the Acorn's been missing a few days now, and a few seconds in wherever-this-is is like a few hours to Portia, this girl could well be her."

Morgana froze, with a small choking sound.

Judith tried not to flinch at the noise, turning to address Umar more brusquely. "You think this other thing might be the Puck? If I were in as thick as it is, I'd change me name a few times."