Possibilities

Elin wasn't sure what to make of some of the conversation she heard around her. While she understood what they were talking about, when the man that Jonas had brought with him mentioned a growling or kind of rumbling sound, it didn't make sense to her.

She looked at the others in the tent and couldn't be sure if they understood what they man had said themselves. While at the same time, her mind was still on what they had been talking about before Kim had asked the man her latest question.

Turning back to Jonas, Elin asked, "Are you sure you're just not tired yourself, so you weren't able to understand him because of that?"

Jonas chuckled, shaking his head in clear amusement. "That might be the case, but I'm pretty sure that it had more to do with Elmo being tired," Jonas replied.

Kim cleared her throat, her annoyance very evident. "Getting back on track," she said, a little too loudly for Elin's preferences, which indicated just how annoyed Kim was. "Was there anything else about the voice that you recognized? Or at least that you could describe for us? Like was it a deep voice or did it sound like the person was older or younger?"

The man thought for a minute, opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head. "Sorry. There's nothing. It was like a deep growl or rumble or something," the man repeated.

"Well, you didn't say it sounded deep before," Kim remarked, sounding more thoughtful than Elin would have expected.

"Any thoughts about what we should try next?" Jonas asked.

"Do you have something in mind?" Kim asked in return. "It sounds like you have an idea already."

Jonas nodded. "I wasn't sure about some of the things that Aquis had said, and I can't help but wonder if his appearance from when we fought the orcs was coincidental or if there was something more to it than was immediately apparent. So I was thinking of going up where he had been and seeing if there's anything I can learn," Jonas replied.

"You think he has something to do with this?" Elin asked, feeling a little uneasy.

Sure, she'd thought some of what the dragon had said hadn't quite sounded right, but at the same time, she wasn't sure she'd have thought that he might have done something like this. To have tried getting them all under his control through magical means like that.

If anything, she'd have thought that Aquis was trying to set them up for something. That he was looking at them to do something for him that they probably might not do if he didn't try getting them to trust him.

"That would also explain why he wasn't interested in doing anything to the army after the orcs were killed," Kim mused.

"Why does that make a difference?" Elin asked, feeling a little confused.

"Not sure it does," Kim replied, her tone telling Elin that Kim wasn't really paying her question much mind. "Just speculating about it. That's all."

"What reason would Aquis have for wanting an army under his control?" Elmo asked, looking like he didn't understand either.

"For exact reasons, we'd have to get the answer from Aquis," Jonas replied. "He might not even be the one behind this. I'm just looking at him as more of an 'unknown' rather than a suspect at this time. If he is responsible, then we can ask him. If not, then he might have an idea of who might be."

Elin wasn't sure she understood Jonas' reasoning, but she at least could accept that what he said made sense. If nothing else, it did at least let her know there wasn't something that she had missed that would have made Jonas and Kim think that he had to be the one responsible. That she might have otherwise missed herself.

"You mean that dragon that was up on the mountain slope?" the man asked.

"What do you mean 'was?'" Jonas asked, suddenly looking like he was trying to bore through the man with his eyes.

The man looked incredibly uncomfortable with the scrutiny as he shrugged. "Just what I said," he replied, looking like he wasn't sure what Jonas was getting at. "When if was getting dark, before even the clouds moved in, the dragon was up on the slope. The last I saw the dragon was up there." The man paused, as he looked towards Kim, as if he thought she'd help him out of this situation he had found himself in. "I don't know if the dragon is still up there or not. Just that it might have moved since it had gotten dark. I can't see it, but that doesn't mean it hasn't left that slope, either."

Kim sighed. "He has a point," she remarked, sounding like she didn't like that fact. "If nothing else, that loud thunderous sound could easily have been the dragon's wings flapping."

Jonas nodded, looking like he was puzzling over the information they'd been discussing. "I can at least head up the slope and see if Aquis is still up there," he said, slowly. "If he is, I can listen to see if there's anything about him that would indicate that he might be the one responsible. If he isn't up there, then I can return and we can figure out where to go from there."

"If he isn't up there, would that mean he's the one responsible?" Elmo asked.

Jonas shook his head. "Just because he might have decided to leave, doesn't mean that he's the one controlling Kim's army. All it means is that he's no longer up there. Maybe he just felt like leaving about the same time whoever did take control of Kim's army decided to act, maybe he's colluding with them, and maybe he's the one behind it all. Unless we learn more, we can't say for certain that he is," Jonas answered.

"If we did attack and manage to defeat him," Kim added. "We could be wasting our time if he's not the one controlling the soldiers around us. Even if he's colluding with someone, we need to first focus on getting that individual taken care of. Otherwise we might wear ourselves out and let whoever is controlling them have an easier time to getting us under their control."

"So, how do we find out who the enchanter is?" Elmo asked. "I'd rather not spend the entire night like this. It's too much like being in a horror movie."

Elin wished she knew what Elmo meant by 'movie' but she doubted that he'd be able to explain in a way that she'd understand. Especially since it didn't feel like it mattered that much right now anyway. What was important was figuring out what they should be doing to find a way out of this so they didn't have to watch their backs in keeping any of the soldiers in Kim's army from putting a piece of the enchanted armor on them.

"If you leave to see if you can find Aquis, what do you want the rest of us to do?" Elin asked, suddenly feeling like they should be doing something while Jonas is away. Rather than just sitting around and waiting to see what Jonas found out.

Assuming he was able to find anything out when he went to check on Aquis.

"Just wait here. As long as all of you are safe, then we'll be able to figure out what to do if I can't learn anything useful," Jonas answered.

"In that case, I have to disagree," Kim replied. "If you go and we wait here, we're going to have wasted that time if you don't learn anything from it." Kim paused and looked at the man that Jonas had brought with him. "But if we go on the attack, we can work at getting them from out of the control of whoever is behind this. That way even if we can't find who's responsible, we can at least get the army free from the enchantment."

"If the dragon is responsible, it might even not be happy about us doing that," the man remarked. "If so, he might let something slip he might not otherwise."

"You know, that's not a half-bad suggestion," Jonas remarked.

"Thanks for the support," Kim replied, dryly, nearly to the point of sarcasm. "It means so much that you're willing to let us do something other than waste time."

Elin felt like Kim's statement was mocking Jonas, but he didn't react like she had been. Elin wasn't sure what to make of it, just that she felt like it was better for her to remain silent. Drawing attention to her just might get her caught in any crossfire that might occur between the two.

After a minute of Kim and Jonas staring at each other, Jonas sighed and asked calmly, "And what'll you do if you start getting overwhelmed by your army?"

"If that happens, then that means we pushed forward too hard and too fast. So, the only option would then to retreat and fall back," Kim answered just as calmly.

Yet, even though they sounded rather calm, Elin couldn't help but feel like they were ready to attack each other at the slightest provocation. While she didn't feel like she was caught in-between them at the moment, the tent wasn't really that large, and so it wouldn't be difficult to get caught in-between them.

"If needed, I can use a sleep spell to put anyone that is close to getting Kim or Elin under their control," Elmo offered.

"And what about you?" Jonas asked. "What would we do if they somehow manage to get you?"

"If that happens, then I'll use sleep on myself," Elmo answered without hesitation. "I'm sure I'll have a moment to do that."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll be completely screwed," Elmo answered honestly. "But I'm sure you'll be able to get us out of it when you get back anyway."

Jonas sighed, sounding rather annoyed. "Fine. Though, if you that happens, don't be surprised if I don't let you stay like that for a while," Jonas threatened.

"Not like we'll notice it much, if he's anything to judge," Kim remarked, pointing at the man who had been under the enchantment not too long ago.

"Well, the longer we talk, the longer it'll be before we get anything done," Jonas said, though Elin suspected it was more of an excuse to leave the rest of them. "So, I'll head out now. Feel free to do whatever stupid thing you have in mind whenever you want after I'm gone."

"Got it," Elmo said cheerfully, making Elin wonder if he'd even picked up on Jonas' annoyance. "We'll wait about five minutes before we start our attack. Maybe that should give you enough time to find out if Aquis is still up there or not."