Intentions

Elin felt like everything was happening faster than she was able to keep up with. First she was helping the few that had been knocked out and had the enchanted armor removed. Then Elmo changed the spell he was using and they were suddenly getting more knocked out. Then Elmo was nearly overwhelmed, only being saved by Kim's quick thinking. Then she was handling healing those who had been knocked out by Kim that had rushed Elmo. After their armor was removed, of course.

Yet now, they had moved farther into the camp, Kim directing those who were free of the enchantment to take a stand where the people who were under the enchantment could be surrounded as they moved in-between the tents.

Elin felt like things might start to calm down a little, but then after the first three had been subdued and Elin rushed to heal them after the armor was stripped off of them, the tents started to fall.

It wasn't like the tents were torn apart, but rather the supporting beams that held them up were knocked over. Which meant that the choke points that they'd been working with suddenly weren't there anymore. Instead, they had essentially an open field with just the tent and the supporting beams underfoot. Which wasn't that difficult to deal with.

The problem that created was that it prevented them from being able to engage those who were under the enchanter's control one at a time. Which Elin had felt they were making headway with that method.

Elmo still threw out a terror spell here and there, but Elin couldn't help but notice that the spell wasn't having as significant of an effect as it had been. She couldn't say why, but the 'why' wasn't really that important right now. What was important was the fact that they were starting to get overwhelmed again.

Not so much by the numbers of those who were still enchanted, but rather because those who were still under the enchantment weren't treating it like they were trying to save their friends, but rather they looked like they didn't care whether or not they killed those who weren't one of them or if they managed to turn them to their side.

The situation made Elin feel rather queasy and wished she had more that she could do other than just heal. Especially since the MP potions were starting to disagree with her stomach. Not to mention the taste of them was starting to add to her nausea.

However, she did her best to push those aside as she knew that they needed her to be able to use her magic, even if it was to just do what she had been doing since this skirmish had started. She couldn't say how things might turn out after this, but she was at least determined to see it through to the end.

It wasn't clear how many they still had to go, and Elin couldn't find anything to stand on to see if she could see an end to them. So, she merely stayed close to Kim, hoping that she'd be able to find some way to be useful, even though she had a feeling she wasn't going to be able to do anything other than what she had been doing up to this point.

It seemed like unless she wanted to try and kill the others, the best she could do was just heal those they knocked out. It hurt that she couldn't do more, but it wasn't like she could have planned to end up like this. Like there had been a skill or spell that she could have chosen to assist in this kind of situation.

Which meant, all she could do was wait and hope the efforts of those who were more useful at this time were enough for what they needed to do.

+++

"Really?" Aquis asked, sounding a little amused at Jonas' assertion. "What is it exactly that you know that I'm not aware of?"

Jonas paused for a moment, a thought suddenly coming to him. He couldn't really be sure of this, but he suddenly suspected that Aquis had in fact been a part of a competition at some point. Which meant that he had a system of some sort. Whether he could still use it or not was another matter entirely. Was did matter was the fact that he had had one in the first place.

"Well, first, I know that you have a system that allowed you to enchant that armor so those who wore it could be controlled by you," Jonas said, doing his best to act calm while he felt a cold trickle of sweat slide down his back. "Then I know that you're not happy with what's going on down there in the camp. Which means that we're doing better than you would have liked in removing the armor from those you had been controlling."

Jonas stopped talking, even though he could have continued on. He wasn't sure how much he should reveal of what he did know and what he suspected, but he was pretty sure that he should at least stop there. At the very least, he was confident that the dragon wasn't going to be happy about him knowing all that he did.

"So, you think that means anything?" Aquis replied, making Jonas wonder if he either got some of that information wrong or if Aquis cared less that he knew it than he had expected. "Just because you know something doesn't mean you can actually do anything about it."

"Well, it's not like we planned everything we've done out since we got pulled to this world," Jonas replied casually, wondering if Aquis was trying to pretend to be as indifferent about what Jonas had said as he appeared to be.

After all, It wasn't like Jonas hadn't been doing the same. In a way, it could be a battle of bluffs. Not that he really could be sure of that, since he had no evidence to work with. Nor was he sure that he wanted Aquis to be bluffing.

If the dragon was bluffing, then he suspected that things might not go so well as he'd otherwise like them to be.

"Really?" Aquis replied, his tone one of mocking respect. "The fact that insignificant creatures like you can do something without planning at all is really impressive."

Jonas forced himself to not roll his eyes. He doubted that it would do any good and he wouldn't be surprised if this was merely something Aquis was trying to distract him. Why that would be, he couldn't say. Just that he had a feeling that it was that way. While at the same time, he couldn't deny the possibility that that statement was completely honest. One thing that he did recall about most dragons, if not all, in western mythology was that they were rather arrogant. As such, viewing humans as 'insignificant' or 'lesser' wouldn't really be that surprising.

Still, Jonas had a feeling that he should press the matter anyway. Even provoke Aquis if possible. He wasn't sure if it would be a good idea or not, but Aquis had already made himself their enemy, even if he didn't see it that way.

"If that's surprising, then what should that say about you?" Jonas asked, doing his best to sound as mocking as he could. "The fact that we were able to see far enough ahead to consider you a threat should mean that you're rather lacking, right?"

Aquis' nostrils flared in anger, but the dragon didn't do anything. Which surprised Jonas more than he cared to admit. Either the dragon had an incredible amount of self-control or there was something else that the dragon had going on. Something that he wasn't aware of yet.

"Your efforts to provoke a reaction out of me are rather pitiful," Aquis said, as if Jonas' attempt was a thing to be mourned. "If that's the best you can do, then there's nothing left for us to talk about."

Jonas felt like he'd been punched in the gut as Aquis turned to walk away, clearly showing that Aquis didn't consider Jonas a threat, even with knowing what he did know about the dragon.

Maybe it would have been different if the others in his group were with him, but he couldn't be sure. All he could tell was the fact that Aquis was suddenly not interested in him.

Either something had changed that Jonas couldn't put his finger, was unaware of, or Aquis had been merely using them as a diversion in the first place. All three possibilities were just as likely as the next, which didn't help narrow down the list.

However, with what he did know was going on in the camp, Jonas determined that he needed to get back there to assist. Whatever Aquis was up to could wait. Especially since the dragon didn't seem inclined to take a more active role in this fight.

Yet, as Jonas was about to turn to head back down the mountain slope, he couldn't help but notice a flare of flame come out of Aquis' rear left foot.

It was a brief flare, gone just as quickly as it had appeared, almost making Jonas wonder if he'd even seen it to begin with. He wasn't sure, but at the same time he was. A flame had indeed come out of Aquis. Not that he knew what it meant either.

All he was certain of right then was the fact that what was happening in the camp was more pressing and needed attention. At least now that he'd confronted the dragon about the matter. As that solved who the enchanter was. Although, he still felt like he was missing an important piece that might help him know what was going on altogether.