Escaping the Trap

"You know, I'm pretty sure that I never actually said that we were in the center of the same area," the bird commented. "I mean, I said that now, but really, I can only see it from my perspective. It's not like I know where the actual center is."

"Doesn't matter, Ember," Jonas said. "The point is, is that we weren't repeating ourselves in the endless loop. Which means if we move in separate directions, whatever magic was used might get strained if we move far enough apart."

Elin understood what Jonas said, but she wasn't sure how that would help them. Though, she wasn't sure if she liked the idea of going off by herself. She wouldn't complain if that's what Jonas had in mind, but she'd still rather either be with Jonas or Ember. If only because she didn't like the idea of encountering Douglas by herself.

Assuming he was the only one that she needed to worry about right then.

"So you're saying all three of us need to head in different directions at once?" Ember asked. "Or do you have a different idea about it in mind?"

Jonas shook his head. "No, that was it. Though, I was actually thinking about it in regards to Elin and me. No offense, but I actually didn't think about you with that idea. So, if you want to accompany Elin, that'd be helpful, or if you want to go in your own direction, it should help break whatever it is around us that much faster."

While Elin wanted Ember to agree to stay with her, she couldn't help but feel torn about the idea of being able to get out of this endless loop that much faster. Especially since she wasn't sure if there might be more complications about it once it did break.

"I'll go my own way," Ember said. "However, you need to decide where each of us will go. Otherwise you might be in danger if you can't meet up as quickly with your allies. Or even if either you or Elin will meet up with Douglas before you're even ready to deal with him."

"I'm not sure it really matters at the moment," Jonas replied immediately, almost like he expected that point to have been brought up. "If we do encounter Douglas when we get out of this trap, then we probably would have met up with him if we were stuck in here anyway."

"So, you're saying that it won't be a problem?" Ember asked dryly, her tone indicating how disappointed she was in Jonas.

"No, it'd be a big problem," Jonas countered. "The point is that we need to focus on one problem at a time. If we want to deal with Douglas, then we likely should be out of here, otherwise he might be able to escape easily if things don't work out for him like he'd like. However, if we try to solve this problem while we try to solve how to deal with Douglas, then we're not likely to get either solved. Simply because these are two different problems. So, if we try to deal with them together, we're not likely to have the ability to deal with either of them."

"Then what're we supposed to do if we see him?!" Ember cried, sounding like she was venting more than wanting an actual response.

"If you see him, act like you don't know it's him," Jonas answered, as if that was obvious. "I mean, Elin and I certainly don't know what he looks like and I can't say if you know yourself or not."

Ember sighed, making Elin wonder if she was running out of patience or something. If she was, Elin wasn't sure she could blame the bird. Not with how Jonas seemed to say one thing then suddenly contradict what Ember seemed to interpret it as.

"Whatever," Ember said, sounding ready to just leave, regardless of what the plan was.

"Okay, so let me think," Jonas said before he started mumbling something.

Elin caught a few words that he was clearly saying to himself. Though, it hardly made any sense to her. Such as how he was listing some numbers while also about some direction he'd come from. He didn't take long, but Elin still felt like she was exhausted just from what little she'd been able to catch.

"Okay," Jonas said, clapping his hands together, as if he needed the emphasis. "If Ember will go in that direction, I'll go in that one, and Elin can go that way."

Elin looked at each of the directions that Jonas indicated, not sure if handling it would be the best way to go about it. Each of them were leaving in a direction that seemed like it was an equal distance from the direction the others were to head in.

"Any particular reason I'm supposed to go this way?" Ember asked. "I don't think that me going the direction that would have me come out the farthest from your friends would help out any."

"Well, assuming Douglas is with them, I'm pretty sure that he'd like to capture you again, considering how you'd mentioned that he'd captured you before."

Elin wasn't sure, but she suddenly felt like Ember was suddenly unhappy with Jonas, though she couldn't say why. Although, it could also be that the bird just couldn't make the same kinds of expressions a person could. Not that that fact explained to Elin why Ember's presence suddenly changed.

"Is there a reason you want me to go that way? Other than that, I mean," Ember asked, her tone sounding almost like a warning.

"Just that if you're the most likely to be captured by Douglass out of all of us, then we'd need to try and keep you from being noticed as much as we can. So, if Elin or I encounter him, we might have a reason to avoid him as well as the fact that he might not care about us as much."

"Whatever," Embris huffed in response. Elin wasn't sure if she was upset more at Jonas' concern or if she thought he was right. Elin supposed that it could be either, but she wasn't going to try and pry. Not only did it feel like it wouldn't matter anyway, but also that she'd likely be getting on Ember's bad side as well.

After a few finer details being worked out between Ember and Jonas, which Elin felt entirely lost on, they started to walk in the direction each of them had been assigned by Jonas.

While Elin had heard the words they used in that short side discussion, there wasn't any meaning behind them that came to Elin's mind. Or at least nothing that gave her an idea of what they had been talking about exactly.

Elin pushed her musings on that when she started walking. She wished either of them would take the time to explain what they were talking about, but she had a feeling that they weren't that interested in doing so. That it would take more time than either of them would like.

Or at least than Ember would like, since the bird seemed to most impatient of all three of them. Though, Elin wasn't quite sure why that was.

The sun had started to descend in the afternoon sky, and Elin wished she could find some water. She wouldn't be picky as to what kind of water, so long as she could drink it to soothe her parched throat.

While her stomach was still filled with the bear meat that Jonas had, and she'd had some water from the waterskin that he'd brought, that still didn't make her any less wistful to get something to eat and drink. Mostly to drink, with how hot the afternoon was getting.

The sun continued to descend as Elin continued to walk. She wasn't really sure what Jonas had meant by an endless loop, but she could at least tell that she wasn't seeing an end to the barren rockscape before her.

She wasn't sure if there really was anything that she should pay attention to, as everything just always seemed to look the same. That it repeated every so often, even though she wasn't sure if she really was walking across the same area of anything.

However, as the sun was two thirds of the way to the horizon from when it had been directly overhead, something changed. Not with the landscape around her, but with her ability to continue to move forward.

At first she couldn't move her foot forward, or at least felt like she had encountered something trying to hold her back, but when she tried to reach her hand out in front of her, she felt the same resistance there. Which she couldn't explain.

All she could do was to continue pushing forward. She didn't know if Jonas or Ember had encountered this as well, but she was determined to push through whatever it was. Or at least keep trying until she ran out of strength. Which was entirely possible, since she found that she was wearing herself out faster as she tried pushing through whatever was holding her back.

She wasn't sure what would happen if she stopped trying to push her way through, but each step she took, felt almost like she was trying to escape the grasp of her nursemaid when she was a small child. Which would make this an exercise in futility.

Just when she felt like her strength was about to give out and she'd have to give up, there was a loud 'pop' sound and she was suddenly free from whatever that force had been. In fact, she was free from the endless barren rocky land.

In front of her was a river that was flowing slowly in front of her. She saw a shallow area with a lot of moss growing on some rocks, making that part of the river perfectly clear. Which then drew Elin over like the call of a siren did for sailors at sea.