Debating on a Plan

Jonas and Elin moved faster than the others. Primarily because Jonas had been able to convince them to take their time. Elin wasn't sure how he did it, but he managed. Which surprised her. Not that she said anything about it. She figured he knew what he was doing and it wasn't like he didn't trust him either.

What concerned Elin most was that she was to be the one who would try to attack and take Douglas out, that the one who had introduced himself a Grisha was likely Douglas. Based primarily on the fact that Elysia had said that her brother Grisha wouldn't have come into the mountains, that he was staying out of the mountains in order to allow both of them to keep from being both captured so easily by Douglas again.

Elysia didn't understand how they'd escaped him in the first place but she didn't really care. He just knew that she and her brother had been originally caught and then had managed to appear in this world, where they separated to keep the other safe. So if one of them encountered the other, or received word that they were around, that they'd know Douglas was on their trail. That they'd need to be careful, though Elysia couldn't help but worry about letting others get caught in his traps.

Though, the last they saw of Elysia or Etaina was when they'd left them the night before. Which Elin couldn't say that she was surprised about. As they certainly hadn't been around the other before and with them on their way to confront Douglas, she could imagine that they would be rather hesitant to accompany them. Especially since she was confident that they'd listened in and heard what the plan had been. Which meant they wouldn't need to talk with Elin or Jonas to know what they were doing.

Although, Elin was a little surprised that Etaina hadn't decided to show up herself, given how talkative and friendly he was. Which Elin didn't mind. She could only hope that Etaina wouldn't find Douglas and spill what their plan was. Even though Elin was pretty sure that there were parts of the plan Douglas wouldn't be able to anticipate, even if he knew what their plan was.

Elin sighed. The idea of confronting Douglas was fine and all, but the walk to get to that point was incredibly boring. She couldn't help but think about anything but taking down Douglas, but it wasn't like she could make the walk to get to that point go any faster and the more she thought about it, the more impatient she felt herself becoming. Which in turn was making the walk all the more boring.

Jonas, however, looked like he was hardly worrying about the situation. While Elin suspected that he had the less dangerous part of the plan, she couldn't help but admit that it was an important safety measure to have. Which was him hiding in the shadows to strike in the event Elin's attacks didn't work. Which Elin was very confident that it would be necessary. As she couldn't say that she had any special skills in stealth of any kind.

Which made her wonder if being the bait, or maybe decoy in this case, was the best she could be. Not that she worried much about it. She just wished he could have been the one who would succeed at it.

"By the way, think we should release that orc?" Elin asked, while they were still a good distance away from where Sonya had crashed. They hadn't yet resolved the issue with the orcs that Kim had apparently been attacked by and the orc in the crystal.

"We can't be sure he'd be of any help to us," he answered, his tone indicating that. "So, until we deal with Douglas, then I think it'd be best to leave him be."

Elin nodded, not really surprised, but wishing there was something they could do in the meantime. Though, she couldn't think of anything to say that she knew would indicate as much.

"Still, if you want, we can look at releasing him after we take Douglas out of the equation. That way we'll still have one less thing to worry about, alright?"

"Uh, what do you mean?" Elin asked, feeling like she should know, but only drawing a blank in her mind. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"Just that when we deal with Douglas, we can free the orc and lead it to the others and see if we can get Elmo back through a trade or during the attack if that orc isn't from this group of orcs."

Elin nodded, feeling like she might be starting to understand, though she wouldn't place any bets on it.

"Well, since Douglas had captured it, wouldn't it possibly be part of this group?" Elin asked.

Jonas shook his head. "It might, but it might not. Unless we speak with the orc, there's no way of knowing, and speaking with any orc would be dangerous enough, let alone in a space that could have the only exit close behind you."

Elin sighed. She knew all that, but she still didn't like having Jonas point it out. It ruined the ideas she had of using the orc to draw in Douglas while Elin herself attacks from the shadows and if she failed, then Jonas would be her backup for that. However, that would depend on the orc being cooperative with them, but with how Jonas spoke, it was clear that he didn't see that as a likely scenario.

Which was why Elin didn't mention her plan, especially since she had a feeling he'd already guessed at least part of it. As she had made it clear to him that she didn't like being the one to draw Douglas' attention to being with.

"What if we first try to find Elmo?" Elin asked, suddenly having another idea. "If Douglas doesn't know Elmo is with the orcs, then if we rescue him, we could-"

"No," Jonas merely replied flatly. "As far as we know, the orc are either working with Douglas or they're another force to deal with. One which wouldn't be wise to provoke before we've handled Douglass, because if they aren't allied now, they could be allied after any such attempt."

Elin scowled at Jonas. The worst part, again, is that she couldn't shoot any holes in his arguments, which meant that she couldn't get him to work with her idea. One that would keep her from being the main attraction.

Generally she didn't mind being the center of attention, but not when it involved her having to be put into danger like that. Plus, the close encounter she'd already had with Douglas had her on edge with concerning him just after they'd escaped the trap that had them walking in an endless loop. Which she'd be just a happy to not be around him again in general, but it wasn't like she had a choice in this matter. Which was why she desperately wanted to find someone else to be the one drawing his initial attention. As she didn't want to find out just how strong he was when she would be the target and have front row seats to the event.

"Is there any way I can get out of this?" Elin begged, hoping against hope.

Jonas merely shook his head. "No, you'll just have to endure it. Just keep in mind that since he had originally captured you in his crystal, he might consider you part of his collection and collectors tend to try to keep their collection in pristine condition, even when part of the collection involves living creatures."

"But I don't want to be part of a collection!" Elin protested. She was herself and the only collection she wanted to be a part of was of her own.

"Don't worry about that part," Jonas suggested, sounding like he had something in mind, which Elin had doubts that she'd like. "Just look at it this way: Douglas thinks you're part of his collection, so he'll go easier on you and not try to damage you. He'll try to keep you in one piece as he'll try to recapture you."

Elin blinked, not convinced. "And what if he doesn't? What if he thinks of me as 'damaged' already, or had 'collected' me in order to try and lure Elysia out?"

"Then just hope we'll be able to take him out without any real trouble. Without him realizing he's in danger."

Elin sighed. He didn't like hoping for that. It felt too chancy and hoping that Douglas would still consider her part of his collection was likely had a better chance of turning out to be true and actually helped calm her nerves down more than she thought it would.

Though, she still wasn't happy about Jonas' plan. Even as they continued walking towards where that confrontation would be.