Travel was rather uneventful for a few days. Which Elmo was glad for. So much had been happening lately that it was nice to have nothing happen that added to the worries that were currently going through his mind. Especially the likelihood that he was potentially considered a kidnapper simply because he'd travelled out of here with Kim's army.
He knew the accusations were completely bull, provided they were correct on who it was that had been 'kidnapped.' Although, he hoped that it wasn't an actual kidnapping, as he didn't want something like that to happen to anyone.
While Elmo wanted to get to the capital as quickly as possible, he also hoped that their food supply would hold out. As the venison that they'd had the library's cafeteria to cure was nearly out. Though, Elmo had to admit that it was a lot better than what they'd been able to do to any of the meat that they'd gotten from hunting.
However, from the talk he was hearing from the others, they might just bypass the capital altogether. Despite the need of resupplying their food, if nothing else.
So, as they set up camp when they could see the capital in the distance, Elmo wondered if maybe he should bring that subject up. He wasn't sure it would be a good idea, especially with how it seemed to him that the general decision had been made about that already.
Yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but worry that if they didn't stop in the capital, they might not be able to get anything to in ways of resupplying their food at all. Especially since he was pretty sure that they didn't have any of the currency that this world accepted and the flower's teeth that they'd acquired might not be able to be sold in a smaller village.
"Uh, so will we go into the capital tomorrow?" Elmo asked, fully convinced this was a bad idea even as he spoke.
"Why? Give them a chance to accuse the rest of us that we're accomplices to what you and your group did?" Elwin retorted.
"No need to be so direct," Owen commented. "I'm sure he has a reason to ask that." Owen then turned to Elmo and added, "Right?"
Elmo nodded, still unsure what needed to be said. "I was thinking that we'd need to buy more food. You know, in case it takes longer than we expected to get into the dungeon."
"Really?" Jonas asked, yawning. "It should only take us a single day to get to the village from the capital, then it should take another day to get to the dungeon. Why shouldn't we think that it'll take longer than that?"
"Because we don't know what else might happen," Elmo replied, his voice getting stronger as he allowed his annoyance at being dismissed out of hand, by Jonas no less, like that. "Everything we've done so far has had things occur that we didn't expect has always happened when we didn't expect them. Why should this be any different?"
"The kid has a point," Kim remarked, sounding like it was costing her a lot to admit that much. "As far as we know, Stanley and his group is still waiting at the entrance of the library that they used, but it's also possible that they might have gotten tired of waiting and moved themselves to the dungeon entrance, especially if they're realizing that there might be multiple entrances to that library."
"So? Why should that mean we need to risk going into the city when it might create more of a delay if they realize you're probably the ones they're looking for, for the kidnapping?" Patricia remarked.
"Would you rather go hungry?" Kim retorted. "If we don't resupply our food, we'll run the risk that we'll be doing just that before long."
"Come on! You were one of the ones advocating to just heading out without delaying for anything!" Patricia complained. "Now you're willing to accept a delay and unnecessary risk just because Elmo said something about that?"
"I only went on that side because I wasn't aware that we were running that low on our food supply," Kim replied, sounding rather tired. "It wasn't until Elmo mentioned it that I remembered about it. That we were going to sell the flower's teeth to get money in order to restock our food supply."
"And you simply… forgot that?" Patrick asked, sounding like he wasn't buying it.
"Doesn't matter what you believe," Kim returned, sounding just as derisively as Patrick's tone had been. "That doesn't change what facts are before us on this matter." Kim then started ticking off with her fingers as she continued, "We're low on food. We don't have much money, if any at all, so we'll need to sell the flower's teeth where we can to get what money we'll need. We don't know what other complications those running this competition has added to the dungeon since we've been out of there. Then we also can't say for certain where Stanley and his group is."
"Well, should all of us enter the city then?" Bart asked before any of the others could continue their complaints on what was being said.
"I think we should be fine if we divide into smaller groups," Jonas remarked. "If Owen, myself, and Bart work at procuring food, then Heather and Kim could go sell the flower's teeth before meeting up with us. Then everyone else could just wait out here, waiting for the rest of us to finish in there and also to make sure that Blot doesn't disappear on us."
"I'm not leaving any of you," Blot remarked. "You made the trade, so I'll be still travelling with you."
"We're not worried about that," Jonas told the talking book. "The point I was making is that something could happen to you if we're not careful. Such as you getting stolen by someone."
The book looked around, his expression hard to read, since he wasn't human. However, Elmo got the sense that he was trying to understand what they were talking about. Especially since Elmo doubted that Blot had had much chance to interact with people in the first place.
"So, you're worried that someone else will take me?" Blot asked, sounding like he was just trying to confirm what'd just been told. "Why would someone else do that? I mean, they would need to trade you a book for me, right?"
"There're those who steal things and try to sell them for what they can get for it," Patrick explained to the book. "No always for the same reason, either."
"We've never had anything like that happen in the library," Blot replied, sounding almost like he was lost. "Maybe some wanted to harm some of the books, but never take them without having something to trade with."
"Well, this is how the world works outside the library," Owen informed Blot. "It's not always pretty, nor does it always make sense, but that's the way it is."
Blot looked troubled, but didn't say anything more. Not that Elin could think of anything else for Blot to say, given the circumstances of everything involved.
"Think of it this way, Blot," Elin said, picking the book up in her arms and holding it close to her. "People are like the visitors you would get in the library. Not all of them came there to respect the books and so, out here not everyone respects each other. That's why some steal because they have no respect for other people."
"Hmmm," Blot replied thoughtfully, not showing any signs of saying anything else.
"Anyway, aside from that, we should decide on which group each of us will be in," Jonas said. "I'll go for selling the teeth."
"So you're claiming that spot right of the bat?" Kim asked, her tone, and expression, flat.
"I'm saying that I'd like to be in that group," he replied calmly, as if he was made out of patience
"So, if we need you in a different one, you'll be willing to change?" Bart asked.
"Of course," Jonas agreed readily. "Though, we'll need to select who goes where anyway."
"I want to sell the flower teeth too," Heather said suddenly. When everyone then looked at her, she blushed, clearly uneasy being in the spotlight here.
"Shouldn't you come with me to get the food?" Sonya asked, still in her wolf form.
"Uh, no offense, but unless you change out of your wolf form, going into the city might be more of a problem than all of us being suspected of being a kidnapper," Kim remarked. "You kind of stand out a bit like that."
Sonya put her head down. ?Yeah, but I'd still like to do more than guard the book and our camp."
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement before we need to go to sleep," Bart said, as he yawned, long and clear for everyone to see.
"You know, how about we have a neutral party decide fro everyone?" Jonas suddenly suggested.
"Who'd be neutral in this?" Patricia asked, sounding like she was being responsible in asked, though Elmo doubted that she was being that.
"Elwin," Jonas replied immediately. "He doesn't like the idea, so he'd be the perfect one for the job."