Jonas wasn't sure if Frank had found him that morning by chance or if they knew what room he had been staying in. The fact that they knew they were at that inn made it clear that he'd known they were in the inn if nothing else.
Now that he was gone, Jonas hoped it'd be a while before anyone from Stanley's group would be back, but he couldn't be certain of that. So he was torn on what to do about their lodgings for the night since he couldn't be sure what had been compromised.
He at least knew that Frank knew which room Kim was staying in, given she'd answered the door when he'd knocked, but that hardly mattered at the moment.
When Elmo, Elin, Heather, and Sonya started to take a seat at one of the tables, Jonas quickly ordered them up to his room. It was time they had a meeting to figure things out. He looked at Kim, noting the look of curiosity on her face but didn't say anything to her. Jonas wasn't sure if Stanley's group had been watching this place or if they had someone else keeping an eye out for them, but he wasn't willing to risk what their next move would be on something that simple. Something that could screw them over if he was mistaken about how Frank knew to find them in the inn.
Jonas took his time heading up to his room, mostly because he didn't want anyone in the room who might be passing Stanley's group information about how quickly he'd gone to his room for the meeting he'd just called. He didn't want it to come across as important. Which meant he needed to make it look as unimportant as he could. Even if it was a wasted exercise.
As he climbed the stairs, he only paused to knock on the doors of the rest of their combined group to collect them for the meeting. It might get a little cramped in his room, but Jonas was confident that all of them would want to be a part of this and make sure that their voices were heard about the matter.
As he entered the room behind them, he couldn't help but sigh at how crowded it was. He planned on remaining beside the door because there was so little room otherwise. He wondered if using Kim's room, since it had two beds in it might have been a better option, but he felt that it was too late to change the venue right then. It might send the wrong message to the others if he did that.
Only Blot watching them from the bed seemed to have any real personal space left to himself. Though, the book did seem too tired and out of it to enjoy that fact much. Something Jonas hoped wouldn't affect their chances of completing the challenge before they reached the dungeon.
"So, what's this about?" Elwin asked before Jonas had even closed the door. "Are you finished with being friends with Frank already?"
Jonas ignored the verbal barb, mostly because he really didn't have the patience to deal with an argument with Elwin right then. If he did start arguing with him, Jonas had a feeling that he'd do something that could shatter the unity they'd been able to manage with their combined groups for a while.
"Yes, we gave Frank the book that Kim had been reading rather than Blot," Jonas answered, as if that had been the question in the first place. "So he's left."
"We encountered Harold while we were visiting Heather's child," Elin blurted out. "He made it sound like they might try to go after us anyway, even though you gave them Kim's book."
"Uh, wouldn't that make them want to attack us anyway?" Elmo asked, sounding a little confused. "I mean, it wasn't the book they wanted, right?"
"How would they know if it's the wrong book or not?" Kim asked. "it's not like they know that Blot hasn't changed his appearance since leaving the library."
Elmo didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything more. Which Jonas appreciated as he wanted to quickly get through this meeting and on with things as quickly as they could. As if it was necessary for them to leave the inn before they slept that night, it might be better to leave right then rather than waiting around.
"The reason I called this meeting was because we can't be sure how Frank knew we were in this inn," Jonas continued, hoping no one else would interrupt him right then. "So, even if they do come back to keep us from trying to get the book they'd taken from us later on, it's clear that they know we're here. What I want to do is figure out is if all of you want to stay here for the night, knowing that's a risk and that they know we're at this inn or if we should continue on to the dungeon tonight, and maybe camp outside again rather than travelling throughout the night."
Jonas waited a minute before someone else responded. He couldn't help but wonder if they weren't sure that he was done talking.
"How likely do you think it is that they'll come for us tonight?" Owen asked, looking rather thoughtful, not that Jonas was really surprised.
"Probably an equal chance either way," Jonas replied, not sure how else to say it. It wasn't like he could read minds or anything when Frank left. Though, Howard's words to Elin and Elmo, if Elin recalled correctly, were rather concerning.
"If we go tonight, they could have already set up an ambush for us, so if we wait until morning, we'd at least have the light to see what was going on," Elin suggested.
"So would they," Kim acknowledged, seeming to be on the same wavelength as Jonas was.
"We could also leave in the middle of the night," Bart suggested. "If there is someone reporting to them, they'd likely be asleep at that point and we'd still be able to have the same effect as if we left now."
Jonas nodded, not wanting to show that he hadn't thought of that himself. Or if he had without realizing it, hadn't given it the seriousness it deserved.
"What if we keep watch tonight?" Elmo suggested, his idea surprisingly useful.
"Because it'd get cramped in this room," Elwin retorted, clearly not happy with the arrangements for the meeting.
Which was a valid detail that Jonas had to admit was as much of a important point as Elmo's suggestion had been a useful idea.
"Maybe, but unless you have a better idea, we might be better to sleep in the same room," Patricia remarked, surprising everyone, given her interest in the activities she preferred engaging in with Patrick almost on a nightly basis.
"We'd probably use our room," Heather added, not sounding happy with the idea. "Mostly because it's the largest of the rooms we have."
"Actually, I think it'd be better to do what Bart said about leaving in the middle of the night," Patrick added, seemingly earning a glare from Patricia. "We can keep together until then, only going downstairs to get something to eat, and those who would be keeping watch in the night, probably should be getting some sleep now. That way they'll be better rested when its time for them to stay awake after we leave."
"And how would we know when to go?" Elwin asked dryly.
"Because one of us would be on watch, even then," Kim said, sounding like she was putting pieces of a plan together. "Because if we go to the room I'm staying in, we can have enough room to be mostly comfortable until we leave. We'll settle our tabs with the innkeeper so we won't burn this bridge behind us, no matter what else happens, Which then will allow us to leave town, where' we'll set up camp as soon as we're clear of the village, even the outlying farms, where someone else will keep watch the rest of the night."
Elwin looked like he wanted to argue with her about it, but he didn't say anything. Which Jonas chocked up to Kim's idea being a good plan. Probably the best that they'd be able to come up with considering the resources they currently had right then.
"Any other suggestions or ideas?" Jonas asked, feeling a little surprised at how well the meeting had gone.
Maybe we need to meet like this more often in such a cramped space, Jonas couldn't help but wonder as he waited for any response.
However, he was met with silence. The only other individual that was looking around with curiosity was Blot, and he was doing so with the usual sluggishness he'd been showing since they'd pretty much arrived at the capital city.
After a few minutes, Jonas took a breath and declared, "Alright. If there's no other ideas or suggestions, does anyone object to Kim's idea? If not, we can go with that. If so, we can vote on when to leave."
Jonas waited to hear anything. An objection, a comment, or even a late idea or suggestion. Yet, he was still met with silence.
"Okay, so all in favor of Kim's idea, raise a hand," he said, feeling like he already knew what the result was going to be.
Sure enough, everyone raised a hand, and even Blot raised one of his ribbon bookmarks to show his support. Which Jonas couldn't help but smile at.