Jonas didn't see the need to rush back to the others. That would only reduce more of his stamina and they pretty much needed all they could get when the time came for them to attack.
Even though he didn't expect it to happen that quickly, they still had a little time before night came, so she considered trying to take a nap himself to see how much rest he could get before it started getting dark. Though, it would be easier if they had the sun to look at, since then they could look to see how close it was to the horizon for an estimate on how much longer they had.
When Jonas came around the corner and saw the rest of his team, he knew that the time had come to talk with them and figure out a plan. Especially since he wasn't sure if he'd want to try and take Elin or Elmo with him to pull the girls into the shadows during the rescue operation. Especially since he was just learning some of the quirks of that particular skill. Although, if it looked necessary, then he'd bite that bullet then, but didn't plan on it being necessary.
"So, what'd you find?" Kim asked as Jonas approached them.
"First, there's going to be a lot more goblins than we'd originally planned on fighting," Jonas said. "I wouldn't be surprised if there turned out to be even more when night comes."
"So, you think more are continuing to come through the portal that was mentioned?" Kim asked before they all sat down in a circle right in front of the hallway.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what's happening," Jonas confirmed.
"Did you see the girls they captured?" Elin asked.
Jonas shook his head. "No, I was too far away from the room to really get a good look at it. If I tried to get closer to the room, I'm sure I'd have been seen and would probably have returned with a group after me," Jonas replied. "Although, when I arrived there I saw two large goblins and just before I left, I saw a gray skinned goblin. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but it seemed to me that even the large goblins did whatever that one told them to. So, I think there might be three kinds of goblins to consider."
"Should I view their stats when I see them later on?" Elmo asked.
"Wouldn't hurt, but whatever you tell us, make sure you're not being loud. I certainly don't want them after us until we want them to be," Jonas admonished.
Elmo nodded as Kim sighed. "That's all well and good, but have you come up with a plan to rescue the girls?" Kim asked.
"I'm still working on that," Jonas admitted. "There' just too much to consider at the moment. I mean, should I try to get both of them together or one at a time? Should I use a different exit than the one I came into the room through or should we retreat to this room after we save the girls?"
Kim nodded while Elin leaned against her. "Did you see any other exits from where you were looking?" Kim asked.
"There was one, but it led to a stairway going down. I'm not sure, but it's possible that the minotaurs might be there, so I'm not sure if that would be a good option," Jonas said.
"How do you know there could be minotaurs down there?" Elin asked.
"When I saw the minotaurs yesterday, there was a set of stairs leading into the room, and while I can't be sure without having made a map, I think this place might be almost above that room, so it's possible it is, and we just can't verify it because of the goblins in front of us," Jonas answered.
"So, we should assume the stairs are out," Kim remarked. "Though, we can take them as a last resort if everything goes to shit in there."
"Always good to have a backup," Elmo remarks.
Jonas just looks at Elmo, not sure what the kid meant. It takes Elmo a minute to realize Jonas was staring at him, at which point he blushed and stared at his lap. At which point, Jonas just shakes his head and returns his mind to the main topic.
"Anyway, as soon as we rescue the girls, I think we should put clothing on them," Jonas said. "I seriously doubt whatever clothing they had been wearing survived them being captured, so I'm sure they'll be grateful for clothing, if they haven't retreated into themselves."
"Are you suggesting that you do that?" Kim asked.
Jonas merely shook his head. "No, I don't. Or at least not specifically. If I get one at a time, then I wouldn't have time to get them dressed before I'd need to go back for the other and if I get both at once, I can only put clothing on one at a time," Jonas answered. "So, I would need someone to do that for me, or at least assist that."
Kim nodded. "Then we'll have Elin assigned that duty," Kim stated.
"Sounds good," Jonas agreed.
"Hey! I can still help in the fight," Elin complained.
"Look kid," Jonas said, looking at Elin. "Maybe you can help in the fight, maybe not, but what we will need help with will be to help get those girls something on after we rescue them."
"Elin," Kim added. "Think of it this way. If you were one of the girls who were captured, would you want to be left naked when you could have someone get you dressed as soon as you're saved?"
Elin opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again a moment later. At which point she looked down at her clenched hands. Jonas wondered if the girl was angry at having been brought here, let alone with his shutting her down like that. Since he doubted that he was primary the focus of any anger, He supposed then that she wouldn't let it out at him directly, but if they encountered the announcer, he probably would see her anger get released all at once.
"Do we have any clothing we can put on them?" Jonas asked after observing Elin for a minute.
"Actually, we were thinking of using the clothing that Elin no longer needs, since she has this dress," Kim answered.
"That true, which also solves that problem," Jonas said, nodding.
"Anything else that we need to go over?" Elmo asked, looking up from his lap.
"I think that we covered everything," Kim replied.
"If only we could talk with any of the other contestants," Jonas remarked.
"Seriously?" Kim asked. "How would you plan on going about finding where anyone actually is?"
Jonas gave her a wry smile. "Who says I can?" Jonas replied. "I'm just saying that I wished I could talk with them. Knowing where they are is another matter. I know that we don't have a way to know where they are, but it would be nice if we could talk to one or more groups in an effort to team up and attack them from multiple sides at once."
"True," Kim acknowledged.
"Um,, how many can you take with you in the shadows?" Elin asked.
"Not sure," Jonas replied. "I've thought about taking either you or Elmo with me to save the girls, but I can't be sure that I'd be able to get both with either of you in the shadows with me."
"Do you think you'll be able to get both of them at once?" Kim asked.
Jonas shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I'm still learning some of the finer details of this skill and the tutorial isn't any help in the regards," Jonas sighed. "What I think would help me most is if you attacked while I went to save the girls. That way if I can only get one at a time, then the goblins will be too distracted to likely notice something's happening to them."
"Any suggestions on what we should do for the distraction?" Elmo asked.
Jonas smiled. "Nope," he replied. "Though, my first expectation of that would be to draw their attention in some way. Combat is a good start, but if we do that, then unless we defeat pretty much all of them, we'll have them hot on our tails when we try to get out of there."
Kim looks at Elin and smiles suggestively. "We could always tempt them with a naked girl," Kim suggested.
"Where would we find someone willing to do that?" Elin asked, clearly not understanding what Kim was getting at.
Kim put her hand on Elin's cheek and began caressing her cheek. Elin closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. "I was thinking you would volunteer," Kim whispered.
Elin's eyes snapped open. "NO!" Elin declared vehemently. "I will not display myself to- to- to such things!" Elin clearly couldn't think of how to finish her sentence at first, which made Jonas chuckle and earned him a glare from the girl.
"Regardless of what you do, as long as it pulls their entire attention away from the girls. Although, on the other hand, if Elin is used as the distraction like that, then we would need someone else on standby to help me get the girls dressed as I get them out of the goblin's reach," Jonas remarked.
"Yeah, that would be a problem," Kim acknowledged, taking her hand away from Elin's face, drawing a disappointed look from her.
"What if I used some magic to attack them?" Elmo asked. "I think I have some spells that will hit them that won't show them where it's coming from."
"If you can do that, I think I have a combat skill that will help us," Kim said. "If they're looing around for where your magic is coming from, then I might be able to hit them harder than I would otherwise."
Jonas let them discuss some of the finer details of what they would be doing and how. Of course, once the girls were safe, they'd assess the situation to determine if it they should continue fighting or if they ought to retreat at that point. Much of that would depend on how many goblins were left as well as which ones.
If the situation did look tenable, then Jonas would join in after the girls had clothing on. Elin would be on standby to both keep an eye on the girls as well as to jump in the battle if any of them needed healing.
"I guess that about covers the rest of it, huh?" Kim said as they were finishing up their discussion.
"Looks like it," Jonas remarked, slowly standing up, working out the kinks that had formed while he was sitting. "Let's just hope that we don't have to run after we save the girls."
"True," Kim agreed. "I think you and I are the only ones who would be able to carry them for any length of time, and then there's the fact that you and I are also the only ones who likely could survive fighting on the front line, again for any length of time."
"Anyway, let's get going," Jonas said, suddenly noticing the light was starting to dim. "It looks like our operation will be commencing soon."
"Then let's go!" Elmo cheered.