While it was expected for the night to be dark, aside from the pale moonlight from the waning crescent moon, it felt like there should be more noise to Jonas. Especially with what he knew was going on.
Yet, he carefully escorted Elmo to where he'd seen the catapults before. He suspected that the plan of whoever was behind this attack was to use those to burn the entire manor down, so as to kill everyone in it, but he couldn't be sure of that. Regardless, he wanted to eliminate it as a possibility. So it couldn't even be used as a backup plan or anything.
As he reached to corner of the building, he saw torches around the catapults to give more light to the people working on them, which indicated to Jonas that they weren't so worried about discovery at this point as they had been earlier. The catapults were already loaded again with the people just standing around, talking with each other in quiet tones. It was clear to Jonas they were waiting for a signal of some kind, but he couldn't be sure what. With a quick count, Jonas could see there were a total of ten catapults.
The smell wasn't the same as before. Which meant he was sure that what the catapults were loaded with was something else. Quite possibly more flammable. Though, whatever it was, it wasn't something he knew that he wasn't familiar with.
The barrels that had been loaded onto the catapults had a piece of cloth attached to them, but it hadn't been lit, which he suspected wouldn't happen until they'd received the signal to launch. Which meant he had a perfect opportunity to cause some chaos among their ranks as well as to destroy the catapults before they could be used again.
Jonas turned back to Elmo and nodded. "What I need you to do is use your Brimstone Fire on the catapults. I don't care if it's on the catapults directly or on the barrels loaded on the catapults," Jonas whispered to him. "Maybe it would be good to mix it up, but as long as the catapults are destroyed that'll be good enough."
Elmo nodded, his face resolute. While Elmo clearly had reservations about attacking actual people, Jonas was sure they could work on that, but at the moment, catapults weren't people, so that was at least one obstacle from getting Elmo to do what he needed him to do. However, he didn't expect Elmo to turn back to him and ask questions!
"Why are the catapults so close to the mansion if they're being used to burn it down?" Elmo whispered back.
Jonas resisted the urge to try and pull his own hair out. "As far as I can tell, it's so they can claim that it was some other entity that launched the attack. While these catapults will launch the barrels higher up with less forward momentum," Jonas said, trying to come up with words for what he pictured their opponent's plan was.
Elmo nodded, though Jonas hoped that he wouldn't try asking any more questions. The longer they took, the greater the chance of getting noticed would be. Especially since he didn't know if their attackers had anyone patrolling the outside of the manor.
Elmo turned back to the catapults and called out softly, "Brimstone Fire!" multiple times.
Nothing seemed to happen right away, not that Jonas expected it to. When Elmo turned back to him, Jonas had to trust that Elmo was done with each of the catapults and they should head back. The faster the better.
Jonas had almost reached the window where the guests waited for their chance to flee, when the first explosion rocked the world around them, nearly making Jonas fall. He couldn't help but look back, seeing a bright glow coming from around the corner where the catapults had been in. Whatever was in those barrels was certainly more dangerous, but at the same time, it was also dangerous to those using it if they weren't careful.
As Jonas was about to start going towards the window again, another explosion sounded, followed almost immediately by another. Jonas couldn't help but smirk. Even if that's all that happened, their enemy wouldn't be so calm about what they were doing. Yet, Jonas couldn't help but wonder if those who were in charge would lay the blame at those who were supposed to be waiting for the signal or if they'd suspect sabotage.
Not that it mattered. Jonas was sure that Elmo's magic would be able to get all the catapults inoperable, if not outright destroyed. Which meant it was time to start getting the guests out of the manor. As well as anyone who wasn't part of the assassination attempt. Which Jonas was becoming more and more confident that this was the assassination attempt the announcer had been expecting.
Jonas had been hoping it would have been a more straightforward fight, so he'd be able to deal with the problem outright, rather than allowing the chance for whoever was behind it to escape. Though, if that happened, Jonas had to ensure that as few of the guests for the party died as possible or he was sure that it would be wrose than a failure in his heart.
As yet another explosion sounded, Jonas lifted himself to the window again. "Lance?" he called softly.
Lance pulled his head out from below the window and looked at Jonas. "It's time?" he asked.
Jonas nodded. "As long as we get away quickly, I'm confident that anyone who goes to help with what's going on over there," Jonas said quietly, indicating the direction the catapults had been in, "won't notice us. But we'll need to start now."
Lance nodded, started calling out to the others that it was time to go, then he carefully passed his sister down to Jonas, then helped Elin down before he came down himself. Jonas suddenly realized he had a little bit of a dilemma.
He could either help guard the guests from any possible enemy approach or guide them to the gate. The gate was a good distance away and shrouded in shadows. So, it wasn't easy for most people to see. If he stayed, to act as a guard, he couldn't be sure they wouldn't get lost and eventually head towards one of the places where there was clear light, which would likely have them discovered and quite possibly killed by their enemies.
Yet, if he led them to the gate, he couldn't be sure how much might be able to start on the way to the gate before anyone came around to see what the explosions were. He couldn't guarantee that they would come around this way, but he couldn't guarantee they wouldn't either.
He certainly couldn't do both, and he didn't expect Elmo to be that great in hand-to-hand combat, especially if he ran out of his MP. Aside from the fact that Elmo was probably going to help Elin again, which Jonas didn't have a problem with.
As more people came out of the window, Jonas decided he had to bite the bullet and hope for the best. If things went south, then he'd just have to mark it down as bad luck. He couldn't do much more and would have to accept the outcome. After all, he was just one person and it wasn't like he could be sure that anyone from their enemy would come by this way.
While it was a risky gamble, he was confident he had no choice but to take it. Otherwise, it would be a different kind of gamble to make with letting those trying to escape guide themselves to something he was sure that even Lance and his sister weren't familiar with.
So, as the group started to get larger, enough that it would be likely noticeable if they didn't get farther away from the building, Jonas, called out softly for everyone to start following him. Then he started making a beeline for the gate, which he could see clearly, although it was still a little difficult to make out due to the sheer distance.
Jonas was a little appalled at how much area the grounds of this place had. It was supposed to be a city, yet there was so much space given to just this one place. Even the wealthiest people he knew of in his own world didn't have places inside a city that were this expansive. It just felt completely strange to him.
When the last explosion occurred, Jonas smirked to himself, knowing that the catapults weren't going to be usable. Which meant that the manor was safe from that method. Yet, Jonas was sure that once he saw the guests to safety, that he would need to go back.
This wasn't going to over this easily. After all, as long as the ringleaders were still around, then there would be a chance they could strike again. Especially if they were able to go unidentified. Which Jonas was determined to keep from happening.
Not with all that had been done already to those who were merely caught in the crossfire. Like Lance's sister Samantha. As well as for the reasons he'd heard that sounded more like wishful thinking and excuses to justify what was wrong.
Even if no one else agreed, Jonas felt that extreme measures like this should only be used when there was absolutely no alternative and the government itself was breaking its own laws. As if those who made the laws don't keep them, then there really wasn't a law to begin with.
Or at least that was Jonas' philosophy. Which he was determined to hold to. Even if others disagreed with him, it at least gave him a solid foundation to sustain what he knew was right and that others wouldn't be able to take that away from him, no matter what they said or did.