Kim didn't like the idea of giving the dragon more time, but it wasn't like she had many options. Although, as they spoke to Aquis, she couldn't help but wonder if they should try to just wing it rather than seeking out any information about the fire dragon.
That's pretty much what they'd been doing since they started this competition anyway. Even though she wouldn't deny that doing that had gotten them nearly killed at least three times, depending on how you looked at it.
Then there was the fact that when they had been trying to get information about the assassination attempt on the king, it'd gotten them in places where people were almost coming out of the woodwork to try and kill them.
Such as when Elmo was just taking a morning walk or when they were traveling from the village to the city where they were in fact able to stop the assassination attempt.
Granted when they were attacked on the road, they were able to elminate one of the more dangerous opponenets they had to face in regards to that, but Kim wasn't so sure that it really was the best time for that. Especially with how they didn't have any way of knowing about that beforehand.
Although, at the same time, while they had a source of information that she suspected would be more complete and reliable than anything that anyone in 'her' army would likely know, she didn't think it was a good idea to just disregard that fact out of hand. While playing things by ear would be fine in some situations, that didn't mean they should rely on that to get them through every situation. As eventually knowing details about their objective would hinge on whether or not they were able to successfully complete it or if they'd miss it entirely.
Kim couldn't say exactly how long it too before Aquis was ready to give them the information it, or he, had promised, but since the dragon was amenable to giving them that information, she couldn't think of why she should stop him now. It felt lie it would be counter productive to stop it now when she'd been pressing so hard in the first place.
Her doubts might have made her question whether or not she should have pushed this hard to begin with, but it wasn't like she could take it back. As you can't unring a bell once it's already been rung.
"Alright," Aquis said, startling Kim out of her thoughts for a moment. "Now, do you want basic information or all the knowledge I have about those abominations?'
"Let's start with the basic information," Jonas said before Kim could say anything. "We can go into more detailed information later. Once we have a general idea about them, I mean."
"What do you mean 'basic' information?" Aquis inquired. "As far as I'm aware, there's just information. Such as what had already been asked."
Kim felt a little satisfaction at the annoyed expression Jonas gave Aquis. She hadn't expected the dragon's response to be like that, but she wasn't going to complain. If nothing else, it let her feel like the dragon was willing to annoy anyone, not just her.
"I mean simple information. Like what their general appearance, what their tracks look like, how fast they can move, what they eat, and all that," Jonas replied after taking a deep breath. "Anything more specific can wait until we have a general understanding of what a fire dragon is."
Aquis closed his eyes, looking like he was starting to get annoyed, which Kim was a little surprised that she found that even more entertaining. Though, she suspected that letting the dragon know how entertained she was might be a more dangerous move than to deliberately try to provoke the dragon.
"What those abominations look like is basically a dragon completely made of flames. Under the flames, I guess you could call it a shadow, is the fuel for the flames. The brighter, and hotter, the flames, the longer the fuel seems to last," Aquis answered. "They don't really leave tracks behind, like you or I do, but rather the devastation caused by the fires that they spark with their own flames would be how you could track them." Aquis then looked into the distance past them, like it had gone down memory lane and was lost in thought, "The speed in which they move depends one a few things. The cooler their flames, the slower they move, but they can pick up speed if the wind starts blowing. When the wind starts blowing hard, they can travel faster than anything I'm aware of, even if it's the slowest of those abominations. Then lastly, what they consume is anything flammable. I do not know if that contributes to their original fuel source or not, but the stronger the flames around them, the stronger they can become."
"Well, what can we do to extinguish their flames?" Kim asked.
"Hold on, Kim," Jonas protested. "Let's get some more detailed information about them."
Kim wished she could beat the crap out of Jonas right then. She couldn't say why, but that last remark felt like it got so far under her skin that she was instantly livid. Yet, at the same time, it was so familiar to make her want and stare into the distance because of how nostalgic it felt. Which only served to confuse her entirely.
"If you don't want me to tell you how to slay them, that's fine with me," Aquis remarked, his gaze returning to them. "But please get on with what you want to know. I tire of this discussion. I'd much rather be seeking out that abomination you kindly let me know is out there."
Jonas nodded, like he understood what Aquis was talking about.
"Got it," Jonas said. "I wanted to know what exactly would a fire dragon do if they see us?"
Aquis sighed, and Kim got the feeling the dragon felt this question should be obvious.
"Those abominations don't see. Not like you or I do. They merely react and seek out anything that can burn. They're closer to a force of nature than they are intelligent creatures," Aquis said, sounding like he was nearing the end of his patience.
"How are the fire dragons created?' Jonas then asked, making Kim wonder if they'd ever get to what they would need to do in order to slay the fire dragon.
"No one knows how they are created," Aquis grumbled, clearly not happy with this point. "They just come into being for reasons we don't know and may never know. All we know if they are a source of destruction that will lay to waste anything around them that they can burn." Aquis paused, his eyes dilating, like he suddenly had a thought that hadn't occurred to him before. "Maybe they could be similar to the will of the fire."
Kim wasn't sure if she liked how thoughtful Aquis suddenly sounded. Almost like he was ready to discuss philosophy in regards to the existence of fire dragons. Somehow she felt this more concerning than when she was afraid that Aquis might start getting angry with them.
Kim wanted to ask what Aquis meant by 'will of the fire' but had a feeling she should let him finish before asking any other questions. At the very least, she had a feeling the dragon would stop talking about fire dragons if she tried asking about anything else right then.
"Usually those abominations will travel at the head of the flames they spread, but occasionally they'll travel over areas that have nothing to burn," Aquis continued. "They have also been known to take flight themselves. Although, that usually occurs when they wind is blowing them aloft. So, when they return to the ground, they'll be starting a new blaze on whatever they land on."
When Aquis finished, Kim waited a couple minutes, expecting his to continue on. When she realized he wasn't going to continue, she tried to remember what it was that she had wanted to ask him while he was giving them that info dump. Yet, she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was.
"If we attack the fire dragon, will it attack us?" Jonas asked, which Kim had to admit she wished she'd thought of that question herself.
"Typically yes, they will," Aquis replied. "Even if you don't they'll typically attack any intelligent creature. And I mean more than the intelligence of common animals. Rarely have they been known to leave anything like that without killing them first."
Kim was starting to understand why the dragons thought of fire dragons as abominations. Not only did they have the shape and appearance of regular dragons, but they were essentially mindless killing machines. Even the most dangerous sharks in the ocean weren't as merciless as these sounded to her.
"Uh, I was wondering, what did you mean by the 'will of the fire' when you mentioned what the fire dragons could be like?" Elmo asked, sounding rather nervous for speaking up and drawing the dragon's direct attention to him.
Kim could kick herself as she realized that that's what she had forgotten to say. Although, on the other hand, it didn't matter who asked about it, so long as they got an answer.