Jonas couldn't say for sure what the dragon might mean at the moment, just that it was clear something was going on. Yet, whatever it was, he he didn't think that had been discovered yet.
Although, some of what Aquis said was already rather concerning. If nothing else, it showed that he was at least partly responsible for what was happening to Kim's army. While his statement showed that Aquis was the one behind controlling those wearing the armor they'd acquired from the dead orcs, Jonas wasn't willing to rule out the possibility that Aquis was completely a lone actor here. He wouldn't be surprised if there were others involved in this as well.
As he heard Aquis moving out of the cave, Jonas stayed still. He kept his ear peeking out from the shadows, just in case he might hear something else, though he had a feeling that he'd heard all he really needed to know and really should head back to help Kim, Elmo, and Elin do what they needed to.
Yet, he wasn't convinced that it would be the correct choice. There were many possibilities, but he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't be able to learn more if he didn't stay.
He considered what he might be able to gaini by appearing in front of Aquis and playing dumb about what he'd heard. He wondered if he might be able to learn exactly what it was that Aquis was playing at or if there was something else entirely going on.
There was just too many different possibilities for Jonas to know exactly what to expect to be the exacct truth.
When he was confident that Aquis had returned to the top of the slope, where he had been when Jonas and the others had spoken to him before, Jonas pulled his ear back into the shadows and swiftly moved to the other side of the dragon. Then, after he'd gone a distance away, to a point that would have been in the shadows even if there hadn't been an overcast sky, Jonas fully emerged from the shadows.
He couldn't really be certain how long he'd been in the shadows right then, but he was at least confident that he'd have enough to get back to the camp if he had to hurry. Although, he couldn't be sure if he'd have a real chance at that. At least not without having to risk getting Aquis to attack him.
Jonas sighed. Maybe being in this world had dulled his skills at coming up with ways to stay ahead of problems. Or maybe he hadn't been as good as he had thought he was in the past. All he could be certain of in regards to that right then was the fact that he had no clue as to what he should expect to happen with his confrontation with Aquis.
He didn't plan on revealing what he'd heard Aquis say, but at the same time, he wasn't sure how to go about prodding him for information about what was going on. Especially without getting Aquis annoyed enough with him that the dragon decided to attack.
Still, he couldn't be sure that the dragon hadn't been able to detect him either. As while he could have learned about Jonas through whatever connection he had with the soldiers of Kim's army that were under his control, he could also have detected Jonas' scent with just his ear sticking out of the shadows.
Jonas didn't know how strong the dragon's sense of smell was, but he wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was pretty good.
Taking a deep breath, he peered out of his hiding place, as if he had been moving from place to place to keep from being seen. He could see Aquis on the slope, though he doubted that he'd be albe to barely make out more than just his shadow, without his system enhanced eyes, otherwise.
"Was there something you needed human?" Aquis' voice rumbled around him, letting Jonas know that Aquis could see him. Quite possibly just as well as Jonas could. Not that he felt it was a good idea to let him know about that if he didn't already know.
"Sorry to bother you again," Jonas said. "It's just that we've had a problem occur in our camp and I came to see if you might be behind it or, if not, if you might know or have an idea of who might be behind it."
"Why would I care about what you humans do or what happens to you?" Aquis asked, the question sounding more than rhetorical to Jonas.
It sounded so perfectly logical that if Jonas hadn't heard what Aquis had said to himself minutes before this, Jonas might have let his suspicions be brushed away.
"It's not that I think you care," Jonas replied, hoping this would keep Aquis from suspecting that Jonas knew the truth. "It's more that you might know something anyway. Even if you don't realize you know it."
"And how would I not know what I know?" Aquis growled, as if the very suggestion of what Jonas said was rather offensive.
"It's more a matter of that you might not realize the connection," Jonas replied, wondering if he should merely pretend to have been scared off. He certainly felt more worried now that Aquis might attack him than he had been before.
"Maybe that's true for you humans, but dragons are another matter entirely," Aquis stated flatly. "We know what's connected to what. We would know if someone we briefly glimpsed was part of something that happens even years later. So, I would know if someone I barely saw was involved in what was happening to your camp now."
Jonas wished that he had that kind of ability if it was true. He had serious doubts about it, but he wasn't going to dismiss it entirely. After all, he was in a world of magic, or essentially a world or swords and sorcery, so it was reasonably possible that dragons had this sort of ability. Or at the very least, this dragon did.
Not that he thought it was a very likely possibility. He just knew it would be a rather bad idea to even suggest that to Aquis. Not until he was ready to fight the dragon, at the very least. Which would only be if he absolutely had to or if the rest of his group could be there with him.
He didn't care to have Kim's army with them, if they determined that they needed to fight Aquis or had to. As even if they had all the training in the world and were experts at fighting with whatever weapon they preferred, having them on the field against a dragon that could fly might make it harder for them to move out of the way. Which would merely increase the casualties.
Although, while it wasn't a helpful thought, for dealing with Aquis, it at least gave him an idea of what he could say to try and get Lance to agree not to try and help them against the fire dragon. Which Jonas was confident Lance had his sights set on.
Though, as he thought about it, he couldn't help but wonder if anything he said would have any effect on that stance. Lance seemed to be more than a little star struck when it came to Kim, with how she'd helped lead the charge against those who were trying to kill the king during his sister's birthday party. He couldn't help but-
"I'm sorry, but if you're not going to say anything else, then please leave," Aquis said, snapping Jonas out of his thoughts. "I have other things I'd rather be doing right now. I hope you understand."
Jonas smiled apologetically, realizing he had in facct been quiet for a few minutes. "I'm sorry. I just thought about something and I lost track of time," he said, bowing his head a little. "I just had realized something I could say about an issue I'd been dealing with for about a week now and I finally came up with something to try to solve it."
"That's good for you," Aquis replied, sounding rather bored, "but that doesn't mean you can waste my time when you want to."
"I recognize that," he replied, wondering if he should just come out and tell the dragon what his suspicions had been before he'd heard the dragon confirm them already. "It just happened so suddenly that I didn't even realize I'd stopped talking."
Aquis sighed, sounding like he was doing his best to be patient with an irritation. "If you're not going to tell me the real reasons you came up here then I'm just going to have to tell you to leave. I don't need you bothering me more than you already have."
Jonas was surprised. Either the dragon was far more impatient than Jonas had originally thought, or the dragon was feeling a strain from something. And since Jonas knew that Aquis was behind the enchantment on those wearing the armor they'd acquired from the orcs, he suspected that Kim, Elmo, and Elin were doing a lot better than Jonas had expected.
"Fine," Jonas said, deciding to just throw caution to the wind. If this went south fast, he was confident that he'd be able to merge with the shadows faster than the dragon could react. "I already asked you my question and you lied to me, so why don't we try a different tact?" Jonas paused after his question, "I know more than you realize I do."