Chapter 127: Securing Lodging
While it took an extra day to get to the city that was at the other end of the road, Jonas felt that the delay was worth it. Not only was there now fewer opponents for them to fight, one of them had been clearly a more significant threat than they had been aware of, but also now he knew what to look for. As each of those he fought had an emblem of an eagle. While it had been made to look innocuous, given how it was the same design for each of those who had attacked them, it was clear it was a way for them to identify each other.
It wasn't all in the same manner. One had it on his belt buckle, a few had a ring with it, some had it as a tattoo, some had it for a pendant, while another had it on an arm band.
While Jonas had considered taking some of them to try and make it as if everyone in his group was a member of whatever group they were from, he couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that there was more to it than just the insignia. Maybe a code phrase or something, or just something else that they just didn't know about.
In the end, he had to admit that they just didn't know enough about their enemy to be able to do anything about them in that way. While they could still try, there was also a high chance they'd be discovered and find themselves in a lot more trouble than they'd bargained for. That said, he still took one of the rings so he could show it to others that he knew were looking to help stop the assassination attempt, namely the others that were in the competition. It never hurt to try and get more eyes to look for a target.
However, knowing what to look for was at least a big help, as it let them push aside things that they knew would otherwise be more of a distraction. They couldn't say what else might be necessary, but at least they could work out a plan once they knew where to start their search, once they found a place that looked like it was guarded only by people with that insignia on them, assuming any such building would be guarded by visible guards.
Jonas didn't like the path that thought led, but he couldn't deny that it was at least possible. His ideas could only account for so much and couldn't change reality, no matter how much it would be nice to be able to do so.
That also was assuming that they'd find something like that in a city that they passed through. As far as Jonas knew, the group had their headquarters in another city than where the king resided or was suppsed to be when they made their move.
Overall, there were just too many variables at the moment for Jonas to make sense of. As they moved into the city, Jonas couldn't help but notice one of the guards at the gae had the same emblem on his shield that sat on the ground at his feet, where he could pick it up quickly if he needed it.
Though, first thing to do was secure a place to stay the night, even though it was merely the middle of the day. Since they couldn't talk freely in the open with say many people who could potentially either be with those who wanted them dead, or would talk about what Jonas had in mind to talk about, He didn't want the wrong ears to hear what he had to say.
Not that finding a room was difficult. He'd acquired a good amount of the currency of this country from their assailants the day before, which meant that they'd be able to not only be able to afford some more luxurious accommodations, but they'd have plenty left over. Or at least from what Jonas had estimated the cost to be. Which didn't mean it wouldn't be different here as opposed to the village they'd just come from. He was aware that there were too many other factors that went into determining the price for a room in an inn.
"Let's go with that one!" Elin cried, as another sign indicating an inn came into sight. "That one has a dragon on the sign. That's got to mean it's good, right?"