Chapter 167: Anti-Climatic
Jonas led the way around the manor, starting with the side they hadn't been on. Jonas wasn't sure what to expect, but had a feeling they'd taken care of the biggest problems from this night. Yet, he couldn't suppress a nagging sensation in the back of his mind that they didn't need to bother with the chamberlain, that they'd already accomplished the challenge.
Jonas made sure not to pay any real attention to that thought, given while it would be nice, he wanted to make sure, and not have o later search for the chamberlain after giving him a head start.
Kim and Elmo were following him quietly, which he didn't mind. Not that there was much else to talk about at this time anyway. Aside from the fact that any noise would travel farther at this point that any other, given how few people were out and about at this time in addition to how little competing noise there was.
The walk around the building was uneventful. Jonas was surprised at how many signs there were of people who had been helping the chamberlain, but how little signs there were of other people. Hostile or otherwise.
Did they all converge at the front gate? Jonas couldn't help but ask himself as they moved along.
Where the servant's gate was, he couldn't help but notice that it was very securely barred from the outside, so it was clear they weren't worried about anyone getting out through that way. Not that he would have thought about it himself, given he hadn't even realized there was any other gate or entrance other than the front and back gates.
When they reached the remains of the catapults, Jonas noticed a few bodies laying on the ground, buckets laying next to them, though a few had clearly fallen down upright and still had the water that had been in them. The catapults themselves were mostly carred hunks of burned wood and metal, although a few still had flames still burning. Kim, Jonas, and Elmo checked the bodies there only to find that all that remained had already died.
Whether they had died before the rest of the soldiers there had left or whether some had been left to die, he couldn't tell. All he could say was that they were all dead now. Which annoyed him more than anything at the moment.
He would occasionally glance at Elmo or Kim and they would nod after meeting his gaze, the silent communication passing between them making the search a little more effective. While he didn't consider it much of a loss to have all these people dead here, he wished he could have had the chance to ask some of them questions. Like the other two they'd captured earlier, ones that he hoped were still alive, even though they'd probably get executed down the road for being a part of this night's events.