Elmo didn't understand why the shadows hadn't attacked the night before, but he didn't plan on going on about that. Doing so would only give Elwin more fuel to try and keep him tied up. Which he didn't plan on giving him another chance at.
He was grateful for Heather and Elin for starting to untie him first, though he assumed Kim only joined in on it to keep Elin from being too upset with her for having him tied up in the first place.
Not that it mattered, nor did he plan on holding it against Kim. That's just how she was. It wasn't like he expected anything different from her anyway.
Once he was untied, they started out. He wasn't sure how much off course they were, at least from where they had been moving before, but he suspected that if they still hadn't arrived at the library, by the time Kim's sword's ability refreshed that Kim would likely use it again. As such, he wasn't concerned about if they missed it or not. They'd eventually reach it.
As they walked along, nothing seemed out of place. Even Elwin's suspicious glanced thrown his way hardly felt out of place. If anything, the day felt boring to the point it was more tiring than slogging through the bog had been.
When they had lunch, it was on the move, making Elmo wonder if maybe the general unspoken consensus was to try and make up the time they'd lost when they were slowed down by the bog. As he certainly hadn't heard anything about it and no one else moved to take a rest when some dried meat had been passed around.
Although, Elmo had to say that he was getting tired of the dried meat. Not so much that it was bad itself, but rather that was what they'd mostly been eating anyway. He wondered if after they got the book they were looking for, if they'd stop by a town or city on their way back to the starting dungeon and pick up some regular food. Such as grains and the like. He accepted that they were likely running low on those, but he did wish they had something more than just dried meat most of the time. Even when some tried to make a soup or something out of it, it just wasn't the same without much else getting put in it.
Elmo almost fell into a daze as they walked, where he wasn't aware of anything they passed, just merely moving with everyone, regardless of what they passed, but around when Elmo thought that might be starting to happen, Elin came over to talk with him.
She was the first to speak to him since he'd been untied. Even Jonas had kept his distance, but that was typical for Jonas. Even as Elmo wished he'd at least show a little more concern than he had so far.
"How've you been holding up?" she asked.
Emo rubbed his wrists absently, even though the pain the ropes left behind there had already faded away. "Just merely tired from the walk," he replied, not sure if he was being honest or not. He was pretty sure that's all it was, but he hadn't really spent time thinking about it, either.
"Well, I'm sure that it'll be fine, regardless of what else happens," Elin told him.
Elmo could only think to nod. He wasn't sure how else to respond, but was grateful for Elin's reassurance. He didn't know why, but it felt like if something like this happened again, he'd at least have an ally, regardless of what he did or why.
"Careful Elin," Kim called out. "His stupidity might be contagious."
Elin didn't seem to have heard Kim and Elmo wondered if she was merely ignoring her. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that there was little Kim could say at the moment to get Elin to move away from him.
The rest of the day continued like that and the travel continued on into the next, leaving Elmo wondering if he'd ever live his 'loss of control' down or if it'd even follow him back to his world if he managed to make it back. It wasn't clear if that would happen or if something would keep him here, regardless of what happened with the competition.
When the sun set, Elmo felt like he was ready to just drop where he was. He wasn't sure if it was from being tied up so much, if he 'freak out' had exhausted him more than he had expected, if it was from his inability to really go to sleep through the night and an extension of being tied up, or if there were other factors involved that was the cause, or even as a compilation of all the reasons that were going through his mind.
What the library looked like, Elmo could only guess. He figured that for it to actually exist and not be seen by anyone, he figured that it had to have collected a lot of magic that probably helped it to protect the books as well as to increase its own fame. Although, he couldn't help but wonder how it got its books in the first place. As they had to get there somehow, even if there were people who were allowed to enter if they met certain conditions or circumstances.
Yet, he knew that it was useless to speculate since he didn't have anything to work with to determine which would be accurate and which wouldn't be. In fact, he could easily say that the whole thing rode a giant tortoise everywhere it went and that's how the rumors about it moving came about.
That is if it didn't float on the clouds themselves. Which in turn would require something for them to climb in order to reach it. Which wasn't something that Elmo thought would happen if it wasn't necessary to enter it anyway.
As Elmo closed his eyes when he finished his dinner, he couldn't help but wonder if there was going to be something like that that they'd have to figure out. Although, if the library was on a cloud and floated around, he wondered what would happen if the cloud floated into a mountain. If that happened, then it could be where they'd find it as well as why no one knew where to find the library anymore.
That is assuming it moved around in the first place.
As it could very easily just be a rumor that was started because someone couldn't find it in the first place. Elmo did know that there were some places that really weren't easy to find, even if you knew where to look.
While Elmo had expected that all his thoughts would keep him awake longer than he'd like, it wasn't long after that when his breathing evened out and he fell into a dreamless sleep.
+++
Jonas looked at Elmo as the night deepened and everyone other than him were starting to find a place to go to sleep. He could see that Elmo was having a little trouble dealing with what had happened earlier, and Jonas wished he could have done something to help, but nothing came to mind that he could do.
As it is, he'd volunteered to take first watch since no one really remembered whose turn it was anyway. Although, he did wonder if some might have deliberately 'forgotten' just on the hope that they wouldn't have to take their turn otherwise.
He could tell that no one was going to stay up and keep him company, not that he wanted anyone to. It was just that he half expected Kim or Elin to stay up to talk with him about why he hadn't done anything to help Elmo.
For him, it was better to let Elmo figure out how to handle it himself. Jonas certainly didn't care to try to do anything that could create more problems, much like how Elwin seemed to be doing, than necessary. Elmo wouldn't have created any problems, other than needing to have been carried if he'd remained tied up which was his main reason.
Another was the fact that they hadn't been able to determine if Elmo really had lost his mind or if there was something else going on. Jonas would like to know if there was as he wouldn't be surprised if there was something that Elmo had noticed or sensed somehow that the rest of them didn't, or maybe just couldn't.
If there was something out there that had appeared then, Jonas couldn't help but wonder what might be the reason why whatever it was struck then and hadn't since. He wasn't sure if it would only strike when someone was alone or if there was some other reason why. All he could be sure of right then was that it was dangerous if it was real. There was no mistake about that.