[IC] On the Road to Fen-on-the-Fen and in Fen-on-the-Fen
Ethrain will guide you out of the gates of Redhaven to the east, and there at the gates are a few grooms from Rikken's Stables, in town. They have a round dozen horses between them, though four are laden with pack saddles that seem to contain grain and other supplies. Ethrain goes up to one of the grooms and murmurs his thanks, going to a sturdy and placid-looking brown mare and mounting up.
The groom looks up at you all and gives you a nod.
"These beasts are fairly calm and even-tempered, trained in the Gambrel way," he says by way of introduction. He takes a few moments to go over the basic commands, how to hold the reins, what words to say and what actions to take to get the horses to stop, start, change their pace, or turn. "Make sure to take their tack off at night, brush them down, and let the tack dry. When you put the tack back on, make sure the saddle girth is tight, else you'll end up riding underneath the horse, and that's a view no one wants, for certain." He points out things as he speaks, demonstrating his explanations on one long-suffering black gelding. The groom gives a short lecture on not letting a horse eat too much at one go, and how much grain they can have in a day, before bringing the beasts forward.
"The black one here is Sable, and he's one of the biggest ones we have. The bay is Heartwood, and she's a very calm one. Hither and Yon are the two tall blue roans, and they're a bit faster then the others, and bit more mischievous. Wellop is the buckskin gelding, and he's a titch more skittish, but very friendly. Damson is the dark brown one with the black mane, and he's the one with the keenest nose. Kiley is the brown one with the blaze on her nose, and she's the youngest of this group, a little prankster. Pick your mounts, if you please!"
Once everyone had picked a beast to their choosing, and the grooms have adjusted the stirrups to fit everyone, the chief groom has one last thing to say.
"Last thing. You're adventurers, but these are not battle-trained beasts. They won't bolt at storms and common things, even a bandit raid won't make them panic. Run, but not panic. But don't drag them into any fight with any uncanny thing, because they'll only bolt and hurt themselves, you, or both. All right? Then good luck with you!"
With that, you can urge your horses onward, on the road to Fen-on-the-Fen and whatever mysteries await you there.
OOC: Could I get a marching order? The road can fit two across comfortably. And let me know any standard adventuring procedures you want to do. (Keep your bow out, have familiar range above/below/to the side, always look behind me every few minutes, etc.)
This message was last updated by the GM at 11:45, Thu 28 Jan 2016.