"Gentlemanly though your offer is," Lyria says, her gaze and tone making it clear that she's not talking about Caled, "dealing with my uncle must be my priority. It is only that Erald cannot keep up. If you are able to keep my brother safe while I do, I would be most grateful."

If Marabir isn't quite as enthused about the prospect of looking after a six year old rather than travelling in the company of Lady Veldorn, he is polite enough not to voice this thought.

"Ah," he says delicately, before frowning. "I can certainly see that your brother is kept safe, however are you sure you can ride all the way to Ravalor's fortress? It will be a hard ride and as it will likely be the horses that your uncle will be tracking, that will place you in the most danger."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

"I am. My father--" a hint of sadness, swiftly buried by determination flickers across her face-- "taught me to ride. For many years, I was the only child he had. I must do this. Lord Ravalor might not have had time for my concerns alone, but with knights, he must surely listen. I am not going to get justice by hiding, and each day that I delay is another day my uncle harasses my farmers and burns homes to the ground."

Marabir still does not seem pleased by the prospect, but he nods slowly.

"Very well, My Lady, but do be care-" he breaks off as there is a faint shout from somewhere in the distance.

Calvorn glances sharply around, before hurrying back out of the hollow and ascending the hill to peer back down towards Calarn. After a moment he comes hurrying back down to rejoin them.

"Well, it's taken them long enough, but they've realised you're gone," he says hastily. "If your knights and the lady are to ride to Ravalor's they'd best do so swiftly, and take all the horses. Those of us who are staying will need to move deeper into the forest before our enemies reach us."

Vandal, has already swung into his saddle, along with the rest of Tyronius' men, save Caled and Larend. The warrior eyes Lyria with a degree of skepticism as she mounts up alongside them, but his questioning glance is met by a curt nod from Tyronius.

"Go," says the prince, as the riders begin to gallop from the hollow. "Let's move," he adds to everyone else as he begins to jog down through the trees, keeping an eye out for a suitable place to hide.

Aerendir seems to feel he has his work cut out for him hiding people's footprints and removing the evidence snapped twigs and branches without one more human contributing to this, but he also seems to realize now is not the time to complain about this.

OOC: Aerendir rolled 32. Survival Check to hide tracks. (Skill Mastery.)

"I shall travel with you, Sire," bows Caln as he follows after Tyronius into the woods.

"Excellent, you can look after the boy," Marabir calls to him, sparing a glance to ensure Lyria is out of earshot. "Let's go," he adds with grim smile to Erald as he gestures for the boy to follow them into the woods.

Caln's expression suggests this isn't quite what he had in mind, however he does not argue, merely giving Erald a grim pat on the shoulder.

"All right lad, let's see if we can keep you alive."

"Why is he blue?" Erald says, nevertheless trustingly allowing these knights (whom Erald has read about in story books) to lead him off. (Some might argue this does much to explain how easily Erald was in fact kidnapped in the first place.)
This message was last updated by the GM at 22:43, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

"No idea," Caln replies unhelpfully. "Son of a cur-" he mutters a moment later as he stumbles on a jutting tree root, breaking off with an awkward cough and a sidelong glance at Erald.

Erald bites his lip, and determinedly steps over the root himself.

"Now seems as good a time as any to mention that you three owe me 19,000 carens' worth of poisons, since it appears you not only stole mine but managed to misplace them," Falnis says to both princes and Aerendir, apropos of nothing.

"I can think of a lot of times which are significantly better than this one," Calvorn replies tersely as he assists Aerendir in mitigating the damage done to the forest by the princes and knights' passing.

OOC: Calvorn Areldan rolled 27. Survival Check.

The last of the horses disappear into the mist as they thunder over the hill, keeping to the trees as the gallop around the town of Calarn, heading north towards Ravalor's fortress. The gates of the town have already been thrown open as fifty odd riders charge after them, torches in hand with Galnor in the lead. Several riders break off from the pack, cantering their mounts up the hill through the mist in the direction of where they judge Tyronius' men to have appeared from. They reach the top of the hillock, peering down into the fog and gloom of the hollow and the trees beyond.

OOC: Caladormist rolled 13. Spot Check.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:54, Wed 08 Mar 2023.

Pushing until the very last moment to hide the tracks of the princes, Calvorn narrowly darts behind the trunk of a nearby tree, angling himself so as not to be visible to any of the riders. He narrows his eyes, holding his breath as he waits.

OOC: Calvorn Areldan rolled 26. Hide Check.

The party are very fortunate for the mist and the gloom which obscures their location. Marabir crouches behind a boulder which does a poor job of concealing him and does not cover his legs or back, while Tyronius, not having found a suitable hiding spot as the riders appear over the hill, is forced to simply stand very still in the gloom with no cover at all. Aerendir attempts to hide behind a bush near Marabir, which again little to conceal him. The knights do not fair much better. Caled ducks behind a tree whose trunk is slightly too small to conceal him, while Larend hides behind a spindly bush. Caln seems to do slightly better, ducking behind a broken tree trunk and motioning for Erald to remain still.

OOC: Marabir Carendil rolled 10. Hide Check.
Tyronius Carendil rolled 2. Hide Check.
Aerendir rolled 9. Hide check.
Caled Aravor rolled 12. Hide Check.
Larend Talrun rolled 5. Hide Check.
Caln Deran rolled 14. Hide Check.
Erald Veldorn rolled 10. Hide Check.

Calvorn may be wincing as he stares silently at all the obviously showing parts of knights and princes, but the riders don't seem to be able to see anything in the gloom, and after a moment one of them gives a grunt.

"There ain't nothin' 'ere."

"Galnor told us ta check the forest," another replies uncomfortably.

"You feel like goin' in there?" the other growls back. "He said to check, and we're checkin', right boys?"

There is a dark murmur of agreement.

"All right, let's go," barks the first speaker once more, as they direct their horses back over the hill and canter into the gloom.

"I take it that 'hide-and-seek' wasn't a game you ever won as a child," Falnis remarks, eying Tyronius' 'hiding place.'

Tyronius ignores Falnis, waiting for the hoof beats to fade before cautiously picking his way back to the others.

"We had best be going. I trust you can direct us through this forest, Calvorn?"

"Indeed, and we shall have a fair distance of open farmland to cross after that," Calvorn replies."The evening is young and the more of the open lands we can cross under cover of darkness, the better."

"So... Which of you was carrying supplies in their pockets or their packs and not their horse's saddlebags?" Aerendir looks between all the knights.