Enwyn eyes his crops regretfully, clearly pondering what a war is going to do to his harvest.

Dalmar, whose concerns lie more with 'horses' than with harvests, seems to be skirting his way back to the farm, keeping an eye out for where these particular humans keep their stables.

Unfortunately for Tarth's work schedule, at that moment, as he makes his way back up to rejoin his men, the rich smell of warm bread and porridge wafts out.

"Will ye and your men be joining us for breakfast?" Dalia calls, who has clearly been chatting with his men as she cooks and waits for Tarth to finish chatting with her husband, blissfully oblivious to the doom of monasteries and rations that lie in store for her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:44, Thu 23 Mar 2023.

The expressions on the faces of Tarth's men make it clear that while the Caladorm cause is indeed of paramount importance, so is a free hot breakfast, with several already half dismounting from their horses. Tarth himself does not appear to need much convincing from his men, possibly because based on the general lack of supplies, Lord Ravalor certainly doesn't believe in lunch breaks.

"I suppose we can make up the time along the way," he says with a grin as the remainder of his men dismount, tying their mounts outside before disappearing inside the farmhouse.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:28, Fri 24 Mar 2023.

The moment the last of the men disappears into the farmhouse, Marabir gives Aerendir a nod and the pair clamber over the embankment, keeping behind the wooden fencing and trees that line the road as much as possible as he picks his way down towards where the horses are stabled outside the farmhouse. Fortunately for the prince, the men inside appear to be chatting boisterously and their focus is very much on the food before them and not the farmland outside. The pair reach the farmyard and are halfway to the tethered horses when the scent of the freshly baked food wafts out to them.

OOC: Marabir Carendil rolled 16. Hide Check.
Marabir Carendil rolled 21. Move Silently Check.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:44, Mon 27 Mar 2023.

Marabir glances are Aerendir with a frown.

"Aerendir, focus."

"I am focusing."

Marabir seems tempted to add 'on the important things', but feels that this too might be misinterpreted by the elf. Instead he contents himself with sending Aerendir an unimpressed glance as he reaches the mounts. The prince seems to be very familiar with handling horses, petting and murmuring to the nearest one to calm it down as he begins to untether it.

OOC: Marabir Carendil rolled 24. Handle Animal.

Reluctantly, with real willpower, Aerendir does the same.

Dalmar, who seems to feel it’s a good thing all humans are partly deaf, makes himself busy cutting the crossbow strings, sensibly also abstaining from any patronising remarks about human stealth while right outside a packed farmhouse.

After a few moments the trio have successfully untethered three of the horses, with Marabir directing the others to cut through the straps of the saddles of the remaining horses to avoid any chance of pursuit. He then pulls himself into the saddle along with the others and urges his mount to a gallop as he speeds out of the farmyard.

OOC: Marabir Carendil rolled 20. Ride Check.

Aerendir sends Marabir a look that says he doesn't need Marabir to tell him to do this to do it, but nevertheless busies himself doing exactly this. Job done, with the grace of someone who's been around horses for centuries, Aerendir swings himself up onto his own stolen steed, following Marabir.

OOC: Aerendir rolled 31.  Ride Check.

If Dalmar feels that merely cutting through some straps is going to be far less useful than actually making those horses bolt (or simply cutting some hamstrings), that's a feeling the varim is sensible enough not to voice in the vicinity of employers who are not only skilled horsemen but (apparently) actually like these beasts. Once the last strap is cut, Dalmar, too, swings himself up onto a horse and kicks its flanks, urging it after Marabir's.

Luckily for Dalmar (who certainly is no born horseman), his horse is apparently used to following Marabir's (who appears to have stolen Tarth's own steed), because with little resistance, the stolen steed gallops off after the rest of the party, leaving the rest of the horses (after a placid snort) to keep chewing their oats.

OOC: Dalmar Argant rolled 24.  Ride Check.

The combination of loud, overlapping chatter from men enjoying a hearty breakfast (or, in the case of two of Tarth's men, engaged in an unspoken competition to tell the most humorous joke and be the most popular with Dalia and her offspring) along with the fact that Enwyn has horses on this farm and sons who are not above galloping them into the yard to get simple things like pails of water while pretending to be knights means it's a critical moment before the sound of the thunder of hoofs from outside registers as what it is with the breakfasters indoors. It's not until a full 20 seconds later that Tarth recognizes his own steed bolting up the hill, a prince of Thane gamely attached to its back, riding recklessly up the road in the direction they came, followed by two equally job-destroying cloaked figures if this news ever gets back to Lord Ravalor.
This message was last updated by the GM at 00:30, Tue 04 Apr 2023.

Tarth mutters a curse, half choking on a mouthful of porridge as he hastily rises from the table, breaking into a coughing fit as he motions frantically for his men to follow. He leaps onto one of the nearest remaining mounts, cursing once again as the sabotaged saddle slides from the horse's back, Tarth along with it, to crash heavily to the ground. Beside him another of his men repeats the exercise, also landing heavily with a curse.

"They've cut them all sir," observes another of his men grimly.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" fumes Tarth, running a helpless hand through his hair. "Find a way to get them fixed!" As his men hastily move off toward the barn, he spares a final hopeless glance after the retreating riders as they disappear over the crest of the hill and are gone. "Do you hate me or something?" he snarls at the sky above him, before giving a nearby bail of hay a violent kick.

Marabir, meanwhile, spurs his mount into a gallop as he speeds across the grassy fields.

"I assume you know roughly in what direction Lastorn lies?" he calls to Aerendir as they ride.

“I do,” Aerendir confirms, urging his own steed in the necessary direction.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:09, Sat 20 May 2023.

The sky does not grace Tarth's query with an answer, but the sun certainly shines brightly on Marabir's escape, and thanks to farmers in these parts keeping their barns locked when not in use, it's a full thirty minutes before any materials to repair saddles can be found, by which point the trio are long gone.

A skilled tracker might have been able to trace their path, but that is certainly none of the Caledormists here, who certainly do not have the skill to differentiate between a new hoof print today and their own from yesterday (or indeed today.)

This, combined with Aerendir's exceptional hunting skills, mean the party encounter no pursuit or Caledormists at all on their ride-- exceptional luck which Aerendir is certainly attributing to himself, not the sky. All three horses being in reasonably good condition, they are able to make good time, and the sun is only just starting to set in the sky as they near the town of Lastorn.

"All right," Marabir murmurs to Aerendir as he dismounts amongst the trees which dot the hill overlooking Lastorn, tethering the appropriated horse to a tree before creeping forward to peer over the crest of the hill at the sleepy town below. "We need to make our way to the tavern and hope that our mounts are still in the stable."

Aerendir grunts agreement, clearly approving of these priorities.

“…But not, I trust, in broad daylight?” Dalmar says, in the tone of one who trusts nothing of the sort when it comes to Thanians and stealth.

Marabir ignores Dalmar as he peers down at the town.

"No sign of any guards," he observes. "Not surprising now that they have revealed themselves as Caladormists. I expect they have likely fled to Ravalor's fortress. I just hope they didn't harm our horses before they did so."

OOC: Marabir Carendil rolled 21. Spot Check.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:45, Sat 20 May 2023.

“Indeed. If they’ve harmed them, they will pay a much steeper price than they bargained for,” Aerendir agrees, also ignoring Dalmar.

OOC: Aerendir rolled 24. Spot Check