-----Suddenly the group hears the yapping noises escalate into fierce growls and howls. The sound picks up and there appears to be movement with the calamity. A host of motion seems to occur up ahead and the sound carries off to the west where over time it begins to fade.
-----Seth looks away at the forest looking a bit blank and then replies, "It appears the beasts are chasing Dread as we wait!"
-----After the passing of a third of an hour, the Dread Pirate suddenly appears sprinting back before everyone and skidding to a stop in front of his horse.
-----Seth watches Dread catch his breath. "Well, what were they? Pro Simian adaptations of Sol and Sarah's progeny or Rinda's and Raven's love child gone wrong?"
-----The Dread Pirate laughs at Seth's question and replies, "Narrr, they were far too intelligent to be the fruit of Sol's loins, or Raven's fer that matter. They were just four gnolls. They were pretty good sized though, taller than Krord even. I thought about leadin 'em back here to kill 'em, but decided to stick to the original plan, since that's what everybody expected. Now that I think about it, I could've just run around and slung stones at 'em, til they were dead, but that probably would've taken a lot longer and we need to keep movin. Maybe we'll get lucky and Raven will lead the others right to 'em. They should be a couple miles off that way, probably pretty winded by now too." Dread waves towards where he left the gnolls. He then clambers back aboard his horse and prepares to keep riding.
-----"That's that then, let's get moving and kill Krondor as fast as we can," Kazel starts her horse forward again. As she rides along she looks to see if there is anything where the gnolls are that made them gather at this spot, perhaps a rich slain merchant with gold to loot or something.
-----Everyone keeps riding southward with Runik beginning to grumbling from all the jiggling from the pony's saddle. After about three hours going through the forest, the three rogues and their bodyguards come out onto a trail road. The pathway extends from the northeast and leads to the southwest.
-----Brandel indicates that heading on the path and following it toward the northeast leads to the villages of Noth and Visp. Noth is only about two miles away from where they are. Following the path and heading to the southwest leads to the village of Navlot in the Fief of Redmarsh.
-----The Dread Pirate slows to a walk and says, "So, what do we decide now? Do we drop the horses off and walk, or ride on to the keep. Or ride to Navlot? I'd just as soon not chance Navlot. If we keep ridin to the keep, we might get there and set up a brief camp and get some rest. Then assault the place early in the morning, about four or five in the morning, when everybody is most tired and not very watchful. Then if'n we keep the horses, we can ride the hell out of there before Sol and the boneheads show up."
-----Seth shrugs and then offers, "You know we could sell the horses and buy different ones. Then we would be in the clear if we ever met up with Sol and friends!"
-----Kazel nods. "Only the gate guard has seen the horses and we only have to buy similar ones. No one has any proof even if that guard remembers. But anyway are we heading to the keep now?"
-----The Dread Pirate shrugs, "Aye, I forgot about trading the horses. We can do that and then always claim that we don't know anything about Sol's stolen horses. Let's do that then. But we should go to the keep as quickly as possible, if only to get there before Sol and the others. Unless we want to let them try killin Krondor on their own. It would be great fun to go out there and wait fer 'em to show up. Then when they all go inside, we can steal their horses again. If they ride to the keep that is. In any case, I'd like to get there before they do. Unless ye have a reason not to." Dread looks quizzically at Kazel and Seth.
-----Seth shakes his head. "No, no problems, lead on."
-----Kazel says, "Na, we want to kill Krondor first before anything."
-----Brandel speaks up. "Navlot is about fifteen miles from us. Beyond that, the village of Grute is another twenty miles. There we might be able to exchange the horses with a teamster or a farmer, which might be good considering that the pony is probably slowing us down. From Grute, it will be another twenty miles to the river where the village of Nox lies. Also from Grute, you can travel to the southwest for ten miles and reach the town of Redmarsh."
-----He then looks at the trio and asks, "So is it on to Navlot that we are going?"
-----The Dread Pirate shakes his head and says, "Let's go to Grute. I don't think we mentioned that particular town to the others, so they shouldn't think to look fer us there. We can trade the horses fer other horses, but not Joren," the Dread Pirate waves at his coal black pony.