-----"Although," he adds, "I feel as though standing man to man we might have an advantage." He looks over and nods at Krord who smacks one fist into his other open hand.
-----"Whadda ye think, Marast?" Runik speaks up in a condescending tone to the elf, "ye think ye might be able ta match fightin' wits wit' those people we's runned into back 'n Oakwood?"
-----"Marast fight better! Humans not worth spit!" the elf says with a dangerous glare.
-----"By Moradin's beard!" Runik exclaims, "Ye think ye'd le'rn to speak in whole sentences if'n ye wantin' to scare peoples!"
-----"Marast know enough words," the elf replies quietly, "Let bow and sword do more."
-----The Dread Pirate shrugs and replies, "I really don't know if they could catch up to us or not. I would tend to doubt it, since, as I understood it, there were few horses available back in town. At least that's the gist of what I picked up when we tried to get Sol to commandeer horses for you guys."
-----"If there were very few horses left, then it stands to reason that the ones that were left weren't of the highest quality. Everything must've been pretty much picked over. Besides which, we probably have a nice long headstart. If they slept the night away, then we should have at least six hours or so. Now, I can walk at a normal pace and cover twenty miles in a six-hour march. With a pack and weapons. That's on foot, not counting these boots of mine. Anyway, that's a lot of ground for anybody to make up. Especially if they spent some additional time looking for us or trying to figure out what happened to their horses. With low quality horses, I seriously doubt that they stand much of a chance of catching up. Unless they kill their horses doing it. And even then, considering that Raven would have to stop, dismount and check for our tracks every now and then, it seems dubious, unless they had a steady supply of remounts available. And I doubt Raven or Sarah would stand for killing their horses to catch up to us."
-----"Even if they did push that hard, our 'friends' would be on the brink of total physical exhaustion. I'm not too worried about it, but it still doesn't pay to dally and take any unnecessary risks. If Kazel were willing, she could borrow my boots and she could stay back invisibly fer awhile and keep an eye out for anybody following us. As long as you tell her our route, she should be reasonably safe. She could hang back for a couple of hours. If she sees anybody maybe sprinkle some caltrops on the road for 'em. Too bad we killed that paralyzed ogre. We coulda tied him up, near the road and Kazel coulda cut him loose when followers came by. Anyway, whaddya say, Kazel?"
-----Seth shrugs as if to say 'what problem?' He points out, "Well, remember those vacant eyed mindless knights we met, they would probably donate their mounts, for some reason they hero worshiped Sol. On the other hand, they do not have the 'local' advantage that we do in our four new companions here."
-----Marast frowns at the current talk. He looks back and forth at the rogues discussing their options. Finally he opens his mouth and speaks in a slightly protesting manner. "Not good leave girl behind. Sometimes magic not enough. Ogres hunt, werebeasts hunt, maybe dragons. Girl strong and quiet, but not good leave behind. Not good leave anyone behind."
-----At the mention of ogres from the haughty elf, Krord fixes his eyes menacingly on the stone shapes in the village ruins as if anticipating the appearance of more humanoids.
-----Runik affixes his eyes on Marast with a somewhat surprised look on his face. Miraculously, the dwarf says nothing.
-----Kazel speaks up. "Albert is way better for that than me. After all he can fly and can see a lot more than me staying up on a tree. But anyway if we can make do without the cart, we should ditch it now. And there's a hole right here where we can dump it so it won't be used to trace us."
-----The Dread Pirate nods, "Aye, I forgot about Albert. Okay, let's dump that cart. But do we have a saddle for the horse? Or bridle for that matter? I suppose we could fashion a crude sort of hackmore bridle out of rope, but it'd still be an uncomfortable ride for anything more than a couple hours. I suppose we can always trade off, but if we have to run, the lack of a saddle might slow us down. But then the cart would probable be even slower."
-----Dread shrugs and begins unhitching the cart, in preparations of chucking it into the pit.
-----"Marast know how to ride horse without clumsy human things," the elf firmly states.
-----Brandel, Runik and Krord help the Dread Pirate as they lead the horse drawn cart closer to the underground steps that lead to the ogre's lair. As the horse is unhitched from the cart, Krord pulls it toward the large opening. Turning the vehicle around, the large bodyguard then pushes it backing it toward the hole. Gaining a bit of speed before it hits the steps, the vehicle rolls down the first stone step and its momentum carries it noisily down into the dark.