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"...guess not."

"Let's go with your idea then. Lead the way."

"Hey, you're the one with the map." Liam said, snarkily before leading the way anyway.

"You can have it if you want." Einar said, scanning the road ahead. He couldn't see the guards from here, the traffic on the road blocked his view.

Liam quickly goes on ahead.

Einar follows Liam's lead, once more opening the map and studying it.

Liam looks around, curiously studying the travellers.

Einar looks back at Dave and Maria. "Either of you have a suggestion?"

"Not really." Dave says.

"If we gallop, how long would it take to get there? Or even a fast trot?"

Einar consults the map. "Three hours to the ford, maybe. But then we'd have to stop and rest our horses, and if anyone saw us it could be suspicious. Doable, nonetheless. Are all of you on board with this?"

Liam and Sigurd shrug.

"Lets give it a go." Maria says, "Besides, if we do end up getting caught, it might be fun to train up a bit more."

Liam glances at Maria. "That's... rather cold-hearted, isn't it?"

"So are they." Einar muttered. "Alright, this way, then." He turns Cloud to the side and starts down a narrower trail.

Shrugging, Liam follows.

Dave and Maria follow behind the group.

A guard on the bridge notices the group heading into the forest and eyes them suspiciously, but does not pursue.
The bridge and highway retreat from sight, and all that can be heard is the rushing of water beside the trail.
"It's good to test our horses in case of a chase, I guess. That's an advantage to this route," Einar says before kicking Cloud into a quick canter.

Grinning, Liam puts his mouth next to Traveller's ear. "Let's show Einar what a real horse can do." Liam goes into a canter, as does Sigurd.

Maria and Dave ready their horses, Dave patting Huey before getting ready.

After a few minutes of increased pace, the river has widened and is now more placid than it was at Whiterock. This serves to give increased warning when a large gray beast leaps from the water at Sigurd.

???: 6
Apple: 9

Sigurd's horse smoothly dodges the slimy behemoth, easily twice as large as Apple. It has stubby legs, a long finned tail, beady eyes, and dozens of razor-sharp teeth.

Sigurd, realizing they have no time for a confrontation, ignores the creature and keeps going at a gallop. Liam fires an arrow at the behemoth.

Liam: 4 - 1(stance)
???: 9

Liam, forced to shoot backwards from horseback at speed, misses the creature.
The beast returns to the water and follows the party. Moving downstream, it quickly gains on Liam.

Liam makes a small movement with his knee that stops Traveller dead in his tracks before quickly making another movement to make him gallop. That may confuse the monster.

Traveller: 6 + 1(stance)
???: 9

The beast leaps from the water and knocks Liam off his mount before he can resume his pace.