“Thank you. I haven’t come up with a name for it as of yet. I’ll take some time to find one fitting.” He replies before mounting his horse and riding  off with the others.

Luz nods in agreement when Natascha mentions not turning down a gift. "I must admit I've always wondered what it would be like to fly. I try asking Savras," she uses her action to cause an owl to appear on her arm, "but he seems rather cagey about it." She smiles and explains, "My familiar."

She follows Thorne to meet up with others.

Roland sits outside the wall, beyond the guardsmen's post. His new horse stands by him, with a second horse hitched just behind. He smiles and hails his fellow "champions" as they approach.

[OoC: 2nd horse mentioned in backstory and listed in equipment during recruitment.]

"So, Roland," says Luz, "you want to take the lead? Seems we've got a bit of a journey ahead of us." She sends up Savras into the air. "Keep watch for us." she says to the owl. 

Turning to the others she adds, "Hopefully there's villages or good hunting we can have on the way. I know my rations are limited. Nor sure about y'all."

Roland gestures to his second horse, forgetting any trace of his shyness in that moment. "Evfra's got about a week's worth of bread and cheese, but I've also got a good pan or two packed, so if we need to, I can whip us up something fresh." 

His eyes meet with his new allies and his face feels hot once more, once again leaving him that thankful he chose to don his helm beforehand.

"M-me. Lead. R-right. Okay..." He takes a breath and hops on his horse. With a shrill warble, he calls Evfra to follow. After a few moments of a steady trot, he breaks into a moderate gallop, his rear mount following suit. He heads east, following the road.

Natasha takes a gander at the owl. "Now isn't that just darling! It's like a mini-me. Can you speak to him? Can he talk?" She questions, digging through her bag upon hearing words about rations. "Awh, I don't have a single scrap. Didn't pack well." She nods, setting it back down. "There's woods nearby, correct? We could find something fresh there, unless there's anything particularly nasty in the forest."

(Can I roll Perception or History to back up her guess?)

"I can understand him." replies Luz, "Though he's not able to speak with others." She adds, "It's a rather simple spell. If you've got the time and ink for it, I'd be more than willing to let you copy it sometime."

She tenses for a moment at Natasha's suggestion of hunting before looking down at her stomach. They'd need food somehow wouldn't they. "Seems reasonable."

[[
Help Natasha's roll if possible.
]]

"So..., Natasha... you mentioned hunting before?"

Roland stalls his horse, hearing nothing behind him. Turning, he finds that the other two remain just outside the wall. Forgetting his anxiety, he calls aloud, "What's Wrong?"

Luz halts Lathander (the horse) to be next to Roland and puts a hand to her stomach, "Not sure about you, but I could certainly eat." She looks at the woods, "Sure we could use rations, but there might not always be as bountiful of life where we're going as there is now. Not the kind of gamble I'm keen on."

His eyes cross her face as he speaks...

"Oh, well if you want, I could try-yeee–!!"

...and his anxiety returns to him mid-sentence, that of a sheltered young man speaking before a beautiful woman. Though without the context, he would merely seem a man with an occasional stutter. If he weren't wearing his helm, perhaps the blush of his face would provide a clue. Regardless, he does his best to continue: "–uuuhm-mm hm, I I-I m-mean I could prob-probably, um, t-track something d-down?" His eyes look to her then look away, then to her, then away again several times as he speaks. 

"I-uh, I mean, I just need to strip –ack! No, no, I-I-I mean I n-need to leave m-my armor h-here, on my horse." He pats his mount, as if to indicate it was such, absent-minded. "A-armor is n-not for sneaking, r-right? Right, i-it's not..."

"Or d-did you w-want to...?"

Luz gives Roland a perplexed look. Quite a stutter on the lad. "I'll leave it up to you when it comes to your armor." She looks up to the sky and holds an arm out for Savras (the owl familiar) to land on. "He can scout ahead. But when we approach it could be useful to be more incognito. Makes sense for the three of us," she gestures towards Natasha, "to go together." To Sylas she asks, "Would you mind keeping watch over camp?"

[[ If Chucky comes in we can add him into the mini-quest. But for the moment seems a way to explain his absence. ]]

"A-ah. Yes, t-that does make m-more sense. T-then..."

He somewhat obscures his form behind his horse as he quickly removes his outer shirt. In a nervous rush, he fumbles with the chain shirt, removing it and it's liner after several minutes of slipping and polite cursing. For what part of his bare chest and shoulders peek past the beast's bulky frame, his skin appears to have a greenish tint, indicating him as a full-blooded wood elf. A wood elf, true, but one dressed in human clothes, clad in human armor, and with a human name to boot.

Shortly thereafter, his shirt is back on, and he is ready for a quick hunt, spear at the ready. 

Luz chuckles, "Very well. Let's hope we find some game." She sends Savras ahead. 

(for Savras)
Perception: 11+3 = 14
Stealth: 3+3 = 6

"While he gets a lay of things, let's follow behind, ready for anything he finds."

"Y-yes... yes, m-m-ma'am!"

The young man takes a moment to stake and unsaddle his horses for grazing. He also removes his helm and stows his shield. He then sets his sword by his saddle and pulls out a crossbow, of all things. 

He returns to his co-captain prepared, but moreso overprepared, as he so often is. "R-ready! O-oh. Should I, u-um...?" He nods in the direction of Luz's own steed, an offer to lead and unsaddle it as well.

"No need to call me ma'am." says Luz with a smile, "Frankly I prefer it if you don't."

She gets puzzled as Roland nods at Lathander (her horse). 

10 //rolling for which spoiler to use

≤9

 ≥10

"Y-yes, ma'– ah, uh. S-sure."

He holsters the crossbow on his back and takes up his spear.

"L-lead the w-way."

He still cannot maintain eye contact, but his stutter seems to have settled a bit.

"Very well." says Luz. She calls Savras back and tells him to look for game before he takes flight again.

[[using same rolls from before]]

As they head into the woods she tries to keep a sense of certainty about herself. In truth she'd prefer an inn or something, possibly pay for the meal with a quick game of cards. Thinking about the skintone from before she thinks to herself, Well he's a wood-elf. They're comfortable in the woods, no? It's in the name.

[[ how do you want to play what we encounter? ]]

[OoC: depends how you want to determine what we find. How about you pull a 1d4 roll to determine our quarry, with 3&4 being predatory/aggressive? If we get 1 or 4, you'll have to roll again after we kill it (rabbit's not enough for 3-4 people and a lone wolf is likely old or desperate/thin). Does that work?]

[1: Rabbit 2: Deer 3: Boar 4: Hungry Wolf]

The young elf crouches as he follows. His footsteps lighten to near obscurity and he almost seems to meld into the trees around them. His silhouette even seems to fade, though he's hardly stepped away from Luz at all. All that remains purely visible is the shine of his speartip, honed to its fine point and keeping steady pace with her.

[Stealth: 21]

[[ Sure. Might I propose we also do a d3 to determine how many of the quarry we find? (If we get three hungry wolves I have a feeling I'll regret this, but in the words of King Arthur, "Run away!"]]

2 x 2