“I think it might be best to keep them inside the cart. Don’t want one of them to fall off a horse and hurt themselves.” Quentin replies before sending a message to Del after the confused look.

"Well, I think having the children possibly in the way of those who are in charge of keeping you safe, a very bad idea."  Raven says with a nod to the children, though her lips curl up in a slight smile at their antics.  "They'll probably tire themselves out sooner or later though, then take a nap, so that should allow you some peace and quiet, eventually." 

Elwin glowered at the prince at the suggestion that Quentin was "in command," but held his tongue. He listened to the prince's itinerary, then to the others' responses.

He cleared his throat. "I agree that the children should be kept inside the cart. Yes, normally this is a peaceful country, but you should understand that your very presence has increased the level of danger." He paused to let the words sink in to the prince--acting a bit like his patron, he realized.

"We should probably prioritize their safety. If need be," and Elwin gave a bit of a smirk at this point, almost a challenge, "one of us can travel in the carriage to help control the children. Again, if needed."

Answering the message

Let me take one of the kids Del says to the Prince We keep seeing them pulling one up onto Alcari They can go back inside after letting some energy out

To the kid We keep seeing you from a distance, on the road when we first arrived, getting arrested in Free City. I am Del Tosh, we are kind of heroes. What is your story young one?

Prince Lintelér hands up the small boy to Del, quite easily the most energetic and noisy of the two. "You make a good point, Mr. Cold," he admits. "But that is in fact the only reason that you are here with me. Hogthimble, here, is probably all the protection I really require, but a prince must not travel unguarded." The old halfling coach driver smiles broadly at the comment.

The prince returns to the carriage with the farm girl, and you can hear her starting to ask what sounds like the beginning of what is likely a long string of questions..if he has ever rescued a princess, if he has ever fought a dragon, if she can try on his crown....

The farm boy tells you his name is Toth Athelow, and his sister is Cara. You heard most of his story when you saw the cops take him in after curfew on the night you set a trap for the Candyman. Last winter, an owlbear broke into their stable and ate Old Biscuit, their plow horse. When the thaw started, he and his sister sneaked off into the wilderness every day to tap the birch trees and boil the sap into syrup. When the sap flow slowed down, they went off into the night to make their way to the Free City, hoping to sell the syrup for enough to surprise their parents with a new plow horse. Thanks to the sugar shortage, they made more than enough.

"We found a great one at the stables already, and Pogget promised us she'd save him for us," says Toth happily. "He's a great, big grey horse named Feather, and he looks like he could pull a giant's plow!"

“I can stay inside with the Prince. Wouldn’t want to subjugate anyone else to it and I do have the most experience dealing with courts and royalty and such. Any objections?” Quentin asks the group

MIndartis chuckles, "We know you don't want to ride your horse, it's kind of obvious."

"By all means," echoed Elwin, thankful for someone else to take on the task.

Quentin chuckles before saying, "He's just....a little too dirty for me, sorry. But I'll keep the Prince busy and try and get to know him a little more." Happy to ride in the Coach with the Prince. 

The prince nods in a polite but distracted way as you enter the carriage, as Cara chatters on about princes in stories she has heard and how so many of them ended up marrying beautiful peasant girls.

Smiling Quentin attempts to grab Cara's attention saying, "Hey, would you like to hear the battle of the Megamoles and about the Candyman?" Trying to get her to leave the Prince alone and hopefully gain some favor with him. 

You have captured her attention.

(Roll a performance check. XD )

Performance: 20

You fascinate her with your evocative storytelling, and she shuts her mouth and listens with shining eyes. Prince Lintelér, with some relief, busies himself with reading the census and migration reports and scribbling maps and charts.

The carriage rolls on through the forest and into the Free City. Although the citizens of the city have rejected rule by lords and nobles, they are still quite excited to see a royal carriage roll through the city, and stand by the road gawking and cheering.  (Not that they have any idea who is inside: the prince draws the window curtains and goes on working.) Nobody blocks or threatens you, though.

The coach stops at the stable, and the children run to look for Pggget. Soon there is an addition to the band of travelers: a huge, dapple-grey plow horse that dwarfs the rest of the beasts.

((The Prince's horse and Quentin's horse are already tethered to the back of the carriage: someone will have to lead Feather on a rope.))

From there, you roll on to the Thamasaille. As you approach the administrative building, you become aware of a crowd. The faculty is gathered on the roadside, dressed in their finest robes. A large sign hangs over the road, proclaiming "Welcome Prince Lintelér." The kingdom's flags fly everywhere. The Bardic students have formed a band and are playing. And mobs of students crowd the roads.

"Oh, bother," says the prince to Quentin. "I had hoped to slip in and out discreetly."

Del returns Toth to the carriage once Q has an attraction going, and will lead Feather since Q's got his normal child care gig covered

((funny how he thinks riding in a carriage with 2 kids is cleaner than riding a horse))

He'll suggest to the prince Might as well make a show of it, Highness. Horseback, acknowledging their cheers, might be less mysterious, paradoxically more discrete, than a closed carriage

"Was sort of hoping not to come anywhere near his area for a while..." Raven tells Del as they get close to the academy and the tavern, where they had such a time of it before.  "Guess we'll see how much that sugar bought us, if anything at all..."

I don't know, when we were here things were easier. We got a good agreement, defeated the moles, broke up the moonshiners. Ah, 5 days ago, simpler times, then.

Quentin smiles at him before asking, "Prince. If you don't mind me asking, why do you not study a the Academy. You seem like you'd be quite naturally talented with magic." 

"I don't personally think that things were easier 5 days ago than they are now," Mindartis says.