Caladrius nods to Pygrado. I know where you are talking about, We could go to set the blasting powder while the others travel to the Goblins. We should go quickly though, since time is of course of the essence gentlemen. He looks somewhat guiltily at Eleri ...and madam.
As if on an afterthought he turns to Gareth. Where you thinking of something like this? He asks before facing the length of the room away from everyone at the table and opening his mouth to allow a bolt of lightning to issue forth. He looks only slightly sorry that the lightning leaves a scorch mark on the opposite wall.
Gareth grins at Caladrius, "Not bad, Caladrius. But you're gonna be setting the charges, so we won't have you around. Eleri, I'm really gonna need to know what you can cast. Maybe you can create some lightning like Caladrius just did?
I think at this point we're just going to need to buy a whole load of blasting powder. And it probably wouldn't hurt to get some rations and two hourglasses.
I agree with Pygrado's idea. We should split ourselves up into two groups. I'll lead one group and we'll deal with the goblins in some manner. Martin, why don't you come with me in case we want to enact our riding plan? And Eleri, if you can help me out in any way, you might be useful too. Anyone else who thinks they can be useful with dealing with the goblins is welcome, but keep in mind that if any plan we do backfires, we're gonna be riding out of here pretty damn fast.
Caladrius, you should lead the other group to the gorge and work on setting up the charges in the gorge. Both groups should synchronize hourglasses and set a point where we can meet up again near the gorge. I'm really not familiar with the area, so Martin, maybe you should pick our rendezvous location and help lead us back to it in case we get lost? Or we could try to meet at... what was it Pygrado... "Harold's Veesta"?
Anyways, everyone should say which group they would like to come with. We've thrown out a lot of ideas at this point, but we gotta start executing them at some point."
Eleri plants her hands on the table and stands, looking up at the men who had been engaged in the brainstorming session. She takes a notebook, ink and an inkpen out of her pack and begins sketching out a rough map of the areas of interest (Knowledge Geography, d20 + 8 = ), including the gorge, the vista, the goblin caves, the woods and the distances in between.
"It seems that your ideas have been developed to a reasonable extent, so now would be the time to make a few points. First, about the explosives. I cannot begin to tell you how many marching armies have fallen to a disaster because they didn't send their outriders to thoroughly scout ahead when planning to through terrain like a ravine that lends itself to easy ambushes. Because of this, we may be able to expect a considerable amount of the enemy cavalry force to scout the gorge and surrounding area ahead of the rest of the army. The obvious choice to attack is the overhanging rock of Harrod's Vista. Assuming we can choose when to detonate, it may be possible to cut the scout cavalry off from the rest of the army by dropping the rock into the gorge. This could help to leave the siege engines vulnerable. The problem is keeping this all hidden from the scouts, and the fact that we cannot be sure how much of the cavalry we can neutralize. Thus, this plan is probably not sufficient on its own."
As she speaks, Eleri modifies the map to show a rough representation of the enemy army (represented by a bunch of triangles, squares and x-shapes, which are noted as being cavalry, infantry and artillery, respectively) moving through the gorge, with the triangles in front getting cut off at Harrod's Vista. However, some triangles remain on the flanks of the army.
"So we need the goblins. Jamros' point stands; even if we provoke the goblins into chasing us, we cannot be sure that we can reliably lead them into the enemy army at the right time. I think it would be better to convince the goblin leaders to attack the Goldcrest army when the explosives go off at Harrod's Vista. Unfortunately, other than appealing to the goblin hatred of horses and dogs, I cannot think of how this can be done. If we can get our hands on some Goldcrest uniforms, it might be beneficial to try and rally the Goldcrest cavalry to rally against the goblins, but again I do not know if this can be reliably done."
Again, Eleri modifies the map, showing goblin forces from the cave moving to attack Goldcrest's flanks, then Silverkeep cavalry attacking the siege weapons from the other flank. Once done, she puts down the pen and spreads her hands.
"This is our best bet, as far as I can see. It's more complicated than martial plans like to be, with a lot of risks and maybes. As for group assignments, I believe I would be best placed in the gorge, with the explosives."
Excellent point about the difficulty timing the attacks; we do need the cooperation of the goblins for an effective ambush. Perhaps rather than rousing their anger or tricking their religiosity, we might simply be able to bribe them. A thousand pieces can buy an awful lot of trinkets over in the market, or requisition a cartful of salted meat from the quartermaster.
Here is a map of Pendrian's Gorge. The distance marker is a little fuzzy, but it reads 20 miles.
It's also worth noting that Harrod's Vista is a large stone overhang above a narrow bend in the gorge, as the scale of the map prevents the display of fine details like that.
The structure of Harrod's Vista would look a lot like this. It stands about 150 feet above the floor of the gorge, which is about 20 feet wide throughout that stretch.
Excellent. I think 4 or 5 charges will do the trick. Also, a large amount of oil would help too.
Gareth wrestles for the map. "Here, let me take a look."
He examines the piece of paper for a few seconds and then says, "It looks to me that the goblin camp is some 20 miles away from Harrod's Vista. I think, therefore, that rules out us provoking the goblins at their camp. I don't think we're gonna piss them off enough that they'll send a full force of riders 30 miles to chase us.
You might be onto something there, Pygrado, with the bribing, but who's to say that they'll accept our bribe of 1000 gold pieces? I'd prefer to not have to pay out of my pocket to appease the greedy little s*~!s. I also think that straight up negotiation will be difficult to pull off. I still believe that our best bet is to trick the goblins in some form. And I know you all have your reservations about imitating a deity or pretending to act as a messenger for a deity, but we're going to have to trick them somehow.
I'm telling you guys, these goblins are incredibly superstitious! I've heard many stories in the tavern about them thinking that any magic or recent technology that they don't understand is the work of the gods. I'm talking about any magic, any technology - hell, if we can start casting spells or even throwing g@@$~+n thundersticks and alchemist's fire they'll believe that the apocalypse is coming if we tell them that!"
Gareth sighs, exasperated.
"You know what we need? We all need some g%%$+@n imagination here! Some creativity! Otherwise these goblins are going to either ignore us in straight negotiations or pinch us for all of the salaries for this job and backstab us in the end."
You think Gareth is embellishing this superstition point a little bit for effect. While he is not directly lying, you think he knows it won't be as easy as he is saying it will be.
Bluff:
While what Gareth is saying isn't technically a lie, he is embellishing it quite a bit for effect to the others.
Gareth wrestles for the map. "Here, let me take a look."
He examines the piece of paper for a few seconds and then says, "It looks to me that the goblin camp is some 30 miles away from Harrod's Vista. I think, therefore, that rules out us provoking the goblins at their camp. I don't think we're gonna piss them off enough that they'll send a full force of riders 30 miles to chase us.
You might be onto something there, Pygrado, with the bribing, but who's to say that they'll accept our bribe of 1000 gold pieces? I'd prefer to not have to pay out of my pocket to appease the greedy little s~$&s. I also think that straight up negotiation will be difficult to pull off. I still believe that our best bet is to trick the goblins in some form. And I know you all have your reservations about imitating a deity or pretending to act as a messenger for a deity, but we're going to have to trick them somehow.
I'm telling you guys, these goblins are incredibly superstitious! I've heard many stories in the tavern about them thinking that any magic or recent technology that they don't understand is the work of the gods. I'm talking about any magic, any technology - hell, if we can start casting spells or even throwing g&*%#@n thundersticks and alchemist's fire they'll believe that the apocalypse is coming if we tell them that!"
Gareth sighs, exasperated.
"You know what we need? We all need some g$&$!&n imagination here! Some creativity! Otherwise these goblins are going to either ignore us in straight negotiations or pinch us for all of the salaries for this job and backstab us in the end."
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **...
Sense Motive on Gareth:
Martin, grinning at Eleri says, "Not interested in traveling with the pair of us to the Goblin camp eh? Well, that's fine, we'll see if you don't warm up to us later."
Martin, walking over to Garth peers over his shoulder at the map.
"Well your right, it is an awful long way between the vista and the Goblin camp, which means we might have to talk to the fine Goblin folk. I don't know to much about communicating with the local tribes, but maybe there's a magically way to do it. In either case we have to get moving, so I say we put it to one final vote. Each person should put in their final two copper, and the we should act. We're burning daylight."
Martin pauses for a moment, looking downward. He opens his mouth for a moment before starting again and then says,
"Also, I know I shouldnt be the one saying it, but we do have another option besides goblins or explosives... We could start a forest fire while the army is traveling through the gorge... I.. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Well your right, it is an awful long way between the vista and the Goblin camp, which means we might have to talk to the fine Goblin folk. I don't know to much about communicating with the local tribes, but maybe there's a magically way to do it. In either case we have to get moving, so I say we put it to one final vote. Each person should put in their final two copper, and the we should act. We're burning daylight."Martin pauses for a moment, looking downward. He opens his mouth for a moment before starting again and then says,
"Also, I know I shouldnt be the one saying it, but we do have another option besides goblins or explosives... We could start a forest fire while the army is traveling through the gorge... I.. I shouldn't have said anything."
Does the forest even go into the gorge? At any rate, I vote we try to get the goblins to cooperate with us by the grease of a palm or talk of war dogs and extermination or both. If they don't help, then maybe we can destroy some of the siege equipment ourselves by attacking from above. How difficult is it to get up the sides of the gorge? What kind of forces do you think we can expect to encounter above the gorge? I'm surprised that Stronginthearm has trapped himself in such a vulnerable position at all.
According to Eleri's map, the forest does not extend into the gorge, whose walls are marked as mildly steep in that area (you couldn't charge up or down them, but climbing would not be terribly difficult).
"You all know what my vote is at this point. Our best bet with these creatures is to use deception and I think their superstition is a weak point that we can strike at."
"Hmm.. I've never been comfortable with the idea of having someone, even a fool of a goblin, work for you under some false premise. The last thing we need is for the one insightful goblin in the tribe to see through the bluff and turn them all against us. I expect the goblins will be willing to attack the enemy horses; the only trick is to keep them away from our own cavalry. I'll put my support behind the diplomatic option."
Indeed. When I was training as an assassin, I was taught that the less significant your disguise, the less people notice you. No one notices an urchin, but everyone notices a nobleman. Likewise, they won't be nearly as suspicious of a man as of a god.
My vote is to give them a some small tokens, and promise more if they'll come with us to kill some horses and dogs in the gorge. We might even pay up.
Indeed. When I was training as an assassin, I was taught that the less significant your disguise, the less people notice you. No one notices an urchin, but everyone notices a nobleman. Likewise, they won't be nearly as suspicious of a man as of a god.
My vote is to give them a some small tokens, and promise more if they'll come with us to kill some horses and dogs in the gorge. We might even pay up.
Gareth shakes his head at Pygrado, laughs increduously and starts to raise his voice, "Is that so Pygrado? Are you really one to talk about not looking suspicious and avoiding detection? I watched you advertise your trade as an assassin to over 20 people before the speech today. You're a god-d**ned fool, and if you think those goblins aren't going to turn on us then you're out of your mind. They worship a deity that wants to enslave all other races and last time I checked, we're not goblin, so you do the math."
Gareth pauses, catching his breath.
"Eleri, you seem like a very... just and nice woman, and I respect your ideology of not wanting to trick people. And, look, generally I wouldn't want to either. But, honey, when you're dealing with a bloodthirsty, greedy type such as these goblins, you can't afford to be honorable. You gotta be one step ahead.
Come on. Martin? You wanna back me up on this one? Caladrius?"
"Hmf! This has nothing whatsoever to do with ideology or honor. Maybe we could exploit their superstitious nature to get them to agree to work for us, but the thirty miles between their caves and Harrod's Vista is not a trivial distance. Are any of you such skilled liars that you could continue to deceive them throughout the entire march? There's no faster way to incite hostilities than to lie to someone and have them figure it out." Eleri shakes her head and whispers something to herself again.
"I could tell you that much from experience."
"No, what we should do is tell them that a force of cavalry and dogs are marching through Pendrian's Gorge at the head of an army. Once we drop Harrod's Vista into the gorge, the cavalry will be cut off from their reinforcements and the goblins will be free to attack the horses as one of their gods would want them to do. There's no need to risk deceiving them; they already have motivation to do what we want."
The only problem is talkin' to 'em. Can anyone speak Goblin?
I agree with Gareth about treating with the goblins. However I would also like to point out Pygrado's point about not necessarily having to pay up, if the goblins were caught along with the enemy army in our trap in the gorge for instance.
Perception @ Eleri:
"I'm sorry Gareth, but I think Eleri sums it up well. 30 miles is a long way. So what do we need to get this plan moving? It sounds like we want to keep dynamite on the menu, so we need, what 5 sticks? After that we should take the remainder as gold to pay the Goblin tribes. Anything else?"
Perception:
"Well, Eleri, how should I put this. Let's just say that I've gotten myself out of a heap of trouble in my lifetime by... bending the truth in my favor." He winks. "Usually for a good reason though of course.
But very well. We seem to have made up our mind as a group. I still think we're making a mistake, but I have given more than my 2 copper pieces and some way or another we're gonna have to protect Silverkeep. As for provisions, we might as well buy some rations, and it might be useful to have two hourglasses so the two groups can coordinate the timing of our assault. Otherwise, I have no need for any particular provisions."
Oh, I don't think as gold. Trinkets or foodstuffs might be a more effective.
And Gareth, how do you propose to keep hourglasses synchronized on a bumpy horse-ride. They work well on a table but unless we can find some made by a mage I'm not sure they'd be any good overland. No, I think we need to work out some other means of communication, or rely on gut reckoning.
Oh, I don't think as gold. Trinkets or foodstuffs might be a more effective.
And Gareth, how do you propose to keep hourglasses synchronized on a bumpy horse-ride. They work well on a table but unless we can find some made by a mage I'm not sure they'd be any good overland. No, I think we need to work out some other means of communication, or rely on gut reckoning.
Let's meet up at the vista as soon as possible. If it is impossible or stupid to lead the goblins to the vista, one person heads to the vista as a "scout", coordinates with the others, and comes back and reports to the goblins.
Sergeant Burris looks at you carefully before saying, "So I daresay we all have work to do, and you're wasting daylight. Look, just tell me what you want to requisition, and we'll have your gear and mounts waiting for you at the main gates. Just, uh, hurry up. The Goldcrest army is on its way here, after all.
Caladrius looks at everyone in the room and and after a beat begins listing various equipment.
We are going to need three charges of blasting powder and one of those magical gems which lets you understand a language. In this case goblin. Also an hourglass which is enchanted to keep time in a bumpy cart.
Then give me personally two more charges of blasting powder. I will drop by the quartermaster and pay on my way out He flashes Burris a broad and somewhat impish smile. And looks back to the rest of the group. Can someone pay for the second hourglass, I honestly don't know what they were thinking only advancing us 1000 gold, clearly not enough to get the job done properly.
Burris writes a few notes on a sheet of paper before turning back to you all. "All right, I've allotted your mission funding to cover the price of three charges of blasting powder, a Pearl of Tongues - Goblin, and one traveler's hourglass, with no remaining funds. You, sir," he says to Caladrius, "have also ordered two additional charges of blasting powder. Both the gear from official funding and your personal orders can be picked up at the guardhouse when you leave the keep - pay the clerks there." Burris turns to one of the remaining guards and orders him to take the sheet to the guardhouse store clerk, and that this is a top-priority requisition.
"Now," he says, looking around, "does anyone else want to order gear? You can order another hourglass if you like, but one of you will have to foot the bill for it. Your mounts can be picked up at the stables there as well."
Gareth hesitates, then raises his hand.
"Eh, why not? Put me down for the other hourglass, Burris. I'm sure it will be useful to have around - it's easy to lose track of time.
The one thing I'm curious about is what we're gonna bribe the goblins with if we have no leftover money... Unless we're not gonna pay them at all, which is fine with me. But in that case this dynamite plan better work."
He looks at everyone else. "Well? Are we ready? We're just wasting time at this point sitting around. Everyone who's coming in my group, I'll pick up the pearl and the hourglass. The rest of you wait for me in the stables.
Oh, and Caladrius, before we head out, let's make sure we have a chat about synchronizing these hourglasses."
He pats Caladrius on the shoulder on his way out the door, acting under the assumption that this discussion is complete.
Jamros hops down off his chair and heads for the door.
Seems we've got lots of help with the explosives. Gareth and Martin, I'll head with you for the goblins. I think we might be able to use your help Pygrado (can I call you Pyg?), just in case we run into trouble with the goblins.Jamros heads for the stable and, assuming nothing of import happens to him on his way there, chats pleasantly with whoever happens to be around about the weather. Once he gets to the stables, he picks out a tan pony and gets help saddling up and getting ready to ride from one of the Eddy, one of the stable boys. Jamros manages to chat cheerfully about the most recent/upcoming sporting event in Silverkeep. It appears that the upcoming battle is in the forefront of everyone's mind except Jamros'.
"Well, I'm with you Gareth"
Martin follows Jamros through the stable, keeping his opinion about Jamros' interests in sports to himself. Upon getting there he looks over the horses and tries to pick the most able looking of the bunch.
Whichever is most appropriate for examining the horse:
Heal:
Handel Animal:
Picking his horse, Martin begins to saddle up, mentally checking off his equipment to make sure he has everything.
"Well, I'm with you Gareth"
Martin follows Jamros through the stable, keeping his opinion about Jamros' interests in sports to himself. Upon getting there he looks over the horses and tries to pick the most able looking of the bunch.
Whichever is most appropriate for examining the horse:
Heal: 1d20+6
Handel Animal: 1d20+6Picking his horse, Martin begins to saddle up, mentally checking off his equipment to make sure he has everything.
As Martin picks out a very average-looking horse, a guard arrives with your supplies. He has three packages of blasting powder, a traveler's hourglass, and a small package labeled "Language: Goblin," as well as a pair of larger packages marked "Caladrius" and "G.Aldridge." He distributes them according to your direction.
Caladrius retrieves his daggers from the guard and as he walks to the stables he is occupied by placing them back into their mechanical wrist sheathes, one for each dagger.
At the stable he pickes out the sleekest looking horse available and then sits astride it waiting for the supplies to arrive. When they do he gesures to the guard.
The one marked Caladrius is mine. Could you be helpful and put it on the back of my horse for me. Thank you. He says cheerfully. When the guard has done so, Caladrius hands him a purse of coins which no doubt has been precisely counted and recounted on the way over.
Pygrado, Eleri, lets go leave our mark on the map. With a laugh he gets ready to lead the explosives group out of the city.
Caladrius retrieves his daggers from the guard and as he walks to the stables he is occupied by placing them back into their mechanical wrist sheathes, one for each dagger.
At the stable he pickes out the sleekest looking horse available and then sits astride it waiting for the supplies to arrive. When they do he gesures to the guard.
The one marked Caladrius is mine. Could you be helpful and put it on the back of my horse for me. Thank you. He says cheerfully. When the guard has done so, Caladrius hands him a purse of coins which no doubt has been precisely counted and recounted on the way over.
Pygrado, Eleri, lets go leave our mark on the map. With a laugh he gets ready to lead the explosives group out of the city.
Okay, you're down to 520 gold.
Gareth enters the stables, almost looking like an entirely different person. He is no longer wearing the ostentatious gem embroidered noble outfit but wears a breastplate, carries a quiver on his back and has a greatsword at his side. He scans the room, eyeing the others and the packages.
"As you were, kiddies.", he scoffs at the others as he reaches for the G. Aldridge package.
"I wonder what this could be.", he says as he opens the package.
Gareth examines the traveler's hourglass with sort of a giddy, childish facial expression, one that none of you have seen before on Gareth. Almost in a trance-like state he says enthusiastically, "This thing is SO COOL!"
1) If the package was supposed to have my armor/weapons, then disregard some of the flavor earlier in the post
2) Can I assume that I am somewhat familiar with one of these horses, presumably one that I have borrowed and rode before, or am I just getting a random one?
Gareth enters the stables, almost looking like an entirely different person. He is no longer wearing the ostentatious gem embroidered noble outfit but wears a breastplate, carries a quiver on his back and has a greatsword at his side. He scans the room, eyeing the others and the packages.
"As you were, kiddies.", he scoffs at the others as he reaches for the G. Aldridge package.
"I wonder what this could be.", he says as he opens the package.
Gareth examines the traveler's hourglass with sort of a giddy, childish facial expression, one that none of you have seen before on Gareth. Almost in a trance-like state he says enthusiastically, "This thing is SO COOL!"
** spoiler omitted **
2) Sure, have a +2 circumstance bonus on any ride checks you make due to your familiarity with your horse - also, think of a name for it.
3) Don't you also have a bow?
I'll need to collect my things from the inn and I imagine the rest of you have things to pick up or purchase; shall we meet at the stables, say, at the next tolling of the bells?
Eventually Gareth breaks free from being mesmerized with his latest magical acquisition. He looks up, puts the hourglass in his pack, and makes eye contact with a slightly below average sized horse.
Gareth smiles and briskly walks towards the horse. "Petey! Long time no see, buddy. Looks like they've been taking good care of you over here." He tenderly runs his hands through Petey's silver mane while reacquainting himself with a horse that he has clearly ridden before a couple of times.
"We've got something fun planned, Petes. And if we're lucky (and skilled as always), we're about to be a whole lot richer too! I just gotta have ya keep on riding fast for me, will ya bud?"
Gareth leads Petey over to the rest of the group and then addresses Caladrius, hourglass in hand,
[b]"So, Caladrius, it looks like these bad boys run for 24 hours. How much time are you guys going to need to set up the charges and what kind of timeframe do we wanna deal with for meeting back up at the rendezvous point?"
Sounds good. I've named my horse Petey, short for Peter of course. While Gareth doesn't own Petey, he has ridden him a number of times, including his riding training for the Silver Guard. He has also taken him on a couple of missions. Petey is a dapple gray horse, is a little undersized, and has a bit of a wild streak to him, but is reliable with Gareth and is pretty quick on its feet.
Gareth named Petey after his father Peter Aldridge. Gareth figured that he might as well have one Pete in his life.
Eventually Gareth breaks free from being mesmerized with his latest magical acquisition. He looks up, puts the hourglass in his pack, and makes eye contact with a slightly below average sized horse.
Gareth smiles and briskly walks towards the horse. "Petey! Long time no see, buddy. Looks like they've been taking good care of you over here." He tenderly runs his hands through Petey's silver mane while reacquainting himself with a horse that he has clearly ridden before a couple of times.
"We've got something fun planned, Petes. And if we're lucky (and skilled as always), we're about to be a whole lot richer too! I just gotta have ya keep on riding fast for me, will ya bud?"
Gareth leads Petey over to the rest of the group and then addresses Caladrius, hourglass in hand,
[b]"So, Caladrius, it looks like these bad boys run for 24 hours. How much time are you guys going to need to set up the charges and what kind of timeframe do we wanna deal with for meeting back up at the rendezvous point?"
** spoiler omitted **
As the three ride on towards the goblin camp, Gareth, who is clearly curious about Jamros, decides to take the opportunity to learn more about him.
He inquires in an amused tone, "So Jamros, we've got a long ways to ride. You wanna tell me about what you did to piss off the princess? Old Vince back there didn't seem very pleased about your "past behavior" so I'm sure it must've been something good."
As the three ride on towards the goblin camp, Gareth, who is clearly curious about Jamros, decides to take the opportunity to learn more about him.
He inquires in an amused tone, "So Jamros, we've got a long ways to ride. You wanna tell me about what you did to piss off the princess? Old Vince back there didn't seem very pleased about your "past behavior" so I'm sure it must've been something good."
"I too was wondering. They didn't seem at all pleased with you back there. Also gareth, you seem a little relaxed for one of Silverkeep's finest. Don't the other guards give you a hard time?"
You seem to remember that Gareth received some kind of honors from Lord Hekkard for heroism.
You remember the general story about Gareth's heroism.
Gareth was assigned as one of two guards to escort a nobleman (Aloysius P. Korg) who was on his way to meet with his business partner on his journey down the Merin'he River. During this journey a throng of bandits swarmed the party, and Gareth was able to fend off the many attackers with only minimal injury to the party. Upon his return to Silverkeep, Aloysius was very thankful and recommended Gareth for commendation. Gareth was officially honored by Lord Hekkard for his part in the incident.
Gareth smiles. "Who doesn't give each other a hard time in this world? Me, I try to let my actions speak for my worth. And yeah, I know that I see the world... differently than most of the other guards. But people shut up about the occasional infraction when you accomplish more good than they have on duty.
That, and it's hard to hate someone when they're the one buying you rounds at the tavern. Which I'll be doing, hopefully, for you guys, when Silverkeep is safe and sound."
As the group heading to the Goblin camp rides off, Caladrius begins distributing the 5 bags of blasting powder on the horses. Then he loos at the hourglass and thinks for a moment. We will need to ride hard, but we can reach Harrod's Vista tonight and set the charges so that we are ready for the excitement tomorrow. He then mounts his own horse and takes off at a gallop through the gates, only stopping to see if the rest of the group is following him after he has satisfied his sense of the dramatic.