<div class="floatright">(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h289/masta_loki/Thomas__Dresden_Files_by_dauntingfire-1.jpg)</div>The ranger shifted lightly in his posture as Rose inquired to the bounty on the bandits' heads.  "Well... it isn't much I'm afraid, hence why it falls largely upon myself to resolve the issue.  Much of our village's funds were used to help upstart villages over the years until a majority of it was poured into getting Garados built.  Of course, you could always think of it as an opportunity to invest your time into promoting the expansion of your village that will likely pay off in the future...  As for General Talonius, he's buried in the family crypt located in the wilderness several miles outside of Garados.  But those are things my uncle is likely to discuss with you in more detail upon our arrival, so I'll leave it to him to do so."<br/><br/>Once again, he found himself somewhat disappointed in Naruni's behavior.  Though the feeling was short lived as he watched her summon a steed out of thin air, causing him to raise a brow with surprised interest.  He was relieved to see that the catgirl was more capable than one would guess at first glance; at the very least she was more intelligent than he had initially suspected.  Ehren didn't expect any of them to have their own mounts, so he found himself with an abundance of steeds compared to riders.  Even more so since there were three heirs who were late, perhaps they missed the first boat.  It would be another hour until the next was scheduled to arrive, so he deemed it best to move on without them in the event that they would not arrive at all.  Though he did make arrangements with the nearby stables to hold on to three of the horses for any person that would arrive wearing the Talonius signet ring.  Just to be safe, he also placed a gold coin in the palm of a town watchmen he recognized asking him to keep an eye out for the delayed heirs and inform them of the situation.<br/><br/>Still he had an abundance of horses and considered the intrusive bard for another moment.  Regardless of his impression of the man, it would do the village good to have some commerce and it would not be setting a good precedent turning away wandering business.  Since none of the woman seemed to have an issue with his presence, Ehren loaned one of the riderless horses to Tolbar if for no other reason than to keep him safe and prevent him from slowing down the rest of the group.  After all, if he was out to smear the House's name, it would do them no good to give him some factual ammunition to do so.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Feel free to mingle as the group travels along the roadway.  My next post will likely bring us to Garados, unless Ehren needs to answer questions or the late arrivals to the group show up.<br/><br/>1 hour, 2 hours, and 2.5 hours in:<br/>DC 15 Perception (x3) check to see the remains of raided wagon carts that were too small to bother clearing.<br/><br/>3 hours in:<br/>DC 25 Sense Motive check to get the impression that you are being watched for a moment, but cannot find the source.<br/><br/>DC 25 Perception check to see dried blood on the foliage near the pathway that was no more than a day or two old.<br/></div></div>