Antares does not look entirely pleased - more worried than pleased, in truth - when opinions shift in favor of master Stonehand's presently preferred course. Body already pulled towards town by intention, at least, he fidgets for a heartbeat or three, then sighs.
"In truth you may be right, Beatrix, Stellan." Although he himself obviously has some trouble fully believing it just yet... Still,
"Let us then away with all due haste?"
For himself he looks down upon the pile of gear bought by Muzdin and Stellan - a pair of canvas tents on which torches, oil, ration packs, tent stakes and a rather considerable iron pot are firmly piled - and delays Stellan from starting to strap it up:
"I -ah- believe I may have just the incantation for this, if I may friend Stellan?"
The young mage pulls a rolled scroll from the case at his waist and, after breaking the seal and delicately clearing his throat, the cadencious words of Toster's
Ever Handy Suspension resonate across the dirt. With every syllable of the second stanza, a subtle glow slowly, jerkily manifests at the base of the pile, and the entire thing simultaneously rises by a finger-width or two, until it hovers in mid air two whole forearms above the ground!
"There! Now we may go," thinly smiles the mage, rather pleased with himself despite the current, oh-so-pressing circumstances.
The softly glowing pile follows him down the beaten earth path, gliding a short length behind him like some bobbing burden atop an invisible beast of burden. It's a wholly strange sight for those town citizens that decided to linger a while. An unexpected bonus.
OOC: The "spell" is just his way of carrying things in his backpack with his 'magical' strength. Is that acceptable, Gambler? Ignore that whole part if Muzdin, Stellan and/or Beatrix want to carry the gear instead.
The trip has taken about 30 minutes, with another 30 minutes or so predicted to move along the river towards Sal's hut.
"Quicker than I had believed possible," admits Antares, although his breathing is, in truth, somewhat heavier than usual: he had actually tried trotting for the first few hundred steps, but it had quickly taken its toll on a body unused to such sustained exertions. Wind of destiny or no, urgency or no, he had had to give that up in favor of quick walking (a rhythm that, to his sorrow, Stellan and Beatrix seem to consider quite easy to sustain).
A breath.
"Perhaps a full watch was too pessimistic and estimate after all?" If they can do the back and forth in but a third the time, well then...
"Is there a trail, do you see?"
Antares will follow Muzdin/Beatrix/Stellan in.
OOC:
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For a walking order I'm thinking something like:
Code:
Stellan, a bit ahead of them (but never so far that they can't see him)
Beatrix and goblin then leading the way
Squishy Antares hopefully safer in the middle
Muzdin closing the march?
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