[Farael]

In spite of their need to make haste, the group had left their village only two hours before noon. It was not time for lunch yet, but Osmod had gotten himself ahead of the group to scout for possible places to stop. He was still close enough to hear Fionn say, "How much ground do you think we shall cover today?" Turning his horse around and riding towards the group he waved to his partners for a halt.

“Well friends ” he said, “It seems I took the lead, but I would not want to impose my will and judgement over yours. In a few hours we should stop and grab a bite, maybe let the horses rest as well. Our mission is indeed urgent but we need to spend our energy wisely, it will not do to push ourselves harder than what we can manage. I would suggest we keep a steady pace until mid-day, then take a break and ride again until sundown. We will need to set up a camp and then rest until the following morning. I would advise we get going at sunrise so that we get to the rafts and cross the river by noon to-morrow.”

Smiling and trying to look more confident than what he really felt, he looked at all of them, silently inquiring what they thought. He spent an extra second looking into Eostre's eyes, as something seemed to be bothering her. “I hope I am doing the right thing” he thought, with a sudden pang of fear. “I have never lead a group of people in situations such as this. What am I supposed to do if they outright scorn me?” He still looked relaxed, but his horse feeling his master’s distress shifted his weight slightly and bumped Meghan’s horse. With an embarrassed look Osmod mumbled an apology as he waited to hear what the other’s thought.