Heh, I'm starting to like lord Athanar after finally being able to write him in his "comfort-zone"... I mean I had always figured him as not the man of words but the military commander in the field, the experienced tactician, the man who knows the perils and acts on them.
All these previous problems in the Mead Hall were just a pain to him as he is not the charming leader who talks nicely and makes friends easily with his subjects. But here he can now lead, and lead with his example.
What a great guy!
And just for the interest of the writers here (not probably knowledge your characters would have), there was this discussion between Leof and Hilderinc whether it would have been wiser to just make the men of Scarburg run for their horses...
Well, Athanar thinks differently.
Dealing with this kind of unpredictable hotheaded youngster one can never be too careful. If the men had made a run for their horses it could have ignited alarms in Faramund's mind and possibly led to hasty ideas about the Scarburgians getting ready to fight them immediately and thus could have worked as that fine final push for him to attack while the men of Scarburg were still on foot - and that would have been devastating.
There's no situation where a leader wishes his men to be caught unawares, running, and be assaulted by a cavalry... even if he could afterwards make a case he was attacked upon. A leader cares for his men and does everything to make the right decisions for their safety.
So it was a better idea to gather the men first and get the horses after it. The gathered force could take in a cavalry charge if organised, even if on foot. And if they just gathered together, Faramund would have little to defend his actions if he attacked. Also, had Faramund decided to attack the few men bringing the horses in... it would have made him the aggressor and basically reason enough to rip him from his title and to throw him into jail for a long time.
Okay, I'm going to be away for a few days but will be back on late Friday / Saturday. Keep the wheels moving...