Before those six hours.

"I'll be fine. Lets just get a move on. The faster we can get this done the better."

Leon felt drowsy, but was able to lift himself up and make for the trail like the others.

The Six Hours Later

As they came upon the cave, the six horses didn't surprise him.

"Well, looks like we found where they're hiding out. Maybe we'll find the towns missing supplies here. We better take out whoeveris guarding it then."

Leon let out a mighty yawn before heading towards the cave opening.

[Even in his current condition, he is going to investigate the cave.]

As they were approaching the cave, Jasper caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. "Hold on a second," he said as he reigned his horse in that direction.

Climbing down from his saddle, Jasper crouched in the gritty soil and examined some markings, squinting against the sunrise. "These tracks are fresh," he said quietly. "I'd say that the hobs sent another group to check up on the first one." He stood, dusting off his hands. "I think our best bet is to split up. One pair rides hard for town and hopefully prevents the hobs from ransacking the place, the other pair heads for the cave and kills the remaining hobs there. Whoever finishes first rides back to help the others." Jasper swung back up onto his horse. "I'd prefer to take the cave, since I seem to have a problem chasing these li'l buggers down."

Pausing, he added, "Unless someone else has a better idea?"

Truce hadn't noticed the tracks himself, but when Jasper pointed them out he froze up, realizing immediately what it meant. "We should've expected this," he muttered to himself, half listening to the rest of what Jasper had to say.

After Jasper said his plan, he nodded. "I'll go wherever you think you need me to go," he said.

Rebecca hopped off her horse and pulled out her axe. "I'd rather go with you into the cave; there'll be more hobs to kill in there, I'm sure... but if you think otherwise, I won't bother objecting. Time is of the essence here - those villagers are in danger."

"I'm staying here. We've come too far and I'm not going back into that town without some of the towns supplies."

Leon shouted back at the others. He continued to make his way towards the cave hoping to take the hobs by surprise. "We should worry about the town later. Now we need to take care of the rest of those hobs."

Still saddled on his horse, Truce made his decision. "I'm going back to the town then," he said, turning his steed around. "I'll stand a better chance of catching them anyway, I suppose."

With that, he began to head back to town.

Jasper pulled out a gimel coin. "We'll flip for the cave," he said to Rebecca.

The spinning coin arched up through the air, the morning sun's rays winking off of it. At its apex, Jasper called out, "Heads!" The golden coin landed on the ground with a splash of dust, tails side up.

"Well, crap," Jasper muttered as he wheeled his horse around and heeled it into a gallop, following Truce back towards town. As he rode off, he yelled back to Rebecca, "I want my coin back when this is over!"

Picking the gimel coin out of the dust, Rebecca nodded at Jasper's retreating back. She took a deep breath and sighed, then hoisted her axe onto her shoulder. She turned to Leon. "Well, sleepyhead, looks like you and I are gonna go hob hunting. Ready to kick some ass? I know I am."

Truce slowed his steed's pace for a short while, allowing his partner to catch up. After a while, he struck up a conversation. "So, once we catch them, what should we do? I've been thinking...and the horses can't immediately run back, not after a full day of rushing around like we have.

"Maybe it's best we stay in the town once we reach it until someone comes. Either our friends will return, or the gobs will try to attack-but we should be there whatever the case may be, don't you think?"

"I think we should stick with the plan, and return to the cave once we've taken care of the hobs in town," Jasper yelled over the sound of the running horses. "It's possible we can switch mounts if we have to head back. Besides, I don't like changing things without Rebecca and Leon's knowledge."