When they get back to the dining room, Leosin tells them that he plans to leave in the morning, whether or not they are ready, and they can catch up. He doesn't want the cultists to get away, and he is afraid they will miss them if they delay too much longer in getting to Baldur's Gate.

The adventurers consider their options. They now have two different possibilities for guidance through the wilderness to the Coast Way north of Baldur's Gate - the sketchy smuggler Ashok Mob or the group of goblins - but they don't like either option.

Hooflepoof asks Ontharr if he can keep the wolves. He says he cannot; an inn in the city is no place for free animals, but he knows somebody who lives outside the city who has a large plot of land and often boards animals. She can take care of the wolves, though he says she won't chain them up or keep them caged. Wolves have intelligent minds of their own, and if they wish to leave, they should be allowed to do so. But she will feed and care for them at a very reasonable rate.

She can also take horses, and she has a nice pasture for them. In the case of horses, she asks for half of their stay paid up front, and she will keep them twice that long before considering them abandoned, and they agree to pay the rest on their return.

With these options, they decide to travel in the usual way, requiring no guide. Leosin is glad to hear it; he never supported all these complications for no good reason, and was especially suspicious of Ashok Mob. He also tells them that the fastest and easiest way to get there is actually by boat, on the Chionthar River, which passes right through both cities.

They also won't get far with this egg, but they decide to leave it in the care of Sister Garaele, who for some reason they believe will know what to do with it. So somebody will need to take it to her - and it should probably be several of them, in case of bandits or other needs for defense. They decide that Elfo, Nars, Elbolin, and Beans should go on that journey, along with the cart and their horses. That group leaves to pack up their things and prepare to leave in the morning.

Black Barry, Karat, and Bilbo make arrangements for boarding their horses and wolves, paying up front for one month (which will cover them for two months, but they'll owe the second month when they return). Black Barry volunteers to pay for all the boarding. Hooflepoof decides to keep his horse and sell it later.

Ontharr makes arrangements for them to take a boat downstream in the morning. They all get a good nights' rest, perhaps the last they will have for a while. In the morning Ontharr cooks them a delicious breakfast, and gives them each 50 GP for traveling expenses. Soon their boat is ready and they set off down the Chionthar river. Hooflepoof's horse doesn't particularly like being on the boat, but it doesn't make too much fuss. They choose to continue on through the nights instead of anchoring up for safety, reducing the trip from three days to two, with the side effect of increasing the risk of night piracy, but they make it to the harbor at Baldur's Gate without any trouble.

Hooflepoof still has to sell his horse before they can go into the steep city. Around the harbor a number of traders mill about, haggling over various goods. He sees a guy with a signboard reading "buy & sell horses", but the trader offers a very low starting price, and they can't agree on terms. Not too long later, he finds another horse trader, and this time makes a stronger pitch: "this horse is legendary, and massively moldy, and ridden in battle by the famous Hooflepoof!"

The trader plays along at being impressed, and they eventually settle on 57 GP for the horse. Afterward Leosin pulls Hooflepoof inside and says "Hey, I think we should keep a lower profile here, and not play up our legendary status or even our names. The dragon cult may be anywhere around. Who knows what they heard in Greenest or elsewhere, and it's best for them not to know we are tracking them."

Leosin leads the adventurers into Baldur's Gate and across the Lower City, past many shops and merchants, without drawing any attention or talking to anybody. By mid-day they are at the North Gate, where Leosin introduces them to a man named Ackyn Selebon, whom he met on his last trip here, and who barters goods and workers for the caravans. He arranges teams of guards on hire for the wagons. They ask him if he can get them all a job on one wagon. He says he's not sure, and goes off to talk to somebody. When he returns, he says they are in luck, there is a wagon just coming together that needs several guards, a sergeant to oversee those guards, and a bodyguard for the merchant. He introduces them to the merchant, a moon elf called Noohar Serelim. He looks them over, and chooses Hooflepoof for his bodyguard, Black Barry for sergeant, and Bilbo, Karat, and Leosin for guards. "My good gentlemen," he says, "I am so pleased to make your acquaintance. I hope that the journey on which we embark will be a pleasant and profitable one for all. The road is long, and full of turns both left and right, but our progress shall be steady and our destination ever closer. The wagon is already loaded. the beasts watered, and my brother is waiting; if you can be ready within the hour, we can be on our way."

After he points them to where his cart is located, and heads off in that direction, Leosin pulls the adventurers into a huddle. "We're in a caravan with quite a few carts, not sure how many, I think half a dozen or more. I don't know which carts are cultists - I'm not entirely sure any of them are, actually, but I suspect they are, because I think they are trying to blend in with the merchants. Let's just keep cool, do our jobs, observe whatever we can, and see if we can figure out who the cultists are."