Leosin also suggests that they take on fake names for the caravan, just in case any of the cultists learned their names back in Greenest. Leosin calls himself "Nisoel" (and soon everybody starts calling him "weasel"). Elfo takes the name "Cabrone", Nars goes by "Bungo", Bilbo adopts the pseudonym "Flubber" (sometimes with an umlaut over the 'u'), and Karat calls herself "Vistra". Black Barry calls himself "Bertain". Hooflepoof decides to go by "Salbon the Great, warrior, previous naval officer and personal bodyguard".

Having decided this, they walk across the square to where Noohar Serelim indicated his cart would be waiting. They find Noohar inspecting the load on his cart, adjusting and tightening the ropes, and another stranger checking the horses. Karat casts a Detect Magic spell and scans around, but the cart comes up clean. Noohar greets them and they all introduce themselves, and then indicates that the other stranger, who is now in the drivers' seat of the cart organizing the reins, is his brother Selvek. Selvek doesn't look up until Noohar goes over and tugs on his sleeve, at which point Selvek waves but doesn't speak. Noohar explains that he is mute, though he can hear just fine.

"Can he write?" asks Karat.

"For sure, he is a fact quite literate, a poet and writer of the highest caliber. Unfortunately, he was just born without a voice," answers Noohar.

"So what's this we are carrying?" asks Hooflepoof.

"We are laden with exquisite wooden carvings we purchased from the Elves of Cormyr. Have you ever seen them? It's almost magic what they can make from a simple chunk of wood. They will fetch a pretty good wage up north, I hope!"

"Can I see them?" asks Hooflepoof.

"Well, they're all packed up and tied down right now, and the caravan is about to get on the road. Perhaps sometime when we stop for a bit, I can show you."

Then he addresses the group. "Ok, Salbon - bodyguard - you're going to ride up with me and Selvek in the box seat. The rest of you, I'll expect to walk alongside the cart and just keep an eye out for any trouble. Spread yourselves out to keep a lookout in all directions. We'll be traveling in a large caravan of carts, so chances are we'll know about trouble before it arrives. Everybody ready?"

The adventurers murmur in assent, Noohar and Hooflepoof climb up with Selvek in the box seat, and the others spread out around the cart. They make their way up towards the road, where they join in the caravan of carts heading north. They trod along the rest of the day without incident. As night falls, they pull off to the side of the road and make camp for the night. The mood is quiet, as everybody is just getting used to the rhythm of the road, and the adventurers don't talk to anyone outside their group. They get to know Noohar a little better; he has apparently been gifted all of his brother's missing eloquence, and though he sometimes seems completely inattentive to whether anyone is actually listening, speech springs from him like music from the harp of Milil, and his weaving of words is always entertaining.

They get back on the road relatively early, making fairly slow but steady progress because of so many carts all traveling together, and then sometime near midday, the cart comes to a sudden halt. The cart just in front of them has stopped, because one of his horses has just sat down in the middle of the road. They had heard the driver of that cart cracking his whip and barking incessantly at his horse team, and apparently one of the beasts decided he had enough. The driver is now out on the road, continuing to berate and whip the horse mercilessly.

Hooflepoof gets down from the cart and approaches the man. "The Purple Duck doesn't care for your attitude," he says. The man pays no attention. Bilbo has now approached, and attempts to grab the whip away, but fails to get a grip on it. The man pushes him away and tries to continue to harass the horse, but Hooflepoof manages to steal the whip away from him.

"What's wrong with you?" asks the man. "This is my nag, and it's been stumbling along with his lackadaisical attitude this whole trip. I'm just trying to whip some sense into it!"

"See how it feels," says Hooflepoof, cracking the whip on the man, which grazes him, but he doesn't let up, so Hooflepoof whips him again, this time landing a stinging strike on his shoulder.

"Ow!" exclaims the man, stepping back from the horse. "All right, all right, what do you want?"