[@VitaVitaAR][@HereComesTheSnow]

[color=lightblue]"I'll not go roving alone without good cause. Slow going, but safety in numbers and all that."[/color] Rolan did not waste his energy with gestures, eyes already scanning their surroundings as they breached Brennan Forest properly. Dame Yael's suspected opinion of both Ser Gerard and himself was not lost on the hedge knight, though he was not exactly concerned with it even if it had been. The Captain insisted on a giant of a man in frankly overly gleaming armor that bordered on distracting, while lacking any ornate design beyond that. One almost wondered how long the man spent polishing the armor to get it to such a gleaming degree even in woods like these. Dame Yael, meanwhile, preferred a more practical armor that concealed much of who she was while remaining far more practical. Still far too much noise and metal for his tastes, but most knights did not need to worry about concealment and noise. 

Once the search began in earnest, Rolan slowed his breathing and began focusing not on just what he could see, but what his other senses could tell him. Ser Gerard was sharp eyed enough alone that he felt confident in focusing on his other senses, not to disregard the additional two knights with them. He kept an eye out, but his intent was on the surrounding sounds, the noise of the wood, the feel in the air. Long years hunting had taught him that, if something strange was afoot, one of the first things to vanish was the sounds of wildlife. They would go to ground and hide first, robbing the wood of part of his natural sound, while the potential of the Fae meant that he had to take every sense into account rather than just what he could see. Cover enough of their possible signs of Fae and one was bound to slip through to their attention. Still, it was slow going, as a group tracking anything would go while maintaining a proper formation.

Of course, all the focus on listening and the like meant the sharp, abrupt scream for help was almost painfully clear. Rolan instinctively pulled his cloak around his left side, obscuring both knife, blade, and satchel packed full of his alchemical supplies. By design, he had ensured that his off hand could access any of them while obscured, to keep any observers guessing. His stance shifted, subtly, to one he could ready his crossbow off his shoulder at a moment's notice. No armor that he needed to worry about donning, so he could instead focus on Ser Gerard's instructions, naturally falling in line at the rear of their diamond formation. He turned his back on his fellow knights, turning to watch their flanks and rear instead. The three in front could keep a close eye on the one calling for help, but sparing one of them to watch their vulnerable flanks and rear while otherwise distracted would be wise.

[color=lightblue]"Following your lead Ser Gerard, keeping eyes and ears on our surroundings."[/color] Rolan spoke low and fast, barely loud enough for the others to hear him, ready to react to danger at a moment's notice. He did not spare thought or time to prayer, wasn't ever quite his style beyond showing due respect in a chapel on the odd times he passed through one. Rather he was considering the route back to safety, how to get there in a timely manner, various contingencies should this prove to not be what it appeared to be. The shouting could just be a distraction as well, little more than a ploy to get all eyes in the same direction so it would be easier to slip behind them, or in the midst of them even if all focus was elsewhere. Better at least one of them see the trouble coming before they get ambushed rather than the first warning of trouble was blades at their collective throats.