Those that stand in your way on this side of the triangular gate of the Triptych are hasty to get out of your way, likely for fear of being trampled by three swift steeds. All the same, the rest of you hold back at Arimart's say so, the Flamite knight leading the charge on getting you through your first gate quickly and quietly. The rank and file slowly turn to face the mounted figure, but it is clear that the armored half-elf is a person of some import. Therefore, a commanding officer from the Thrane Zone is sent for, and she appears before a minute has passed.

"Hail, radiant Knight Kaessel," the gate sergeant replies when hearkened, a tanned dwarf with broad shoulders only widened by emblazoned pauldrons, and a prominent holy symbol of her own that is a near match for Arimart's. "You aren't the first to pass through this threshold with similar reason, today. Flame forgive me, but we've had all sorts of ragged pretenders since the event. We'll need to check your documentation, sir." As one of her subordinates begins to examine both name and purpose put to pen, she looks behind the paladin, hesitation straying across her face. She is clearly on the cusp of making a decision, but then something in Arimart's gaze has her abandon the next words to come out of her mouth.

"The Voice of the Silver Flame never lies, and so I will extend my trust to you and your companions. My men will make sure you have room to head straight through. As for information: beware the fish who tries to swim upriver." With another wave, the dwarf has her soldiers clear the way into the western passage. On the other side lies daylight and the promise of another press of bodies. The guards with the teal and silver tabards stand aside as all three of your horses canter through the stark tower of the Triptych, emerging on the other side in a city that is at once the same and entirely different.

Unlike the East Market, the West Market of the Thrane Zone is a veritable hubbub of movement. Unfortunately for you, it does not seem to be the kind of movement that favors your endeavor. Where the Port District's commercial area seemed fairly unaffected by the recent calamity, save for perhaps the relative scarcity of shoppers for this time of day, here you immediately grasp that this is not the case. What might have once been an orderly line of civilians preparing to cross the zone border has collapsed entirely into anarchy. The boundaries of the open-air stalls here on this section of Barteros Street are overrun with panicked city-dwellers, tourists looking to escape Throneport, or perhaps just opportunists looking to slip away undetected amidst the chaos. A cordon of steel and pennants holds back the press of panicked flesh from both gateways - allowing only a few past at a time after a cursory inspection - and it is into this semi-circle into which your mounts careen and nearly crash.

Looking out over a sea of screams, a direct path ahead seems impossible to forge. Charging your mounts right into the fray would result in more than a few trampled, and your own creatures brought down with you atop them. It is truly a mob to make you wonder at your earlier use of the word. There has to be a way around or through, a shortcut to get past the crowd... but where, and how to spot it?

Spoiler: OOC
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A 24 on the Persuasion from Arimart handily beats the DC for this one - that's 3 successes, and not a single failure! It's smooth sailing so far. You know, I think that you will make it through this whole thing without even botching one roll, you'll see. In fact, I am so confident in your progress that I physically dare the forum dice gods to prove me wrong.

Anyhow, this next obstacle is a follow up from the first: you're stuck in the crowd! Being on super horses is nice and all, but at the moment you can barely move your mounts without trampling people and eventually ending up on the ground. How will you get out of this one?