:Hmm. Harder with someone I’m not bonded to, I can try... He’s not that skilled with rapport either. I might be able to pass energy along to him if you tap a node while we’re in rapport:

"Okay, let's try that, see if it works." She reaches for the node, carefulcareful.

And Amshalan coaches the mage into the right kind of rapport, similar but not identical to what was needed for Sight-sharing.

“...Whew!” he says finally. “I’ve never felt this strong before! I think I can do it now - I’ll be too tired to Gate a second time but should have enough if we need barriers again. I’ll need you to get through fast so I don’t have to hold it long, though.”

"Amshalan's fast. I'll pack up travel food - Amshalan, how long are we going to be running -"

:Umm. It’s over two hundred miles, normally it’d be three or four days, but - if I really pull out all the stops and gallop the whole way, I think I can do it in a day. I’ll want a week of pampering afterward, Companions can push a lot harder than regular horses but we do pay for it later:

:Haven has recently been very on fire, I don't know how much there will be in the way of pampering facilities or even, like, grass. Split the difference, stop once at an inn somewhere and get there tomorrow evening?:

:All right: 

“I - guess I should stay here?” Dara says uncertainly. “It’ll be twice as hard for Amshalan if she has to carry me too.”

"Yeah," says Belrun, Fetching out and bagging various travel-compatible foods. "Plus you can keep an eye on whether there are gryphons about and if it seems safe go to a less collapsed facility when he can Gate again."

“Sure, that makes sense - I can do it.”

Amshalan positions herself conveniently for bagged foods to be fastened to her; she’s inconveniently not wearing the proper high-capacity travel saddlebags, but the regular Herald saddle has smaller bags built in.

If they're stopping at an inn then optimistically they just need two breakfasts and two lunches and some snacks to supplement whatever the inn has for horses but Belrun tries to squeeze in a little extra in case because things keep going wrong. "Please let them know when to expect me," she tells the (original) mage, "so if I don't show up they know to be concerned."

“Of course. You ready now?”

She hugs Dara, mounts Amshalan. "I'm ready - Amshalan, you ready -"

:Ready: 

The poor mage takes nearly a minute to finish his Gate, concentrating very hard. (He doesn't recall the north Gate-terminus point perfectly, and isn't anywhere close to as skilled as Leareth with Gates generally.) 

Then it goes up and he makes a pained sound. "Hurry?" 

Belrun nudges Amshalan on.

The Gate snaps down behind them. They're emerging from the doorway of an old barn outbuilding, it looks abandoned and is kind of falling down, though the doorway itself is suspiciously well-preserved. (Leareth has a few such Gate-in points along the northern border.)

Amshalan's neck twists around. :Border's thataways, 'bout a mile. I'm trying to reach the nearest Herald on circuit, well, their Companion. There's a Guard-post but they shouldn't give us trouble, you being on a Companion and all: 

:Also heir to the throne presumptive but I suppose I'm not dressed like it or anything:

Amshalan breaks into a trot; the path is too narrow and rutted for galloping to be safe yet. :Right, and these are random Guards, they won't know your face. Er, I'm a little worried if you push that bit they'll try to assign us a guard or something, and instead we should just be obviously in a hurry. They might know about the emergency in Haven, not sure whether that's been passed around: 

:Yeah, no, I'm not planning to lean on it, 'on a Companion' will do:

The Guards at the border post have not in fact heard about any emergency in Haven yet, so want a quick update, but other than that don't seem inclined to stop her. 

Also it's pretty noticeable that she's closer to Leareth! The reduced strain on the lifebond is a relief at first, but she's also picking up on more vague distress; at two hundred miles' range, it's easier to identify the discomfort as probably physical rather than emotional.