OK, so what I'm thinking is that Manous's trained skills are Perception(+10) and Diplomacy(+11), so my idea is that Manous can scout ahead a mile or two in advance of the main party to select the most open, least travelled route (Perception). Then, during one or more of those times when encountering other traffic on the road is unavoidable, he can use his Diplomacy skill to deflect attention from the fact that a large party of well-armed people is travelling obviously on some purpose, and make it seem like more of a gentlemen's hunting outing or something. Also, if we encounter any sticky situation involving church knights or other enemies, Diplomacy may also come into play. Any thoughts, anyone? Scotley, what sort of DCs are we looking at here?