As Argyll approached, the Earl of Errol with 100 selected horsemen joined the Earl of Huntly at Strathbogie. Huntly's force now amounted to nearly 1,500 men, mostly horsemen, and from there they advanced to Carnborrow where the two Earls and their followers made the vow to conquer or die. They then marched to Auchindoun arriving the same day. Huntly received intelligence that Argyll was about to descend from the mountains to the lowlands and sent Captain Thomas Carr and a party of horsemen to carry out reconnaissance. They accidentally met Argyll's scouts who they chased and some of whom they killed. Huntly then resolved to attack Argyll before he was joined by the Lord Forbes and the forces which were waiting for his appearance in the lowlands.