Dawn breaks over Bryn Shander and Poppy has a small breakfast of eggs, cheese, and bread packed for everyone.  The first step out into the cold is brutal but the sky is clear.  From the north gate the Cairn that Hruna mentioned is visible.

A few guards stand around the gate as the adventurers approach.  They give a friendly nod before returning to their duties.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:38, Tue 14 Mar 2023.

Uriah made sure to buy a couple of gnome sized snowshoes from Scramsax before leaving the inn, and he was really thankful for his hindsight now. Walking towards their destination certainly beat slip-and-falling all the way there.

He stayed mostly at the back of the formation, letting the ones that know the mission in more detail than him take charge.

Eofric chuckled, chewed, and spat in the snow.
He then procured a flask and took a nip from it before stowing it away again. Scramsax had filled up his flask with yesterday's schnapps and the mercenary felt like he would need it indeed.
It was clear that his heavy mail would slow him down but he would never leave for the wildernesss without it.
"This will be a jolly trip, no doubts.", he said to no one in particular.

---

With 140lbs of weight on me, my speed is lowered to 20ft

Artim had accepted the offer of snowshoes. They were strapped to his backback for now, but he was confident they'd be needed soon enough. While everyone were gathering near the gates, the priest made fists and crossed them over his chest. "May the radiance of the all-father keep us warm when we leave hearth and forge." He touched his weapon, which was in fact a mace and not the hammer of his patron deity.

He looked up at the sky, wondering if the clear sky would hold, or if they could expect a change in the weather.

Rolled a survival check to make a weather forecast. It was in fact a crit, with a result of 24.

Artim was familiar with the north and he was pretty sure he could smell snow coming today.  With a glance at the sky, he was pretty sure it's not in the next hours

Doing a quick check of his gear that he purchased, Silas joined the others as they headed towards the cairn, crossbow in hand if needed.

OOC:Switching to Warhammer and Shield if it is too windy for ranged weapons.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:45, Thu 16 Mar 2023.

Merrel straps on his snowshoes and tests them out, getting familiar with using them.

Eofric joined Uriah at the back of the line.
Once they were outside of town he envied the gnome. While Uriah was smaller and his short legs forced to make shorter steps, he was far lichter than the armoured mercenary and thus did not sink as deeply onto the snow like Eofric did despite the snowshoes.
He smiled and said.
"There, and I was about to offer to keep pace with you, Uriah, and now I see that you are far nimbler than I and you would have to wait on me rather than  the other way round."
As a chill breeze hit them outside town he grunted and cursed intelligibly under his breath, thinking that seemingly the invoked all-father did not deign to include the warrior in the blessing.
Still he nodded respectfully to the Dragonborn cleric, thanking him wordlessly for the prayer.

Uriah let out a hearty chuckle at Eofric's comment.

"That wizards get tired quickly is a misconception given our fame for sitting around and studying. We tend to lack strenght, is true, but some spells are too exhausting for us to afford not to train our stamina. If you do struggle in this weather, I can conjure a magic platform for your or your heavier equipment to sit on while we travel. I will need about 10 minutes to cast it though. Doing it faster would start to affect the stamina I proudly boasted about"

With a small sight, he adds:

"Being a gnome on the other hand... let's just say short legs and snow don't get along"

Eofric found himself nodding in agreement.
"Did not mean your stamina, just your height and stride."

"If your magic would allow just transporting the backpacks this would help a lot. On an eight one-way trip those 10 minutes are irrelevant, I think we would all be faster."

"Some of us are wearing heavy armour. I am not the strongest for sure, but I am fairly confident that others would benefit, too. The two clerics perhaps? Dwarves do not mind armour, it seems. How much do you think you could carry with your magic?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:38, Sat 18 Mar 2023.

Halgotin arrived a little after the others. He felt a little uncomfortable in the snowshoes and heavy winter clothes, but appreciated the warmth, as he was more accustomed to warmer climes.

Halgotin approaches Silas among the others, as he felt the most familiar with the cleric from the evening before at the inn.

"I presume we will wait for the others to arrive before we depart?"

Bryn Shander slowly disappeared behind them as they plodded on.
"So what exactly did Hlin tell you about those murders?", he asked the gnome wizard.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:19, Sat 18 Mar 2023.

"The limit is exactly 500lbs. Anything more and the spell fails"

At Eofric's request (and if noone else voiced opposition), Uriah would take 10 minutes to cast Tenser's Floating Disk as a ritual.

Once they were back walking and far away enough from the guards, Uriah started summing up what Hlin had shared.

"So we are tracking a merchant caravan lead by a dwarf named Torgga Icevein. According to Hlin, they seem to be around the different towns whenever the disappearances happen, and Torgga's bodyguard, a man named Sephik Kaltro, seems to be suspiciously immune to the cold. Hlin called him 'kissed by the Frostmaiden', though I admit that I don't know what that means exactly. Hlin himself admits that Turgga's caravan being involved in the disappearances is little more than a hunch, so he advised we confirm the facts before carelessly approaching".

The gnome paused for a moment, and then added:

"Personally, I'm interested in Sephik Kaltro's condition regardless of their culpability. In all my studies, I've never came across a spell that could ward off the weather, so I think it would be of great benefit to my study of the Frostmaiden to examine him closely".

Merrel chimes in, "There are one or two, depending on your needs, power level, and magical approach. Tiny Hut works wonderfully, I've heard, if camped. A bit beyond me, but not uncommon. And, of course, really powerful mages can simply control the weather to mitigate it. Mostly through, all there is for temperature extremes is the priest's Resistance cantrip., and it's so short term you need to enchant it into something for permanent effect. And druids have several spells, but they're mainly to make things worse. Especially fog."

Merrel will keep his pack in case he wants to access it's contents in a hurry.

The two wizards were about to  lose themselves in academic intricacies and Eofric intervened.
"All we have learned is that two towns offer sacrifices to the Frostmaiden in the form of sacrifices."
"Am I right in guessing that those two towns are Termalaine and Lonelywood or why do you propose to go there to find the killer? Or are these the destination of the caravan you mentioned?"
"Anyway, seems there's lot drawing involved as to who is being sacrificed."
"The drawn victims disappeared before the actual act. So others are offered instead. Still, the original victims seem to end up dead after all."
"If that is true, and it's just what Scramsax offered on the matter, it would hint that someone devout to the Frostmaiden would make things right of sorts. And if this Sephik has uncanny resistances then it seems likely that he is the one doing the Frostmaiden's task.", Eofric mused.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Sat 18 Mar 2023.

"I don't actually know which towns are the ones engaged in human sacrifice. Hlin mentioned he found the first body in Targos, but I don't think he explicitly said that was one of the towns that engaged in that practice. Termalaine was the last known location of the caravan, and they were heading to Lonelywood after that, according to Hlin's intel. You arrived at the same conclusion that Hlin's have. I personally don't know how likely it is Sephik himself is responsible, considering how the whole north seems to be scared of the Frostmaiden. Anyone in any of the towns that engage in the sacrifices could be our culprit, but Sephik is at the very least worth looking into".

Merrel looks puzzled, "'They offer sacrifices in the form of sacrifices'...isn't that like saying you eat food in the form of, well, food? It's meaningless.

"What the towns offer to the presumed source of this overly long winter, apparently, is sacrifices in the form of intelligent lives. As opposed to animal lives, or fresh flowers, or any of a variety of other known sacrifice types. Details matter. If only so people understand what you mean to say.

"I'd recommend finding the source of the idea that intelligent life would be a cure for the cold. Someone known to want to folks dead during this cold period.

"As for Sephik, he could be a dragon blooded sorcerer or some such. Many ways to become inured to cold. One doesn't have to worship a particular deity. Assuming the Frostmaiden is even involved in all this, which I don't, yet."

"I agree." said Artim as they walked. "If the movements of these merchants match the locations of the murders, as it would seem it does, I would say it warrants our attention."

"As for sacrifices to the Frostmaiden, I believe that is an old superstition in the region. Those tenets have gained strength these last couple of years since winter locked its grasp on these lands." Artim sighed. "I suppose when simple sacrificial offerings haven't helped, some people have assumed that humanoid ones will help."

He gave Merrel a nod. "The dragon blood in my veins partially protect me from the cold. It wouldn't surprise me if there were ways to be entirely immune to it for other reasons than being chosen by the Frostmaiden. But it could be that as well."

Eofric sighed.
He contemplated to ignore the human mage but then decided to answer after all. More for the benefit of Uriah than of Merrel.
Why the human wizard chose to hang back with them was anyone's guess. Eofric would not object if Merrel were to choose to walk with those at the front of their group. Lots of other people to talk to.
Artim joined them too in the discussion. He seemed to have understood Eorfric's ill chosen wording well enough.
Merrel was right, though. The mercenary's wording had not been clear. Not clear enough at least. Not clear enough for the wizard anyway.
Details.
In his opinion, Merrel appeared more interested in exact wording than in the truly essential details.
For the sake of group dynamics he attemped to satisfy the human wizard.
When he woke up this morning Eofric had blamed the schnapps for his irritation with the man last night.
He had done the schnapps a disfavour.
"To clarify."
"The sacrifices... offers to appease the Frostmaiden... include food, warmth and people."
"On one hand 'sacrifice' as in a ritualized procedure to a powerful entity."
"On the other hand 'sacrifice' as in dead people. Humans, Dwarves, Elves.", he glanced at Artim, "Draconians or Gnomes or whatever."
"I guess we would not be looking for a 'murderer' if we meant someone cutting a carotte or someone snapping an owl's head."
Eofric winced.
His reference to owls was bound to trigger yet another fit of the mage.
He considered Merrel's comments and started massaging his forehead with thumb and fingers.
"Whether these... offers... to the goddess includes intelligent life depends on one's definition of intelligence."
"I leave further quibbling to those who like it better than myself."

Merrel looks thoughtful, "Snapping a head... how unusual. It is so much easier to snap necks that most folks choose that method. Usually chickens, too, over owls, but you have to go with what you have, I suppose.

"And a true sacrifice is giving up something that matters to you. Strangers make terrible sacrifices, simply because they don't matter. That's why you choose them. Which could be part of the problem, I suppose. More likely it's just some blood thirsty religious fanatic going overboard. Or looking for an excuse.

"But of importance is the obvious fact that they are useless in this case, as nothing seems to change when they are made. Another reason to think it's a twisted mind behind them, not a true Divine Demand."