The group was approached by Chevra Simta two days later about transporting two casks of mead to Easthaven. It seems the verbeeg attack had spooked the local delivery hand but Good Mead had promises to keep. The casks would be taken by dogsled to Easthaven, a larger town off the Eastway located on the shore of Lac Dinneshere, one of three local lakes known for its valuable knucklehead trout. The casks were to be delivered to The Wet Trout, a rowdy tavern of some repute, where the owner, a white dragonborn named Nymetra Myskyn, awaited their arrival. Knowing a larger town would offer more information about the area’s seemingly cursed weather and a wider selection of services, the group agreed to the task.
As the party prepared the sleds, Ferus shared some surprising news: he had been approached by Olivessa Untapoor about running for town speaker. With Rielsbarrow’s death, the village was organizing an election for his replacement and the only vocal candidate was a dwarf logger named Shandar Froth, whom Untapoor and her friends didn’t entirely trust. Due to this distrust, Untapoor had allowed herself to be talked into running. She thought Ferus might offer the town a better option, and Ferus promised to give it consideration.
Along the Eastway the group was ambushed by an orc raiding party, led by an Eye of Gruumsh spellcaster bestrode a snowy white owlbear. The orcs proved fodder for the party’s arrows and spells, and the remainder of the trip to The Wet Trout proved uneventful.
While at the inn, the party learned that the evening would see the burning of one Dzaan, a Red Wizard who had led another group of adventurers out into the frozen tundra in search of riches but had come back alone. Through a series of coincidences, most of them unfortunate for Dzaan, the bodies of the adventurers were discovered and Dzaan was convicted for their murders. Striking up a conversation with Scython, a roguish tiefling who seemed to know everyone in the room, the party was tempted with a rumor of a frozen ship loaded with treasure somewhere on the Sea of Moving Ice. Deciding to investigate the wizard’s situation, they arrived to the town square just as the criminal was set ablaze.
While the group could now only wonder about the nature of the wizard’s crimes, the captain of Easthaven’s militia, Arlaggath, approached them and asked the newcomers’ names. When questioned about the fiery scene, she reiterated the information gained in the bar, mourning the loss of the adventurers Dzaan had killed. Sizing up the group, she asked if they would be willing to investigate the disappearance of four local fisherman, unusual as they were all accustomed to the dangers the lake posed, having been raised in Easthaven. The group, agreeable to a fault, moved to investigate.
Renting a small boat, the group spent a couple hours investigating the shoreline until they found a rowboat loose near some cliffs. In the boat amidst many, many empty bottles of ale they saw fishing tackle and four oars, but no men. Moving to the shore, they spotted faint tracks in the snow, leading them to a cave complex in the cliffs. The wind off the lake racing through the caves evoked a mournful sound, perhaps an omen hinting at the fate of the fishermen.
Three emaciated harpies swooped down at the group before they entered the caves, their song immobilizing Ferus and Hawlkrin, leaving Thoradaen, Haryk, and Talion to end the threat. Moving into the caves, they followed a frozen river to a 10 foot waterfall they attempted to scale, though Ferus inadvertently broke the ice releasing an aggressive watery form that only magic was able to defeat.
Deciding that a rest was in order, the party hunkered down in the frigid cavern before continuing their search for the lost fishermen.
