Umkhonzi hasno idea anything nefarious occurred. 

"Beryl won't be joining us, " Jasper answers Umkhonzi simply without going into greater detail. "Eat hearty now.  The snows won't stop today and rest later will be hard to come by if we can't make it to Icefall. Think of Nashkel as a base camp," the Goliath finishes his loaf of bread in silence. 

When Wizbang approaches Jaspe's companion Daisy seems utterly delighted by the presence of the goblin wizard chittering at him as he sits. Jasper nods his expression slightly softer. 

"Beryl seems tough but she grew up here not on the mountain," Jasper offers slightly more detail.  "Eat up," he then says as more porridge and fresh warm loaves of bread are brought to the table.  "It's literally all uphill from here, " he adds gesturing towards the windows that show an astonishing view of the cliff face and snow. Nashkel is etched into the mountain, clinging to the side and hanging into thin, wintery air! "So, depending on how hearty you all are we might make it to the first camp by nightfall, " he adds brushing crumbs from his hide tunic and nodding.

He then leans giving the affectionate badger a pat as she emerges to investigate Wizbang!

"OH wow! I really like your friend!" The wizard would say to Jasper as he slowly extends a hand towards the badger... seemingly oblivious to how dangerous the animal could be.

Daisy nuzzle Wizbang nearly knocking the goblin wizard over as she happily chitters at him.

"She's not usually this affectionate, " Jasper says looking at Wizbang.  "Good judge of character, " he adds looking on at Wiz with a soft expression. "Your bard and elven friends not joining us, " he asks curiously. 

Tine smiles as she wakes up and rolls out of bed, taking a moment to check her items and then get dress. She proceeds downstairs smiling at the people and making her way to WIzbang "Morning, did you sleep well? Where did the badger come from?" she asks looking around and finally taking in the other two companions "Good morning to you all as well."

A small giggle-like laugh would escape the mouth of the goblin as he is nearly knocked over by the Badger. Seeing how friendly the creature is, he would go in for a big hug, squeezing him around his neck and burrying his face in the creatures fur. "I bet you and George are going to be best friends!" The goblin would say as he continued to hug the beast... his voice muffled by the fur in his face. He would then reach into his pack and pull out a piece of dried meat and offer it to the animal before looking around. "Good Morning Tine!" he would reply with a smile. "Good morning Morowyn and Horonomus!" He would add looking towards the bar. A look of suprise would spread across his face when he realizes that she isn't who he was expecting. He would leave the bit of meat with the badger and scamper over towards the bar. "Hello! What's your name? Do you know where Morowyn and Horonomus are this morning? I was going to thank them for good nights sleep!" he would say excitedly as he adjusted his hat and wiped a bit of badger fur from his face. "Also, do you think I could order us some breakfast to go?! We are going to need some warm food in our bellies before we head out into the cold!" 

Wizbang would then stretch hard to place a gold coin on the table, his eyes and hat just visible to the woman over the edge of the bar. 

"Morning, " Jasper replies to Tine but more like a statement than a greeting. "Daisy is my companion," he adds giving the dire badger a scratch aa she settles back on his feet to gnaw her bone. "Is that everyone? I seem to recall one more in your party, " he adds curiously. 

Over at the bar...

"They're not really morning folks," the bartender replies to Wizbang,  "but I'll pass along your thanks, " she adds. "Anything else I can get for breakfast? Jasper was pretty cryptic about your task ahead, " she explains leaning on the bar towards the wizard.

"Yeah, We're just trying to find an old town that seems to have disappeared some time ago! We found an old book that talked about it but no one seems to know where it is or why it was abandoned." Wizbang would reply with a smile. "Can you just provide however much bacon and eggs that gold coin will buy me? Thanks!"

"Abandoned towns," she asks curiously. "Your order will be up in a moment, " she adds smiling tusky smiling before looking at Wizbang to answer her question.

"We are looking for Vermeillon!" Wizbang would reply "An old and famous bard by the name of Saxon wrote about it! We would like to find out more information about what happened to him as well of we can! He was pretty famous after all! They put his painting up in Strixhaven and everything!" The goblin would add as he smiled wide to the bartender.

Wizbang make an insight check.

Wizbang looks her over, wondering why she is so interested in what his mission is... 22

Wizbang can see the woman furrowing her eyebrows at the mention of Saxon but she then composes her expression. 

"Yeah,  I've heard of him," the half-orc woman replies. "He's...not exactly a hero around here," she then gestures around at the tavern. 

Tine perks up at the mention of that and leans in towards the half-orc woman "What do you mean by that?" she asks inquisitively, a sense that they may finally learn more about the man they've been sent to find.

"Oh really!?!" Wizbang would reply before scooching over to allow room for Tine to squeeze in. "Yeah, did he do something wrong?" He would ask with a look of concern.

"He abandoned Morowyn and Horonomus, " the bar keep says.  "Snowbane wouldn't have been killed without them but when the chips were down her ran," she adds firmly. 

"OH! Well that is a surprise!" Wizbang would reply with a small gasp. "They said they didn't know him yesterday when we were talking to them in front of the giant drsgon head.." The goblin would pause for a moment before pulling out a small book and taking a few notes. "I wonder why they lied to us... That's not very nice." With a small frown he would close his book and look back to the bar keep. "You don't think that they killed him do you? for abandoning them when they needed him most?"  he would ask... staring her in the eyes.

Umkhonzi is suddenly very interested in this conversation, and their response, both for their journey and Wizbang's immediate health.

Tine, her violet eyes reflecting a mixture of curiosity and concern, turned her attention to the barkeep's words. The revelation of someone abandoning Morowyn and Horonomus piqued her interest, and her fingers subtly stilled over the strings of her lute.

"Abandoned them?" Tine mused, a thoughtful expression playing on her features. The loyalty and camaraderie between adventurers were virtues she held in high regard, and the barkeep's words hinted at a fracture in that bond "Did he come back to the village after running away? or just go somewhere else?".

She exchanged glances with her companions, the unspoken question hanging in the air. As the tavern continued its lively hum around them, Tine pondered the implications of the revealed betrayal, her mind weaving the threads of this new narrative into the evolving tapestry of their quest.

"They never saw him again," the bar keeper replies to Tine with a shrug. "It's...a bit painful for them.  Saxon is Horonomus brother," she adds leaning close and whispering the last of her tale. "Well, good luck on the mountain, " she adds gesturing to the windows. 

The party can see snow flurries falling passed.

"Wow! Really?! he is a really good liar. I had no idea.." He would frown and look out the window. "Yeah.. thanks. I suppose we should get going. Thanks for all of your help." He would add with a small wave. the red bookmark from his book would also wave goodbye as he turned towards his companions. "So are we ready to.go?"