Irdeith makes his exit, simply leaping from the battlements and transforming as he fell. He uses the momentum to begin flying at a fast pace to the northwest.

Finding the town of Grindel proves a little interesting. You know its general location, and that its a small fishing town on the southern edge of the sea of moving ice. But clouds and snow permeate the area, making spotting it a bit difficult. Eventually however it is found, and the castle finds a spot where people could ferry down without being spotted by the locals.

During discussion with Perry and Lia regarding their shopping adventures, Velon answers Lia's query by showing off his new toy.  "Ah, observe, my dear!"  He picks up a metal cup from the table and tosses it high over his left shoulder.  A second later he raises the other hand over the opposite shoulder, still looking Lia in the eye, and blindly launches a firebolt, striking the cup at the top of its arc and sending it clattering into the corner of the dining hall.  The amulet around his neck twinkles with arcane energy right as the spell is cast.  Done with the showmanship, that being Perry's department after all, the paladin shrugs and says "I figure I need all of the help I can get."

Perry has the look of a father whose son had just made him extremely proud on his face as Velon shows off the power of his mundane trinket. He stands up abruptly and applauds for just a little bit too long at the display with a tear in his eye, "Oh, it warms my heart that you are finally learning, Velon! Remember that no matter what you do in life, you should always put on a show for those around you! That was just wonderful!"

--

Perry will go down to the town with the others. While they are making their way, he turns to the group and says, "Okay, goal #1 is to find out some information about Maccath. Goal #2 is to get some appropriate clothing. Sound good?"

Once at the town, Perry approaches the first person he sees that he can talk to and says, "Hail and well met sir and or madam, my name is Peregrine Pennington and this here is my pegasus Shadowsnacks. And all these other people here are heroes who aren't adequately dressed for this environment. How do you do on this fine day?"

Not fully expecting such a reaction from Perry, Velon raises his eyebrows at Lia across the table.  "Ah, yes, well, I've, ah, I enjoyed your theater performance Perry and hope to see more.  I still have a lot to learn!"  He looks back at Lia with a bit of a chuckle at the bard of bards.

Once in Grindel, Velon will accompany Perry into town.  He looks at the locals and wonders if a gift of wine, ale, or something else the Blaze can manage would make them more eager to help.  He mentions this to Perry as they depart from the platform in case the bard chooses to make such an offer depending on what they find here.

Wrapped in his robe, and few other layers, and making good use of his cantrips to keep himself warm, Lawrance looks out over the ice-cluttered waters at the edge of the village and shivers in sympathy. Turning back to the townsfolk, he looks at those that have gathered to meet the group, looking at the wind-worn faces and wondering what kind of people would choose to live in such a uncomfortable home. Staff in hand and familiar flying high above, he waits patiently as Perry works his Bardic skills. 

There is something odd outside of the town as you get close. A walled in area, well away from the buildings. It doesn't appear to be lived in or used for anything save perhaps storage, but there's no roof to protect whatever is within from the elements, and its remote location is rather odd for a warehouse.

When you reach the village, you can see definite evidence of this town's focus. Fish of all sorts are near the docks, in bins, hanging from racks, being processed on tables. There is an incredible variety, but the most common type by far are Northern rockfish, big and ugly monstrosities known for producing a particularly valuable type of oil, when refined, it burns clean and with a mildly pleasant scent. 

The short man first addressed by Perry gives a snort as he regards him and the party, "I can see that much, Who else would be coming out here looking like they're ready for a damned parade? If you're here for Old White Death, promise to keep it well away from town and we'll promise to do what we can to retrieve your remains."

  Lia looks around the village curiously and stifles a sigh. She always has hated cold environments such as this.  It isn't what she is uses to and forces her to wear a lot more clothes than normal. Shaking her head, she scans her surroundings for anything suspicious. 

Velon looks down at his gleaming gold plate and feigns disappointment.  "And here I was trying to blend in..."  The Paladin raises an eyebrow at the man's words and asks "Old White Death?"

He shrugs, "That's what we call him anyways. He's the king of this sea and everything for leagues around it. He doesn't bother us as long as we keep up our tribute, and keeps linnorms and worse away from here, so there's that."

"Anyways, every once in a while, a bunch of soft people like you show up with a mind to kill him. We rarely see them again."

Morgaine dresses for the cold as best as she can without the proper attire and heads out with the rest of the group. She looks around the area as they go along, noticing the strange building without s roof. She just listens to the conversation between the man, Perry and Velon.  She is somewhat interested in what they are saying but the thought of them losing members if they do this has her concerned.

Lia frowns at his words.  " We are far from soft.  He won't be our first or last Dragon to slay.  We have the power of the divine with us.  This creature will not stand in our way.  " 

"It is true, we have fought our share of Tiamat's ranks, BUT we hear this 'Old White Death' may not be amongst them; that a tribute may suffice, even.  Would you call him evil, sir?  Is your town better off with or without the 'king' of this sea of yours?"

"We do appreciate your help here, sir.  What can do we for you?  A little coin, perhaps?  Do tell me though, what is that walled structure just out of town?  It seems a bit odd and out of place."

The old man tilts his head towards the enclosure. "We leave our tribute for him there, he collects it at his whim. The wall is to keep beasts out."

"As to him being evil, I don't know about that. But if you do bring him down, will you remain here and keep the Linnorms and the yetis away? Is there another dragon waiting to take his place? His tribute costs us dearly, but one thing I know for certain, this village cannot exist without a guardian. Even one as ornery as he."

He peers at you a little more closely, "In any case, so you're not here for him? Yeah, he'll usually allow for safe passage with some tribute and a show of deference. So what are you here for then?"

Poljen says, "We are seeking an explorer who we think came this way some months back.  He was searching for a treasure.  And we wish to find him, take him home.  If he needs help on his quest, we might do that as well.  Did a scholar come through here sometime ago?"  The cold did not used to bother him much, but he has been out of the mountains enough that he can feel the cold here.

Cratol listens to what everyone is saying as he stands there trying to stay warm.  He hopes that they all can buy some cold weather gear and clothes to stay warm in this forsaken place.

  Lia purses her lips as she thinks about what he is saying. " There is no need to kill your defender.  I must ask though...What is the nature of the tribute that he requires of you? " 

Mari stamps her feet and flexes her fingers as she tries to stay warm.  She has never experienced cold like this before. Shivering she feels as if she will never be warm again. 

Considering all he knows about dragons, Lawrance is rather wary of any drake that takes tribute for protection. Pondering the ramifications is the Blaze should dislodge this extorting being from it's chilly duty, he doubts it's necessity for accomplishing their quest to stop Tiamat. 

Perry chimes in during the conversation, "Well I certainly won't judge or fault you for choosing to live under the protection of what sounds like a relatively chill dragon! Especially not if there are yetis and whatnot about! At any rate, good sir, would you perhaps be able to point us in the direction of some sort of fur shop or winter clothing boutique? As you have already so tastefully acknowledged, we are all painfully under-dressed for any sort of mission up here, diplomatic or otherwise."

The old man shrugs, "Food's the bulk of it, mostly stuff he has a taste for but finds tedious to collect on his own. For some reason he has a love for urchins. We certainly don't mind that, damnable things clog our nets anyways. He also asks for any pearls we find in his waters, and a share of the profits from the rockfish oil we sell. I've certainly heard of mortal kings that ask quite a bit more of their subjects. Anyways, we leave it wrapped up out there for him to collect when he's of a mind to. We keep doing that and things stay peaceful around here. Don't be thinkin' about taking anything from there for yourself, we still frighten our children with stories of what happened to the last thieves we reported to him"

He squints at Poljen, "You talkin' about that red skinned lass? About a year ago? She took on some supplies and set off in a boat. Never saw her again, I can say she went north and east, but beyond that, who knows. The ice probably took her, or she angered old white death somehow."

At Perry's request, he starts laughing, "You're looking for a fancy store? Here? You want some furs, go talk to goodwife Rhenda, she's the best tailor here."

"Ah, well then, thank you for your time my good sir. It's been a pleasure. Now then, come Shadowsnacks, we must go buy some furs for our expedition!" With that, Perry goes off and galavants about the village in search for goodwife Rhenda's fur emporium.

He takes his time however and makes small talk with several different villagers along the way, social butterfly that he is. Among normal small talk, he works in questions about their relationship with "Old White Death," why they call him that, whether or not they are worried about him snapping and freezing them all to death in a cone of brutal icy wind, more information or rumors on Maccath, and whether or not they have seen any dragon cult activity. He uses minor illusions as necessary to illustrate how the cultists dress. He is careful to be discrete, bringing up the topics naturally while flowing them into the conversation, and acts touristy in general. His goal here is mainly to get more data points, rather than rely solely on the word of a lone rando out front.

Upon finding the fur shop, he walks up to whomever he assumes is Rhenda and introduces himself, "Good day, madam! My name is Peregrine Pennington and I would like to purchase, if possible, some of your finest furs to keep me and my friends warm in this here climate. Do you have any furred monk outfits or perhaps a horse blanket or some such?"