Krom finishes to tie the shovels he just purchased to his backpack as the group walks "I'll make a single ingot from them when I have some time to rest."

Quote from MaxHam >>

"We do not have time to visit another shop Rhogar, any items made of metal will do. I can reshape them later." says Krom with a smile as the group exits the shop. "The dog sleds should be ready by now. " adds "shall we go friends?"

 Rhogar had paused at the door and pulled out a coin to inspect for a moment. A look is then shared between Rhogar and Gorrah before the duo shrugged in unison and carried on outside, caring not enough or knowing it was not their place to question things further for the moment. It could just as well be they forgot the details of the ritual long ago anyhow. But regardless, Rhogar's pace is such that he wouldn't get all that far without stopping to inform Chill on the good news of purchase so far. Afterwards, assuming no other had business elsewhere, it's onward to the gates and the road to Good Mead!

Chill hung out in the square watching the people going about their business.  Keeping an eye out for his companions he sees Rhogar leave the Emporium.

Learning of the purchases he says,

"I have plenty of money if there things that were not purchased due to lack of funds.  I'm happy to help pay."

The group finds Kazri outside petting Oli, which by now, she no longer needs to crouch. "I am ready to leave."

Completing your purchases you gather outside the store and then head for the Eastgate.  It is a short walk and the sheriff greets you as he waves you over.  "Ready to go then?  I have secured dogs with sleds and food for you trip.  That should make it faster.  There are enough for each of you that want one."

He leads you out the gate and there you find several dog sleds with two dogs each.  "That should give you plenty of pulling power to carry you and your gear.  Take care of the dogs and they'll take care of you.  They'll need to rest an hour every couple hours of work, but you'll still make faster time than walking.  It's a 7-8 hour walk to Easthhaven from here, dog's can do that in about half, including rest.  And you won't need to go all the way to Easthaven.  You'll see the signs for the crossroads to turn south for Good Mead.  Run the dogs for a couple hours, rest and then you'll be able to get to Good Mead before needing to rest the dogs again.  Shouldn't be too late when you get there.  Its a small village, not much there except an old shrine to Tempus and the Mead Hall."  

He helps you get settled ono the sleds and shows you the basic commands and how to steer. In short order you are ready to depart.

"Good luck to you!" 

Rhogar fingers idly danced in the air at his side as if meddling with an invisible and freefloating abacus midway the Sheriff's question. He and Gorrah than share a nod and say in their own way, "Checks out", before chuckling to themselves. Having already mentioned having no need of a mount, the Dragonborn busied himself tossing a few externous items into his bag of holding to lighten his load a touch before climbing aboard his Duchess.

An absent-minded smile soon faltered at the name Tempus. A name that felt more familiar than in strictly the academic or religious sense. But...

...he soon shrugged it off, and let his eagerness to be off spur him into riding about a little on Duchess as everyone finished their impromptu dog sled training. "Mn! And may Brother Vixix watch over you in turn as well! Not that we couldn't use the same attention." He let out a hearty chuckle while gradually shifting Duchess about so they could readily follow after the others.  

Krom, after patting both dogs on their heads, gets settled into the sled. He listens carefully as the Sheriff shows to the group the basic commands and instructs them about how to reach their destination.
"Good Mead, I really like the name." chuckles the dwarf for a moment before saying in a more serious tone "Let's keep our eyes opened as we travel, we may find tracks of that giant."
"A temple of Tempus you say Sheriff? Maybe we can persuade some of the Foehammer's priests to join us in our assault."

Kazri pays attention to the Sheriff as he explains the science of dog sledding. "Yes sir... Understood." She says as she makes a mental note on the procedures, and the suggested route they should take. "Tempus, Mead Hall. Acknowledged. Thank you sir." When the group is ready to depart, she bends down a little, for there is no longer a need to go down to her knees. She pets Oli on his head, and gives him an overview of the route they will take to their destination. She figures that if, for whatever reason, they get separated, he should be able to find them.

Oli INT: -2

Kazri finishes giving her instructions to Oli, and she gets ready to get on her sled. She then notices that Oli goes to the front of the leading sled. He seems excited, jumping up and down, and it seems he is trying to bark orders to the other dogs. The dogs pulling the lead sled are not sure what to make of it, and they just bark back. When the group start to move out, she realizes that Oli wants to lead the pack, and she begins to worry. She wants to stop, and go tell Oli to let the dogs do their job, but her instincts tells her to let the Owlbear to give it a shot. She is already thinking on what to say if Oli fails, but slowly she sees that he is actually doing an acceptable job in taking the lead. She senses that the dogs are also surprised, and just follow this huge beast in front of them. After all, he is in very much his own elements. Kazri is happy that the little cub is growing up, and starting to make his own decisions.

Chill kept quiet, not wanting to start laughing. Tomorrow Krom said, he can be rid of the curse tomorrow.  He walks among the sled dogs trying to gauge their reaction to him, trying to find a pair that isn't interested in the fur that covers him.  He is not unaware of the relationship between cats and dogs, though he is not a cat, but a Tabaxi. But he also can admit there are similarities.

Animal handling 6

Hopefully finding a good pair he stows his gear and runs through the instructions in his mind.

"I am ready to move out." he says with a slight chuckle in his voice.

Oli does a good job of leading the group, as you find the road easy to see.  Though covered in snow, it is obvious enough to follow with tracks going in and out.  The road between the two large towns is paved beneath the snow.

Chill is able to find a pair of dogs that seem at ease with him and he has little difficulty gaining their trust and affection.

 Although there are signs of other travelers on the road you come across no one and a few hours later find yourself at the crossroad with a sign clearly pointing to the south that points to Good Mead

"All things considered, riding this sled is not too bad. I still prefer to walk on my legs, but we are in a rush." says Krom as the group reaches the crossroad "Good Mead is that way" points the dwarf. "Shall we proceed?"
When the group resumes their march, Krom will keep his eyes open for any signs of the giant or other hostile creatures (Perception 9)

"Good Mead it is Master Krom." Before Kazri is able to get any word to Oli at the front of their procession of dog sleds, the young Owlbear gets up from their brief break, and growls to the air. The sled dogs start to get ready to continue their trip to the next town.

(OoC: Has anyone watched an episode where Snoopy has a nightmare, and he becomes a sled dog?)

"I feel about the same riding Duchess here, and will miss her once its time to return south." Rhogar claimed and would try to pat his axe beak's neck a few times, only for her twisting her neck result only in failure. Still, both he and Gorrah chuckled and snickered in their own way before addressing the others, "But yes! Onward still to Good Mead. The swifter we can reach there, the sooner we can give our new companions a good and well deserved rest!" With that, the Dragonborn had his mount trail closer to the lead of the group, but ultimately leave it to Oli again, who thus far earned the dragonborn's unspoken resect, to kick things off once more. 

Chill chose the pair of dogs that seemed to best suit him.  After spending just a couple of hours with them he realizes that he has chosen very well.  Both dogs work seamlessly together and it takes him little time to understand them and how to guide them and the sled.

"This beats walking in my book.  I intend to purchase these dogs and the sled.  We have winter enough back in Phandalin to make use of it when we return.   Even  in this short period of time I have come to love these two."

When they stop to rest he spends his time with the dogs and settles on names for them.

"The female is Razira, the male is Kwalu. These are native Chutlan names.  Let us continue on to Good Mead."

"You named your dogs Chill?" says Krom scratching his beard "In that case I will name mine Halaur and Findar, two dwarvish names for gift and good fortune as we received them as gift and with Moradin's blessing they will bring us good fortune."

Finding the crossroad easy enough you stop and rest the dogs before continuing on.  You speed is great, likely double what you did on foot.  With two dogs per sled even pulling the weight of the sled and your gear and yourselves you make good time.

Turning south the road narrows and the paved but snow covered road becomes a snow covered path.  But it is still relatively easy to follow as the road has gotten enough travel in past due to the trade of mead to the other towns.  But while the Eastway had signs of other travelers this path has none.  No one appears to have come or gone from Good Mead in at least a few days.

 You estimate you are now moving in a southwesterly directing and soon the frozen Redwaters can be seen to the southeast.

Soon enough Good Mead comes into view, it is nestled between Redwaters and a nearby evergreen forest. As you enter the edge of town the town’s squat dwellings come into view.  Moving into the small village you see that the buildings are adorned with carvings of dinosaurs and serpents. 

Chill may almost have a feeling of Deja-vu.  As you make your way into the village Chill cannot help but see the influence of Chultan culture in the art that he sees.

The squat buildings are overshadowed by the two-story structure of the mead hall, its eaves carved and painted to resemble wyverns.  The sound of bees buzzing can clearly be heard when you come to a stop.

As the group reaches Good Mead "It seems a quite pleasant village" says Krom as they enter. "Before paying a visit to the Shrine of the Flaming Sword, shall we rest our bones and fill our bellies at the Mead Hall?"

The party arrives at Good Mead, and Kazri helps with the sleds so the dogs can take a break. She pats Oli. "Good Boy. You did a great job taking the lead. Now let's find a place where your new friends can stay for the night."

(Is there a place where the dogs can stay?)

"Presuming that big building is it, I see little reason not to... Though, it is strange. I have never heard of arctic bees before, and yet... I hear them." A look is shared between Gorrah and Rhogar before the latter "ahs" and snaps his fingers. "Right, right... no, actually, I'm not sure we were warned of that. And even if so, I would've figured such a thing to be muted.. hmm... Either way, let's be off for the hall, and with any luck, the propertier there can get us up to date on happenings in Good Mead, as well as have a station nearby for our mounts." With that, he nudges Duchess' side, urging his axe beak onward to the largest structure(aka the Hall).

Chill cannot help but stop and look at the art that he sees.   

"This is Chultan!  I am sure of it. These creatures filled the island of Chult and were ferocious.   But how did such come to be here?   This is very far from my homeland. "

Stopping every now and then to look he agrees with the others. 

"Yes,  a good meal and rest is needed.   The day is nearly spent.   I am sure they have some sort of kennel for the dogs just as any of our towns would have stables for horses. Let us proceed."