"That be true, bird. Tis a wee bit out of the way, though, we could make our way to the Lonelywood afterwards," Phineas says. "Perhaps, however, that way we'll quit trailing behind this killer fiend and make our ways to town before him." The halfling finishes off the last of his fare, wiping the grease from his hands on his pants legs. "So, to the ice to make holes and coin?"

'Making holes in Ice sounds a lot better than having holes made in us.  I'm all for it.'

Kilmus dusts his hands off and sets his shoulders.  A good days' work would be a nice improvement over the walking, danger and killing that has consumed that last week

Making holes in the ice was hard work, but rewarding work - literally. By evening time, you were all given free meals, drink, and lodgings at The Luskan Arms. By morning, it was time to decide where to go next. As always, it was a freezing, windy day - the sky alight with aurora.

Phineas consults the map once again. “Seems Bremen is closer. I vote we head that way first.” If the halfling hears no objections, he begins marching through the snow toward Bremen. 

BREMEN

Founded by dwarf prospectors, the sleepy town of Bremen sits on the west bank of Maer Dualdon, at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Bremen’s harbor has frozen, requiring local fishers to haul their boats across the ice to put them in the lake. If Auril’s everlasting winter has one benefit, it’s that the hardy folk of Bremen are spared the seasonal floods that normally threaten the town in early summer. That’s not to say that the long nights, frigid air, and howling blizzards provide any comfort. They don’t. Heavy snow has obliterated a trail that once guided travelers to Targos. Determined to make the journey on foot, you arrive in about six hours time. Giving up warmth to Auril, the town is completely devoid of fire for light.

Bremen doesn’t have much to seduce or comfort the weary traveler, but the following locations marked on map that I pinned in discord are likely to attract adventurers.

There is an Inn here called "Buried Treasures." 

"Five Tavern Center" is a collection of taverns that form a rough ring. The five taverns are called Stones, Even Keel, the River’s Mouth, the Grumpy Moose, and the Black-Bearded Brother. The taverns are old and poorly maintained from the outside, as far as you can tell.

Off to the side, surrounded by four guards, a very large caravan of wares is being hawked by a female dwarf with a sign that says "Torg's".

Finally. 

Phineas stops, casting a glance at the caravan before moving to pass by it without looking too interested. Feigning disinterest, he scans the caravan for the alleged killer. 

Perception: 14

Deception (if needed): 3

Sephek, according to Hlin, is described as a well-built man in his thirties. He has an olive complexion, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, and no facial or body hair. He is dressed in a stylish vest with matching pants and boots, similar in style to those worn by mariners of the southern Sword Coast, but wears no armor or cold weather clothing and doesn’t appear to be armed. His most striking feature is his eyes, which are as blue as a frozen lake.

That man is not here, outside, at the moment.

4

"Can I help you, kind sir?" Torrga asks, catching Phineas looking, barely.

Phineas stops, looking to the others. “Do we ask for him? Wait him out? Or just seek him out?”

Mica, internally, is panicking. They had found the caravan, but that didn't make Mica's life any easier - he had secretly been happy to distance himself from the task at hand. The man they sent out to dispose of was a trained killer, meaning whoever it was could easily kill Mica. He shuts off the fire he was conjuring in custom to the town's practice of sacrificing heat and chooses to illuminate their surroundings by using purple light emanating from the skull he carries in one hand, but he quickly turns away from the carriage - if Sephek knew there were strange magicians in town, he could possibly be more aware of his surroundings. He'll ask the party what their plan of action is - they haven't seen Sephek quite yet, meaning directly rushing the caravan could prove fatal. He recommends stopping by at a tavern and attempting to observe if Sephek is around town. He will additionally question if someone less...conspicuous would like to approach the goods and scout out for any sign of the man they've been sent to kill. His disfigured arm ached at the prospect of danger, and the ending of Mica's flames didn't relieve the cold from exacerbating the pain.

Phineas waves at Torrga. “Jus’ noticing your caravan. Bet you travel these parts a lot. We be hunting a big white moose. Happen to have seen it?” 

"Can't say that I have." Torrga says, her guards eyeing you curiously.

The Torg’s caravan consists of three heavily laden dogsleds, each one pulled by six friendly sled dogs - which are currently in pens. She is selling cut wood, flint and tinder, flasks of whale oil, blankets, furs, rations, bottles of wine, casks of cheap ale, medicines, and vials of poison (used primarily for killing vermin).

“That’s a shame. Would of made our job easier.” Phineas casually peruses the wares, picking out a warm blanket. “Nice. What is this? Bear?”

"Sure is." she says. "Can't do without blankets in this eternal winter."

"Nice..." Phineas offers with a low whistle. "I'll take it. How much?" He continues to look around the wares, holding on to the blanket. "Nice outfit ye got here. Dark times, these days, though. Ya must worry about trouble traveling about the Ten-Towns, no?" He looks pointedly toward the guards. "Good thing, ya got them there henchman. Probably keep the bandits and such at bay. Sadly, though, in this forsaken frost-bitten world, there be worse than bandits out there." 

Throughout it all Phineas will be keeping his eyes peeled for anyone matching the killer's appearance.

Perception: 5

OOC: How are the items displayed? Are they out where we can see them?

Rak would stand behind his companions.... moving in a wide circle around the caravan... keeping his distance but looking for any signs of the man they were after. He would also eye the dogsleds.. trying to see how the supplies are laid out and if anyone is closely watching them. "Help me to stay sharp Bane" He would mutter as he casts guidance on himself.

Perception! 16 2

'Oft the ones who stand silently see the most mi'boy, you'd be wise to remember that.' his great-uncle Terrance was a font of knowledge, and sometimes some of it was useful.

(Channel Divinity Emissary of Peace +5 to Charisma for 10 mins)

Kilmus would hold position just outside the ring of guards, making direct eye contact with the nearest one and giving a nod of greeting. Leaning slightly on his halberd, he'd cast his voice to carry under the conversation between merchant and patron and address the nearest guard directly.

'Freezing my toes off following this ranger through the snow chasing some half-seen moose is a tough way to make a living.  Any chance you all have a slot open on your crew?  I've done caravan work before, boring mostly, but better than this fool's errand of a white moose'

Persuasion 14

With Torrga's wares openly displayed, she says, "Two gold for the blanket." to Phineas. To the rest of your comments, she just nods. There's about three dogsleds packed in an alley nearby, behind the caravan, out of the way, with husky like dogs in kennels near them. The guards are close enough that they would notice if you tried anything silly. To Kilmus, the guard you're talking to simply looks at you, but offers no response. He either doesn't know the answer, or isn't in a position to say.

(OOC: So if magically some items began to fly up into the dark night sky and drift away from the caravan and land in the snow where Rak would just happen to find it later... they would notice?)

Yes