With some members being impatient, the party decides not to spend the evening in Uthmere, despite its beauty. Thanks to his newfound fame and the success of the run, Falcon offers to pay for horses for the group. Thus the journey to Kront begins.
They sleep in road side inns at dusk and set off again at dawn every day. Seven days it takes to travel to the road town, Bezentil, the only 'town' big enough to warrant any mention. And then four more days to Kront, which is a hamlet only a little bigger than Bezentil. Here in Kront, the party hears tell of Bildoobaris, the great tent-city of Narfell that gathers for a tenday in the summer. Caravans are already departing for the trade meeting, even though it is a few months away. Everyone enjoys a meal of fresh fish, caught in Lake Ashane, before setting off once again, this time heading north on the Cold Road, to Narfell, their final destination.
There are far fewer settlements of any kind on the Cold Road, with a couple of caravans on their way to Narfell being the most civilized form of human contact. A few times, some ragged looking humans appear on the road, but once they catch sight of Penthar, mounted on mighty Regalclaw, and Hareka, with his massive wings and icy shell, they run off into the distance. The vegetation grows sparse and the temperature drops a fair amount, much to Hareka's delight. There is no indication of when the group reaches Narfell, other than a tiny, early version of Bildoobaris, consisting of one caravan and a small tribe's worth of tents. After five more days of travel, Narfell has finally been reached.
The party stops for a night. The caravan drivers are partying, because it is the eve of Greengrass. The group gathers rumors that the usually intensely aggressive Qu'encesta tribe has fallen quiet, much to the satisfaction of the other Nars tribes. Having no other leads to follow, the group decides to travel south west, to the rumored location Qu'encesta, celebrating Greengrass with yet more travel.
Some tundra yeti are sighted, along with other far less dangerous creatures, but nothing attacks the group. In fact, nothing happens for quite a while, no rain, hardly any change in the landscape: sparse tundra. Until on the 5th day of their journey, a dust cloud can be seen approaching from the south west.
It is soon clear that a group of galloping horses with mounted riders, wearing hide clothes and bearing spears. They are mostly men, but a few rugged looking women are present as well. There are 6 riders total, and they all look like they've had their share of battle. They reach the group and stop. Speaking in broken common, the apparent leader says, "Go back. You not welcome. Go back now." He jabs his spear in the direction the group traveled from. "Go back now, or die."
[sblock]7+4+5+5= 21 days. Yeesh. That puts us at... the 4th day of Mirtul, about 1 in the afternoon.[/sblock]