Post
by mushgnome » Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:06 am
It's good Dame Simonetta is moving carefully, because the footing is treacherous. The Dame feels, if she were to descend in a hurry, or under the stress of combat, she would risk slipping or falling. The slope is strewn with boulders, many of them Hobbet-sized or larger. And the snow has drifted two feet (or deeper) in spots, which is tough going for a Hobbet. Dame Simonetta can't see where she is putting her feet, and has to step carefully to make sure she doesn't step funny or twist an ankle.
Fortunately, once Dame Simonetta gets close to the toboggan chute, she discovers the chute is flanked on each side by a relatively easier-to-follow path, hidden under the snow. The way is narrow, and it's steep like an attic staircase, but it's a straight shot compared to stumbling through the boulder field. She reckons that maybe this steep path is how the Hobbets of yore climbed back up with the toboggan after each run? She soon gains confidence that there are footholds at reliable intervals. She picks her way down the hillside at a deliberate pace.
One thing that strikes Dame Simonetta is that the geography here seems slightly off. The landscape of the Valley is rolling, gentle, and wooded. Hornpipe Hill rises only two or three hundred vertical feet elevation above the river. And yet, from her perspective, the toboggan chute seems longer than it should be, and her friends are really far below her. She feels slightly dizzy, like she's on top of a mountain rather than a hill. Something just doesn't seem right.
It's going to take a while for Dame Simonetta to make her way down to the others, so we'll check back in with her in a little bit. The first character she will encounter will be Frederick, who is chopping away at the fallen tree branches, trying to clear the track of debris. He's got his head down and is lost in his work.
Is Dame SImonetta carrying the picnic basket and/or blanket, or did she leave them behind? Each takes 1 hand to carry, so she can bring one or the other and have 1 hand free, or bring both the basket and blanket and have no hands free.
[f=59]
Stern (
Strong Hero, MV 9′′, AC 3, HD 4, hp 20, FC 4 men/hero, SV F4, L)[/f]