The Fourth Adventure

[mushgnome]

Willie and Kiplyn use their Burglar skills to hide as best they can. With their immense "hang time" they landed pretty far away from the bottom of the chute, at least 100' or so.

With a quizzical sound of Hrumm, Hrumm, Hrumm a creature strides into view: A colossal white moose that looks very familiar to Willie.

The creature clomps into the clearing. It is looking around trying to figure out what made the sound. It hasn't spotted Kiplyn and Willie, but it can see the disturbed area of the snow, and is moving in the right direction toward our Heroes.

Hide checks:
Kip 1d6=5 success
Willie 1d6=5 success

[mushgnome]

Wilbur turns to look at Dougal.

"Do you bury your dead in snow?" he asks.

Dougal gives Wilbur a hand uncovering the body. It is a middle-aged Hobbet woman, with no clothing or equipment of any kind. She is sprawled out, undignified, face down in the snow.

Dougal frowns and says, "She looks vaguely familiar, but I can't put my finger on where I've seen her before."

@ehiker133 mentioned this was going to be a busy week for him, so I'm sure he won't mind if I temporarily NPC Dougal, to move the story along.

[mushgnome]

Dame Simonetta can see the Moose, and she has figured out what Dougal and Wilbur have uncovered, though she is too far away to make out any details.

[mgtremaine]

Kiplyn stays put, quiet as mouse.

[kipper]

Dame Simonetta starts to slowly make her way down the slope on foot towards Dougal and Wilbur.

[mushgnome]

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.

[mushgnome]

Meanwhile down below...

The white moose approaches the toboggan landing site. With its gargantuan stride (the snow only comes to its ankles) it closes the distance in a few paces. It sniffs at the overturned toboggan, raises a forehoof, and effortlessly flips the toboggan back upright onto its runners.

Willie is safe for the moment, hiding under the snow, but Kiplyn was hiding under the sled! What is his reaction? He could confront the moose, play dead, run away, try to hide by burrowing deeper into the snow, something else?

[mgtremaine]

Kiplyn would peer UP at the huge beast standing over him. "hehe well now aren't you a majestic moose." he would say calmly and back away (slowly) towards the chute trying to give the moose his space. "Sorry if we disturbed you sir, we were just out playing in the snow you know"

[mushgnome]

The moose lowers its head, gently takes the reins of the toboggan in its soft mouth, raises its head again, looks directly at Kiplyn, and blinks at him.

[mgtremaine]

Kiplyn stops trying to backup through the heavy snow. "I see, you don't want to trample me, you want me to go with you?. He would inch back towards the Toboggan slowly. "Is that right, Mr. Moose?"