Aubin has a look of disgust when seeing the remains of the corpse. "That is a horrible way to die. May you find peace in the afterlife." Seeing the others investigate the tracks he moves in a circle around the area to see if there are more clues.

Perception

10

Not finding anything Aubin returns to his companions.

Having pulled a thick monocle from his pouch to examine the tracks, Blackberry pipes up, "Whoever took off with the sled, they were smallish humanoids on showshoes.  And they don't have much of a head start on us, only a few hours.  If we make haste, we could probably catch them, since we are not lugging a sled full of metal ingots."

"I agree with Blackberry," murmurs Sabetha, standing up after having crouched on her haunches to examine the tracks.  "The tracks are recent.  Small humanoids.  Four of them, all on snowshoes.  Scavengers, likely well after the yeti did what it did to the poor dwarf Oobok here, may his soul rest peacefully.  We should give chase for the sled, and secure Oobok's remains if we can, as Hruna asked us to."

She finds herself disturbed after the fact, not as much at the grisly state of the corpse, but at her own lack of reaction to it.

I have the Cassalanters to thank for that as well.  The numbness that comes from having seen your friends killed or worse.  I wonder if that ever heals.

The sight of the mutilated body causes a strange, nauseating feeling of nostalgia for Elk Running.  Memories, once shut away, push against a locked door in the corner of her mind.  She dismisses the sensation, taking a deep breath of the icy air as she looks around.  "Then let us make haste."

(OOC: I’m going to move us forward when I get home from work in 3 or 4 hours; if you want to do something else here, decide soon)

You gather together, having decided to follow the tracks. Please tell me your marching order and choose your formation:

Formation 1

Formation 2

Formation 3

You do not have to follow these marching orders. These were randomly chosen, but the formations I would like you to choose from.

I am fine with formation 3, but would like Aubin to be in the middle.

Blackberry is good with 3 or 2, and the back or middle is fine.

Sabetha would volunteer to be in the front line.  She would suggest that Uthal also be in the front "in case a Yeti needs to be scared off."

Formation 3 (or if not, then 2).

Elk Running will take a position at the rear flank of the formation, opting for formation #3.

Aura would also like to be in the back row of formation #3 

Your group forms up and follows the sled tracks into the tundra. You walk slowly, warily, but the uneven ground means that you are often in a low place, surrounded by hills. After 20 minutes of hiking through the snow. you come up the side of a small ridge and you see a rocky outcropping a little more than 100 ft ahead of you. The sled tracks seem to head that way. (OOC: I would like everyone to roll Perception with disadvantage (due to the dim light), except for Aubin, who rolls as normal).

Elk Running Perception (disadvantage): 12

Aubin Perception Check

9

Sabetha Perception at disadvantage:  13 

Blackberry Perception (DA) 5

The harengon queries, "So, did someone bury that body?  I mean, it probably won't start to decay right away as cold as it is, but animals might not pass up an easy meal like that..."

....

"... Er, what I meant to say was, sorry I'm late, I was busy burying that body back there.  All done now, nothing to see here, move along."

Elk Running suddenly pauses.  "Hold!" she whispers urgently.

She points north. "There.  Sled tracks.  Thirty feet.  And...  Another sled.  120 feet ahead.  There is movement around it, but I cannot see what."  She draws her bow.

Auibin grunts in frustration as a gust of wind sends snow into his eyes. "Blasted snow" he whispers as he wipes the snow from his eyes. Aubin then stops at Elk Running's words "Movement. It could be the ones who took the sled. lets approach carefully"

Sabetha keeps her voice low.  "Elk Running has keen eyes.  I see the second set of tracks, though not the other sled or movement.  If they are transferring the metal to another sled, it could have animals pulling it which we cannot catch.  We must stop them if we hope to retrieve it."

She looks for a path whereby the group might be able to approach partway unseen, such as hiding behind the outcropping or trees.