Winter Burrow Moss Quest Guide - Snow Fur, Heavy Key, and Healing Stew

Moss quest order: quick answer

The Winter Burrow Moss quest is a sequence of short trips, not one continuous search for Pinesap. First reach Moss at the tent north of the burrow and finish the dialogue until Find signs of Pinesap / Collect Snow Fox Fur Tuft 0/3 appears. Collect the three white-grey tufts and return them to Moss. Next complete A missing key / Collect Heavy Key 0/1 at the vine-gated skull pocket. Later, take Aunty's Old Shawl to Moss, receive the Healing Stew recipe, cook the stew for Aunty, and finish that hand-in. The chain then moves to the Fine Woollen Hood and finally Find out what happened to Pinesap. Check the exact HUD line before every trip because each stage uses a different landmark and tool.

• Stage 1: meet Moss -> activate Snow Fox Fur Tuft 0/3.
• Stage 2: collect all 3 tufts -> return them to Moss.
• Stage 3: collect the Heavy Key beside the skull -> return it to Moss.
• Stage 4: deliver the Old Shawl -> cook Healing Stew for Aunty -> finish the hand-in.
• Stage 5: collect and return the Fine Woollen Hood -> activate the final Pinesap search.

Quest 1 - collect three Snow Fox Fur Tufts

Return to the fork before Moss and take the north route into the larger Shadow Pines area. Move toward the north-east side and look closely at the snow near rocks and grass. The tufts are small white-grey scraps that blend into the ground. Gamer Social Club places the first visible clump near rocks in that north-east section, the second just north of the first, and the third a little farther north again. Pick up all three and watch the counter move from 0/3 to 3/3. Return them to Moss, not Gnawtusk. Gnawtusk has a separate herb-stash quest and should not be mixed into this objective. Travel in daylight and keep three slots open so the pickups are not hidden by a full bag.

• Start: Moss tent -> back to fork -> north into the larger area -> north-east search line.
• Target: three white-grey fur clumps lying openly on the snow.
• Counter: Collect Snow Fox Fur Tuft must reach 3/3.
• Hand-in: return all three to Moss at the tent.

Quest 2 - collect the Heavy Key

After the 3/3 fur hand-in, Moss issues A missing key and the HUD changes to Collect Heavy Key 0/1. Warm up at the tent, then go north and north-east along the same branch used for the fur search. The route is blocked by curled green vines with an Ant nearby. Clear the threat, cut the vines with the Granite Axe, and continue north. In the next area, tall grass encloses a central pocket. Enter through a grass opening and look for the large animal skull with a tree growing through it. The Heavy Key lies directly on the snow beside that skull. Pick it up, verify the objective changes, and return to Moss. The dedicated Heavy Key page has the exact three-screen sequence if this is the only missing step.

• Required state: A missing key / Collect Heavy Key 0/1.
• Route: Moss -> north -> north-east -> green vines -> north -> central tall-grass pocket.
• Tool: Granite Axe for the vine barrier.
• Final landmark: Heavy Key beside the skull with a tree growing through it.

Quest 3 - Old Shawl and Healing Stew

Returning the Heavy Key does not finish Moss's story. Continue the active Aunty and Moss conversations until Aunty gives you the Old Shawl, then take it to Moss. Moss gives you the Healing Stew recipe and mushroom seeds. The recipe uses the four mushroom types available through gathering, the basement, or planting. Cook the stew, give it to Aunty, and finish the dialogue after the hand-in. If Moss has no new objective after the key, do not repeat the skull route: the next progression check is the Old Shawl and Healing Stew exchange between Aunty and Moss.

Quest 4 - Fine Woollen Hood, then Pinesap

After the shawl and stew progression, wait for Find more signs of Pinesap / Collect Fine Woollen Hood 0/1. That stage uses the Flint Axe route from the Heavy Key skull through the north-west vines and abandoned caravan to the blue-grey hood. Return the hood to Moss and finish the conversation. Only when the HUD changes to It's time to find Pinesap / Find out what happened to Pinesap should you revisit the hood clearing, continue left, and break the Flint boulders with the Flint Pickaxe. Use /articles/fine-woolen-hood for the exact hood route and /articles/winter-burrow-pinesap-guide for the final boulder passage.

Moss quest not progressing: match the HUD state

Diagnose the visible objective before walking the route again. If the first 0/3 counter is missing, finish Moss's opening dialogue. If Snow Fox Fur Tufts were collected early but the counter stays at zero, check burrow storage and move the quest items into inventory; ordinary brown Fur Tufts do not count. If A missing key is active, use the Granite Axe vine route and skull pocket. If the Heavy Key was returned but nothing new appears, continue the Aunty and Moss conversations for the Old Shawl and Healing Stew. A hood counter requires the Flint Axe caravan route. The final Pinesap wording requires the Flint Pickaxe at the left side of the hood clearing.

• No Snow Fox Fur Tuft 0/3: finish the opening Moss dialogue.
• Counter stuck at 0/3: carry Snow Fox Fur Tufts in inventory, not storage; ordinary Fur Tufts are a different item.
• Heavy Key 0/1: Granite Axe vines -> tall-grass pocket -> skull landmark.
• No objective after the key: advance the Old Shawl and Healing Stew hand-ins with Aunty and Moss.
• Fine Woollen Hood 0/1: use the Flint Axe route past the abandoned caravan.
• Find out what happened to Pinesap: return with the Flint Pickaxe and clear the left-side boulders.

Before each Moss quest trip

Use the objective, tool, and landmark as a three-part departure check.

• Read the exact HUD objective before choosing the fur, key, hood, or Pinesap route.
• Keep the required quest item in inventory and leave at least one pickup slot open.
• Use Moss's tent as the reset point and make the first route attempt in daylight.
• If spiders block the route, set the Spiders option to No in Settings - see /articles/winter-burrow-spiders.

Frequently asked Moss quest questions

Quick answers for the objective names that overlap in Shadow Pines.

• Q: Where is Moss? A: At the tent north of the burrow, beyond the three basic rocks opened with the Sandstone Pickaxe.
• Q: Who receives the three Snow Fox Fur Tufts? A: Moss. Gnawtusk is a separate herb-stash quest giver.
• Q: Where is the Heavy Key? A: North and north-east from Moss, past the Granite Axe vines, in the tall-grass pocket beside the skull.
• Q: What comes after the Heavy Key? A: Continue the Old Shawl and Healing Stew exchanges with Aunty and Moss.
• Q: Where is the Fine Woollen Hood? A: Past the skull-side north-west vines and abandoned caravan; use the focused hood guide for the turns.
• Q: Which tool opens the final path to Pinesap? A: The Flint Pickaxe breaks the boulders immediately left of the hood clearing.