OOC: well...what was I saying about being good at skills, yeah, turns out I was wrong.

As the jaguar becomes aware of the party's presence, it drags its kill to safety in the branches of a tree and watches until you are safely out of eye- and ear-shot. Its reaction is one of suspicion and defensiveness over its latest meal, certainly not fear or alarm.

The navigation is not especially difficult. You track the ravine to the east, keeping it on your left hand side as you negotiate the tangled mass of plant matter. Thea continues scouting ahead, moving ghostlike through the unfamiliar terrain (I'm using the previous stealth roll of 24, there was no need for another). The rest of the party trails behind, frequently losing sight of her as visibility in the jungle is reduced to a few feet in some places. Thea stops and circles back to maintain contact and the group pushes on, hoping that the monkey was not up to mischief with its directions. The going is still tough, and humid, but the saving grace is that at least the path you travel is largely level. No more uphill, for now. 

Kairouani, having identified the Manasitana flowers earlier, continues to collect them as she sees them. It takes quite a lot of flowers to make a useful amount of restorative draught, but they bloom in abundance here.

William, far from his comfort zone, and, indeed, anything resembling fame or fortune, pushes on. He continues to suffer the wrath of the biting insects to a much greater degree than any of the others, which seems hardly fair. Especially considering the amount of flesh that Thea has on show. By rights, she should be a covered in an angry rash of bites, but seems far less attractive to the blasted creatures than the stalwart Epironian.

Another hour or so of sweating, and swatting, and pushing on through the greenery, and a new sound reaches your ears. The river, far below in the bottom of the ravine, has been a constant companion on this leg of your journey, a gentle hiss as it tumbles over rocks and kisses the steep rocky walls. Now, though, a distant sound like the sigh of wind through treetops becomes apparent. The volume of this sound increases as you travel further east, and eventually resolves into the roar and crash of a great waterfall. You approach this magnificent wall of water from downstream, and as you start to draw level with it, you see that at the top of it the surface of the water is level with the jungle floor. You could approach and dip your toes into it, should the desire take you. 

The river is 40ft wide here and fast flowing. The water foams white over and around some rocks at the top of the waterfall whilst two fallen trees jut out into the water, one from each bank. These great former-trees are wedged on rocks and form a dam on the surface, capturing branches, leaves, and other detritus flowing downstream. Although where you met the ravine, the river was around 100ft below you, here it is more like 60ft. At the bottom of the waterfall the water is churned up into great gouts of white foam, whilst the spray catches the bright sunlight and forms a dazzling rainbow. It is a demonstration of nature at its most devastatingly powerful and mesmerisingly beautiful.

It is clear, and Seri's navigational abilities confirm, that if you wish to reach the vantage of the summit that you set out for, you will need to cross this river at some point. The water at the top of the waterfall looks disarmingly gentle but the current is strong, as evidenced by the white water boiling and roiling around the the rocks that jut from the otherwise tranquil surface.

Looking around, you see nothing out of the ordinary, or at least ordinary for your current situation. The jungle stretches all around you. The river continues upstream as far as you can see. Birds and insects abound, but nothing larger is immediately apparent. Certainly nothing bipedal.

Kairouani regarded the river dubiously, " This seems the best place to attempt a crossing though the wood and stones will be slippery at least its better than trusting solely to muscles over current."

" Wise One, does the Sea Father hold any sway over these tributaries?"

" Does anyone have any rope?"

" I have this one I braided from tree fibres yesterday....its light but fairly strong."

Thea stops at the edge of the river and waits for the rest of the party.

"Well, what do we do now?"

Seri looks around wide-eyed in every direction as Kairouani utters the words 'Wise One' before realizing that the Igneri huntress must be talking about her.

Recomposing herself, she offers:  "Trondro does indeed hold sway wherever waters flow and foam, though I know not whether the rivulet of His roaring power that I am able to channel will avail us here.  Rope, I do have."  Seri produces 50' hempen rope, miraculously dry from her waterproof pack.

"Perhaps we secure the ropes together and one of us ventures down, tied off to a tree on this side, so they can be pulled back if needed?  Then as we all go, tie off to the fallen trees and to rocks thereafter, and eventually a tree on the far side.  I can call for Trondro's guidance to provide subtle aid for a short duration to one person at a time who is attempting the descent and crossing, though I need to touch them first to do so."

Absently, Seri releases one end of her rope and a sudden, unexpected gust of wind from the distant ocean cuts through the sweltering, humid air.  Trondro's breath seems to carry the rope as it wraps itself around a sturdy tree closest to the bank of the ravine above the crossing, then, ties itself into a well-executed Bowline knot as Seri herself might have used aboard the Horn of Plenty.  (Using her Telekinetic feat and invisible Mage Hand to hold and tie off the rope).  She looks a little surprised at this development, but then nods and offers the other end of the rope to whoever wishes to go first.

"I could also take several minutes once more and use His divine magic to converse with birds in the trees here to ask if they have seen any hazards or these grey humanoids the monkey spoke of.  Though like the monkey, they may want something in return.  Food, most likely."

Kairouani watches in awe....

" I will go first...if there are no objections?"

"Go right ahead, we will be waiting to pull you back up if needed. If you want I can tie the rope to you so you don't fall." Thea offers.

Seri smiles at Kairouani like an eager younger sister.  The sea elf murmurs a prayer to Trondro and touches the Igneri woman's shoulder.

(Casting Guidance on Kairouani, add a 1d4 to next check).

Quote from SpiderTrapper >>

"Go right ahead, we will be waiting to pull you back up if needed. If you want I can tie the rope to you so you don't fall." Thea offers.

"That might be a good idea..."

Quote from Tybard >>

Seri smiles at Kairouani like an eager younger sister.  The sea elf murmurs a prayer to Trondro and touches the Igneri woman's shoulder.

(Casting Guidance on Kairouani, add a 1d4 to next check).

Now roped to her companions she descended and stepped onto the logs and stones trying to find her way across as she grasped the guide rope that had already been set across the river.

Athletics/Acrobatics- 18 + Guidance 4

(I would say it's Acrobatics)

Kairouani warily sets out onto the the first rock, arms out wide for balance. She moves like the hunter she is, movements fluid and economical. She places her feet deliberately and carefully, all too aware of the power of the water that tumbles away to the depths only a few feet to her left. She coils and springs like the jaguar Thea saw earlier, landing deftly on the next rock. This first leap bolsters her confidence and she takes off like a mountain goat. Her balance is perfect, and only the look of concentration on her face would have onlookers believe this was any harder than a stroll along a beach. Leaping from rock to rock over the rapidly flowing, crystal clear water, she is soon gliding along the fallen tree on the far side like a carnival acrobat before stepping onto the riverbank, the weight of the rope hanging heavy on her waist and trying its best to drag her back into the water. 

The hempen rope now stretches all the way across the river, tied to a tree on the south bank and reaching just to the north bank with enough to go around the slender Igneri as she stands right next to the water. There is not enough to tie it off around a tree on the north bank.

Can I have a perception check from Kairouani please?

Perception- 8

Although concentrating on her balance and placement of her feet, Kairouani’s eye is caught by the glint of sunlight on something metallic under the water. It is on the bed of the river between two rocks, and she glimpses it as she passes over the top, in flight. It isn’t until she reached the far bank that the incongruity occurs to her. A metallic object, in this wild, untouched land? It seems out of place. 

William watched as the native girl made her way across the rocks, wood and water. She seemed to have made her way across all right without any splashed or worse.

'How's it looking over there?' He shouted loudly over the noise of the river. 'Safe for everyone to cross?'

" Safe. But not easy in parts.....also there is something metal in the water..."

At the thought of it being a challenge, Thea perks up. She looks like she's about to cross

OOC: Is the rope tied to a tree and safe to cross? If so, I will start to cross with a 18 acrobatics check

The rope is tied to a tree on the near side, but only to Kairouani on the far side, with not enough slack to tie to a tree there.

As each person crosses, Seri, if they permit, taps their shoulder, murmuring to grant them Trondro's guidance.

For Thea, if she accepts, add 2 to Acrobatics to make it 17 + 2 = 19.

"If we all cross in this way, we must leave a method for us to return.  If there is not enough rope to tie to a tree on the far side, perhaps to a rock midstream?  I can use Trondro's ocean wind to retrieve that end of the rope on our way back.  We can leave this end tied to the tree here."

She does not know how to react to Kairouani's observation of something metal in the water.  That seems utterly out of place.

"How large is the metal object?  Something we can reach and pry out?"  She asks across the ravine.

" I'm unsure.....smaller than me certainly..."

She thrust her spear into the ground and braced herself behind it in case her rope was needed as a guide or safety line...

The rope is tied to a tree on the home bank and to Kairouani on the far bank. She is braced against the not-inconsiderable weight of the rope, which stretches across the rushing water. It can be used as a handrail for any member of the party who needs it, but if anyone does need to use it to save themselves from falling in, both they and Kairouani will need to do an Athletics check to see what happens.

The metallic object appeared yellowish, like gold. Of course gold can occur naturally in rivers in certain areas but to Kairouani's eye as she passed over it at speed, it seemed too large and too regular in shape to be natural. Round. Perhaps a large coin or medallion or some sort.

Thea is next across the river. Feeling Trondro's divine essence infuse her, she dances merrily across the rocks as if they were a ballroom floor and she was at one of those gods-awful, stuffy, over-choreographed galas that her parents used to drag her to. No, she would never have moved like this at one of those. Here, unconstrained by either impractical, nonsensical fashion or social norms, she moves more freely than perhaps ever before. This is the furthest, geographically and conceptually, that she has been from the life she escaped, and that in itself is a joy. She has no need of the guide rope as she leaps lightly across the path that Kairouani had proven.

Does Kairouani guide Thea onto the metallic object, to see if she can take a closer look and/or try to recover it?

Kairouani grasps Thea and pulls her safely into a hug and onto shore, if one of them is to retrieve it it should be the Wise One who is Favoured of Waters.

If William allows, Seri gently touches his shoulder, conferring Trondro's Guidance if he is getting ready to cross.

"You, then me, Medicine Man?  I can only provide the Ocean God's aid to one recipient at a time, and only by touch, so I shall go last.  I can also use Trondro's sea wind to pull at a distance, so perhaps I will try to retrieve the medallion Kairouiani spoke of on my way.  Or you can try if you are able."