OOC: Oooh, those navigation rolls are ROUGH...

Zip, you get the sense that the infusion might work, but when asking Faekin, if he still has some Tej left, he tells you that he had used it all to make the stew last night. For now, you are left with an esily ignitable powder. As for Maxine, your experiments produce projectiles, but you still struggle to have them appear correctly in the groove of your crossbow, oftentimes just falling out or instead almost merging with the stock, until you break off the spell. The bolts you produce also lack some of the sturdiness of a normal crossbow bolt, and they don't fly as well as you would expect, since the bolts created by prestidigitation look like bolts, but are at best a poor copy of them, lacking proper fletching and a well, fitted head. But, the principle seems to work well enough, and you get the sense that with a bit more experimentation, you might get it to work.

Maxine, furthermore, you notice that you use the experimentation to keep your mind focused on the day ahead. You had looked at your arm, and the skin around the three scratches had looked red and scaly, and you could swear you could feel the onset of a fever. But, for now, you can still power through.

Professor, after looking at the map and with the determinations of Shae, you start heading out, towards the North-Northwest, using the smoke plumes from the Volcanoes as a guide whenever you spot them through the canopy. You keep to the same marching order as the previous day, and, maybe as a result of routine, or because of the good food yestrday, or just as a result of the growing sense of urgency felt by you all, you make good time all through the morning. The professor manages to find a route that takes you through easier terrain, and by taking shifts at the front, the people clearing a path through the dense vegetation are advancing as fast a possible. After two hours of this, the Professor suddenly goes pale however... in front of you, you see the rotting piles of the adventurer's gear, where you had met the monkeys first yesterday... somehow, you must have gotten turned around in the forest. Looking around, you can't make out any creatures at least.

Thessalandra looks better than she did yesterday, and, as tactfully as possible, approaches the group: "I know my leadership yesterday might have been lacking, but among all of us, I'm one of the more experienced navigators, I believe. If it's all right with you, I propose to lead the next stretch." If no one objects, she heads off.

 Hells and heavens! She truly believed that Wildroot would help! And the morning sarted with such a promise - clearly she is close to her, probably not very original, but a true Infusion! Well, she did what she could and for now all that remained is to observe. The group had enough problem right now to frighten everyone again with gods know what.

Professor Snively:

The professor sits and looks at the map, wondering how it was possible with the map, the compass, the smoke plumes, and the stars we had managed to go completely the wrong direction!  He snorts with disgust, as if not even believing his own eyes.  He taps the compass, turning around, trying to figure out if it is functioning properly.

Investigation of the map and compass:  12

There must be some kind of foul magic about that was clouding their minds.

You do realise that in fact it wasn't so much that you had walked in circles... The spot you are now does in fact lie to the north of where you started from, but you must have veered off course the day before. The map is next to useless here, only showing the mountain crests, and with the compasses you can measure out daily travelling distances. With the rough northward direction divinated by Shae, you have a further point of reference to head for, but with the thick canopy and the lack of stars during the day, navigation is very difficult, even without rough ground to cover. 

OOC: Not that we know in-character that Thessalandra made the roll, but the Professor is fine with someone else taking a shot--he certainly hasn't had great success...

"I don care who leads as long as someone does, i dinna wan to be 'ere if more monkey things come

Without much further ado, the Captain takes the lead. “Alright, I want Cliff and Zip at the front, Cliff to cut a path and Zip as a scout or lookout. I’ll be third, with Falx nearby. Professor, you and the disc should be close to the middle, to give the wounded a rest, should they need it. Maxine and Bertrand, I want you just behind the disc. Shae, you’re with them to help out should they not be feeling alright. Faekin, Berrus, you take the rear. Cliff, Zip, between the three of us, we’ll take turns cutting a path.”

The arrangement works well, and you cut a path through the jungle, advancing at a reasonable speed well into the afternoon, heading in a north, northwesterly direction towards the plume of the volcano in the far distance. After four hours of trudging through the jungle, you come across a clearing, with a small pond surrounded by marshy terrain. Shae, you immediately notice the large mushrooms around the bigger trees, almost like bookshelves or makeshift steps. As you are about to set up camp for a little rest and to resupply your stocks, Cliff gives you a signal and Shae and Faekin immediately realise what he meant- to the right of the pond, there was a tree with three little needles stuck in it. Cliff , silently, mouths “Blowgun darts”! He had dropped to a defensive stance, scanning their surroundings carefully.

Professor Snively:

The mushrooms around the larger trees give the Professor an idea.  His eyes follow the mushroom steps up the tree and he peers into the branches where they lead--perhaps a fey creature has its home concealed here?

As usual, when someone finally decides to step in and organize things - they get organized (thank goodness or common sense of the company for no infighting). Maxine blushed with shame, being sent in rearguard - she hoped her condition was less obvious, but did not argue, of course. Even there and under the care of Shae those 4 hours of slow movement through the jungles were not easy.

Clearing and potential rest looked like a blessing, though, just looked - as usual here. Maxine looked at the darts in the tree trunk with disgust: she really - really! - had enough poison in her life right now, as well as sharp objects - be it claws, plant needles or knives. Cliff's example was clear enough and she did not dare to get out to the clearing from under the tree cover, but one can still look and she never complained about her eyesight. Maxine looked to the opposite direction to the darts (to the direction they came from), scanning the surroundings for clues like disturbed foliage, broken branches, pieces of "step-mushrooms" or clouds of spores that would indicate someone was using them recently - anything to detect degree of threat, that was obviously there.

Faekin, have had enough unknowns substances in his body for good in this bloody jungle, casts his mage hand cantrip to bring him one of the darts without leaving the defensive position and starts investigating the dart (age, fresh, quality, maybe there is even something on the dart) while also doing a quick calculation to make an assumption from where they must have been shot, trying to spot anything from that direction.

(Perception: \22. See below for alternate skill use)

Zip carries on with the captain's marching orders without complaint. Seeing as he was one of the few without injury, it made sense to put him in front. As much as he didn't like being the first to be shot, he conceded to logic and took solice in knowing he was shorter than almost everyone and was easier to camouflage in the foliage.

At the signal to halt, Zip waves vigorously to the captain and to the brush on their flank. Before dissapearing, he points to his eyes, then out to the clearing. Low bushes and shrubs rattle and shake as he snakes to the edge of the clearing. Foreign as the terrain was, ambushes were something he at least learned from urban life. Like back home, a surprise attack at this range would be lethal for the victims. He crawled on his stomach, crossbow cradled in the crooks of his elbows, and peered out across the open area from between a leafy fern and a fallen log. Natural patterns were chaotic at best, but constructed camouflage always added a level of unnatural regularity. With luck, this was a common ambush spot with established shooting blinds.

(Nature check to see if any plants or leaves look artificially constructed: \15. Stealth Check for the approach: \13)

OOC: Barlow, see that \ in front of my rolls? Someone found that to be a solution for periodical glitch with the script on the site. Try it - just place in right by the roll, without space between them.

Even though Cliff clearly pointed out the darts on the tree, Shae actually didn't make anything malicious out. She was still focused on the mushrooms. It took until someone would pull her down to the ground for cover when she'd realize things could be amiss.

Berrus doesnt really notice anything until people start ducking for cover, at which point he crouches behind the disk

Quote from BlueBayou >>

OOC: Barlow, see that \ in front of my rolls? Someone found that to be a solution for periodical glitch with the script on the site. Try it - just place in right by the roll, without space between them.

 (thank you! Blind as a bat behind this foliage, but at least no one can see me under these oversized leaves!)

The Professor scans the treetops surrounding you attentively. He was sure that there was no one lurking here, they had been rattled by the remains of a previous conflict. As he gains this certainty however, he starts to put his mind to thinking about whether the tree would be tall enough to allow someone to climb up it and get a view of the surrounding area from treetop level, to help the group with navigation, and with the planning of their future route.

Maxine, you don't notice any threats or any animals that would have recently touched the mushrooms or disturbed anything around here. You identify the mushrooms in question as Ripplebark, and can barely contain your excitement!

 Faekin, after getting one of the darts back to you using mage hand, you give it a thorough inspection. The dart was made from local materials- the needle of some plant, and a stopper made from plant fibres. Although it was likely no longer effective, Faekin determines by the darkened part at the front of the dart that it was likely poisoned once. 

Zip quickly takes off into the surrounding foliage, simply disappearing from sight it seemed. Sure that his camouflage would keep him safe, Zip began exploring th area surrounding the clearing. He could make out what looked like a game trail leading to what he reckoned was a northwestern direction. He can make out some tracks, but they're not like anything he's seen before. Maybe someone else might be able to help identify them. After about ten minutes of crawling through the foliage around the clearing, Zip is sure that no one is waiting to ambush them, but that this was a spot for local hunters.

After the lack of news or attacks for about ten minutes, the Captain calls out to Zip and the others. "What's going on? It looks safe, let's gather in the clearing and take a short break as we discuss how to move further."

The foliage rattles and shakes mometarily as Zip crawls out from beneath his leafy concealment, "Look, I don't disagree, but I also think you're throwing us into another ambush. Over there," he points through plants in the direction of the game trail, "There's this trail, see? Its got lots of tracks like it's popular, but hasn't been used in a day or so. If we sit in the clearing, we may be the next thing ambushed. I suggest we stay in the brush here, close so we know where everyone is, then put a lookout or two to keep watch while we rest."

Hey Prof. Can you give me your Book for a moment please, maybe I can find something with it's help.