"Or we can simply swim twice. I mean, I will swim or Krodhen will walk and bring the boat back. Just decide who waits on this side of the river first."

(OOC: Just realized at best Rhogal has gone all fungusy. So, I don't think Hun would be aware of wildshaping)

Hun frowned at the pair. But after doing his own headcount for the second time, he facepalms hard before dragging the hand down his muzzle. "Ugh.. yes. Mr. Thicc can handle the paddling just fine. But still... hmm... Krodhen, right? Mind carrying our dwarven friend across at least? 'cause between myself, Mr. Thicc, and Eeyal, the boat should manage our weight well enough. 'cause contrary to no doubt all of your beliefs, Mr. Thicc isn't /that/ heavy." He then while rubbing his chin glances over to the construct; who had in turn waved enthusiastically back at the Kobold.

"Well... Perhaps no more heavy than Mr. Yully there thanks to the internal parts. But still!" He exclaimed, jabbing a finger in the air. If however the others remained unconvinced or his who passive engineering know-how might suggest some folly in his wishes, he'd grumble again and volunteer to stay behind until Eeyal got off-loaded on the otherside. 

"Better yet, I don' nee ta be myself for the trip. I could turn into a wee rodent an' hitch a ride on someone." Rhogal says. "Perhaps a squirrel?"

Yulmiath pats his stomach, "Aye, there might some truth in that. And I've eaten well since we arrived here. Ol' Mr Thicc here hasn't had anything, poor thing."

Thinking about the crossing, Yulmiath looks to Rhogal and then Kordhen. "If you're going to stow away for the crossing. Best do it in the pocket of the guy who's not going to get wet."

DM's Screen:

After a bit more deliberation, the Snack Pack decides to put their magical items and capabilities in effect so they can cross the rive in one go.

Rhogal assumes the form of a squirrel (Wild Shape) and climbs onto Krodhen's shoulder. The paladin activates his Ring of Water Walking and begins to slowly cross the river on foot. Yulmiath pops on his hood and dives into the river. His magically-enhanced swim is nearly as speedy as the dolphins'.

The remaining members of the group finish pushing the canoe onto the water and hop in. Mr. Thicc assumes rowing duties, as does Eeyal. Hun is trying his best not to get wet, while Kairus wonders how the triton ended up in the canoe while the dragonborn is swimming like a fish.

The crossing is not a swift affair, especially for those walking their way to the other side. Nonetheless, nothing about it proves to be dangerous, much like Yulmiath had judged. Once the task is complete and the group is on the other side, Eeyal has some advice: "Depending on how far east or south we go, we may have to cross this or other rivers and lakes. It might be worth carrying the canoe, though it will certainly slow us down. What do you want to do?"

She also reminds the party of their arrangement. She does so in a friendly way: "Also... no one has offered to pay my fee yet. How many days am I being hired for this time?"

(OOC: Two people are required to carry the canoe along on dry land. Mr. Thicc wont tire, but the other spot might need to be filled by a rotating cast. Carrying the canoe for too long without someone relieving you may result in a point of exhaustion.)

"Here," Kairus gave Eeyal her 2 golds for today without much thought as always. "As for canoe... Can't we hide it here? You know, leave under some bush, covered with branches and take paddles with us. Can help to carry it, but why bother?"

Yulmiath shrugs, "I'm happy to help carry a canoe if someone else can clear the way."

He flexes his arms and shoulders a little as if loosening up.

"I'm ok to take the first shift. If it rains, at least me and Mr Thicc will be dry!"

"Might as well keep the canoe with us" Krodhen sighs at the prospect of another turn carrying the canoe through the jungle "...there's no telling what kind of nasties might be in the rivers here...if what we have come across so far gives us some idea of what is to come"

Krodhen will take his place beside or behind Eeyal, his not so watchful eyes scanning the areas around the group

Perception: 14

"Ah, right. Sorry about that, Eeyal. Here. For the next two days as well, just in case something happens to me on the way." Hun immediately fishes out another 4 gold and offers it to Eeyal. "Officially that'll make three days for your service. Though if need be especially for the trip back to Ahoyhoy, I'm sure more coin can be scrounged up." He further assures, before taking a moment to address the others. 

"I'd have to agree as well with taking the canoe, if rivers and lakes are gonna be more a potential problem than I at first expected." He then looks pointedly at Kairus, "Mr. Yully", and Krodhen. "At least for most of us... Tempting as it would be to cover it up for now and spare the time.  Anyhow! Let's be off! Time's a wasting as is, after all!"

"Aye, I'd feel comfortable keepin' it wit' us. It's a big island, who knows how many bodies of water we don' know about..."

Eeyal collects Kairus' and Hun's payments for her services with a thankful expression on her face. She was about to add a few words of gratitude to accompany her smile, but the party moves into a discussion on whether or not it is worth carrying the canoe along. Kairus thinks it is not necessary, but Rhogal and the rest of the group disagree with the bard. Yulmiath offers to take the first carrying shift, and Krodhen the next, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Mr. Thicc, presumably, does not mind being permanently assigned to canoe carrying duties.

Both matters resolved, the party moves onward. Hours of jungle hiking pass and, by now, the Snack Pack is getting used to the many strange sounds the jungle produces. Small and medium hills and mountains begin to rise from among the trees, signaling that the group is approaching the range they spotted on the map. Krodhen does not notice any particular threat to the group as they advance, and neither does Eeyal communicate any source of danger. The group eventually passes by the Shrine of Fangs once again, though Eeyal is clearly following a path that puts some distance between the party and the shrine. With enough rotation, carrying the canoe proves to be only a small inconvenience for now.

(OOC: Pausing here to see if anyone want to take advantage of being close to the shrine again for anything they might want to do.)

Kairus only glanced towards the shrine. Though he fully intended to bring back here the statue (should they find it), there was no need to return just yet. It only reminded about the group's goal and the strange creatures they were about to meet.

"I've no need to go revisiting the nightmare fuel that lives in there."

Yulmiath confirms his opposition to heading back into the temple.  Assuming he might be called on to carry the canoe again, he take the opportunity while the group talks to use its weight to work on himself, jerking out a few simple dead lifts.

(OOC - Here's a perception check for when Krodhen is on canoe duty.  Yulmiath will take up position at the back of the group since Eeyal is taking guiding duties and hopefully make sure nothing is creeping up on the group from behind 19.)

Despite Hun gasping at some sudden epiphany seeing the Shrine, he immediately clamped his mouth shut again and rubbed his neck. "Hmm... 'ey, they can wait. We'll be back 'round soon enough." He muttered, before waving any onlookers onward on their course. 

"I've a feelin' that they won't appreciate a quick 'How do you do.' I'll feel comfy coming back when there's a reason."

He looks around for any dangers, as well.

Perception: 25

The party agrees to follow Eeyal's lead in giving the shrine a wide berth. On they go.

While not helping carry the canoe, Yulmiath and Rhogal take turns keeping watch around and behind the party. Several more hours pass as the group moves along and Yulmiath has little to report besides the uncomfortable heat. Rhogal spots a group of marmosets swinging by, which is quite a cute sight, but nothing worth reaching for a weapon. It seems the jungle might be losing its interest on the party.

The heat only gets more intense as the afternoon advances. Eeyal warns that the heat is only going to get worse: "Well, have to take a mountain path and cross over to the other side. Once we do, we'll be close to the central volcanoes. You may want to start traveling on your briefs only then." This mountain path is not very steep, and the jungle vegetation does not follow its slope, so the stuffy air relents a little. As the Snack Pack begins to gain altitude, they can enjoy the view of the entire northwest peninsula of the Snout of Omgar. It is quite the sight.

By the time the party begins to reach the apex of the path, they can already see volcanic smoke rising into the air. As the slope switches from upward to downward, the view the group had been enjoying changes to one of the entire central volcanic area. All three volcanoes in this area are gurgling lava and releasing ash into the air. Two of them are quite large, while the third one is significantly smaller. Streams of magma flow from their craters in such a manner that a river of lava forms in between the three volcanoes and flows toward the northern bay. In the distance, the Snack Pack can see a cloud of vapor rising from the spot where Omgar's fire meets the sea. The land around the volcanoes is nothing like that around Ahoyhoy. The luscious green of jungles and hills gives way to grays and blacks of ash and basalt. This central area of the island looks desolate.

"Come on now," Eeyal encourages the group. "Let us get as close to the first cave as we can before night falls." The group moves down the mountain and into a transitional valley. where ash and some vegetation coexist. As the group moves closer to the volcanoes, it is clear the grey and black tones are quickly claiming whatever green patch of ground is left. Eeyal points to a mountain of ash and basalt in the distance, which has no crater, and says: "The entrance to the first Geonid Cave is just on the other side of that smaller mountain. I suggest we progress until sundown and call it a night before venturing inside. You never know what you will find once you go delving."

(OOC: If the group agrees with Eeyal's suggestion, you can go ahead and roll for your watches and let me know what you are doing at camp and overnight. If you disagree with the suggestion, then I'd like to hear your plans for nocturnal cave-delving please.) 

Still carrying the canoe now appears to be the wrong choice.  No rivers or water up here!

"Guess we might want to hide the canoe now? Unless the mountain path is easy enough to traverse that we could carry across and hide it at the entrance to the first cave?"

While the party debates on the best choice of action for the canoe, Yulmiath settles into preparing a camp.  Doubtful that the sparse ground will offer much to burn in a fire, Yulmiath is at least heartened by the fact that the party did not run across anything that would have been able to be prepared into a new culinary sensation to tempt their tastebuds.  Their rations can be eaten cold, which, given the stifling heat of the area and likely lack of firewood, might be for the best.

Preparing for the night, Yulmiath pulls his boots off, wiggling his toes and exposing his feet tattoos. "Evening Feathers, Evening Porky."

(OOC - Yulmiath is happy to take any watch. Given how his previous watches have gone, I'm not sure how useful it will be... Perception - 4.)

Kairus was all for hiding the boats from the start and surely would not disagree with it now. The last few hours were... hard. The wet heat of the jungle did not bother the triton that much, but on this dry hot ground, he felt like a fish on the frying pan. He had to close his gills completely and continued the journey in uncharacteristic silence.

His mood did not improve much in the evening but he fully agreed to push forward as close as possible and would not mind entering, actually. Who knows, maybe it's better inside? Hopefully? As usual, Kairus would offer to keep the first watch (or any other if someone needed more time before bed.) Perception: 17

Hun entertains the thought of some marmoset stake if Rhogal ever pointed them out, but never eludes to anything there prior to the group moving on with their journey. In fact, the kobold stayed fairly focused more on reaching their destination and the path ahead over the common attractions of the island. Though quietly when there was a pause to take in the view, he remarked on it being nice...

"Mmmmn... I s'pose hiding it sooner than later would be best. Though, we'll need a pretty good marker for it, least it get camouflaged by all this soot." A Hun remarked a touch breathily from all the exertion up to that point. At which point he'd look to Eeyal for suggestions on a possible recourse on where they might secure the canoe. Or in the event lack there of, Mr. Thicc had no qualms at least with carrying it a bit further to the cave entrance itself. Either way, it would be construct on watch again that evening as Hun found himself resting above ground for a change and still in armor despite the discomforting heat. 

Mr. Thicc's Third Watch: 11.