Erolith nods to Tarton, grateful for the accompaniment.

Stealth = 17

Perception = 22

Gwrgi looks at Erolith, and then at all the others.  "Advice?  That we conceal the boats and supplies among the overgrowth here at our landing place, and that then we all go.  If anyone feels, not merely that they're not trained at stealth but that some specific factor makes them positively and actively bad at it, they might stay in ambush near the boats.  Otherwise, though, we are too few to be able to divide our forces safely.  And I do not include The Black Rose's eyes among such factors, since the narrow paths among the reeds make ears and nose almost as useful anyway."

She follows Erolith and Tarton ...

===========

Stealth 3

Perception 6

... with a dull squashing sound as the mud muffles her chain mail just before it jingles.  "Like that.," she says, apparently unfazed by how close she came to betraying the group's position.  "I'll muffle that now, but I wanted to illustrate the most important skill of all on the river: flexibility.  You must be ready at a moment's notice to turn a broken reed into a spear shaft, as it were.  If my mail had clanked loudly, I would immediately have hidden with other noisy comrades by the riverbank and used our din to divert attention from the stealthy ones slipping inland."

The Black Rose prepares to travel stealthily and keep a lookout, but waits for Artifex to join before following the others.

—————

Perception: 19

Stealth: 23

Artifex follows, doing their best to step with care, but they seem distracted, muttering to itself as they continue to examine it's tattoos.

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Both Perception and stealth: 11

You scramble out of the boats with varying degrees of grace, but no one makes any noise that appears to draw any response or heed whatever.  Once you are all ashore, Erolith is able to determine that there are no creatures in the immediate vicinity but the waving vegetation all around you.  You can catch glimpses of the nearer clearing to the north as the grasses toss and wave, but the cracks are as sinuous as the grass is and there is no way of seeing up the riverbank as far as the clearing Erolith wants to investigate.

============

(for convenience sake, let's assume that all the clearings on the river are three 'legs' apart; e.g. to go from where you are now to the nearer northern clearing (for instance), whoever chooses to lead the group on that leg rolls Perception, Stealth and Nature to navigate, move quietly and detect any other beings in the area; has the results described and played out; and then repeats that process; the third set of rolls are assumed to take place just before you enter the clearing and will naturally vary based on circumstances.  To get from that clearing to the one Erolith wants to check out, or to get from where you are now to the southern clearing, will involve the same process.  Please discuss your marching order and any other plans, and then have the leader for the first leg (for which Gwrgi offers to guard the rear and take lead later when the first leaders' eyes may be tiring) )

“It appears we are alone for the time being,” Erolith communicates to the group. “I’ll take the lead heading towards the proposed campsite and hopefully our trek will be uneventful.”

Erolith slides his swords from their sheaths as a precaution and then proceeds towards the clearing.

Perception = 15

Stealth = 24

Nature = 14

Erolith's well-trained reflexes, honed in the rustle and stir of a forest, help him easily lead the group on the first leg of your trek up the riverbank.  The sunlight is dim and filtered in this grassbound crevice, and only a few birds sing among the rustling swish.  In fact, Erolith thinks this sinking of the land near the riverbank is a fairly recent phenomenon in large part because he hears so many fewer birds than he would expect in the near vicinity while the chorus from farther up either ridgeline is as robust as ever.

You have reached a point where a few ragged openings show on the landward side of the path you have been following, which wavers back and forth along the riverbank now nearer and now farther.  These are no different than the beginnings of several false paths you have passed by on that side, though, which have always run only a few tangled feet before plunging down into an ever wetter morass on that side.  Ahead of you, the second leg of your journey to the first clearing lies ahead along a long sweeping curve that now hides that place from direct view.

Tarton follows Erolith second in line to hopefully be closer to the action when it happens, while wondering what it's like to be able to see above all the tall grass. "Well, at least if I'm quiet enough, anyone that see's the group will think there are only four of us. Unless they can smell or hear me, that is." he says quietly.

The Black Rose's voice cut through the air with a quiet determination. "Let me hold the rear together with you, Gwrgi," he suggested, his tone carrying a sense of solidarity and shared responsibility.

Artifex seems content to keep to the center, humming to themselves as the group travels, plucking the occasional reed or other plant it finds interesting. Occasionally they'll spout random facts about swamps, mostly mundane. "If you see a Will-o'-Wisp, don't follow it. They're quite fun company but tricksy little bastards who like to lure travelers deep into the swamp and abandon them there. Like the world's most high stakes game of tag" They say the last part with a giggle, leaving unclear whether it approve or disapproves of such behavior.

"How often do you run into Will-o'-Wisps in swamps, and what do they look like? I'm not experienced with finding the correct path to follow out in nature. The most I have done so far is follow roads from one town to the next, though I do have passable skill at finding food out in the wild and at traveling quietly." Tarton admits while looking up at the clouds as the sun continues to set. "But I will take a stab at leading us to the next clearing if we need to switch."

Tarton pulls out his short sword and continues along the path.

Perception: 23
Stealth: 29
Nature: 14

Erolith smiles at Artifex. “Diabolical. I like it!”

He turns to follow Tarton. 

Perception = 12

Stealth = 26

Nature = 4

"They generally strike once it starts to be dark. You'll see a wisp of light just out of sight,or in the corner of your eye. Some people mistake it for a sign of shelter, or potential allies. Some just follow it because it looks pretty. Either way, they'll always vanish before you can quite see them, usually reappearing just a bit away."

Artifex shrugs. "Swamps are just a common habitat for them, if they exist on a given plane at all. Mostly I encountered them when I was young, in the feywild. See?" They lift their hair, turning it's head to show the group a small tattoo on the back of their neck. It's as blue as an ocean, but the shape is reminiscent of a flame. "I learned this little trick by watching them. Sorta a portable escape hatch. Let's me poof away if things get dicey"

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Perception: 19

Stealth:9

Nature:9

 Think of how Will-o'-Wisp look in Brave, that's the tattoo

The Black Rose walks deep in thought after the others but does not say anything.

—————

Perception: 9

Stealth: 21 

Nature: 11

This leg of the trip goes almost as smoothly as the other.  Artifex does trip on a coiling weed that lies across the path nearly camouflaged by its color and the unevenness of the muddy ground.  They stumble and fall on one knee with their other leg supporting them, in a position that for a moment looks whimsically like they were proposing to the thicket of reeds by the side of the path into which they stumbled.  At the fall, some small piping birds are scared out of the thicket, the first you've seen near the riverbank.  This is the only clearly attributable response to the fall, though Tarton swears he heard some gurgling noises coming from the river's edge just after it happened.  No one else hears them, though, and they are not repeated.

A cozy clearing in the reeds lies about fifteen feet ahead of you, running down almost to the riverbank and with a small opening leading north and slightly inland on the other side.  As far as you can tell the clearing is empty, though it is slightly hazy with the late afternoon sun.  It is roughly oval in shape, with a bulge in the side just south of the far opening. 

Artifex can't help but give a slight laugh. "Well, guess I'm married to that thicket now. That's gonna make cuddling somewhat difficult"

Erolith laughs, “Always the groomsman and never the groom.”

He then takes time to explore the clearing, particularly the bulge on the south side.

Perception = 18

Investigation = 11

----------------
Response to Artifex answering Tarton's question before leaving first clearing - Tarton says in response to the tattoo Artifex showed him, "They certainly look like they would be a guide and not something threatening or sinister don't they? Quite the devious tricksters. If I see one I'll remember to not follow it. I hope."
---------------

Tarton chuckles at the jests. "Well..." Tarton says with a sigh of relief as he walks into the clearing, breaking his silence as he's no longer trying to be stealthy, but still not talking too loudly. "That was a bit nerve wracking leading the group. I'm glad we made it to the clearing. Or rather, I hope this is the clearing we meant to go to."

He sheaths his short sword and starts to sit down but instead starts checking all his pockets. He then walks around the clearing picking up marble sized or smaller pebbles. Those that know Tarton guess these are to hide on members of the group. Soon after starting to walk around, he stops and groans softly, "Uggghhhh!" He then walks over to the southern edge of the clearing and catches a grasshopper climbing the reeds. After he takes it's head off and eats it, he quickly washes it down with a drink from his waterskin spilling some on the ground in his haste, and resumes his search for pebbles while grumbling to himself.

Erolith is not quite sure what he is hearing ... or rather, he does not understand it ... until Tarton begins moving about the southern edge of the clearing near the river.  Then he hears strangely muffled echoes of the sounds Tarton is making reproduced in the clearing he himself has gone to investigate, and realizes that the land subtly dips there just enough to create an echo chamber for noises coming from the river and clearing to the south.  He's not sure why he doesn't hear echoes from the north ... possibly because of the way the river bends ... but he definitely hears the same gurgling noises Tarton described earlier; they seem to be coming from the riverside somewhere south of the clearing you are now in {another Investigation roll at DC 15 would allow Erolith to estimate how far).  His sharper elven hearing also picks up faint hissings at intervals that sound like the slow rhythm of hissing reptilian breath when the creature(s) are moving slowly.  They do not, however, remind him of the one time he ran across a lizardfolk.  These breaths are not as modulated, less varied in their rhythm.  They are also considerably deeper, more baritone than tenor.