(@Ori: Yes, yes they do. I had planned to point that out in the previous post but somehow forgot when it came time to typing.)

The spokestoad tilts its massive head. "Umm... tall lizard very tasty, yes. But good at escape. Hard to catch. Sharp too. Not good hunt. What is furry? What is skinny? Hard rocks not tasty." Another giant toad approaches and earns a ferocious challenging croak from spokestoad. Some territorial dispute might be brewing. 

Denae, Utar, and Neya stay alert but mostly quiet, thinking, preparing.They might not know what Doozey is asking about, but the answer is delivered to the halfling all the same. "Tall lizards go to inland. Night away from island. Day to island." The toad looks in the direction of the island. The ranger understands it to be south-southwest, which reveals CRAP might be following an approximately accurate direction but nonetheless still a bit off. 

"Did you hunt? You carry much. More than tall lizards. Food?" The spokestoad's head tilts to the opposite side.

By now, those with passive perception above 12 have noticed a dismantled humanoid skeleton off to the side, submerged in shallow swampy waters. 

(@Lerus: Heh! Noice. A shame dialogue back then didn't quite go smoothly, but such are things sometimes.)

Apart froma  brief glance in the direction of the potential challengers, Doozey takes care not to show too much concern, least his own position be contested as well. But sensing time was growing short with the group, he presses on with what might've been his last few moments with them while things stayed "civil".

"True true, that. Hard to catch tall lizards are. Which why I hunt WITH no-toads here. If fail, they become food. If succeed, all eat well. All have plenty of tasties to go around." He confesses. To which, Biscuit kind of tries in vain to tilt his head in such a way as to look back at Doozey. Before he can say anything however, Doozey sharply whispers, "Don't worry, brother. Only the newcomer if things get desperate enough." At that, Biscuit squints at Doozey for a moment, before turning away shaking his head until he spies the skeleton...

Meanwhile, Doozey finallys looks up again to the spokestoad, and opens his mouth to say something, only to stop and say instead, "Mn. Carry much, yes. But... still hunt for more. Is why seeking Tall Lizards since always have bounty they do. But, I do have delicious you can try. Keep feed and strong all day. Here. I toss up and you catch and eat. Have more for others too if want." Grinning inwardly, Doozey fishes out one of his Doozey's Delectable Devesators, wraps each one in a couple strips of jerky, and then after signaling for the toads to be ready, he'd launched the carefully packed together bundles one by one to make sure each toad are able to get a single bullet or two.

(@Lerus: I can't say I necessarily expected to use the DDDs in quite this manner, but by golly am I happy for the accidental creation! Even if it doesn't quite work out.) 

Shiftng himself onto fresh ground, Utar finds himself a bit lots amid the chorus of croaking. Looking to Neya and Danae, he shrugs, "Do we think Doozey is doing well here, or what?"

"I honestly cannot tell one way or the other," Neya folds her arms. "That's the issue of only having half the conversation, I suppose."

(@Ori: Yep, a perfect use of the delectables!)

As soon as one of the flying delectables reaches its arc-apex, the spokestoad launches their massive, slime tongue at it. This signals to the  many other toads that a meal is served. They all move closer to Doozey, over a dozen of them. If Doozey runs out of delectables, Denae steps forward with some additional morsels to supplement the efforts.

It doesn't take long for CRAP to realize how successful the offer was. The spokestoad has little else to say. Having eaten two of the delectables themselves, the spokestoad soon finds a cozier spot and plops to the wet ground, fully asleep. Many others follow suit. 

With information on a corrected path, CRAP resumes their approach toward the lizardfolk. How would you like to proceed?

(OOC: Congrats on avoiding a fight with the clever deployment of food!)

 With the spokestoad having eaten two, Doozey could certainly indeed use the supplementary meal, and so looked at Danae in a new light...

"Okay, so I change my mind to really, really desperate times at least." He whispers to Biscuit, motioning for the group to follow him at least a short ways from the toads and his throng, so that he could fill them in on the details. He then follows it up with, "Also, uh... Sorry for a bit longer there. Normally I'd happily give the play by play, but you never want to let attention waver too much when it comes to negotiating with beasts, least they tire of you quick." He gives an awkward and sheepishly smile.

"But, uhm, more importantly seems we sounded as if we're gonna be doing a bit of swimming pretty soon. And sadly, I... don't have much of solution for that one Mr. Utar."

"I guess something might get lost in the translation between the croaking and common... No don't worry too much just yet. If it comes to it, swimming might yet be an option, but the lizardfolk are using boats, so we might get another chance."

(@Doozey: How many food servings do you need Denae to provide?)

Denae compliments Doozey for the first time. "Good thinking in entreating with the toads, wild halfling. I can appreciate a good negotiation if it avoids an unnecessary fight."

Linking her answer with the Utar's comment, she continues: "I might be able to entreaty with some creatures as well. Should we find something willing to transport us over water, a bit of magic may convince the beast."

Finally, she pushes the group onward: "So, Mr. Ranger, in which direction are we traveling now that we are searching for a specific body of water, if I understood you correctly? Also, before we leave, I couldn't help but notice at least one humanoid skeleton over there. Now that the creatures are mostly asleep, should we investigate it for clues? I hope it is not one of the villagers we are trying to rescue."

(@Ori: I'll take a survival check with your answer to Denae, please.)

For at least a few moments, Doozey was actually taken aback by the compliment. But as he played back the words 'wild halfling' back over his head, said halfling looked away with furrowed brows uncertain of how to actually take it.

Soon enough, the whole matter is dismissed with a curt few shakes of the head, before then his attention returns to Danea. "Uh, Yea, it's basically on an island to the south-southwest of here from what I understood of things. But what's this about a-..." Biscuit's boofing and shuffling closer to the remains finally draws the halfling's attention. "Ah. Poor sod." He murmurs as he eventually climbs down Biscuit to have a closer look at the bones. Mostly in an effort to determine how long they've likely been there, but also what might've happened to their "owner".

-Survival: 24.

(OOC: Not sure if checking out the bones would be a separate roll, but just in case here it is: 21.)

"If nothing else, I think I will look around to see if there is any way for us to fashion a makeshift raft," Neya says as she surveys the area.

Survival: 19

Most of the giant toads have fallen asleep. Chances are, this is a normal part of these creatures' day, though the full belies certainly sped up the process. Those 3 or 4 toads fed by Denae remain awake, their portions seemingly not being as fulfilling as Doozey's accidental bullets. Nonetheless, these toads do not feel too protective of the nearby humanoid remains. If anything, they feel indifferent at this moment.

His attention called to such remains, the stoutling examines his newest find. Doozey recognizes the dead bones of a halfing, likely a less fortunate traveler who got lost. An exact dating is beyond the ranger's cursory look, but the bones are simply too clean to be a recent death, even in this decomposition-friendly environment. What is not beyond the ranger is the one useful belonging of the swamp victim: a purse containing 53gp, 39sp, and 24cp. Other sacks, packs, pieces of clothing, and even mundane weapons are simply ruined.

As the group begins to advance in the south-southwest direction pointed by Doozey, Neya is sure to keep an eye out for raft-worthy materials. The area is a catalyst for decomposition and rot, so coming across fallen trees that would still make do as water vessels can be quite challenging. Nonetheless, the monk comes across two or three fresh-enough fallen logs and a good amount of vines that would certainly come in handy in that effort. 

The group advances for several minutes, going farther and farther into the swamp. As they are about to commence their fourth hour of swamp trekking, Denae invites them to think about their approach: "We might be following the right direction, but we should still be careful. We don't know if this island is just around the corner or still hours away. Should we revert to our more careful approach now or continue cutting vegetation as we advance, so to speak?" 

After saying a soft prayer in his native tongue, Doozey takes the purse if only in the vain hope of using it or its contents to track down the halflings next of kin. But with the mission beginning to reassert its importance in the forefront of his mind, he'd turn away from the remains without another word, leaving the bones too to be reclaimed in time by nature.

For those that understand halfling:

 Later on...

"S'pose that depends on how much Neya has in her, I suppose. 'fore I suspect 'fore long that she'll need to refocus her, uh, energy 'n all that." Doozey states frankly. "But if she has, I'd say we can go with the stealthy approach fer a bit. At least 'till we find a decent spot along the way, if nothing else, to take an honest breath. Big Mama only knows you lot need it a fair bit, to say the least."

For if all opt for the stealth approach:

"I can activate the shroud again," Neya nods. "Depending on how our progress goes, I may need a small break. My head is beginning to buzz a little."

Neya reapplies the her spell.

Stealth: 24

Here's the stealth check for Denae including pass without trace: 29

Let's see what Utar gets before moving forward.

Utar's stealth - 11

DM's Screen:

(OOC: That is still a pretty high average stealth check!)

Most of the fourth hour of swamp exploration unfolds as the earlier ones. There are plenty of hazardous ground to traverse, many examples of slithering animals to avoid, and everything and everywhere is wet. Thankfully, CRAP's approach is masked from both a visual and auditory perspective. Even the sound of Utar's loud armor is mostly lost in Neya's magic. Their trek is undisturbed.

It is close to the completion of this fourth hour that the party comes across something that catches their investigative attention: a sudden flurry of movement. In the distance, through a thick stand of old trees, you see several humanoid-reptilian shapes guiding a long raft. The raft appears to carry more humanoids that are sitting on the raft's surface, but it is difficult to make out who or what they might be. The guides are waist deep in water in front, behind, and next to the raft. They don't appear to have noticed you. 

Looking up to the sky, the softer glow of the late afternoon penetrates the canopy. Rain clouds are accumulating once again, and the temperature has fallen by a few degrees already. If this is one of the rafts returning from last night's raid, they must be some sort of stragglers. Either that, or they traveled particularly far for their captives. 

After hunkering quickly to to make sure they aren't spotted, Doozey observes for a few moments. "Looks like we lucked out," Doozey whispers and Biscuit chimed in with a low 'boof' of his own. "Or... maybe not. 'cause if they have captives where their going, I don't think it'll be easy convincing this lot to come with, or... eh, stay shacked up somewhere in the wilds 'till we can get them all back later, if we should try somethin' now." He admits. "And if we leave with just these ones, then there's no tell'n what'll happen to the rest still being held captive." He said, only grimaces moments later. "Well, 'side from maybe the obvious. so... what do the rest of you think? 'cause I have a mind to follow over start'n somethin' just yet."

"I'm inclined to agree. If there's more folk on that island, we need to try to bring them home. We're likely only getting one chance to head back through the swamp, let's bring as many as we can."