Doozey clicked his tongue. Yet without the will to waste breath on trying to hurry his companions along on a gamble, the halfling settled on looking again southward and ponder their next move. "... It's probably a long shot, but I don't think those that scampered off got a good look at us to know for sure more intelligent foes ambushed them. But I agree with Neya. While one scouting party going missing isn't necessarily the end of the world, as there's plenty of dangers out here. Having something attack them this close to their home is bound to lead to reinforcements being sent out to at least check up on those left behind to sort us out." He said, prior to then turning to Neya with a frown.

"I don't s'pose you got enough shadow magic trickery in ya for one more to mask our steps. Not sneak up on them at this point, but find a spot at least nearby to recuperate a bit more for the next leg of this operation. If not, I can still try to guide us hopefully to a decent enough spot and have biscuit help cover tracks. But whatever we do, we'll have to act fast."

@Neya: Your first realization is that these scouts are much better armed than their Dusk-Dusk counterparts. If this is not indication enough, these reptilians do not carry an identifying tribal symbol on them as Bruuxl did. Instead, they let their dark red body-point serve as their markings. Ironically, the paint is not bright enough to provide great contrast against the creatures' dark green scales, so the paint can only be noticed with some effort. (I'll leave it up to you to deduce whether these are members of the Rootwater or Muckmarsh tribe, as described by Bruuxl.)

Seeing Neya join the other investigators, Doozey concedes that a rushed pursuit is not in the cards for CRAP at the moment. The halfling instead begins to strategize, hoping to be able to rely on Neya's shadow arts some more. Should that not be an option currently, Denae offers: "I can mask my own approach quite well. If the group agrees, I can scout ahead and report back." 

"Ironically, not without said time..." Neya shrugs.

"If we only needed a short period of respite, I feel strong enough to stand watch for the rest of you.  Otherwsie do we push on?  If whoever is on the island is going to send out their own search parties, it would be better if we could spirit ourselves closer to the island itself."

Utar looks to the others and then adds the following, as if to punctuate his point: "The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm."

"What?! That isn't even remotely true! How hard did they hit'cha Utar?" Doozey asks while giving the half-orc the most incredulous look. Even Biscuit cocked his head to the side in confusion. "'cause that's the sort of horse shit logic some wee one comes up with sometimes, and just so they can go on a venture that they're DEFINITELY suppose to be on." He adds frankly, then sighs and shakes his head.

"Denae." He turns to the Ex-Silent Sister. "If ya really up for it, then I say go for it." He then looks back to the rest of the party. "'cause let's face it. 'till Neya has recovered her strength, it'll be easier for one person to sneak past them then a full squad. Especially with you clanking about, Mr. Utar." The stoutling conveys prior to giving the armored half-orc a smirk. "Now let's push on elsewhere. I'm still confident I can navigate us to a spot to rest in relative safety. An after say an hour, assuming ya don't find us on yer own Denae, we'll meet back up at-..." Doozey then proceeds to describe some recent landmark some ways back, but where the party had taken a moment's respite before their journey.

(@Ori: Denae is very much still a Silent Sister. Being a Red Plume sympathizer does not preclude her from being part the Sisterhood, at least in her mind.) 

"Very well," Denae agrees. "While you rest and/or discuss how much closer we should get before resting, I shall fulfill the role of the vanguard. Finding you should not be a problem on my way back. The swamp stinks but nothing carries the heavy musk of an unwashed badger like you do," she teases.

With that, Denae disappears, apparently foregoing the benefits of a short rest.

-> Denae's stealth check using Mask of The Wild: 26 (24)

(OOC: What exactly would the group like to do in the meantime? Doozey has no trouble finding a descent resting spot but I'd like to know how far time-wise you are willing to go from your current spot. @Ori's suggestion reads to me like a "just over yonder" approach. @MB's suggestion sounds more like a purposeful march toward the island followed by a rest. Am I understanding this correctly?)

Following the smaller group of OG CRAPper's to a place of partial refuge and respite, Utar keeps his head on a swivel to make sure that whatever rest Neya and Doozey are able to affect is worthwhile.

Perception - 17

Once successful in navigating a fair ways from the site of the battle (as mentioned in group chat), Doozey at least takes a few minutes doubling back on the path and making sure to further obfuscate their passing wherever possible. But if only has an added precaution, if there should be any birds in the area, he'd call upon the power to entreat with them in hopes of enlist their aid as an early warning system.

Though if those he manages to persuade are particularly wise as they are helpful, he'd leave the one with instructions to guide Denae, or at least an elf bearing her description, back to the party

-Persuasion: 27.
(If needed for any birbs. Same bonus if animal handling)

The group eventually agrees to do a bit of both: a short rest sooner rather than later, but also walking almost another hour away, just to be safe.

Finding a secluded spot is not hard in the dense swamp, but there is no telling what parts are familiar to the Lizardfolk that inhabit this region. Doozey entreats with one of several swamp sparrows he locates and successfully recruits its aid. The bird will help Utar keep an eye out for danger while Doozey and Neya take a breather and wait for Denae.

@Utar: Finally being afforded a chance to look around the swamp without having to also move quickly, you pick up on several additional details around you. Along with all the mud, the river water is somewhat foamy as well. You spot a copperhead snake, though this reptile seems disinterested in you. There is plenty of mundane wildlife here. You accidentally step on an ant hill, and the little workers immediately get back to rebuilding it. As dense as the canopy above is, you start to recognize the warmer tones of dusk coming through.

About an hour later, CRAP feels rested enough to continue on their journey, as long as they are comfortable doing so under twilight. The swamp sparrow raised no alarms. Danea has not yet returned.

(OOC: Everyone may complete a short rest. Feel free to roll hit dice if you'd like.)

"Neya, should we be worried if Danae hadn't found us yet? There's some magics I could utilise to help track her?"

"Eh, If'n ya that worry, can't ya message her?" Doozey asks offhandedly. "Otherwise if'n everyone is ready, we can start head'n to meet'n point I told her about, and with any luck, she'll be there by the time we reach there." The stoutling suggests to the accompany sounds of a solid "BOOF" in agreement from Biscuit.

Doozey SR Healing(1): 3. (if less than 5, spending another die for 4.)

During the break, Neya breaks her attunement with Lancet and establishes one with her cloak of the bat.

 "I am concerned about her, yes." Neya nods, "The marsh is certainly a different place than where she has trained. If we can get in touch with her, it will do much to alleviate my worries. If not, has anyone seen which direction she went?"

DM's Screen:

(OOC: To clarify, the group is now backtracking to some spot at least 40 minutes in the opposite direction, an then some, so they can reach the landmark agreed upon with Danea. Is that right?)

(OOC: Also, what message would you like to send to Denae? What direction do you point to when trying to send this message to Denae, hoping she is within 120ft of you? Do you do this from the spot where you short-rested, after backtracking to the landmark, or somewhere in between?)

"I can message Danae regardless of direction traveled or distance, praise be to Torm. I would be willing to use some of my good standing with the big man on your behalf, Neya."

(OOC Forgot to say, spending two hit dice on the short rest. 12.)

"Let us go to the meeting point first. If we do not see her, then I think it might be necessary."

(OOC: Responses to my questions above are still in the air so I'll refrain from pushing the plot further for now.)

CRAP backtracks to their back-up meeting spot, a trek that takes them nearly an hour to complete. In the end, it proves to be a good decision. Denae sits on the ground, breathing heavy. She is sweating and looking quite tired. "Ah, you arrived. I made it back just a moment ago myself. I hope you were not too worried about me." She tries to smile but is clearly aching.

Before you have a chance to ask, she talks some more: "You are probably wondering what type on intel I was able to collect. Well, I found the islands. They are not very far at all from where we lost sight of that raft some 2 hours ago. In fact, I caught up to it just before the raft started floating into a larger body of water. Not many guards were left after we dealt with most of them. I stealthy freed one of the prisoners but didn't have enough time to get to a second, or any others for that matter. His name is Rolf. He told me the islands in question are called The Ringcurrent Islands, or at least that's how some folk call them on account of the shape of their ring-like arrangement. I saw it from a distance: a large, slow moving circular eddy formed along one of the Twilight Marsh's deeper water channels. The circular motion shaped a number of islands. It's a proper name if you ask me." She continues to breath heavily.

She then gesture to a patch of swamp to her east: "Come on out, Rolf. Tell my companions here what you told me. Speaking hurts....."

"Hullo!" says a young looking dwarf in tattered clothes, his black beard not even reaching his chest. "I'm Rolf. Thanks to your friend, I am free. So I guess I should thank you too." He smiles. "I'm a local merchant. My name is Rolf... have I said that already? I was taken some three days ago along with my partner, Nik. We were travellin' down the old Phlan Path. What else can I tell you? Perhaps I should start with my name. It's Rolf." 

"Nice to meet you, Rolf. My name is Neya," She greets the young dwarf.

"How many others have you and Nik seen in captivity?"

Doozey actually grimaces at the mention of freeing a captive, and after Rolf introduces himself, the stoutling fails to completely mask conflicted feelings bubbling beneath the surface. But with Biscuit placing a muddy paw on his shoulder in a show of comfort, he looks up and nod once to his bestial brother before stepping up to say to Rolf. "Did any of the captives made mention of wanting to slip away? Perhaps claiming to have some knowledge in regards to navigating the swamp 'n all that?"

"Well," Rolf faces Neya, "on that raft there were three male humans, two female humans, three female halflings, Nik, and myself... Rolf, that is."

The dwarf then looks at Doozey with a puzzled expression on his face: "Who wouldn't want to be free or slip away. I speak a bit of Draconic myself, you know, being a salesman and all... The lizardfolk were constantly complaining that they can't eat any of their victims for now. If that is not enough to get your breeches wet and pray to be saved, I don't know what is."

Doozey has to repeat the second part of his question before Rolf answers it: "I don't think many folk get this deep into the swamp... there's no navigating this mess... not unless you are a lizardman, I think. Well, I guess you could try to follow the river upstream... That'd eventually take you out of this place... Hmmm... With some food and an improvised weapon, I guess even I could give it a shot."

Noticing Doozey's facial expressions, Denae snaps at the halfling: "Are we not here to save people, Mr. Badger?" She then groans in pain.