On Thea's side it looks quite open. There are no alcoves or caves visible. The prevailing wind comes from the east here, so it seems like the best shelter would be on the western side of the summit.

" Are you lost?", she addresses the bird as she takes a quick peek inside the crack.

The parrot does not respond to the question, but repeats itself.

"Squawk! Fire island! Squawk!"

"Something, something, Squawk!"

It is as black as pitch inside the crack, but as you put your head inside, something gives you the impression that it goes deeper than it first appeared. Perhaps the almost imperceptible flow of air, or the quality of the silence from within. Whatever it is, you get the impression that there is a substantial cave inside the hill.

Kairouani heads back to tell the others about the cave and the 'foreign' parrot.

William watched with leery eyes at the people arriving at their previous campsite. He could not tell from this distance and from their actions if they were friend or foe but the situation he had found himself in urged him to err on the side of caution.

'We should consider that campsite lost.' He said, lamenting the fact that he had to say it. 'We don't know who they are or how they will react to us coming out of the jungle.' He looked down at the route they had taken to get to this spot. 'Let's keep going for now and see if we can find a more suitable place to camp.'

When Thea and Kairouani decided to split off to scout further ahead, William took the opportunity to take a swing from his waterskin. He wiped away the drop that had escaped his mouth and stretch his arms and legs. 'You think they tamed and trained those birds?' He asked Seri. 'I've heard stories of some people bonding with animals but I never saw anything more than a well trained dog. Well, there was that monkey that one time...'

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Kairouani heads back to tell the others about the cave and the 'foreign' parrot.

William blinked. Then he blinked again. Slowly. Then he remembered this was not the first time a talking animal had come up this day. He cursed his luck.

'Fire island?' He replied when Kairouani had finished her report. 'What, like an island on fire? Made of fire?'

With a snap he turned his head towards the other mountain peak across the jungle and the lake. 'Please don't tell me that mountain or this one is a volcano.' He said in a tone that showed he hoped it was not but expected it would be.

Seri looks up at William and Kairouani with her turquoise eyes alight as they always are after gazing upon the ocean.

"Trondro's waters reach far flung and mysterious shores.  Fire island, if a volcano it is, may be the source of that distant plume of smoke visible far to the northeast, across perhaps over a hundred leagues of open ocean from here."  She pauses.

"It had not occurred to me that some of the ankoai are working with the men on the canoes.  I had not heard of such before but even without the ability to speak with animals, domesticating such birds make sense.  Kairouani, are you familiar with the practice of domesticating these birds?"

"For the moment, all but two of the men appear to be tracking us through the forest.  I have no doubt they will find the trail of disturbed foliage we left through the jungle.  We must decide whether to meet and parlay with them.  Perhaps back down to the river, hailing them from across it?  Or we could stay here upon the high ground, or continue on somewhere."  (Seri is clearly troubled that returning to the ocean tonight seems unlikely).

 Kairouani nodded, " Though my people do not I know of others who work with the ankoai......I'm not so sure it is, this, domestication.....more they have reached an understanding that is mutually beneficial."

" If they make it through the cats and whatever the grey things are then they will find us tomorrow....or perhaps during the night if they are very skilled and brave."

'I'm not too keen on parlaying without knowing who I'm parlaying with.' William replied to Seri's question. He walked towards a ledge to get a better view of the surrounding.

Specifically William is looking for anything that isn't more jungle, water or mountain that could help the party get off the island or contact other people. Does this need a perception roll?

William can’t see anything that Seri can’t see. Her assessment that the men have entered the jungle to follow your trail seems sound. 

Up here, exposed as you are, you feel a breeze blow in from the east, bringing a welcome coolness to offset the heat of the sun. Though that is waning now that evening is starting to set in. It’s taken most of a day to get this far, although a good hour or so was spent trying to cross the river and not get killed by snakes. Assuming that the men from the canoes are more proficient at moving through the jungle than you are, and they don’t get stuck at the river (and can pick up your trail on the north side of it), they still won’t be able to catch up with you by nightfall. They will either have to stop for the night somewhere in the jungle, or try and track you in the dark. Although you left a veritable motorway of a trail, it seems unlikely that even a skilled local could follow it reliably without the benefit of daylight. 

So, the next decision is how and where to spend the night. Tied up with that is another question: on what terms do you want to meet these newcomers, if at all? 

If you have any questions to help you visualise the situation and make decisions, fire away.

 Kairouani suggested the cave she had found might be a secure and defensible option if they explore it.

"Newcomers to the island? what are the chances they're friendly? I feel we should try to hide ourselves in the cave Kairouani found, rather than being snuck up on for the second night in a row."

Seri considers the thought of retreating to the cave Kairouani found, finding herself willing, though instinctively a little reluctant to spend the night so far from the shore.  After a moment, she speaks up:

"Should we still confirm whether the interior of the cave is uninhabited, Elder Sister?  Also, I had forgotten at the time, but if we briefly descend back towards the river to gather water and perhaps forage for food, Trondro's ritual can help me purify it so we do not go thirsty."

" We should check the cave before foraging I think, if its occupied we'll need to find elsewhere.", Kairouani remarked.

"We need fire."

"Aye, the cave then," Seri nods serenely.

"Sadly, fire is one area of divine magic which Trondro, as perhaps to be expected from the Lord of Waves, has not granted me.  We will have to manage as we did yesterday.  And if the cave is occupied, depending on the occupant, perhaps we can come to an agreement..."

(Seri has not fully thought through that encountering an occupant in the cave might not leave time for her to cast Speak with Animals as a ritual).

Kairouani leads the way back to the cave. The going is relatively flat, but the jungle is still dense around this side of the summit. You can't help but think of the trail you are leaving for the canoe men as you push your way through the leaves, vines, and branches. After another half hour or so of travel, you arrive. Strangely enough the parrot is still there. It greets you as you arrive with a hearty,

"Squawk! Fire Island! Squawk"

William and Thea, having a better grasp of Aseri than Kairouani, are able to make out the rest of the colourful bird's repertoire as it goes on,

"Scurvy dog! Squawk!"

It seems unthreatened by your presence and, having had its say, merely sits watching you and occasionally preening itself.

You enter the cave one by one, slipping through the narrow entrance.

'Cave sounds good.' William chimed in for his part, thinking about how a cave would both provide better shelter from the surroundings as well as be more easily defendable. He followed the others as they made their way towards where Kairouani spotted the cave.

Even with the heads-up on the talking parrot William was still surprised upon hearing words come out of the bird's beak. 

'Scurvy dog?' William scratched his head. 'Whoever owned that bird must have quite the...' He eyed the youngest of the group, 'colourful vocabulary.'

There were two things on the forefront of William's mind when he slipped into the cave. First was that scurvy dog was a favourite phrase among pirates, people he hoped they would not run into, and the second was that the cave was dark. Really dark. 

Quote from Damian_May >>

" We should check the cave before foraging I think, if its occupied we'll need to find elsewhere.", Kairouani remarked.

"We need fire."

William dug around in his backpack. 'I've got a tinderbox.' He said holding up a small metal box. 'Anyone have a torch or something similar?' 

Seri smiles and murmurs, tapping her finger on the tinderbox in William's hand.  (Casting Light).

A soft but luminous aquamarine glow emanates from the box, spreading bright light for a radius of 20' and dim light out to a radius of 40'.

Continuing to murmur for Trondro's guidance, she peers around the cave with her 60' darkvision to look for anything of interest.  (She can see in dim light as if it were bright light, and darkness as if it were dim light, so an ordinary Perception check out to 40' and disadvantage in the 40'-60' range).

Seri's Perception (with or without disadvantage - first roll was lower) plus Guidance:  10 + 3 = 13

(After that, she stays towards the back of the group).

As the glow blossoms from William's tinderbox, it reveals the interior of the cave. Blinking as your eyes adjust to the sudden light, you look around you to find that, as Kairouani suspected, the cave opens up significantly just inside the entrance. The floor is quite smooth and slopes downwards as you step further in, whilst the rough stone walls open out so that in most places the four of you could stand abreast if you wanted to. The walls come together to close the crack some 30ft above your heads. Although the floor is surprisingly smooth, there is nothing to suggest that this cavern is anything other than naturally formed. The smoothness could be attributed to the action of flowing water over many thousands of years, though there is none in evidence now.

As you stand still, the silence inside is deep. The sounds of the jungle filter faintly to your ears from outside, but no sound comes from within. The profundity of it almost makes you hold your breath without noticing. The width of the passageway varies as it stretches away further into the hill, beyond the limit of your vision.

"I think this will be a good place to rest for the night. Though I would like to explore farther into here." Thea points towards the back of the cave, past their vision "Kairouani, would you come with me?" Thea lights a torch with her tinderbox.

Kairouani nods and follows Thea.