Is there anything on the other side that a rope could be tied to?

(OOC - bummer, sorry about Volo - we did such a good job avoiding fighting the xorns that i'm inclined to try to figure out a way across without having to back)

We could also try tying ourselves to each other, that would (maybe) allow Jorin to help everyone across, and, if we got swept away we wouldn't get separated.

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Is there anything on the other side that a rope could be tied to?

The cavern is rough-hewn. I'd ask for a Nature or Investigation check (DC 10), for someone on the other side searching for a sturdy rock outcrop that could be used for a rope post.

Drusk to Hildigrim: "When we got separated from Volo in Skullport (when the owl was following those rebel Drow spies), you did something fancy to get Volo back. Could you try that again?"

Quillary peers across, looking for an anchor point.

Nature: 21

OOC ...upon re-reading, you meant someone on the other side, like, someone who had crossed and was looking for an anchor point... Quillary can do that, too...

"I could cross over and tie a rope," Quillary says, "But do we think a rope would keep those crossing safe?"

"It would not hurt." Jorin says with a chuckle, "Perhaps you could shed your skin into something that can fly over the water, rather than swim through it?"

“I was thinking of climbing,” she says, making spider fingers.

Hildigrim, his eyes locked on Drusk's, snaps his fingers to hopefully send Volo to his pocket dimension and then snaps them again to pull him back out onto Drusk's shoulder.

Does it work?

"Ooo, spider!  That is a good idea."

“A good idea if we think a rope is the solution...” Quillary notes.

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Hildigrim, his eyes locked on Drusk's, snaps his fingers to hopefully send Volo to his pocket dimension and then snaps them again to pull him back out onto Drusk's shoulder.

Does it work?

(OOC: How did you know I was planning something?)

After the 2nd finger snap, the owl appears on Drusk's shoulder. The owl is fluttering about, upset, pecking the side of his head and batting him with its wings. After a few seconds of that, the owl notices Hildigrim, and flies to him, looking to be petted and soothed.

While Drusk is rubbing the side of his face and brushing off owl feathers, Hildigrim communicates with the owl. (The owl has INT of 2, so Hildi has to piece together what the owl experienced, since it can't explain in any detail.)

• After flying south, the passage became a "Y", with passages to the SW and SE.
• Following the SW passage, there was a large cavern ahead. But before flying into it, the owl heard eerie clicking/clacking noises echoing from that cavern. That made the owl decide not to enter the chamber.
• Backtracking to the SE passage, the owl continued flying, and came across another "Y" intersection. One passage went west, probably linking with the cavern with the weird noises. The other passage went to the NE.
• The owl followed the NE passage, and came across a small cavern (20-30' wide), with a few Kuo-Toa. They were eating or dismembering other (dead) creatures. The air in that cavern was fantastically foul. While the owl was trying to recover from the stench, a net was thrown over it. The owl was struggling against the net for several minutes, when Hildigrim summoned the owl back.

When Volo appears, Hildigrim practically squeals with delight and relief. He calls Volo over and gladly consoles his familiar. After taking in the owl's tale, the halfling looks up at Drusk for a second before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around the half-orc's thighs in an awkward hug, causing Volo to flap and squeak a little more. "Thank you, Drusk," Hildigrim says. He steps back and reaches a hand up to smooth his familiar's feathers and calm him again. "Volo was trapped in a net and very close to being hurt when your idea saved him." He scratches the owl's chest with one finger. "Don't worry, I won't do that again. Well, not for a while, anyway." He looks over at Jorin and Quillary. "What's the plan?"

Quillary shrugs. "The water seems vile. Even wading through it, assisted by a rope to keep from being swept away, it might affect us. I have heard no ideas that are better than me expending energy to transform you all and get you across, though I am still open to other plans, especially if we might need that strength to fight Kuo-Toa..."

"Hildi, do you think you could sneak past the Xorn and get enough mushroom lumber to bring back and make a raft?"  Jorin says and then frowns, "Sneaking back with the lumber in hand might be pretty hard..."

Hildigrim frowns in thought. "That seems difficult," the halfling responds. "We were only just able to get by the creatures by sacrificing a previous gem. And it is doubtful one trip would be sufficient to gather enough materials to construct a raft big enough to carry one of you larger folk. I would need to go back and forth several times. I might could use Volo as a distraction ... " He drifts off, looking up as his familiar. "But after what he was just put through, I'm reluctant to do that right now."

"Enough, we cannot sit here and wait for the Veil to solve all our problems." Quillary speaks in the guttural language she sometimes uses, and weaves her hands, touching the cat skull woven into her hair, then she makes eye contact with Jorin. "Trust me," she says, and touches him.

Jorin's body, and everything he carries, seems to shift, it becomes translucent, then pale, then it falls into a misty, vaguely Jorin-shaped cloud. "Drift your way across to the other side," she says to gaseous-form-Jorin. She keeps her concentration on him as he does so.

Action: cast Gaseous Form with a third level slot, on Jorin.

Drusk: "Since the spell lasts up to an hour, do we want Jorin to scout ahead? He can float around, and would be hard to see. The drawback is, if he is noticed, he won't move fast and can still be attacked."

Jorin's eyes go wide as his form discorporates and he just manages to spit on the ground before his face becomes a gas cloud.  He tries to speak, whether its a curse or prayer is unclear as he is unable to make any sounds. 

At first, the tries to move his legs as if he were walking.  The resulting swirl of pale red gas doesn't get him very far, but it does start him over the river.  What happens next looks something like a scooby-do episode where this gaseous legs are churning at about four-times the pace of his cloudy drifting.  When he arrives at the other side of the river, he swirls himself back to face Quillary with an expectant look.

“I had thought of this, yes, but I think we could use my shadows and quiet veil to approach the Kuo-toa.” She lets her concentration lapse, and Jorin returns to corporeal form. “Besides,” she says with a conspiratorial wink at Drusk, “Jorin sneaking about?”

OOC > She is talking about Pass Without Trace

As Jorin becomes a "ghost", Hildigrim grins. "Hainard's hairy toes," he says in awe.

(OOC: With Quillary using a 3rd level spell, if she also uses one of her beast-shapes for the giant lizard, the party can cross the river without anyone needing to roll a check. I think the price paid is high enough, and the group is being cautious.

I'll have Drusk use a 1st level spell to create 10 gallons of water, so everyone has enough drinking water after the effort to cross the river.)