Mark looks around, taking appraisal of the area.  

"What's it you're clearing the area for?"

"These plants are a real spork to try to walk through, all kinds of thorns, and grabbing vines, some things'll turn you sick. We're trying to clear it out so we don't have to deal with that."

((It is less of clearing an area, and more of clearing a trail. From what he said before, you could probably piece together that they are trying to explore further inland, and are carving a trail to do so. Mechanically, changing it from difficult terrain jungle/forest growth to something that can be more easily traveled, to be able to get further in over the course of a day (and less likely to get lost).))

((Perfect, thanks!))

"I'll be happy to help destroy any part of this cursed island.  Which way we headed?"

Mark will make sure the rapier is secured to his belt and pull out one of his handaxes, then begin to help clear the trail.

Blue is probably back in genesi form at this point, crab only lasts an hour.

((Can I get Athletics checks from the work crew and Perception checks from the guard crew? Also if someone can roll me a d4 and a d20?))

D4: 1
D20: 9

Perception: 18

Son says,

"Oh, I'll take a snake!"

And munches on that while looking around.

Perception (mod included): 6

He isn't all that interested though.

The crew looks on in disgust as Son chomps his way through a snake carcass the diameter of his arm. He doesn't notice their looks.

(Sounds like Talon is with the work crew, cutting vines?)

Athletics d20: 20 

((I think Talon was on lookout with Son, only better.))

((Talon was cutting vines that the non-fliers can't reach.))

((Son sits corrected :P))

Athletics: 7

Mark does alright, but the vegetation and sailors about him make it a bit of close quarters, he's not able to get a full swing in. Talon has a much easier time, flitting from branch to branch, slicing free vines and calling out before letting them drop to be hauled off to the side. Son stares off into space, really showing everyone that he's junior officer material, he must be thinking over tactics. Blue does a good job looking out, and helps warn of a hornet nest that they are able to divert around without disturbing.

Eventually, after an hour or so, the clearing crew runs into a bit of luck, finding a meandering trail of sorts that is headed in the general direction desired.  Ten feet wide or so, the trail is clear of all brush and vegetation, except at the ends where it has begun to grow back in. The forest has stilled in the mid-day heat and as the party moves along the trail, it passes through a bit of a defile, sloped sides, a tangled pile of vegetation athwart the trail, perhaps washed down with a recent storm? A pair of the sailors move to begin hacking through it, and Blue sees it twitch...

Blue sucks in his breath.

”Stop.  It moved.”

"Of course it moved, we're hacking at it!"

“No.  Moved of its own volition.”

(what is Talon's athletics mod?)

Talon is intrigued and flies over the pile of vegetation to look from above.

Nature d20: 6

"Huh? What? More snakes?"

((Oh, right! It's a +1.))

Talon has no idea what it is, but from flying overhead, can see that the trail does not extend on the other side, almost as if something scraped a bunch of the vegetation that had been on the trail and left it in a big heap at the end of the trail.

((Wouldn't make sense to describe it this way in game, but it's not dissimilar to what you might see if a bulldozer pushed a bunch of undergrowth into a big mulch pile, leaving behind mostly bare ground with a pile of partially decayed vegetation at the end.))