Hana hangs back as the others check it out. Waiting for anything to happen

Anzir will examine the canoes on the shore while the scouts look ahead at what lay out of sight.

Perception: 6

Melanthios slides quietly as a snake into the bushes on the left and discovers one source of the smoke - a cooking fire next to a hut. There's two goblin types next to it discussing something in somewhat agitated manner and seemingly a few tiny goblins running around as well - kids.

Poole sneaks ahead, steps over the tripwires and curves around the anthill to take a closer look at the huts. Before he gets there though he notices a weird mask laying next to a tree nearby. On a closer look there's actually someone behind the mask, possibly a guard. He then sees another such mask + guard combination a couple of trees away as well. What he doesn't notice though is an and climbing from a nearby branch directly onto his earlobe and taking a large bite out of it. He slaps his hand against the side of his head .... 

Poole freezes and scans his surroundings with just his eyes moving. He notices a few shortbows scanning the forest, but doesn't look like anyone has exactly pinpointed the source of the sound. There is a bit of a commotion going on in the village though and Poole is sure there is at least half a dozen additional goblins scurrying around between the huts.

Anzir on the other hand finds three canoes. They have some carvings on them, but can't really make sense of what they're supposed to depict.

Melanthios observes the goblins at the fire and then hears like someone got slapped. The goblins look up and then bolt deeper into the woods, away from the river and Melanthios.

Did Anzir hear Poole as well? Perception: 17

Melanthios will check out the campsite from where he's at, looking for anything out of place.

Perception: 16 (+2 if natural explorer applies)

FYI Poole is a lady! Similar to River Tam, for any help with the mental picture.

Poole silently curses at herself at slapping with such dangerous auditory consequences. She watches the guards head into the brush, and slowly backs away, headed to the main group as quietly as she can.

Stealth: 15

As she goes, she looks for Melanthios, and when she gets back, she tells the party that there are armed goblins wearing masks that maybe heard something but didn't see her, and they ran off into the jungle. "I suggest we continue on our path."

Any chance Aurok knows if goblins could be negotiated with for maps, or rain catchers?

Anzir heard Poole as well, yes.

Melanthios can see some hustle and bustle towards the camp and then a really tall figure appears, armed with a short bow. Nothing he's ever seen before, it's just fully colorfully tattooed .. entity.. or something. It comes forth a bit and stops next to a tree, partly hidden. Then another one appears next to another tree. But that's it. They seem to be scanning the forest for threats, but not acting or reacting at this time.

(apologies for the gender mixup)
Poole manages to retreat and this time also keep an eye on the ants nearby to not get bitten again.

Aurok knows that goblins could be negotiated with, but there is a bunch of different tribes all across Chult. (history: 17) Once Poole tells some of the details then these seem to be Batiri goblins. Which isn't name for a specific tribe, but a designation of the whole. Similar to wood elves or hill dwarves - these are Batiri goblins. There is no telling which specific tribe this is and even if it were, it would be no guidance to how they could be negotiated with.

Melanthios keeps observing the camp for a while though and the rest of the group keeps waiting for him to return. After a good ten minutes or so one of the very colorful creatures.... breaks in half and disappears. Soon after the second one does the same and then he can hear some of the goblins starting to come back to the firepit.

Half the group is already in the canoes and a few people are holding the ends of these, just waiting for Melanthios to come back.. or to hear fighting or a ransom demand or something to indicate he's been either captured or killed.

Melanthios wanders back.

"Nothing really going on.  Couple of goblins ran away, that's it."

“Did you see any rain catchers? We need to stop relying on magic for that, or we’ll be short when we need the magic for something else.” Aurok looks around for consensus. “Steal one or negotiate for it, it’s up to you.”

Melanthios didn't see any rain catchers and whatever food the goblins were cooking might not be too edible for others.

You climb into the canoes and continue upriver. By the evening it seems to narrow considerably and you can see a worried look on the face of Qawasha. He doesn't say much anything though, but takes a longer walk around the campsite and is seen using some of his druidic magic for some purpose.

 Day 7:

 It's a quiet day, but Qawasha is getting more and more worried as you paddle your canoes upriver. It gets real narrow at points and in wider parts it's actually easier to walk on the bottom and push the boat along the river.

At a break mid-day he is clearly panicking as the river bends even more northward and you can see the silhouette of a mountain range far in the distance.

Qawasha says, "We ... may be somewhat lost. I don't think this is River Soshenstar any more. We might have taken a wrong turn at one of the wider points and paddled up a tributary. Possibly the last two or three days. I am terribly sorry. I believe River Soshenstar is due south, because these mountains are the Mistcliff Mountains and we should not be heading towards them."

Poole:

Poole walks over to Qawasha, eyes glued to a tree a few hundred feet upriver. She says in a low voice to him, but loud enough for any of the group to just hear, "Let's say I live near the Mistcliff Mountains. Would I make an experienced guide nervous if I've seen them escorting a group of people near my territory? Do I let them go back downriver unmolested, or do I do what I can to deter them? What sorts of things do I know about the people who might have the Soulmonger? And would I be able to see a particularly sneaky member of a group who wanted to get closer to me and mine for a look?"

She hasn't unslung her bow yet, but she is ready to. 

“Would a higher vantage help? Qaw? I could climb up some trees and get a look at something if you could just tell me points of interest to look for.”

Qawasha listens to Poole and blinks several times trying to follow the train of thought.

He says, "Is... someone watching us? Where and who?"

Upon hearing this, Lorahana follows the gaze of Poole and also makes out the figure. Qawasha follows their gazes in turn and can't quite make it out.

The figure suddenly waves at them, climbs down and disappears into the foliage. By the movements and the shape of the body it might have been a tabaxi of some kind. None of you is too familiar with them, but you came across a couple while in Port Nyanzaru.

Not knowing what to make of it everyone prepares for a fight. After a few tense minutes you can hear a call from the jungle fairly nearby, "HEYHOO! I'm alone. The name is River." You see a female tabaxi step out from behind a large tree, but stay close to it in case this didn't turn out well.

She continues, "Saw you stop here and didn't know if you knew, but this is goblin lands. Their god is due west about ten miles or so and they are protective of the territory. Where are you headed anyways?"

Melanthios stares at her distrustfully.

"Where we're going is our business.  'Preciate the warning anyways."

“Now come on then, not so hasty, everyone. We could use a bit of direction, and they might have rain catchers or know how to make one. The friendly warning seems friendly enough. Let’s pull up.” 

She holds up her hands, "None of my business! It's just that there's nothing much interesting upriver from here and it is getting deeper into the goblin country."

Undril speaks up, "I need to get to Camp Vengeance. Is it upriver from here or are we lost?"

The tabaxi says, "Oh, that's up the main river, not this one. You're off course by about 5 miles as the crow flies. A few days if you want to paddle all the way to the main one and then upstream. Camp Vengeane itself is about 20 miles due south from here. You could try dragging the canoes all the way through the jungle to continue paddling, but that would be a rough going."

Undril turns to Qawasha, "What do you think we should do?"

Qawasha says, "I am terribly sorry about getting us lost. Now that we have an idea where we are we also have options. Keeping a heading due south sounds easy enough. But it is up to the rest of you. We can head back for a couple of days and then upriver another two days. Or we can go through the jungle with canoes for about a day or a day and a half and hopefully reach River Soshenstar and continue our way. Or the third option is to abandon the canoes and continue on foot for a few days."

“Time seems to be of the essence... however, if we cut through with our canoes in tow we may find it impossible to move forward. I think we ought to backtrack.”

“Agreed. This jungle is unforgiving. The more we can stay on the river and out of the jungle, the better.” Aurok nods emphatically.

Poole recalls Syndra Sylvane saying that there is a time pressure in all of this. She has probably at most three months until whatever this is overcomes her. (Post #12)