Horatio examines it closely, memorizing its position before examining the knot. "The same fabric from Freddie's home. He's been here before, surely enough. Hg-Hgru? What lies at the end of this trail, or is there anything interesting along the way?"

((I think you the players have the gist of Hgru's dialect, and there are enough in the party to translate I won't keep writing her like that.))

"This is near the edge of our territory, don't come out here much, but two days along this leads to the Sinking Sorrow." , she shivers and makes a hand gesture.

"From here and east, the Marsh gets unpleasant."

"Unpleasant? That's a lovely omen," Morn says with a slight shudder. "What does your people know of this Sinking Sorrow?"

She repeats the hand gesture.

"It... it is not a place to go."

"did anyone else go down that way? if so, who were they and what did they look like? lastly, why is the sorrow not a place to be, disregarding the name."

" <<Not a place to go>> sounds exactly where I would expect to find something interesting." Trinjya is examining the fabric.

"It seems like our friend marked the way he took, maybe it won't be too hard to follow his path."

"I'll not be taking you there. If the guy you're looking for went there, you should turn around and get on Clem's boat."

((Trinjya, give me a Perception or Survival check please!))

Morn nods, "I understand if you won't go into the Sorrows. But what is in there that... well, to be honest, seems to scare you?"

She's clearly reluctant to talk about it.

((Let's have a Persuasion check.))

9 persuasion

Samael then tells her "if we know what is in there, if it is a monster, we can slay it and save your folk from future sorrow. if it is a ghost, we can help it  move on; if it is a tomb, we will do our best not to desecrate it. you have my word that I will adhere to these words."

Trinjya is looking for further signs that mark the path Frankie took (Perception 18).

Hgru shakes her head at Samael's boasting.

"Soft city boy would not return from the Sinking Sorrow. It is not a place for the living. I will not take you there. If this is where you go, I'll be leaving now, and will tell Clem to take boat downriver."

For this part at least, it seems relatively straightforward, the are you're on is raised a bit above the nearby swamp, and extends in a southerly direction.

Samael somewhat bristled at that. "I have seen worse than you can imagine. And I was hired to bring this man home. I intend to fulfill my contract."

"Pfft. I was hired to guide you, not to get killed by your side. We do not go there."

Morn puts a hand on Samael's shoulder to calm him and steps forward, "Of course. The deal was never to die at our side, but we did strike the deal that you would lead us to find our missing man. You were offered payment, plus more if we found anything. If you wish to leave and break your contract that you shook on..." Morn lets his voice trail off and shrugs. He turns and walks away a little before stopping to look back over his shoulder. "If you're not going to fulfil your role, the least you can do is tell us what is in the Sorrows that worries you so much."

"Yes, to find missing man. If he has gone there, he cannot be found, and I will not go further. If you wish to leave life behind, I will not join you. It is a place of despair, and death. We do not go."

"Let's not jump to conclusions and do something we would regret later. There is no evidence, that our guy went to the Sorrow, Hgru. Help us to track him down and if we get too close to the Sorrow and his tracks would be leading us further in, we can still discuss how to procede."

Trinjya walks off into the direction Frankie has come from when Hgru and her people spotted him. After a few steps, she stops and says:

"Come on, we have no time to linger. I already almost regret coming to this swamp and I'd leave it behind rather sooner than later it will already be quite a struggle to rid myself of the musty smell once we are back."  She will casts Prestidigitation to surroundings herself with the more pleasant odor of dry pine leafs and occasionally, to get the mud of her shoes and clothes.

17 perception

Turning aside from his disagreement with Hgru, Samael spots another scrap of fabric tied to a tree up ahead.

((I'd like someone to make a Survival check as you go, mechanically, I'll say that Hgru confers advantage and +5 to your check.))

11 survival (3+5+advantage)