Wilderness, including beachside terrain, was not his specialty. But the guild had drilled him for most situations, and Galt was nothing if not resourceful. He trudged up the hot beach, the white sand scalding and even now seeping into his boots in small pinches. He was glad he had been given a different garb than the usual black. At the current moment he looked more like a deckhand, brown breeches and a tanned linen shirt, unbuttoned to help with the heat. He still wore his 'work' boots and kept his belt, with the clever pockets one could sequester away poisons and other, more pragmatic tools for on the job. 

He was not entirely sure why she trusted him to go with her, but after thinking for a moment, he guessed it was smart for her to keep an eye on him. She was clearly a bit more clever than most of her crew, she didn't want Galt giving them the slip or undermining her in some way. He had to admit he might have thought to do either, but after the whole 'ghost' attack, he just felt glad he was traveling with mortals who could get him to the mainland at some point. 

As Jess finished lashing the ropes together, Galt peered into the dense jungle. It was overgrown and filled with long shadows and bright spears of light, concealed further and further as the layers of the trees came into view. 

"Is there a cutlass for me?" He asked her as she finished tying the knot. Her men had already stamped north up the beach, their laughter and guttural curses fading into the wind. 

"Not on your life," She said casually, unsheathing her own broad bladed sword. 

"Yeah, I suppose that is the gist of it." Galt replied, stepping aside so she had room to hack apart a vine. As the blade separated the green tendril, Galt imagined the vine coiled away as if it had a mind of its own. The thought brought him back on edge, but Jess boldly strode forward, slashing at any foliage that happened to stand in their way. He did his best to guard her flank, moving aside thicker brush and trying to keep an eye on their tails. The jungle had swallowed up the small path they had made after wading just a dozen meters in. The air was heavy and humid, tight and filled with the scent of wet plants and the pungent odor of pulped vines. 

A strange ape with four limbs swung from tree to tree, eagerly trying to avoid our path as it screeched. It gave Galt the impression it was the strangest creature he might see that day, but minutes later a hunting cat the size of a large dog appeared, its fur crimson save for the loud yellow color of its tail, but Galt was unnerved by its milky white eyes. It knew exactly where Jess and he stood, and gave a warning swipe of its claws before slinking back into the wilderness. 

After around an hour, Jess wiped the sweat from her brow and leaned against one of the thousands of trees. "This island is bigger than it looks. Hey, make yourself useful and climb up. See how far the mountain is." She ordered. 

"Aye Cap'n," Galt replied with his best seadog impression, finally glad he could do something he was good at. The thief took no time in finding a vine and using it as a safety cable as he ascended the tallest tree he could find, climbing fast enough to put the four armed monkey to shame. Briefly he wondered if Jess was impressed, though either because she was a pretty woman or the arbiter of his very life, he did not quite know. He found the canopy and slithered up the tangle of boughs until he reached the top with a yank of his hand on the last branch. 

His head poked out of the jungle, meeting the open, cloudless sky. The sun nearly blinded him, but he found respite for his eyes when her turned and almost fell out of the tree from surprise. 

The peak loomed above them, just half a kilometer to the north east, bent like an old man stooping to look down on him with disappointment. Well, that was good news at least. He gave a sigh, but his mirth was soon taken from him. He squinted, spying movement along the rock. Some... some humanoid slithered along the rocks, disappearing into a a hole; a cavernous maw at the side of the peak. He felt his heart thunder in his chest, wondering what by the gods he had seen. It was a snake man, or an eel man? Maybe something entirely different, or perhaps it was too far away for him to see a regular man clearly. But then that begged the question, what in the bloody hell any of Jess's crew were doing there? 

The professional rogue decided to climb down and tell her about it.