Briefly consider abandoning your responsibilities to check out Dragon's Hollow, then reluctantly take the ferry back to Sumo Town.

For a moment you consider taking the ferry to Dragon’s Hollow, as the name alone sounds far more interesting than the village full of overweight weeaboos you know Sumo Town to be. Maybe the man at the counter can tell you a bit more about it and sway your decision? You approach the service window and see a gruff middle-aged man sitting on the other side, reading a book and seemingly disregarding the counter entirely. Unexpectedly, he calls out “Whaddaya want?!”, not looking away from his book.

“Uhh…” you stammer, not expecting the hostile attitude, “This is the dock for the ferry, yes? I was hoping you could tell me a bit about Dragon’s Hollow.” The man behind the counter raises his brow, still not taking his eyes away from the book. “It’s a fishing village, what’s it to ya? You wanna take the ferry there? Then pay up, otherwise buzz off.” What a charming fellow.

Realizing you can’t exactly justify derailing your quest for a fishing village, you decide to just make your way back to Sumo Town. “Actually, I think I’ll just take the ferry to Sumo Town.” You say to the man as you fish 20 Gold out of your pack. The man behind the counter briefly glances up from his book to take the coins. “Alright, now we’re talking,” he turns his head, apparently to address someone else in the building, “HEY CHARLIE! Gear up, we got a customer for Sumo Town!” he then turns back to you and gestures to a small door on the far side of the building. “We’re heading out ASAP, so get on in there.” Talk about efficient service.

You step into the ramshackle boathouse, and your mood immediately drops as soon as you see your mode of transport. This “ferry” is little more than a wooden pedal boat with two rows of benches and a leather canopy. Another gruff older man, who you assume is Charlie, is sitting at the pedals, gesturing for you to sit. You’re beginning to see why there were no other customers. Against your better judgment, you clamber onto the boat, place your pack on the bench, and take a seat. After a few moments the “ferryman” shoves off from the dock and begins pedaling out to sea.

Your journey at sea is largely uneventful. While the glorified wooden dinghy is hardly a smooth ride, it’s faster than walking and is keeping you mostly dry. Having grown up near the ocean you’ve always had a soft spot for boat rides. In fact, this ride would almost be relaxing… if not for the sweaty old man directly behind you grunting rhythmically as he pedals like mad. While it takes a good while you are eventually able to mostly tune out Charlie’s animalistic noises.

The voyage takes several hours, as expected. With nothing on your person to keep you busy, you simply spend the time watching the waves crashing along the beach, and occasionally observe the sun slowly move closer to the horizon. Eventually you notice the shoreline grow gradually more swampy, and you can see the familiar mangroves you rowed through previously. Soon you can even see rows of buildings poking out from above the trees. Finally, after enduring several hours of your ferryman’s grunting, the boat pulls up to a small dock. “Sumo Town docks, grab your stuff and get off.” says Charlie, obviously out of breath. You pass him 5 gold as a tip, grab your bag, and hop off the boat.

You’re now standing on a dock at the edge of the mangroves. You can see the dock extends deeper into the mangrove forest, eventually transitioning into a sloped boardwalk leading up towards the treetops. The end of the dock is decorated with an approximation of a Torii gate flanked by paper lanterns. It’s still daylight, though the Sun is getting very low in the sky.

What will you do?

> Exit the dock and try to find my way back to the geomancer.