I slowly drop down the ledge onto the rocky shore. The gliders that were drinking spook and move an additional 10 meters or so away from me, stopping at about 15 meters away. They seem curious and are maintaining their alert, some standing up on their hind legs with their 4 arms hanging down. They produce what I believe to be a neutral chittering sound a relaxed pace. This noise is similar to squirrels communicating, but is not rapid or erratic enough that I believe they feel threatened. As they do not seem to be a threat to me at the moment, I turn my attention back to the river. The current appears to be relatively brisk, despite the lack of significant elevation changes in the surrounding area. I crouch next to the waters edge. The water itself is amazingly clear, aside from the slightly muddy area where the bank has been disturbed. I dip my fingers into the water with my hand in a knife hand. The water is surprisingly cold, likely around 60-65°F. I dip my hand in further and feel the current, which appears to be around 2.5-3 meters per second, or around 6 mph. While this may make this river faster than walking in terms of transportation, the water temperature is a bit lower than I would like to go swimming in, especially with only one change of socks and skivvies.
I would love to filter the water here for particulate matter with my kerchief, but at the moment I am lacking a receptacle for water so I will have to drink unfiltered water by hand. It is a risk to drink from unknown bodies of water, but at least this water is fast flowing and relatively clear. I wash my hands in the water for a bit before cupping my hands and taking a handful of the water to my mouth, only bringing a single mouthful in and dropping the rest on the ground. I hold the water in my mouth for a bit and observe its characteristics. It is not overly thin or viscous, nor is it overly salty, sweet, bitter, sour, spicy, or anything else that may trigger concern. I spit out the water and wait for 5 minutes and watch the gliders in the meantime, who have calmed down and are back to drinking, though their lookouts are focused on me. I would like to wait longer, but I am not sure how much time I have until night falls and I need to be mobile ASAP.
After the five minute period has elapsed, or so I guessed as I do not have a watch, my mouth has the same feeling as when I started, albeit a bit more hydrated. Being the case that the water is not outright caustic or toxic, I cup my hands in the water again, taking a similarly sized mouthful, swishing it around for ten or so seconds before swallowing. This time I wait around 15 minutes, hoping I don't start foaming at the mouth or puking. I have had that experience while dealing with similar events in South America before though that wasn't even from the water, it was from the melon I had as part of a celebration. To be completely honest I didn't take it too badly, but Jones and Corvo had to have and IV administered to them, and I was lucky enough to be the one to do it. What this also means is that I had to babysit them while one prayed into the bathtub and another prayed to the porcelain god, but it certainly wasn't a bad experience overall. Definitely better than the time Townsend did shots of Everclear after a banquet and then tried to shotgun a tallboy, resulting is spraying chunks from the walkway, nearly hitting some soldiers including some brass a few stories below, the result of which effectively banned Everclear from the Class Six on post for some time.
My 15 minute window came to it's end. I used my hands and drank a few good handfuls from the river, likely around a liter of water. As it's not especially hot I don't necessarily need to hydrate too much, and there is still the chance I will be affected by the water later on, so I would prefer not to drink too much at the moment. I stand up and move back to the ledge, gouging an arrow into the clay and dirt mixture that makes it up. I also make a large pile of rocks right below the arrow. While others may place more importance on stealth, I place more importance on not getting lost. If this comes back to bite me, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I set off downstream, booking the gliders to go scrambling up the ledge as I walk onwards.
