Emral listens to his lost ghost and forces his feet out -- finding....bottom.

He stops flailing and stands finding he is only in 5 feet of water. The shore is 40 yards ahead. 

Sick Helios rising over the isle...a beach leads to jungle. Cliffs far away to the his right.

Emral's muscles ache, his breaths come in gasping heaves, but he wades to the sandy beach and collapses on the sand.

The gentle waves lap at his spent body, his clothing in shreds, his gear and beloved sword all lost to The Deep.

He curses his gods  from under the un-bunned locks...clinging desperately to the spells emblazoned upon his memory. (or did Emral the Sailor dream he was a warlock last night?)

Rising Helios the only welcome sight to this true castaway.

Emral looks over the sand and then to the edge of the jungle. He is acutely aware of how much danger he is in, but forces himself to focus on the possible: one step at a time, and think resourceful.

Iron Ranger wrote:

Emral is a wise mariner.
Add +1 WIS

Emral rubs the salty water from his eyes and waits for a clearing of his hazy vision.
In the meantime, he hears the steady roaring lap of waves and the cawing of faraway birds. 
The air is warm and thick on his skin and smells softly of brine, maybe a slight tinge of flora and  smoke...

Smoke?

Emral follows the smell cautiously, hoping to find others from the ship but knowing it could be unfriendly others.

Iron Ranger wrote:

The scent is fleeting, only the slightest tinge on the soft salty air every now and again, so that it could be an imagination.

The beach seems to be in a cove. The beach is pristine. Looking out over the water you see the reef which seems to be keeping any of the ship ruins from washing ashore.

To your right the jungle is thick and lush.
Behind you the jungle is thick and lush. And a score of miles off a mountain rises from the interior over the canopy.
To your left the jungle gives way to a marshy wetlands.

The wetlands are the source of the brine smell, and likely fresh water. However, the idea of encountering snakes or crocodiles without even a stick is not encouraging.

Still, water is life or death. And wetlands must be fed by a river somewhere, likely from the mountain. There are likely no survivors from the ship, as even the wreckage was kept from the shore.

Emral looks at the reef, and the direction the waves are moving.  Would the waves move to the wetlands or the other direction?  If someone else made it, and if they need help, Emral wants to check in the most logical direction.

If it’s clear he is alone, then he’s going to go towards the wetlands. Not wading in but following the water inland to get the a fresh water source.

d12: 3

Iron Ranger wrote:

Emral notices pieces of dung in the rivulet.

Investigate the dung. Size and shape? And are there signs of fibers and plants, or signs of animal bones like in owl pellets?  As an alchemist he is very familiar with dung, from fuel to some uses for potions.

Emral checks for how recently the dung was left there, and looks up stream to check for more.

If it’s clear he drinks as much as he can of the fresh water, and then thinks.

Are there tracks away from the dung?  Are there signs going up stream or in the direction that Emral was heading?

Iron Ranger wrote:

The dung is not fresh, and there is not much more up the rivulet.
The water is clear and quite salty, so Emral decides not to drink.

There is no stream, only the small rivulet running down the beach, perhaps the fresh water is further inside the jungle. 

The only tracks are Emral's own.

Perhaps the dream was too real, but it was enough for Emral to ponder how short life is. The warlock continued to walk upstream, to see if he could find water with less salt; odd, as it was coming from the land, which is typically fresh until the ocean.

Ooc: was at Florida Everglades and the brine is an area where salt and fresh water mixes, allowing alligators and crocodiles.  Normal rivers are fresh with salt collection in large bodies of water over long periods of time, so this rivulet is odd. Maybe it’s trickling over very salt-rich soil, like a vein of salt that could be mined.
That’s a great place for a community to build due to access to salt for food storage as well as nutrition.
The problem is that Emral needs water and food. And if the other people survived, the local people may have them. I’m aware that in reality it’s wise to run the other way, but I’m hoping that this is a heroic fantasy scenario, and scouting around will be rewarded rather than just killing off the hero.  But that’s also up to the dice, and Emral was having a really legendary run of bad rolls last iteration.  So here’s hoping!

Also: off topic:  I know you don’t want super hero PCs, but I have never gained a magic sword in my years of gaming (well, one +1 sword in 2e, and a few odds and ends, but nothing memorable that wasn’t cursed or started with via a budget of magic items when starting at a higher level. The reason is I usually GM, so it doesn’t come up).  Not that you have to fake it, but if there’s something like that, or armour, that’s something I would enjoy using rather than getting right before the end credits, right?
Ditto friendly recurring NPCs, party hirelings, a stronghold, a named archenemy, etc.  I know they’re long term but I just wanted to put it out there that I would happily enjoy long term options.  The classic campaign is something I have never experienced as a player, and only as aGM. So if I get ye magic gear, earned through play, it would be a first. Plus an investment in future adventure completion.  But I’m not saying super hero level auto win goofiness.  That’s something I agree with you about.

Emral looks around for driftwood or branches.  He’s looking over the edge of the pool very cautiously scoping the terrain.  He wants to poke a hole into the pool sand so the water will drain faster