The water is higher than the map said it would be.

You stand at the bank and watch it. The ford, according to everyone who has described it, should be knee-deep at most — a gravelled crossing with good footing, slightly slower current than the main channel. What you are looking at is chest-deep at minimum and moving fast, carrying with it a foam of debris from somewhere upstream: broken branches, clumps of vegetation, things you cannot identify in the failing light.

The stepping stones marked on the map are submerged. You can see the last one as a dark shape just below the surface, the water breaking white around it.

On the far bank there is a light. A single orange point, steady — not a fire, too small. A lantern, maybe, hung from something or held by someone. It has been there since you arrived. It has not moved.

You could wade it. People have waded worse. But the bottom is invisible, the current is unpredictable, and if you go in and lose your footing you will be carried a long way downstream before you have any chance of getting out.

Upstream, the bank curves away and you cannot see where the river comes from. The current might be slower there, the banks might converge into something crossable. Or not.

The lantern on the far side does not move.

Use the menu to decide. Some choices loop back. That may be intentional.