Fellowship of the Dice

Carver shakes his head, "No, your merchant is a cultist, and the sacrifices are to a dark power which is in fact fouling the water. There is trickery and dark sorcerery at work here." He tucks away his weapons. "I am known as Carver in the lands above." He points at the ceiling, near to the hole maybe where they fell from. "Not only is there a cave above, but there is a great space, wide open to a thing we call the sky, the sun and the moon." He holds his arm out to show the, no doubt, dramatic skin tone difference. "Life is very different there, and we rely on the lake water to be pure as well. Naomi, I like you already, I feel I can trust you. Maybe its because I am a trustworthy sort myself. Please, let's see if we can solve the problem that troubles both our peoples together." He glance at Fumbus as the creature nearly falls over, smiles, "We need all the help we can get."

With a growing feeling of unease, Merisiel asks, "What kind of sacrifices?" She hopes at most it's animals, but suspects that it in fact involves sapient beings. She glances uneasily at Fumbus and Carver. She didn't think of herself as a do-gooder, but if they were sacrificing sapient beings, she didn't feel like she could just stand by and do nothing. The thought made her sick.

"Well, mostly the people from the poorer quarters. They are sacrificed to Sayleene. I have been selected next." She suddenly seems scared. "But if I run away, they will kill my whole family." She composes herself and says: "You must come to see my father. We're planning a rebellion, you see. Better not have the priests see you."

Merisiel grins at the girl, suddenly liking her a great deal. "Yes, I think you would be better off without the priests. And the sacrifices. We do not make such sacrifices in the surface world and we're fine. To purify your water, we'll need the healing stones we mentioned earlier, not butchering people to meet the hunger of blood-thirsty gods."

"Sacrificing giant frogs and then eating them, now that's my kind of church party. Other people, not so much." He doesn't go into further detail on whether or not he has ever eaten 'other people' or not. Food is scarce sometimes, and the reputation of goblins isn't entirely undeserved, even if it is often exaggerated. "And I'm all for resistance movements! Let's go meet up with your dad."

"We need to wait till it's night." Naomie says. "We can then sneak over the bridge into the city."
You talk to the girl who is interested in the surface world, though she finds it difficult to understand some things. She tells you that their people are called the Voda. Looking across the lake, she describes some features of the city and the different quarters. She explains that the Temple District is also called the Seventh City, as long ago there was another district that has since been taken over by the gardener's.
You wait a few hours and then suddenly, within a minute or so, the glowing light coming from the walls grows dull and soon everything is covered in darkness. You can see some lights from the city, and, of course, the bridge that seems to be made of light.

Merisiel says, "Alright, let's go." In the back of her head, she wondered if she would regret agreeing to help.

Naomie looks human, with brown skin and white hair. She has no elven ears and is dressed in a simple green dress. You guess she is 17 or 18. She seems agile and athletic. She says she is a hunter, hunting for food here on this island.

Given the resources they likely have access to, the goblin is mighty impressed by the state of their town. It looks pretty well laid out. "Well lead on then, new friend." He puts up his hood, hiding his green skin and sharp teeth. He would stand out badly in this kind of crowd.

"Ok, quickly now!" Naomie hurries you over the bridge and straight towards the Hunter's District. You can see simple houses, and spears or other hunting gear leaning on the outer walls of the houses. Naomie enters one of the houses and looks at an older man with long white hair for a minute. Then he nods and Naomie beckons you on, into one of the houses. Inside, you see that it is a tavern of sorts. "You will speak to the hunter's council." Naomie merely states. "Wait."
One by one, more people come, all brown skinned with white hair, men and women, who stare at you in wonder. They talk little and seem to communitate just by looking at each other. Some look at you and you can hear their voices in your head: "Ah, the strangers! Welcome!" "Good hunting, strangers!"
They seem friendly, but a bit reserved.