Fellowship of the Dice

"They, uh, don't sound like they've got the best interests of the people in mind, so no objections to avoiding the priests. Whatever allies we can pull together, such as these fisherman, sounds smart to me."

Naomi hurries the heroes out of the house and into the night. She signals them to stay hidden and move stealthily. The three companions follow her as she makes her way through the city until they arrive at the "House of Stories" in the fishermen's district.
Here the fishermen meet and share stories. Inside, the people are surprised to see strangers, but the poisoned water has made their profession difficult or impossible, and they are complaining about the priests just as the hunters are.
As you tell your story again, one fisherwoman called Eleah offers to show them to the Cave of the Ancients, a nearby cave where the very old of the Voda go (or are sent) to die. Maybe they might know about this woundrous stone. She tells you to meet her at the docks in ten minutes, as she wants to be back in the morning, at the "glowing of the lights".

Merisiel nods her agreement, saying, "I hope we are able to help each other."

The goblin is on edge, his eyes darting between the strangers. Looking for hidden weapons, shifty eyes, sudden disappearances, the works. He is on high paranoia right now, and he can't stand still throughout the meet-and-greet. "Yeah, yeah, docks in ten minutes. Got it." He cuts himself off from saying something gruff, and keeps his hands away from his weapons.

"Crystal Goddess, and a magical crystal we need.... not a coincidence if you ask me." Carver likes the fisher folk, they are his sort of people doing honest hard work, getting dirty and bloody with their catch, much like his butcher profession. "Ten minutes? That's enough time for a drink." He ponies up a coin or something else to trade and gets himself an ale or mushroom wine or fermented fish gut whiskey, whatever the have down here. Then he tips his head back, drinks it in one go. Wiping his mouth. "Ready, let's head to the docks.

Carver downs some fermented mushroom juice and then you are off to the docks. There, Eleah is waiting with a small boat and after you board, pushes off onto the cold lake. "Do not dip your hands into the water," she warns, "there are beasts there, and in the last few days, the water is harmful." Carver takes the oars and Eleah takes the rudder, guiding you through the darkness. You stay close to the northern edge of the cave, where the water hits the horizontal walls. After half an hour or so, she stops the boat close to a jagged outcrop. There she ties the boat. "The waters are shallow here, so there are no really large beasts. But you need to dive, down two strides and then through a hole, maybe another two strides and then up again. You fill find the cave of the ancients."

Merisiel shrugged. She was a smuggler. She had done things like this before. It wasn't what she had been hoping to do with her vacation, but none of this was. She examines the waters closely before getting out of the boat, but if they look safe, she does so and cautiously follows Eleah's directions.

Merisiel checks the dark water, and does not notice anything unusual (besides the strange smell you already smelled at the bath house), she checks her equpment and lowers herself in, swimming down and disappearing into the darkness.

After being warned of beasts in the water, Fumbus pulls his face quickly away from the water and sits in the direct center of the boat. He's an aggressive badass in a fair(-ish) fight, but a big crocodile or something would snap him up in one gulp, and he would be helpless to do anything. He wouldn't even see it coming, the dark water hiding the approach until the moment of attack. Huddled in the center of the boat, he shivers at the mental image.

When they get to the jagged outcrop he gets ready to jump off to dry land. When it turns out that he's going to have to dive into that same beast-infested water, he glares at their guide. The reassurance of there not being any 'really large beasts' in this part, he does not feel particularly reassured. Grumbling to himself, he gets ready to jump in. He's come this far, he can't turn back now.

"Beasts or no, the water is harmful. Stay in it as short as possible." Carver doesn't think any of this is smart, but what are the options. He ties up his pack as best he can and seals what might be damaged by the water. He too checks weapons and such so they slip their sheaths while swimming. "Lets get this over with, someone have a magical light?" If light is produced that will stay lit while underwater he dives in and follows the directions.