Although she is terrified of the enormous shark, Aldith knows they must get the amulet it's wearing before Ayo and her team does. She realizes belatedly that the grimoire her patron bestowed upon her will need to be dried out, but the inks are arcane and hopefully won't run or be ruined. With her tome in one hand, she recites the incantation needed to Hex the gigantic shark, and she immediately follows up her curse with a blast of arcane, necrotic energy. Toll the Dead

Mornin wades towards the shark, takes hold of the spear in its side, and manages to wrench it out from the shark's insides.

Ayo swims up to the shark and tries to stab it twice with her harpoon and makes one strike, but misses the second. Galsariad then tries to use his dunamantic magic to drain the creature of its potential, but the spell fails to affect the creatures. He grits his teeth in frustration. 

Kenar closes his eyes as a nimbus grey light passes from him to Nexus, Shayone, and Aldith as they feel their attacks striking the shark confidently in their minds as if they have already struck.  

Shayone looked narrowly at all of the people willing to fight the shark in such close quarters. They'd damaged it badly, and any second it could lash out in return. Its teeth looked fearsome enough to kill someone in a single blow if it was frenzied enough. But if she could make it run instead, maybe the others could use that. Gathering her magic again, she tried to channel her fear into it, pushing her fear and anger at the shark, trying to frighten it in turn. A high pitched whine, rising out of the range of her hearing, followed the blast of white light as it shot out to impact the shark. She held ready to fire off another burst if needed, but the shark turned whipped around and tried to burst through the narrow passageway to the light beyond, and the others dove on it, taking it down in a flurry of strikes.

Thanks to Shayone's strategic spellcasting, both the rivals and the party were able to get off enough hits to fell the savage shark at once! The dying shark slams into the stone pillar in the south end of the cavern. The pillar cracks under the force, teeters, then crashes down against the south wall. The wall fractures and collapses, revealing a passage awash with golden light reflecting off of lustrous stone like a mirror. 

"What... is that?" Ayo asks, seemingly distracted from the notion of debating who gets to claim the kill and win the Emerald Eye. She points to the mysterious passageway that just opened up.

Mornin gawks at the strange opening as much as everyone else, but in the back of his mind, he still is treating this like a hunt. If he were back at home hunting for food, his primary goal would be making sure the prize gets back to his family. He carefully reaches a hand to the shark and deftly swipes the emerald eye and slips it under his clothes under his cloak.

Nexus, upon seeing the strange opening, can't help but feel a bubble of apprehension in her gut. Was this part of the contest? A little secret way that both teams might end up winners, ending in a day of jolly fun? 

She swam closer, cautiously. Trying to inspect further with one hand hovering over her time just in case she needed to cast a quick spell.

There is no response from the tunnel at Nexus' approach. The light continues to shine, beckoning. You all swear you can hear a call in the back of your minds. 

Kenar swims forward into the tunnel out of curiosity and trepidation ready to strike out if anything emerges! 

Shayone looks to the other group, trying to determine if this is a trick of some kind. "Do any of you know what this is?"

Aldith swims forward, both curious and feeling slightly apprehensive at the same time. Is this part of the test? Something begins to intrude in her mind...and it is not the call of her patron. Confused, she looks toward the others to see their reactions. 

"I've not really explored this way before, so I don't really know what's going on either....Just keep your guards up, in case we run into anything odd."

Nexus continues forward, still cautious, but with a certain look in her eyes now. A look of curiosity peaked, wondering what exactly they'd be uncovering, what this light stemmed from, what the odd voice in the back of her head was. Thinking while she swam if she knew of any aquatic creatures that might communicate via mental messages over distance like whatever the voice in her head was doing. 

For a moment, Mornin thinks the call comes from Eve, but it's obviously different. Still, the similarity is strange enough that Mornin is drawn to swim towards the light.

Kalhala watches with rising concern as his friend Nexus swims seemingly without care at the golden light that seems to be calling out to them.  He hurries up and tries to catch up with her to try and guard her against anything that might come at them.

Concerned for Kenar having swum into the tunnel and the light already, Aldith swims after the pale elf and into the tunnel. No, the voice in the back of her mind is not that of the Keeper of Moontides, but the Keeper had sent her here for a reason. She must keep moving forward, not back. 

"I've got no idea what any of this is... do you, Ayo? You've swam around these caves a couple times," Dermot asks his fellow Jigow native. 

"I've got nothing... But gods damn it am I curious to find out." Ayo swims toward the light as well. Galsariad looks at Maggie, Irvan, and Dermot, who seem somewhat apprehensive.

"I am curious as well. If you don't want to take a look, at least don't let Ayo go in there alone," He says before following the leader. The others relent and follow as well. It seems no one has noticed that Mornin took the Emerald Eye.

You all swim through the mysterious shining tunnel. The watery environment gives way to a cavern dotted with trees and pools of water. The walls are covered in vines of green ivy interspersed with colorful flowers. Part of the cavern is open to the sky. 

In the middle of the cavern is a sphere of pale light surrounding a crystal pedestal, upon which rests a golden pendant attached to a fine golden chain. Catha, in its full moon phase, shines down over the opening to the sky. As moonbeams strike the sphere surrounding the pedestal, it illuminates the chamber with a warm glow.

"What in the Luxon's name..." Irvan mutters, peering at the pendant in wonder.

"Some sort of... magical treasure, maybe? How's it floating like that?" Maggie grumbles in response, keeping her distance from the levitating pendant. It seems that suspicion is somewhat shared by the party, but Ayo doesn't wait to leave it to chance.

"Okay, look. This is clearly some sort of wonderful coincidence. We all struck the shark and killed it at the same time, so that makes negotiating our previous deal... complicated. So, let's make a new one. We don't both have to leave here empty handed. You let us take the Emerald Eye, and you guys can take this... thing. What do you say?"

"Does anyone have something that can let us know if there are any magical booby traps on this thing?" Shayone asks. "There's obvious magic involved in --" she waves her hand "-- all that, but is any of it harmful?" She looks at the opening closely -- the moon has to be an illusion, is the opening an illusion as well?

Kenar focuses on the object then looks to Nexus “You pick up anything?” 

Nexus, by choice of personal judgement, didn't want to opt to try and detect magic here. A prickle on the back of her neck, the way it seemed to float without aid---This was, most likely, magic of a variety she didn't know of. 

What would serve them better is the single pearl set into the front cover of her otherwise black and ivory tome. A 'pearl of wisdom' as her mother had jokingly referred to it when she was first gifted it, and learned how to identify things. 

Nexus, cautiously, stated thus; "Before we have that discussion, Ayo, Mini--Everyone. Let me just make sure this isn't just some prank by the elders of the town. Some sort of illusion."

Propping open her book, she swam forward with the intent of identifying it, till the voice of one of those she was traveling with for the day called out, and she nodded her head, stopping a good few feet away from the oddity. A spectral quill seeming to appear out of nowhere, moving with unnatural grace, as it began to etch in a circle around her, drawing in lines through the sand that seemed to brighten with each stroke made, till Nexus stood in a ritual circle made in but a moment despite the spell not being pre-prepared in her arsenal. For some it might just seem that she was being flashy, but for the arcane practiced it was probably a peculiar way of casting the magic.