"Dear goodness," exclaims Seraphine when Finn sets out to sprint over the potentially hazardous surface. "Stay here! And under cover or do you want to become prey to some dragonfly or who knows what else might see you as a rare delicacy. Let's not loose our heads, figuratively and literally!"

Holding his leaf by the stalk so that it covers the area above him, Valerian grins at Finn's challenge.

They had seen terrible dangers even when they were being careful, might as well see what happens when he's not as cautious.

"You're on!" Valerian says to Finn, breaking into a sprint onto the closest lilypad ahead of him. He's confident enough in his feet to keep going without losing his balance. He tries to keep up with Finn, not looking back to see if the others joined them.

Seraphine shrugs and follows Valerian and Finn onto the lilypads, though much more careful, observant for possible dangers, and camouflaged under a decent sized leaf. (Perception: 18, incl. 1 from guidance)

As the three of you (or 4 if Aralin decided to join in) race out among the sturdy lilypads, they do eventually begin to thin out, and you have to make larger and larger leaps to get to the next one. Before long it becomes more than just a trivial exercise. If you want to continue further out onto the pond, please first decide if you're carrying your pack of stuff or what, or if you want to set it down first. Then make an athletics check to venture further. 

Whoever has the highest athletics check will win the race! And also succeed in getting significantly further out onto the pond.

Your character would intuitively be aware of the fact that a low roll could result in them falling into the water.

The journey across the lake gets harder the further he seems to run but having been challenged, the adrenaline keeps Valerian going. He thinks to himself that he won't stop unless he sees Finn stop.

Even then he's going to be very careful to make sure he doesn't stop abruptly so that his momentum doesn't send him toppling into the water. (Athletics check: 14)

Seraphine follows in some distance to the runners, she prefers to walk carefully. She's not prepared to leave her pack behind and will not risk to jump onto the next lilypad once the gap is too wide for a simple step. When she reaches as far out as she is comfortable with, she urges Aralin to stay with her, and calls out to the others, "Don't get too far out! And be careful. We'll stay here and wait for you to report what you find."

Aralin continues to stay with  Seraphine, "You OK? we can go back if you like", and Aralin continues "I wonder if it's worth thinking about using 'fey step' and taking you with me?"

I’ll roll athletics for Finn:  8

In his haste, Finn makes an ambitious leap for a lily pad and falls into the water!

Finn, make another athletics check (at disadvantage if you’ve kept your pack and all your stuff with you) if you want to try to get out of the water back onto a lily pad. Otherwise let me know what you’d like to do.

Valerian’s turtle-and-the-hare approach ends up successful as he is the first to reach a point that could truly be considered the edge of the lily pads.

Here, perhaps 200 yards out from the shore (at your scale), the pond is a mysteriously impenetrable bluish-green, and the bottom cannot be seen. The still calm of the water is disrupted by Finn’s splashing behind you.

OOC: depending on how Finn's next check goes, I'll move back to the closest lilypad and try to pull him out if he fails it

Quote from Angel_dePrime >>

Aralin continues to stay with  Seraphine, "You OK? we can go back if you like", and Aralin continues "I wonder if it's worth thinking about using 'fey step' and taking you with me?"

 "I'm ok, Aralin," replies Seraphine as they try to follow more slowly to the spot where Finn fell into the water, "I'm just worried. This race was reckless and uncalled for."

2
(Woof, disadvantage on athletics is tough, he's more of an acrobatic kinda tabaxi lol)

Finn attempts to toss his pack on a lilypad and then rolls on his back laughing, slowly backstroking to a lilypad to reach for a hand to get up. He's not as uncomfortable in water as you'd expect a cat to be, if you had that preconceived idea. "Well, think I got in over my head there. You won fair Valerian, that was fun!" Once he gets up, he shakes out his coat and turns to give a double thumbs up to Seraphine and Aralin behind.

He starts to look around to see if his splashing attracted any creatures. Maybe something they're looking for will get curious and find them instead of their endless searching.

Finn scans the water and as the ripples smooth out and clarity returns to the water, he can make out a great, vague shadow moving in the depths. Even as he watches, a great red form, incomprehensibly large in size, shifts and moves in the waters. It draws near, and sunlight filtering down into the pondwater glints off of red-and-orange scales like an underwater flame, punctuated with bright swathes of white as if it were smoke from the fire. The entire shape resolves itself to be a koi fish, so large it could easily swallow any one of you without any trouble.

Lazily it undulates and circles the water beneath you. A few bubbles escape its mouth and shimmy upwards through the water, to pop at the surface, and when they do a sound is released into the air, the sound of a deep baritone voice, saying,

"Little morsels, why have you come out to tempt me so?"

Upon helping Finn back onto a lilypad, Valerian takes a few seconds to bask in his victory and then turns his attention back to the water. The sudden movement.

He has a hand placed on his dagger incase they need it. Valerian can tell that they're at a disadvantage if something bad occurs. "Do you happen to be Wisp?" He asks, not wanting to stay quiet and see what happens in such a situation.

The fish swims in a tight loop and, bringing its head close to the surface, gives a distinct nod of affirmation.

Seraphine steps onto a lilypad with measured grace, watching the immense koi’s rippling movements beneath the surface. She gathers her thoughts before speaking, her voice calm but resolute. "Wisp, we come to you seeking guidance. We are adventurers, once of normal size, but we've been caught in a spell by a potion from the owner of this garden that shrank us to this form. Our journey has led us to this pond in the hopes that you, in your wisdom, might offer aid. We seek not only to regain our former size but also to help others who have fallen into the man's trap." She glances at her companions before continuing. "A group of adventurers that came before us have been captured by the bees. We believe they've been taken deep into their hive, and we wish to rescue them before it’s too late."

She pauses, her gaze focused on the great red-and-white scales of the koi. "We were told that speaking with you could help us find a way forward—whether it's guidance, a key piece of knowledge, or anything that might help us in this strange new world, or to dispel the malediction afflicting us. We know time is against us, and any help you can provide would mean everything to us."

(apologies, I'm having a really busy time at work, 12 hour days and not really able to do D&D there, get home and just enough time to do 1-2 family things and crash. I'm not losing interest in the campaign, just a really tight spot, I think tomorrow will look a lot better hopefully, please bear with me)

The great koi swims another circle and the bubbles once again rise to the surface and pop, releasing to your ears that deep voice:

"Ask me three questions, and then I shall return to my deeper dealings."

Seraphine’s brow furrows in thought as she watches the koi swim its lazy circle beneath the surface. She leans in toward her companions, her voice a quiet whisper, "Three questions... we must choose carefully." Her eyes dart between them as she continues, "I thought to ask how we might regain our original size, but I wonder if that's something the koi would know. It could waste one of our questions. Perhaps we should start by asking about the magic of the pond? If there’s something in these waters that could help us or if it’s tied to the strange spell we're under." She glances at Valerian, Finn, and Aralin, hoping for their input. "What do you think? We need to be strategic."

Valerian thinks three questions are very few to figure out everything they need to know but it's better than nothing.

"I think it would be smart to ask about the magic of the pond, something it's more likely to know. We could also ask if it knows where the strange bees go, where they might have taken Agate's team." He says to Seraphine, whispering.

As much as Valerian wants to grow back to normal size, it doesn't feel like something the koi fish would know.

Seraphine takes a breath, choosing her words carefully. She addresses the koi in a calm, measured tone: “Mighty Wisp, can you tell us what magic resides in this pond and what its powers or influences are over those who come into contact with it?" She hopes the broader phrasing will reveal more about the pond’s mystical properties.