Glancing at the map Mason asks a question.
"What is this place on the map marked "Dont Go Here!"
"That is the location of the Foreboding Portal. Do not go there."
Thanen gives a strange look at Ardan before looking back to the mayor.
"Oh, yea. You promised us rewards, but you haven't shown any solid proof to back up your claims."
The dwarf-looking lad crosses his arms and stares with narrow eyes at the Mayor.
With a chuckle, Mayor Yulbar leans forward towards Thanen, raising his eyebrow conspiringly.
"I have already arranged a series of rewards for your efforts. To start, I promise one hundred gold crowns to each of you as soon as the crystals have settled down. You know Defus, shaman of Oceantowne, yes? He has agreed to create powerful magic artifacts for you once the pesky crystals have been banished. In addition, you make keep anything of value that you find in the caves."
Ardan asks "So you say these crystals are intelligent. Is the same true for the new ones that have been appearing elsewhere?"
"The Sacred Crystals possess a single, collective mind, centralized at the Crystal Caves but no doubt extending out to these troublesome offshoots, at least to some degree."
He points to a collection of small purple crystals which has breached the floor of his hut.
"It is said that wherever the crystals are present, the Cosmic Personalties are listening intently."
Olaf leans on his chair and kneads his knuckles. "What kind of temporal distortions, and how many known exits from that cave are there?
We can swim our way out, aye?"
"The magic of the crystals is erratic and unpredictable. Those who have journeyed into the Crystal Caves before you have said that time passes at a strange pace once you are inside. The cave itself has only one opening, and it is difficult to escape once the tide comes in because of the general shape of the cave. This is why you must always be wary of the tide while you are inside, and be careful not to journey too deep without checking the time."
He produces a small piece of parchment (from where, you are not sure you care to know) and scribbles a diagram depicting the general downward sloping tendancy of the first few hundred feet of the cave's tunnel-like entrance.
"When the tide recedes, the remaining seawater in the cave is consumed by the crystals in Mystical Rituals. It gets complicated."