Solution

On the right path, decline help from Statice. Open the coffers, then pull the lever to descend.

Description

“I've never seen such a fish! It almost resembles you, Pasasun─quite adorable, if I say so myself.”

I respect Matsya and his opinions, but I must strenuously beg to differ. To simply look at the fish he brought back from Aloalo sends a chill down my spine. Birds like Kalika could be described as “adorable,” but a fish with the face of a man...well, we shall have to agree to disagree, and consider this a minor hitch in an otherwise harmonious friendship.

When I asked Kalika about this odd specimen, he said it was called a “lalaulusu” by Aloalo's inhabitants. They had a legend of an unlucky Lalafell who was cast into the ocean during a storm, whereupon they found themselves transformed into a fish. Parents told this story to their children to discourage them from wandering near the shore during rough weather. While it was likely no more than a cautionary tale, I cannot help but hesitate to render the lalaulusu into alchemical materials.