Chapter 2: Out of the Frying Pan

"Holy mother of Atlam..." Krav mutters to himself from the other side.

He sticks only his head back through the illusory wall and says with bewilderment, "Uhh....you're gonna want to come see this, and someone might want to grab the others. It's possible I may have traveled to another plane? I'm not even sure if that's right. Everything looks shadowy and distorted, and there are some horses that are magically branded with Yelnar's family crest."

Krav pops his head back into the illusory wall and looks back at the horses. He then casts Speak with Animals. After reaching down and grabbing a handful of grass he begins walking toward them cautiously, hoping not to startle them.

"Easy there friends. Would you be able to help me? What is this place?"

"...A plane?" Elora is thoroughly intrigued by this development, wanting to see firsthand how much Yelnar's family could hide. "Excuse me." She takes a few tentative steps forward, not entirely sure the ice won't cause her to slip as she squeezes past everyone into the illusion.

Yelnar wants to go through straight away, but goes to fetch the others before doing so.

He approaches the others.

"There’s like a doorway to somewhere else." He scratches his head, obviously not sure what words to use. "Just come see, you’ll want to."

Ember is a bit confused when she sees Yelnar, but not the others.

Hey! Is everything okay? What's going on in there?

Noticing their uneasiness, Krav addresses them. "This is Elora, she is a friend. She is not able to speak with you, but is harmless. Do not be startled if others follow behind her.

"No, I am not the 'herd leader', but it is possible we may be able to take you away from this place. First, though, we must understand why you are here. That brand on your flank, how did you come by it? Did you have it before you came here? Are there others like us here?"

As Yelnar answers Ember's question with a terse summation about the magical ice and the planar portal in the storage shed, Verrian stands. She folds up the paper on which she's been copying the map that Froak has drawn and tucks it into her pouch. She looks at Ember, Froak, and Viani. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've never used a portal to another plane. Let's go see it!"

Yelnar goes through the portal, and is then delighted to see the herd is safe. Yelnar spent a lot of time with the horses when he was young. He immediately goes looking for the horse he used to use to run away into the town, Blaze, a black stallion.

"What is this place, the power required to hide such a find from..." Elora watches the spectacle with her usual amount of reservation.

"That is crazy!", Viani protests. "If there's a portal to another plane, the last thing we should do is just go through. That's incredibly dangerous!"
She still follows the others to the storage room, taking her weapon with her.

Verrian grins wickedly at Viani. "Then feel free to stay here. I'm looking forward to seeing another plane."

She steps through the portal.

Viani calls out "Wait!" but at that point, Verrian is already through the portal. She turns to Ember and says: "Are you planning to go through as well? If you are, let me at least secure you with a rope so I can pull you back if there's anything wrong"

"Blaze!" says Yelnar as he hugs the horse. "Sorry, I didn’t bring any apples with me - Mother must have put you in here to stop the bad guys from getting you huh? Hmm, we probably can’t let them out permanently without giving away that we’re here, but we might be able to take one or two out at a time to give a run."

Ember's a bit surprised by Verrian's sudden ferocity, but she's energized, too. She does pass Viani some of her rope, tying the rest to her waist.

One tug if you should follow, a lot if something's wrong.

With a grin she leaps through. The horses, of course, are gorgeous, and she's glad to see that Yelnar is in a good mood. Apparently this is normal for his family! What a wonderful thing that must be, an entire community of people who respect magic, and breathe it!

....except Yelnar.

No matter. He seems delighted to encounter a majestic horse. That one must be his. Ember looks around, trying to glean everything she can about the space.

Yelnar, where are we?

"Yelnar looks around, as if for the first time realising all is not normal." He scratches his head. "Ummm, I'm not really sure. It looks like Mother found a way to protect our herds, she's pretty badass right?"

Ember shakes her head in awe.

Wow. Wherever this is, she must be pretty powerful. So wherever she is, I bet she's doing fine....right?

Verrian looks around at the alien plane full of wonder. She supposes she should have displayed more caution, but up to now, she's been so focused on the ever-present dangers they've encountered - and on trying to keep members of the party out of trouble - that she hasn't been able to indulge her sense of adventure. The chance to experience a new plane, which should be relatively safe since the portal was conjured by Yelnar's family, is a welcome treat.

She takes in the horses and the strangeness of the environment with a smile that she suddenly realizes is inappropriately exuberant. Adopting a more reflective expression, she asks Krav, "Do we know if there's anything else here besides horses?"