"Look, I gotta let the others know! Maybe Tye can help!" He pulled free of Dar and went over to Mike, who was staring back at himself wide-eyed. "Can you stay away from the mares until we get back?"
Mike nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Just have to remember what happens if I don't!"
The homely kid shook his head. "I don't know why you guys are so eager to try adventuring, especially like that. You'll be lucky to survive a week! You'd be way better off staying here."
Mike snorted. "And end up an animal? I don't thinks so!"
"Why would we want to stay here? I don't want to end up a horse, either." Brian scowled. "And we have a good mix. A dragon, a high elf, me, and a centaur. And we've played together before, so we know how to work with each other."
"Played?" Dar gave them an incredulous look. "Like a game? Have either of you, has any of your group ever really fought monsters, or explored some old castle filled with deadly traps?"
"Well, not exactly." Brian flushed, realizing the kid was right. "But it's pretty much the same here as in the game!"
"So, in this game, your friend here can turn into a horse? For real, not pretend?"
"No! There's no magic in our world. The game we play, well, it's using our imaginations, and dice to determine chance and probability." Mike sighed. "I guess it's a lot different here."
Dar laughed. "And neither of you has ever been what you are now, right? You already said you weren't an elf, and it's pretty obvious your four-legged buddy here doesn't know the risks of being a centaur." He shook his head. "Gods, what evil bastard would change people into different creatures and then stick them in a world they know nothing about? LLandros can be cranky and mean sometimes, but even he would never do that to anyone."
"Tye's a friend!" Brian protested angrily. "He'll fix things if we have problems."
"Really?" The boy raised an eyebrow. "So, why was your centaur friend in danger? I mean, if this friend of yours promised to fix whatever went wrong?"
"I..." Brian started to reply, but then broke off as he remembered what Tye had said. "No, I don't think he will. He knew about your mares, and said Mike would end up a horse. And that what happens here is real. We can die here. He said we'd go back to our world, but different than we started out as. Mike would be a horse, and I'll be a little kid."
Mike stared at Brian. This was the first the centaur had heard about this, since he'd galloped off right away. "Tye knew I'd get turned into a horse and he sent me this way? With no warning?"
"And no training, no skills, not even basic understanding of what you are." Added Dar. "Yeah, this Tye fella is a right nasty character! Ready to have one of you become a beast of burden the first day?"
"The first hour." Mike said sullenly. "We just got here, and he sent me this way. I didn't even get into town."
Dar reached out and tousled Brian's hair again. "And he expects you to be a little kid? You already look a lot like one."
"I wouldn't mind that so much, but he said I wouldn't have any memory of who I'd been before." Brian was split between annoyance at Dar's familiarity, and finding the attention nice.
The homely teen chuckled. "Just how long do you guys think you'll last against minotaurs, ogres, orcs, and mountain apes? Gods, I doubt either of you could survive an attack from a single wild lion or bear, much less against armed enemies who know how to fight and kill. Maybe he sent you here as a favor."
"A favor?" Mike scowled. "You think getting turned into a horse is a good thing? Why aren't you on four hooves?"
Dar shrugged. "I'm happy being a permanent stableboy, but I wouldn't mind being on the receiving end of a grooming brush, at least as long as I belonged to someone like Llandros." He gestured at the horses. "Look at them. Perfect animals, huge and healthy. You would end up a Shire stallion, a warhorse worth more than gold. The Wizard would keep you young and healthy, and keeping you smart makes you even more valuable. Breeders would pay a lot of gold to have you mount their mares."
Mike glanced at the horses around him, obviously thinking about that prospect. Brian jumped in "But he'd be a horse, right? An animal that can't speak, property of the Wizard?"
"Well, yeah." The stableboy sighed. "That's not much of a big deal. I'm just as much Llandros' property as any of his horses. Unless you get born into money or land, pretty much everyone is a serf or slave. I'm way better off, because the Wizard keeps me healthy and young so I can serve him better. I never get sick, any injury heals up right away, and I don't get older. Best as I can figure, I'm really about 30, and I still have all my teeth and hair!"
That made Brian blink. "You're 30? You look like..." Then he stopped and shook his head. "Right. magic."
"That's right. Magic." Dar looked back at Mike. "And that's the nice way to get taken out here. If you make it into town, look in at the tavern. The ones who are missing fingers, hands, or worse, tried adventuring when they were young, hoping for a better life. And they are the lucky ones who lived. Gods, I bet more than half the kids in this village take off to search for treasure and fame as soon as they are old enough. Most never return, ending up in something's belly."
Brian shivered, thinking of monsters tearing him limb from limb. The stableboy put a hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him. "I could use some help. Llandros would make you a stableboy like me if I asked. Protected and cared for. Both of you. It's a far better life than scrounging for food on the trail, battling insects and illness when you are not fighting off monsters."
"A Shire stallion..." Mike eyed the magnificent mares around him, his equine body betraying his renewed interest.
Brian turned to look back down the road to where the others were supposedly waiting. If he and Mike were not there to help them, what would happen to Joe and Christine? Then again, Joe was a dragon. And Christine had been happy to let Mike end up a horse. He felt arms around his chest again as Dar came up behind him.
"It's not all shoveling manure and picking stones out of hooves." Dar rested his chin lightly on the top of Brain's head. "I have some magic of my own, especially with horses. Think of being able to change others, to talk to animals, to be able to heal injuries and illness. You'd eventually get all that, too."
Brian leaned back against the teen, staring at Mike. This felt so comfortable, so safe. It was crazy, but he trusted Dar way more than he trusted Tye. But did he want to end up a permanent stableboy? And would Mike be happy stuck as an animal?