There was movement on the road, but Mike was blocking the view. Before Brian could move away from Dar, a familiar voice shouted irritably "What are you two idiots up to?"
Mike spun around and they both saw Tye standing at the edge of the pasture, a scowl on his face and his arms crossed. Mike shouted right back, anger in his voice. "What the fuck w ere YOU up to, sending me this way when you knew I'd end up a horse?" That appeared to take Tye aback some, and he flushed slightly. "I didn't know anything of the sort! Anyway, you aren't a horse, yet." He glared at Brian. "And you ran off and left the rest of the party. How am I supposed to have any fun with just two players?"
Dar whispered in Brian's ear "Stay where I can keep a hand on you. I don't think he can do anything to you as long as we are in contact. And your centaur friend is already protected."
Brian had started to take a step towards Tye, but stopped before he pulled free of Dar. The whispered warning puzzled him, but he decided to follow it. He felt his own anger rising. "Fun for you? What about us? You stuck us in this dungeons and dragons world with no training or experience and said we would all probably die. You sent Mike this way to get turned into a horse! And Christine was fine with that."
"Christine's a bitch. She's always been like that." Tye narrowed his eyes. "What's the matter with you? This is a great chance to have fun! Instead of sitting around in a room pretending to be an elf, you really are one! This is a real adventure, with real magic and treasure and fantasy creatures. How cool is that?"
Mike growled "And real monsters and swords, and wounds and maybe real deaths?" He gestured at his already transformed face. "Not to mention magic that will make me an animal."
Tye rolled his eyes. "Well, duh! If the good stuff is real, the bad stuff has to be, too."
"So maybe you should have told us before you brought us all here and changed us into game characters!" Brian scowled. "You think I'd choose to be some place where people and monsters are trying to kill me? And it's not a game, at least according o you. You said we could die here, and that whatever happened here was real. That's not a game."
"You wouldn't have believed me anyway!" Tye looked exasperated. "And why are you both so worried about this stuff, anyway? Shit, Mike. You were thrilled to be a centaur, and I bet you enjoyed that mare. And what is so bad about being an elf, Brian? You live hundreds of years, and are strong and quick."
Brian shook his head. "You told us that you expected Mike to become a horse. You knew these mares were here! And if we do get back home, Joe's an iguana and I'm a little kid?"
"Well, uh, I..." Tye stammered as he tried to come up with something. "OK! Look, I'll fix Mike. Then you guys can come back to the group."
"You're gonna have some trouble doing that." Dar spoke up, keeping his hands on Brian's shoulders.
Tye seemed to notice Dar for the first time and scowled. "Who the fuck are you? I bet you're the one screwing with them. Back off, or I'll turn you into a pile of horseshit!"
Instead of looking scared, Dar grinned. "Can't do that, either."
Tye smiled evilly. "Oh, really? Enjoy fertilizing grass." His smile faltered, and he appeared to concentrate. After a minute, he looked confused. "What the hell?"
Dar shook his head. "You're a right nasty one. But you don't know about how stuff works here, either. I've got protection from another Wizard on me. And the centaur is caught up in a spell from that same wizard. You can't do anything to either of us."
After a couple of other obvious attempts to do something, Tye clenched his fists, but then appeared to calm down. "OK. Sorry. Look, guys, this local is working for a Wizard, probably Llandros, the one you are supposed to connect with. Find out what you can, and come on back to the camp, please? This can be a fun time for all of us if you don't get freaked out. We've only been here an hour! I'll fix everything, I promise! Just come on out of here and we'll start all over."