You are a slick-skinned, bipedal, lizard-like amphibian from a distant world. Your blue-black body is decorated with yellow spots that let off a faint glow. On each hand, you have four dexterous fingers, including one opposable thumb. Unlike most you have come across in your travels, you do not find clothing particularly comfortable, so you wear only a pair of frayed, slate grey shorts acquired during your travels. Your black eyes are ill-equipped for seeing outside the water, so you sense the world around you primarily by feeling the delicate flow of aether.
At the moment, you stand at a threshold between different layers of a plane created from the collective thoughts of a planet’s inhabitants. You have visited similar places before, each one shaped by the fears and desires of mortals and immortals alike. Typically, however, you do not have quite so much trouble penetrating the deeper layers of the realm. In fact, you are not entirely certain that you could even retreat back to the previous layer from where you are now. You begin to fear that this may be some sort of trap meant to keep prying eyes away from whatever secret has been hidden away in the depths of this place.
Unable to do much else, you begin to walk forward through a seemingly endless expanse. Even with your clouded vision, you can see that the floor beneath your feet is made up of countless tiles in various shades of green. You note a repeating pattern that looks vaguely floral to you, though you are unsure of its significance.
After a few minutes of walking, you hear a short, artificial laugh up ahead. “Eh heh ha.” It seems you are not alone.
You feel a familiar surge of aether around you. Something powerful has teleported to a spot roughly three meters in front of you. You are not entirely sure what the creature is, though you can see that it has taken the form of a bipedal white rabbit in a light grey three-piece suit with a top hat and red bowtie. Actually, this may be its true form. With how its aether constantly shifts, you cannot tell whether or not it is using a glamour.
“Well, well!” the rabbit says. “Don’t you look out of place?”
You walk around the mysterious creature. From its outfit, to its greeting, to its aether, you can tell that it is doing little to conceal the fact that it is some form of trickster. It is even possible that it is the one who trapped you here. In your experience, there is little to be gained from going along with the sorts of games such entities insist on playing.
Only a minute or so of silence passes before you feel another surge of aether and hear that voice again. “Eh heh ha. Not that I’m a native either. People’s paths cross in the strangest places, wouldn’t you say?”
You go around again. More time passes. More aether washes over you. More chatter from the rabbit. “I would ask why you’re here, but you seem to be the strong, silent type. Personally, I’ve always liked my salamander-like humanoids a bit softer and a lot more talkative. Still, I can’t help but feel curious! It isn’t every day that one sees a native of Abbe wandering the mental plane of such a boring little world!”
Now you stop. While the stranger was talking, you went around him again. It has to be part of a trap, but few travelers would be familiar with your remote little homeworld. Fewer still could correctly identify a rare and unique specimen like yourself as belonging to that same world. You prefer to keep things that way, and you wonder whether others could find you here so easily.
“Nothing to say? You look like you have something on your mind! Well, that’s alright. You’re not the first person I’ve met who prefers to keep their hand close to their chest! I’m sure it’s worked well for you up to now, but… you do seem to be—if you don’t mind me saying so—a little stuck!”
Speaking outside the water is unpleasant for you. The dry air stings your throat as you force out a short phrase. “What do you want?”
The rabbit puts one hand to his chest and brings the other up to his forehead, dramatically pretending to be physically wounded by your question. “Oh! What a harsh tone! I hope you aren’t always this suspicious of people! I consider myself quite friendly and forgiving, but others might take offence!”
When you don’t respond, he continues by saying, “Fine, fine! The truth is, I’m just as curious about what lies down below as you are! Oh, but our circumstances are different, aren’t they? Not in a bad way, mind you! I think they could be called complimentary! You see, we’re basically standing on a magical barrier being projected from the layer just below this one. While you are—again, if you don’t mind me saying so—unable to pierce the barrier, I prefer not to draw unwanted attention by passing through, even if it is within my power to do so.”
You cross your arms. A small part of you is disappointed that the trickster’s desires turned out so straightforward, but you are sensible enough to recognize that this is really the best outcome. Once more, you bear the discomfort of speaking to say, “You want me to go inside and get rid of whatever you fear will notice you.”
To your surprise, the rabbit shakes his head. “There’s that suspicion again! This isn’t some deal with a demon, you know. I’ll help you get through, and if you see an opportunity to help me down the line and wish to do so, well… that’s entirely your decision! No contracts, no handshake! Just two strangers with good will towards one another!”
His words do little to assuage you, but it is clear to you that you will be unable to break through the barrier on your own. Its aetheric density is such that you believed it to be a permanent feature of the realm rather than a product of some warding spell. It would take many years to learn the sort of magic necessary to penetrate it. Unable to teleport back home, you do not even have access to the materials necessary to research such magic. With no other option, you nod your head at the rabbit.
“Wonderful! I won’t take up anymore of your time then.” The rabbit reaches into an inner pocket of his jacket, rummaging around a bit. When he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, he gives you an apologetic look and checks the opposite pocket, pulling out a cheap-looking black plastic wand with white tips. “Ahem… I’ll see you again soon, I hope. Inaba Orizaba!”
Somehow, the ridiculous magic phrase and the cheap little wand work. A massive amount of aether washes over you, and you feel as though you’re being carried away by a tidal wave. The barrier fades away around you, and soon you get the sense that you are falling deeper into this world’s mental plane.