Vanyel's brow furrows at that. "An illusion, then? They felt real enough, but for a mage skilled enough with illusions, that might not be so difficult to-"

He cuts himself off abruptly as that dragging sound starts, and the rattling follows shortly after. "Personally, I'm for forging ahead and meeting whatever that is head on. What about you two?"

[ooc: I vote we handwave kaz turning back at this point, since the player has dropped.]