Everyone was some measure of surprised that their first step was into a body of shallow water. Their stumbles for balance made plenty of noise in the otherwise dead mist around them.

"I thought you were taking us inside the xanmeer?" Janius asked.

"I was," Sabine responded with confusion. "I think...something is wrong. That was not supposed to happen. Something touched the connection. Nudged it. I do not know what." 

She inhaled deeply and tried to reopen another portal into the xanmeer. She paid closer attention to the sensation disrupting her spell. No matter how she tried it, there was always something stopping her from precisely placing it inside.

"I cannot do it," she said with a hint of fear. She slowly turned to Meesei. "There is a risk. If I cannot open a portal to the inside, I might not be able to open a portal [i]from[/i] the inside."

Janius peered around into the fog. "It's too late to let anything else on, now. They will know we're here."