Swamped

"From my point of view, you could be planning to run off and leave me stranded here. You need this statue for some reason, so until I have what I need, I'm not agreeing to anything."

She looks seriously annoyed.

"Not much time to argue. But fine."

She steps back a bit.

"Stand right there in the middle square. No matter what, whatever is in there is transported. I would have to actively shove you out of the way."

"You look like you could."

"I could. But I will need intense focus to set our destination and prevent it from being tracked. It is more than a little difficult to do that and engage in combat at the same time."

You hear a loud noise behind you while you consider that.

"And I would also point out that the amount of time you have to make a decision is not unlimited. Once that fight is settled, I expect the victors will investigate this room sooner or later."

She's got a point. You step in the middle.

"All right, I'll accept that. Here's the statue."

You pull the statue out and hand it over. Carma takes it, and promptly pulls off the statue's head and throws it at the illusory door.

"That's all it took?"

"You would not have the strength to remove it, nor would you know to do that," she says. Well, probably not, but you still feel irritated.

"Okay, assuming this isn't a trick, I've got a lot of things to ask you about when we're on the other side. Like what the deal is with this Master, and why you had me grab some books."

"The books contain spells," she says calmly. "With my instruction, you would have been able to use them, so long as you understood the words. They still may prove useful. Now, please stay there while I prepare to transport us."

Before you can ask anything else, she turns her back to you, stands carefully so she's inside one of the squares, and begins chanting. Well, guess you're stuck with this for now.

And then, suddenly, you see the guard rushing in through the illusory door, pointing their pike at you. They still don't say a word, but you can see a strange and unsettling glow on the tip of their pike. A glow that seems to be getting stronger by the second.

You might have to do something more than just stand still.