Chapter 5: Welcome Committee

         The room offers no light besides the faint ray coming from the service slide on the bottom of the door. In this enclosed stone prison sounds of figures shifting and relaxing can be heard in the dark. Rowan takes a step back to place his hand on the metal door, moving to the right he follows the wall to feel how long or deep this room is. He finds the corner after about 13 cautious steps, as he reaches the corner Rowan can hear some breathing. He knew that he must not be alone in here, but he does not know if there would be anyone that would not take advantage on his weakened state.

Rowan freezes desperately trying to let his eyes adjust in the dark, sounds of more bodies shifting and moving can be heard. Some sound like they are returning to a comfortable spot, others sitting down, a cough is heard from the other side, the breathing besides Rowan grows closer. A pin could drop and it would sound like a metal pipe, "We leave this new one in the dark or what?", and so a verbal equivalent dropped instead. Rowan's nerves shoot straight up, he is the kind that when scared everything about his expression just stays the same. This made it difficult for friends who wanted to spook him to get a rise out of him, however Rowan's eyes open wide trying to observe anything.

A gentle voice is heard addressing someone, "Fion could you make another fire?" A bright flame lights up in the center of the room, Rowan readjusts his eyes once more to see a room full of people all dressed in cut clothing or rags. The source of the flame comes from a poorly shaved head child covered in runes on his skin and raged clothing, as he stands there holding a flame in the palm of his hand. The kid could not be any more than 15 to 16 years old. Rowan mentally guesses. Flanking the child is two other kids that look identical to the child holding the flame, next to them is a tall muscular built woman also with a poorly shaved head, and runes etched on her body. She stands arms crossed looking around, she is covered what seemed like a dress, now cut and tattered to a makeshift skirt.

Rowan looks to his right to follow where the breathing was coming from only to see a chiseled, tattooed in runes chest of man. Rowan's eyes then follows the chest up to see an intense looking shaved man with the same runes on his face as with the rest of the people in this room. Rowan startled takes a step back, "Ah uh pardon me I uhh..." Another figure from the crowd step towards Rowan with determination in her eyes. A smaller frame than the first woman but she also has the same shaved head and runes all over her body thats barely covered in rags of clothing.

The woman corners Rowan by getting close and starts examining him, looking up and down even grabbing his arm to read his newly minted runes. "Hey hey what are you doing!?" Rowan reflexively objects the examination. "Hold still I'm just reading your runes I'm not hurting you." She says with lips that are out of sync to her words as she maintains her grip to hold Rowan still. She lets Rowan go and turns to face the group, "Theres nothing wrong with him, he is just like the rest of us." The muscular man calms down and a sigh of relief can be heard through out the room.

The tall woman approaches Rowan, "Good to know, hail they call me Eribella, don't mind Kiri she is most familiar with these inscriptions." Eribella gestures to the comparably smaller woman, "Then does she know what is going on with me? and why is everyone I've seen speaking look like they are suppose to say something else? But I understand what they are saying!" Rowan pleads to Eribella then to the room. Kiri speaks up, "It's because of these runes here" Kiri reaches out and press the runes on Rowan's neck, fingers tracing the inscription. "These runes enhance your voice to be understood by anyone that can hear them." She explains, then retracts her hand to shows the same runes on her neck, Eribella lifts her head to show the same.

Rowan looks at the rest of people in the room, all with the same style of script on their necks. "But why did you have to examine mine rune so closely?" Rowan addresses Kiri, to which she shows a sadden expression. "I needed to know you weren't going to be like some of the others that joined us here." Kiri looks to the child with the open palmed flame with a nod, the child then moves deeper in the room and gestures to the other people who part ways to show a pile of corpses. Rowan looks in horror as these people seemed transformed with enlarged limbs disproportionate to their bodies, others seemed like something burst from their stomachs, another corpse with its head blown off. Rowan takes this moment to really notice at some details in the room in that there are scorch and claw marks on the stone ground and walls through out the cell.

"What caused this?" Rowan asks gripped with fear, "Special runes that the good Magi places on you if you show promise." Kiri Answers. "A few of them went out to complete task for the royal family, and when they came back they received new runes." Kiri continues with a sickened tone. "But the good Magi would sometimes keep us on edge by just going straight for these runes on new victims and once they enter here they transform into these beasts." The muscular man chimes in, "They would transform into primal beast with no thought no sense of self, as if ordered to kill everyone they laid eyes on."

Rowan looks back at the tall man as the man places a hand on Rowan's shoulder to maybe instill comfort, "But your fine now, I don't have to grant mercy to suffering, please be at ease, your safe with Igan now." He reassures Rowan. The kid with the flame speaks up, "And our name is Fion, this is my bother Cyon, and Ion, together we are one." As he gestures to left one Cyon, then the right Ion. Other members in the cell begin to open up and comfort Rowan as they introduce themselves.

Moments pass as others are talking with each other, Rowan sits down with next to Kiri. "So when is meal time or have I missed it?" Rowan asks, Kiri has a confused look on her face, then points to one of the rune on Rowan's abdomen. "We don't eat, well we can but we don't have to due to this." Kiri explains. "So are you native to here, or did you wake up to this dungeon?" Rowan asks Kiri. "Native, yeah that would be close to it, much of the others here are more like you than me as I am from here." She says with a lonely expression. "Recently the royal Magi have discovered a method to summon from other spirit realms- other worlds." Kiri corrects herself then continues. "Our world has a traditional understanding of mana manipulation as it comes from the realm of spirits, but as we found its not a form of spirits but how our imaginations shapes the magic around us."

Rowan looks at Fion and his open palmed flame, then back at Kiri as she is explaining, then he begins to blow raspberries. "Soooo umm yeah, we don't have that from where I'm from, like it seems we both know a term akin to magic, but in my world that concept is only a fantasy!" Through a baffled expression Rowan is not any more shock about a kid holding a flame, than a short while ago was strapped to a table getting runic tattoos etched on him that instantly shifts his perception and alters his body.

"So I have to ask." Rowan steels himself as he asks the following, "Is there a method for me to learn how to use magic? Or is this only if you are born with the ability to use magic?" Kiri responds baffled almost like being asked if people can breathe air, "Sure it is a type of skill that you have to learn and improve, but everything can use magic it just matters how deep your well of mana is." A brief hint of excitement and wonder fills Rowan, "Really? Then could you teach me? I'm gonna need every edge I can get for the war we are about to be sent to." Kiri now with a face fill of dread, "What do you mean we are at war?..."