Brightly lit torches decorated the walls of the mines, illuminating the path forward. The bustling corridors were filled with miners and soldiers alike, squeezing by each other just to get to the other side. In true Alferis fashion, the soldiers were equipped with weapons of their own choice. However, one could only wonder why someone would use a polearm in a mine. Leo followed behind Jace, travelling in a straight line along with the rest of the recruits.

This was definitely not what Leo had expected when he was told he had to train in a mine for the day. Neither did the other recruits, most likely. Rather than a musky smelling and dimly lit hole in the ground, this mine was actually clean and bright. A stark contrast when compared to the horror stories they were told as a kid. There were definitely no monsters around every corner or death traps on every wall, much to Leo’s relief and disappointment.

The group came to an abrupt stop when Staff Bryce took a left turn at a fork, leading into a darker part of the mine. Compared to the bustling corridors before, these paths seemed to be less trodden on. The torches on the walls were also further apart, further indicating that there was no need for the place to be brightly lit at all times. The occasional extinguished torches added to the gloomy atmosphere in these parts of the mine, emanating a silent brooding aura. The group marched on, every step they took louder than before, echoing in the still air around them.

It was not for long before a single small wooden desk appeared in their sights the end of the corridor. A heavily fortified steel gate with metallic mesh could be seen behind the desk. Various runes Leo could not identify were painted on the gates, as if trying to prevent something from coming out. The chubby man sitting by the desk stood up with a short grunt, holding a parchment of sorts in his left hand.

“Terrence,” Staff Bryce greeted the man, nodding his head. “Would you kindly?”

“Sure Staff, anything for you!” Terrence responded with a wide grin from one ear to the other as he greeted Staff Bryce.

Staff Bryce accepted the parchment from Terrence and began scribbling something on it. Terrence then waddled towards the gate with a wooden staff in his right hand, chanting something under his breath.

“Huh,” Jace reacted with a surprised tone. “That Terrence fella is actually a rune master.”

The runes scribbled on the gates started glowing brighter than any torches in the mine, emitting green and yellow colored lights. The recruits watched on, amazed by the beautiful display. Seeing a rune master at work was not something you could witness every day. To begin with, you would have to be born with an affinity towards magical constructs in order to become a rune master. Being a rune master would also mean a fast-tracked career in almost any military in this world, which was why it was odd to see a rune master working in a mine like this.

With a glaring flash, the gate swung open with considerable force. The inscribed runes began fading, turning into nothing more than burn marks on the steel gate.

“There you go, Staff,” Terrence said, still having the wide grin pasted on his face. “Please go on ahead!”

Staff Bryce handed the parchment back to Terrence and gave him a light pat on his shoulder, before signaling for the recruits to follow suit. It was a rather uncomfortable experience for Leo, considering the amount of runes on the gate. The amount of runes appeared to be really excessive to be locks. Furthermore, more runes would not necessarily make a better lock in any case. A single, well-placed rune would work way better than multiple amateur ones.

Leo stepped through the gates after Jace, not knowing what to expect. For all he knew, this could very well be a makeshift prison for criminals or deserters. However, why would Staff Bryce bring them to such a place in the name of training? Could it be something to serve as a warning to the recruits? Endless questions darted through Leo’s head as he walked, until he accidentally bumped into Jace who has already stopped in his tracks.

“Sorry man,” Leo apologized, finally snapped out of his thought process.

However, there was no response from Jace, who would’ve chewed him off by now. Instead, Jace was fixated on something before him, not responding to anything Leo did. Leo turned his head to the front, checking out what that was before him. Leo’s eyes widened like Jace’s, also fixated to whatever that was before him.

“What in the world…?”