Stella Nova's Journey

Chapter 7- Runes

I continue down the corridor until I spot a nun standing outside a door. She wears a black robe, the dragon's cross hangs from a chain around her neck, her black and white habit covers all but her pale face. "Hello, are you Sister Ana?"

As I speak she turns towards me and leaps back, and a shocked expression covers her face. "Great Dragons above! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"But you're covered in blood!"

"Oh. This isn't mine."

"If it's not yours then whose is it?"

"It used to be in the bastard that attacked me."

"I'm not even going to ask."

"Now, I've been told that there's a bath here."

"Oh, yes. It's right this way."

I follow the nun through the doorway. As I enter into the room I fierce heat and humidity slam into me. I stagger back and through the doorway in surprise. As soon as I cross the threshold the coolness of the tunnels rushes over me and the heat and humidity scatter like a school of gobies when a rock bass shows up. "Wh-what's going on?"

"It's just the runes."

"Runes? What are rune?"

"They are inscriptions that are infused with magic. Different combinations have different effects. For instance the runes around the door prevent the temperature and humidity from leaking in or out. There are also runes along the walls to heat the room so that you don't get too cold when undressed."

"That, actually makes a lot of sense." I cautiously step back through the doorway, into the onslaught of heat and humidity. Before me there is a large wooden screen, preventing a view of the rest of the room from the door. I step around the screen and look around. The center of the room contains what appears to be a pond, made of small white tiles covered in gold characters, and filled to the brim with steaming water. The floor and walls consist of the same tiles, but those on the floor don't have any gold symbols on them. "What do those ones do?" I point towards the edge of the pond.

"Those runes heat the water, and the ones underwater add soap into the water so you need only get in and scrub."

"And what's this?" I walk up to a long, curved, golden tube.

"That is the tap. You turn the knob next to it to activate the runes inside." I turn towards the Sister. "And before you ask, the runes inside of it are connected to a set of runes in the nearby spring. When activated they open a small hole through which the water travels, from there to here."

"That's interesting." I turn back to the tap, then look at the pond. "Well I suppose I should bathe now."

"That would be a good idea. Just hand me your clothes and I'll take them to be cleaned."

I pull off one boot and tentatively touch my toes to the floor. When my toes touch the warm tiles I pull it back in surprise, then set my foot down fully and take off my other boot. I pull off my trousers and set them in a pile on top of my boots. I then peel off my sticky, half crimson shirt and add it to the pile. Looking down I realize that my entire chest and most of the front of my torso are covered in the sticky, crimson blood, and that Father Fosman's dragon cross is stained red with blood once again.

I pick up the pile of clothing and boots and hand them to Sister Ana. "Thank you, Sister"

She takes the pile form me and tucks it under one arm. "I do what I can to live by the Lords' words. Also you may need this." She holds up a large yellow blob.