Ian heard the professor's response to his answer and was ok with it. This certainly wasn't his strongest subject. It was pretty advanced and then he studied the walls a bit more than he had when he first approached. This was not some simple matter of just looking at characters. This was going to take some work. He wanted to go up and touch the wall, but he thought perhaps that would seem out of place and not yet appropriate. He was drawn to the patterns and images before him. He inched closer to the wall, drawn by some inexorable force.

He heard the professor tell the first through third students to join him and he snapped out of his condition to shuffle over to the professor. What a chance to actually do practical things. This seemed to be more fun than reading about runes. Bart might have a point.