Brian was filled with child-like curiosity, without thinking it twice he accepted and followed Sam and his gang to the woods. The boys laughed and raced through the forest, enjoying themselves, swinging from low branches and jumping on stones. Brian was happy to follow them. They trekked for about an hour until they arrived to a stone in a clearing that had a single dead tree. Sam got on all fours and crawled inside a hole created by the roots. The hole was too big for any adult but for them it was big enough to squirmed. After Sam had passed the other boys encouraged Brian to go.
Even with his small state crawling through the dirt on such small passage wasn't easy, the tunnel must have been a good three meters long and he had to go slowly to not scrap himself. Brian thanked that he wasn't claustrophobic, and even then he wasn't all that excited to having to crawl out again. Finally he made it to the otherside and he was surprised at what he found. The cavern itself was lighted by a crystal in the ceiling and the large room appeared to be just one of others judging by the hallways. Sam helped Brian on his feet. But he seemed different somehow. Sam seemed taller and older.
"C'mon Bran, you don't want to force the rest of the guys to look at your balls while entering right?" said Sam. Back on his feet he could see that Sam was now a whole head taller than him, so if he wasn't younger Sam had just gotten older. "Here come." said Sam dragging Brian by the hand to another room. There wasn't much there, just a spring leaking water into a small pool. Sam grabbed a shell and grabbed a bit of the water. "Here drink, you must be thirsty."
Brian was thirsty and did as Sam told him. It was cool and soothing, you wanted more but Sam stopped you. "Now let's meet the others." he said going back to the room, the other four boys were already on the other side, Brian saw something was off again, as until then he had looked up to the other guys, but now he could see them at the same level.
"You already gave him the water? I wanted to tease him a bit more." said one of the boys, one with dirty blonde hair. Brian was a bit confused so he looked down to himself. He seemed taller and skinnier, he looked back at Sam and saw that the then boy was now clearly a teen, developing pectoral muscles, he was taller and loose the childish facets on his face and his package, although still devoid of hair, was growing and becoming more mature.
"You are getting older." said Brian.
"We are getting older." replied Sam, grabbing his hand and taking him to another room, there it was a flat rock wall that was polished to the point one could see their own reflection, and Brian looked at himself, he was even older than when Dar ambushed.
"Wow, I can stop being a kid." said Brian happy.
"Aww why would you want to do that? You will be perfect for our group." said Sam.
"The Free boys? I don't get it." said Brian. "Who, what are you?"
"We are the free boys." said Sam. "You see long ago. I was a wizard. I dedicated my life to study under the great Maester Uliades. He felt that I was special from birth so he convinced my parents to let me go and had me as his student since I could walk on my own, I believe a lot of gold was involved. Anyway I spent my life refining my arts, inside a tower under the council of Maester Uliades. By the time I was a full blown wizard myself. The Maester told me the secret of my powers. You see I'm a time mage, unlike any other mage, I draw power from age. Experience, knowledge, my power is truly fearsome and my Maester wanted to use it to keep him young forever. So I fulfilled his wish, remember the other baby that was playing with the blacksmith? The great Maester Uliades, or Ully as they know him now." By then Sam was already a teen of about 16 years old. His auburn hair contrasted with his tanned skin from being nude in the sun and the dry patches of mud and dirt. Brian caught a glimpse of himself on the mirror rock, he was himself, the human teen he was before coming to this world, albeit all his body hair was gone.
"Wait so the other wizard that live in Lavenguard..."
"Samas the Time Mage, nice to meet you." he said presenting himself with a bow.
"So you want to eat my age?" said Brian alarmed.
"Don't worry." said the other boys coming into the room, Brian felt like he was in a lockerroom by the amount of skin and sausages being so shamelessly displayed, the other four boys had apparently aged again to their teens too. "See Sam, you can't never tell the story without anyone thinking that you are about to trick them horribly.
Sam chuckled at the comment. "I guess you are right. Like I said don't worry, Although I did "ate" a few years from you back in the town. You see I need to absorb age in order to cast spells, the age coming from say a selfish old man, a greedy blacksmith or my own. I know how terrible my powers sound, so I vowed never to absorb a persons years without their knowledge, unless it is in their service. In your case, you were still ageing backwards only in a regular pace, so I zapped you a bit to broke the spell."
"Oh... thanks then. Why didn't you told me about it in town?"
"I could say it's because you wouldn't believe me, but the truth is it is funnier this way." said Sam with a grin.
"Well thanks... but I don't get it if you are a powerful wizard... what are you doing playing naked in the mud in a village?"
"Because we are the free boys." replied one of the other boys.
"Free from any kind of worry."
"Free to play, to roam, to come and go."
"Free to be happy."
"You see..." continue Sam. "Each of us were being pressured into being something against our wishes. I was ripped from my life in order to serve the master plan of an old sage. Without enjoying my youth, but my power not only let me enjoy the time wasted, but let me help those who were in the same problem, each of us."
"His powers keeps us protected, and the fountain of age gives him enough fuel to stay strong." said a black haired one which seems to have the biggest muscles of them all.
"But last time we stayed too long in Lavenguard, and when the slavers came we were cut out." explained the darkest skinned of them.
"Enough talk let's welcome brother Bran into the Free Boys!" said Sam.