1.1.07 – The Visitor from Afar

The smell of oatmeal with something else I could not quite put my finger on wafted through the house as I came down the stairs the next morning. Marta was always up before any of us to prepare breakfast for everyone. Branwen used to do it on some mornings just so Marta could get some rest but she had taken it all on herself since Branwen left.

I got up later than usual that day as I spent an unhealthy amount of time the night before fantasizing about what I could do with my new Core Mutation that I got together with my Orange core. All the other kids were already at the table, a few already halfway through their breakfast as I sat down.

Marta already had a bowl of oatmeal prepared and served it to me as I sat down. Before I could wolf it down as usual, Marta quickly said “Ash dear, could I have a moment of your time after breakfast?”

“Sure” I replied, and began eating my oatmeal slowly instead. I could see that there were bits of dried jerky and some root vegetables that looked like carrots back on Earth mixed in. I would normally take mine with honey but it was apparently a luxury only nobles and royals consumed in this world as it was extremely difficult to harvest.

Marta had been more liberal with the supplies ever since I brought that boar back a week ago, which was good as I could see the other kids becoming more lively with a full belly. A full stomach always did wonders for a person’s mood.

As the other kids slowly left after they finished their food, I finished mine as well and began helping Marta with cleaning up the table. As I was washing the dishes, I looked at Marta and said “Alright, spill the tea.”

“What? We don’t have tea. And why would I waste it by spilling it?” Marta said with a confused look.

I had to remind myself not to use any Earth references every now and then, and quickly corrected “I meant you wanted to talk right? I assumed there was some news you wanted to share.”

“Let’s finish up first and sit down” she replied.

As we wrapped up the cleaning and sat by the kitchen table, Marta looked at me seriously and said “Ash dear, I need you to listen to me.” Oh boy, this did not sound good, I thought.

“There will be a Royal Inspector coming in the next few days, I just got a letter last night. They typically send word ahead so I could have the papers ready and get the kids prepared.”

“The Royal Inspector comes every two to three years to assess the affinity of everyone who might have awakened their core. That means they usually would only test kids who are older than nine years of age”

“That is also part of the reason why we receive a stipend from the Crown. They look for kids with rare affinities, that might be of value to the country. But that’s not all they look for. There are some uncommon affinities that are much more valuable to the military due to the nature of magic. Affinities like shadow, metal, poison, and lightning”

She looked at me as she mentioned the last affinity. I had not mentioned what my affinity was but she had probably guessed based on the slight scorch mark on the second boar’s pelt and the lack of other obvious wounds when I brought it back.

“I don’t know when exactly the inspector would arrive, but can you promise me to lay low until the inspection is over and the inspector leaves? That means no spells, no hunts, no practice whatsoever until all this is over”

I could see the seriousness based on her tone. I would not be tested in this inspection as I was not of age yet, and in the next cycle we still had not figured out how I could avoid it yet. But for now, Marta was asking me not to do anything that might arouse suspicion for the Royal Inspector to test me.

My face turned solemn as I looked at Marta to let her know I understood the severity of the situation “Understood, ma’am” I said.

“Good, now off you go. It might do you good to play with others for a change” she added as she got to continue on with other chores.

It was two days later that the Royal Inspector came. It was a good thing I did not have to wait any longer as I was up to my limit of interaction with the other kids. I could hear the hoof beats of what passed for a horse in this world coming up from the Old Mill Road.

As Marta was alerted to the arrival of Royal Inspector, she got the kids ready and lined up in front of the Orphanage. Gal, Merv, Thal, and Wyl lined up in front beside Marta, with the rest of us standing to the back.

Marta carried some papers, which appeared to be records of when the orphanage took us in and our age, probably to support the monthly stipend requested from the Crown. The Royal Inspector rode up to the orphanage and continued on a bit further to the stream, before getting off and tying the reins to a nearby tree so that the horse could get a drink of water.

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He walked back to us before giving Marta a greeting “Matron Marta” he simply muttered as he nodded his head.

“Inspector Halric Venn, pleasure to have you with us this morning” Marta quickly replied and gave a quick bow. It was the first time I saw Marta being so deferential, which I could understand given a poor report by the inspector could jeopardize our monthly allocation from the Crown.

“Apologies for the delay, something held me up in Hollow’s Reach. Well let’s get on with it, I have four more orphanages and two towns to visit before week’s end” Halric added.