260: Orphanage
Making our way to the orphanage, I couldn't help but feel nervous, despite the constant feeling of pride and happiness from Crisplet behind me. I couldn't really put my finger on why; this wasn't my own orphanage, but to me, it felt like I was confronting exactly that.
I alone couldn't fix every orphanage; I simply wasn't that rich right now, and I didn't have enough people I trusted to not see the money wasted elsewhere. For that matter, I didn't even know if I could fix this one.
Which led to my next thought, why was I so sure that this was going to need fixing to begin with?
I let out a sigh. I couldn't turn back now.
I felt a soft squeeze on my shoulder. "Don't worry Trev, you're doing the right thing," Liane said.
"I know, it just feels so small with so many orphanages out there," I said, voicing my thoughts.
"Change has to start with one," Hari said.
We were soon standing outside the orphanage, which felt surreal. Despite it having the same woodcrafting that was on all the wooden buildings around it, it was clear that this particular building was worn down and not very well looked after.
From the front, I could see that there were a couple of cracked windows on the upper level. The front door clearly had been repaired more than once and was looking like it would fall off if a storm blew through town.
They were not kidding when Hari said everyone was coming either; the only one not here in person right now was Lily, only because it was decided her aura might be too dangerous for the kids. But even Gilain was here, dressed in full armour with his sword strapped to his back.
The absolute perfect picture of what you'd expect to be when dreaming of being a famous swordsman.
"When we get in there, Trev, I'm sure they'll try to guide you around, so for those of us who can, break away. Talk with whoever you can. Liane and Luis, you'll both be unseen almost certainly, so look for anything out of place. Let's get a full picture," Hari said softly.
"Ready?" I asked.
The first to respond was Crisplet, who let off a large burst of sparks, which was all I really needed as the others muttered out agreement.
Approaching the orphanage, I decided to knock rather than letting myself in, which was answered so incredibly fast that they must have been waiting on the other side, clearly expecting us.
In front of me stood an elderly lady, wearing a brown robe, looking haggard, as though she'd not slept for a week, or I guessed probably a night. She just stood there frozen, her eyes wide as she seemed to be stunned.
"Hello, I hope you don't mind, I've come to have a look at the orphanage," I said.
There was an awkward pause as we stood there, waiting.
She seemed to realise we were waiting as she shook herself out of her surprise.
"He... Hello, sorry, I was only expecting one," she said with a stammer.
"Yes, this is my adventurer party, would you mind if we stepped inside?" I asked.
I already felt a bit off with her waiting; it made me feel like anything bad had already been cleaned up. However, we had planned for this.
"Yes, yes, of course, sorry Lord Ashmoon, please come in," she said.
As she stepped aside to allow us to enter, I felt what I had to assume was Liane brush past me as she went by unnoticed, and I also saw behind the lady, Luis was entering a doorway, likewise already inside and moving in deeper.
I could trust if they were trying to hide anything, one of those two would find it.
Stepping inside, the layout wasn't too different to one I grew up in, with stairs leading up to where I knew all the rooms were that the orphans slept in, with the dining hall to the right-hand side a short walk down the hall, and on the left were a couple of rooms that acted like classrooms with a training yard if you followed the hall to the end.
Inside, it looked spotlessly clean, and I knew from my days in the orphanage it was never this clean, even after we spent a day cleaning up before the day of choosing.
It could be that this one was different, but something told me it wasn't.
Looking to the lady who let us in, I felt it was best to do introductions so I knew who I was talking with.
"Obviously, you know who I am and were aware of my arrival, however I'll introduce the others," I said, running through Hari, Jen, Milo, Crisplet, and Gilain, with her staring open-mouthed at Crisplet and Gilain.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I am Rhyn, Matron here at Tall Grove Orphanage," she said, bowing again.
"Who are your other instructors who live here?" I asked, knowing there should be at least one or two.
She looked surprised, "Live here? Just Via, she deals with our combat training mostly, though today we are also joined by Pascal."
"You said today you're joined by Pascal, what do they do and how often are they here?" Milo asked.
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The Matron let out a nervous laugh, "Every now and then he's here, to teach more advanced tactics to our older residents."
Immediately, I knew this was a lie; never in my ten years did we have advanced tactics, and I certainly didn't believe it would be the case today.
"Before we move on, would you mind bringing them both here? I think it's best we get all introductions out of the way first," I said with my best smile.
Rhyn nodded, "I'll get them now."
Once she turned to leave, I turned to the others.
"We should split up once they arrive, Hari, Gilain, if you want to go to the training yard; Milo, as agreed you can keep the instructors distracted here with me. I think I have a good way to trip them up, to see if they are real or not. Jen, if you want to go upstairs, and I'll go with Crisplet and be shown around," I said in a low whisper.
I wasn't overly worried about being overheard; there was a fair amount of noise right now from the rooms next to us, clearly the children gossiping over our arrival.
Soon I was facing two new faces. The first was a short lady, coming up to my shoulders, but she looked incredibly strong, with a scowl on her face, and wearing leather armour, a wooden sword on her belt.
"You must be Via," I said, reaching my hand out to shake.
"I am," she said bluntly.
The second face looked like a noble; that was the kindest thing I could say about him. Out of the three of them, he was the only one who looked rested, and he was too well-dressed to be a part of the orphanage. However, despite being sure at this stage, I decided to do my test anyway, if only to stick to the plan I had.
"Pascal, was it? Pleasure to meet you. I was told you teach advanced tactics here?" I said, reaching my hand out to shake his as well.
"Yes sir, I do," he said promptly.
"Would you mind telling me who your top two students are at the moment?" I asked innocently.
If there was one thing I had learned about these people, it was that they wouldn't give the orphans the time of day, let alone learn their names, and I saw Rhyn's eyes go wide for a brief moment as I asked the question.
As expected, Pascal got caught up on it. "Uh, um, John is the best."
There was no second name given, which confirmed what I believed, and just to really drive this moment home:
"Hari, would you mind getting this John for me?" I said with a smile.
Rhyn quickly jumped in, "I can get him."
But I waved it off, "No, no, that's fine. Hari will find him, you can wait here with me."
I couldn't help but notice there was a very slight grin on Via's face that quickly vanished; it did however make me believe that Via was the real instructor here.
"Via, could you please take Gilain Redblade here with you to the training yard and show him what you have to work with and how you teach the orphans?" I asked.
Her eyes really just seemed to register him as I said the name, "The... Redblade?"
I just smiled as Gilain stepped forward, clearly enjoying this all, and I heard him already boisterously talking about training as he went down the hallway with Via quickly behind.
I noticed while this was happening there was sweat on Pascal's brow and I was sure in a moment Hari would return without a student named John, but even if there was one, Hari would just give a basic quiz on advanced tactics to find out Pascal was Lord Farrow's eyes here.
I didn't need to wait long before Hari came back without anyone.
"No John unfortunately," Hari said.
"He must have stepped out briefly," Pascal said quickly.
"Pascal, please don't insult me like that. I was an orphan myself only a year ago; we don't step out anywhere during the day. Please inform Lord Farrow I don't appreciate being lied to like this. You may leave," I said coldly.
He looked like he was about to argue, but quickly moved past me and out the door after Crisplet's crown appeared and his flame started to turn black.
Letting out a sigh, I looked at Rhyn, "Now, let's have an honest discussion. I was an orphan; I know how this works, so lies won't work."
As I was saying this, Jen was already moving upstairs, while Hari wandered off to the classrooms, leaving just Milo, myself, and Crisplet.
Rhyn gulped, letting out a deep breath, before saying, "We try our best."
I nodded, and on this front I could believe that for some orphanages. I was hoping I wouldn't need to replace every staff member, but I was willing to do it if need be.
"I see, and where would you say are some shortcomings with how things are run?" I asked, putting on my best formal tone.
"Labour and finances. We only have two and a half silver a day to feed, clothe, and care for all twenty-three orphans here," she said.
I nodded, "And wages?"
Rhyn hesitated, not answering the question.
"So it comes out of that money as well then? How much are you and Via paid?" I asked.
"Via gets four silver a week, while I get three," Rhyn said, sounding defeated.
Milo, who was far better at maths than I was, joined in, "So you get roughly nine gold a year, and only five and a half of that actually goes to twenty-plus orphans a year."
This all sounded incredibly low. I'd not taken more than a step in the door and I was already feeling like this was all wrong.
"Lewie, are you nearby?" I said aloud.
He appeared, sitting on the stairs a moment later, "Yes?"
His appearance made Rhyn jump, but I didn't wait for her to ask who he was.
"How much does the crown allocate for an orphanage?" I asked curiously.
This was probably something I should have checked earlier truthfully, but now would do.
"Fifteen gold for a standard town. This is only for the children's food, clothing, and medical needs; the wages are paid separately by the lord from the taxes," Luis said.
"So we're missing ten gold a year here," I said simply.
Milo and Lewie nodded before Lewie went back upstairs and disappeared again.
"I'm sorry, sir, we don't have it here, we don’t get that much." Rhyn started to say, sounding surprised.
I let out a laugh that was perhaps colder than it needed to be. "No, I didn't expect it would be."
"No, sir, sorry, you don't understand. I have the ledger of how much we receive from the Crown in my office. Lord Farrow doesn't get that money, and we've only ever received twelve gold; two gold of that goes to property tax," Rhyn said, sounding somewhat panicked.
But this wasn't the revelation I was expecting. Clearly, the property tax was Lord Farrow's cut, but there was still at least three gold missing before it even made it to the town. Was this the same everywhere?
"Very well, would you mind giving me a quick tour of the place? I've not even left the front door yet," I said, putting on my best smile.
I would need to check that ledger myself, likely with Luis, who would understand what hands that money passed through before reaching the town, and I would need to speak with Lord Farrow over wages and property tax, at a bare minimum.
"Please come this way, I'll show you the classrooms first. We had our younger students reading in there, though I'd say by now they are all at the door," she said, raising her voice as she said the latter half of the sentence.
The shuffle I heard from the other side of the door both confirmed exactly what she said and brought a smile to my face. It's exactly what I would have been doing if I were still in the orphanage.