POV Eliza
"Welcome. I'm Will and I'm the leader of the Scarlett Gang. You will have many questions and they will be answered for you. First, settle into the community. Here you are safe from the clutches of the people of the Empire. Your slave status speaks volumes and we have freed you from the burden. Mimi, will you continue to look after her until we find a home for her.”
“With pleasure, I’ll take care of you. What do you say, Eliza, do you want to live with me?”
I looked at both of them and nodded. I had a good feeling about it and Mimi had been very nice to me.
“Then it’s a done deal, but you’ll have to help. Here everyone has their job and gets involved. Over the next weeks and months we will try out what suits you and then train you in that direction. You know what it's about, Mimi."
"I'll take care of it. Come, I'll show you your new home."
We left the room and followed Mimi back to the hut that I already knew. Apparently it was hers. In the next few hours we will rearrange the hut. A small bed was brought in and I was given my own small chest. Over the next few days I got to know the other residents and their tasks. In addition to about 2 dozen adults, there are also 5 children ages 2, 3, 5, 11 and 12. In one of the open huts there was a kitchen and, adjacent to it, a food store with a smokehouse and a chicken coop. The camp was supplied with water from a well. When it came to food, the camp was largely self-sufficient. They are mostly hunters and gatherers. The nearest city in the Empire was almost two days away and this served to protect the camp. The residents were a mix of former soldiers, impoverished traders, war refugees, ex-slaves and even a baron's son. Three of the residents were not in the camp at the time. They were adventurers to earn money and acquire urgently needed goods that cannot be produced themselves. They were also the ones who found me in the river. The war refugees and ex-slaves were all beastkin, while the rest were human.
Everyone had their tasks in the camp. Mimi, for example, was well versed in fabrics and tailoring. Even the three smallest children helped as best they could, be it with preparing food, cleaning or looking after the chickens. The two older ones were already firmly integrated into the work process and were undergoing training. However, one thing everyone in the camp had to do was combat training. The inhabitants had to expect at any time either to be discovered by the Empire or to be attacked by wild animals in the forest. Jared, who I had already met and who was an ex-soldier, was responsible for this. He taught residents physical fitness and hand-to-hand combat. A thing that I previously thought was completely normal, but that was extraordinary for a fantasy world, was instruction in rudimentary general knowledge. In addition to reading and writing, this also included arithmetic, geography, history, botany and zoology. In the morning all small children under ten years of age had to go to school, as I called them. And that included me, which I was very grateful for, because I learned a lot about this world. By the way, the world was called Narran.
From now on, my new daily routine consisted of classes in the morning and physical training and combat drills in the afternoon. Afterwards I had a few hours to play with the others, but I only did that sometimes. I had to learn as much as possible about this world as quickly as possible. Since I could already do math, which earned me several astonished looks, I concentrated on reading and writing first. There were several books in the camp that I practiced diligently on. During the physical exercises it quickly became clear that I wasn't very strong compared to other children. On the contrary, I'm pretty weak, even though I'm tougher and more resilient than I look. I was also smaller than others my age. But I was very dexterous and had good senses and reflexes. So I learned to fight with daggers, throwing knives and dodging.
It was already the end of autumn. The leaves were becoming more and more colorful and felt down, the nights were noticeably cooler and the days were getting shorter. During my lesson I heard excited voices coming from the center. The three others heard it too and jumped up from their chairs.
“Aslan, Yuna and Kron are back. Come on, we have to greet them.”
Pina, the oldest of the three, shouted the words to us and stormed out of the hut. Our teacher followed us outside, class for the day was over. The entire camp seemed to be represented in the center. You could see three people in the middle, two men and a woman. There were four horses nearby, all heavily laden. They were chatting with people when Will walked up to them. After a brief exchange of words, they handed the horses over to two others and followed Will into the main house. The aura of experience emanated from the three. One of the men was obviously a warrior, with his metal armor and his large sword. The woman wore leather armor and carried a bow, while the last man also wore leather and had two long daggers on his hip. I judged him to be the most dangerous. The horses were unloaded and the saddlebags emptied. The main items that came to light were metal objects such as pots, pans, knives, but also nails and sewing needles as well as fabrics and leather products such as belts, boots and shoes. Flour sacks as well as clay pots and small jugs were also included. As I learned, the last ones were mainly salt and spices as well as healing ointments and talc. After that, things calmed down again and normal daily routine continued.
In the evening I was called into the main building. Nervous because I didn't know what to expect, I approached. Mimi was with me and held my hand. Over time I grew to love the woman and saw her as something of a mother substitute. We entered the house together. In addition to Will, the three adventurers who had arrived today were waiting for us inside. I looked at Mimi questioningly, but she just nodded encouragingly. I looked at Will and said:
"I am here. How can I help?”
The three seemed visibly irritated.
“Will, how old is she? Four? Five? Where did she get this expression from?”
“She was like this when we found her, Yuna. Tell me, Aslan, what do you see?”
Aslan was the dagger fighter, then Kron had to be the warrior. Suddenly I got goosebumps. I rubbed my arms.
"Interesting. You've made an exciting find, Will. She seems to sense that I am appaising her.”
“What exactly do you see?”
Name: Eliza
Race: Elf
Gender: Female
Class: None
Age: 5
Level: 0
EXP: 0
DevP: 0 (development points)
HP: 10 (health points)
SP: 10 (stamina points)
MP: 10 (mana points)
Strength: 5
Endurance: 10
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 10
Intuition: 20
Skills: Sense Presence, Hunger Resistance, Pain Resistance, Sleep Resistance
Unique Abilities: Handsome, Twilight Vision, Good Senses, Strong Reflexes
Title: none
“She is an elf and 5. High values in agility, intelligence and intuition., Weak strength. No skills except Sense Presence. But pain, sleep and hunger resistance, all at basis rank. She must have been through a lot in her life so far. Good senses and strong reflexes, plus handsome. I've never seen twilight vision anywhere. But everything fits with the fact that she is an elf. No title.”
“Sounds like you’re special, Eliza. I have never seen so many abilities in anyone from birth. Must be an elf thing. An elf with black skin and white hair, something like that exists on Narran, huh? What do the rest of you think, what will we do with her?”
I was surprised again. You could see all this information in others? Was that also possible for yourself? I definitely had to find this out.
“No offense, kid, but you’re not good warrior material. Too small and weak. Yuna?”
“With her high values in agility and intuition, she is well suited as a hunter or scout. Twilight vision and good senses would also help a lot if I assess the skills correctly. Although she is probably too small and weak to be able to handle the bow properly. So, scout after all. Sounds like a case for you, Aslan. I can then teach her more things when she grows up.”
"Looks like this. I confess, I'm curious about you, little one. You show to be promising. If you don't mind, Will, I'll take her under my wing for the winter. Then we'll see how she does. But she will be an enrichment for us, that’s what the itching in my little toe tells me.”
And so over the winter I became the apprentice of Aslan, the adventurer, a scout, information collector and man responsible for the group's logistics.