"Khm… I don't have any identification papers" said Jeffery.
"You're not even of age yet! Don't try to pull the 'ignorance' card on us! We're not stupid enough to fall for your schemes." Ogilvy was quick to disparage, as he was quite the unpleasant character.
"Yes I am! I'm 13 like Rob! We're the same age, you can ask him." Jeffery was a bit flustered. He didn't like others teasing his obvious lack of growth. He took a discrete breath and held it to try to clear his mind.
"Calm down… Seriously though, kid, why don't you have any form of identification?"
"Well, my mother never said I needed any. I thought you just took kids in and trained them for the military?"
"Ah! You're a mommy's boy! Did she give you milk last night? I bet you miss her." This time, Jeffery completely ignored Ogilvy. He obviously held very little power here, and was most definitely looked down upon, at least by the captain. Still, mentioning the possibility that he was close to his mother was enough to consign Ogilvy to a position in his mind almost as low as her.
"Well yes, we do 'just' train kids for the military, but the military is an organized bunch! Lots of regulations and such."
"So all this is just for the possibility that I'll join the military later?"
"Don't you mean impossibility? I mean, wi-"
"Ogilvy. I'm standing literally three feet away from you. Do you think, somewhere deep in your mind, you could find the willpower to keep your mouth shut?" The captain was frowning now. "And yes, when you join the military we'll need those papers for administrative duties."
"But what about the goat legion?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"They were conscripted from the western islanders, they had no records of birth or anything, yet they ended up as a legion"
"They were a special case. They were initially put under registered supervision and were commanded by our most trustworthy"
"I'll be supervised by all of you while I'm here, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"And you're trustworthy, right?"
"Its different. We were forced into a situation and" He paused, seemingly thinking. Suddenly, a sound of footsteps appeared. Rob was in front an old man with a bushy beard walking behind him.
"Stop playing around, Keith, let him in." This was most likely the commander of the fort, Jeffery thought. He spook with a commanding tone and straight posture showing his experience in addressing others, and had an imposing bearing gained from countless skirmishes. Of course, the salute of the guards and the fact that he had several gold bars on his shoulder lapel was only a minor help in his deduction. "Besides, what harm can a single youngster do in a base under constant guard by trained adults?"
"If you say so, general." Keith looked accepting of the General's ruling, but Ogilvy looked a bit indignant. Jeffery, not wanting to take the slightest chance, silently rushed in. The inside of the palisade was not much cleaner than the outside. There was a large dirt clearing right in front of the gate that he entered through, and it extended into the middle of the circle. Surrounding it, various wood-built buildings stood. They were not to the point of being called ramshackle, but they certainly weren't in mint condition. The dust had gotten into every crack, the paint had long since cracked and peeled, and some boards were obvious replacements due to their much lighter tone. They had shingles, though, and the walls weren't mud, so Jeffery's new 'luxurious' home was noting to complain about for him
The tallest building had two stories and a miniature watch tower extending upwards for another 7 meters. The roof of it was just under the tips of the palisade. It was flanked on either side by one story buildings on one side and a warehouse on the other. Even though it was inside the camp, it had guards posted. They avoided these two sides, though, and headed directly for the main building, only deviating from their route to avoid the guards in the center that were practice dueling with weighted wooden swords and shields.
"I'm General Winston, Rob told me about your dilemma. It's fine. We have an artifact that can uncover lies, anyways."
"Thank you, General. So, where are the other kids in the training program?"
"Mhm. They're in that building over there." Rob and Jeffery looked over at the most dilapidated building. The screen was missing from the windows. Some shingles on the roof had fallen off, making the whole structure look like it was balding. A support pillar was rotting, and the walls were shoddily put together in a way that would let drafts through. "Rob, you should go join your comrades now. I'll take Jeffery from here." Rob nodded, he had spent a few minutes interacting with the general and thought fairly highly of him. He walked off towards the building, grimacing at how the exterior looked.
"Follow me, Jeffery." They stepped into the large building. Jeffery followed. The inside was luxurious. Someone had taken the time to cover the walls in an ornate yellow wallpaper with gold accents, and there were oil lamps hanging from the ceiling illuminating the hallway. They stopped at an unremarkable door. The general opened it to reveal stairs leading… down? The bottom was lit with a soft glow, but the staircase was dark. Jeffery cast a reluctant gaze at the general, who pretended not to see it and gestured downwards. Jeffery sighed. No matter how sketchy it seemed, it was the only way to begin his journey. It was for his future.
He stepped down. Again. And again. Stairs were not something he had experienced much in his life, and now was not the time to be experiencing new things. After twenty or so hesitant steps, he had gotten to the bottom. The ceiling was high, and light entered the basement through glass crystals embed in the ceiling and exposed to the surface. They were small, but refracted the light enough to illuminate the entire room fairly evenly. Either side had palettes of food and supplies stacked against it. From Jeffery's very rough estimates, it would be enough to feed one hundred people for one or two months.
The farthest wall had an iron vault embedded in it. The general walked over to this vault and inserted a key. It clicked open revealing… a strongbox with another lock on it. It had three knobs with marks around them that could be rotated. The general hastily opened this one, too. Jeffery couldn't help but notice that he had spun the rightmost knob five marks to the right and the middle one to the left just by one. He did not manage to see through the generals body to the last knob. At this time, he grew really curious about how the glass crystals distributed the light. They were actually faceted spheres that acted like convex lenses.
"Ok, this is the truth artifact. Just put your hand on it and I'll ask you some questions"
"Sure… sure." Jeffery looked back down and saw a glowing orb in the man's hand.
"Make sure it works. When I ask you a question, answer honestly. Put your hand on it." Jeffery nodded in confirmation and put his hand on the orb. "Alright, is it true that you are a boy?"
"Yes." The orb flashed green after a second.
"Now lie when I ask you the question. What's the color of the sky?"
"Blue." The orb flashed yellow, then it shocked him! He jumped and almost fell out of his seat! "Ouch! Why didn't you warn me?"
The general let out the first genuine smile Jeffery had seen on his face. He chuckled. "Sorry, I just wanted to see your reaction. It was… ahem ok I must ask you now, are you at least 13 years of age?"
Jeffery put his hand onto the orb with much trepidation, and jerked his hand away right when he touched it. When nothing happened, he placed his hand back onto it and said yes. The orb flashed green. "Ok, are you affiliated with any factions or countries besides Amer?"
"No." Again, the orb flashed green. The anticipation on the general's face faded a bit at the response.
"You're done. You can go up and join your friend now. You remember where the room is, right?"
"Of course!" He practically fled from the general, who didn't seem as friendly as before.