“Farmer,” Travers guessed, once Orn had filled the dresser drawer.

“Do not be dense Travers. Have you ever seen a farmer with clothes that nice?” Bloom asked, scoffing.

“Not a farmer.” Orn confirmed, then closed the drawer

Jack leaned over the edge of the top bunk to look down at Orn. “Soldier or blacksmith.”

“You cannot have two,” Travers objected.

“Neither,” Orn replied. The bag was now empty of clothes and needed to be put somewhere. He looked around for a place to store it and wondered what he should do with his new blades.

“It should fit under your bunk,” Bloom supplied, noticing Orn’s debate about the bag.

“Thanks,”Orn replied and knelt beside the bed. He placed the bag on his bunk and pulled out the blades. He casually tossed them on his bunk, then knelt to slide the empty bag under the bed. Orn withdrew his arm from under the bed, only to see Travers and Bloom’s shocked expressions.

The bunk’s ladder creaked as Jack climbed down. “May I?” he asked gesturing at the sword belt on the bunk.

Orn shrugged and gestured for him to go ahead. It is just a sword.

Jack gently pulled out the sword and knife in turn. The large boy held them with a practiced hand. He quickly examined each, before returning them to their sheaths. Bloom and Travers crowded in when Jack put the blades back on the bed.

“You can look at them too if you would like.” Orn offered and the two nearly jumped at the chance.

They clearly were not as familiar with blades as Jack, and treated the two blades as if they were fragile. Rather than test the weight and shape as Jack had, each seemed to focus on other parts of the weapons.

“They are well made,” Jack said once Bloom and Travers returned Orn’s blades. “Bloom?”

“I can tell the leather is good quality, and well stitched.” Bloom responded, before he turned to the last roommate. “Travers?”

“I have not seen such clear monster stones since I left my father’s shop. The ones on the sword handle is small, but flawless,” he shook his head. “Do not get me started about the thumb sized one on the large knife. It might be more valuable than most of the actual jewels in my father’s shop.”

The three then turned in unison to look at Orn, as if he were a strange animal.

“What?” Orn stared back at them.

Jack sighed, “Do you have any idea how much those blades cost?” The large boy gestured at the bundle in Orn’s hands.

“No,” Orn admitted, looking at the blades. “They were a gift from my parents.”

His roommates looked at each other, and shook their heads.

Travers was the first to recover, “Orn I guessed your parents were well off based on your clothes, but that,” he pointed at the bundle in Orn’s hand. “That likely costs more than I think any of our families makes in a year. “

Orn stared a the bundle in his hands. Does it? I knew we were well off, but more that a year? I hope they do not take this as me showing off. Orn cringed at the thought. “I was not trying to show off.”

“Do not feel bad.” Bloom threw his arm around Orn’s shoulders “If you are that rich, it just means you can pay for all of our meals.”

The friendly gesture and mocking tone broke through the awkward feelings. Orn laughed, only to quickly be joined by the other boys.

“You require more skill than these two.” Travers added pointing at the other two boys. “I think we can keep this game going for a long time.”

“We know Orn is so rich he does not know it. But he is wearing our uniform.” Travers summarized. He looked between Jack and Bloom. “He also has a pair of weapons my parents would not dream of giving me; for fear I would be robbed before I grew into my path enough to use them.”

“Same,” added Jack. “I got a knife because father is a smith and could make it. It is cheap enough no one should bother me over it. But a sword takes a special skill not all smiths have.”

“Do not look at me,” Bloom let go of Orn. “His uniform is good fabric and is well made. The belt is the same story, excellent leather and good stitching. Not much more I can tell you.”

“If he was not wearing that uniform and bunking with us, I would assume he was one of the old bloods,” Travers commented thoughtfully. “My father is a jeweler by the way.“

“Do not say things like that.,” Bloom laughed and slapped Orn hard on the back. “Orn is a good guy. If he was an old blood he would have been treating us like servants, and looking at us like something he stepped in. My dad is a tailor.”

“What is an old blood?” Orn had not heard the term and he was burning with curiosity. Do they mean people like the Duchess? If so, I definitely walked into the right room.

“Old noble families,” Travers supplied. “At least that is what the older knights students call them here. I am sure you met them other places. The nobles that think they are better than us because they were born to parents with noble paths. They are easy to spot though, since they refuse to wear the King’s uniform.”

“They also look at you as if your very existence is insulting,” Bloom added, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

An older boy opened the door. “They will be announcing classrooms soon. We are walking over in a few minutes.” As soon as the message was delivered the older boy disappeared.

“Time to go.” Jack said before reaching to grab something from the top bunk. Orn watched as he pulled down a belt with a large knife hanging from it. Orn followed suit not wanting to leave them behind.

Orn turned to Travers and Bloom who waited patiently for them to finish. Travers caught Orn’s unspoken question. “Only you and Jack have blades. We are saving up to buy them.”

Bloom nodded, “I am almost there. I am lucky in that I have a sewing skill, so I might be able to work for the other boys in the dorm for the rest. “

Travers looked down and his shoulders slumped, “I am not so lucky, so I will just have to do odd jobs since an apprentice jeweler's skills are not particularly in demand here.”

From the hall Orn heard a voice “We are leaving now. Hurry up!”

They walked into the hall and joined the throng of students headed toward the center of the campus.