Jokes on You

Ortava was about a month or two away from Savala Town. That'd depend on our pace of course, but these locations weren't close by any means. I decided to gather herbs, and practice my medicine making throughout the journey. We travelled through the forest most of the time, and as Kara put it, herbs grew everywhere.

My friends learned a lot more about cooking. They also got used to the Endrosian Empire, and the Great Forest. Turry got used to the regular plants, but I'd feed him some herbs from time to time. The herbs became more like treats, instead of his main diet.

Besides our usual everyday life, we faced some issues. We encountered a group of lowlifes, who thought we were an easy target. They found out how wrong they were the hard way. I wasn't naive anymore, unlike me of the past. These people attacked us, and lost their lives just because of little greed. My friend didn't even bat an eye, when taking them out. The attempts at their lives, especially with stupid remarks, wouldn't be met with mercy.

"They thought a single guy at Outer Limits stage was enough to bring us down. What a bunch of idiots", Tara said. "That's why I've warned you. Not everyone here will try to get along. A lot of people are out there to hunt, rob, enslave and whatnot others. This was a great example, and we're lucky. There are people who reached the Inner Limits stage, you think we'd have a chance against such people?", I replied.

"Anna's right, we kind of forgot where we are. This isn't North, it's an unknown land, at least to us. We can meet people just like Anna, with Auras and much better skills. We should be more focused", Dawn agreed. That encounter taught my friends the real dangers of travelling in the Endrosian Empire. Why merchants hired hunters or even warriors. How lives could perish without anyone ever knowing.

"I guess you are right. We should pay more attention… Anyway, I'll take their stuff, it's not like they'll need it anymore", Tara said while rummaging through the corpses. No one voiced any objections, these people were dead, and they wouldn't need any money or items. Tara simply collected the money, and they had quite a bit. "There's like twenty-three gold coins all together. That's not bad", she announced.

Tara liked money, but she was fair. She'd divide them between us equally. "You can divide my share between yourselves too. I have a few coins, so don't worry", "Hehe, sure. If that's what you want", Tara agreed immediately.

Ortava was about two weeks away at that stage, though we didn't encounter more thugs, more people appeared the closer we got. Merchants, warriors and groups of people became the standard on the paved road. Some camped at the side, while others sold their items to the travellers. "This place is much more busy, than the roads we saw before", Dawn commented.

"Ortava is a large city after all. Moreover, it's the location of the Academy. Hehe, you'll get to see it anyway, since my grandpa lives there", I said. At one point, the road widened. We left the forest behind, while a huge city emerged in front of us. "This is Ortava?", Teri asked, surprised. He wasn't the only one surprised, all of us were stunned.

The white tall walls and a huge gate, were perhaps the first thing people saw. When our gazes followed the walls upwards, we saw three, no, four tall towers inside the city. The towers didn't seem to have anything to do with the walls or defences. They were there for another reason. "The view from these towers must be great. Maybe we should implement something like that back home, hehe", Tara said.

"The amount of people isn't small either. The gate is pretty much packed. People are coming and going constantly. The sheer amount of carts and horses is really staggering", Dawn added. "What are we waiting for in that case? Follow me guys!", I exclaimed excitedly. Ortava was the first Human city any of us visited. So far, we only experienced the villages and towns. That place in front of us was totally different.

We joined the line of people entering the city. The soldiers at the gates checked everyone coming inside. People with carts usually took the longest, albeit some of them managed to pass really quickly. Once our turn arrived, the soldier asked us about the mounts. "These guys? They are quite rare in these parts. They are really docile though, look", I replied while petting Turry. "Hehe, to think people would ride some sort of cows… And the purpose of your visit to Ortava?", he asked.

"We're here to visit my grandpa and cousin", "Right... There's no issues here, you can pass", the soldier said before letting us in. "They take it quite seriously around here. Checking everyone, asking questions", "Doesn't matter, we're in. Now, let's go to the Academy first. We can always explore the city tomorrow, or something. There's no rush really", I replied.

The Academy was so famous, everyone knew where to find it. To our surprise, the three of the four towers belonged to the Academy. The whole Academy grounds had their own miniature version of walls and a gate. There were young and older people coming in and out. All of them dressed in specific robes or attire.

"You guys aren't students of the Academy, right?", a middle aged man asked us at the gate. "No, I'm here to visit my grandpa and cousin", "Your grandpa? A teacher perhaps?", the man asked instead. "Yes, he teaches at this Academy. His name is Philip Clovergrowth". When he heard that name, he almost laughed in my face.

"Pfff… I'm sorry, but can you play such pranks someplace else? That was a good joke, but we can't let you in. You'll need a visitor's pass", "That wasn't a joke, he is my grandpa… Anyway, where do we get this visitor's pass?", I replied a bit annoyed. "Hehehe, sure you are... There, that building over there. You can apply for the visitor's pass. Once you got it, we'll let you in to 'see' your grandpa, hehehe", the man replied half jokingly.

"What a prick", Tara said after we left. "Leave it, we'll get that stupid pass and enter anyway". The people inside the building were of the same sort, as the man at the gate. Once they heard about my grandpa, they laughed. I added that my cousin was there as well, and they didn't seem to find that laughable.

"The pass costs two gold coins per person, and allows you to stay one night at the Academy. That doesn't cover additional fees, such as a place for your mounts, meals and such. You will be required to leave the following day, if you haven't done so already. You can extend this pass to a few days, and we have some discounts for that", the woman explained.

"We'll take a one day pass each", I replied while telling my friends to pay for themselves. They had money, and my pocket was too poor to pay for four people. "Here, this is the pass. Simply show it to the person at the gate, and they'll let you in. Have fun, hehehe", the woman said while handing us a purple feather. 'That's the pass? A feather? I hope this isn't some sort of joke'. That wasn't a joke, because the guy who told us about the visitor's pass, allowed us entry with that feather alone.

"You can leave your mounts over there. Visitors aren't allowed to traverse the Academy grounds on their mounts. If you do, we'll remove you from the Academy, understood? Now, have fun with your 'grandpa', hehehe", the man said. I decided not to ask that idiot about my grandpa's whereabouts. There would be plenty of opportunities to ask other people.

We left our Tauruses at the Academy stables, which cost us one gold coin per night per mount. They asked large prices for some trivial stuff. "We haven't seen a shadow of your grandpa yet, while they demanded a payment after payment. This place is wrong", Tara complained. "... Anyway, let's ask one of the students. Since the guy at the gate seemed to know who my grandpa is, others are bound to know as well", I replied.

The very first person we asked, knew my grandpa. "The headmaster's office is in that tower. I'm not sure whether you'll be allowed entry though. Only students are allowed in, and with a good reason at that. Why do you want to meet the headmaster?", the young man explained, as well as asked his own question. "He's my grandpa. I'd like to visit him". Perhaps the fact my grandpa had a granddaughter was simply too shocking for these people. He didn't laugh, but didn't believe it either.

"No matter what others think, we know where he is. Headmaster, hehe grandpa seems to be highly positioned at the Academy", I said a bit proudly. "Yea, yea. Your whole family is awesome. Can we go now? I don't want to pay for another pass", Tara replied.

Just as expected, we couldn't go inside the tower. Only students were allowed, and only when they needed to see someone there. When the person heard about my grandpa, he laughed. I really had enough of people laughing at the truth, they were starting to piss me off. "You think this is a joke? Go up there, and tell my grandpa to come here. If he doesn't recognise me, I'll give you all the gold in my possession", I proposed.

The guy took me up on the offer, but didn't bring my grandpa. "Do you think I'm an idiot? That's not Philip Clovergrowth", I said. "Young lady, do you even know your place? You are wasting my time, for what? Ron, I don't recognise these brats, kick them out of the Academy", the elder man said. I was done, no more politeness, no more fancy words or explanations.

"Bam!", I slammed the younger guy into the wall, then rushed past the older man. "Stop her!", the man exclaimed, but none of them could catch me. Before I made it to the top, Formations appeared left and right. They exerted a lot of pressure on my body, even sealed my energy somehow. "You've committed a grave crime. You and that bunch of stinking brats can wave goodbye to your lives", the elder man finally caught up.

"What the hell is going on here?... Anna?... Tim, what exactly are you doing to my granddaughter?". The voice belonged to my grandpa, who came down the stairs. The elder man panicked, and backed away a few steps. "I asked you, what do you think you're doing to my granddaughter?", grandpa asked again while deactivating all the Formations.

"This is a mistake, sir! It's a mix up, we didn't know", the elder man tried to apologise. "Really? Anna, why did they chase you?", "We couldn't enter, so I told the guy down there to bring you downstairs. He brought that old man instead, and even tried to remove me from the Academy", I replied.

"Did you enjoy posing as me, Tim? You can say goodbye to your position from now on. Moreover, posing as headmaster is a crime. You will enjoy a few years in a lock up", grandpa said then activated a few Formations. Tim couldn't escape, he could only struggle. "Where's the other guy?", grandpa asked while we walked downstairs.

"There he is… I slammed him into the wall, he seems to be out cold", I said while pointing at a fainted man. Of course since the incident, a lot more people gathered around. Grandpa grabbed that man, searched him and retrieved a feather of some sort. "Grab him and throw him out. The Academy doesn't need trash like him", he ordered.

A few older men did as grandpa ordered, and carried the man towards the gate. "There's nothing else to see here. You may all leave… These are your friends, Anna?", "Yes, they are my friends", I replied. "Great, come with me guys". We passed that elder man on our way up, but none of us cared about him. He'd be stuck in the Formations until someone deactivated them.