A few months have passed and soon it was going to be Anortha’s birthday. She seemed a lot more excited than usual, and also began throwing a lot of her stuff into traveling bags.

“Are you planning to go somewhere for your birthday or something?” I asked.

I had to lightly tap her on the shoulder before she noticed that I wrote something on the chalkboard.

“Wait, you don’t know? Also shouldn’t you be preparing to leave too?”

Confused, I wrote, “No. You never told me?”

“I know I did. We even talked about how when I grew I was going to leave this boring countryside and move to the capital.”

“I remember that, but aren’t you only going to be of age in around four years?”

“Yes, but I thought I told you that my parents would probably let me leave when I was thirty-two, as long as they feel like I can be independent. Given that they told me to start preparing a few days ago, I’m certain that they think I’m ready.”

Was that the case? I actually don’t recall that at all, and I have no idea if she really didn’t tell me or I forgot.

“Are we leaving right on the day of your birthday?”

“Of course!”

Wait, wasn’t her birthday in two days? Well luckily I don’t have many possessions of my own so I could carry everything in a suitcase. Not that I have one though. Looks like I’ll need to see if the general store has any. We’d probably also need a whole bunch of other stuff on the journey there and at the capital.

I asked, “So what’s the plan then?”

“When the mail comes over via ferina, we simply pay for a ride to the capital.”

“Wait, they offer rides? And do you need an appointment or something? What if they still have mail for other places?”

“I remember someone telling me they do, and probably no need for appointments? And uh, they’ll eventually deliver it? Or maybe they only carry mail to here? I have no idea.”

“So basically you aren’t actually that sure, and yet you plan to leave in two days. What’s the back up plan if it turns out we can’t?”

Anortha stopped packing and fell silent.

“I guess the answer is you don’t have one.”

The elf nodded.

“Maybe we should ask your parents or other people first?”

“Good idea.”

During dinner time, Anortha explained our questions to her parents.

“So let me get this straight. You were planning to bring Pochi along, yet she was completely unaware of it. Not only that, your plan to get to the capital is very uncertain.”

“Uh, yes.”

Her mother turned to me and asked, “You are planning to join my daughter, yes?”

I nodded.

“Okay good, because I was going to rescind my approval if you weren’t. Oh, and I’ll need to have a private talk with you later.”

I nodded again, although the way she said the last part seemed rather ominous.

“To answer your question, while technically you could ask the mail carrier for a ride on the ferina, it isn’t guaranteed and moreover, it is expensive. More than what you probably could afford. I would recommend you to take the train to the capital. This outpost is too small to have them, but you could travel to a nearby city where they do. Glosgaw is probably the closest, although that city is a bit far for you to walk. What you could do is ride some dedicated transportation caravans, which exist in most small towns, although our outpost is too small to have them. The nearest town is Pellat, and you can reach there by walking for a week or so. Alternatively you can always wait for the seasonal delivery wagons to come, and then get a ride.”

Anortha said, “I’ve been waiting for years already, so I’d rather not wait any longer.”

“Thought you’d say that, so I went ahead and got a map. I’ll be giving it to Pochi later.”

“Why not give it to me?”

“Given your past history, you’d probably lose it or accidentally rip it or something.”

Anortha fell silent for a while, and then said, “But that was long ago when I was still young!”

“Well luckily for you I happened to get two maps. I’ll give you a copy and you can prove yourself trustworthy. When you reach the capital, be sure to mail me the map back in pristine condition, along with a letter of what you’re doing of course.”

“I’ll show you that I can do it!”

After dinner, Anortha’s mother dragged me off to have a private conversation.

“So,” she began, “Anortha’s a bit young, immature, and has never left here, so there is no way I can trust her by herself. While I know you are a lot better than her, I have no idea if I could trust you either. So I’m going to ask some questions and you’ll tell me what would you do.

You try to buy a ride on the caravan. The person in charge tells you to pay 2304₷. What do you do?”

I really have no idea what she’s going for, so I decided to play it safe by asking, “So what is the expected price for a caravan ride from the town of Pellat to the city of Glosgaw?”

“Around four gold.”

Oh, I see. I replied, “Politely inform the person that you thought the cost was four gold and only prepared for that much?”

“What happens if the person in charge tells you that the price is 2304₷, take it or leave it.”

After thinking about the problem, I realized I really don't’ know that much about elven society. Can I sue them? Is price gouging common? Is caravanning a monopoly, or can I simply tell them I’ll find another provider? I gave up, and simply asked, “So what would you recommend we do in that situation?”

“Transportation is supposed to be government regulated, so unless there is a very good reason to up the price, which there shouldn’t, the person is probably trying to pocket the difference, so a simple threat of informing the government of the corruption is usually enough.

Okay, so it seems like you aren’t ready to go out either, but at least you’re asking the right questions. Read this book before you leave and you should be ready.”

Anortha’s mother handed me a book titled, How to Survive in Lengmun and Other Major Cities: For Ignorant Foreigners and Uneducated Country Folk.

I asked, “Why is it that every single book seems so condescending?”

“It’s because the authors of all these are all old and been in the city so long that they think they’re better than everyone else. If you reach the capital, you’ll feel it too, or rather it’s probably going to be even worse for you given the way you look. At least they think it’s beneath them to openly abuse you or do anything like refuse to sell you stuff, but they’ll definitely be subtly or even openly mocking you. My daughter’s likely to stick out as a country bumpkin, and I’m giving it a solid 50% chance that she’ll get disillusioned with city life and come home.”

“Is that why you’re letting her go earlier so when she comes of age she’d be here and working contently or something?”

“Not necessarily. She’s also likely to just adapt, and the few extra years of city life would help when she goes out into society. Anyways, once you’re done reading, seek me out so we can have another private talk.”

I’m assuming she’s probably going to quiz me on the contents of the book in this private talk. Oh well, if I was going to the capital it would be good to know, and it at least shows that she cares.

I finished reading the book the next day. It was as expected, annoyingly condescending, and besides some knowledge like prices or specific customs and laws, most of them would be common sense for a person who lived in a city on Earth, such as don’t go into the poorer part of town if you don’t have to, don’t flaunt your wealth, be aware of thieves and pickpockets, etc. What I did learn is that we’ll need to find a job quick, or the money we have is going to disappear real fast since the prices in the city are a lot higher than here for food and housing. 

I asked Anortha, “So when we get to the city what are you planning to even do? I doubt the allowance you have will let you live without getting some kind of income.”

“Oh, there’s the Lengmun Royal University of Magic, and they even offer scholarships. I was planning to take the test when we get there.”

“And if you don’t do well enough to get a scholarship, then what?”

“I’ve been studying for my whole life already! Although if I don’t…” Anortha thought for a few seconds. “I guess I’ll just get a job there?”

“You sure they’ll hire someone who is not yet an adult without any credentials?”

“Probably? As long as I’m not that picky about the job description.”

“Well, your mom did say you’re welcome to come back here anytime, so I guess we can just treat it as a temporary sightseeing trip to the capital if you don’t.”

“No need! I’m sure I’ll get a scholarship, if not a job.”

I don’t have a decent comparison of how good at magic Anortha actually is, so I have no idea if this is a case of misplaced confidence or not.

After dinner, which Anortha’s father requested to be fancy, was eaten, Anortha’s parents asked me to go to their room.

As expected, the first thing Anortha’s mother did was quiz me on the contents of the book, which I passed.

“Pretty impressive. Now if only my daughter could do that.”

I replied, “She seems to remember the contents of spellbooks pretty well though.”

“I know, but she has a very selective memory, and only bothers to put effort in the things she is interested in. Anyways, now that we are assured that there shouldn’t be any problems on the trip, here you go,” Anortha’s mother said as she handed me a rather heavy bag.

The father said, “That contains twice your travel expenses, and some extra, for a total of 9936₷. Twice because if Anortha wants to head home, that’ll cover it. If not, you’ll need money to find a place to live anyways and that should give you a good head start.”

“Is the leftover enough to attend the Lengmun Royal University of Magic?” I asked.

“Of course not. That is the most prestigious university, and the entrance fees are ridiculous. Why, are you interested in attending?

“Not really. Anortha planned to do so, although she said something about scholarships.”

“Right, she did mention that to us in the past. Well our daughter is great at magic, although probably not at the level to get in with a scholarship. Without a scholarship, she shouldn’t have a problem, although that’s not really saying much since they’d accept a rock as a student if you paid enough money. Well, no harm in her trying for sure.”

“Before you leave, we’ll have all the other necessities, like tents and food ready for you. Anyways do take good care of our daughter, and be sure to remind her to write to us often.”

I wrote, “Will do,” and left carrying the rather heavy sack of money.

Anortha naturally noticed the small bag of money that jingled when I walked back to my room. She asked, “What’s that in your hand?”

I handed the bag over to her and went to write, “Our travel funds and more, which amount to 9936₷.”

“That much?!” she exclaimed as she looked into the bag.

“Well, transportation is expensive. If it were that cheap to go, you’d assume your parents would have taken you to the capital at some point already.”

“True.”

“By the way, you seem very, very ill prepared to go to the capital for someone who has been wanting to do so. Why is that?”

“I trust my parents’ judgment, and since they said I’m ready, that means I don’t need to do anything. Besides, how hard can it be?”

I grabbed the book on city living and thrust it at Anortha. She looked at me questioningly, so I had to go back to the chalkboard to write, “Read that book so you know how hard it actually is. Also, given that you’re the only one who can actually speak, it’s probably a good idea for you to know anyways.”

While Anortha did complain about it being boring and insulting a few times, she did complete it before we went to bed.

binarysoap

If anyone caught on to my city/town naming scheme, there isn't much of a deeper meaning behind most of the names. For example, Pellat Town is supposed to be a joke and has nothing to do with the source material. I just needed to call the town something.

 

I was somewhat surprised at the poll result in the previous chapter, but I won't comment too much on it to try not to influence today's poll, which is the same except to ask which ones you do NOT want to see. This way I'll know if a category is actually polarized instead of just generally liked, and a way to see if I should minimize or get rid of some of the disliked species.