Connell touched the wooden window pane, dreaming about his adventures that had yet to transpire. The view he saw was perfectly framed by the window's boundaries. Looking out, he saw few people walking the streets. It was barely sunrise, and most residents were still sleeping soundly within their homes. Connell appreciated the tranquility of early morning, and could not imagine enjoying to sleep late in the day. Although night had its own charm, there was nothing as inspiring as the sun's warmth and glow. Reaching out carefully, Connell unfastened the window's lock and gently pushed it open so that the morning's sounds could enter through the miniscule crack.

For several hours, Connell sat by the window, admiring the sunrise and listening to the birds chirping. More people awoke and began to traverse the streets of the city, attending their everyday business. The city seemed so pleasant and at ease with itself.

Mesmerized in trance-like state, Connell nearly fell off his perch when a loud, bird-like call erupted through the small opening. A large blurred object flew past the house at incredible speed, yowling. The yelling continued long after the mysterious flying object had disappeared. General mayhem broke out across the city. As Connell watched skittish residents rushing down the roads, he felt awed by the sound which could provoke such amazing results. What an impressive sound!

Recognition struck Connell a moment too late. He remembered that noise! It sounded just like Feather. In fact, maybe that was Feather! After all, the griffin probably hadn't gone far since their journey. Connell smiled at all the distraught people, screaming and running towards their homes. They just didn't understand that Feather was a nice griffin. Maybe if he hurried, he could see the griffin one more time. Connell jumped up from his seat.

Turning back to the small room he was standing in, Connell noted that his recent acquaintance was still fast within the clutches of sleep despite the recent excitement. Not wanting to wake the other boy, he silently made his way to the door and left the room. As he snuck quietly through the kitchen past the other bedroom, he heard the faint snoring behind the bedroom door. Apparently, the whole family slept late and they certainly slept soundly. Connell vowed to return later, when he was sure the house's residents were awake. Then, he would repay them for their kindness.

After all, they had treated him so well although he was a stranger. For long hours the family had sat, mesmerized by tales of the outside world and Connell's journeys. Connell was surprised himself. He had never realized that his own life was so incredible. The younger boy was very impressed that Connell had traveled all the way from the forest village by himself, and the whole family was intrigued by the notion of speaking to a griffin, much less being close to one.

People often had such horrible misconceptions about animals. Of course, if that really was Feather, those misconceptions were beginning to make a bit more sense. Although, the animal's screeching had died down by this time. Connell sighed, realizing that he had missed his opportunity to reunite himself with his griffin friend, and decided to head to the Academy instead.

Stepping outside, Connell approached a middle-aged woman who was darting furtively down the avenue. She took a quick look at him and his casual demeanor before turning on her heel and running the other way.

"Wait, madam!" he called to her. She stopped walking, and he ran to where she stood. "I have a question for you, if you wouldn't mind answering. Please, it will only take a few seconds."

Not turning, but slowing her gait, she replied coldly, "What do you want?"

Connell was completely taken aback by her odd behavior. How could she act so cruel on such a lovely afternoon? Something bad must have happened to her. People did not usually behave like this! He didn't understand. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. If something bad had happened, he hoped there was something he could do to help her out.

She looked down at her feet, silent for several moments. Then she repeated her original question, but in a slightly more aggravated tone. "What do you want?"

"Are you sure you're alright, madam? Can I do something to help?" he persisted. Clearly, she was hiding something. Some sort of horrible burden must be weighing on her conscience. If only she would share her problem, and then he could try to cheer her up.

"Listen, little brat, if you can't figure out what the problem is, then you're an idiot. Go away." A tear trickled down the woman's face and she tossed her head violently. Then she stormed off and entered a house down the road.

Stunned, Connell could only stare in the direction she had vanished. What had he said wrong? He hadn't meant to offend her. Sadly, he looked around the street. An inn was nearby. The innkeeper who tended the Fuchsia Dragon was a very knowledgeable man. Perhaps the innkeeper here shared that trait also, and would be able to answer his question.

Once inside the inn, the innkeeper greeted him with a warm smile. "Surely you're not interested in a room for the night," he said pleasantly, pen in hand. "What can I do for you? Shelter from the noise?"

"I just have one very simple question," Connell answered. "How do I get to the Academy from here?"

The man behind the counter gave a good laugh. He called over to the chef in the other room, who was preparing lunch. "Hey, this kid here wants to know where the Academy is."

A tall yet plump man entered, holding a sizzling frying pan. A delicious aroma accompanied him. Connell suddenly remembered that he had not yet eaten and his prize food was not redeemable here. The new man eyed him. "You don't know where the Academy is?" he repeated, chuckling.

"Well, no, actually," Connell replied. The two men laughed in unison. He wished they would tell him what was so funny. "I've never been here and it's a big city. I didn't want to spend all day looking for it, so I thought I'd just ask you where it was." Both men were nearly in tears.

"You really aren't from around here!" the innkeeper exclaimed. "Why do you want to go to the Academy? Are you a new student?"

"Actually, no, but I want to learn whatever I can there. It's a very long story." Connell looked at them pleadingly.

At that moment, a slightly disheveled woman sauntered down the stairs. Yawning, she glanced expectantly at the chef, eyeing his fresh cuisine. Short black hair was matted to her face, implying she had recently awoken. Probably Feather's doing, Connell deduced. She had a very tough appearance and a gruff manner. Her clothing was mud-stained like a traveler's.

"G'morning, boys. How about some breakfast? I wasn't expecting to be woken by that monster. At least it finally stopped making that awful racket," she spoke through another yawn. She walked past the three and sat down at a table, running her fingers through her hair and yanking out a few tangles.

Connell smiled at her. She didn't seem like a bad sort of person. Just crude. "Hi, miss. Are you here to see the Academy too?" The woman squinted at him in disbelief and then threw her head back, chortling.

"Kid, in my business, I don't have a need for things like the Academy." Connell didn't know what she meant by that but decided to leave her alone anyway. The woman gestured towards the chef. "Chef, please bring me some of your finest! I'm starved."

The chef hurried back into his kitchen, leaving the innkeeper to answer Connell's question. Smiling, the man finally gave him a direct answer. "I'm sorry for that. But you do realize that Greenhill pretty much centers around the Academy. We attract students from all over. Rich, poor, boys, girls, children, teenagers, from Muse, Matilda, even as far as the Grasslands. The rest of this city is fairly insignificant next to the Academy. It's our pride and joy. Almost all the roads will lead you there. You should be able to see it if you step outside and walk around to the backside of the building. The Academy is enormous. Just follow all the staircases up towards the heart of the city. You can't miss it."

Connell opened his mouth to thank the nice innkeeper, when a woman entered through the doorway behind the counter, giggling. She threw her arms around the innkeeper in an affectionate hug. "Oh, honey, you forgot to mention that we attract EVERYTHING from all over. Just earlier today, a girl, traveling with a barrel-creature on wheels and a winger boy, came here. An unusual group. You must have heard that monstrous bird-like animal stopping by to make its acquaintance with the city. It came right over to our main window and shrieked through the glass. It was deafening."

"It was a griffin, wasn't it?" Connell asked, wanting to verify his suspicions that it had been Feather. The innkeeper and his wife nodded in unison.

"What other sort of beast could make that much noise? It must have wandered here from some forest to the north. Supposedly, its kind breeds there." The innkeeper's wife studied Connell. "How would you know about griffins?"

"I've met a griffin personally," he supplied helpfully. "Well, thank you for your help, but I really should get going!"

Connell left the inn and followed the innkeeper's directions. Surely enough, a prominent building was visible from the rear of the inn. He headed towards it, mentally preparing himself for his introduction to the Academy.

Finally, he found himself climbing a grand staircase which led directly to the doors of the Academy's main building. Students were milling about. Connell noted the uniforms they all wore. They all matched, which was neat. Just as he was about to reach the door, a group of boys several years older than himself, perhaps in their mid to late teens, approached.

"Hullo there!" one of them called. Connell turned and saw the boy waving. Appreciating this friendly gesture, Connell waltzed over towards them, returning the wave with a smile of his own. The waving boy nudged one of his friends and the two laughed.

"You must be new here," the same boy stated. Connell wondered how he could tell. "I'm Jamieson." He thrust out his hand.

"I'm Connell," Connell answered, offering his own hand. Jamieson grabbed it in a crushing manner and shook it painfully. Connell winced involuntarily, and one of the boys snickered. "And yes, I am new around here."

Jamieson released his hand. "I guess you heard all that commotion this morning. Pretty exciting stuff." Connell nodded in agreement. "Listen, Connell, was it? If you'd like, being new here and all, me and my pals could show you around the school."

Thrilled, Connell's eyes lit up. Real students were offering to show him around the Academy! How exciting! He was about to agree, until he remembered that touring the Academy was not a priority. First, he needed to find someone to ask about the Doremi elves. Afterwards, going with these boys would probably be a lot of fun. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to whoever is in charge of the school first. It's very important."

The group of boys muttered to each other. "Guess you want to see Emilia then? Too bad, she's not here right now," Jamieson answered. Seeing Connell's face fall, he followed up with, "But she's supposed to be back really soon. Why don't you come take a tour while you're waiting?"

"But..."

"Don't try to resist," one of Jamieson's friends added. "You know you want to."

"Well, it's really important that I..."

"Stop," Jamieson interrupted. "It'll be fun. Emilia will be back later. Then you'll have lots of time to talk to her. What else are you going to do right now instead?"

Sighing, Connell considered the situation. He really wanted a tour, but it was more imperative to find useful information. However, if this person Emilia really was gone, then he would have to wait for her anyway. "Nothing... Sure, I want a tour then." The boys laughed.

Connell flinched as Jamieson unexpectedly threw his arm across Connell's shoulders. Jamieson grinned at the younger boy. "Let's begin the tour. This way." He began to lead the group away from the main entrance.

"Huh? But isn't this going to take us away from the school?"

"This is a special tour. Come on," Jamieson urged. They followed a grassy path into a secluded spot beside one of the Academy's other buildings. At this dead end, the group stopped.

"You must have made a wrong turn," Connell said reproachfully. "This is a dead end." He turned around to face the other boys.

"Exactly," Jamieson responded, removing his arm. He balled his fists and popped his knuckles slowly. With each cracking sound, Connell flinched. His mother had warned him against ever doing that to his own fingers. Supposedly, it rotted your bones and made your hands go weak years before they were supposed to.

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

The group of boys formed a semicircle around Connell, whose back was against the building. Jamieson removed his vest and tossed it to one of his friends. He raised an eyebrow at Connell. "What is there to understand, kid?"

Connell blinked, completely flabbergasted. This didn't make any sense! What did this dead end have to do with touring the Academy? He decided to ask. "How does this relate to the tour?"

"Ha ha ha, 'tour' is just the word we use for this. See, all the new kids who want to be students here have to be tested by us." Jamieson grinned nastily.

"Tested how?"

Jamieson turned his head and spat on the ground beside him. Connell was repulsed by this vulgar act. Then the older boy extended his arm and pointed his finger at Connell's forehead, directly between his eyes. "Don't be a smartass," he whispered menacingly. "You know as well as I do what I mean."

"No," Connell shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have any idea what you're trying to tell me." Jamieson was starting to act scary, not at all like the nice guy he'd been just a few minutes ago.

Frustrated, Jamieson gave Connell a really evil look and leapt at him.

"Jamie! Is that you? What are you doing??" a female voice called out. Jamieson stopped and spun.

The circle of boys parted to reveal a teenaged girl dressed in the customary Academy uniform. She looked very angry as she surveyed the situation. Her hair, in unnatural looking brown curls, bounced as she strode over to Jamieson.

"V-Vanesa!" he choked. "What are you doing here?" Red tinted his cheeks.

Vanesa reached out and slapped Jamieson across the left side of his face. "How dare you harass this little boy! I can't believe I even bother to talk to you, Jamie. You're a no-good punk! I wish Trevitt was here. He'd show you a thing or two."

"But Vanesa... I wasn't doing anything, I swear!" Jamieson pleaded. He held his hands up as if to defend himself from another attack.

"Umm, miss..." Connell tried to interject.

"Hush!" she shot at him. Staring Jamieson in the face, she yelled, "I never want to talk to you again!" She grabbed Connell's hand and dragged him hurriedly away from the group.

"Wait, Vanesa! Please. I won't do it again, I promise!" Jamieson yelled after them.

"Hmph!" Vanesa snorted. She seemed so irritated that Connell could almost imagine steam coming from her ears. As she strode, pulling him along, she muttered something under her breath about a boyfriend, and how he was never around when she really needed him.

She escorted Connell all the way back to the main entrance of the Academy. "Jamie didn't hurt you, did he?" She glanced back, and not seeing anyone, she finally gave Connell a good looking-over. Gasping, she drew away from him.

"No, he didn't," Connell, answered, confused. "What's wrong, miss?" He hoped she could answer some of his questions. She could explain what had just happened. It seemed that nothing was making sense today...

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"Connell" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami. This chapter was posted on April 2, 2000 This author no longer writes for Connell