As I passed the burnished guards a whole new world opened up in front of me.  The sights, the smells, the sheer exuberence and noise of city life - all were new to me.  Looking back, I cannot believe how quickly such strangeness can become commonplace. 

 

The gates opened up onto a crowded street.  Everywhere I looked I was surrounded by multi-hued frogs of every race and nationality.  The sheer variety was staggering. I had never seen so many frogs in one place before.  I was, indeed at heart I may still be, a small pond frog.  With trepidation I moved into the street. Immediately I was assailed by a plethora of sounds and smells, the majority of them intensely unpleasant to my unaccustomed senses.  The dwellings in this part of Frog City were crude and somewhat dirty. Indeed, noone from my home pond, not even in the deprived area from which I originated, had ever lived in such filth as seemed commonplace in Frog City. I had believed, in my innocence, that such a famous city must be awash with the trappings of the rich and powerful.  It came, therefore, as something of a shock to discover the sheer depths of poverty in the capital of our great frog nation.  As I made my way along the thoroughfare I saw groups of ragged and hopeless citizens.  Their beaten and helpless visages contradicted every belief of hope for the future that I  cradled within my heart.  And yet, despite the rag-tag mob, the depressing domiciles, I was still fascinated by and drawn to the vibrant pulse of the inner city.  It was as if everything within Frog City, every individual, building, plant was drawn by an inexorable tide ever onwards towards the centre. 

 

I chose not to resist the pull.  Following the flow of city denizens I made my way slowly through the crowded streets.  As I made my slow but steady progress along the cobbled byways, I percieved a gradual change in the buildings surrounding me.   More and more often the domiciles seemed to display the affluence of their owners.  The smells of the city became less pungently offensive and the frogs moved, for the most part, with a far greater sense of purpose and self assurance.  I plucked up the courage to ask one such citizen for directions to the academy.  I was, I must confess, a little surprised to see the look of fear that he shot me before rattling off a few stammered directions and hurrying in the opposite direction to which he had suggested I move.  With hindsight I can understand the reaction.  I had, then, no comprehension of the terror that members of the academy often inspired in the ordinary citizens of frog city.  This was something that I was to learn the hard way.

 

Taking the road pointed out to me by my unwilling helper I found myself at the gates of the Montgomery T Frogmont School for Trainee Assassins.....

 

 

I approached the gates of Frog City with a measure of trepidation.  Despite my commitment to revenge, this was indeed a great upheaval for a quintessentially small-pond frog.  The soldier-frogs standing to attention by the gates seemed gargantuan, their muscular hind legs gleaming in the autumn sunlight. They were veritable gods in their military regalia. I felt, I am now somewhat ashamed to admit, a little intimidated by these denizens of City authority.  Had I known then what I know now about the corrupt nature of government and army politics, I have no doubt that I would have felt far easier approaching these statuesque and gleaming guard-frogs. 

 

As it turned out, gaining admission to the City was relatively unproblematic.  I was required to sign a register and declare my reasons for entering the city.  Having stated that my aim was to join the Assassin's Academy I was given a seven day pass allowing me freedom of movement within the boroughs of Frog City.  Should I be accepted by the Montgomery T. Frogmont School of Trainee Assassins, I would be required to report back to the gate guards within this period bearing evidence of my vocation and proof that I had been assigned a place of habitation. 

 

I was in. 

 

Having recieved directions to the Academy from one of the guard frogs I set about my first foray into city life.