Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [148]
Trone called him over, and he hurried to find a small well opening behind the building, half covered by a fallen pillar. The ground around it was littered with rubble, but the well, its rim fashioned of sturdy rock, remained intact. Wataru looked down to find the water level was much higher than he had expected.
“It’s full.”
“Yes. There’s a lot of underground water here.”
Trone cupped one hand and lifted some water from the well. Clear droplets fell through his fingers. He brought his hand to his nose, and sniffed.
“Hard to say, but it does smell a bit odd. Like medicine, maybe.”
Trone poured some water into the leather skin at his waist and firmly sealed the cork. Then, he and Wataru took the rope they had brought with them and ran it around the edge of the well, attaching a small sign that read “Do Not Use.”
“So that traveling merchant came all the way inside the ruins. There’s no other way he would have found this well.”
“Maybe he wasn’t frightened since he didn’t know the history of the place.”
“If he came here with greed at his side, he might have made it this far even if he was scared.”
Trone’s comment reminded Wataru suddenly of his mother. He smiled. He remembered asking her how she always managed to carry so much when she went to a bargain sale at the local department store.
—Oh, I didn’t go alone. I had greed to help me.
“Let’s go home,” Trone said. “No point in lingering. This place is starting to give me the willies.”
After asking the doctor at the hospital to analyze the sample of water they had retrieved from the well, Wataru and Trone returned to the branch. Wataru was relieved to hear that the traveling merchant seemed to have improved greatly during the time they were gone.
In the remaining hours of daylight, Wataru assisted Trone in looking through old records. It seemed that Cactus Vira and the church had given the branch in Gasara quite a deal of trouble. Wataru noticed several handwritten comments on numerous reports detailing these escapades. The church, he discovered, was a constant headache for the authorities.
“In the end, they never did find out who Cactus Vira was,” Trone said, removing his spectacles. “And who knows about these ancient gods.”
“Did the holy water come from that well?” Wataru wondered out loud. “Maybe it wasn’t medicine. Maybe it was poison.”
“If they mixed something in the water at all,” Trone replied, stretching. “Well, this is about as much as we can do today. Go home, Wataru. You must be starving.”
Wataru retired to the lodge and ate his supper. He asked the little lady who brought his food about Cactus Vira and his flock, but she claimed to not know anything about it.
“Have you heard any of the guests here talking about some sort of treasure buried by the church near the hills?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
When the innkeeper arrived he said much the same thing. But Wataru couldn’t let it rest. That light spilling from within the ruined church…what could it be?
What if it only glows at night?
He could investigate the ruins later—tonight! Once the thought occurred to him, he couldn’t let it rest. Wataru packed a small bag, wrapped the Brave’s Sword around his waist, and left the lodge.
It was almost time for the Gasara town gates to close, and the road was busy with darbaba drivers and merchant trains rushing to get in before they were locked out. Wataru borrowed an udai and made his way through the throng, relying on the ruckus to cover his departure. Soon he was riding across the night grassland.
As he neared his destination, Wataru could see, almost on the horizon, a countless number of lights glimmering like fireflies. They appeared to be moving slowly. Perhaps it was the Knights of Stengel returning. Kee Keema might be with them. If Wataru wasn’t home when they arrived, he’d notice for sure. I’ll have to try to get home as soon as possible.
Black oil smoke rose from the lantern at Wataru’s waist. He dismounted at the same place they had stopped earlier that day. The only sound was the faint sizzling of the lantern’s wick.
The burnt remains