Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [167]
Wataru excitedly told the villagers that the sorcerer was his friend—from the other world. But each time he did so, Kee Keema shot him a withering glare. When they reached the lodge he told him, “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to tell people you’re a Traveler. There was no helping it in Gasara once the word got out, but here and on the road we’d best avoid any unwanted attention, if you know what I mean.”
Wataru agreed to restrain himself. Then he remembered something that Wayfinder Lau had said.
“That’s odd. The Wayfinder told me once that the Vision I travel through and Mitsuru’s Vision weren’t even the same world. That it changed for each person who traveled through it. That’s why we couldn’t help each other.”
Meena cocked her head to one side. “Maybe it’s different for you and your friend—Mitsuru, was it?—because you’re so small. Maybe you’re allowed to work together?”
“I don’t know. I think if that were the case, Wayfinder Lau would have told me that from the start.”
“Well, maybe he wanted you to figure it out on your own.”
Something about Meena’s suggestion tugged at Wataru. “If I was with Mitsuru, I bet it would be easy to reach the Tower of Destiny. He’s quite the sorcerer, you know.”
Meena smiled. “You’re not so bad yourself, Wataru. You didn’t need magic to catch the two boys that had trapped me.”
At the lodge, too, the story of the wildfire and the boy sorcerer was hotter than the fires themselves had been. The townspeople came to the lodge for no other reason than to spread the tale to travelers. From the mingled conversations, Wataru heard something of great interest. Before the fires had even broken out, the boy sorcerer had been asking about the road to a town called Lyris northwest of Bog.
“Is it far to Lyris?”
“It would be, if you aimed to go straight there. There’s a great river in the way, the Grandera, so swift-flowing they can’t even build bridges over it, and boats can make the crossing only at times when the current’s slow. If you’re not lucky, you might have to wait weeks or months to cross. The most reliable way to get there is to climb the mountains to the south, and go around to the southwest. There is a road that heads that way too.”
If they went into the mountains to the south, they would pass through the place where the Spectacle Machine troupe was said to be performing on the way. Perfect. Wataru knew what the Wayfinder had told him, but he still wanted to follow Mitsuru.
Kee Keema smiled. “Then let’s do it. We know where he’s gone, and I’m of a mind to meet this Traveler friend of yours and see what stuff he’s made of.”
Chapter 14
The Spectacle Machine
The sound of cheery music drifted through the green woods. Even the trees swaying in the breeze seemed to move to the echoes of the rhythmical drums.
Friends o’ the whirlwind we are, we are.
A dance with the whirlwind we dance.
One of a kind, under the skies.
One of a kind we are.
Aeroga Spectacle Machine!
Come, let us open your eyes!
Aeroga Spectacle Machine!
Turns geezers and grannies to young gals n’ guys!
Aeroga Spectacle Machine!
Hearts o’ the young we’re winning.
Aeroga Spectacle Machine!
The show is just beginning!
Meena’s face broke into a smile. “It’s the chorus,” she said excitedly.
The woods were deep and the trees so tall one had to look up to see the tops. Wataru and Kee Keema followed after the ebullient Meena, when suddenly they came into a clearing. Wataru shouted in surprise at what he saw.
A giant floating stage rested upon a lake that mirrored the blue sky. Brightly painted banners and furls of fabric had been attached to the framework of the stage. On closer inspection, Wataru saw that the pieces of fabric were actually boys, girls, men and women in bright, flowing clothes. They clung to high rafters and stood atop poles. Some hung by their legs from ropes as they moved quickly and deftly, constructing the stage before Wataru’s eyes. As they worked, they sung in a beautiful harmony. Wataru couldn’t imagine the actual performance being any more fascinating than this