Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [233]
“The starseers come here to study and live. All of the buildings on the outside of town are their apartments.”
Men and women in those same tube-sleeved shirts were walking around everywhere. A darbaba cart, burdened with a mound of packages, was stopped by the town gate, and one of the gatemen was helping the driver unload his goods—all heavy-looking wooden crates. “Most likely books,” Kee Keema ventured. “Starseers spend the nights taking observations, so they tend to sleep during the day. That’s why the apartments in town are made with more floors beneath the ground than above it.”
Indeed, the buildings along the inside of the town wall were barely taller than the wall itself—only a single story high. Surprisingly enough, many of the roofs and the top of the wall were crowded with Highlanders on patrol. Wataru could see the bright crimson of their firewyrm bands clearly from the road.
“I wonder what they’re up to?” Meena wondered out loud. “Has there been trouble here?”
After the darbaba cart had been driven away, Wataru and the others approached the small guardhouse by the gate. The doors to the gate were made of thick iron bars, with a sturdy-looking bar drawn across them. The gateman was a beastkin with long, pointy ears.
“Oh? Highlanders, are you? Here to relieve some of the watch, perhaps?”
The gateman wore a breastplate of boiled leather, and a short sword hung from his waist. When he spoke it was with the crisp, no-nonsense tone of a soldier.
“Actually, we’ve come to speak with Dr. Baksan at the observatory. We were sent by the starseer, Shin Suxin.”
Wataru felt guilty using Shin Suxin’s name like that, but he didn’t see any other way of getting in to meet with the—no doubt very busy—Dr. Baksan.
“Ah, right. I’ll write you up a writ of passage. One moment.”
One of the Highlanders was watching them from atop the wall. She was of a race Wataru hadn’t seen before. Shape-wise she looked exactly like an ankha, except her skin was a shade of vibrant green that reminded him of new leaves in the spring. In her right hand was a bow, and on her back was slung a quiver full of arrows. She wore simple leather pads on her chest and shoulders, but her arms and legs were otherwise bare. She didn’t seem to have a hair on her body, and her head was gleaming and smooth. Wataru thought she was beautiful.
Their eyes met, and she began walking slowly toward the gate. She smiled, revealing pure white teeth. “Where you from?”
“Gasara.”
“You’ve come a long way then!”
“They’re here to see Dr. Baksan,” the gateman explained. “Here, your writ.”
The writ was a piece of paper about the size of a postcard. A map had been drawn on the back.
“Dr. Baksan’s study is on the top floor of the observatory.”
“Thanks.”
“You might have an easy time talking to Dr. Baksan, little one,” the woman said, chuckling.
“Huh? Why is that?”
“Go see him and you’ll understand.”
“I was wondering,” Meena said suddenly, “why all the security?”
“Can’t you see?” the green-skinned Highlander said, pointing down the road behind them. A large crowd of people had gathered. Behind them, they saw more people streaming out of the forest.
“It’s been like this ever since the messengers came. They all want to know who will be chosen as a sacrifice, and how to avoid being chosen. They think the starseers will tell them something. As if we knew something they didn’t.”
“We don’t like them loitering outside the walls, so we’ve told them to keep their distance,” the gateman said. “Go around to the back, you’ll see their campgrounds. It wouldn’t be a problem if they kept to themselves, but some of them get a little hot under the collar, demanding to be let into the observatory and meet with a high starseer. We’ve had some vandalism too. Thus the security.