Brave Story

by Miyuki Miyabe

  Wataru thought as he ran, looking for a hiding place, when suddenly he realized he was no longer being chased. Huh? Maybe his pursuer had tired at last.

  Wataru turned around and looked at the village. Something was slightly different about it, but he couldn’t quite pin down what it was. It was like one of those find-the-mistake puzzles.

  The chimney. The white smoke coming from the chimney.

  When he first arrived at the village, smoke had been rising from the first hut. Now the smoke was rising from the furthest one—the one he’d just run through.

  It occurred to him that, though the wizard had chased him into that particular house, he hadn’t seen him come out.

  Walking cautiously across the soft grass, Wataru approached the front door of the farthest hut. He put his ear to the wood. Nothing.

  Wait…is that someone humming?

  “Um…excuse me, is anybody home?”

  The humming stopped. Soft footfalls approached the door.

  The door opened, and the wizard from before stuck out his head. He didn’t seem angry at all. “Well now,” he said, spreading his arms. “Perhaps you might be the new visitor Mitsuru has told me about?” His voice was kind and gentle. “What’s going on here?”

  “Um, Mister…” Wataru began. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”

  The old man opened his eyes wide. “Me, mad? At you?” But he lowered his arms and peered at the space between his hands, as though he were looking for something. “Why would I be angry with you?”

  “Why—but just now—you sure you aren’t angry?” Wataru pointed at the first hut. “When I met you over there, you were grumpy from the first minute. You said I was wasting words, and you were going to hit me with your cane!”

  The wizard inserted a long slender finger into one nostril. “Me? I did that?”

  He’s gone senile.

  “You did,” Wataru said, rather forcefully. He feared he was being toyed with.

  But then it occurred to him that perhaps this was a sort of test—a trial for new Travelers to Vision. You had to placate the Watcher to pass. If that was the case, Wataru better play it serious. “Um, I am a Traveler here, actually,” he said, pulling out the pendant. “Mitsuru Ashikawa, he gave me this. He told me to show this to the Watcher in Vision, and he would prepare me for my journey. Are you the Watcher?”

  The old wizard thrust his hands into the folds of his robes and brought out a comically large device resembling a telescope. Then, yanking Wataru’s hand closer, he examined the pendant through the scope.

  “Hrm, yes,” he said. “You are the second Traveler. What is your name?”

  “Wataru Mitani.”

  “Too long. Here, your name will be Wataru. It’s an odd enough name, and no one should be mistaking you for anyone else as it is.”

  Wataru nodded, not wanting to make a fuss and risk raising the old man’s ire again.

  “Well, come in, come in,” the wizard said, pushing open the door and waving Wataru inside. “Sit on that chair by the table. I’ll get the map.”

  Wataru did as he was told, sitting at the simple table. His heart thumped in his chest.

  The old wizard shut the door and shuffled over to a little bookshelf in the back of the room, from which he pulled out several books. To Wataru’s surprise, he then tossed the books aside and thrust his hand into the empty space where they had been.

  “Here it is,” he said, pulling out what appeared to be a long scroll. It looked exactly like an item, the merchant’s map, he remembered from Saga II—even down to the slightly yellowed edges.

  In the game, the merchant’s map wasn’t a complete map of the Kingdom of Juma. As its name suggested, it was a map used by merchants to mark places of trade, and, as such, showed only the main routes and population centers. To win the game, you had to go to the Land of Faerie. Once there, you needed to add further land and sea information to the map. Then, if you could win the hundred-man bout in the capital city of Jumarang, you would get the Adventurer’s Map. All you had to do after that was place the two maps together to reveal the location of Balbalan, Isle of Enchantment, where the final labyrinth in the game awaited.

  The old wizard sat across from him at the table and spread out the map. He had to hold the edges down to keep them from curling back. The wizard’s hands were so thin they looked almost skeletal.

  “This is the map to the Cave of Trials. Follow this path, and even the greatest fool in the land could find it,” he said with a significant look at Wataru.

  Wataru looked over the map, and felt an immediate and profound sense of disappointment. The map in Saga II was a work of art. This looked like a kid’s doodle. Even a sketch of the way from Wataru’s apartment to the nearest train station would have been more complicated.

  “So, this is where we are now?” Wataru asked, pointing to a picture of five huts in a circle.

  “Precisely.”

  “So I just need to go into the forest to the north, straight from here?” A single road led northward on the map.

  “Precisely.”

  “That’s all?” Wataru said with a laugh. “I didn’t need a map to find that!”

  “Yet you need a guide to climb a great mountain—even though the only way to go is up,” the wizard said solemnly.

  “Climb? I have to climb somewhere?”

  The wizard gave Wataru a swift slap to the forehead. “It was a metaphor,” he barked. “I said you’re going to the Cave of Trials. You don’t climb a cave, boy.”

  Wataru sighed. “Right. So, why do I have to go to this Cave of Trials, anyway? Is there something there?”

  “What, Mitsuru did not tell you? That is where you will prepare for your journey.”

  “Here?” Wataru said, stabbing at map where Cave of Trials was written. “But it’s just a name. Don’t you have a map of the cave itself?”

  “Of course not. It wouldn’t be much of a trial if I did, now would it?” the wizard said, rolling his eyes. “Listen, you will go into the cave, and then you will have your map. When you come out, you will be ready for your journey. That’s how it works.”

  I get it! Wataru clapped his hands together. “So the dungeon has, like, a global positioning system feature!”

  Slap! went the wizard’s hand on his forehead. “I’ve never heard of such a spell. And there is no such thing in Vision as a spell of which I’ve not heard. Foolish words, spoken by a foolish mouth.”

  “But I’ve played all the games in the Saga series, I know all about role-playing games! You see…”

  Wataru trailed off. The old wizard was scowling at him in ominous silence.

  “Now, go,” the wizard said, pointing out the window. “The Northwood is that way.”

  “Right, I’m off,” Wataru said, standing. “Wait, don’t I get a weapon or something?”

  “Weapon?” The old man lifted a bristly white eyebrow.

  “Yeah, like a sword or staff.”

  “We have no such things here.”

  “Nothing?”

  “No,” the wizard answered crisply. “Now leave.”

  “But what if I get attacked by a monster?”

  “Then run.”

  “Well, if I can, sure, but…”

  “Just run fast.”

  “Right. Got it. Great advice.”

  The wizard glared at him again. Wataru turned and headed for the front door. Just as he was about to step outside, the wizard added, “If you are that worried, you might try picking up a stick in the Northwood. Find one sturdy and strong.”

  Fine. Great. Wataru left the hut, cutting across the soft grass that grew between the houses, toward the thick green forest to the north.

  A stiff wind blew at his back, lifting his hair. He could hear a birdsong, fwee fwee, like a whistle, carried past him on the breeze.

  Chapter 2

  The Cave of Trials

  The air in the Northwood seemed somehow cooler than it had been in the woods Wataru had passed through on the
way to the village. He could still hear the beautiful birdsong but couldn’t see a single creature—not even a butterfly flitting around the white flowers that grew by the path.

  Nor could he find a convenient stick such as the wizard had advised him to pick up. The only things on the ground were flower petals and pine needles.

  Wataru was all by himself, and that made him feel very small and vulnerable.

  As promised, the path really was as straight as it looked on the map. But in places it was overgrown with grass and brush, making it hard to see. Sometimes it would disappear altogether for several yards, and he would have to search between the trees to find it again. Wataru assumed that few people knew about this route.

  After he’d walked about ten minutes, he came upon a large mound of gray rock sticking out like a boil from the ground. This, he guessed, was his destination.

  So where’s the cave?

  Wataru looked around. The village was far out of sight. He turned three hundred sixty degrees, and all he could see was trees. A light breeze blew, rustling countless leaves.

  Wataru scratched behind his head. Then he stepped forward and placed his hand upon the rock. Above him, he heard a bird singing.

  Here-for-trial? Here-for-trial? Here-for-trial?

  Wataru looked up and answered, “Yes! I’m searching for the Cave of Trials! Is it here? How do I get in?”

  From the trees around him he heard a sound like many ocarinas blowing in beautiful five-part harmony.

  If a trial you would take, guard your life.

  For every question, an answer.

  For every answer, a question.

  The Wayfinder’s yawning.

  Hop on home.

  Never will you solve it—not in a thousand years.

  When the birdsong died down, the wind started up again. The ground beneath Wataru’s feet began to rumble. And before his eyes, the lump of stone split in two.

  The entrance!

  It was a dark, narrow hole, barely wide enough for Wataru to pass through.

  I’m supposed to go in here?

  Suddenly, he was frightened. Why do I have to go into this place, anyway? he wondered. That wizard better not be tricking me. He couldn’t remember anyone in a Saga game having to go in a place like this.

  As he hesitantly stood by the entrance, a gravelly voice spoke to him from the depths of the cave. “Fret out there, and it’ll close,” it said.

  Wataru jumped back, away from the cave.

  “I said stay out thar ’n it’ll close. Don’tcha understand what I’m sayin’, boy?”

  The voice was accented, a southern sort of drawl—just like the old man at the fishmarket in Wataru’s neighborhood.

  “I ain’t got no time to stand ’round waitin’ on a whelp like you all day. Hurry it up, or I’m liable to tell the ol’ Finder.”

  “Are you…from the south?” Wataru called down the cave.

  Here? In Vision?

  “Either yer comin’ in, or yer not. Which is it?”

  “This is the Cave of Trials, right?”

  “If I said it weren’t would ya leave?”

  “Well, I’m not saying that, but…”

  “Then leave. Go home, boy. If y’can’t trust the Finder, there’s no point in ya comin’ in here. Ain’t got a lick of sense, do ya?”

  A lick of…what?

  “Fine. I’m coming in.”

  “’Bout time. If ya plan on doin’ sometin’, next time, do it quicker, ’kay? Dumb kid. C’mere.”

  Wataru took a half-step forward. Suddenly, from within the dark cleft in the rock, a large, filthy hand snaked out and latched onto the top of Wataru’s head, gripping him like a claw.

  “Augh!”

  His scream echoing through the woods, Wataru was dragged into the dank cave. Now gone, Wataru was unable to hear the bird’s new chorus.

  Who has come?

  A Brave has come?

  Who has come?

  A Sorcerer’s come?

  Who will come back out?

  Through the woods, beneath the singing birds, the old wizard arrived. He carried a staff in one hand and an ancient tome of magic in the other. He walked slowly. Coming to stand before the cave that had so recently swallowed Wataru, he stretched his wizened frame.

  “I’ve a feeling this newest arrival will take a bit more effort than Mitsuru. Quite a bit more,” he said with a sigh, leaning his staff against the rock and rubbing the small of his back. “Well now, to business,” he muttered, then picked up his staff and began to utter an incantation. Suddenly, his form disappeared, leaving a whisper of dim smoke in its place. The smoke lifted on the wind, assuming for an instant the shape of a bird, then it, too, was sucked into the cave.

  Wataru was falling through thick darkness, down and down a hole that seemed to have no end. He screamed until he ran out of breath. Then silently, he continued to fall. He could have taken another deep breath and started screaming again, but he was falling feet first and the sensation wasn’t all that unpleasant. Strangely, he soon found himself relaxed. Come to think of it, he wasn’t going all that fast—he was almost floating.

  So instead of screaming, he started to look around. It was pitch black, of course, but he had a sensation that he was not falling through some vast chamber. Rather, he seemed to be falling down a very slick tunnel. If he moved his arms and legs, he found that he could adjust his fall slightly. When he tried sticking his arms out like wings, he felt something touch the fingertips of his right hand. It might’ve been the wall.

  Where am I falling to?

  As he fell, he noticed a wind blowing up from below him. Warm and thick air blew up his sleeves, making his shirt billow out. As the wind blew harder, the speed of his descent began to slow. Soon he was going no faster than an elevator, then the speed of an escalator, and finally he was going no faster than if he had been walking down a flight of stairs.

  Directly beneath him, something like a shining white pedestal came into view. It was wide enough for him to land on. That must be the spot.

  Wataru spread out his arms and legs for balance, and landed directly atop the pedestal. Breathing a sigh of relief, he saw that the pedestal was made of stone. He got down on his knees and touched it with his hands. It was smooth and reminded him of the faux marble counters in his kitchen back home.

  He looked up and saw something in the darkness. It was not a door exactly—more like an opening, Rather, it was a crack in the rock similar to the one that had sucked him into his current situation. He would be able to walk through easily. But what he saw beyond that was more darkness.

  Be brave. Walk forward.

  Wataru took a step, and then another. Suddenly, his surroundings changed dramatically.

  I’m in a temple. No, wait. It’s the corridor of some castle.

  The ceilings were high and vaulted—about the height of a three-story building. Both floor and walls were made of stone, with large round pillars placed at ten-yard intervals. Countless sconces lined the walls, their fat tallow candles shining like stars. Still, the corridor led into a darkness that Wataru’s eyes could not penetrate.

  As expected, when he turned around, the entrance he had just passed through had disappeared. All he could see was the same sort of passageway as the one that led in the other direction, stretching into the distance.

  Okay, pull yourself together. Egging himself on, Wataru began to move forward. Shortly, a large statue—a one-eyed giant—came into view. It was made out of the same sort of stone as the building. Wataru examined the statue. Great armor plates hung on the figure’s bare skin, and his exposed arms were covered with the sort of tattoos Wataru assumed were meant to ward off evil. He carried a large axe over one shoulder.

  As he stood, staring up at its face, the ground beneath his feet began to rumble, and then that rumble turned into a voice.

  “I am the Dawn-God, Ward of the East, servant to the Goddess of Fate. Answer my question.”

  Wataru steadied himself.r />
  The voice continued. “What do you ask of me and the dawnkin?”

  Wataru’s mind went blank. How should I answer? As he stood there, wondering, he remembered something. That’s right, wasn’t there something like this in Saga I? At the very beginning of the game, you had to make a request of one of three gods that ruled the three lands in the game. There were many choices: “wealth,” “honor,” “bravery,” “beauty,” “wisdom.” Depending on which you chose, your character’s abilities would be slightly different.

  Wataru took a deep breath, and then in the loudest voice he could muster, he said “I want—I want to be brave. Give me bravery!”

  A moment later, the weighty voice answered, “Then bravery you shall have. You may pass.”

  The single eye on the statue flashed red, and then the statue simply disappeared. Behind it, the corridor continued, lit by the flickering lights of ten thousand candles.

  Wataru walked farther, until he came to another of the statues. He stopped.

  “I am the Dusk-God, Ward of the West, servant to the Goddess of Fate. Answer my question.”

  “I will,” Wataru said.

  “What do you ask of me and the duskkin?”

  “I want wisdom.”

  “Then wisdom you shall have. You may pass.”

  The giant’s single eye flashed blue, and the statue disappeared.

  He walked farther, until he came to the third one-eyed giant statue.

  “I am the Snow-God, Ward of the North, servant to the Goddess of Fate. Answer my question.”

  This time, Wataru asked for health. He wanted to make sure he survived the long journey in Vision.

  After he asked, the giant’s single eye flashed white, and the statue disappeared. Wataru went on.

  As expected, the fourth statue was the Sun-God, Ward of the South. Here, Wataru wished for happiness. No point going on a journey if it wasn’t going to be any fun, right?

  “Then happiness you shall have. You may pass.”

  The single eye shone gold, and the statue disappeared, but this time, there was no passage beyond. Wataru stood facing the wall. A dead end. Only candles flickered on its surface.