The Children of the Sky

Afterwards, Ravna wasn’t clear how late into the night they stayed. The packs just kept coming. She noticed an occasional pack give her an aggressive stare, but none of them misbehaved. As for the rest … she came to see why Johanna and Jefri and the other explorer kids had loved their dangerous jaunts beyond the Domain. Most Tinish strangers, once they got over their initial unease with humans, seemed to revel in their ability to get close, to deal with apparently intelligent singletons. As the evening progressed, and the fires were renewed and renewed, more of the packs were trying to echo talk with her and Jefri. Some packs, who had been through the line and saw that they would not make it back for a second turn, hung around at the edge of the arena, shouting suggestions at the customers who were closer.

Here might be enemies and monsters, but also potential Best Friends for future generations of the Children.

Chapter   29

Things were very different after their show at Winch Bottom. They had a real circus wagon now (the one lost to default by its unfortunate original owners). The wagon had a passenger cabin and was so large that it really needed its four-kherhog team. Under the watchful eyes of customers who had stayed overnight, the Innmaster had also given them food supplies and crossbows. Perhaps as important, he’d given them an official-looking letter, advising that as Tycoon’s manager at Winch Bottom, he and Tycoon were pledging safe conduct to these marvelous entertainers. That, combined with the Tycoonist badge that Amdi had found in Chitiratifor’s gear, could count for a lot. Ravna hoped the fellow wouldn’t be in too much trouble when real word from Tycoon finally reached these parts.

When they left Winch Bottom, there were at least a dozen packs who wanted to sign on with the circus, to guard them and guide them in the journey northwards. Chances were good they were all sincere, but Amdi turned them down. The more famous they became, the easier it would be for Tycoon and Vendacious and Nevil to find them. The moment word of the search overtook them, even honest packs might turn them in.

So when they departed Winch Bottom, only a few fans had followed, furtively straggling along some hundred meters behind the circus wagon.

Amdi passed up the first villages to the north, picking his way around them on paths he’d discovered on the maps. As they rolled past each successive village, they lost more of their retinue. These were ordinary packs of the Wild Principates, peasants and small landowners. No matter how intrigued they might be by the two-legs, they did not have the leisure time of fans in a more technological society.

On the third day, Screwfloss scouted all around and reported they had lost the last of their followers. Now it was time to change the course from what Amdi had advertised back at Winch Bottom. “There are plenty of alternative paths on these maps,” said Amdi. “The problem is, whichever we choose, we’re going to run out of food before we get back to the Domain.” They’d have to engage in some skilled woodcraft … or stage more shows.

When this stark choice was presented to Amdi, he’d dithered a moment and then a shy smile spread across him. “I—I guess I could take another turn at being Magnificent.”

Over the next few days they looked at each little village they came across, with Screwfloss scouting for threats and friendliness, balancing the risks with the current state of their supplies. Most places they still avoided, but eventually they performed three times, once indoors at a farmers’ meeting hall and twice in open fields under cloudy skies. The days stayed mild, with cold rains and muddy roads, but altogether more pleasant than what had gone before.

Their shows improved. Ravna’s own act was still a loser, but she had tweaked their lighting system into being a major part of the event. Even Ritl seemed to enjoy performing; she tried to upstage Amdi in more and more hilarious ways. Amdi was now completely fluent in the local dialect. His presentation had become positively polished, except that he seemed genuinely to be angered by the singleton’s antics. The high point of the show was always the petting zoo routine, and they had that worked out so well that it felt almost safe. Already, their fame had gotten ahead of them: when they tried to bypass a town, there were often packs on the side paths, begging them to stop and perform.

“These lands are just too civilized,” Jefri said one evening, after they had set up camp for the night. Moonlight trickled down through the trees, but hopefully they were out of sight of the primitive optics on the orbiter. “Once upon a time, they really were wild, too dangerous for most explorers. Now there’s trade everywhere. The arena at Winch Bottom was huge, and new.”