11. Wonderland (27)
11. Wonderland (27)
By the close of the Age of Exploration, most of the world's coastlines had been charted. Accumulated geographic knowledge drove advances in printing, and soon anyone could purchase a world map without leaving their home. That spurred the movement of people and goods, accelerating industrialization.
But the impact wasn't entirely positive.
The same period gave rise to a breed known as "explorers," who roamed the lands beyond those mapped shores. Despite the romantic ring of the title, they were little more than bandit gangs. Armed, they pushed into uncharted territory and plundered its creatures, technologies, and relics.
Among their prime targets were mystical beings—fairies and magical beasts.
They prowled the waters near Jormungandr, picking off fairies and beasts that strayed from their herds. Captives were sold into the collections of the wealthy or turned into exhibits for public spectacle.
Those spectacles demanded more than simply caging whatever had been caught.
Revenue soared or sank depending on how the attraction was packaged and promoted. Showmen who specialized in running such exhibitions emerged.
They devised every means to draw crowds—taming captured creatures to perform tricks, or bundling in the acrobatics of street performers.
The monster circus was born from that current.
Things have improved considerably since, but back then, the children of Curse Plague survivors—the so-called Cursed—were often denied even the most basic civil registration.
They had perfectly good parents and hometowns, yet still became unregistered persons. Being barred from villages was routine. When drought struck or plague swept through, they were strung up as example-offerings with alarming regularity.
As a result, most of the Cursed shunned human contact and lived in hiding. They existed close to human society yet utterly apart from it.
To the showmen, forever chasing the next novelty, they were irresistible bait.
Those showmen understood human desire.
They knew the public quickly tired of gasping at wonders and pretending to be refined. So they sought ways to poke at something more private, more visceral.
Namely, offering up a target to revile, scorn, and condemn.
The very acceleration of industrialization and urbanization had widened the chasm between rich and poor, leaving the masses stewing in relative deprivation. They craved an outlet for their resentment.
The monster show was built on that historical bedrock.
Yet even that faded as the circus evolved into a comprehensive theatrical art. You could still find the odd show in the provinces or the countryside, but they had vanished from the major cities. Their brutality and savagery made any reputable industry professional reluctant to even mention them.
When Wonderstein unveiled his Monster Circus, the ugly history behind it was precisely why it drew so much vicious talk.
Ella fought to push away the image of the stage she had seen at the Judicial Theater.
Even with her eyes squeezed shut, the Kiklings' snickering crawled in through her ears.
Were the personas sitting there people from the old days? From an age that hadn't yet learned to feel shame over a monster circus?
A hesitant expression crossed her face as she glanced back at the other two.
"Listen. I want you to understand something, both of you. Our circus... the performances the Troupe Leader and I create aren't like that. It is a monster circus, yes, but... it's not that."
Would it sound like she was making excuses? Like she was defending herself with lies?
But to her relief, they both nodded as if they already understood.
"We know. You're not like that, Miss Elphi."
"We believe you."
Ella let her shoulders drop in relief.
"Thank you. Ah, honestly. I really miss the troupe today..."
Counting the intensive training period, it had been a full two weeks since she'd returned to the lodgings.
Cheerful Sven.
Thoughtful Yurakne.
Innocent Umon.
Hot-tempered Trimery.
Taciturn Bandik.
Timid Yobel.
They must have gone through things much like what she'd witnessed in there.
She'd overheard plenty herself, just in passing.
But hearing about it secondhand and seeing it with her own eyes were entirely different sensations.
She stretched, long and hard.
Whatever else happened, she had to get out of here safely to see them again.
And him. The one she most wanted to see right now... Wonderstein.
"Right. That was an ugly show, but at least we confirmed the other troupe leaders are safe. So let's get down to business. What's the plan from here?"
Oz exhaled quietly in relief at the sight of Ella's face relaxing.
"First, we need to gather your comrades who are scattered across Wonderland."
"How?"
Scarecrow tipped his straw hat up with a thumb, the gesture almost taunting.
"We've given you all the pieces. Care to give it a try?"
"Oh, you're throwing riddles at me now? Hang on."
Ella pieced together everything she'd learned about Wonderland.
There were essentially two ways to gather friends who'd been scattered.
Either she found them, or they found her.
Nothing came to mind for the first approach. But the second triggered a thought almost instantly.
"The Ticketer. Right?"
She looked at him with a confident smirk. He smiled and nodded.
"Yes. This place holds tens of thousands of theaters. You rent one and put on a performance. The quality of the performance isn't what matters. What matters is the 'tag.' Your companions won't be here half a day before they learn about the Ticketer's existence. And even the most oblivious among them will realize, within a day, what it's meant to be used for. So, what kind of tag would you need for them to find you? Is there a shared code between you and the people you're trying to reunite with?"
Rumi jumped in quickly after his words.
"Something the three captives couldn't possibly have spilled."
Ella retraced the two weeks they'd spent together.
Reina, Maya, Karen, Clara, Ruelo, and herself.
Six people who had practiced together, played together, fallen asleep together.
Naturally, their time together had given them a shared set of keywords.
"We have one."
"Good. However, right now is the festival season; outside guests are flooding in. An unknown acrobat will have trouble getting a theater."
At that, something seemed to click for Ella. She snapped her head up and looked down the stairway.
In the distance, dozens of stages dotted the central plaza.
Each stage pulsed with its own sound and color. The performers on them were swapping out at a rapid clip. A competition was clearly underway.
"You mean down there, don't you?"
"Ha, you're quick. Exactly! You enter the competition and place well! As you know, the skills of the living carry real weight here. Any competent acrobat should have no trouble winning a prize at one of those."
A shiver ran through Ella's shoulders.
Standing on a Wonderland stage.
The mouth visible beneath her hat split into a tooth-baring grin.
"That's insane. I love that plan!"
She looked ready to sprint down the stairs that very second—then stopped dead in her tracks.
"Wait. Are you two going to be okay? You helped us... you won't get in trouble for this?"
When she'd first hired them, she hadn't given it much thought.
But after witnessing what passed for punishment here, the worry wouldn't leave her alone.
Rumi shrugged, unconcerned.
"Those Madosa bastards earned what came to them with their own foul deeds."
"Remember the patrolmen who caught you? You said they let you go once you offered to show them a performance. This place is far more loosely stitched together than you'd think."
"Really? You swear? Okay then, let's move!"
She crowed the words and latched onto Oz's back.
Rumi did the same, grabbing hold of him and climbing onto his shoulder.
Scarecrow let out a sigh and shook his head.
"Are we honestly going to keep traveling like this?"
"Accept it. You're our ride in here."
"Haha, let's go, mister!"
"Incorrigible, both of you. Then hold tight. This will be fast."
He spoke, and before either of them could object, he kicked off the ground and hurled himself down the staircase.
"Whoa—hey! You lunatic! What are you doing?!"
"Oho? Are you certain about this?"
"Absolutely!"
The wind smacked into their faces.
Scarecrow landed on the next landing with a solid thud. He'd gotten rather accustomed to these stick limbs by now.
He'd cleared more than a dozen steps in a single leap. After confirming his two passengers were still attached, he braced for the next jump.
"He's going again!"
"Stop it, you—!"
Rumi squeezed his neck to rein him in, but that wasn't about to stop him. He bounced down the steps, flight after flight, and with every landing Rumi made a strangled noise while Ella burst out laughing.
In under thirty seconds, they reached the bottom.
Rumi glared at him, eyes dewy with tears—she insisted it was the wind—and cursed him roundly, while Ella clutched her stomach and cackled that it had been fantastic.
They crossed the plaza, scanning the stages where the competition was in full swing.
From singing to acrobatics to comedy.
Every kind of performance imaginable was underway.
"There are a lot of stages."
"Which one looks good?"
"Wherever you want, Miss Elphi."
"Alright! Let's check the listings, then. I'd like to make a reservation!"
At Ella's call, the Ticketer manifested before them.
Oz and Rumi, who knew what she was capable of, had no doubt she'd excel at whatever performance she picked.
The problem came from another direction entirely.
The Ticketer took Elphi's request and shook its head, side to side.
"Regrettably, all slots are booked, valued guest."
The Ticketer explained that everyone taking the stage in today's competition had purchased their tickets several days ago.
"Then when's the next competition?"
"Six days from now, valued guest."
At the words "six days," the color drained from Ella's face.
"This is bad."
"They could hold the three executions before then."
"That, too. But I'm more worried about the people looking for us outside."
Ella ran her tongue across her lips, anxious.
It was already nearly two days since they'd entered this place.
She couldn't guess what kind of chaos might be unfolding back in Yeterinpurk.
"Ah, you needn't worry about that."
Scarecrow gave her a bright smile.
"Throughout the festival, Lutermine's blessing surrounds Wonderland like a wall."
"What does that mean?"
"Simply put, time moves more slowly here. Spend a hundred days inside, and barely a single day passes outside."
"So you're telling me it's only been about thirty minutes out there?"
Oz and Rumi nodded.
That was the reason the two of them had been able to act so relaxed this entire time.
"Still, six days is too long. We don't know what could happen to the three of them. Isn't there any other way?"
"Then might I suggest waiting on-site, valued guest? Cancellation tickets do appear in real time."
Ella's whole face lit up at that.
"That's a thing?"
"Indeed. Giving up a performance slot is rare, but it does happen."
"Rare? So, can we snag one easily?"
"Once one actually appears. Competition entry tickets do not possess a teleport function. If a ticket is canceled three minutes before its slot, for example, no one more than three minutes' distance from the stage has any reason to buy it. So canceled tickets are often discarded unused."
Ella turned to the other two.
They met her gaze and nodded.
"Good. Then keep an eye out for any canceled tickets. Any kind is fine."
And so the three of them passed the time, strolling between nearby stages, waiting for the Ticketer to bring good news.
Hours slipped by quickly.
True to a place whose inhabitants worshipped the creed "the show must go on," people who canceled their commitment to step on stage did not appear easily.
Oz had half given up and sunk into a bench, while Rumi, apparently exhausted, had fallen asleep using his body as a pillow.
"Will this even happen today?"
The moment he murmured the words, Ella, who had been watching a stage in the distance, came sprinting toward him at full tilt.
"Run! The stage is on the other side!"
"What? What do you mean?"
"I got a ticket!"
Ella waved what was in her hand.
An entry ticket.
"It starts in five minutes! Hurry!"
"Go ahead! Rumi isn't fully awake yet! We'll follow!"
Ella shook her head at that.
"No! I need you! It's the Duet Song Festival!"
"What?"
Scarecrow's jaw went slack.