The Sailor on the Sea of Fate

by Michael Moorcock

  He tried to see who was throwing the discs and glimpsed something moving in the trees along the right bank. Then the discs ceased suddenly and there was a pause before some of the sailors dashed across the deck to seek better cover. Duke Avan suddenly appeared in the stern. He had unsheathed his sword.

  “Get below. Get your bucklers and any armour you can find. Bring bows. Arm yourselves, men, or you're finished.”

  And as he spoke their attackers broke from the trees and began to wade into the water. No more discs came and it seemed likely they had exhausted their supply.

  “By Chardros!” Avan gasped. “Are these real creatures or some sorcerer's conjurings?”

  The things were essentially reptilian but with feathery crests and neck wattles, though their faces were almost human. Their forelegs were like the arms and hands of men, but their hindlegs were incredibly long and stork-like. Balanced on these legs, their bodies towered over the water. They carried great clubs in which slits had been cut and doubtless these were what they used to hurl the crystalline discs. Staring at their faces, Elric was horrified. In some subtle way they reminded him of the characteristic faces of his own folk—the folk of Melnibone. Were these creatures his cousins? Or were they a species from which his people had evolved? He stopped asking the questions as an intense hatred for the creatures filled him. They were obscene: sight of them brought bile into his throat. Without thinking, he drew Stormbringer from its sheath.

  The Black Sword began to howl and the familiar black radiance spilled from it. The runes carved into its blade pulsed a vivid scarlet which turned slowly to a deep purple and then to black once more.

  The creatures were wading through the water on their stilt-like legs and they paused when they saw the sword, glancing at one another. And they were not the only ones unnerved by the sight, for Duke Avan and his men paled, too.

  “Gods!” Avan yelled. “I know not which I prefer the look of—those who attack us or that which defends us!”

  “Stay well away from that sword,” Smiorgan warned. “It has the habit of killing more than its master chooses.”

  And now the reptilian savages were upon them, clutching at the ship's rails as the armed sailors rushed back on deck to meet the attack.

  Clubs came at Elric from all sides, but Stormbringer shrieked and parried each blow. He held the sword in both hands, whirling it this way and that, ploughing great gashes in the scaly bodies.

  The creature hissed and opened red mouths in agony and rage while their thick, black blood sank into the waters of the river. Although from the legs upward they were only slightly larger than a tall, well-built man, they had more vitality than any human and the deepest cuts hardly seemed to affect them, even when administered by Stormbringer. Elric was astonished at this resistance to the sword's power. Often a nick was enough for the sword to draw a man's soul from him. These things seemed immune. Perhaps they had no souls...

  He fought on, his hatred giving him strength.

  But elsewhere on the ship the sailors were being routed. Rails were torn off and the great clubs crushed planks and brought down more rigging. The savages were intent on destroying the ship as well as the crew. And there was little doubt, now, that they would be successful.

  Avan shouted to Elric. “By the names of all the Gods, Prince Elric, can you not summon some further sorcery? We are doomed else!”

  Elric knew Avan spoke truth. All around him the ship was being gradually pulled apart by the hissing reptilian creatures. Most of them had sustained horrible wounds from the defenders but only one or two had collapsed. Elric began to suspect that they did, in fact, fight supernatural enemies.

  He backed away and sought shelter beneath a half-crushed doorway as he tried to concentrate on a method of calling upon supernatural aid.

  He was panting with exhaustion and he clung to a beam as the ship rocked back and forth in the water. He fought to clear his head.

  And then the incantation came to him. He was not sure if it was appropriate but it was the only one he could recall. His ancestors had made pacts, thousands of years before, with all the elementals who controlled the animal world. In the past he had summoned help from various of these spirits, but never from the one he now sought to call. From his mouth began to issue the ancient, beautiful and convoluted words of Melnibone's High Speech.

  “King with Wings! Lord of all that work and are not seen, upon whose labours all else depends! Nnuuurrrr'c'c of the Insect Folk, I summon thee!”

  Save for the motion of the ship, Elric ceased to be aware of all else happening around him. The sounds of the fight dimmed and were heard no more as he sent his voice out beyond his plane of the Earth into another—the plane dominated by King Nnuuurrrr'c'c of the Insects, paramount lord of his people.

  In his ears now Elric heard a buzzing and gradually the buzzing formed itself in words.

  “Who are thou, mortal? What right has thou to summon me?”

  “I am Elric, ruler of Melnibone. My ancestors aided thee, Nnuuurrrr'c'c.”

  “Aye—but long.ago.”

  “And it is long ago that they last called on thee for thine aid!”

  “True. What aid dost thou now require, Elric of Melnibone?”

  “Look upon my plane. Thou wilt see that I am in danger. Canst thou abolish this danger, friend of the Insects?”

  Now a filmy shape formed and could be seen as if through several layers of cloudy silk. Elric tried to keep his eyes upon it but it kept leaving his field of vision and then returning for a few moments. He knew that he looked into another plane of the Earth.

  “Canst thou help me, Nnuuurrrr'c'c?”

  “Hast thou no patron of thine own species? Some Lord of Chaos who can aid thee?”

  “My patron is Arioch and he is a temperamental demon at best. These days he aids me little.”

  “Then I must send thee allies, mortal. But call upon me no more when this is done.”

  “I shall not summon thee again, Nnuuurrrr'c'c.”

  The layers of film disappeared and with them the shape.

  The noise of the battle crashed once again on Elric's consciousness and he heard with sharper clarity than before the screams of the sailors and the hissing of the reptilian savages and when he looked out from his shelter he saw that at least half the crew was dead.

  As he came on deck, Smiorgan ran up. “I thought you slain, Elric! What became of you?” He was plainly relieved to see his friend still lived.

  “I sought aid from another plane—but it does not seem to have materialized.”

  “I'm thinking we're doomed and had best try to swim downstream away from here and seek a hiding place in the jungle,” Smiorgan said.

  “What of Duke Avan? Is he dead?”

  “He lives. But those creatures are all but impervious to our weapons. This ship will sink ere long.” Smiorgan lurched as the deck tilted and he reached out to grab a trailing rope, letting his long sword dangle by its wrist-thong. “They are not attacking the stern at present. We can slip into the water there...”

  “I made a bargain with Duke Avan,” Elric reminded the islander. “I cannot desert him.”

  “Then we'll all perish!”

  “What's that?” Elric bent his head, listening intently.

  “I hear nothing.”

  It was a whine which deepened in tone until it became a drone. Now Smiorgan heard it also and looked about him, seeking the source of the sound. And suddenly he gasped, pointing upward. “Is that the aid you sought?”

  There was a vast cloud of them, black against the blue of the sky. Every so often the sun would flash on a dazzling colour—a rich blue, green or red. They came spiralling down towards the ship and now both sides fell silent, staring skyward.

  The flying things were like huge dragonflies and the brightness and richness of their colouring was breathtaking. It was their wings which made the droning sound which now began to increase in loudness and heighten in pitch as the huge insects sped nearer.

&
nbsp; Realizing that they were the object of the attack the reptile men stumbled backward on their long legs, trying to reach the shore before the gigantic insects were upon them.

  But it was too late for flight.

  The dragonflies settled on the savages until nothing could be seen of their bodies. The hissing increased and sounded almost pitiful as the insects bore their victims down to the surface and then inflicted on them whatever terrible death it was. Perhaps they stung with their tails—it was not possible for the watchers to see.

  Sometimes a stork-like leg would emerge from the water and thrash in the air for a moment. But soon, just as the reptiles were covered by the insect bodies, so were their cries drowned by the strange and blood-chilling humming that arose on all sides.

  A sweating Duke Avan, sword still in hand, ran up the deck. “Is this your doing, Prince Elric?”

  Elric looked on with satisfaction, but the others were plainly disgusted. “It was,” he said.

  “Then I thank you for your aid. This ship is holed in a dozen places and is letting in water at a terrible rate. It's a wonder we have not yet sunk. I've given orders to begin rowing and I hope we make it to the island in time.” He pointed upstream. “There, you can just see it.”

  “What if there are more of those savages there?” Smiorgan asked.

  Avan smiled grimly, indicating the further shore. “Look.” On their peculiar legs a dozen or more of the reptiles were fleeing into the jungle, having witnessed the fate of their comrades. “They'll be reluctant to attack us again, I think.”

  Now the huge dragonflies were rising into the air again and Avan turned away as he glimpsed what they had left behind.

  “By the Gods, you work fierce sorcery, Prince Elric! Ugh!”

  Elric smiled and shrugged. “It is effective, Duke Avan.” He sheathed his runesword. It seemed reluctant to enter the scabbard and it moaned as if in resentment.

  Smiorgan glanced at it. “That blade looks as if it will want to feast soon, Elric, whether you desire it or not.”

  “Doubtless it will find something to feed on in the forest,” said the albino. He stepped over a piece of broken mast and went below.

  Count Smiorgan Baldhead looked at the new scum on the surface of the water and he shuddered.

  Chapter 4

  The wrecked schooner was almost awash when the crew clambered overboard with lines and began the task of dragging it up the mud that formed the banks of the island. Before them was a wall of foliage that seemed impenetrable. Smiorgan followed Elric, lowering himself into the shallows. They began to wade ashore.

  As they left the water and set foot on the hard, baked earth, Smiorgan stared at the forest. No wind moved the trees and a peculiar silence had descended. No birds called from the trees, no insects buzzed, there were none of the barks and cries of animals they had heard on their journey up-river.

  “Those supernatural friends of yours seem to have frightened more than the savages away,” the black-bearded man murmured. “This place seems lifeless.”

  Elric nodded. “It is strange.”

  Duke Avan joined them. He had discarded his finery—ruined in the fight, anyway—and now wore a padded leather jerkin and doeskin breeks. His sword was at his side. “We'll have to leave most of our men behind with the ship,” he said regretfully. “They'll make what repairs they can while we press on to find R'lin K'ren A'a.” He tugged his light cloak about him. “Is it my imagination, or is there an odd atmosphere?”

  “We have already remarked on it,” Smiorgan said. “Life seems to have fled the island.”

  Duke Avan grinned. “If all we face is as timid, we have nothing to fear. I must admit, Prince Elric, that had I wished you harm and then seen you conjure those monsters from thin air, I'd think twice about getting too close to you! Thank you, by the way, for what you did. We should have perished by now if it had not been for you.”

  “It was for my aid that you asked me to accompany you,” Elric said wearily. “Let's eat and rest and then continue.”

  A shadow passed over Duke Avan's face then. Something in Elric's manner had disturbed him.

  Entering the jungle was no easy matter. Armed with axes the six members of the crew (all that could be spared) began to hack at the undergrowth. And still the unnatural silence prevailed...

  By nightfall they were less than half a mile into the forest and completely exhausted. The forest was so thick that there was barely room to pitch their tent. The only light in the camp came from the small, spluttering fire outside the tent. The crewmen slept where they could in the open.

  Elric could not sleep, but now it was not the jungle which kept him awake. He was puzzled by the silence, for he was sure that it was not their presence which had driven all life away. There was not a single small rodent, bird or insect anywhere to be seen. There were no traces of animal life. The island had been deserted of all but vegetation for a long while—perhaps for centuries or tens of centuries. He remembered another part of the old legend of R'lin K'ren A'a. It had been said that when the Gods came to meet there not only the citizens fled, but also all the wildlife. Nothing had dared see the High Lords or listen to their conversation. Elric shivered, turning his white head this way and that on the rolled cloak that supported it, his crimson eyes tortured. If there were dangers on this island, they would be subtler dangers than those they had faced on the river.

  The noise of their passage through the forest was the only sound to be heard on the island as they forced their way on the next morning.

  With lodestone in one hand and map in the other, Duke Avan Astran sought to guide them, directing his men where to cut their path. But it became even slower, and it was obvious that no creatures had come this way for many ages.

  By the fourth day they had reached a natural clearing of flat volcanic rock and found a spring there. Gratefully they made camp. Elric began to wash his face in the cool water when he heard a yell behind him. He sprang up. One of the crewmen was reaching for an arrow and fitting it to his bow.

  “What is it?” Duke Avan called.

  “I saw something, my lord!”

  “Nonsense, there are no—”

  “Look!” The man drew back the string and let fly into the upper terraces of the forest. Something did seem to stir then and Elric thought he saw a flash of grey among the trees.

  “Did you see what kind of creature it was?” Smiorgan asked the man.

  “No, master. I feared at first it was those reptiles again.”

  “They're too frightened to follow us onto this island,” Duke Avan reassured him.

  “I hope you're right,” Smiorgan said nervously.

  “Then what could it have been?” Elric wondered.

  “I-I thought it was a man, master,” the crewman stuttered.

  Elric stared thoughtfully into the trees. “A man?”

  Smiorgan asked: “You were hoping for this, Elric?”

  “I am not sure...”

  Duke Avan shrugged. “More likely the shadow of a cloud passing over the trees. According to my calculations we should have reached the city by now.”

  “You think, after all, that it does not exist?” Elric said.

  “I am beginning not to care, Prince Elric.” The duke leaned against the bole of a huge tree, brushing aside a vine which touched his face. “Still there's nought else to do. The ship won't be ready to sail yet.” He looked up into the branches. “I did not think I should miss those damned insects that plagued us on our way here...”

  The crewman who had shot the arrow suddenly shouted again. “There! I saw him! It is a man!”

  While the others stared but failed to discern anything Duke Avan continued to lean against the tree. “You saw nothing. There is nothing here to see.”

  Elric turned towards him. “Give me the map and the lodestone, Duke Avan. I have a feeling I can find the way.”

  The Vilmirian shrugged, an expression of doubt on his square, handsome face. He handed the things over to Elric.


  They rested the night and in the morning they continued, with Elric leading the way.

  And at noon they broke out of the forest and saw the ruins of R'lin K'ren A'a.

  Chapter 5

  Nothing grew among the ruins of the city. The streets were broken and the walls of the houses had fallen, but there were no weeds flowering in the cracks and it seemed that the city had but recently been brought down by an earthquake. Only one thing still stood intact, towering over the ruins. It was a gigantic statue of white, grey and green jade—the statue of a naked youth with a face of almost feminine beauty that turned sightless eyes towards the north.

  “The eyes!” Duke Avan Astran said. “They're gone!”

  The others said nothing as they stared at the statue and the ruins surrounding it. The area was relatively small and the buildings had little decoration. The inhabitants seemed to have been a simple, well-to-do folk—totally unlike the Melniboneans of the Bright Empire. Elric could not believe that the people of R'lin K'ren A'a had been his ancestors. They had been too sane.

  “The statue's already been looted,” Duke Avan continued. “Our damned journey's been in vain!”

  Elric laughed. “Did you really think you would be able to prise the Jade Man's eyes from their sockets, my lord?”

  The statue was as tall as any tower of the Dreaming City and the head alone must have been the size of a reasonably large building. Duke Avan pursed his lips and refused to listen to Elric's mocking voice. “We may yet find the journey worth our while,” he said. “There were other treasures in R'lin K'ren A'a. Come...”

  He led the way into the city.

  Very few of the buildings were even partially standing but they were nonetheless fascinating if only for the peculiar nature of their building materials, which were of a kind the travellers had never seen before.

  The colours were many but faded by time—soft reds and yellows and blues—and they flowed together to make almost infinite combinations.

  Elric reached out to touch one wall and was surprised at the cool feel of the smooth material. It was neither stone nor wood nor metal. Perhaps it had been brought there from another plane?