'And what are the forces at work?'
'I tell you what I have told the other two and what I will tell Elric. I can tell you no more, so ask no further questions when I have finished. Do you agree to that?'
'I must,' said Hawkmoon simply.
'When the time comes,' said the Captain, 'I will tell you all that there is left."
'Continue, sir,' said Hawkmoon politely.
'Our destination is an island - a rare thing, for it is an island indigenous to these waters - inhabiting what you would call Limbo and, at the same time, inhabiting all the worlds on which mankind struggles. That island - or rather the city which stands upon the island - has been attacked many times and both Law and Chaos would control it, yet none has ever succeeded. Once it had the blessing of a people known as the Grey Lords, but they have since disappeared - none knows where. In their place have come enemies of immense power - beings who would destroy all the worlds forever. It is the Conjunction which has allowed them to enter this "multiverse" of ours. And having entered, having gained this foothold on our borders, they will not leave until they have effectively killed everything living.'
'They must be powerful indeed. And this ship has been called to gather a band of warriors to join forces with those who fight that enemy?'
'The ship goes to fight the enemy, yes.'
'But we must perish, surely?'
'No. Individually you in any one of your aspects would not have the power to destroy this enemy. That is why the others have been called. Later, I will tell you more.' The Captain paused, as if listening to something in the waters surrounding the ship. "There! I think we are ready to find our last passenger. Go now, Hawkmoon. Forgive my manner, but you must leave me.'
'When will I learn more, sir?'
'Soon.' The Captain gestured at the door, which had opened. 'Soon.'
His head full of the information the Captain had given him, Hawkmoon stumbled back into the mist.
Far away, he could just hear the booming of surf, and he knew that the ship neared land. For a moment he thought he would remain on deck and view that land if he could, but then something made him change his mind and he hurried towards the stern cabin, casting a last look back at the rigid, mysterious figure of the steersman who was still at the forward wheel.
Chapter Three
The Island Of Shadows
'And did the Captain illuminate you, Sir Hawkmoon?' Emshon fingered his chess queen as Hawkmoon entered the cabin.
'A little,’ said Hawkmoon, 'though he mystified me more. Why do our numbers seem significant? Ten men to a cabin?'
‘Is it not the maximum the cabins can hold comfortably?' asked Thereod, who seemed to be winning the game.
‘There must be a considerable amount of space below,' Corum said. 'That cannot be the reason.'
'And what of sleeping quarters?' said Hawkmoon. 'You have been aboard longer than I. Where do you sleep?'
'We do not sleep,' said Baron Gotterin. The fat soldier jerked a thumb at the snoring Reingir. 'Save for that one. And he sleeps all the time.' He fingered his oiled beard. 'Who sleeps in Hell?'
‘You have sung the same toneless song since you came aboard,' John ap-Rhyss said. 'A more polite man would be silent or find some new song to sing.'
Gotterin sneered and turned his back on his critic.
The tall, long-haired man from Yel sighed and resumed his drinking.
"The last of us is due to board soon, I gather,' said Hawkmoon. He looked at Corum. 'One named Elric. Is the name familiar?'
'It is. Is it not familiar to you?"
‘It is.'
"Elric, Erekose and myself fought together once, at a time of great crisis. The Runestaff saved us, then, at the fight at the Tower of Voilodion Ghagnasdiak.'
'What do you know of the Runestaff? Has it aught to do with the Cosmic Balance of which I have heard so much of late?'
'Possibly,' said Corum, 'but do not look to me for understanding of such mysteries, friend Hawkmoon. I am as bewildered as yourself.'
'Both seem to stand for Equilibrium.'
‘True.'
'And yet I learn that the equilibrium is one maintaining the power of the gods. Why do we fight to maintain their power?'
Corum smiled reminiscently. 'Do we?" he said.
'Do we not?'
'Usually, I suppose,' said Corum.
'You become as irritating as the Captain,' said Hawkmoon with a laugh. 'What do you mean?'
Corum shook his head. 'I am not sure.'
Hawkmoon realized that he felt better than he had done for some while. He commented on this.
'You have drunk the Captain's wine,' said Corum. 'It is what sustains us, I think. There is more here. I offered you only the ordinary stuff, but if you ask...'
'Not now. But it sharpens the brain - it sharpens the brain.'
'Does it?' said Keeth Woecarrier from the shadows. 'I fear it dulls mine. I am confused.'
'We are all confused,' said Chaz of Elaquol dismissively. 'Who would not be?' He half drew his sword and then plunged it back into the scabbard. 'I am only clear-headed when I fight.'
'I gather that we shall be fighting soon,' Hawkmoon told him.
This drew the interest of them all and Hawkmoon repeated the little the Captain had said. The warriors fell, again, to speculating, and even Baron Gotterin brightened, speaking no more of Hell and punishment.
Hawkmoon had an inclination to avoid Prince Corum's company, not because he disliked the man (he found him most likeable) but because he was disturbed by the idea that he shared the cabin with one who was another incarnation of himself. Corum seemed to have a common feeling.
And so the tune passed.
Later, the door of the cabin opened and two tall men stood there. One was of a darkish countenance, heavy and broad-shouldered, with many scars upon his face which was, though careworn, strikingly handsome. It was hard to tell his age, though he was probably close to forty, and his dark hair had a little silver in it. His deep-set eyes were intelligent, revealing something of a private grief. He was dressed in thick leather strengthened at the shoulders, elbows and wrists with steel plates which were much dented and scraped. He recognized Hawkmoon and nodded to Corum as if they had already met. His companion was slim and physically had much in common with Corum and the Captain. His eyes were crimson, smouldering like the coals of some supernatural fire, and they stared from a face which was bone-white, bloodless - the face of a corpse. His long hair, too, was white. His body was swathed in a heavy leather cloak, the hood thrown back. From under the cloak jutted the outlines of a great broadsword and Hawkmoon wondered why he should feel a frisson of fear when he observed that outline.
Corum recognized the albino. 'Elric of Melnibone! My theories become more meaningful!' He glanced eagerly at Hawkmoon, but Hawkmoon hung back, not sure that he welcomed the white swordsman. 'See, Hawkmoon, this is the one of whom I spoke.'
The albino was surprised, baffled. 'You know me, sir?'
Corum was smiling. 'You recognize me, Elric. You must! At the Tower of Voilodion Ghagnasdiak? With Erekose' - though a different Erekose.'
'I know of no such tower, no name which resembles that, and this is the first I have seen of Erekose.' Elric looked to his companion, Erekose, as if seeking help. 'You know me and you know my name, but I do not know you. I find this disconcerting, sir.'
The other spoke for the first time, his voice deep and vibrant and melancholy. 'I, too, had never met Prince Corum before he came aboard,' said Erekose, 'yet he insists we fought together once. I am inclined to believe him. Time on the different planes does not always run concurrently. Prince Corum might well exist in what we would term the future.'
Hawkmoon found that his brain was refusing to hear any more. He longed for the relative simplicity of his own world. 'I had thought to find some relief from such paradoxes here,’ he said. He rubbed at his eyes and his forehead, fingering, for an instant, the scar where the Black Jewel had once been imbedded. 'But it se
ems there is none at this present moment in the history of the planes. Everything is in flux and even our identities, it seems, are prone to alter at any moment.'
Corum was insistent, still addressing Elric. 'We were Three! Do you not recall it, Elric? The Three Who Are One?' Evidently Elric knew nothing of which Corum spoke. ‘Well,' said Corum with a shrug, 'now we are Four. Did the Captain say anything of an island we are supposed to invade?'
'He did.' The newcomer looked from face to face. 'Do you know who these enemies might be?'
Hawkmoon had a fellow feeling for the albino, then. 'We know no more or less than do you, Elric. I seek a place called Tanelorn and two children. Perhaps I seek the Runestaff, too. Of that I am not entirely sure.'
Corum, still eager to jog Elric's memory, said: 'We found it once. We three. In the Tower of Voilodion Ghagnasdiak. It was of considerable help to us.'
Hawkmoon wondered if Corum were mad. 'As it might be to me,' he said. 'I served it once. I gave it a great deal.' He stared hard at Elric, for the white face was becoming more familiar with every passing moment. He realized that he did not fear Elric. It was the sword which the albino bore - there was what Hawkmoon feared.
'We have much in common, as I told you, Elric.' Erekose was plainly trying to remove the tensions from the atmosphere. 'Perhaps we share masters in common, too?'
Elric made something of an arrogant shrug. 'I serve no master but myself.'
Hawkmoon found himself smiling at this. The other two also smiled.
And when Erekose murmured: 'On such ventures as these one is inclined to forget much, as one forgets a dream,' Hawkmoon found himself saying, with considerable conviction: 'This is a dream. Of late I've dreamt many such.'
And Corum, now acting as mediator himself, said: "It is all dreaming, if you like. All existence.'
Elric made a dismissive gesture which Hawkmoon found a trifle irritating. 'Dream or reality, the experience amounts to the same, does it not?'
Erekose's smile was soulful. 'Quite right.'
'In my own world,' said Hawkmoon sharply, ‘We had a clear idea of the difference between dream and reality. Does not such vagueness produce a peculiar form of mental lethargy in us?'
'Can we afford to think?' Erekose asked, almost savagely, 'Can we afford to analyse too closely? Can you, Sir Hawkmoon?'
And Hawkmoon knew, suddenly, what Erekose's doom was. He knew that it was his doom, too. And he fell silent, shamed.
'I remember,' said Erekose, more softly now. 'I was, am, or will be Dorian Hawkmoon. I remember.'
'And that is your grotesque and terrifying fate,' said Corum. 'We all share the same identity - but only you, Erekose, remember them all.'
'I wish my memory were not so sharp,' said the heavy man. For so long have I sought Tanelorn and my Ermizhad. And now comes the Conjunction of the Million Spheres, when all the worlds intersect and there are pathways between them. If I can find the right path, then I shall see Ermizhad again. I shall see all that I hold dearest. And the Eternal Champion will rest. We shall all rest, for our fates are so closely linked together. The time has come again for me. This, I now know, is the second Conjunction I shall witness. The first wrenched me from a world and set me to warring. If I fail to take advantage of the second, I shall never know peace. This is my only opportunity. I pray that we do sail for Tanelorn.'
'I pray with you,' said Hawkmoon.
'So you should,' said Erekose. 'So you should, sir.'
When the other two had gone, Hawkmoon agreed to join Corum in a game of chess (though he was still reluctant to spend much time in the other's company), but the game became strange - each able to anticipate exactly what his opponent would do. Corum took the experience with apparent lightness. Laughing he sat back in his chair. "There is little point to continuing, eh?'
Hawkmoon agreed with relief and, with relief, saw the door open and Brut of Lashmar entered, a jug of hot wine in one gloved hand.
'I bring the compliments of the Captain,' he said, placing the jug in an indentation at the centre of the table. 'Did you sleep well?'
'Sleep?' Hawkmoon was surprised. 'Have you slept? Where do you sleep?'
Brut frowned. 'You were not informed, then, of the bunks below. How have you remained awake so long?'
Corum said hastily: 'Let us not pursue the question.'
'Drink the wine,' said Brut quietly. 'It will revive you.’
'Revive us?' Hawkmoon felt a wildness, a bitterness, rise in him. 'Or make us share the same dream?'
Corum poured wine for both of them and almost forced the cup into Hawkmoon's hand. He looked alarmed.
Hawkmoon made to dash the wine away, but Corum put his silver hand on Hawkmoon's arm. 'No, Hawkmoon. Drink. If the wine makes the dream coherent to all of us, then it is better.'
Hawkmoon hesitated, thought for an instant, disliked the drift of his thoughts, and he drank. The wine was good. It had the same influence as that which he had drunk in the Captain's company. His spirits improved. 'You are right,' he said to Corum.
'The Captain would have the Four join him now,' said Brut soberly.
'Has he more information for us?' Hawkmoon asked, aware that the other warriors in the cabin listened eagerly. One by one they came up to the wine jug and helped themselves from it. They drank as he had drunk, quickly.
Hawkmoon and Corum rose and followed Brut from the cabin. Walking along the deck, through the mist, Hawkmoon tried to see beyond the rail, but saw only mist. Then he noticed a man standing at the rail, his attitude introspective. He recognized Elric and called out in a friendlier tone than he had used before:
‘The Captain has requested that we Four visit him in his cabin.'
Hawkmoon saw Erekose leave his cabin, nodding to them. Elric left the rail and led the way up the deck to the forward deck and the red-brown door. He knocked; they entered the warmth and luxury of the cabin.
And the Captain's blind face greeted them, and he made a sign towards the chest, where the silver jug and the silver wine cups were, and he said:
'Please help yourselves, my friends.'
Hawkmoon found now that he was eager to drink, as were his companions.
'We are nearing our destination,' said the Captain. 'It will not be long before we disembark. I do not believe our enemies expect us, yet it will be a hard fight against those two.'
Hawkmoon had received the impression that they fought many. 'Two? Only two?'
'Only two.'
Hawkmoon glanced at the others, but they did not meet his gaze. They were looking at the Captain.
'A brother and a sister,' said the blind man. 'Sorcerers from quite another universe than ours. Due to recent disruptions in the fabric of our worlds - of which you know something, Hawkmoon, and you, too, Corum - certain beings have been released who would not otherwise have the power they now possess. And possessing great power, they crave for more - for all the power that there is in our' universe. These beings are amoral in a way in which the Lords of Law and Chaos are not. They do not fight for influence upon the Earth, as those gods do. Their only wish is to convert the essential energy of our universe to their own uses. I believe they foster some ambition in their particular universe which would be furthered if they could achieve their wish. At present, in spite of conditions highly favourable to them, they have not attained their full strength, but the time is not far off before they do attain it. Agak and Gagak is how they are called in human tongue and they are outside the power of any of our gods, so a more powerful group has been summoned - yourselves.'
Hawkmoon made to ask how they could be more powerful than gods, but he controlled the impulse.
‘The Champion Eternal,' the Captain continued, 'in four of his incarnations (and four is the maximum number we can risk without precipitating further unwelcome disruptions amongst the planes of Earth) - Erekose, Elric, Corum and Hawkmoon. Each of you will command four others, whose fates are linked with your own and who are great fighters in their own right, though they do not shar
e your destinies in every sense. You may each pick the four with whom you wish to fight. I think you will find it easy enough to decide. We make landfall quite shortly now."
Hawkmoon wondered if he disliked the Captain. He felt that he challenged him when he said: 'You will lead us?"
The Captain seemed genuinely regretful. 'I cannot. I can only take you to the island and wait for those who survive - if any survive.'
Elric frowned, voicing Hawkmoon's own reservations. ‘This fight is not mine, I think.'
But the Captain's answer was given with conviction, with authority. 'It is yours - and it is mine. I would land with you if that were permitted me, but it is not.'
'Why so?' This was Corum speaking.
'You will learn that one day.' A cloud seemed to pass over the Captain's blind features. 'I have not the courage to tell you. I bear you nothing but good will, however. Be assured of that.'
Hawkmoon found himself thinking cynically, once again, about the value of assurances.
‘Well,' said Erekose, 'since it is my destiny to fight, and since I, like Hawkmoon, continue to seek Tanelorn, and since I gather there is some chance of my fulfilling my ambition if I am successful, I for one agree to go against these two, Agak and Gagak.'
Hawkmoon shrugged and nodded. 'I go with Erekose - for similar reasons.' Corum sighed. 'And I.’
Elric looked about him at the other three. 'Not long since, I counted myself without comrades. Now I have many. For that reason alone I will fight with them.'
Erekose was pleased by this. 'It is perhaps the best of reasons.'
The Captain spoke again, his blind eyes seeming to stare beyond them. 'There is no reward for this work, save my assurance that your success will save the world much misery. And for you, Elric, there is less reward than the rest may hope for.'
Elric seemed to disagree, but Hawkmoon could not read the albino's face when he said, 'Perhaps not.'
'As you say.' The Captain's tone had changed. He was more relaxed. 'More wine, my friends?'
They drank the wine he offered them and waited while he continued. His face was raised now. He addressed the sky, his voice distant.