"They nurse an abiding hatred for us, " explained the Duke of Queens, and looked expectantly at Werther, who added:
"This was their world before it became ours."
"And before it became theirs, " said the Duke of Queens, "it was the world of the Yargtroon."
"The Yargtroon?" Elric frowned.
"They dispossessed the bodiless vampire goat-folk of Kia, " explained Werther. "Who, in turn, destroyed — or thought they destroyed — the Grash-Tu-Xem, a race of Old Ones older than any Old Ones except the Elder Old Ones of Ancient Thriss."
"Older even than Chaos?" asked Elric.
"Oh, far older, " said Werther.
"It's almost completely collapsed, it's so old, " added the Duke of Queens.
Elric was baffled. "Thriss?"
"Chaos, " said the Duke.
Elric let a thin smile play about his lips. "You still mock me, my lord. The power of Chaos is the greatest there is, only equalled by the power of Law."
"Oh, certainly, " agreed the Duke of Queens.
Elric became suspicious again. "Do you play with me, my lord?"
"Well, naturally, we try to please our guests…"
Werther interrupted. "Yonder doomy edifice holds the one I love. Somewhere within its walls she is incarcerated, while ghouls taunt at her and devils threaten."
"The bird-monsters…?" began Elric.
"Chimerae, " said the Duke of Queens. "You saw only one of the shapes they assume."
Elric understood this. "Aha! "
"But how can we enter it?" Werther spoke almost to himself.
"We must wait until nightfall, " said Elric, "and enter under the cover of darkness."
"Nightfall?" Werther brightened.
Suddenly they were in utter darkness.
Somewhere the Duke of Queens lost his footing and fell with a muffled curse.
9 In which Mrs Persson At Last Makes Contact with Her Old Friend
They stood together beneath the striped awning of the tent while a short distance away armoured men, mounted on armoured horses, jousted, were injured or died. The two members wore appropriate costumes for the period. Lord Jagged looked handsome in his surcoat and mail, but Una Persson merely looked uncomfortable in her wimple and kirtle.
"I can't leave just now, " he was saying. "I am laying the foundations for a very important development."
"Which will come to nothing unless Elric is returned, " she said.
A knight with a broken lance thundered past, covering them in dust.
"Well played Sir Holger! " called Lord Jagged. "An ancestor of mine, you know, " he told her.
"You will not be able to recognize the world of the End of Time when you return, if this is allowed to continue, " she said.
"It's always difficult, isn't it?" But he was listening to her now.
"These disruptions could as easily affect us and leave us stranded, " she added. "We would lose any freedom we have gained."
He bit into a pomegranate and offered it to her. "You can only get these in this area. Did you know? Impossible to find in England. In the thirteenth century, at any rate. The idea of freedom is such a nebulous one, isn't it? Most of the time when angry people are speaking of 'freedom' what they are actually asking for is much simpler — respect. Do those in authority or those with power ever really respect those who do not have power?" He paused. "Or do they mean 'power' and not 'freedom'. Or are they the same…?"
"Really, Jagged, this is no time for self-indulgence."
He looked about him. "There's little else to do in the Middle East in the thirteenth century, I assure you, except eat pomegranates and philosophize…"
"You must come back to the End of Time."
He wiped his handsome chin. "Your urgency, " he said, "worries me, Una. These matters should be handled with delicacy — slowly…"
"The entire fabric will collapse unless he is returned to his own dimension. He is an important factor in the whole plan."
"Well, yes, I understand that."
"He is, in one sense at least, your protege."
"I know. But not my responsibility."
"You must help."
There was a loud bang and a crash.
A splinter flew into Mrs Persson's eye.
"Oh, zounds! " she said.
10 In which The Castle is Assaulted and The Plot Thickened
A moon had appeared above the spires of the castle which seemed to Elric to have changed its shape since he had first seen it. He meant to ask his companions for an explanation, but at present they were all sworn to silence as they crept nearer. From within the castle burst light, emanating from guttering brands stuck into brackets on the walls. There was laughter, noise of feasting. Hidden behind a rock they peered through one large window and inspected the scene within.
The entire hall was full of men wearing identical costumes. They had black skull caps, loose white blouses and trousers, black shoes. Their eyebrows were black in dead white faces, even paler than Elric's and they had bright red lips.
"Aha, " whispered Werther, "the parrots are celebrating their victory. Soon they will be too drunk to know what is happening to them."
"Parrots?" said Elric. "What is that word?"
"Pierrots, he means, " said the Duke of Queens. "Don't you, Werther?" There were evidently certain words which did not translate easily into the High Speech of Melnibone.
"Ssh, " said the Last Romantic, "they will capture us and torture us to death if they detect our presence."
They worked their way around the castle. It was guarded at intervals by gigantic warriors whom Elric at first mistook for statues, save that, when he looked closely, he could see them breathing very slowly. They were unarmed, but their fists and feet were disproportionately large and could crush any intruder they detected.
"They are sluggish, by the look of them, " said Elric. "If we are quick, we can run beneath them and enter the castle before they realize it. Let me try first. If I succeed, you follow."
Werther clapped his new comrade on the back. "Very well."
Elric waited until the nearest guard halted and spread his huge feet apart, then he dashed forward, scuttling like an insect between the giant's legs and flinging himself through a dimly lit window. He found himself in some sort of store-room. He had not been seen, though the guard cocked his ear for half a moment before resuming his pace.
Elric looked cautiously out and signalled to his companions. The Duke of Queens waited for the guard to stop again, then he, too, made for the window and joined Elric. He was panting and grinning. "This is wonderful, " he said.
Elric admired his spirit. There was no doubt that the guard could crush any of them to a pulp, even if (as still nagged at his brain) this was all some sort of complicated illusion.
Another dash, and Werther was with them.
Cautiously, Elric opened the door of the store-room. They looked onto a deserted landing. They crossed the landing and looked over a balustrade. They had expected to see another hall, but instead there was a miniature lake on which floated the most beautiful miniature ship, all mother-of-pearl, brass and ebony, with golden sails and silver masts. Surrounding this ship were mermaids and mermen bearing trays of exotic food (reminding Elric how hungry he still was) which they fed to the ship's only passenger, Mistress Christia.
"She is under an enchantment, " said Elric. "They beguile her with illusions so that she will not wish to come with us even if we do rescue her. Do you know no counter-spells?"