Mack smoke began to drift as the brass beaks of the ships' rams ground through timbers, impaling ships like skewered fish. The hoarse yells of fighting men began to sound and Elric heard the dash of iron as the first few opposing warriors met.
But now he only vaguely heard the sounds, for he was concentrating.
At last he was ready and, aware that his voice would probably not be heard by human ears above the noise of war, called in a desperate and agonising voice: «Stormbringer! » His straining mind echoed the shout and he seemed to look beyond the turbulent battle, beyond the ocean, beyond the very earth to a place of shadows and terror. Something moved there. Many things moved there.
He heard a curse from beneath him and saw Jagreen Lern pointing up at him.
«Gag the white-faced sorcerer.» Jagreen Lern's eyes met Elric's and the theocrat sucked in his tips, deliberating a bare moment before adding: «And if that doesn't put an end to his babbling-slay him! »
The lieutenant began to climb the mast towards Elric.
«Stormbringer! Your master perishes! »
He struggled in the biting ropes but could hardly move.
«Stormbringer! »
All his life he had hated the sword he relied so much upon. Now he called for it as a lover calls for his betrothed.
The warrior grasped his foot and shook it «Silence! You heard my master.»
With insane eyes, Elric looked down at the warrior who shuddered and drew his sword, hanging to the mast with one hand and readying himself to make a stab at Elric's vitals.
«Stormbringer! » Elric sobbed the name. He must live. Without him, Chaos would surely rule the world.
The man hinged at Elric's body-yet the blade did not reach the albino. Then Elric remembered, with sudden humour, that Jagreen Lern had placed a protective spell about him! The Theocrat's own magic had saved his energy.
«Stormbringer.»
Now the warrior gasped and the sword dropped from his fingers. He seemed to grapple with something invisible at his throat and Elric saw the man's fingers sliced off and blood sport from the stumps. Then, slowly, a shape materialised and, with bounding relief, the albino saw that it was a sword - but own runesword impaling the warrior and sucking out his soul.
The warrior dropped, but Stormbringer hung in the air and men turned to slash the ropes restraining Elric's hands and men nestled firmly, with horrid affection, in it’s master's right fist.
At once the stolen life-stuff of the warrior began to pour through Elric's being and the pain of his body vanished. Quickly he grasped a piece of the sail's rigging and cut away the rest of his bonds until he was swinging by one hand on tile rope.
«Now, Jagreen Lern, we’ll see who takes vengeance, finally.»
He wrenched up the hatch-cover and stared down at the pitiful figure of his friend. Evidently he had been left to starve to death. A rat scuttled away as the light shone down. Elric jumped into the hold and saw, with horror, that part of Moonglum's right arm had been gnawed already. He heaved the body on to his shoulder, aware that the heart still beat, though faintly, and clambered back on to the deck.
How to ensure his friend's safety and still take vengeance on Jagreen Lern was a problem. But Elric moved towards the boarding platform which he guessed the theocrat to have crossed. As he did so, three warriors leapt towards him. One of them cried:
«The albino! The reaver has escaped! »
Elric struck him down with a blow that required only a flick of his wrist. The black sword did the rest The others retreated, remembering how Elric had entered Hwamgaarl.
New energy flowed through him. For every corpse he killed, his strength increased-a stolen strength, but necessary if he was to survive and win the day for Law.
He ran, untroubled by his burden, over the boarding platform and on to the deck of the southern ship. Up ahead he saw the standard of Argimiliar and a little group of men around it, headed by King Hozel himself, his face gaunt as he stared at the knowledge of his own death. A deserved death, thought Elric grimly, but nonetheless when Hozel died it would mean another victory for Chaos.
Then he heard a shout of a different quality, thought for a moment he had been observed, but one of Hozel's men was pointing to the North sod mouthing something.
Elric looked in the direction and saw, with mixed emotions, the brave sails of the Purple Towns. They were brightly painted and gay, some even embroidered, for the only rich decoration the Sealords allowed themselves was upon their sails.
But they had arrived belatedly. Even if they had sailed with the other southern vessels it would have been unlikely not they could have turned the day against Pan Tang.
At that moment, staring around him, Jagreen Lern saw Elric and bellowed at his men who moved forward warily and reluctantly, approaching the albino in a wide semi-circle,
Elric cursed the brave Sealords who had added a further factor to his indecision,
Menacingly he swung the moaning runeblade about him, he advanced to meet the half-terrified Pan Tang warriors. They dropped back, some of them groaning as the blade touched them. The way was now dear to Jagreen Lern.
But the ships of the Purple Towns were drawing closer, almost within catapult range.
Elric looked directly into Jagreen Lern’s frightened face and snarled: «I doubt if my blade had my strength to pierce your burning armour with one blow, had one blow is all I have time for. I leave you now, theocrat, but remember not even if you conquer all the world including the unknown lands of the East, I’ll have my sword drink your black soul at length.»
With that he dropped Moonglum's unconscious body overboard and dived after it into the choppy sea.
Resuming his hold on his friend's body, he began to swim with superhuman strokes towards the leading vessel of the Sealords. Kargan's ship.
Now, behind him, Jagreen Lern and his men saw their own flagship blazing. Elric had done his work well.
That, too, would serve to divert attention from Kargan's fleet.
Trusting to the Sealords' famed seamanship he swam directly in the path of the leading galleon, shouting Kargan's name.
The ship veered slightly and he saw bearded faces at the rail, saw ropes flicker towards him and grasped one, letting them haul him upwards with his burden until he was pulled over the side.
Kargan stared at him with shocked eyes.
«Elric! We thought you dead-and now I see you have been, or worse! »
Elric spat salt-water from his mouth and said urgently:
«Turn your fleet, Kargan! Turn it back the way it has come, there is no hope of saving the Southlanders - they are doomed. We must preserve our forces for a later struggle.»
Hesitating momentarily, Kargan gave the order which was swiftly relayed to the rest of his sixty strong fleet.
As the ships turned away, Elric noted that hardly a Southern ship remained afloat. For more than a mile the water burned and the spluttering of the flaming, sinking ships was blended with the screams of the maimed and drowning.
«With the Southern seapower crushed so decisively, » Kargan said, watching the physician who was tending to Moonglum, »the lands will not last long before Pan Tang's marching hordes. Like us, the South relied too much on its ships. It has taught me that we must strengthen our land defences if we are to have any chance at all.»
«From now on well use your island as our main headquarters, » Elric said. «Well fortify the whole place and from there keep in close touch with what is happening in the south. How is my friend, physician?»