"So the poison is acting swiftly," said Jhary.
Already another man had fallen on the swordsman who had struck Bwydyth down. Two more were slain in almost as many heartbeats. Cries of rage and hatred burst from the lips of the rest. Blood spurted in the gray evening light.
The civilized folk of Gwlas-cor-Gwrys were butchering each other without reason. They were fighting amongst themselves like so many carrion dogs over a carcass.
The Third Chapter
CHAOS RETURNED
Soon the winding path to the castle was strewn with corpses. Four men were left on their feet when something seemed to seize their heads and turn them to glare with blazing eyes at Corum and Jhary, who still stood by the gates. The four began to move up the hill again. Corum and Jhary readied their swords.
Corum felt the anger rising in his own head, shaking his body with its intensity. It was a relief to be able to vent it at last. With a chilling yell he rushed down the hill toward the attackers, his bright sword raised, Jhary behind him.
One of the swordsmen went down before Corum's first thrust. These men were gaunt-faced and exhausted. It looked as if they had not slept for many days. Normally Corum would have known pity for them, would have tried to disarm them or merely wound them. But his own rage made him strike to kill.
And soon they were all dead.
And Corum Jhaelen Irsei stood over their corpses and panted like a mad wolf, the blood dripping from his blade onto the gray ground. He stood thus for some moments until a small sound reached his ears. He turned. Jhary-a-Conel was already kneeling beside the man who had made the sound. It was Bwydyth-a-Horn and he was not quite dead.
"Corum…" Jhary looked up at his friend. "He is calling your name, Corum."
His fury abated for the moment, Corum went to Bwydyth's side. "Aye, friend," he murmured gently.
"I tried, Corum, to fight what was inside my skull. I tried for many days, but eventually it defeated me. I am sorry, Corum…"
"We have all suffered the sickness."
"When rational I decided to come to you in the hope that you would know of a cure. At least, I thought, I could warn you…"
"And that is why your ship came to be in these parts, eh?"
"Aye. But we were followed. There was a battle and it brought back all my rage again. The whole Vadhagh race is at war, Corum-and Lywm-an-Esh is no better… Strife governs all…" Bwydyth's voice grew still fainter.
"Do you know why, Bwydyth?"
"No… Prince Yurette hoped to discover… He, too, was overcome by the berserk fury… He-died… Reason is banished… We are in the grip of demons… Chaos is returned… We should have remained in our city…"
Corum nodded. "It is Chaos' work, without doubt. We became complacent too quickly, we ceased to be wary-and Chaos struck. But it cannot be Mabelrode, for if he came to our plane he would be destroyed as Xiombarg was destroyed. He must be working through an agency. But who?"
"Glandyth?" whispered Jhary. "Could it be the Earl of Krae? All Chaos needs is one willing to serve it. If the will exists, the power is given."
Bwydyth-a-Horn began to cough. "Ah, Corum, forgive me for this…"
"There is nought to forgive, since we are equally possessed by something which is beyond our power to fight."
"Find what it is, Corum…" Bwydyth's eyes burned near-black as he raised himself on one elbow. "Destroy it if you can… Revenge me… revenge us all…"
And Bwydyth died.
Corum was trembling with emotion. "Jhary-have you manufactured the potion of which you spoke?”
"It is almost ready, though I make no claims for it yet. It might not counter the madness."
"Be quick."
Corum rose to his feet and walked back to the castle, sheathing his sword.
As he entered the gates he heard a scream and went running through the gray galleries until he entered a room of bright fountains. There was Rhalina beating off the attack of two of the female retainers. The women were shrieking like beasts and striking at her with their nails. Corum drew his sword again, reversed it, struck the nearest woman on the base of the skull. She went down and the other whirled, foaming at the mouth. Corum leaped forward and with his jeweled hand struck her on the jaw. She, too, fell.
Corum felt rage rising in him again. He glared at the weeping Rhalina. "What did you do to offend them?"
She looked at him in astonishment. "I? Nothing, Corum. Corum! I did nothing!"
"Then why-?" He realized his voice was harsh, shrill. Deliberately he took control of himself. "I am sorry, Rhalina. I understand. Ready yourself for a journey. We leave in our sky ship as soon as possible. Jhary may have a medicine which will calm us. We must go to Lywm-an-Esh to see if there is any hope there. We must try to contact Lord Arkyn and hope the Lord of Law will help us."
"Why is he not already helping us?" she asked bitterly. "We aided him to regain his realm and now, it seems, he abandons us to Chaos."
"If Chaos is active here, then it is active elsewhere. It could be that there are worse dangers in his realm, or in the realm of his brother Lord of Law. You know that none of the gods may interfere directly in mortal affairs."
"But Chaos tries more frequently," she said.
"That is the nature of Chaos and that is why mortals are best served by Law, for Law believes in the freedom of mortals and Chaos sees us merely as playthings to be molded and used according to its whims. Quickly, now, prepare to leave."
"But it is hopeless, Corum. Chaos must be so much more powerful than Law. We have done all we can to fight it. Why not admit that we are doomed?"
"Chaos only seems more powerful because it is aggressive and willing to use any means to gain its end. Law endures. Make no mistake, I do not like the role in which Fate has cast me-I would that someone else had my burden-but the power of Law must be preserved if possible. Now go-hurry."
She went away reluctantly while Corum made sure that the retainers were not badly hurt. He did not like to leave them, for he was sure that they would turn upon each other soon. He decided that he would leave them some of the potion Jhary was preparing and hope that it would last them.
He frowned. Could Glandyth really be the cause of this? But Glandyth was no sorcerer-he was a brute, a bloody-handed warrior, a good tactician, and, in his own terms, had many virtues, but he had little subtlety or even desire to use sorcery, for he feared it.
Yet there were no others left in this realm who would willingly make themselves servants of Chaos-and one had to be willing or Chaos could not gain entry to the realm at all…
Corum decided to wait until he discovered more before continuing to speculate. If he could reach Halwyg-nan-Vake and the Temple of Law, he might be able to contact Lord Arkyn and seek his advice.
He went to the room where he kept bis arms and armor and he drew on his silver bynie, his silver greaves, and his conical silver helm with the three characters set Into it over the peak-characters which stood for his full name. And over all this he put his scarlet robe. Then he selected weapons-a bow, arrows, a lance, and a war-axe of exquisite workmanship-and he buckled on his long, strong sword. Once again he garbed himself for war and he made both a magnificent and a terrible figure, with his glittering six-fingered hand and the jeweled patch which covered the jeweled Eye of Rhynn. He had prayed that he would never have to dress himself thus again, that he would never have to use the alien hand grafted to his left wrist or peer through the eye into the fearsome netherworld to summon the living dead to his aid. Yet in his heart he had known that the power of Chaos had not been vanquished, that the worst was still to come.
He felt weary, however, for his battle with the madness in his skull was as exhausting as any physical fight.