The House of Cthulhu: Tales of the Primal Land Vol. 1

by Lumley, Brian

  Then said Arborass, “It is good that you prostrate your miserable selves; Ashtah will preserve them that worship him and heed the words of his priest.” And when the men of the valley looked up, they saw that the necromancer had stepped down from his ship, his ravaged rowers with him, and that indeed the wizard was come amongst them . . .

  VI

  But that was all of ten years ago, and much had come to pass in the years flown between. Of the wizard: at first his demands were not excessive, and his comings to New Bhur-Esh were never more than one in any month. Then, on the occasion of the twelfth visit—when the people had begun to grumble of this wizard-priest no one wanted, who must be kept in bread, meat, fish and wine—suddenly his needs were seen to be far more than the mere necessities of life.

  For Arborass now demanded a girl, who must be of eighteen or nineteen summers but no more, and she was to be made ready for him to take back to Ashtah when next he came. The volcano-God demanded sacrifice, he said, to appease him in his merciful but ever restive slumbers; and to prove a point he asked Ashtah if he were satisfied with the worship of his people, to which the volcano answered in a rumbling and a spouting of fire, and a hail of blazing boulders which sank half of the fishing fleet at anchor in the bay. So that at last the valley-dwellers knew the price of the wizard, and perhaps a few of them remembered the words of a small boy who had said they should kill this curse come upon them from the sea.

  On the day before Arborass was due, the Elders gathered in their meeting place to decide what might be done; but ere they could talk Ashtah belched a cloud of steam, which drifted in off the sea. And when it hung low in the sky over New Bhur-Esh, then lightning came out of it and wrote in molten fire on the ground, DOOM.

  And so each girl of eighteen and nineteen summers was given a number, and a pebble marked with that number was placed in a leather sack, and each of the girls was made to put in a hand and draw out a pebble until only one remained. The number of the final stone would mark the identity of the unfortunate maid; and so was Ashtah’s first sacrifice chosen from the girls of the valley tribe. And this was the awful custom which prevailed from that time on, twice in every year, so that Ashtah would be appeased and leave the people of New Bhur-Esh in peace . . .

  VII

  And so things had stood for ten long years while Ayrish grew to a man, and for the last three years he had given court to a girl of one of the valley’s richest families; and this kept secret from her father, who wanted nothing of paupers and foundlings. Meanwhile the family Ayrish lodged with had prospered, mainly due to his prowess as a sailor and fisherman, but the youth had been kept in poverty while his so-called brothers grew more sluggish yet and their manners more swinish.

  And Leela, the girl he loved, was past eighteen and already had stood once with the other maidens to draw pebbles from the leather sack, on which occasion she had been spared. Now, in some four months’ time, she must undergo the ordeal once more, and if she again survived twice more, before her age took her beyond the limits set by the volcano-god’s wizard priest. Except that each time there would be fewer girls, for many families with daughters had fled New Bhur-Esh forever and taken their girls with them.

  Soon, too, it would be the day of the games, which took place only once in every three years, when the young men of the tribe sported for the hands of its maidens. Ayrish had already asked Leela to be his wife, and she had been pleased to answer yes. It was, however, the custom to sport for a girl; and so, as the day grew closer, Leela prayed to all the beneficent gods of Theem’hdra that Ayrish would do well. The day came and the three Ayrish called brothers were also at the games, mocking the foundling as usual and poking fun at his rags. Moreover, all three had set their hearts on Leela, who was the loveliest girl in all the lava valley.

  Ayrish did well with the spear, average good at the lifting, and was fastest of all at the running; and so his points were better than average. Then came the wrestling. Now his brothers, being heavy and brutish, were good wrestlers. Also, because they were used to giving Ayrish the occasional clout, they did not worry that he would be in the circle with themselves and the best of the other young men. They were sure that they could beat him and all the others together, and so take their pick of the village girls. Aye, and the brother who was champion wrestler, he would then lay claim to Leela. So they thought . . .

  The pebble circle was prepared and the contestants stepped within, and when the Elders clapped their hands, then the youths were at it. And in a very little while, only four remained within the circle: Ayrish and his brothers.

  Now they banded together and circled about Ayrish, intending to have done with him before fighting among themselves; but where they were now weary, he was fresh and fast as ever. As they came at him he tripped one and winded another, then went to throw the weakest from the ring. But this one threw sand in his eyes and near-blinded him, which was a foul. Maddened, Ayrish lashed out and broke the other’s jaw, so that now only two brothers faced him.

  Of this pair the winded one tried to get behind him while the other came in like a bull, and the first grabbed him round the neck to choke him while the other butted him; and this too was foul fighting. Angered again, Ayrish kicked one in the crotch and booted him from the circle, then turned on the largest of the three who clung to his neck. Aye, and he thrashed him soundly; but in the fighting, blind with blood and passion, both men reeled from the ring together.

  Now the points were counted and a draw declared, and Ayrish was asked which maid he would claim. He claimed Leela—but so did his brutish brother!

  A tie-breaker was organised (spear-casting, at which Ayrish was reckoned the inferior of the two) and targets were placed upright in the ground. But then, before the contest could begin, the brutish one spoke up:

  “Away with the targets! I have my target: it is the ill-mannered, ill-clad ingrate who presumes to call me brother! When I make my cast, it shall be directly at him—if he has the stomach for it . . .”

  “That will suit me very well,” answered Ayrish.

  Seeing the bad blood between them—and because they had chosen the same maid, which could only lead to later troubles; also because several of the Elders were the friends of Ayrish’s foster-father, and knew that he favoured his true son—all were agreed that the twain should cast to the death: and this was the way of it. They would toss a coin, and the winner would make first cast from a distance of fifty yards while the loser stood blindfolded and motionless. If the cast missed its mark, then the other should throw, and so on, until such time as one was struck dead.

  The swinish one won the toss and hurled his spear at Ayrish across the paced-out distance. Perhaps his aim was off, or perhaps Leela’s prayers were answered, for the spear passed between the left arm and body of Ayrish, harming him not. Then it was his cast.

  The other was blindfolded, the distance once more paced out and a marker set, and Ayrish began his run; but hearing the thudding of his feet, the brutish brother cried out in terror, snatched off his bandage and ran away. At the appointed mark, Ayrish let fly his shaft—which cut the other down in mid-flight and pinned him dead to the earth. Thus ended the games.

  Now the victor turned to the two remaining brothers, one holding his jaw and the other holding his groin, and said: “So be it. Now are you satisfied, brothers mine? Or would you, too, challenge me?” Which offer both declined.

  Then Ayrish went to Leela’s father and asked for her, but her father said: “Not so fast, young man! Can you provide a house for her?”

  “I shall make a home for her,” Ayrish answered.

  “Good!” said the other. “When you have done that, then we shall talk again.” And he laughed, for there was no cave left in all the valley, so that he was sure Ayrish would fail to make a home for Leela.

  “Will you give me one year?” asked Ayrish.

  “I will not!” replied the other. “Must my daughter wait a year for a man to provide a house for her? I will give you a six-month
, and not a day more.”

  And Ayrish had to be satisfied with that . . .

  VIII

  The youth told Leela what he was about, said his farewells to the tearful girl and straightway went to his boat. Now the boat in fact belonged to his foster-father, a small vessel with oars and a sail; but the owner, tearing his hair and grieving the loss of a son, made no protest and let him take it; and the two remaining sons were likewise glad to be shot of him. All except Leela, who waved farewell to her man as he set sail out of the bay.

  And for many days Ayrish sailed south, hugging the coast and searching for a likely spot whereon to build a house for Leela. At last he came upon a place much like the valley of New Bhur-Esh but smaller, where green-clad cliffs guarded a calm bay whose waters were shielded from the ocean’s tumult by a low-lying reef; and at length he found a passage and sailed his fragile craft in to a safe harbour.

  Now Ayrish walked upon a golden beach and stepped beneath the shade of cool trees where parrots perched amid clusters of great nuts, and he saw that the earth was fertile and its fruits plentiful. Wild pigs rooted in the bushes, curious of Ayrish and unafraid, and pigeons nested in the forest bowers and made soft song. The air was sweet here, with nothing of the stink of volcanoes, and a stream of fresh water sparkled and ran down from the cliffs to a pool, and from there to the sea. And Ayrish explored the forest and stream and entire valley, even to the foot of the tall, unscalable cliffs, and found no other person dwelling there; whereupon he knew that this was where he must build Leela’s house.

  He found a cave in the white cliffs where they were draped with ivy, and a series of caves within, all hollowed out long ages gone when the pounding ocean was deeper; and many of these lesser caves were like windows which gazed out upon the shore and the valley and forest. So Ayrish found his house, and now he set about to put it in order. He paved the floors with rose-tinted, curiously veined stones from the beach, and he built steps and stairs of felled trees and tough creepers. He painted many of the white walls with the delicate blue dye of sea-snails, which were plentiful on the shore, and he planted orchids from the forest in the cliff ledges about the ivy-hung windows. And all in all his house was finer than any house in all the wizard-haunted valley of the volcano.

  Then, when all was done, he set sail for New Bhur-Esh; but not with so light a heart as might be reckoned. No, for he was troubled by recurring thoughts of the necromancer Arborass, and of the time of the sacrifice, which again approached. Aye, and he was anxious; for Leela must once more draw a numbered stone from the sack, and yet another maiden must go with Arborass to the isle of the volcano-god, rowed out to sea by his worm-ravaged crew and never seen again. These were the thoughts which troubled Ayrish as he set his sails north, but in his wily mind he had a plan.

  Quite simply, he would return to New Bhur-Esh, speak to Leela’s father, and before the day of the choosing of the sacrificial maid he would steal Leela away and return with her to their new home. Aye, and if her father and family had any sense at all, then would they give up their riches and belongings—which could provide little of pleasure in a place such as the lava-valley—and leave the tribe to its lot, returning with the lovers to a new and happier life and clime. So thought Ayrish . . .

  Alas, a storm blew up one day that wrecked him on a wild shore of barren scrubland; and because his boat was broken, now Ayrish must journey on foot. Day after day he ran and rested, ran and rested, eating what he could find and drinking wherever he found fresh water. And when he slept, which was rarely, still it seemed that he was running; and in his nightmares a hissing river of smoky lava surged ever nearer.

  Until at length he was come to New Bhur-Esh, and clambering and sliding down the lava crags went straight to Leela’s house, even bearded and in his tatters, and there presented himself—at a door freshly painted with the thick black pitch of sorrow! And even thundering at the door, Ayrish knew what this foretokened.

  His Leela was gone, taken that very hour and rowed out to Ashtah by Arborass’ sere mummy servitors!

  Now Ayrish waxed wroth, and taking Leela’s father by the neck he shook him and cursed his name, saying: “Oh, you, who promised her to me: what madness is this, that you have let the necromancer take her? Why is Arborass not dead first—or you, dead?—but not her, taken!” And such was his grief and rage that he was like to throttle the man and murder all his household.

  Then Leela’s mother spoke up, crying, “It was not all his fault, Ayrish—though as much his as anyone’s. He thought your brothers might save her.”

  “Them?” cried the agonised youth. “Why them?”

  “When you were gone they paid her court, but she would have none of them. And they swore that if her number was on the last pebble in the sack, then that they would protect her with their own lives. And still she would have nothing of them. And the last pebble did have her number, and when the wizard came for her, because your brothers feared the wrath of the volcano-God, they did nothing!”

  “They are not my brothers but men of this accursed valley!” cried Ayrish. “And you lava-lovers never do anything!” And he hurled the near-throttled master of the house aside like a rag doll.

  Next he ran to the cave of his foster-father and battered down the door, and striding in he sought out that pair he once had called brothers. Drunk they were and swinish, but he rattled their heads together and tossed them forth, and dragged them down to the beach and doused them in the sea. And when they were sober he said to them:

  “So, and would you steal my woman away in my absence? Aye, and then let Arborass take her without ever lifting a finger? Very well, now you shall lift a finger, and more than that if you value your lives. For if Leela dies, be sure your own lives are forfeit!”

  Now the rest of that day Ayrish ate good meat and red, and he drank sweet water and a little wine; and all who saw him as he racked his desperate brain and stamped to and fro on the beach—bearded, ragged, wild and red-eyed—thought he must be mad. His once-called brothers thought so too, and grovelling in the sand as he cursed them, they made plans of their own.

  Then, as the smoky sun sank down into the Unknown Ocean, limning Ashtah a black silhouette, and as the sea grew darkly green, Ayrish dragged the cowards aboard a boat and set sail for the volcano isle; and all who saw them go knew that they would never see them again . . .

  IX

  Now when their boat was out beyond the bay and half-way sailed toward its doleful destiny, then Ayrish and the brothers felt an unaccustomed swirl to the waters and a current which tugged them ever faster toward fire-crested Ashtah. There was only a crescent moon, and this half-hidden by sulphurous clouds, and something of a murky mist lay on the sea which gave them good cover. But the current which drew them unerringly toward the volcano isle was strange, and with all of his sailor’s craft Ayrish had no knowledge of it. He suspected, though, that it was more than merely the race of an ebbing tide.

  As for the brothers: they sat sullen and silent while Ayrish handled the tiller; and the closer they got to Ashtah, the more sallow their faces and nervous their shifty eyes. And as they went so Ayrish whispered his plan to them, which was this: that they would seek out Arborass in the night and kill him, drive a stake through his heart, cut off his head and burn him; which is the proper way to deal with wizards. The brothers heard him and grew more afraid of Ayrish than of the isle now looming from the mist, for surely was he mad.

  And as they ran on that strange and silent water, Ayrish lowered the sail and bade them take up the oars; and they closed with the black and craggy rocks of the place, and Ayrish jumped ashore and tied up the boat to a spur of lava. Then, while he was about this task, the brothers came up behind him and smote him with an oar, saying:

  “This for our brother, whom you slew! And farewell to you, madman, who would kill a wizard! What? A wizard? A man with the power to command volcanoes and the art to raise up the very dead? Aye, and if we see you again, foundling, surely it were pulling on Arborass’ o
ars with the rest of his tomb-risen crew!”

  And they left him there on the rocks, and manning the oars drew away into the night. And only then did they learn of the watchdog Arborass had set over the nighted island, which was the sea itself! For row as they might and however zestfully, still they could not pull free of the place, and dawn found them exhausted and adrift a stone’s throw from the lava crags of Ashtah’s shore.

  High in his eyrie—a corpse-constructed tower of black lava blocks and narrow windows, perched on the very rim of Ashtah’s throat—Arborass saw them there in the sea and sent his minion mummies to deal with them. Down went the soulless ones and into the necromancer’s boat, and out to sea where the brothers hauled on their oars once more in a useless frenzy. And the mummies cast spears through them where they sweated and toiled, and they fell into the sea.

  “So perish all who would sail too close in the night!” cried Arborass from on high, and laughing he returned to his diversions.

  Now Ayrish, who had awakened with the dawn and climbed to the foot of Arborass’ pile, heard the wizard’s words and saw the death of the brothers in their boat; and so he knew that the necromancer’s mummies were at sea and their master unprotected. Then he quickly found the tower’s door and passed through into the wizard’s lair; and he heard Arborass’ laughter echoing up from unseen vaults beneath.

  Following winding lava steps into the heart of the rock, Ayrish soundlessly descended and came upon the wizard in his inner sanctum. Now keeping silent and watching the doings of the man, he saw Arborass pass through a secret door, and in his turn he followed him. And in that innermost place, finally he saw Leela, all naked and lovely and a-swoon. She lay upon an altar-like slab which could be tilted by means of a lever, and the slab stood before a fiery blowhole whose rim was red with heat from Ashtah’s heart. And Ayrish saw that when the slab was tilted, then would Leela plunge to her doom in the liquid rock of Ashtah’s loins.