The Conan Compendium

by Various Authors

  "It seems that we have time. We'll find your substances, if they are to be found here. Can you get us back to the real world?"

  "Yes, through gates such as this one. The time must be right, and"

  "Good," Conan said, dismissing inessentials. "Are there people here?" He gazed up at something that flew overhead on membranous wings. It took no notice of them.

  "Of a sort. I have seen them in spirit-trance. They are not true men such as you and I, though. They"

  "How long until you know where we should look for Alcuina?" Conan asked abruptly.

  The old man looked about. "I see some of the plants I need right here. Doubtless the others will be nearby. Then I must build a fire, perform certain ceremonies and chants"

  "Wake me when you know something." Conan dropped his helmet, stripped off his corselet, and flung himself on the ground. Soon he was deep in sleep.

  Rerin shook his head in wonderment. Even in slumber the Cimmerian's hand still rested lightly upon his sword hilt.

  Conan awoke when the old man touched his shoulder. Rerin jerked back as he exploded to his feet, sword in fist. "It is only me, Conan. I have found a direction where we may look for Alcuina. It is not a definite location, but at least we'll not be wandering about tost."

  "Good," Conan said. He sheathed his blade and began to don his armor. "At least it is not too cold here."

  Indeed, it was like a mild spring day in the North, just cool enough to know that winter had not wholly departed. Conan folded his cloak and tossed it over one shoulder. His life had taken him to many strange places, ft was a consequence of being an adventurer. This was another strange place, and he could make his way anywhere.

  "Let us go find her," he said.

  For some time Alcuina thought she was mad. One moment she had been sitting in her bower, quietly talking with old Rerin. The next the log wall began to melt and flow, and a pack of nightmare demons entered in a burst of light, laying their .loathsome hands upon her. She had thought that she called her men in her usual commanding voice, only later realizing that she had been screaming. As she was borne out she heard a bellowing voice that she was sure belonged to Conan. Then there had been a period of scattered impressions, of sounds and sights and concepts so confused that now she was utterly disoriented.

  What was this place? For a moment she was afraid to breathe; the air appeared thick, as if it had turned to water. Giving in to the inevitable, she took a deep breath, then shuddered with relief. It was like any other air. Perhaps something had gone wrong with her vision. But then she realized that things nearby were perfectly clear. She could have wished otherwise, for now she saw clearly the nature of her captors.

  Before, their outline had been unstable. Now she saw that they were gaunt creatures, vaguely man-shaped but formed as obscene parodies of humankind. No two were quite alike, but bird-beaked faces mocked her. Beaks fringed with stubby tentacles flapped and clacked with obscene laughter. Their eyes were huge, bulging, and lidless, each with two slit irises and pupils. The hands that gripped were many-fingered and their gray skins coarse and pebbly, chafing her fair skin. Their smell was, if anything, worse than their aspect. They had set her upon the ground and seemed .to be conferring among themselves. Their attitude was watchful, but they did not seem threatening just now.

  She sat up and examined her surroundings. The turf beneath her felt strange. The grass was blue-green, very short and springy. She had never seen such grass. Some of the trees nearby looked familiar, others had feathery fronds and ringed trunks. Colorful birds flew overhead in panicked flight, pursued by a reptilian thing on membranous wings. Whatever this place was, it was not her familiar Northland. The air was cool, but not bitterly cold like the land from which she had been abducted.

  The creatures, deep in their deliberations, ignored her. Their voices croaked and clicked, and multijointed hands gestured excitedly. Something in their furtive aspect told her that this was alien territory to them as well, and that they sought not to draw attention. She wondered who or what they were afraid of. She knew better than to assume that the enemy of her enemy was her friend.

  That this was some machination of lilma on behalf of Totila she had no doubt. What it would lead to was another matter. She knew that she was on her own. None of her people could have followed them here. How could they? She fought off a wave of hopeless-ness. She was a queen, and she would not act like a terrified kitchen-girl. Her first priority was escape from these unthinkable creatures.

  In the distance, over the trees, she could see hazy mountains. She thought she could descry a hulking shape on the side of one of the nearer mountains, like some unthinkably huge hall. If so, it must be inhabited by giants such as had erected the wall surrounding her own hall. That did not look like a good direction in which to flee.

  She was resolved upon flight, and the present seemed to be as good a time as any. Her captors were preoccupied with their own bickering, and their fearful attitude was such that they might be more solicitous of their own safety than zealous in their pursuit of her. Surrepti-tiously, she gathered her legs beneath her.

  As the bickering ascended to a crescendo, she sprang to her feet and ran. Behind her rose loud hoots of consternation, but she did not look back. She had spotted the nearest patch of dense forest, and she headed straight for it. Sounds of pursuit grew closer, and something tugged at her fur robe. Shrugging out of her garment, she increased her pace and heard a disappointed screech from behind. Now she could run even faster. She took her fur-trimmed gown in both hands and pulled its hem above her knees as she ran, wishing there was some way for her to strip it off, too. Unfortunately it took the help of a maid just to lace her into the garment.

  Then she was among the trees, winding her way among the densest of them in hopes that the demons chasing her would find the terrain bewildering. So far they had shown little sign of intelligence. She darted between the tree trunks as lightly as a barren doe, and the sounds behind her grew frantic as the demons crashed through the undergrowth.

  The woods were dark and mysterious, but she limited herself to one fear at a time. The sounds of pursuit grew fainter, but she did not slack her pace, although her lungs burned with the effort. She leaped a small stream in which the water flowed with an odd slowness.

  At last, panting raggedly, she collapsed in a heap beneath a busy plant with dense, fleshy leaves. She crawled under it as far as she could go, trying not to

  breathe too loudly. She was almost certain that she was far enough ahead of the pursuit that she had not been seen taking cover. With every nerve stretched to the snapping point, she listened for the demons. Once she thought she heard shuffling sounds nearby, then nothing but the noises that apparently were common in this forest, not much different from the woodland sounds she was used to.

  Something lumbered by on big, soft feet, jarring her from a half slumber. She wondered how long she had been semiconscious. The light was dimming, and she wondered at this since she had been wide awake when she hid. Perhaps it was the shock catching up with her. She still felt oddly drowsy and lethargic. A bunch of the flowers of the plant she had taken refuge under hung before her face, giving off a heavy perfume. Idly she tried to brush the blossoms aside and found that she could not move her hand. With growing horror she felt her body pinioned by rootlike growths that trailed from the branches of the plant above her. Eyes wide, she realized that the ground beneath the bush was carpeted with the bones of animals.

  Trying to make little sound, she struggled for her life. Gradually the roots yielded. They had sent out fine, hairlike rootlets, which penetrated her clothing. The rootlets stung as they pulled away from her flesh. She thanked Ymir that the passing beast had awakened her before the evil plant had had a chance to kill her.

  One by one the roots tore away from her as she Aagged herself with her hands toward the open. With a flinging wrench, the roots binding her legs ripped loose. QojckJy she scrambled out from under the bush and lay, pBKing and exhausted, upon t
he ground.

  The darkness increased rapidly even as the fumes

  from the plant cleared from her head. A pearly, ambient light remained after the last of the sunlight was gone. What kind of place was this? She had been afraid of the demons. It had occurred to her to fear the beasts or people of this place. She had not expected that she would have to fear the plants as well. For the first time the extent of her isolation and danger was borne in upon her. Never had she been so lost and alone. She shivered upon the ground and not entirely from the cold. Where could she go from here? She was utterly exhausted, yet she dared not sleep, as much as she yearned for it.

  Shakily she got to her feet and examined herself. Her fine, fur-trimmed gown was in rags where the roots had torn away, exposing far more flesh than a well-bom northern lady was accustomed to display. Her fair skin was covered with welts where the rootlets had been pulled from her. It was a good thing, she reflected, that the weather here was so mild.

  The light grew stronger as the moon rose over the trees. It looked much like the moon she was used to, but it appeared much larger, and its color was greenish. She had never traveled far from her home, but she was fairly certain that people saw the same moon in all lands.

  She could neither smell nor hear the demons anywhere nearby, and direction seemed to be purely a matter of convenience, so she decided to go downhill. There were many clear pathways in the forest. She chose one that descended alongside one of the slow-flowing streams. There was little sound in the forest except for the occasional splash of a fish leaping in the stream.

  She had been walking by it for some time before she realized that something was odd about the stream. She

  stepped closer to the water and squinted at it. Unsure of her sight in the dimness, she found a light-colored leaf and tossed it in. She had been correct. The stream flowed uphill. None of the widely-traveled people she had spoken with had ever mentioned this happening in the far places of the world.

  In a half trance she staggered on for some time, until she wandered from the path and walked into a tree. The shock of hitting the unyielding trunk jolted her into wakefulness. It was plain that she must rest, but where could she do it safely? She came to an open glade that had no vegetation except the short, springy grass. She went to its center, as far as she could get from any large plants, and lay down. She was so numb from fatigue that she was unaware of the chill air or anything else. Gratefully she allowed sleep's black wings to enfold her.

  She awoke stiff and sore. Her body was bruised and scratched, and she was chilled to the bone, but she was rested and clearheaded. A night such as she had spent would have killed or at least seriously weakened a highborn woman of the more civilized parts of the world, but in the frozen North even the queens were hard as steel.

  She looked around her and gasped when she saw that a middling-sized tree stood near her. It had not been there when she had lain down to sleep, and now it was only a few paces from her. It stood upon a mass of tsogled roots, and she now saw that the roots were moving with almost imperceptible slowness. Long, Aorny, vinelike growths hung from its branches, and she had little doubt of their purpose.

  She rose hastily and walked away from the menacing ree Now, in daylight, she saw that she was at the foot

  of a mountain. Upon its slopes towered the great structure she had seen when she was still in the hands of the demons. That seemed impossible, for at that time it had appeared to be many leagues away, and she could have covered only a fraction of that distance in her flight. Could it be a similar hall on another mountain? And yet she had been sure that there were no mountains nearby when she made her escape. It was another mystery, but she put it from her mind. In any case she had no intention of going near that stronghold. It looked ominous, and she did not want to encounter the folk who might live in such a place.

  The rising sun, which at least appeared to be normal, gradually warmed her. She was very hungry, but what did she dare eat? In a place where plants walked and ate living victims, how was she to know which things were poisonous? She had no weapons for hunting and no skill at trapping, no hooks, line, or net for fishing. She could endure much privation, but if she did not eat today, she would weaken, making it harder for her to find food, making her easier prey.

  A lengthy, tiring trek brought her to level ground below the mountain when she heard a great commotion behind her. As she crossed a wide clearing she cursed her carelessness. She should have skirted it, keeping close to the tree line. The trees might be dangerous, but at least they seemed to be unable to catch moving prey. She broke into a run, striving to reach the tree line straight ahead, when she looked back to see a panicked beast break into the clearing. It was the size of a horse and had lyre-curved horns. Its hide was dappled white and brown. It ran straight for her but she could tell by its rolling eyes that it did not see her. She knew a hunted animal when she saw one.

  She had not reached the far trees when the hunters entered the glade. Flight was now out of the question; she turned to face them. They appeared to be men, and the animals they rode seemed to be horses, but she could not be sure. The riders were clothed in fantastic costumes of leather and cloth and metal, in many col-ors. Masks of fanciful design hid their faces. The mounts were likewise caparisoned gaily in bards of silken cloth, and their heads were adorned with horns and antlers and other outlandish ornamentation, clearly artificial. Little of the beasts was visible but for their hooves, which looked like true horse hooves except for their bright colors.

  One of the riders drew a short bow, and an arrow flew from it to plunge feather-deep into the fleeing beast's side. It staggered on a few more steps, then collapsed almost at Alcuina's feet. The riders rode up to her and reined in. Their speech sounded like the twitter-mg of birds, and one of them seemed to address her.

  She shook her head. "I do not understand you."

  They seemed taken aback. The one who had addressed her wore a hawk-mask covered with feathers, nd now he lifted it from his head, like a helmet. His features were elfin and his hair like spun silver. His eyes were featureless silver balls and his skin pale as "Are you from the world of men?" he asked. His

  ~ : revealed small, even teeth.

  What other world is there?" she asked.

  laughed

  pitched

  masks.

  They all seemed to find this highly amusing and uproariously, the sound of their laughter high-and warbling. Now the others removed their and they were so much alike that they might

  have been siblings. Some appeared to be women, but in their heavy, fanciful costumes sex was difficult to judge.

  A group of dwarfish figures emerged from the tree line, but die riders paid them no attention. The dwarfs ignored her as well and set about cutting up the dead beast with great efficiency.

  "What kind of person are you?" asked the one who had spoken before.

  "I am Alcuina, queen of the Cambres," she answered. They found this amusing as well.

  "What are Cambres?" asked another.

  "They are my people, my nation. I do not know what place this is, nor how I arrived here, but I must return home. I crave the boon of your hospitality until I may find a way to return." She had no idea who these people were, but their horses and rich clothing suggested that they were nobles. The tradition of hospitality between persons of high birth was observed everywhere that she had ever heard of, so she presumed that it would be so here as well.

  The strange people twittered among themselves for a moment, then the one who seemed to be their spokes-man said, "Very well, you shall be our guest. You shall ride with me."

  "I thank you." She reached up to mount behind him.

  His stature was not great, and he was slender, but he was inhumanly strong. He took her beneath her arms and lifted her easily to sit before him.

  With incredible speed the dwarfs had dismembered the dead animal and were now packing off the joints. One bore the lyre-horned head and another the hide, and only the hooves and a p
ile of offal remained upon the ground.

  The little group of hunters set off, taking a wide trail

  that led uphill. Alcuina sat with her spine straight, seeking to maintain her dignity in the midst of these daunting changes in her life. She was ashamed of her ragged condition, now little more than near-nudity. But she made no futile attempt to restore her appearance, knowing that it would only make her look more helpless.

  "Who are you?" she asked the man she rode with. "What manner of people are you?"

  "I am Hasta, and we are Getae, the masters of this, tbe Shifting Land."

  Alcuina thought this an odd name for a place. "How is it that you speak my tongue?"

  "Many of us speak the tongues of men. Those of us who practice the great arts need such facility with speech." As if to confirm this, another rider drew even with them. The face was similar to Hasta's but the voice, although husky, was feminine.

  "You appear to be in great distress, my dear. When we reach the castle I shall find you more suitable .- ,» Be.

  "Alcuina," Hasta said, "this is my sister, Sarissa. She is mistress of many arts."

  The two smiled at her. She did not like the way they smiled, but she had never seen such faces, so how could she know how to read their expressions?

  "And this," Hasta said, gesturing grandly, "is our home."

  Alcuina looked up the mountain path and saw, to her Aead, the great hall she had seen and-had wanted to avoid. It was made of greenish-black stone, and she cooid see no joints between blocks. It was as if the took structure had been carved from a single, massive Hock of stone. The doorway and the windows were rangely irregular, their outlines wavery and vague. It

  looked more like something that had grown there of itself than a thing built by human hands.

  They rode beneath the lintel of a great, gate way, its stone carved with peculiar and disturbing figures. Alcuina first stared at them, then looked quickly away. More of the dwarfs appeared to lead away the mounts.