reached the broad, slow-flowing river and could see, rising
on picturesque cliffs above the water, the town Elric sought. Meanwhile
Wheldrake declaimed the ballad’s last resounding couplets and seemed as
relieved as Elric that his composition was concluded.
The
town appeared to have been carved by fanciful master masons from the glinting
limestone of the cliffs and was reached by a fairly narrow track, evidently of
artificial construction in places, which wound above the rocks and white water
some distance below, rising gradually before it blended with the town’s chief
street to wind again between tall, many-storeyed dwellings and warehouses,
fanciful public buildings and statuary, topiary and elaborate flower-gardens to
become lost among a maze of other thoroughfares and alleys which lay below an
ancient castle, itself covered in vines and flowering creepers, dominating both
the town and the thirteen-arched bridge which spanned the river at its
narrowest point and crossed to a smaller settlement beyond where, evidently,
the wealthy citizens had built their pale villas.
The
town had an air of contented prosperity and Elric became optimistic as he saw
it lacked any real walls and clearly had not needed to defend itself against
aggressors for many years. Now a few local people, in bright, much-embroidered
clothing, very different in style from Elric’s or, indeed, Wheldrake’s, greeted
them cheerfully and openly, like men and women who know considerable security
and are used to strangers.
“If
they welcomed Gaynor, Prince Elric,” said Wheldrake, “then I would guess we
would not seem especially alien to them! This place has a Frenchified air to
it, reminding me of certain settlements along the Loire , though it lacks the characteristic
cathedral. Is there any clue, do you perceive, to their form of religion?”
“Perhaps
they have none,” said Elric. “I have heard of such races.” But clearly
Wheldrake disbelieved him.
“Even
the French have religion!”
The
road took them past the first houses, perched on rocks and terraces above them
and all displaying the richest flower-gardens Elric remembered. A scent came
off them, mingling with the faint smells of paint and cooking, and both
travelers found themselves relaxing, smiling at those who hailed them, until
Elric stopped for a moment and enquired of a young woman in a white and red
smock the name of the town.
“Why,
this is Agnesh-Val, sir. And across the river is Agnesh-Nal. How came you here,
gentlemen? Was your boat wrecked at the Forli rapid? You should go to the Distressed
Travelers House in Fivegroat Lane , just below Salt Pie Alley. They’ll feed
you there, at least. Do you carry the medal of the Insurer’s Guild?”
“I
regret not, madam.”
“Sadly,
then, you will be entitled only to our hospitality.”
“Which
would seem more than generous, lady,” said Wheldrake, offering her a rather
inappropriate wink before skipping to catch up with his friend.
Eventually,
through the twists and turns of the old, cobbled streets, they reached the
Distressed Travelers House, a gabled building of considerable antiquity which
leaned at all angles, as if too drunk to stand without the support of the
houses on either side of it, and whose beams and walls bulged and warped in
ways Elric would have thought impossible for natural matter not touched by
Chaos.
Within
the doorway of this establishment, seeming entirely of a piece with it, both in
terms of posture and of age, leaned and sprawled, his limbs at every angle, his
head this way, his hat that, a tooth jutting one direction, his pipe another, a
creature of such profound thinness and gauntness and melancholy that
on picturesque cliffs above the water, the town Elric sought. Meanwhile
Wheldrake declaimed the ballad’s last resounding couplets and seemed as
relieved as Elric that his composition was concluded.
The
town appeared to have been carved by fanciful master masons from the glinting
limestone of the cliffs and was reached by a fairly narrow track, evidently of
artificial construction in places, which wound above the rocks and white water
some distance below, rising gradually before it blended with the town’s chief
street to wind again between tall, many-storeyed dwellings and warehouses,
fanciful public buildings and statuary, topiary and elaborate flower-gardens to
become lost among a maze of other thoroughfares and alleys which lay below an
ancient castle, itself covered in vines and flowering creepers, dominating both
the town and the thirteen-arched bridge which spanned the river at its
narrowest point and crossed to a smaller settlement beyond where, evidently,
the wealthy citizens had built their pale villas.
The
town had an air of contented prosperity and Elric became optimistic as he saw
it lacked any real walls and clearly had not needed to defend itself against
aggressors for many years. Now a few local people, in bright, much-embroidered
clothing, very different in style from Elric’s or, indeed, Wheldrake’s, greeted
them cheerfully and openly, like men and women who know considerable security
and are used to strangers.
“If
they welcomed Gaynor, Prince Elric,” said Wheldrake, “then I would guess we
would not seem especially alien to them! This place has a Frenchified air to
it, reminding me of certain settlements along the Loire , though it lacks the characteristic
cathedral. Is there any clue, do you perceive, to their form of religion?”
“Perhaps
they have none,” said Elric. “I have heard of such races.” But clearly
Wheldrake disbelieved him.
“Even
the French have religion!”
The
road took them past the first houses, perched on rocks and terraces above them
and all displaying the richest flower-gardens Elric remembered. A scent came
off them, mingling with the faint smells of paint and cooking, and both
travelers found themselves relaxing, smiling at those who hailed them, until
Elric stopped for a moment and enquired of a young woman in a white and red
smock the name of the town.
“Why,
this is Agnesh-Val, sir. And across the river is Agnesh-Nal. How came you here,
gentlemen? Was your boat wrecked at the Forli rapid? You should go to the Distressed
Travelers House in Fivegroat Lane , just below Salt Pie Alley. They’ll feed
you there, at least. Do you carry the medal of the Insurer’s Guild?”
“I
regret not, madam.”
“Sadly,
then, you will be entitled only to our hospitality.”
“Which
would seem more than generous, lady,” said Wheldrake, offering her a rather
inappropriate wink before skipping to catch up with his friend.
Eventually,
through the twists and turns of the old, cobbled streets, they reached the
Distressed Travelers House, a gabled building of considerable antiquity which
leaned at all angles, as if too drunk to stand without the support of the
houses on either side of it, and whose beams and walls bulged and warped in
ways Elric would have thought impossible for natural matter not touched by
Chaos.
Within
the doorway of this establishment, seeming entirely of a piece with it, both in
terms of posture and of age, leaned and sprawled, his limbs at every angle, his
head this way, his hat that, a tooth jutting one direction, his pipe another, a
creature of such profound thinness and gauntness and melancholy that
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