Elric in the Dream Realms - Michael Moorcock [15]
“Exactly,” said Elric.
“And so the path to the Fortress shall, of course, be revealed.”
Elric nodded with gravity and as if in confirmation.
“And a man such as yourself, with a knowledge at once supernatural and not supernatural, who can tread between reality and unreality, who knows the ways along the borders of dreams and waking, may break through the defenses, overwhelm the guardians, and steal the Pearl!” Lord Gho’s voice was a mixture both lascivious, venal and hotly excited.
“Indeed,” said the Emperor of Melniboné.
Lord Gho took Elric’s reticence for discretion. “Would you steal that pearl for me, Sir Thief?”
Elric gave the matter apparent consideration before he spoke. “There is considerable danger in the stealing, I would guess.”
“Of course. Of course. Our people are now convinced that none but one of your craft is able even to enter the Fortress, let alone reach the Pearl itself!”
“And where lies this Fortress of the Pearl?”
“I suppose at the Heart of the World.”
Elric frowned.
“After all,” said Lord Gho with some impatience, “the jewel is known as the Pearl at the Heart of the World is it not?”
“I follow your reasoning,” said Elric, and resisted an urge to scratch the back of his head. Instead he considered a further draught of the marvelous elixir, although he was growing increasingly disturbed, both by Lord Gho’s conversation and the fact that the pale liquid was so delicious to him. “But surely there is some other clue …?”
“I had thought such things your sphere, Sir Thief. You must go, of course, to the Silver Flower Oasis. It is the time when the nomads hold one of their gatherings. Some significance, no doubt, concerning the Blood Moon. It is most likely that at the Silver Flower Oasis the path will be opened to you. You have heard of the oasis, naturally.”
“I have no map, I fear,” Elric informed him, a little lamely.
“That will be provided. You have never traveled the Red Road?”
“As I’ve explained, I’m a stranger to your empire, Lord Gho.”
“But your geographies and histories must concern themselves with us!”
“I fear we are a little ignorant, my lord. We of the Young Kingdoms, so long in the shadow of wicked Melniboné, had not the opportunity to discover the joys of learning.”
Lord Gho raised his unnatural eyebrows. “Yes,” he said, “that would be the case, of course. Well, well, Sir Thief, we’ll provide you with a map. But the Red Road’s easy enough to follow since it leads from Quarzhasaat to the Silver Flower Oasis and beyond are only the mountains the nomads call the Ragged Pillars. They’re of no interest to you, I think. Unless the Path of the Pearl takes you through them. That’s a mysterious road and not, you’ll appreciate, marked on any conventional map. At least none that we possess. And our libraries are the most sophisticated in the world.”
So determined was Elric to get the best from his reprieve that he was prepared to continue with this farce until he was clear of Quarzhasaat and riding for the Young Kingdoms again. “And a steed, I hope. You’ll give me a mount?”
“The finest. Will you need to redeem your crooked staff? Or is that merely a kind of sign of your calling?”
“I can find another.”
Lord Gho put his hand to his peculiar beard. “Just as you say, Sir Thief.”
Elric determined to change the subject. “You have said little about the nature of my fee.” He drained his goblet and clumsily Lord Gho filled it again.
“What would you usually ask?” said the Quarzhasaati.
“Well, this is an unusual commission.” Elric grew amused again at the situation. “You understand that there are very few of my skill or indeed standing, even in the Young Kingdoms, and fewer still who come to Quarzhasaat …”
“If you bring me that specific pearl, Sir Thief, you will have all manner of wealth. At least enough to make you one of the most powerful men in the Young Kingdoms. I would furnish you with an entire nobleman’s household. Clothes, jewels, a palace, slaves. Or, if you wished to continue your travels, a caravan capable of purchasing a whole nation in the Young