Sailor on the Seas of Fate - Michael Moorcock [11]
And at times, as they advanced cautiously inland, a peculiar flickering light sometimes crossed the island so that the outlines of the place became unsteady for a few seconds before returning to focus. Elric suspected his eyes and said nothing until Hown Serpent-tamer (who was having difficulty finding his land-legs) remarked:
"I have rarely been ashore, it's true, but I think the quality of this land is stranger than any other I've known. It shimmers. It distorts."
Several voices agreed with him.
"And from whence come all these shadows?" Ashnar the Lynx stared around him in unashamed superstitious awe. "Why cannot we see that which casts them?"
"It could be," Corum said, "that these are shadows cast by objects existing in other dimensions of the Earth. If all dimensions meet here, as has been suggested, that could be a likely explanation." He put his silver hand to his embroidered eye-patch. "This is not the strangest example I have witnessed of such a conjunction."
"Likely?" Otto Blendker snorted. "Pray let none give me an unlikely explanation, if you please!"
They pressed on through the shadows and the lurid light until they arrived at the outskirts of the ruins.
These ruins, thought Elric, had something in common with the ramshackle city of Ameeron, which he had visited on his quest for the Black Sword. But they were altogether more vast—more a collection of smaller cities, each one in a radically different architectural style.
"Perhaps this is Tanelorn," said Corum, who had visited the place, "or, rather, all the versions of Tanelorn there have ever been. For Tanelorn exists in many forms, each form depending upon the wishes of those who most desire to find her."
"This is not the Tanelorn I expected to find," said Hawkmoon bitterly.
"Nor I," added Erekosë bleakly.
"Perhaps it is not Tanelorn," said Elric. "Perhaps it is not."
"Or perhaps this is a graveyard," said Corum distantly, frowning with his single eye. "A graveyard containing all the forgotten versions of that strange city."
They began to clamber over the ruins, their arms clattering as they moved, heading for the center of the place. Elric could tell by the introspective expressions in the faces of many of his companions that they, like him, were wondering if this were not a dream. Why else should they find themselves in this peculiar situation, unquestioningly risking their lives—perhaps their souls—in a fight with which none of them was identified?
Erekosë moved closer to Elric as they marched. "Have you noticed," said he, "that the shadows now represent something?"
Elric nodded. "You can tell from the ruins what some of the buildings looked like when they were whole. The shadows are the shadows of those buildings—the original buildings before they became ruined."
"Just so," said Erekosë. Together, they shuddered.
At last they approached the likely center of the place and here was a building which was not ruined. It stood in a cleared space, all curves and ribbons of metal and glowing tubes.
"It resembles a machine more than a building," said Hawkmoon.
"And a musical instrument more than a machine," Corum mused.
The party came to a halt, each group of four gathering about its leader. There was no question but that they had arrived at their goal.
Now that Elric looked carefully at the building he could see that it was in fact two buildings—both absolutely identical and joined at various points by curling systems of pipes which might be connecting corridors, though it was difficult to imagine what manner of being could utilize them.
"Two buildings," said Erekosë. "We were not prepared for this. Shall we split up and attack both?"
Instinctively Elric felt that this action would be unwise. He shook his head. "I think we should go together into one, else our strength will be weakened."
"I agree," said Hawkmoon, and the rest nodded.
Thus, there being no cover to speak of, they marched boldly toward the nearest building to a point near the ground where