Sailor on the Seas of Fate - Michael Moorcock [23]
The screams, the imploring, terrified shouts, were closer now, but there were fewer of them. Glancing over the side, Elric thought he saw a pair of armored hands rising from the water; there was foam, red-flecked and noxious, and there was yellowish scum in which pieces of frightful flotsam drifted; there were broken timbers, scraps of canvas, tatters of flags and clothing, fragments of weapons, and, increasingly, there were floating corpses.
"But where was the battle?" Blendker whispered, fascinated and horrified by the sight.
"Not on this plane," the captain told him. "You see only the wreckage which has drifted over from one world to another."
"Then it was a supernatural battle?"
The captain smiled again. "I am not omniscient. But, yes, I believe there were supernatural agencies involved. The warriors of half a world fought in the sea-battle—to decide the fate of the multiverse. It is—or will be—one of the decisive battles to determine the fate of Mankind, to fix Man's destiny for the coming Cycle."
"Who were the participants?" asked Elric, voicing the question in spite of his resolve. "What were the issues as they understood them?"
"You will know in time, I think." The captain's head faced the sea again.
Blendker sniffed the air. "Ach! It's foul!"
Elric, too, found the odor increasingly unpleasant. Here and there now the water was lighted by guttering fires which revealed the faces of the drowning, some of whom still managed to cling to pieces of blackened driftwood. Not all the faces were human (though they had the appearance of having, once, been human): Things with the snouts of pigs and of bulls raised twisted hands to the Dark Ship and grunted plaintively for succor, but the captain ignored them and the steersman held his course.
Fires spluttered and water hissed; smoke mingled with the mist. Elric had his sleeve over his mouth and nose and was glad that the smoke and mist between them helped obscure the sights, for as the wreckage grew thicker not a few of the corpses he saw reminded him more of reptiles than of men, their pale, lizard bellies spilling something other than blood.
"If that is my future," Elric told the captain, "I've a mind to remain on board, after all."
"You have a duty, as have I," said the captain quietly. "The future must be served, as much as the past and the present."
Elric shook his head. "I fled the duties of an empire because I sought freedom," the albino told him. "And freedom I must have."
"No," murmured the captain. "There is no such thing. Not yet. Not for us. We must go through much more before we can even begin to guess what freedom is. The price for the knowledge alone is probably higher than any you would care to pay at this stage of your life. Indeed, life itself is often the price."
"I also sought release from metaphysics when I left Melniboné," said Elric. "I'll get the rest of my gear and take the land that's offered. With luck this Crimson Gate will be quickly found and I'll be back among dangers and torments which will, at least, be familiar."
"It is the only decision you could have made." The captain's blind head turned toward Blendker. "And you, Otto Blendker? What shall you do?"
"Elric's world is not mine and I like not the sound of those screams. What can you promise me, sir, if I sail on with you?"
"Nothing but a good death." There was regret in the captain's voice.
"Death is the promise we're all born with, sir. A good death is better than a poor one. I'll sail on with you."
"As you like. I think you're wise." The captain sighed. "I'll say farewell to you, then, Elric of Melniboné. You fought well in my service and I thank you."
"Fought for what?" Elric asked.
"Oh, call it Mankind. Call it Fate. Call it a dream or an ideal, if you wish."
"Shall I never have a clearer answer?"
"Not from me. I do not think there is one."
"You allow a man little faith." Elric began to descend the companionway.
"There are two kinds of faith, Elric. Like freedom, there is a kind which is easily kept but proves not worth the keeping, and there