Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
Tales of Averoigne By Clark Ashton Smith
Table of Contents
The Abominations of Yondo.............................................................................1 Yondo.............................................................................1 The Beast of Averoigne..................................................................................... Averoigne.....................................................................................44 The Colossus of Ylourgne................. Ylourgne.. .............................. .............................. ............................. ............................. ................... ....12 12 The Coming of the White Worm....................................................................2 The !isinterment !isintermen t of "enus....................... "enus........ .............................. ............................. ............................. .......................... ...........41 41 The #n$hantress of Sylaire...............................................................................4% Sylaire...............................................................................4% The &oliness of A'(dara$................................................................................ A'(dara$................................................................................% % The )aker of *argoyles.................................................................................. *argoyles..................................................................................+4 +4 The )andrakes.................................................................................................,2 )andrakes.................................................................................................,2 The )other of Toads........................................................................................,% Toads........................................................................................,% A -ende'vous -ende'vou s in Averoigne............................. Averoigne.............. ............................. ............................. .............................. ..................., , The Abominations of Yondo The sand of the desert of Yondo is not as the sand of other deserts/ for Yondo lies nearest of all to the 0orlds rim/ and strange 0inds blo0ing from a 3it no astronomer may ho3e to fathom have so0n its ruinous fields 0ith the gray dust of $orroding 3lanets the bla$k ashes of etinguish etinguished ed suns. suns. The dark dark orblike orblike mountains mountains 0hi$h rise from its 0rinkled and 3itted 3lain are not all its o0n for some are fallen asteroids half5 buried in that abysmal sand. Things have $re3t in from nether s3a$e 0hose in$ursion is forbid by the gods of all 3ro3er and 0ell5ordered lands/ but there are no su$h gods in Yondo 0here live the hoary genii of stars abolished and de$re3it demo demons ns left left home homeles lesss by the the destr destru$ u$ti tion on of anti6uated hells. 7t 0as noon of a vernal day 0hen 7 $ame forth from that interminable $a$tus5forest in 0hi$h the 7n6uisitors of 8ng had left me and sa0 at my feet the gray beginnings of Yondo. 7 re3eat it 0as noon of a vernal day/ but in that fantasti$ 0ood 7 had found no token or memory of a s3ring/ and the s0ollen fulvous dying and half5 rotten gro0ths through 0hi$h 7 had 3ushed my
0ay 0ere like no other $a$ti but bore sha3es of abomination s$ar$ely to be des$ribed. The very air 0as heavy 0ith stagnant odors of de$ay/ and le3rous le3rous li$hens li$hens mottled the bla$k bla$k soil and russet russet vegeta vegetatio tion n 0ith 0ith in$rea in$reasin sing g fre6ue fre6uen$y n$y.. 9ale5 9ale5 green green vi3ers vi3ers lifted lifted their their heads heads from from 3rost 3rostrat rate e $a$t $a$tus us5b 5bol oles es and and 0at$ 0at$he hed d me 0ith 0ith eyes eyes of bright o$hre that had no lids or 3u3ils. These things had dis6uieted me for hours 3ast/ and 7 did not like like the mon monstr strous ous fungi fungi 0ith 0ith hueles huelesss stems and nodding heads of 3oisonous 3oisonous mauve 0hi$h gre0 from the sodden li3s of fetid tarns/ and the sinister sinister ri33les s3reading s3reading and fading fading on the the yell yello0 o0 0ate 0aterr at my a33r a33roa oa$h $h 0ere 0ere not not reassu reassurin ring g to one 0hose 0hose nerves nerves 0ere 0ere still still taut taut from unmentionable tortures. Then 0hen even the blot$h blot$hed ed and si$kly si$kly $a$ti $a$ti be$am be$ame e more s3arse and stunted and rills of ashen sand $re3t in among them 7 began to sus3e$t ho0 great 0as the hatred my heresy had aroused in the 3ries riests ts of 8ng 8ng and and to gue uesss the the ulti ultima mate te malignan$y of their vengean$e. 7 0ill not detail the indis$retions 0hi$h had led me a $areless stranger from far5off lands into the the 3o0e 3o0err of thos those e drea dreadf dful ul magi magi$i $ian anss and and myster mysteriar iar$hs $hs 0ho serve serve the lion5h lion5hea eaded ded 8ng. 8ng.
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These indis$ These indis$reti retions ons and the 3arti$ 3arti$ula ulars rs of my arrest are 3ainful to remember/ and least of all do 7 like to remember the ra$ks of dragon5gut stre0n 0ith 3o0dered adamant on 0hi$h men are stret$hed naked/ or that unlit room 0ith si5 in$h 0indo0s near the sill 0here bloated $or3se 0orms $ra0led in by hundreds from a neighboring neighboring $ata$omb. $ata$omb. Suffi$ient Suffi$ient to say that that after e3ending the resour$es of their frightful fantasy my in6uisitors had borne me blindfolded on $amel5ba$k for in$om3utable hours to leave me at morning t0ilight in that sinister forest. 7 0as free they told me to go 0hither 0hither 7 0ould/ 0ould/ and in token of the $lemen$y of 8ng they gave me a loaf of $oarse bread and a leathern bottle of rank 0ater by 0ay of 3rovision. 7t 0as at noon of the the same same day day that that 7 $ame $ame to the the dese desert rt of Yondo. So far 7 had not thought of turning ba$k for all the horror of those rotting $a$ti or the evil things that d0elt among them. :o0 7 3aused kno0ing the abominable legend of the land to 0hi$h 7 had $ome/ for Yondo is a 3la$e 0here fe0 have ventu venture red d 0itt 0itting ingly ly and and of thei theirr o0n o0n a$$o a$$ord rd.. ;e0er ;e0er still still have returned 5 babbling babbling of unkno0n unkno0n horrors and strange treasure/ and the life5long 3alsy 0hi$h shakes their 0ithered limbs together 0ith 0ith the the mad mad glea gleam m in thei theirr star startting ing eyes eyes beneath 0hitened bro0s and lashes is not an in$entive for others to follo0. So it 0as that 7 hesitated on the verge of those ashen sands and felt the tremor of a ne0 fear in my 0ren$hed vitals. 7t 0as dreadful to go on and dreadful to go ba$k for 7 felt sure that the 3riests had mad made 3rovision against the latter $ontin $ontingen gen$y $y.. So after after a littl little e 7 0ent 0ent for0ar for0ard d singin singing g at ea$h ea$h ste3 in loath loathly ly softne softness ss and follo0ed by $ertain long5legged inse$ts that 7 had met among the $a$ti. These inse$ts 0ere the $olor of a 0eek5old $or3se and 0ere as large as tarantulas/ but 0hen 7 turned and trod u3on the foremost a me3hiti$ sten$h arose that 0as more nauseous even than their $olor. So for the non$e 7 ignored them as mu$h as 3ossible. 7ndeed 7ndeed su$h su$h things things 0ere 0ere minor minor horror horrorss in my 3redi$ament. Before me under a huge sun of si$kly si$kly s$arle s$arlet t Yondo Yondo rea$he rea$hed d interm intermina inable ble as the land of a hashish5dream against the bla$k heavens. ;ar5off on the utmost rim 0ere those
orb5like mountains of 0hi$h 7 have told/ but in bet0een 0ere a0ful blanks of gray desolation and lo0 treeless hills like the ba$ks of half5buried monsters. Struggling on 7 sa0 great 3its 0here meteors had sunk from sight/ and divers5$olored
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These indis$ These indis$reti retions ons and the 3arti$ 3arti$ula ulars rs of my arrest are 3ainful to remember/ and least of all do 7 like to remember the ra$ks of dragon5gut stre0n 0ith 3o0dered adamant on 0hi$h men are stret$hed naked/ or that unlit room 0ith si5 in$h 0indo0s near the sill 0here bloated $or3se 0orms $ra0led in by hundreds from a neighboring neighboring $ata$omb. $ata$omb. Suffi$ient Suffi$ient to say that that after e3ending the resour$es of their frightful fantasy my in6uisitors had borne me blindfolded on $amel5ba$k for in$om3utable hours to leave me at morning t0ilight in that sinister forest. 7 0as free they told me to go 0hither 0hither 7 0ould/ 0ould/ and in token of the $lemen$y of 8ng they gave me a loaf of $oarse bread and a leathern bottle of rank 0ater by 0ay of 3rovision. 7t 0as at noon of the the same same day day that that 7 $ame $ame to the the dese desert rt of Yondo. So far 7 had not thought of turning ba$k for all the horror of those rotting $a$ti or the evil things that d0elt among them. :o0 7 3aused kno0ing the abominable legend of the land to 0hi$h 7 had $ome/ for Yondo is a 3la$e 0here fe0 have ventu venture red d 0itt 0itting ingly ly and and of thei theirr o0n o0n a$$o a$$ord rd.. ;e0er ;e0er still still have returned 5 babbling babbling of unkno0n unkno0n horrors and strange treasure/ and the life5long 3alsy 0hi$h shakes their 0ithered limbs together 0ith 0ith the the mad mad glea gleam m in thei theirr star startting ing eyes eyes beneath 0hitened bro0s and lashes is not an in$entive for others to follo0. So it 0as that 7 hesitated on the verge of those ashen sands and felt the tremor of a ne0 fear in my 0ren$hed vitals. 7t 0as dreadful to go on and dreadful to go ba$k for 7 felt sure that the 3riests had mad made 3rovision against the latter $ontin $ontingen gen$y $y.. So after after a littl little e 7 0ent 0ent for0ar for0ard d singin singing g at ea$h ea$h ste3 in loath loathly ly softne softness ss and follo0ed by $ertain long5legged inse$ts that 7 had met among the $a$ti. These inse$ts 0ere the $olor of a 0eek5old $or3se and 0ere as large as tarantulas/ but 0hen 7 turned and trod u3on the foremost a me3hiti$ sten$h arose that 0as more nauseous even than their $olor. So for the non$e 7 ignored them as mu$h as 3ossible. 7ndeed 7ndeed su$h su$h things things 0ere 0ere minor minor horror horrorss in my 3redi$ament. Before me under a huge sun of si$kly si$kly s$arle s$arlet t Yondo Yondo rea$he rea$hed d interm intermina inable ble as the land of a hashish5dream against the bla$k heavens. ;ar5off on the utmost rim 0ere those
orb5like mountains of 0hi$h 7 have told/ but in bet0een 0ere a0ful blanks of gray desolation and lo0 treeless hills like the ba$ks of half5buried monsters. Struggling on 7 sa0 great 3its 0here meteors had sunk from sight/ and divers5$olored
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inse$ts had long sin$e $eased to follo0 me/ and so far far des3 des3ite ite the the eeri eerine ness ss of the the se3u se3ul$h l$hra rall silen$e and the mounded dust of timeless ruin 7 had met nothing half so horrible as those inse$ts. 7 began to think that the terrors of Yondo 0ere some0hat eaggerated. 7t 0as then that 7 heard a diaboli$ $hu$kle on the hillside above me. The soun sound d bega began n 0ith 0ith a shar shar3 3 abru abru3t 3tne ness ss that that startled me beyond all reason and $ontinued endlessly never varying its single note like the mirth of an idioti$ demon. 7 turned and sa0 the mout mo uth h of a dark dark $ave $ave fang fanged ed 0ith 0ith gree green n stala$tites 0hi$h 7 had not 3er$eived before. The sound a33eared to $ome from 0ithin this $ave. With a fearful intentness 7 stared at the bla$k o3ening. The $hu$kle gre0 louder but for a0hile 7 $ould see nothing. At last 7 $aught a 0hitish glim glimme merr in the the dark darkne ness ss// then then 0ith 0ith all all the the ra3i ra3idi dity ty of nig nightma htmare re a mo mons nstr trou ouss Thi Thing emerged. 7t had a 3ale hairless egg5sha3ed body large as that of a gravid she5goat/ and this body 0as mounted on nine long 0avering legs 0ith ith man many fla flanges nges lik like the leg legs of some some enormous s3ider. The $reature ran 3ast me to the 0aters edge/ and 7 sa0 that there 0ere no eyes in its oddly slo3ing fa$e/ but t0o knife5like ears ears rose rose high high abov above e its its head head and and a thin thin 0rin 0rinkl kled ed snou snoutt hung hung do0n do0n a$ro a$ross ss its its mo mouth uth 0hose flabby li3s 3arted in that eternal $hu$kle revealed ro0s of bats teeth. 7t drank a$idly of the bitter lake then 0ith thirst satisfied satisfied it turned and and seem seemed ed to sens sense e my 3res 3resen en$e $e for for the the 0rinkl 0rinkled ed snout snout rose rose and 3ointe 3ointed d to0ard to0ard me sniffi sniffing ng audib audibly. ly. Whethe Whetherr the $reatu $reature re 0ould 0ould have fled or 0hether it meant to atta$k me 7 do not kno0/ for 7 $ould bear the sight no longer but ran ran 0ith 0ith trem trembl blin ing g limb limbss amid amid the the mas massive sive boul boulde ders rs and and grea greatt bars bars of salt salt alon along g the the lakeshore. =tterly breathless 7 sto33ed at last and sa0 that 7 0as not 3ursued 7 sat do0n still trembling in the shad shado0 o0 of a boul boulde der. r. But 7 0as 0as to find find litt little le res3 res3it ite e for for no0 no0 bega began n the the se$o se$ond nd of thos those e bi'arre adventures 0hi$h for$ed me to believe all the mad legends 7 had heard. )ore startling even than that diaboli$ $hu$kle 0as the s$ream that hat ros rose at my very very elb elbo0 from from the the salt5 $om3ounded sand 5 the s$ream of a 0oman
3ossessed by some atro$ious agony or hel3less in the gri3 of devils. Turning 7 beheld a veritable "enus naked in a 0hite 3erfe$tion that $ould fear no s$rutiny but immersed to her navel in the sand. &er terror50idened eyes im3lored me and her lotus hands rea$hed out 0ith besee$hing gesture. 7 s3rang to her side 5 and tou$hed a marble statue 0hose $arven lids 0ere droo3ed in some enigmati$ dream of dead $y$les and 0hose hands 0ere buried 0ith the lost loveliness of hi3s and thighs. Again 7 fled shaken 0ith a ne0 fear/ and again 7 heard the s$ream of a 0omans agony. But this time 7 did not turn to see the im3loring eyes and hands. =3 the long slo3e to the north of that a$$ursed lake stumbling over boulders of basanite and ledges ledges that 0ere shar3 0ith verdigris5 verdigris5$overe $overed d metal metals/ s/ flound flounderi ering ng in 3its 3its of salt salt on terra$ terra$es es 0rought by the re$eding tide in an$ient aeons. 7 fled as a man flies from dream to baleful dream of some $a$odemonia$a $a$odemonia$all night. At 0hiles 0hiles there 0as a $old 0his3er in my ear 0hi$h did not $ome from the 0ind of my flight/ and looking ba$k as 7 rea$hed one of the u33er terra$es 7 3er$eived a singular shado0 that ran 3a$e by 3a$e 0ith my o0n. This shado0 0as not the shado0 of man nor a3e nor any kno0n beast/ the head 0as too grotes6uely elongated the s6uat body too gibbous / and 7 0as unable to determine 0hether the shado0 3ossessed five legs or 0hether 0hat a33eared to be the fifth 0as merely a tail. Terror lent me ne0 strength and 7 had rea$hed the hillto3 0hen 7 dared to look ba$k again. But still still the fantas fantasti$ ti$ shado0 shado0 ke3t 3a$e 3a$e by 3a$e 3a$e 0ith 0ith mine mine// and and no0 no0 7 $aug $aught ht a $uri $uriou ouss and and utterly si$kening odor foul as the odor of bats 0ho have hung in a $harnel5house amid the mold of $orru3tion. 7 ran for leagues 0hile the red sun slanted above the asteroidal mountains to the 0est/ and the 0eird shado0 lengthened 0ith mine but ke3t al0ays at the same distan$e behind me. An hour before sunset 7 $ame to a $ir$le of small 3illars that rose mira$ulously unbroken amid ruins that that 0ere 0ere like like a vast vast 3ile 3ile of 3ots 3otshe herd rds. s. As 7 3assed among these 3illars 7 heard a 0him3er like the 0him3er of some fier$e animal bet0een rage and fear and sa0 that the shado0 had
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not follo0ed me 0ithin the $ir$le. 7 sto33ed and 0aited $on
than than time time or the the 0orm 0orm had had 0ast 0asted ed.. Broke Broken n s0athings fla33ed about the skeleton legs and above the $ro0n that 0as set 0ith sa33hires and orange rubies a bla$k something s0ayed and nodded horribly/ but for an instant 7 did not drea dream m 0hat 0hat it 0as. 0as. Then Then in its its midd middle le t0o t0o obli6ue and s$arlet eyes o3ened and glo0ed like like hell hellis ish h $o $oa als ls and and t0o t0o o3hi o3hidi dian an fang fangss glittered in an a3e5like mouth. A s6uat furless sha3eless head on a ne$k of dis3ro3ortionate etent leaned uns3eakably do0n o0n and 0his3ered in the mummy s ear. Then 0ith one stri stride de the the tita titani ni$ $ li$h li$h took took half half the the dista distan$ n$e e bet0 bet0ee een n us us and and from from out out the the fold foldss of the the tatt tattere ered d sere sere5$ 5$lot loth h a gaun gauntt arm arm aros arose e and and fleshless fleshless taloned fingers laden 0ith glo0ering glo0ering gems rea$hed out and fumbled for my throat . . . Ba$k Ba$k ba$k ba$k thro throug ugh h aeons aeons of madn madnes esss and and dread in a 3rone 3re$i3itate flight 7 ran from those fumbling fingers that hung al0ays on the dusk behind me ba$k ba$k forever unthinking unhesitating to all the abominations 7 had left/ ba$k ba$k in the the thi$ thi$ke keni ning ng t0il t0ilig ight ht to0a to0ard rd the the nameless and sharded ruins the haunted lake the forest of evil $a$ti and the $ruel and $yni$al in6uisitors of 8ng 0ho 0aited my return.
The Beast of Averoigne ;irst version/ >une 1? 12. -e
7 a 3oor s$rivener and the humblest monk of the Benedi$tine Abbey of 9erigon have been asked by our abbot Theo3hile to 0rite do0n this re$ord of a str strang ange evi evil tha that is sti still ram3 ram3an antt stil stilll un6uelled. And ere 7 have done 0riting it may be that the evil shall $ome forth again from its lurking53la$e and again be manifest. We the friars of 9erigon and all others 0ho have kno0ledge of this thing agree that its advent 0as $oeval 0ith the first rising of the red $omet 0hi$h still burns nightly a flying balefire above the moonless hills. @ike Satans rutilant hair trailing on the 0ind of *ehenna as he hastens 0orld0ard 0orld0ard it rose belo0 the !ragon !ragon @ion in early summer/ and no0 it follo0s the S$or3ion
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to0ard the 0estern 0oods. Some say that the horror $ame from the $omet flying 0ithout 0ings to earth a$ross the stars. And truly before this summer of 1+ and the lifting of that red disastrous s$ourge u3on the heavens there 0as no rumor or legend of su$h a thing in all Averoigne. As for me 7 must deem that the beast is a s3a0n of the seventh hell a foulness born of the bubbling flame5blent oo'e/ for it has no likeness to the beasts of earth to the $reatures of air and 0ater. And the $omet may 0ell have been the fiery vehi$le of its $oming. To me for my sins and un0orthiness 0as it first given to behold the beast. Surely the sight thereof 0as a 0arning of those 0ays 0hi$h lead to 3erditionD for on that o$$asion 7 had broken the rule of St. Benedi$t 0hi$h forbids eating during a one5days errand a0ay from the monastery. 7 had tarried late after bearing a letter from Theo3hile to the good 3riest of Ste. Eenobie though 7 should have been ba$k 0ell before evensong. And also a3art from eating 7 had drunk the mello0 0hite 0ine of Ste. Eenobie 0ith its kindly 3eo3le. !oubtless be$ause 7 had done these things 7 met the nameless night5 born terror in the 0oods behind the abbey 0hen 7 returned. The day had vanished fading una0are/ and the long summer eve 0ithout moon had thi$kened to a still and eldrit$h darkness ere 7 a33roa$hed the abbey 3ostern. And hurrying along the forest 3ath 7 felt an eerie fear of the gnarled hun$hba$k oaks and their 3it5dee3 shado0s. And 0hen 7 sa0 bet0een their anti$ boughs the vengefully streaming fire of the ne0 $omet 0hi$h seemed to 3ursue me as 7 0ent the goodly 0armth of the 0ine died out and 7 began to regret my truan$y. ;or 7 kne0 that the $omet 0as a harbinger of ill an omen of death and Satanry to $ome. :o0 as 7 3assed among the an$ient trees that to0er thi$kly gro0ing to0ard the 3ostern 7 thought that 7 beheld a light from one of the abbey 0indo0s and 0as mu$h $heered thereby. But going on 7 sa0 that the light 0as near at hand beneath a lo0ering bough beside my 3ath/ and moreover it moved as 0ith the
flitting of a restless fenfire and 0as 0holly dissimilar to the honest glo0 of a lam3 lantern or ta3er. And the light 0as of $hangeable $olor being 3ale as a $or3osant or ruddy as ne05 s3illed blood or green as the 3oisonous distillation that surrounds the moon. Then 0ith ineffable terror 7 beheld the thing to 0hi$h the light $lung like a hellish nimbus moving as it moved and revealing dimly the bla$k abomination of head and limbs that 0ere not those of any $reature 0rought by *od. The horror stood ere$t rising to the height of a tall man and it moved 0ith the s0aying of a great ser3ent and its members undulated as if they 0ere boneless. The round bla$k head having no visible ears or hair 0as thrust fore0ard on a ne$k of snakish length. T0o eyes small and lidless glo0ing hotly as $oals from a 0i'ards bra'ier 0ere set lo0 and near together in the noseless formless fa$e above the serrate gleaming of bat5like teeth. This mu$h 7 sa0 and no more ere the thing 0ent 3ast me 0ith the strange nimbus flaring from venomous green to a 0rathful red. 8f its a$tual sha3e and the number of its limbs 7 $ould form no
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from ne$k to tail/ and the s3ine itself had been shattered and the 0hite marro0 su$ked therefrom/ but no other 3ortion of the stag had been devoured. :one $ould surmise the nature of the beast that sle0 and ravened in su$h a manner/ but many for the first time began to $redit my tale 0hi$h the abbot and the brothers had hitherto looked u3on as a sort of drunken dream. "erily they said a $reature from the 9it 0as abroad and this $reature had killed the stag and had su$ked the marro0 from its broken s3ine. And 7 aghast 0ith the re$olle$tion of that loathly vision marveled at the mer$y of *od 0hi$h had 3ermitted me to es$a3e the doom of the stag. :one other it seemed had beheld the monster on that o$$asion/ for all the monks save me had been aslee3 in the dormitory/ and Theo3hile had retired early to his $ell. But during the nights that follo0ed the slaying of the stag the 3resen$e of this baleful thing 0as made manifest to all. :o0 night by night the $omet greatened burning like an evil mist of blood and fire 0hile the stars blea$hed before it and terror shado0ed the thoughts of men. And in our 3rayers from 3rime to evensong 0e sought to de3re$ate the unkno0n ills 0hi$h the $omet 0ould bring in its train. And day by day from 3easants 3riests 0ood$utters and others 0ho $ame to visit the abbey 0e heard the tale of fearsome and mysterious de3redations similar in all 0ays to the killing of the stag. !ead 0olves 0ere found 0ith their $hines laid o3en and the s3inal marro0 gone/ and an o and a horse 0ere treated in like fashion. Then it 0ould seem the beast gre0 bolder5For else it 0earied of su$h humble 3rey as deer and 0olves horses and oen. At first it did not strike at living men but assailed the hel3less dead like some foul eater of $arrion. T0o freshly buried $or3ses 0ere found lying in the $emetery at Ste. Eenobie 0here the thing had dug them from their graves and had laid o3en their vertebrae. 7n ea$h $ase only a little of the marro0 had been eaten/ but as if in rage or disa33ointment the $adavers had been torn into shreds from $ro0n to heel and the tatters of
their flesh 0ere mied inetri$ably 0ith the rags of their $erements. ;rom this it 0ould seem that only the s3inal marro0 of $reatures ne0ly killed 0as 3leasing to the monster. Thereafter the dead 0ere not molested/ but a grievous toll 0as taken from the living. 8n the night follo0ing the dese$ration of the graves t0o $har$oal5burners 0ho 3lied their trade in the forest at a distan$e of no more than a mile from 9erigon 0ere slain foully in their hut. 8ther $har$oal5burners d0elling nearby head the shrill s$reams that fell to sudden silen$e/ and 3eering fearfully through the $hinks of their bolted doors they sa0 anon in the grey starlight the de3arture of a bla$k obs$enely glo0ing sha3e that issued from the hut. :ot till da0n did they dare to verify the fate of their ha3less fello0s 0ho they then dis$overed had been served in the same manner as the 0olves and other vi$tims of the beast. When the tale of this ha33ening 0as brought to the abbey Theo3hile $alled me before him and 6uestioned me $losely anent the a33arition 0hi$h 7 had en$ountered. &e like the others had doubted me first deeming that 7 0as frightened by a shado0 or by some furtive $reature of the 0ood. But after the series of atro$ious maraudings it 0as 3lain to all that a fiendish thing su$h as had never been fabled in Averoigne 0as abroad and ravening through the summer 0oods. And moreover it 0as 3lain that this thing 0as the same 0hi$h 7 had beheld on the eve of my return from Ste. Eenobie. 8ur good abbot 0as greatly eer$ised over this evil 0hi$h had $hosen to manifest itself in the neighborhood of the abbey and 0hose de3redations 0ere all $ommitted 0ithin a five5 hours
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
$omet from )alebolge. We the monks of 9erigon must go forth 0ith $ross and holy 0ater to hunt the devil in its hidden lair 0hi$h lies ha3ly at our very 3ortals.G So on the afternoon of that same day Theo3hile together 0ith myself and si others $hosen for their hardihood sallied forth from the abbey and made sear$h of the mighty forest for miles around entering 0ith lifted $rosses by tor$hlight the dee3 $aves to 0hi$h 0e $ame but finding no fier$er thing than 0olf or badger. Also 0e sear$hed the vaults of the ruined $astle of ;aussesflammes 0hi$h is said to be haunted by vam3ires. But no0here $ould 0e tra$e the sable monster or find any sign of its lairing. Sin$e then the middle summer has gone by 0ith nightly deeds of terror beneath the blasting of the $omet. Beasts men $hildren 0omen have been done to death by the monster 0hi$h though seeming to haunt mainly the environs of the abbey has ranged afield even to the shores of the river 7soile and the gates of @a ;rHnaie and Iimes. And some have beheld the monster at night a bla$k and slithering foulness $lad in $hangeable lumines$en$e/ but no man has ever beheld it by day. Thri$e has the horror been seen in the 0oods behind the abbey/ and on$e by full moonlight a brother 3eering from his 0indo0 des$ried it in the abbey garden as it glided bet0een the ro0s of 3eas and turni3s going to0ard the forest. And all agree that the thing is silent uttering no sound and is s0ifter in its motion than the 0eaving vi3er. )u$h have these o$$urren$es 3reyed on our abbot 0ho kee3s to his $ell in unremitting 3rayer and vigil and $omes forth no longer as 0as his 0ont to dine and hold $onverse 0ith the guests of the abbey. 9ale and meager as a dying saint he gro0s and a strange illness devours him as if 0ith 3er3etual fever/ and he mortifies the flesh till he totters 0ith 0eakness. And 0e others living in the fear of *od and abhorring the deeds of Satan $an only 3ray that the unkno0n s$ourge be lifted from the land and 3ass 0ith the 3assing of the $omet. :8T#. Soon after the above de3osition Brother *erome 0as found dead in his $ell. &is body 0as
in the same $ondition had been served in the same manner as the other vi$tims of the Beast. 2. The &etter of Theo!hile to Sister Ther'se
... To you my sister in *od as 0ell as by $onsanguinity 7 must ease my mind Jif this be 3ossibleK by 0riting again of the dread thing that harbors $lose to 9erigonD for this thing has stru$k on$e more 0ithin the abbey 0alls $oming in darkness and 0ithout sound or other ostent than the 9hlegethonian luster that surrounds its body and members. 7 have told you of the death of Brother *erome slain at evening in his $ell 0hile he 0as $o3ying an Aleandrian manus$ri3t. :o0 the fiend has be$ome even bolder/ for last night it entered the dormitory 0here the brothers slee3 in their robes girded and ready to arise instantly. And 0ithout 0aking the others on 0hom it must have $ast a @ethean s3ell it took Brother Augustin slumbering on his 3allet at the end of the ro0. And the fell deed 0as not dis$overed fill daybreak 0hen the monk 0ho sle3t nearest to Augustin a0akened and sa0 his body 0hi$h lay fa$e do0n0ard 0ith the ba$k of the robe and the flesh beneath a mass of bloody tatters. 8n this o$$asion the Beast 0as not beheld by anyone/ but at other times full often it has been seen around the abbey/ and its $raftiness and hardihood are beyond belief e$e3t as those of an ar$h5devil. And 7 kno0 not 0here the horror 0ill end/ for eor$isms and the s3rinkling of holy 0ater at all doors and 0indo0s have failed to 3revent the intrusion of the Beast/ and *od and Christ and all the holy Saints are deaf to our 3rayers. 8f the terror laid u3on Averoigne by this thing and the bale and mis$hief it has 0rought outside the abbey 7 need not tell sin$e all this 0ill have $ome to you as a matter of $ommon re3ort. But here at 9erigon there is mu$h that 7 0ould not have rumored 3ubli$ly lest the good fame of the abbey should suffer. 7 deem it an humiliating thing and a derogation and 3ollution of our san$tity that a foul fiend should have ingress to our halls unhindered and at 0ill.
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There are strange 0his3ers among the brothers 0ho believe that Satan himself has risen to haunt us. Several have met the Beast even in the $ha3el 0here it has left an uns3eakably blas3hemous sign of its 3resen$e. Bolts and lo$ks are vain against it/ and vain is the lifted $ross to drive it a0ay. 7t $omes and goes at its o0n $hoosing/ and they 0ho behold it flee in irrestrainable terror. :one kno0s 0here it 0ill strike net/ and there are those among the brothers 0ho believe it mena$es me the ele$ted abbot of 9erigon/ sin$e many have seen it gliding along the hall outside my $ell. And Brother Constantin the $ellarer 0ho returned late from a visit to "yones not long ago s0ears that he sa0 it by moonlight as it $limbed the 0all to0ard that 0indo0 of my $ell 0hi$h fa$es the great forest. And seeing Constantin the thing dro33ed to the ground like a huge a3e and vanished among the trees. All it 0ould seem save me have beheld the monster. And no0 my sister 7 must $onfess a strange thing 0hi$h above all else 0ould attest the influential 3o0er of &ell in this matter and the hovering of the 0ings of Asmodai about 9erigon. #a$h night sin$e the $oming of the $omet and the Beast 7 have retired early to my $ell 0ith the intention of s3ending the no$turnal hours in vigil and 3rayer as 7 am universally believed to do. And ea$h night a stu3or falls u3on me as 7 kneel before Christ on the silver $ru$ifi/ and oblivion stee3s my senses in its 3o33y/ and 7 lie 0ithout dreams on the $old floor till da0n. 8f that 0hi$h goes on in the abbey 7 kno0 nothing/ and all the brothers might be done to death by the Beast and their s3ines broken and su$ked as is its invariable fashion 0ithout my kno0ledge. &air$loth have 7 0orn and thorns and thistle5burs have 7 stre0n on the floor to a0ake me from this evil and inelu$table slumber that is like the 0orking of some 8rient drug. But the thorns and thistles are as a $ou$h of 3aradisal ease and 7 feel them not till da0n. And dim and $onfused are my senses 0hen 7 a0aken/ and dee3 languor thralls my limbs. And day by day a lethal 0eakness gro0s u3on me 0hi$h all as$ribe to saintly 3erno$tations of 3rayer and austerity.
Surely 7 have be$ome the vi$tim of a s3ell and am holden by a baleful en$hantment 0hile the Beast is abroad 0ith its hellish doings. &eaven in its ins$rutable 0isdom 3unishing me for 0hat sin 7 kno0 not has delivered me utterly to this bondage and has thrust me do0n the sloughs of a Stygian des3air. #ver 7 am haunted by an eerie notion that the Beast $omes nightly to earth from the red $omet 0hi$h 3asses like a fiery 0ain above Averoigne/ and by day it returns to the $omet having eaten its fill of that 3rovender for 0hi$h it seeks. And only 0ith the $omets fading 0ill the horror $ease to harry the land and infest 9erigon. But 7 kno0 not if this thought is madness or a 0his3er from the 9it. 9ray for me TherLse in my be0it$hment and my des3airD for *od has abandoned me and the yoke of hell has someho0 fallen u3on me/ and naught $an 7 do to defend the abbey from this evil. And 7 in turn 3ray that su$h things may tou$h you not nor a33roa$h you in the 6uiet $loisters of the $onvent at Iimes .... 3. The Stor( of &)* le Cha)dronnier
8ld age like a moth in some fading arras 0ill gna0 my memories oversoon as it gna0s the memories of all men. Therefore 7 0rite this re$ord of the true origin and slaying of that $reature kno0n as the Beast of Averoigne. And 0hen 7 have ended the 0riting the re$ord shall be sealed in a bra'en bo and that bo be set in a se$ret $hamber of my house at Iimes so that no man shall learn the dreadful verity of this matter till many years and de$ades have gone by. 7ndeed it 0ere not 0ell for su$h evil 3rodigies to be divulged 0hile any 0ho took 3art in the ha33ening are still on the earth0ard side of 9urgatory. And at 3resent the truth is kno0n only to me and to $ertain others 0ho are s0orn to maintain se$re$y. The ravages of the Beast ho0ever are $ommon kno0ledge and have be$ome a tale 0ith 0hi$h to frighten $hildren. )en say that it sle0 fifty 3eo3le night by night in the summer of 1+ devouring in ea$h $ase the s3inal marro0. 7t ranged mostly about the abbey of 9erigon and to Iimes and Ste. Eenobie and @a ;rMnaie.
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7ts nativity and lairing53la$e 0ere mysteries that none $ould unravel/ and $hur$h and state 0ere alike 3o0erless to $urb its maraudings so that a dire terror fell u3on the land and 3eo3le 0ent to and fro as in the shado0 of death. ;rom the very beginning be$ause of my o0n $ommer$e 0ith o$$ult things and 0ith the s3irits of darkness the baleful Beast 0as the sub
)using on these dark matters 7 0aited among my books and bra'iers and alembi$s for the stars had 0arned me that my intervention 0ould be re6uired in good time. To0ard the end of August 0hen the great $omet 0as beginning to de$line a little there o$$urred the lamentable death of Sister TherLse killed by the Beast in her $ell at the Benedi$tine $onvent of Iimes. 8n this o$$asion the Beast 0as 3lainly seen by late 3assers as it ran do0n the $onvent 0all by moonlight from a 0indo0/ and others met it in the shado0y streets or 0at$hed it $limb the $ity ram3arts running like a monstrous beetle or s3ider on the sheer stone as it fled from Iimes to regain its hidden lair. To me follo0ing the death of TherLse there $ame 3rivily the to0n marshal together 0ith a 3riest from the household of the Bisho3 of Iimes. And the t0o albeit 0ith 3al3able hesitation begged my advi$e and assistan$e in the laying of the Beast. GYou )essire le ChaudronnierG they said Gare re3uted to kno0 the ar$ani$ arts of sor$ery and the s3ells that summon or dismiss evil demons and other s3irits. Therefore in dealing 0ith this devil it may be that you shall su$$eed 0here all others have failed. :ot 0illingly do 0e em3loy you in the matter sin$e it is not seemly for the $hur$h and the la0 to ally themselves 0ith 0i'ardry. But the need is des3erate lest the demon should take other vi$tims/ and in return for your aid 0e $an 3romise you a goodly re0ard of gold and a guarantee of lifelong immunity from all in6uisition and 3rose$ution 0hi$h your doings might other0ise invite. The Bisho3 of Iimes and the Ar$hbisho3 of "yones are 3rivy to this offer 0hi$h must remain se$ret.G G7 ask no re0ardG 7 re3lied Gif it be in my 3o0er to rid Averoigne of this s$ourge. But you have set me a diffi$ult task and 7 must 3re3are myself for the undertaking in 0hi$h 7 shall re6uire $ertain aid.G GAll assistan$e that 0e $an give you shall be yours to $ommandG they said. G)en5at5arms shall attend you if need be/ and all doors shall be o3ened at your re6uest. We have $onsulted Theo3hile the abbot of 9erigon and the grief5 smitten brother of the lately slain TherLse 0ho is
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most 'ealous for the laying of the fiend and 0ill admit you to the abbey. The horror seems to $enter thereabout and t0o of the monks have been done to death and the abbot himself it is rumored has been haunted by the Beast. Therefore it may be that you 0ill 0ish to visit 9erigon.G 7 refle$ted briefly and saidD G*o no0 but send to me an hour before sunset t0o men5at5arms 0ith horses and a third steed/ and let the men be $hosen for their valor and dis$retionD for this very night 7 shall visit the abbey.G :o0 0hen the 3riest and the marshal had gone 7 s3ent several hours in making ready for my
evil. !ee3er 0e 0ent into the brooding 0oods/ and even 7 the master of sor$eries trembled a little at the kno0ledge of all that 0as abroad in the darkness. =ndelayed and unmolested ho0ever 0e $ame to the abbey at late moonrise 0hen all the monks e$e3t the aged 3orter had retired to their dormitory. The 3orter 0ho had re$eived 0ord of our $oming 0ould have admitted us/ but this as it ha33ened 0as no 3art of my 3lan. Saying 7 had reason to believe that the Beast 0ould re5enter the abbey that very night 7 told the 3orter my intention of 0aiting outside the 0alls to inter$e3t it and merely asked him to a$$om3any us in a tour of the buildings eterior so that he $ould 3oint out the various rooms. This he did and during the $ourse of the tour he indi$ated a $ertain high 0indo0 in the se$ond story as being that of the abbot Theo3hiles $hamber. The 0indo0 fa$ed the forest and 7 remarked the abbots rashness in leaving it o3en. This the 3orter told me 0as his invariable habit. Behind the 0indo0 0e $ould see the glimmering of a ta3er as if the abbot 0ere kee3ing late vigil. We had $ommitted our horses to the 3orters $are. After he had $ondu$ted us around the abbey and had left us 0e returned to the s3a$e beneath Theo3hiles 0indo0 and began our long 0at$h in silen$e. 9ale and hollo0 as the fa$e of a $or3se the moon rose higher s0imming above the somber oaks and 3ines and 3ouring a s3e$tral silver on the grey stone of the abbey 0alls. 7n the 0est the $omet flared among the lusterless Signs veiling the lifted sting of the S$or3ion as it sank. We 0aited hour by hour in the shortening shado0 of a high 3ine 0here none $ould see us from the abbey. When the moon had 3assed over falling 0est0ard the shado0 began to lengthen to0ard the 0all. All 0as mortally still and 0e sa0 no movement a3art from the slo0 $hanging of the light and shade. &alf50ay bet0een midnight and da0n the ta3er 0ent out in Theo3hiles $ell as if it had burned to the so$ket/ and thereafter the room remained dark. =n6uestioning 0ith ready s3ears the t0o men5 at5arms $om3anioned me in that vigil. Well they
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Clark Ashton Smith
kne0 the demonian terror 0hi$h they might fa$e before da0n/ but there 0as no tra$e of tre3idation in their bearing. And kno0ing mu$h that they $ould not kno0 7 held in my hands for instant use the bag of vi3er5skin that $ontained the &y3erborean 3o0der. The men stood nearer than 7 to the forest fa$ing it 3er3etually a$$ording to a stri$t order that 7 had given. But nothing stirred in the fretted gloom/ and the skies gre0 3aler as if 0ith morning t0ilight. Then an hour before sunrise 0hen the shado0 of the great 3ine had rea$hed the 0all and 0as $limbing to0ard Theo3hiles 0indo0 there $ame the thing 0hi$h 7 had anti$i3ated. "ery suddenly it $ame and 0ith no 0arning of its nearness a horror of hellish red light s0ift as a kindling 0indblo0n flame that lea3t from the forest gloom and s3rang u3on us 0here 0e stood stiff and 0eary from our night5long vigil. 8ne of the men5at5arms 0as borne to the ground and 7 sa0 above him in a floating redness as of blood the bla$k and ser3entine form of the Beast. A round and snakish head 0ithout ears or nose 0as tearing at the mans armor 0ith shar3 innumerable teeth and 7 heard the teeth grate and $lash on the linked iron as 7 ste33ed for0ard and flung the 3o0der of #ibon at the Beast. The se$ond man5at5arms undaunted 0ould have assailed it 0ith his s3ear but this 7 forbade. The floating 3o0der fine as a dust of mummia seemed to dim the bloody light as it fell/ and the Beast relin6uished the fallen man 0rithing a0ay like a burnt ser3ent from the fire. 7ts members and body 0ere loathfully $onvulsed/ and the thing seemed to $hange horribly beneath our ga'e undergoing an in$redible metamor3hosis. )oment by moment it took on the 0avering similitude of man like a 0ere0olf that returns from his beasthood/ and the red light gre0 dimmer and the un$lean bla$kness of its flesh a33eared to flo0 and s0irl assuming the 0eft of $loth and be$oming the folds of a dark robe and $o0l su$h as are 0orn by the Benedi$tines. Then from the $o0l a fa$e began to 3eer glimmering 3ale and thin in the shado0/ and the thing $overed its fa$e 0ith sooty $la0s that 0ere turning into hands and shrank a0ay from me as
7 3ressed u3on it s3rinkling it 0ith the remainder of the 3o0der. :o0 7 had driven it against the abbey 0all/ and there 0ith a 0ild des3airing $ry that 0as half5 human half5demonia$ the thing turned from me and $la0ed franti$ally at the gray stone as if it 0ould $limb to0ard the abbots 0indo0 in that monstrous fashion that had been its 0ont. Almost for a breath it seemed to run u30ard hanging to the 0all like a bat or a great beetle. But the $hange had 3rogressed too far and it dro33ed ba$k in the shado0 of a 3ine and tottering strangely as if 0ith sudden mortal 0eakness fell to the ground and lay huddled in its monkish garments like a bla$k night5bird 0ith broken vans. The rays of the gibbous moon sifting thinly through the boughs lay $old and $adaverous on the dead fa$e/ though the body 0as immersed in shado0. And the fa$e even as 7 had e3e$ted 0as that of the abbot Theo3hile 0ho had on$e been 3ointed out to me in Iimes. Already the 3ea$e of death 0as u3on him/ and horror had left no sign on the shut eyelids and the sealed li3s/ and there 0as no mark on the 0orn and haggard $heeks other than that 0hi$h might $ome from the saintly rigor of 3rolonged austerities. The man5at5arms 0ho had been stru$k do0n by the Beast 0as unharmed though sorely bruised beneath his mail. &e and his fello0 stood beside me saying naught/ and 7 kne0 that they had re$ogni'ed the dead abbot. So 0hile the moon gre0 grey 0ith the nearness of da0n 7 made them s0ear an a0ful oath of se$re$y and en
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0i'ard 3o0der 7 had routed the un$lean Beast $om3elling it to relin6uish its 3rey. And the thing had vanished in a $loud of sul3hurous fire and va3or/ but Theo3hile had died from the horror of his 3light 0hile the Beast 0as des$ending the 0all. &is death 7 said 0as a true martyrdom and 0ould not be in vainD the Beast 0ould no longer 3lague the $ountry or bedevil 9erigon sin$e the use of &y3erborean 3o0der 0as a sure eor$ism. This tale 0as a$$e3ted by the Brothers 0ho grieved mightily for their good abbot. 7ndeed the tale 0as true enough in its fashion for Theo3hile had been inno$ent and 0as 0holly ignorant of the foul $hange that had $ome u3on him nightly in his $ell and the deeds that 0ere done by the Beast through his loathfully transfigured body. #a$h night the thing had $ome from the $omet to assuage its hellish hunger/ and being other0ise im3al3able and 3o0erless it had used the abbot for its energumen moulding his flesh in the image of some obs$ene monster from beyond the stars. After Theo3hiles death the Beast 0as seen no more in Averoigne/ and the murderous deeds 0ere not re3eated. And in time the $omet 3assed to other heavens fading slo0ly/ and the bla$k terror it had 0rought be$ame a varying legend even as all other bygone things. And they 0ho read this re$ord in future ages 0ill believe it not saying that no demon or malign s3irit $ould ever have 3revailed u3on true holiness. 7ndeed it 0ere 0ell that none should believe the storyD for strange abominations 3ass evermore bet0een earth and moon and ath0art the galaies/ and the gulf is haunted by that 0hi$h it 0ere madness for man to kno0. =nnameable things have $ome to us in alien horror and shall $ome again. And the evil of the stars is not as the evil of earth.
The Coloss)s of Ylo)rgne . The light of the /e*roman*er
The thri$e5infamous :athaire al$hemist astrologer and ne$roman$er 0ith his ten devil5 given 3u3ils had de3arted very sudden7y and
under $ir$umstan$es of stri$t se$re$y from the to0n of "yones. 7t 0as 0idely thought among the 3eo3le of that vi$inage that his de3arture had been 3rom3ted by a salutary fear of e$$lesiasti$al thumbs$re0s and faggots. 8ther 0i'ards less notorious than he had already gone to the stake during a year of unusual in6uisitory 'eal/ and it 0as 0ell5kno0n that :athaire had in$urred the re3robation of the Chur$h. ;e0 therefore $onsidered the reason of his going a mystery/ but the means of transit 0hi$h he had em3loyed as 0ell as the destination of the sor$erer and his 3u3ils 0ere regarded as more than 3roblemati$. A thousand dark and su3erstitious rumours 0ere abroad/ and 3assers made the sign of the Cross 0hen they neared the tall gloomy house 0hi$h :athaire had built in blas3hemous 3roimity to the great $athedral and had filled 0ith a furniture of Satani$ luury and strangeness. T0o daring thieves 0ho had entered the mansion 0hen the fa$t of its desertion be$ame 0ell established re3orted that mu$h of this furniture as 0ell as the books and other 3ara3hernalia of :athaire had seemingly de3arted 0ith its o0ner doubtless to the same fiery bourn. This served to augment the unholy mysteryD for it 0as 3atently im3ossible that :athaire and his ten a33renti$es 0ith several $art5loads of household belongings $ould have 3assed the everguarded $ity gates in any legitimate manner 0ithout the kno0ledge of the $ustodians. 7t 0as said by the more devout and religious moiety that the Ar$hfiend 0ith a legion of bat5 0inged assistants had borne them a0ay bodily at moonless midnight. There 0ere $leri$s and also re3utable burghers 0ho 3rofessed to have seen the flight of man5like sha3es u3on the blotted stars together 0ith others that 0ere not men and to have heard the 0ailing $ries of the hell5bound $re0 as they 3assed in an evil $loud over the roofs and $ity 0alls. 8thers believed that the sor$erers had trans3orted themselves from "yones through their o0n diaboli$ arts and had 0ithdra0n to some unfre6uented fastness 0here :athaire 0ho had long been in feeble health $ould ho3e to die in su$h 3ea$e and serenity as might be
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en
A3art from the sor$erous evils and abuses of 0hi$h he 0as $ommonly sus3e$ted he had long been looked u3on as a $orru3ter of youth. !es3ite his minikin stature his deformity and ugliness he 3ossessed a remarkable 3o0er a mesmeri$ 3ersuasion/ and his 3u3ils 0hom he 0as said to have 3lunged into bottomless and ghoulish ini6uities 0ere young men of the most brilliant 3romise. 8n the 0hole his vanishment 0as regarded as a 6uite 3rovidential riddan$e. Among the 3eo3le of the $ity there 0as one man 0ho took no 3art in the sombre gossi3 and lurid s3e$ulation. This man 0as *as3ard du :ord himself a student of the 3ros$ribed s$ien$es 0ho had been numbered for a year among the 3u3ils of :athaire but had $hosen to 0ithdra0 6uietly from the masters household after learning the enormities that 0ould attend his further initiation. &e had ho0ever taken 0ith him mu$h rare and 3e$uliar kno0ledge together 0ith a $ertain insight into the baleful 3o0ers and night5dark motives of the ne$roman$er. Be$ause of this kno0ledge and insight *as3ard 3referred to remain silent 0hen he heard of :athaires de3arture. Also he did not think it 0ell to revive the memory of his o0n 3ast 3u3ilage. Alone 0ith his books in a s3arsely furnished atti$ he fro0ned above a small oblong mirror framed 0ith an arabes6ue of golden vi3ers that had on$e been the 3ro3erty of :athaire. 7t 0as not the refle$tion of his o0n $omely and youthful though subtly lined fa$e that $aused him to fro0n. 7ndeed the mirror 0as of another kind than that 0hi$h refle$ts the features of the ga'er. 7n its de3ths for a fe0 instants he had beheld a strange and ominous5looking s$ene 0hose 3arti$i3ants 0ere kno0n to him but 0hose lo$ation he $ould not re$ogni'e or orientate. Before he $ould study it $losely the mirror had $louded as if 0ith the rising of al$hemi$ fumes and he had seen no more. This $louding he refle$ted $ould mean only one thingD :athaire had kno0n himself 0at$hed and had 3ut forth a $ounters3ell that rendered the $lairvoyant mirror useless. 7t 0as the reali'ation of this fa$t together 0ith the brief sinister glim3se of :athaires 3resent a$tivities that troubled
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*as3ard and $aused a $hill horror to mount slo0ly in his mindD a horror that had not yet found a 3al3able form or a name. 2. The "athering of the ead
The de3arture of :athaire and his 3u3ils o$$urred in the late s3ring of 12?1 during the interlunar dark. After0ards a ne0 moon 0aed above the flo0ery fields and bright5leafed 0oods and 0aned in ghostly silver. With its 0aning 3eo3le began to talk of other magi$ians and fresher mysteries. Then in the moon5deserted nights of early summer there $ame a series of disa33earan$es far more unnatural and ine3li$able than that of the d0arfish malignant sor$erer. 7t 0as found one day by grave5diggers 0ho had gone early to their toil in a $emetery outside the 0alls of "yones that no less than si ne0ly o$$u3ied graves had been o3ened and the bodies 0hi$h 0ere those of re3utable $iti'ens removed. 8n $loser eamination it be$ame all too evident that this removal had not been effe$ted by robbers. The $offins 0hi$h lay aslant or stood 3rotruding u3right from the mould offered all the a33earan$e of having been shattered from 0ithin as if by the use of etrahuman strength/ and the fresh earth itself 0as u3heaved as if the dead men in some a0ful untimely resurre$tion had a$tually dug their 0ay to the surfa$e.
bra'en bolted tombs from $ommon $harnels from shallo0 un$onse$rated tren$hes from the marble lidded vaults of $hur$hes and $athedrals the 0eird eodus 0ent on 0ithout $essation. Worse than this if 3ossible there 0ere ne0ly $eremented $or3ses that lea3t from their biers or $atafal6ues and disregarding the horrified 0at$hers ran 0ith great bounds of automati$ fren'y into the night never to be seen again by those 0ho lamented them. 7n every $ase the missing bodies 0ere those of young stal0art men 0ho had died but re$ently and had met their death through violen$e or a$$ident rather than 0asting illness. Some 0ere $riminals 0ho had 3aid the 3enalty of their misdeeds/ others 0ere men5at5arms or $onstables slain in the ee$ution of their duty. Nnights 0ho had died in tourney or 3ersonal $ombat 0ere numbered among them/ and many 0ere the vi$tims of the robber bands 0ho infested Averoigne at that time. There 0ere monks mer$hants nobles yeomen 3ages 3riests/ but none in any $ase 0ho had 3assed the 3rime of life. The old and infirm it seemed 0ere safe from the animating demons.
The $or3ses had vanished utterly as if hell had s0allo0ed them/ and as far as $ould be learned there 0ere no eye0itnesses of their fate. 7n those devil5ridden times only one e3lanation of the ha33ening seemed $redibleD demons had entered the graves and had taken bodily 3ossession of the dead $om3elling them to arise and go forth.
The situation 0as looked u3on by the more su3erstitious as a veritable omening of the 0orlds end. Satan 0as making 0ar 0ith his $ohorts and 0as $arrying the bodies of the holy dead into hellish $a3tivity. The $onsternation in$reased a hundredfold 0hen it be$ame 3lain that even the most liberal s3rinkling of holy 0ater the 3erforman$e of the most a0ful and $ogent eor$isms failed utterly to give 3rote$tion against this diaboli$ ravishment. The Chur$h o0ned itself 3o0erless to $o3e 0ith the strange evil/ and the for$es of se$ular la0 $ould do nothing to arraign or 3unish the intangible agen$y.
To the dismay and horror of all Averoigne the strange vanishment 0as fo7lo0ed 0ith a33alling 3rom3tness by many others of a like sort. 7t seemed as if an o$$ult resistless summons had been laid u3on the dead. :ightly for a 3eriod of t0o 0eeks the $emeteries of "yones and also those of other to0ns of villages and hamlets gave u3 a ghastly 6uota of their tenants. ;rom
Be$ause of the universal fear that 3revailed no effort 0as made to follo0 the missing $adavers. *hastly tales ho0ever 0ere told by late 0ayfarers 0ho had met $ertain of these li$hes striding alone or in $om3anies along the roads of Averoigne. They gave the a33earan$e of being deaf dumb totally insensate and of hurrying 0ith horrible s3eed and sureness to0ards a
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remote 3redestined goal. The general dire$tion of their flight it seemed 0as east0ard/ but only 0ith the $essation of the eodus 0hi$h had numbered several hundred 3eo3le did any one begin to sus3e$t the a$tual destination of the dead. This destination it someho0 be$ame rumoured 0as the ruinous $astle of Ylourgne beyond the 0ere0olf5haunted forest in the outlying semi5 mountainous hills of Averoigne. Ylourgne a great $raggy 3ile that had been built by a line of evil and marauding barons no0 etin$t 0as a 3la$e that even the goatherds 3referred to shun. The 0rathful s3e$tres of its bloody lords 0ere said to move turbulently in its $rumbling halls/ and its $hatelaines 0ere the =ndead. :o one $ared to d0ell in the shado0 of its $liff5founded 0alls/ and the nearest abode of living men 0as a small Cister$ian monastery more than a mile a0ay on the o33osite slo3e of the valley. The monks of this austere brotherhood held little $ommer$e 0ith the 0orld beyond the hills/ and fe0 0ere the visitors 0ho sought admission at their high53er$hed 3ortals. But during that dreadful summer follo0ing the disa33earan$es of the dead a 0eird and dis6uieting tale 0ent forth from the monastery throughout Averoigne. Beginning 0ith late s3ring the Cister$ian monks 0ere $om3elled to take $ogni'an$e of sundry odd 3henomena in the old long5deserted ruins of Ylourgne 0hi$h 0ere visible from their 0indo0s They had beheld flaring lights 0here lights should not have beenD flames of un$anny blue and $rimson that shuddered behind the broken 0eed5gro0n embrasures or rose star0ards above the
monks thought that the 3la$e had been o$$u3ied from beneath by subterrestrial beings/ for no one 0as seen to a33roa$h it by 0ay of the bare o3en slo3es and $rags. 8bserving these signs of the Ar$hfoes a$tivity in their neighbourhood they $rossed themselves 0ith ne0 fervour and fre6uen$y and said their 9aters and Aves more interminably than before. Their toil and austerities also they redoubled. 8ther0ise sin$e the old $astle 0as a 3la$e abandoned by men they took no heed of the su33osed o$$u3ation deeming it 0ell to mind their o0n affairs unless in $ase of overt Satani$ hostility. They ke3t a $areful 0at$h/ but for several 0eeks they sa0 no one 0ho a$tually entered Ylourgne or emerged therefrom. #$e3t for the no$turnal lights and noises and the hovering va3our by day there 0as no 3roof of tenantry either human or diaboli$. Then one morning in the valley belo0 the terra$ed gardens of the monastery t0o brothers hoeing 0eeds in a $arrot53at$h beheld the 3assing of a singular train of 3eo3le 0ho $ame from the dire$tion of the great forest of Averoigne and 0ent u30ards $limbing the stee3 $hasmy slo3e to0ards Ylourgne. These 3eo3le the monks averred 0ere striding along in great haste 0ith stiff but flying ste3s/ and all 0ere strangely 3ale of feature and 0ere habited in the garments of the grave. The shrouds of some 0ere torn and ragged/ and all 0ere dusty 0ith travel or grimed 0ith the mould of interment. The 3eo3le numbered a do'en or more/ and after them at intervals there $ame several stragglers attired like the rest. With marvellous agility and s3eed they mounted the hill and disa33eared at length amid the lo0ering 0alls of Ylourgne. At this time no rumour of the ravished graves and biers had rea$hed the Cister$ians. The tale 0as brought to them later after they had beheld on many su$$essive mornings the 3assing of small or great $om3anies of the dead to0ards the devil5taken $astle. &undreds of these li$hes they s0ore had filed by beneath the monastery/ and doubtless many others had gone 3ast unnoted in the dark. :one ho0ever
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0ere seen to $ome forth from Ylourgne 0hi$h had s0allo0ed them u3 like the undisgorging 9it. Though direly frightened and sorely s$andali'ed the brothers still thought it 0ell to refrain from a$tion. Some the hardiest irked by all these flagrant signs of evil had desired to visit the ruins 0ith holy 0ater and lifted $ru$ifies But their abbot in his 0isdom en
;ollo0ing the above5related o$$urren$e t0o of the brothers 0ho had 3reviously desired to visit the haunted $astle again a33lied to the abbot for this 3ermission saying that *od 0ould surely aid them in avenging the abdu$tion of Theo3hiles body as 0ell as the taking of many others from $onse$rated ground. )arvelling at the hardihood of these lusty monks 0ho 3re3osed to beard the Ar$h5enemy in his lair the abbot 3ermitted them to go forth furnished 0ith as3ergilluses and flasks of holy 0ater and bearing great $rosses of hornbeam su$h as 0ould have served for ma$es 0ith 0hi$h to brain an armoured knight. The monks 0hose names 0ere Bernard and Ste3hane 0ent boldly u3 at middle forenoon to
assail the evil stronghold. 7t 0as an arduous $limb among overhanging boulders and along sli33ery s$ar3s/ but both 0ere stout and agile and moreover 0ell a$$ustomed to su$h $limbing. Sin$e the day 0as sultry and airless their 0hite robes 0ere soon stained 0ith s0eat/ but 3ausing only for brief 3rayer they 3ressed on/ and in good season they neared the $astle u3on 0hose grey time5eroded ram3arts they $ould still des$ry no eviden$e of o$$u3ation or a$tivity. The dee3 moat that had on$e surrounded the 3la$e 0as no0 dry and had been 3artly filled by $rumbling earth and detritus from the 0alls. The dra0bridge had rotted a0ay/ but the blo$ks of the barbi$an $olla3sing into the moat had made a sort of rough $ausey on 0hi$h it 0as 3ossible to $ross. :ot 0ithout tre3idation and lifting their $ru$ifies as 0arriors lift their 0ea3ons in the es$alade of an armed fortress the brothers $limbed over the ruin of the barbi$an into the $ourtyard. This too like the battlements 0as seemingly deserted. 8vergro0n nettles rank grasses and sa3ling trees 0ere rooted bet0een its 3aving5 stones. The high massive don
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obs$ure and mysteriously terrifying/ others all too 3lain 0ere branded as if 0ith sudden ineffa$eable hell5fire on the minds of the monks. They stood on the threshold of a $olossal $hamber 0hi$h seemed to have been made by the tearing do0n of u33er floors and inner 3artitions ad
there glo0ed a ruby$oloured fire/ and another 0as flinging the lum3s of flesh into a tub filled 0ith some hueless li6uid that gave forth an evil hissing as of a thousand ser3ents. 8thers had stri33ed the grave5$lothes from one of the $adavers and 0ere starting to assail it 0ith long knives. 8thers still 0ere mounting rude flights of stone stairs along the 0alls of the immense vats $arrying vessels filled 0ith semi5 li6ues$ent matters 0hi$h they em3tied over the high rims. A33alled at this vision of human and Satani$ tur3itude and feeling a more than righteous indignation the monks resumed their $hanting of sonorous eor$isms and rushed for0ard. Their entran$e it a33eared 0as not 3er$eived by the heinously o$$u3ied $re0 of sor$erers and devils. Bernard and Ste3hane filled 0ith an ardour of godly 0rath 0ere about to fling themselves u3on the but$hers 0ho had started to assail the dead body. This $or3se they re$ogni'ed as being that of a notorious outla0 named >a$6ues @e @ou3garou 0ho had been slain a fe0 days 3revious in $ombat 0ith the offi$ers of the state. @e @ou3garou noted for his bra0n his $unning and his fero$ity had long terrori'ed the 0oods and high0ays of Averoigne. &is great body had been half evis$erated by the s0ords of the $onstabulary/ and his beard 0as stiff and 3ur3le 0ith the dried blood of a ghastly 0ound that had $loven his fa$e from tem3le to mouth. &e had died unshriven but nevertheless the monks 0ere un0illing to see his hel3less $adaver 3ut to some unhallo0ed use beyond the surmise of Christians. The 3ale malignant5looking d0arf had no0 3er$eived the brothers. They heard him $ry out in a shrill im3eratory tone that rose above the ominous hiss of the $auldrons and the hoarse mutter of men and demons. They kne0 not his 0ords 0hi$h 0ere those of some outlandish tongue and sounded like an in$antation. 7nstantly as if in res3onse to an order t0o of the men turned from their unholy $hemistry and lifting $o33er basins filled 0ith an unkno0n fetid li6uor hurled the $ontents of
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these vessels in the fa$es of Bernard and Ste3hane. The brothers 0ere blinded by the stinging fluid 0hi$h bit their flesh as 0ith many ser3ents teeth/ and they 0ere over$ome by the noious fumes so that their great $rosses dro33ed from their hands and they both fell un$ons$ious on the $astle floor. -e$overing anon their sight and their other senses they found that their hands had been tied 0ith heavy thongs of gut so that they 0ere no0 hel3less and $ould no longer 0ield their $ru$ifies or the s3rinklers of holy 0ater 0hi$h they $arried. 7n this ignominious $ondition they heard the voi$e of the evil d0arf $ommanding them to arise. They obeyed though $lumsily and 0ith diffi$ulty being denied the assistan$e of their hands. Bernard 0ho 0as still si$k 0ith the 3oisonous va3our he had inhaled fell t0i$e before he su$$eeded in standing ere$t/ and his dis$omfiture 0as greeted 0ith a $a$hinnation of foul obs$ene laughter from the assembled sor$erers. :o0 standing the monks 0ere taunted by the d0arf 0ho mo$ked and reviled them 0ith a33alling blas3hemies su$h as $ould be uttered only by a bond5servant of Satan. At last a$$ording to their s0orn testimony he said to themD G-eturn to your kennel ye 0hel3s of 7aldabaoth and take 0ith you this messageD They that $ame here as many shall go forth as one.G Then in obedien$e to a dreadful formula s3oken by the d0arf t0o of the familiars 0ho had the sha3e of enormous and shado0y beasts a33roa$hed the body of @e @ou3garou and that of Brother Theo3hile. 8ne of the foul demons like a va3our that sinks into a marsh entered the bloody nostrils of @e @ou3garou disa33earing in$h by in$h till its horned and bestial head 0as 0ithdra0n from sight. The other in like manner 0ent in through the nostrils of Brother Theo3hile 0hose head lay 0eird ath0art his shoulder on the broken ne$k. Then 0hen the demons had $om3leted their 3ossession the bodies in a fashion horrible to
behold 0ere raised u3 from the $astle floor the one 0ith ravelled entrails hanging from its 0ide 0ounds the other 0ith a head that dro33ed for0ard loosely on its bosom. Then animated by their devils the $adavers took u3 the $rosses of hornbeam that had been dro33ed by Ste3hane and Bernard/ and using the $rosses for bludgeons they drove the monks in ignominious flight from the $astle amid a loud tem3estuous ho0ling of infernal laughter from the d0arf and his ne$romanti$ $re0. And the nude $or3se of @e @ou3garou and the robed $adaver of Theo3hile follo0ed them far on the $hasm5riven slo3es belo0 Ylourgne striking great blo0s 0ith the $rosses so that the ba$ks of the t0o Cister$ians 0ere be$ome a mass of bloody bruises. After a defeat so signal and $rushing no more of the monks 0ere emboldened to go u3 against Ylourgne. The 0hole monastery thereafter devoted itself to tri3le austerities to 6uadru3led 3rayers/ and a0aiting the unkno0n 0ill of *od and the e6ually obs$ure ma$hinations of the !evil maintained a 3ious faith that 0as some0hat tem3ered 0ith tre3idation. 7n time through goatherds 0ho visited the monks the tale of Ste3hane and Bernard 0ent forth throughout Averoigne adding to the grievous alarm that had been $aused by the 0holesale disa33earan$e of the dead. :o one kne0 0hat 0as really going on in the haunted $astle or 0hat dis3osition had been made of the hundreds of migratory $or3ses/ for the light thro0n on their fate by the monks story though lurid and frightful 0as all too in$on$lusive/ and the message sent by the d0arf 0as some0hat $abalisti$. #veryone felt ho0ever that some giganti$ mena$e some bla$k infernal en$hantment 0as being bre0ed 0ithin the ruinous 0alls. The malign moribund d0arf 0as all too readily identified 0ith the missing sor$erer :athaire/ and his underlings it 0as 3lain 0ere :athaires 3u3ils. #. The "oing-orth of "as!ard d) /ord
Alone in his atti$ $hamber *as3ard du :ord student of al$hemy and sor$ery and 6uondam
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3u3il of :athaire sought re3eatedly but al0ays in vain to $onsult the vi3er5$ir$led mirror. The glass remained obs$ure and $loudy as 0ith the risen fumes of Satani$al alembi$s or baleful ne$romanti$ bra'iers. &aggard and 0eary 0ith long nights of 0at$hing *as3ard kne0 that :athaire 0as even more vigilant than he. -eading 0ith anious $are the general $onfiguration of the stars he found the foretokening of a great evil that 0as to $ome u3on Averoigne. But the nature of the evil 0as not $learly sho0n. 7n the mean0hile the hideous resurre$tion and migration of the dead 0as taking 3la$e. All Averoigne shuddered at the manifold enormity. @ike the timeless night of a )em3hian 3lague terror settled every0here/ and 3eo3le s3oke of ea$h ne0 atro$ity in bated 0his3ers 0ithout daring to voi$e the ee$rable tale aloud. To *as3ard as to everyone the 0his3ers $ame/ and like0ise after the horror had a33arently $eased in early midsummer there $ame the a33alling story of the Cister$ian monks. :o0 at last the long5baffled 0at$her found an inkling of that 0hi$h he sought. The hiding53la$e of the fugitive ne$roman$er and his a33renti$es at least had been un$overed/ and the disa33earing dead 0ere $learly tra$ed to their bourn. But still even for the 3er$i3ient *as3ard there remained an unde$lared enigmaD the ea$t nature of the abominable bre0 the hell5 dark sor$ery that :athaire 0as $on$o$ting in his remote den. *as3ard felt sure of one thing onlyD the dying s3leneti$ d0arf kno0ing that his allotted time 0as short and hating the 3eo3le of Averoigne 0ith a bottomless ran$our 0ould 3re3are an enormous and malefi$ent magi$ 0ithout 3arallel. #ven 0ith his kno0ledge of :athaires 3ro$livities and his a0areness of the 0ell5nigh inehaustible ar$ani$ s$ien$e the reserves of 3it5dee3 0i'ardry 3ossessed by the d0arf he $ould form only vague terrifi$al $on
obvious 3erils of su$h an e$ursion to 3ay a se$ret visit to the neightborhood of Ylourgne. *as3ard though he $ame of a 0ell5to5do family 0as at that time in straitened $ir$umstan$es/ for his devotion to a some0hat doubtful s$ien$e had been disa33roved by his father. &is sole in$ome 0as a small 3ittan$e 3urveyed se$retly to the youth by his mother and sister. This suffi$ed for his meagre food the rent of his room and a fe0 books and instruments and $hemi$als/ but it 0ould not 3ermit the 3ur$hase of a horse or even a humble mule for the 3ro3osed
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*as3ard 0aited till the round moon yello0 as the eye of some immense no$turnal bird had begun to 3eer above the darkling valley. Then very $autiously sin$e the neighbourhood 0as strange to him he started to make his 0ay to0ards the sombre brooding $astle. #ven for one 0ell5used to su$h $limbing the es$alade 0ould have offered enough diffi$ulty and danger by moonlight. Several times finding himself at the bottom of a sheer $liff he 0as $om3elled to retra$e his hard50on 3rogress/ and often he 0as saved from falling only by stunted shrubs and briars that had taken root in the niggard soil. Breathless 0ith torn raiment and s$ored and bleeding hands he gained at length the shoulder of the $raggy height belo0 the 0alls. &ere he 3aused to re$over breath and re$u3erate his flagging strength. &e $ould see from his vantage the 3ale refle$tion as of hidden flames that beat u30ards on the inner 0alls of the high5built don
and $limbed the mounded ruin of the barbi$an into the 0eedy $ourtyard. The 3la$e 0as deserted to all seeming/ and mu$h of it 0as still dee3 in the shado0s of the 0alls and turrets. :ear by in the bla$k silver5 $renellated 3ile *as3ard sa0 the o3en $avernous door0ay des$ribed by the monks. 7t 0as lit from 0ithin by a lurid glare 0annish and eerie as marsh5fires. The humming noise no0 audible as a muttering of voi$es issued from the door0ay/ and *as3ard thought that he $ould see dark sooty figures moving ra3idly in the lit interior. Nee3ing in the farther shado0s he stole along the $ourtyard making a sort of $ir$uit amid the ruins. &e did not dare to a33roa$h the o3en entran$e for fear of being seen/ though as far as he $ould tell the 3la$e 0as unguarded. &e $ame to the don
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the half5ruined 3ile had been torn do0n and dismantled to afford room for the a$tivities of :athaire. This demolition in itself 0as a su3erhuman task for 0hose ee$ution the sor$erer must have em3loyed a legion of familiars as 0ell as his ten 3u3ils. The vast $hamber 0as fitfully illumed by the glare of athanors and bra'iers/ and above all by the 0eird glimmering from the huge stone vats. #ven from his high vantage the 0at$her $ould not see the $ontents of these vats/ but a 0hite luminosity 3oured u30ards from the rim of one of them and a flesh5tinted 3hos3hores$en$e from the other.
0holly sure of $ertain things and $ould remember very little of the a$tual manner in 0hi$h the 0ork of the men and their assistants 0as being $arried on. !im dubious bat5like $reatures seemed to be flitting to and fro bet0een one of the stone vats and the grou3 that toiled like s$ul3tors $lothing the bony foot 0ith a reddish 3lasm 0hi$h they a33lied and moulded like so mu$h $lay. *as3ard thought but 0as not $ertain later that this 3lasm 0hi$h gleamed as if 0ith mingled blood and fire 0as being brought from the rosy5litten vat in vessels borne by the $la0s of the shado0y flying $reatures. :one of them ho0ever a33roa$hed the other vat 0hose 0annish light 0as momently enfeebled as if it 0ere dying do0n.
*as3ard had seen $ertain of the e3eriments and evo$ations of :athaire and 0as all too &e looked for the minikin figure of :athaire familiar 0ith the a33urtenan$es of the dark arts. 0hom he $ould not distinguish in the $ro0ded Within $ertain limits he 0as not s6ueamish/ nor s$ene. The si$k ne$roman$er F if he had not 0as it likely that he 0ould have been terrified already su$$umbed to the little5kno0n disease overmu$h by the shado0y un$outh sha3es of that had long 0asted him like an in0ard flame demons 0ho toiled in the 3it belo0 him side by F 0as no doubt hidden from vie0 by the side 0ith the bla$k$lad 3u3ils of the sor$erer. But $olossal skeleton and 0as 3erha3s dire$ting the a $old horror $lut$hed his heart 0hen he sa0 labours of the men and demons from his $ou$h. the in$redible enormous thing that o$$u3ied the $entral floorD the $olossal human skeleton a S3ellbound on that 3re$arious ledge the hundred feet in length stret$hing for more than 0at$her failed to hear the furtive $at5like feet the etent of the old $astle hall/ the skeleton that 0ere $limbing behind him on the ruinous 0hose bony right foot the grou3 of men and stairs. Too late he heard the $link of a loose devils to all a33earan$e 0ere busily $lothing fragment $lose u3on his heels/ and turning in 0ith human fleshO startlement he to33led into sheer oblivion beneath the im3a$t of a $udgel5like blo0 and The 3rodigious and ma$abre frame0ork did not even kno0 that the beginning fall of his $om3lete in every 3art 0ith ribs like ar$hes of body to0ards the $ourtyard had been arrested some Satani$ nave shone as if it 0ere still by his assailants arms. heated by the fires of an infernal 0elding. 7t seemed to shimmer and burn 0ith unnatural life to 6uiver 0ith malign dis6uietude in the fli$kering $. The orror of Ylo)rgne glare and gloom. The great fingerbones $urving $la05like on the floor a33eared as if they 0ere *as3ard returning from his dark 3lunge into about to $lose u3on some hel3less 3rey. The @ethean em3tiness found himself ga'ing into the tremendous teeth 0ere set in an everlasting grin eyes of :athaireD those eyes of li6uid night and of sardoni$ $ruelty and mali$e. The hollo0 eye5 ebony in 0hi$h s0am the $hill malignant fires of so$kets dee3 as Tartarean 0ells a33eared to stars that had gone do0n to irremeable seethe 0ith myriad mo$king lights like the eyes 3erdition. ;or some time in the $onfusion of his of elementals s0imming u30ards in obs$ene senses he $ould see nothing but the eyes 0hi$h seemed to have dra0n him forth like baleful shado0. magnets from his s0oon. A33arently *as3ard 0as stunned by the sho$king and disembodied or set in a fa$e too vast for human stu3endous fantasmagoria that ya0ned before $ogni'an$e they burned before him in $haoti$ him like a 3eo3led hell. After0ards he 0as never murk/ Then by degrees he sa0 the other
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features of the sor$erer and the details of a lurid s$ene/ and be$ame a0are of his o0n situation. Trying to lift his hands to his a$hing head he found that they 0ere bound tightly together at the 0rists. &e 0as half lying half leaning against an ob
of mali$e and make your 3ea$e 0ith *od F if indeed it still be 3ossible for you to make 3ea$e. What foul and monstrous bre0 are you 3re3aring to ensure the ultimate 3erdition of your soulPG The d0arf 0as again sei'ed by a s3asm of diaboli$ mirth. G:ay nay my good *as3ardG he said finally. G7 have made another bond than the one 0ith 0hi$h 3uling $o0ards try to 3ur$hase the good 0ill and forgiveness of the heavenly Tyrant. &ell may take me in the end if it 0ill/ but &ell has 3aid and 0ill still 3ay an am3le and goodly 3ri$e. 7 must die soon it is true for my doom is 0ritten in the starsD but in death by the gra$e of Satan 7 live again and shall go forth endo0ed 0ith the mighty the0s of the Anakim to visit vengean$e on the 3eo3le of Averoigne 0ho have long hated me for my ne$romanti$ 0isdom and have held me in derision for my d0arf stature.G GWhat madness is this 0hereof you dreamPG asked the youth a33alled by the more than human fren'y and malignity that seemed to dilate the shrunken frame of :athaire and stream in Tartarean lustre from his eyes. G7t is no madness but a veritable thingD a mira$le mayha3 as life itself is a mira$le.... ;rom the fresh bodies of the dead 0hi$h other0ise 0ould have rotted a0ay in $harnel foulness my 3u3ils and familiars are making for me beneath my instru$tion the giant form 0hose skeleton you have beheld. )y soul at the death of its 3resent body 0ill 3ass into this $olossal tenement through the 0orking of $ertain s3ells of transmigration in 0hi$h my faithful assistants have also been $arefully instru$ted.G G7f you had remained 0ith me *as3ard and had not dra0n ba$k in your 3etty 3ious s6ueamishness from the marvels and 3rofundities that 7 should have unveiled for you it 0ould no0 be your 3rivilege to share in the $reation of this 3rodigy.... And if you had $ome to Ylourgne a little sooner in your 3resum3tuous 3rying 7 might have made a $ertain use of your stout bones and mus$les... the same use 7 have made of other young men 0ho died through a$$ident or violen$e. But it is too late even for this sin$e the
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
building of the bones has been $om3leted and it remains only to invest them 0ith human flesh. )y good *as3ard there is nothing 0hatever to be done 0ith you F e$e3t to 3ut you safely out of the 0ay. 9rovidentially for this 3ur3ose there is an oubliette beneath the $astleD a some0hat dismal lodging53la$e no doubt but one that 0as made strong and dee3 by the grim lords of Ylourgne.G *as3ard 0as unable to frame any re3ly to this sinister and etraordinary s3ee$h. Sear$hing his horror5fro'en brain for 0ords he felt himself sei'ed from behind by the hands of unseen beings 0ho had $ome no doubt in ans0er to some gesture of :athaireD a gesture 0hi$h the $a3tive had not 3er$eived. &e 0as blindfolded 0ith some heavy fabri$ mouldy and musty as a grave$loth and 0as led stumbling through the litter of strange a33aratus and do0n a 0inding flight of ruinous narro0 stairs from 0hi$h the noisome breath of stagnating 0ater mingled 0ith the oily muskiness of ser3ents arose to meet him. &e a33eared to des$end for a distan$e that 0ould admit of no return. Slo0ly the sten$h gre0 stronger more insu33ortable/ the stairs ended/ a door $langed sullenly on rusty hinges/ and *as3ard 0as thrust for0ard on a dam3 uneven floor that seemed to have been 0orn a0ay by myriad feet. &e heard the grating of a 3onderous slab of stone. &is 0rists 0ere untied the bandage 0as removed from his eyes and he sa0 by the light of fli$kering tor$hes a round hole that ya0ned in the oo'ing floor at his feet. Beside it 0as the lifted slab that had formed its lid. Before he $ould turn to see the fa$es of his $a3tors to learn if they 0ere men or devils he 0as sei'ed rudely and thrust into the ga3ing hole &e fell through #rebus5like darkness for 0hat seemed an immense distan$e before he stru$k bottom. @ying half stunned in a shallo0 fetid 3ool he heard the funereal thud of the heavy slab as it slid ba$k into 3la$e far above him. %. The a)lts of Ylo)rgne
*as3ard 0as revived after a 0hile by the $hillness of the 0ater in 0hi$h he lay. &is
garments 0ere half soaked/ and the slimy me3hiti$ 3ool as he dis$overed by his first movement 0as 0ithin an in$h of his mouth. &e $ould hear a steady monotonous dri33ing some0here in the rayless night of his dungeon. &e staggered to his feet finding that his bones 0ere still inta$t and began a $autious e3loration ;oul dro3s fell u3on his hair and lifted fa$e as he moved/ his feet sli33ed and s3lashed in the rotten 0ater/ there 0ere angry vehement hissings and ser3entine $oils slithered $oldly a$ross his ankles. &e soon $ame to a rough 0all of stone and follo0ing the 0all 0ith his finger5ti3s he tried to determine the etent of the oubliette. The 3la$e 0as more or less $ir$ular 0ithout $orners and he failed to form any
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Tales of Averoigne
3robably from sunken hill5s3rings that had su33lied the $astle in former years alone broke the stillness/ but the sound be$ame in time an e6uivo$al monotone that suggested to his half5 delirious mind the mirthless and 3er3etual $hu$kling of unseen im3s. At last from sheer bodily ehaustion he fell into troubled nightmare5ridden $hamber. &e $ould not tell if it 0ere night or noon in the 0orld 0ithout 0hen he a0akened/ for the same stagnant darkness unrelieved by ray or glimmer brimmed the oubliette. Shivering he be$ame a0are of a steady draught that ble0 u3on himD a dank un0holesome air like the breath of unsunned vaults that had 0akened into $ry3ti$ 7ife and a$tivity during his slee3. &e had not noti$ed the draught heretofore/ and his numb brain 0as startled into sudden ho3e by the intimation 0hi$h it $onveyed. 8bviously there 0as some underground rift or $hannel through 0hi$h the air entered/ and this rift might someho0 3rove to be a 3la$e of egress from the oubliette. *etting to his feet he gro3ed un$ertainly for0ard in the dire$tion of the draught. &e stumbled over something that $ra$ked and broke beneath his heels and narro0ly $he$ked himself from falling on his fa$e in tbe slimy ser3ent5haunted 3ool. Before he $ould investigate the obstru$tion or resume his blind gro3ing he heard a harsh grating noise above and a 0avering shaft of yello0 light $ame do0n through the oubliettes o3ened mouth. !a''led he looked u3 and sa0 the round hole ten or t0elve feet overhead through 0hi$h a dark hand had rea$hed do0n 0ith a flaring tor$h. A small basket $ontaining a loaf of $oarse bread and a bottle of 0ine 0as being lo0ered at the end of a $ord. *as3ard took the bread and 0ine and the basket 0as dra0n u3. Before the 0ithdra0al of the tor$h and the re5de3ositing of the slab he $ontrived to make a hasty survey of his dungeon. The 3la$e 0as roughly $ir$ular as he had surmised and 0as 3erha3s fifteen feet in diameter. The thing over 0hi$h he had stumbled 0as a human skeleton lying half on the rubble5 hea3 half in the filthy 0ater. 7t 0as bro0n and
rotten 0ith age and its garments had long melted a0ay in 3at$hes of li6uid mould. The 0alls 0ere guttered and runnelled by $enturies of oo'e and their very stone it seemed 0as rotting slo0ly to de$ay. 7n the o33osite side at the bottom he sa0 the o3ening he had sus3e$tedD a lo0 mouth not mu$h bigger than a foes hole into 0hi$h the sluggish 0ater fio0ed. &is heart sank at the sight/ for even if the 0ater 0ere dee3er than it seemed the hole 0as far too strait for the 3assage of a mans body. 7n a state of ho3elessness that 0as like a veritable suffo$ation he found his 0ay ba$k to the rubble53ile 0hen the light had been 0ithdra0n. The loaf of bread and the bottle of 0ine 0ere still in his hands. )e$hani$ally 0ith dull sodden hunger he mun$hed and drank. After0ards he felt stronger/ and the sour $ommon 0ine served to 0arm him and 3erha3s hel3ed to ins3ire him 0ith the idea 0hi$h he 3resently $on$eived. ;inishing the bottle he found his 0ay a$ross the dungeon to the lo0 burro05like hole. The entering air $urrent had strengthened and this he took for a good omen !ra0ing his dagger he started to 3i$k 0ith the 3oint at the half5 rotten de$om3osing 0all in an effort to enlarge the o3ening. &e 0as for$ed to kneel in noisome silt/ and the 0rithing $oils of 0ater5snakes hissing frightfully $ra0led a$ross his legs as he 0orked. #vidently the hole 0as their means of ingress and egress to and from the oubliette. The stone $rumbled readily beneath his dagger and *as3ard forgot the horror and ghastliness of his situation in the ho3e of es$a3e. &e had no means of kno0ing the thi$kness of the 0all/ or the nature and etent of the subterrenes that lay beyond/ but he felt sure that there 0as some $hannel of $onne$tion 0ith the outer air. ;or hours or days it seemed he toiled 0ith his dagger digging blindly at the soft 0all and removing the dLbris that s3lashed in the 0ater beside him. After a 0hile 3rone on his belly he $re3t into the hole he had enlarged/ and burro0ing like some laborious mole he made his 0ay on0ards in$h by in$h.
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
At last to his 3rodigious relief the dagger53oint 0ent through into em3ty s3a$e. &e broke a0ay 0ith his hands the thin shell of obstru$ting stone that remained/ then $ra0ling on in the darkness he found that he $ould stand u3right on a sort of shelving floor. Straightening his $ram3ed limbs he moved on very $autiously. &e 0as in a narro0 vault or tunnel 0hose sides he $ould tou$h simultaneously 0ith his outstret$hed finger5ti3s. The floor 0as a do0n0ards in$line/ and the 0ater dee3ened rising to his knees and then to his 0aist 9robably the 3la$e had on$e been used as an underground eit from the $astle/ and the roof falling in had dammed the 0ater. )ore than a little dismayed *as3ard began to 0onder if he had e$hanged the foul skeleton5 haunted oubliette for something even 0orse. The night around and before him 0as still untou$hed by any ray and the air5$urrent though strong 0as laden 0ith dankness and mouldiness as of interminable vaults. Tou$hing the tunnel5sides at intervals as he 3lunged hesitantly into the dee3ening 0ater he found a shar3 angle giving u3on free s3a$e at his right. The s3a$e 3roved to be the mouth of an interse$ting 3assage 0hose flooded bottom 0as at least level and 0ent no dee3er into the stagnant foulness #3loring it he stumbled over the beginning of a flight of u30ard ste3s. )ounting these through the shoaling 0ater he soon found himself on dry stone. The stairs narro0 broken irregular 0ithout landings a33eared to 0ind in some eternal s3iral that 0as $oiled lightlessly about the bo0els of Ylourgne. They 0ere $lose and stifling as a tomb and 3lainly they 0ere not the sour$e of the air5$urrent 0hi$h *as3ard had started to follo0. Whither they 0ould lead he kne0 not/ nor $ould he tell if they 0ere the same stairs by 0hi$h he had been $ondu$ted to his dungeon. But he $limbed steadily 3ausing only at long intervals to regain his breath as best he $ould in the dead me3hitis5burdened air. At length in the solid darkness far above he began to hear a mysterious muffled soundD a dull but re$urrent $rash as of mighty blo$ks and masses of falling stone. The sound 0as
uns3eakably ominous and dismal and it seemed to shake the unfathomable 0alls around *as3ard and to thrill 0ith a sinister vibration in the ste3s on 0hi$h he trod &e $limbed no0 0ith redoubled $aution and alertness sto33ing ever and anon to listen. The re$urrent $rashing noise gre0 louder more ominous as if it 0ere immediately above/ and the listener $rou$hed on the dark stairs for a time that might have been many minutes 0ithout daring to go farther. At last 0ith dis$on$erting suddenness the sound $ame to an end leaving a strained and fearful stillness. With many baleful $on
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Tales of Averoigne
*as3ard for an instant 0as 3u''led by the flood of full moonlight amid the ruins. Then he sa0 that almost the 0hole inner 0all of the $astle giving on the $ourtyard had been removed. 7t 0as the tearing5do0n of the 3rodigious blo$ks no doubt through an etrahuman labour levied by sor$ery that he had heard during his as$ent from the subterrene vaults. &is blood $urdled he felt an a$tual horri3ilation as he reali'ed the 3ur3ose for 0hi$h the 0all had been demolished. 7t 0as evident that a 0hole day and 3art of another night had gone by sin$e his immurement/ for the moon rode high in the 3ale sa33hire 0elkin. Bathed in its $hilly glare the huge vats no longer emitted their eerie and ele$tri$ 3hos3hores$en$e. The $ou$h of Sara$en fabri$s on 0hi$h *as3ard had beheld the dying d0arf 0as no0 half hidden from vie0 by the mounting fumes of bra'iers and thuribles amid 0hi$h the sor$erers ten 3u3ils $lad in sable and s$arlet 0ere 3erforming their hideous and re3ugnant rite 0ith its malefi$ally measured litany. ;earfully as one 0ho $onfronts an a33arition reared u3 from nether hell *as3ard beheld the $olossus that lay inert as if in Cy$lo3ean slee3 on the $astle flags. The thing 0as no longer a skeletonD the limbs 0ere rounded into bossed enormous the0s like the limbs of Bibli$al giants/ the flanks 0ere like an insu3erable 0all/ the deltoids of the mighty $hest 0ere broad as 3latform/ the hands $ould have $rushed the bodies of men like millstones.... But the fa$e of the stu3endous monster seen in 3rofile ath0art the 3ouring moon 0as the fa$e of the Satani$ d0arf :athaire F re5magnified a hundred times but the same in its im3la$able madness and malevolen$eO The vast bosom seemed to rise and fall/ and during a 3ause of the ne$romanti$ ritual *as3ard heard the unmistakable sound of a mighty res3iration The eye in the 3rofile 0as $losed/ but its lid a33eared to tremble like a great $urtain as if the monster 0ere about to 0ake/ and the outflung hand 0ith fingers 3ale and bluish as a ro0 of $or3ses t0it$hed un6uietly on the $astle flags.
An insu33ortable terror sei'ed the 0at$her/ but even this terror $ould not indu$e him to return to the noisome vaults he had left. With infinite hesitation and tre3idation he stole forth from the $orner kee3ing in a 'one of ebon shado0 that flanked the $astle 0all. As he 0ent he sa0 for a moment through bellying folds of va3our the $ou$h on 0hi$h the shrunken form of :athaire 0as lying 3allid and motionless. 7t seemed that the d0arf 0as dead or had fallen into a stu3or 3re$eding death. Then the $horal voi$es $rying their dreadful in$antation rose higher in Satani$ trium3h/ the va3ours eddied like a hell5born $loud $oiling about the sor$erers in 3ython5sha3ed volumes and hiding again the 8rient $ou$h and its $or3se5like o$$u3ant. A thraldom of measureless evil o33ressed the air. *as3ard felt that the a0ful transmigration evoked and im3lored 0ith evers0elling liturgi$ blas3hemies 0as about to take 3la$e F had 3erha3s already o$$urred. &e thought that the breathing giant stirred like one 0ho tosses in light slumber. Soon the to0ering massively re$umbent hulk 0as inter3osed bet0een *as3ard and the $hanting ne$roman$ers. They had not seen him/ and he no0 dared to run s0iftly and gained the $ourtyard un3ursued and un$hallenged. Then$e 0ithout looking ba$k he fled like a devil5hunted thing u3on the stee3 and $hasm5 riven slo3es belo0 Ylourgne. 7. The Coming of the Coloss)s
After the $essation of the eodus of li$hes a universal terror still 3revailed/ a 0ide5flung shado0 of a33rehension infernal and funereal lay stagnantly on Averoigne. There 0ere strange and disastrous 3ortents in the as3e$t of the skiesD flame5bearded meteors had been seen to fall beyond the eastern hills/ a $omet far in the south had s0e3t the stars 0ith its luminous bosom for a fe0 nights and had then faded leaving among men the 3ro3he$y of bale and 3estilen$e to $ome. By day the air 0as o33ressed and sultry and the blue heavens 0ere heated as if by 0hitish fires. Clouds of thunder darkling and 0ithdra0n shook their fulgurant lan$es on the
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
far hori'ons like some beleaguering Titan army. A murrain su$h as 0ould $ome from the 0orking of 0i'ard s3ells 0as abroad among the $attle. All these signs and 3rodigies 0ere an added heaviness on the burdened s3irits of men 0ho 0ent to and fro in daily fear of the hidden 3re3arations and ma$hinations of hell. But until the a$tual breaking5forth of the in$ubated mena$e there 0as no one save *as3ard du :ord 0ho had kno0ledge of its veritable form. And *as3ard fleeing headlong beneath the gibbous moon to0ards "yones and fearing to hear the tread of a $olossal 3ursuer at any moment had thought it more than useless to give 0arning in su$h to0ns and villages as lay u3on his line of sight. Where indeed F even if 0arned F $ould men ho3e to hide themselves from the a0ful thing begotten by &ell on the ravished $harnel that 0ould 0alk forth like the Anakim to visit its roaring 0rath on a tram3led 0orldP So all that night and throughout the day that follo0ed *as3ard du :ord 0ith the dried slime of the oubliette on his briar5shredded raiment 3lunged like a madman through the to0ering 0oods that 0ere haunted by robbers and 0ere5 0olves. The 0est0ard5falling moon fli$kered in his eyes bet0it the gnarled sombre boles as he ran/ and the da0n overtook him 0ith the 3ale shafts of its sear$hing arro0s. The noon 3oured over him its 0hite sultriness like furna$e5heated metal sublimed into light/ and the $lotted filth that $lung to his tatters 0as again turned into slime by his o0n s0eat. But still he 3ursued his nightmare5harried 0ay 0hile a vague seemingly ho3eless 3lan took form in his mind. 7n the interim several monks of the Cister$ian brotherhood 0at$hing the grey 0all of Ylourgne at early da0n 0ith their habitual vigilan$e 0ere the first after *as3ard to behold the monstrous horror $reated by the ne$roman$ers. Their a$$ount may have been some0hat tinged by a 3ious eaggeration/ but they s0ore that the giant rose abru3tly standing more than 0aist5 high above the ruins of the barbi$an amid a sudden lea3ing of long5tongued fires and a s0irling of 3it$hy fumes eru3ted from )albolge. The giants head 0as level 0ith the high to3 of
the don
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Tales of Averoigne
9ausing in the valley5bottom the giant stood o33osite the monastery 0ith his flame5filled eyes on a level 0ith the 0indo0 from 0hi$h Bemard and Ste3hane 0ere 3eering. &e laughed again F an a0ful laugh like a subterranean rurnbling F and then stoo3ing he 3i$ked u3 a handful of boulders as if they had been 3ebbles and 3ro$eeded to 3elt the monastery. The boulders $rashed against the 0alls as if hurled from great $ata3ults or mangonels of 0ar/ but the stout building held though shaken grievously. Then 0ith both hands the $olossus tore loose an immense ro$k that 0as dee3ly embedded in the hillside/ and lifting this ro$k he flung it at the stubborn 0alls. The tremendous mass broke in an entire side of the $ha3el/ and those 0ho had gathered therein 0ere found later $rushed into bloody 3ul3 amid the s3linters of their $arven Christ. After that as if disdaining to 3alter any further 0ith a 3rey so insignifi$ant the $olossus turned his ba$k on the little monastery and like some fiend5born *oliath 0ent roaring do0n the valley into Averoigne. As he de3arted Bernard and Ste3hane still 0at$hing from their 0indo0 sa0 a thing they had not 3er$eived heretoforeD a huge basket made of 3lanking that hung sus3ended by ro3es bet0een the giants shoulders. 7n the basket ten men F the 3u3ils and assistants of :athaire F 0ere being $arried like so many dolls or 3u33ets in a 3eddlers 3a$k. 8f the subse6uent 0anderings and de3redations of the $olossus a hundred legends 0ere long $urrent throughout AveroigneD tales of an uneam3led ghastliness a 0anton diabolism 0ithout 3arallel in all the histories of that demon5 3estered land. The goatherds of the hills belo0 Ylourgne sa0 him $oming and fled 0ith their nimble5footed flo$ks to the highest ridges. To these he 3aid little heed merely tram3ling them do0n like beetles 0hen they $ould not es$a3e from his 3ath. ;ollo0ing the hillstream that 0as the sour$e of the river 7soile he $ame to the verge of the great forest/ and here it is related he tore u3 a to0ering an$ient 3ine by the roots and sna33ing off the mighty boughs 0ith his hands
sha3ed it into a $udgel 0hi$h he $arried hen$efor0ard. With this $udgel heavier than a battering5ram he 3ounded into sha3eless ruin a 0ayside shrine in the outer 0oods. A hamlet fell in his 0ay and he strode through it beating in the roofs to33ling the 0alls and $rushing the inhabitants beneath his feet. To and fro in a mad fren'y of destru$tion like a deathdrunken Cy$lo3s he 0andered all that day. #ven the fier$e beasts of the 0oodland ran from him in fear. The 0olves in mid5hunt abandoned their 6uarry and retired ho0ling dismally 0ith terror to their ro$ky dens. The bla$k savage hunting5dogs of the forest barons 0ould not fa$e him and hid 0him3ering in their kennels. )en heard his mighty laughter his stormy bello0ing/ they sa0 his a33roa$h from a distan$e of many leagues and fled or $on$ealed themselves as best they $ould. The lords of moated $astles $alled in their men5at5 arms dre0 u3 their dra0bridges and 3re3ared as if for the siege of an army. The 3easants hid themselves in $averns in $ellars in old 0ells and even beneath hay5mounds ho3ing that he 0ould 3ass them by unnoti$ed. The $hur$hes 0ere $rammed 0ith refugees 0ho sought 3rote$tion of the Cross deeming that Satan himself or one of his $hief lieutenants had risen to harry and lay 0aste the land. 7n a voi$e like summer thunder mad maledi$tions unthinkable obs$enities and blas3hemies 0ere uttered $easelessly by the giant as he 0ent to and fro. )en heard him address the litter of bla$k5$lad figures that he $arried on his ba$k in tones of admonishment or demonstration su$h as a master 0ould use to his 3u3ils. 9eo3le 0ho had kno0n :athaire re$ogni'ed the in$redible likeness of the huge features the similarity of the s0ollen voi$e to his. A rumour 0ent abroad that the d0arf sor$erer through his loathly bond 0ith the Adversary had been 3ermitted to transfer his hateful soul into this Titani$ form/ and bearing his 3u3ils 0ith him had returned to vent an insatiable ire a bottomless ran$our on the 0orld that had mo$ked him for his 3uny 3hysi6ue and reviled
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Clark Ashton Smith
him for his sor$ery. The $harnel genesis of the monstrous avatar 0as also rumoured/ and indeed it 0as said that the $olossus had o3enly 3ro$laimed his identity. 7t 0ould be tedious to make e3li$it mention of all the enormities all the atro$ities that 0ere as$ribed to the marauding giant.... There 0ere 3eo3le F mostly 3riests and 0omen it is told F 0hom he 3i$ked u3 as they fled and 3ulled limb from limb as a $hild might 6uarter an inse$t.... And there 0ere 0orse things not to be named in this re$ord.... )any eye50itnesses told ho0 he hunted 9ierre the @ord of @a ;rHnaie 0ho had gone forth 0ith his dogs and men to $hase a noble stag in the nearby forest 8vertaking horse and rider he $aught them 0ith one hand and bearing them aloft as he strode over the tree5to3s he hurled them later against the granite 0alls of the Chateau of @a ;rHnaie in 3assing. Then $at$hing the red stag that 9ierre had hunted he flung it after them/ and the huge bloody blot$hes made by the im3a$t of the bashed bodies remained long on the $astle stone and 0ere never 0holly 0ashed a0ay by the autumn rains and the 0inter sno0s. Countless tales 0ere told also of the deeds of obs$ene sa$rilege and 3rofanation $ommitted by the $olossusD of the 0ooden "irgin that he flung into the 7soile above Iimes lashed 0ith human gut to the rotting mail5$lad body of an infamous outla0/ of the 0ormy $or3ses that he dug 0ith his hands from un$onse$rated graves and hurled into the $ourtyard of the Benedi$tine abbey of 9erigon/ of the Chur$h of Ste. Eenobie 0hi$h he buried 0ith its 3riests and $ongregation beneath a mountain of ordure made by the gathering of all the dunghea3s from neighbouring farms. 8. The &a(ing of the Coloss)s
Ba$k and forth in an irregular drunken 'ig'ag $ourse from end to end and side to side of the harried realm the giant strode 0ithout 3ause like an energumen 3ossessed by some im3la$able fiend of mis$hief and murder leaving behind him as a rea3er leaves his s0ath an ever5lengthening 'one of havo$ of ra3ine
and $arnage. And 0hen the sun bla$kened by the smoke of burning villages had set luridly beyond the forest men still sa0 him moving in the dusk and heard still the 3ortentous rumbling of his mad stormy $a$hinnation. :earing the gates of "yones at sunset *as3ard du :ord sa0 behind him through ga3s in the an$ient 0ood the far5off head and shoulders of the terrible $olossus 0ho moved along the 7soile stoo3ing from sight at intervals in some horrid deed. Though numb 0ith 0eariness and ehaustion *as3ard 6ui$kened his flight. &e did not believe ho0ever that the monster 0ould try to invade "yones the es3e$ial ob
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Tales of Averoigne
After0ards he $ould s$ar$ely remember eating and drinking. 8ver0orn beyond the limit of bodily and s3iritual enduran$e he thre0 himself do0n on his 3allet 0ithout removing his oo'e5 stiffened tatters and sle3t soddenly till an hour half50ay bet0een midnight and da0n. &e a0oke 0ith the death53ale beams of the gibbous moon shining u3on him through his 0indo0/ and rising s3ent the balan$e of the night in making $ertain o$$ult 3re3arations 0hi$h he felt offered the only 3ossibility of $o3ing 0ith the fiendish monster that had been $reated and animated by :athaire. Working feverishly by the light of the 0estering moon and a single dim ta3er *as3ard assembled various ingredients of familiar al$hemi$ use 0hi$h he 3ossessed and $om3ounded from these through a long and some0hat $abalisti$ 3ro$ess a dark5grey 3o0der 0hi$h he had seen em3loyed by :athaire on numerous o$$asions. &e had reasoned that the $olossus being formed from the bones and flesh of dead men unla0fully raised u3 and energi'ed only by the soul of a dead sor$erer 0ould be sub
&is intuition 0as $onfirmed/ for s$ar$ely had he finished his o$$ult labours 0hen he heard a mounting hubbub in the streets and above the shrill dismal $lamour of frightened voi$es the far5off roaring of the giant. *as3ard kne0 that he must lose no time if he 0ere to 3ost himself in a 3la$e of vantage from 0hi$h he $ould thro0 his 3o0der into the nostrils of the hundred5foot $olossus. The $ity 0alls and even most of the $hur$h s3ires 0ere not lofty enough for this 3ur3ose/ and a brief refle$tion told him that the great $athedral standing at the $ore of "yones 0as the one 3la$e from 0hose roof he $ould front the invader 0ith su$$ess. &e felt sure that the men5at5arms on the 0alls $ould do little to 3revent the monster from entering and 0reaking his malevolent 0ill. :o earthly 0ea3on $ould in
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
:othing $ould stay his advan$e. The tiny figures of a $om3any of 3ikemen 0ho o33osed him 0ith out5thrust 0ea3ons s0e3t from the 0all above the eastern gate by a single sidelong blo0 of the seventy5foot 3ine that he bore for a $udgel. Then having $leared the 0all the $olossus $limbed over it into "yones. -oaring $hu$kling laughing like a mania$al Cy$lo3s he strode along the narro0 streets bet0een houses that rose only to his 0aist tram3ling 0ithout mer$y everyone 0ho $ould not es$a3e in time and smashing in the roofs 0ith stu3endous blo0s of his bludgeon. With a 3ush of his left hand he broke off the 3rotruding gables and overturned the $hur$h stee3les 0ith their bells $langing in dolorous alarm as they 0ent do0n. A 0oeful shrieking and 0ailing of hysteria5laden voi$es a$$om3anied his 3assing. Straight to0ards the $athedral he $ame as *as3ard had $al$ulated feeling that the high edifi$e 0ould be made the s3e$ial butt of his malevolen$e. The streets 0ere no0 em3tied of 3eo3le/ but as if to hunt them out and $rush them in their hiding53la$es the giant thrust his $udgel like a battering5ram through 0alls and 0indo0s and roofs as he 0ent by. The ruin and havo$ that he left 0as indes$ribable. Soon he loomed o33osite the $athedral to0er on 0hi$h *as3ard 0aited behind the gargoyle. &is head 0as level 0ith the to0er and his eyes flamed like 0ells of burning brimstone as he dre0 near. &is li3s 0ere 3arted over stala$titi$ fangs in a hateful snarl/ and he $ried out in a voi$e like the rumbling of arti$ulate thunderD G&oO Ye 3uling 3riests and devotees of a 3o0erless *odO Come forth and bo0 to :athaire the master before he s0ee3s you into limboOG 7t 0as then that *as3ard 0ith a hardihood beyond $om3arison rose from his hiding53la$e and stood in full vie0 of the raging $olossus. G!ra0 nearer :athaire if indeed it be you foul robber of tombs and $harnelsG he taunted. GCome $lose for 7 0ould hold s3ee$h 0ith you.G
A monstrous look of astonishment dimmed the diaboli$ rage on the $olossal features. 9eering at *as3ard as if in doubt or in$redulity the giant lo0ered his lifted $udgel and ste33ed $lose to the to0er till his fa$e 0as only a fe0 feet from the intre3id student. Then 0hen he had a33arently $onvin$ed himself of *as3ards identity the look of mania$al 0rath returned flooding his eyes 0ith Tartarean fire and t0isting his lineaments into a mask of A3ollyon5like malignity. &is left arm $ame u3 in a 3rodigious ar$ 0ith t0it$hing fingers that 3oised horribly above the head of the youth $asting u3on him a vulture5bla$k shado0 in the full5risen sun. *as3ard sa0 the 0hite startled fa$es of the ne$roman$ers 3u3ils 3eering over his shoulder from their 3lank5built basket. G7s it you *as3ard my re$reant 3u3ilPG the $olossus roared stormily. G7 thought you 0ere rotting in the oubliette beneath Ylourgne F and no0 7 find you 3er$hed ato3 of this a$$ursed $athedral 0hi$h 7 am about to demolishO ... You had been far 0iser to remain 0here 7 left you my good *as3ard.G &is breath as he s3oke ble0 like a $harnel5 3olluted gale on the student. &is vast fingers 0ith bla$kened nails like shovelblades hovered in ogreish mena$e. *as3ard had furtively loosened his leathern 3ou$h that hung at his belt and had untied its mouth. :o0 as the t0it$hing fingers des$ended to0ards him he em3tied the $ontents of the 3ou$h in the giants fa$e and the fine 3o0der mounting in a dark5 grey $loud obs$ured the snarling li3s and 3al3itating nostrils from his vie0. Aniously he 0at$hed the effe$t fearing that the 3o0der might be useless after all against the su3erior arts and Satani$al resour$es of :athaire. But mira$ulously as it seemed the evil lamben$e died in the 3it5dee3 eyes as the monster inhaled the flying $loud. &is lifted hand narro0ly missing the $rou$hing youth in its s0ee3 fell lifelessly at his side. The anger 0as erased from the mighty $ontorted mask as if from the fa$e of a dead man/ the great $udgel fell 0ith a $rash to the em3ty street/ and 0ith dro0sy lur$hing ste3s and listless hanging arms the giant turned his ba$k to the $athedral and retra$ed his 0ay through the devastated $ity.
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&e muttered dreamily to himself as he 0ent/ and 3eo3le 0ho heard him s0ore that the voi$e 0as no longer the a0ful thunders0ollen voi$e of :athaire but the tones and a$$ents of a multitude of men amid 0hi$h the voi$es of $ertain of the ravished dead 0ere re$ogni'able. And the voi$e of :athaire himself no louder no0 than in life 0as heard at intervals through the manifold mutterings as if 3rotesting angrily. Climbing the eastern 0all as it had $ome the $olossus 0ent to and fro for many hours no longer 0reaking a hellish 0rath and ran$our but sear$hing as 3eo3le thought for the various tombs and graves from 0hi$h the hundreds of bodies that $om3osed it had been so foully reft. ;rom $harnel to $harnel from $emetery to $emetery it 0ent through all the land/ but there 0as no grave any0here in 0hi$h the dead $olossus $ould lie do0n. Then to0ards evening men sa0 it from afar on the red rim of the sky digging 0ith its hands in the soft loamy 3lain beside the river 7soile. There in a monstrous and self5made grave the $olossus laid itself do0n and did not rise again. The ten 3u3ils of :athaire it 0as believed unable to des$end from their basket 0ere $rushed beneath the mighty body/ for none of them 0as ever seen thereafter. ;or many days no one dared to a33roa$h the 3la$e 0here the $or3se lay un$overed in its self5 dug grave. And so the thing rotted 3rodigiously beneath the summer sun breeding a mighty sten$h that 0rought 3estilen$e in that 3ortion of Averoigne. And they 0ho ventured to go near in the follo0ing autumn 0hen the sten$h had lessened greatly s0ore that the voi$e of :athaire still 3rotesting angrily 0as heard by them to issue from the enormous rook5haunted bulk. 8f *as3ard du :ord 0ho had been the saviour of the 3rovin$e it 0as related that he lived in mu$h honour to a ri3e age being the one sor$erer of that region 0ho at no time in$urred the disa33robation of the Chur$h.
The Coming of the hite orm 4Cha!ter 5 of the Book of 6ibon Rendered from the Old French manuscript of Gaspard du Nord.
#vagh the 0arlo$k d0elling beside the boreal sea 0as a0are of many strange and untimely 3ortents in mid5summer. ;rorely burned the sun above )hu Thulan from a 0elkin $lear and 0annish as i$e. At eve the aurora 0as hung from 'enith to earth like an arras in a high $hamber of gods. Wan and rare 0ere the 3o33ies and small the anemones in the $liff5se6uestered vales lying behind the house of #vagh/ and the fruits in his 0alled garden 0ere 3ale of rind and green at the $ore. Also he beheld by day the unseasonable flight of great multitudes of fo0l going south0ard from the hidden isles beyond )hu Thulan/ and by night he heard the distressful $lamor of other 3assing multitudes. And al0ays in the loud 0ind and $rying surf he harkened to the 0eird 0his3er of voi$es from realms of 3erennial 0inter. :o0 #vagh 0as troubled by these 3ortents even as the rude fisher5folk on the shore of the haven belo0 his house 0ere troubled. Being a 3ast5master of all sortilege and a seer of remote and future things he made use of his arts in an effort to divine their meaning. But a $loud 0as u3on his eyes through the daytime/ and a darkness th0arted him 0hen he sought illumination in dreams. &is most $unning horos$o3es 0ere 3ut to naught/ his familiars 0ere silent or ans0ered him e6uivo$ally/ and $onfusion 0as amid all his geoman$ies and hydroman$ies and harus3i$ations. And it seemed to #vagh that an unkno0n 3o0er 0orked against him mo$king and making im3otent in su$h fashion the sor$ery that none had defeated heretofore. And #vagh kne0 by $ertain tokens 3er$e3tible to 0i'ards that the 3o0er 0as an evil 3o0er and its boding 0as of bale to man. !ay by day through the middle summer the fisher5folk 0ent forth in their $ora$les of elk5hide and 0illo0 $asting their seines. But in the seines they dre0 dead fishes blasted as if by fire or
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Clark Ashton Smith
etreme $old/ and they dre0 living monsters su$h as their eldest $a3tains had never beheldD things tri3le5headed and tailed and finned 0ith horror/ bla$k sha3eless things that turned to a li6uid foulness and ran a0ay from the net/ or headless things like bloated moons 0ith green fro'en rays about them/ or things le3rous5eyed and bearded 0ith stiffly5oo'ing slime. Then out of the sea5hori'oned north 0here shi3s from Cerngoth 0ere 0ont to 3ly among the Ar$ti$ islands a galley $ame drifting 0ith idle oars and aimlessly veering helm. The tide bea$hed it among the boats of the fishermen 0hi$h fared no longer to sea but 0ere dra0n u3 on the sands belo0 the $liff5built house of #vagh. And thronging about the galley in a0e and 0onder the fishers beheld its oarsmen still at the oars and its $a3tain at the helm. But the fa$es and hands of all 0ere stark as bone and 0ere 0hite as the flesh of le3rosy/ and the 3u3ils of their o3en eyes had faded strangely being indistinguishable no0 from the 0hites/ and a blankness of horror 0as 0ithin them like i$e in dee3 3ools that are fast fro'en to the bottom. And #vagh himself des$ending later also beheld the galleys $re0 and 3ondered mu$h $on$erning the im3ort of this 3rodigy. @oath 0ere the fishers to tou$h the dead men/ and they murmured saying that a doom 0as u3on the sea and a $urse u3on all sea5faring things and 3eo3le. But #vagh deeming that the bodies 0ould rot in the sun and 0ould breed 3estilen$e $ommanded them to build a 3ile of drift0ood about the galley/ and 0hen the 3ile had risen above the bul0arks hiding from vie0 the dead ro0ers he fired it 0ith his o0n hands. &igh flamed the 3ile and smoke as$ended bla$k as a storm5$loud and 0as borne in 0indy volumes 3ast the tall to0ers of #vagh on the $liff. But later 0hen the fire sank the bodies of the oarsmen 0ere seen sitting amid the mounded embers/ and their arms 0ere still outstret$hed in the attitude of ro0ing and their fingers 0ere $len$hed/ though the oars had no0 dro33ed a0ay from them in brands and ashes. And the $a3tain of the galley stood u3right still in his 3la$eD though the burnt helm had fallen beside him. :aught but the raiment of the marble $or3ses had been $onsumed/ and they shone
0hite as moon50ashed marble above the $harrings of 0ood/ and no0here u3on them 0as there any bla$kness from the fire. !eeming this thing an ill mira$le the fishers 0ere all aghast and they fled s0iftly to the u33ermost ro$ks. There remained 0ith #vagh only his t0o servants the boy -atha and the an$ient $rone Ahilidis 0ho had both 0itnessed many of his $on
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ominously the saying of the 3ro3het @ith 0hi$h no man had understoodD GThere is 8ne that inhabits the 3la$e of utter $old and 8ne that res3ireth 0here none other may dra0 breath. 7n the days to $ome &e shall issue forth among the isles and $ities of men and shall bring 0ith &im as a 0hite doom the 0ind that slumbereth in his d0elling.G Though a fire burned in the $hamber 3iled 0ith fat 3ine and terebinth it seemed that a deadly $hill began to invade the air to0ard midnight. Then as #vagh turned uneasily from the 3ar$hments of 9nom and sa0 that the fires bla'ed high as if in no need of re3lenishment he heard the sudden turmoil of a great 0ind full of sea5birds eerily shrieking and the $ries of land5 fo0l driven on hel3less 0ings and over all a high laughter of diaboli$ voi$es. )adly from the north the 0ind beat u3on his s6uare5based to0ers/ and birds 0ere $ast like blo0n leaves of autumn against the stout53aned 0indo0s/ and devils seemed to tear and strain at the granite 0alls. Though the rooms door 0as shut and the 0indo0s 0ere tight5$losed an i$y gust 0ent round and round $ir$ling the table 0here #vagh sat snat$hing the broad 3ar$hments of 9nom from beneath his fingers and 3lu$king at the lam35flame. "ainly 0ith numbing thoughts he strove to re$all that $ounter5$harm 0hi$h is most effe$tive against the s3irits of the boreal 6uarter. Then strangely it seemed that the 0ind fell leaving a mighty stillness about the house. The $hill gust 0as gone from the room the lam3 and the fire burned steadily and something of 0armth returned slo0ly into the half5fro'en marro0 of #vagh. Soon he 0as made a0are of a light shining beyond his $hamber 0indo0s as if a belated moon had no0 risen above the ro$ks. But #vagh kne0 that the moon 0as at that time a thin $res$ent de$lining 0ith eventide. 7t seemed that the light shone from the north 3ale and frigid as fire of i$e/ and going to the 0indo0 he beheld a great beam that traversed all the sea $oming as if from the hidden 3ole. 7n that light the ro$ks 0ere 3aler than marble and the sands 0ere 0hiter than sea5salt and the huts of the fishermen 0ere as 0hite tombs. The 0alled
garden of #vagh 0as full of the beam and all the green had de3arted from its foliage and its blossoms 0ere like flo0ers of sno0. And the beam fell bleakly on the lo0er 0alls of his house but left still in shado0 the 0all of that u33er $hamber from 0hi$h he looked. &e thought that the beam 3oured from a 3ale $loud that had mounted above the sea5line or else from a 0hite 3eak that had lifted sky0ard in the night/ but of this he 0as un$ertain. Wat$hing he sa0 that it rose higher in the heavens but $limbed not u3on his 0alls. 9ondering in vain the signifi$an$e of the mystery he seemed to hear in the air about him a s0eet and 0i'ard voi$e. And s3eaking in a tongue that he kne0 not the voi$e uttered a rune of slumber. And #vagh $ould not resist the rune and u3on him fell su$h a numbness of slee3 as over$omes the out0orn 0at$her in a 3la$e of sno0. Walking stiffly at da0n he rose u3 from the floor 0here he had lain and 0itnessed a strange marvel. ;or lo in the harbour there to0ered an i$eberg su$h as no vessel had yet sighted in all its sea5faring to the north and no legend had told of among the dim &y3erborean isles. 7t filled the broad haven from shore to shore and sheered u3 to a height immeasurable 0ith 3iled es$ar3ments and tiered 3re$i3i$es/ and its 3inna$les hung like to0ers in the 'enith above the house of #vagh. 7t 0as higher than the dread mountain A$horavomas 0hi$h bel$hes rivers of flame and li6uid stone that 3our un6uen$hed through Ts$ho "ul3anomi to the austral main. 7t 0as stee3er than the mountain Yarak 0hi$h marks the site of the boreal 3ole/ and from it there fell a 0an glittering on sea and land. !eathly and terrible 0as the glittering and #vagh kne0 that this 0as the light he had beheld in the darkness. S$ar$e $ould he dra0 breath in the $old that 0as on the air/ and the light of the huge i$eberg seared his eyeballs 0ith an e$eeding froreness. Yet he 3er$eived an odd thing that the rays of the glittering fell indire$tly and to either side of his house/ and the lo0er $hambers 0here -atha and Ahilidis sle3t 0ere no longer tou$hed by the beam as in the night/ and u3on all his house there 0as naught but the early sun and the morning shado0s.
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
8n the shore belo0 he sa0 the $harrings of the bea$hed galley and amid them the 0hite $or3ses in$ombustible by fire. And along the sands and ro$ks the fisher5folk 0ere lying or standing u3right in still rigid 3ostures as if they had $ome forth from their hiding53la$es to behold the 3ale beam and had been smitten by a magi$ slee3. And the 0hole harbour5shore and the garden of #vagh even to the front threshold of his house 0as like a 3la$e 0here frost has fallen thi$kly over all. Again he remembered the saying of @ith/ and 0ith mu$h foreboding he des$ended to the ground story. There at the northern 0indo0s the boy -atha and the hag Ahilidis 0ere leaning 0ith fa$es turned to the light. Stiffly they stood 0ith 0ide5o3en eyes and a 3ale terror 0as in their regard and u3on them 0as the 0hite death of the galleys $re0. And nearing them the sor$erer 0as stayed by the terrible $hillness that smote u3on him from their bodies. &e 0ould have fled from the house kno0ing his magi$ 0holly ineffe$tual against this thing. But it $ame to him that death 0as in the dire$t falling of the rays from the i$eberg and leaving the house he must 3erfor$e enter that fatal light. And it $ame to him also that he alone of all 0ho d0elt on that shore had been eem3ted from the death. &e $ould not surmise the reason of his eem3tion/ but in the end he deemed it best to remain 3atiently and 0ithout fear 0aiting 0hatever should befall. -eturning to his $hamber he busied himself 0ith various $on
s3ells. 7nvisible fingers tou$hed him 0ith i$y 3angs/ and about him $ame and 0ent a bleak radian$e like a tide that flo0s and ebbs and flo0s again . 7ntolerable 0as the radian$e to all his senses/ but it brightened slo0ly 0ith briefer ebbings/ and in time his eyes and his flesh 0ere tem3ered to endure it. ;ull u3on him no0 0as the light of the i$eberg through his northern 0indo0s/ and it seemed that a great #ye regarded him in the light. &e 0ould have risen to $onfront the #ye/ but his s0oon held him like a 3alsy. After that he sle3t again for a 3eriod. Waking he found in all his limbs their 0onted strength and 6ui$kness. The strange light 0as still u3on him filling all his $hamber/ and 3eering out he 0itnessed a ne0 marvel. ;or lo his garden and the ro$ks and sea5sands belo0 it 0ere visible no longer. 7n their stead 0ere level s3a$es of i$e about his house and tall i$e53inna$les that rose like to0ers from the broad battlements of a fortress. Beyond the verges of the i$e he beheld a sea that lay remotely and far beneath/ and beyond the sea the lo0 looming of a dim shore. Terror $ame to #vagh no0 for he re$ogni'ed in all this the 0orkings of a sor$ery 3leni3otent and beyond the 3o0er of all mortal 0i'ards. ;or 3lain it 0as that his high house of granite stood no longer on the $oast of )hu Thulan but 0as based no0 on some u33er $rag of the i$eberg. Trembling he knelt then and 3rayed to the 8ld 8nes 0ho d0ell se$retly in subterrene $averns or abide under the sea or in the su3ermundane s3a$es. And even as he 3rayed he heard a loud kno$king at the door of his house. 7n mu$h fear and 0onder he des$ended and flung 0ide the 3ortals. Before him 0ere t0o men or $reatures 0ho had the likeness of men. Both 0ere strange of visage and bright5skinned and they 0ore for mantles su$h rune50oven stuffs as 0i'ards 0ear. The runes 0ere un$outh and alien/ but 0hen the man bes3oke him he understood something of their s3ee$h 0hi$h 0as in a diale$t of the &y3erborean isles. GWe serve the 8ne 0hose $oming 0as foretold by the 3ro3het @ithG they said. G;rom s3a$es beyond the limits of the north he hath $ome in his floating $itadel the i$e5mountain Yikilth to
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voyage the mundane o$eans and to blast 0ith a $hill s3endour the 3uny 3eo3les of humankind. &e hath s3ared us alone amid the inhabitants of the broad isle Thulask and hath taken us to go 0ith him in his sea5faring u3on Yikilth. &e hath tem3ered our flesh to the rigour of his abode and hath made res3irable for us the air in 0hi$h no mortal man may dra0 breath. Thee also he hath s3ared and hath a$$limated by his s3ells to the $oldness and the thin ether that go every0here 0ith Yikilth. &ail 8 #vagh 0hom 0e kno0 for a great 0i'ard by this tokenD sin$e only the mightiest of 0arlo$ks are thus $hosen and eem3ted.G Sorely astonished 0as #vagh/ but seeing that he had no0 to deal 0ith men 0ho 0ere as himself he 6uestioned $losely the t0o magi$ians of Thulask. They 0ere named !ooni and = @oddhan and 0ere 0ise in the lore of the elder gods. The name of the 8ne that they served 0as -lim Shaikorth and he d0elt in the highest summit of the i$e5mountain. They told #vagh nothing of the nature or 3ro3erties of -lim Shaikorth/ and $on$erning their o0n servi$e to this being they avo0ed only that it $onsisted of su$h 0orshi3 as is given to a god together 0ith the re3udiation of all bonds that had linked them heretofore to mankind. And they told #vagh that he 0as to go 0ith them before -lim Shaikorth and 3erform the due rite of obeisan$e and a$$e3t the bond of final alienage. So #vagh 0ent 0ith !ooni and = @oddhan and 0as led by them to a great 3inna$le of i$e that rose unmeltable into the 0an sun beetling above all its fello0s on the flat to3 of the berg. The 3inna$le 0as hollo0 and $limbing therein by stairs of i$e they $ame at last to the $hamber of -lim Shaikorth 0hi$h 0as a $ir$ular dome 0ith a round blo$k at the $enter forming a dais. And on the dais 0as that being 0hose advent 3ro3het @ith had foretold obs$urely. At sight of this entity the 3ulses of #vagh 0ere stilled for an instant by terror/ and follo0ing 6ui$kly u3on the terror his gorge rose 0ithin him through e$ess of loathing. 7n all the 0orld there 0as naught that $ould be likened for its foulness to -lim Shaikorth. Something he had of the semblan$e of a fat 0hite 0orm/ but his bulk 0as
beyond that of the sea5ele3hant. &is half5$oiled tail 0as thi$k as the middle folds of his body/ and his front reared u30ard from the dais in the form of a 0hite round disk and u3on it 0ere im3rinted vaguely the lineaments of a visage belonging neither to beast of the earth nor o$ean5$reature. And amid the visage a mouth $urved un$leanly from side to side of the disk o3ening and shutting in$essantly on a 3ale and tongueless and toothless ma0. The eye5so$kets of -lim Shaikorth 0ere $lose together bet0een his shallo0 nostrils/ and the so$kets 0ere eyeless but in them a33eared from moment to moment globules of a blood5$oloured matter having the form of eyeballs/ and ever the globules broke and dri33ed do0n before the dais. And from the i$e5floor of the dome there as$ended t0o masses like stalagmites 3ur3le and dark as fro'en gore 0hi$h had been made by the $easeless dri33ing of the globules. !ooni and = @oddhan 3rostrated themselves before the being and #vagh deemed it 0ell to follo0 their eam3le. @ying 3rone on the i$e he heard the red dro3s falling 0ith a s3lash as of heavy tears/ and then in the dome above him it seemed that a voi$e s3oke/ and the voi$e 0as like the sound of some hidden $atara$t in a gla$ier hollo0 0ith $averns. GBehold 8 #vaghG said the voi$e. G7 have 3reserved thee from the doom of thy fello05 men and have made thee as they that inhabit the bourn of $oldness and they that inhale the airless void. Wisdom ineffable shall be thine and mastery beyond the $on6uest of mortals if thou 0ilt but 0orshi3 me and be$ome my thrall. With me thou shalt voyage amid the kingdoms of the north and shalt 3ass among the green southern islands and see the 0hite falling of death u3on them in the light from Yikilth. 8ur $oming shall bring eternal frost on their gardens and shall set u3on their 3eo3les flesh the seal of that gulf 0hose rigor 3aleth one by one the most ardent stars and 3utteth rime at the $ore of suns. All this thou shalt 0itness being as one of the lords of death su3ernal and immortal/ and in the end thou shalt return 0ith me to that 0orld beyond the uttermost 3ole in 0hi$h is mine abiding em3ire. ;or 7 am he 0hose $oming even the gods may not o33ose.G
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:o0 seeing that he 0as 0ithout $hoi$e in the matter #vagh 3rofessed himself 0illing to yield 0orshi3 and servi$e to the 3ale 0orm. Beneath the instru$tion of !ooni and = @oddhan he 3erformed the sevenfold rite that is s$ar$e suitable for narration here and s0ore the threefold vo0 of uns3eakable alienation. Thereafter for many days and nights he sailed 0ith -lim Shaikorth ado0n the $oast of )hu Thulan. Strange 0as the manner of that voyaging for it seemed that the great i$eberg 0as guided by the sor$ery of the 0orm 3revailing ever against 0ind and tide. And al0ays by night or day like the beams of a deathly bea$on the $hill s3lendour smote afar from Yikilth. 9roud galleys 0ere overtaken as they fled south0ard and their $re0s 0ere blasted at the oars/ and often shi3s 0ere $aught and embedded in the ne0 bastions of i$e that formed daily around the base of that ever5 gro0ing mountain. The fair &y3erborean 3orts busy 0ith maritime traffi$ 0ere stilled by the 3assing of -lim Shaikorth. 7dle 0ere their streets and 0harves idle 0as the shi33ing in their harbours 0hen the 3ale light had $ome and gone. ;ar inland fell the rays bringing to the fields and gardens a blight of trans5Ar$ti$ 0inter/ and forests 0ere fro'en and the beasts that roamed them 0ere turned as if into marble so that men 0ho $ame long after0ard to that region found the elk and bear and mammoth still standing in all the 3ostures of life. But d0elling u3on Yikilth the sor$erer #vagh 0as immune to the i$y death/ and sitting in his house or 0alking abroad on the berg he 0as a0are of no shar3er $old than that 0hi$h abides in summer shado0s. :o0 beside !ooni and = @oddhan the sor$erers of Thulask there 0ere five other 0i'ards that 0ent 0ith #vagh on that voyage having been $hosen by -lim Shaikorth. They too had been tem3ered to the $oldness by Yikilth and their houses had been trans3orted to the berg by unkno0n en$hantment. They 0ere outlandish and un$outh men $alled 9olarians from islands nearer the 3ole than broad Thulask/ and #vagh $ould understand little of their 0ays/ and their sor$ery 0as foreign to him and their s3ee$h 0as unintelligible/ nor 0as it kno0n to the Thulaskians.
!aily the eight 0i'ards found on their tables all the 3rovender ne$essary for human sustenan$e/ though they kne0 not the agen$y by 0hi$h it 0as su33lied. All 0ere united in the 0orshi3 of the 0hite 0orm/ and all it seemed 0ere $ontent in a measure 0ith their lot and 0ere fain of that unearthly lore and dominion 0hi$h the 0orm had 3romised them. But #vagh 0as uneasy at heart and rebelled in se$ret against his thralldom to -lim Shaikorth/ and he beheld 0ith revulsion the doom that 0ent forth eternally from Yikilth u3on lovely $ities and fruitful o$ean5 shores. -uthfully he sa0 the blasting of flo0er5 girdled Cerngoth and the boreal stillness that des$ended on the thronged streets of @e66uan and the frost that seared 0ith sudden 0hiteness the garths and or$hards of the sea5fronting valley of Aguil. And sorro0 0as in his heart for the fishing5$ora$les and the biremes of trade and 0arfare that floated manless after they had met Yikilth. #ver south0ard sailed the great i$eberg bearing its lethal 0inter to lands 0here the summer sun rode high. And #vagh ke3t his o0n $ounsel and follo0ed in all 0ays the $ustom of !ooni and = @oddhan and the others. At intervals that 0ere regulated by the motions of the $ir$um3olar stars the eight 0i'ards $limbed to that lofty $hamber in 0hi$h -lim Shaikorth abode 3er3etually half5$oiled on his dais of i$e. There in a ritual 0hose $aden$es $orres3onded to the falling of those eye5like tears that 0ere 0e3t by the 0orm and 0ith genufle$tions timed to the ya0ning and shutting of his mouth they yielded to -lim Shaikorth the re6uired adoration. Sometimes the 0orm 0as silent and sometimes he bes3oke them rene0ing vaguely the 3romises he had made. And #vagh learned from the others that the 0orm sle3t for a 3eriod at ea$h darkening of the moon/ and only at that time did the sanguine tears sus3end their falling and the mouth forbear its alternate $losing and ga3ing. At the third re3etition of the rites of 0orshi3 it $ame to 3ass that only seven 0i'ards $limbed to the to0er. #vagh $ounting their number 3er$eived that the missing man 0as one of the five outlanders. After0ards he 6uestioned !ooni and = @oddhan regarding this matter and
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made signs of in6uiry to the four northrons/ but it seemed that the fate of the absent 0arlo$k 0as a thing mysterious to them all. :othing 0as seen or heard of him from that time/ and #vagh 3ondering long and dee3ly 0as some0hat dis6uieted. ;or during the $eremony in the to0er $hamber it had seemed to him that the 0orm 0as grosser of bulk and girth than on any 3rior o$$asion. Covertly he asked 0hat manner of nutriment 0as re6uired by -lim Shaikorth. Con$erning this there 0as mu$h dubiety and dis3uteD for = @oddhan maintained that the 0orm fed on nothing less uni6ue than the hearts of 0hite Ar$ti$ bears/ 0hile !ooni s0ore that his rightful nourishment 0as the liver of 0hales. But to their kno0ledge the 0orm had not eaten during their so
After0ards 0hen they had des$ended from the to0er #vagh and the t0o Thulaskians debated the inter3retation of this ans0er. #vagh maintained that the im3ort 0as sinister for truly their missing $om3anions 0ere 3resent only in the 0orms belly/ but the others argued that these men had undergone a more mysti$al translation and 0ere no0 elevated beyond human sight and hearing. ;orth0ith they began to make ready 0ith 3rayer and austerity in e3e$tation of some sublime a3otheosis 0hi$h 0ould $ome to them in due turn. But #vagh 0as still fearful/ and he $ould not trust the e6uivo$al 3ledges of the 0orm/ and doubt remained 0ith him. Seeking to assuage his doubt and 3eradventure to find some tra$e of the lost 9olarians he made sear$h of the mighty berg on 0hose battlements his o0n house and the houses of the other 0arlo$ks 0ere 3er$hed like the tiny huts of fishers on o$ean5$liffs. 7n this 6uest the others 0ould not a$$om3any him fearing to in$ur the 0orms dis3leasure. ;rom verge to verge of Yikilth he roamed unhindered as if on some broad 3lateau 0ith 3eaks and horns/ and he $limbed 3erilously on the u33er s$ar3s and 0ent do0n into dee3 $revasses and $averns 0here the sun failed and there 0as no other light than the strange luster of that unearthly i$e. #mbedded here in the 0alls as if in the stone of nether strata he sa0 d0ellings su$h as men had never built and vessels that might belong to other ages or 0orlds/ but no0here $ould he dete$t the 3resen$e of any living $reature/ and no s3irit or shado0 gave res3onse to the ne$romati$ evo$ations 0hi$h he uttered oftentimes as he 0ent along the $hasms and $hambers. So #vagh 0as still a33rehensive of the 0orms trea$hery/ and he resolved to remain a0ake on the night 3re$eding the net $elebration of the rites of 0orshi3/ and at eve of that night he assured himself that the other 0i'ards 0ere all housed in their se3arate mansions to the number of five. And having as$ertained this he set himself to 0at$h 0ithout remission the entran$e of -lim Shaikorths to0er 0hi$h 0as 3lainly visible from his o0n 0indo0s. Weird and $hill 0as the shining of the berg in the darkness/ for a light as of fro'en stars 0as
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effulgent at all times from the i$e. A moon that 0as little 3ast the full arose early on the orient seas. But #vagh holding vigil at his 0indo0 till midnight sa0 that no visible form emerged from the tall to0er and none entered it. At midnight there $ame u3on him a sudden dro0siness su$h as 0ould be felt by one 0ho had drunk some o3iate 0ine/ and he $ould not sustain his vigil any longer but sle3t dee3ly and unbrokenly throughout the remainder of the night. 8n the follo0ing day there 0ere but four sor$erers 0ho gathered in the i$e5dome and gave hommage to -lim Shaikorth. And #vagh sa0 that t0o more of the outlanders men of bulk and stature d0arfish beyond their fello0s 0ere no0 missing. 8ne by one thereafter on nights 3re$eding the $eremony of 0orshi3 the $om3anions of #vagh vanished. The last 9olarian 0as net to go/ and it $ame to 3ass that only #vagh and = @oddhan and !ooni 0ent to the to0er/ and then #vagh and = @oddhan 0ent alone. And terror mounted daily in #vagh for he felt that his o0n time dre0 near/ and he 0ould have hurled himself into the sea from the high ram3arts of Yikilth if = @oddhan 0ho 3er$eived his intention had not 0arned him that no man $ould de3art therefrom and live again in solar 0armth and terrene air having been habituated to the $oldness and thin ether. And = @oddhan it seemed 0as 0holly oblivious to his doom and 0as fain to im3ute an esoteri$ signifi$an$e to the ever5gro0ing bulk of the 0hite 0orm and the vanishing of the 0i'ards. So at that time 0hen the moon had 0aned and darkened 0holly it o$$urred that #vagh $limbed before -lim Shaikorth 0ith infinite tre3idation and loath laggard ste3s. And entering the dome 0ith do0n$ast eyes he found himself to be the sole 0orshi33er. A 3alsy of fear 0as u3on him as he made obeisan$e/ and s$ar$ely he dared to lift his eyes and regard the 0orm. But even as he began to 3erform the $ustomary genufle$tions he be$ame a0are that the red tears of -lim Shaikorth no longer fell on the 3ur3le stalagmites/ nor 0as there any sound su$h as the 0orm 0as 0ont to make by the 3er3etual
o3ening and shutting of his mouth. And venturing at last to look u30ard #vagh beheld the abhorrently s0ollen mass of the monster 0hose thi$kness 0as su$h as to overhang the dais rim/ and he sa0 that the mouth and eye5 holes of -lim Shaikorth 0ere $losed as if in slumber/ and thereu3on he re$alled ho0 the 0i'ards of Thulask had told him that the 0orm sle3t for an interval at the darkening of ea$h moon/ 0hi$h 0as a thing he had forgotten tem3orarily in his etreme dread and a33rehension. :o0 0as #vagh sorely be0ildered for the rites he had learned from his fello0s $ould be fittingly 3erformed only 0hile the tears of -lim Shaikorth fell do0n and his mouth ga3ed and $losed and ga3ed again in measured alternation. And none had instru$ted him as to 0hat rites 0ere 3ro3er and suitable during the slumber of the 0orm. And being in mu$h doubt he said softlyD GWakest thou 8 -lim ShaikorthPG 7n re3ly he seemed to hear a multitude of voi$es that issued obs$urely from out the 3ale tumid mass before him. The sound of the voi$es 0as 0eirdly muffled but among them he distinguished the a$$ents of !ooni and = @oddhan/ and there 0as a thi$k muttering of outlandish 0ords 0hi$h #vagh kne0 for the s3ee$h of the five 9olarians/ and beneath this he $aught or seemed to $at$h innumerable undertones that 0ere not the voi$es of men or beasts nor su$h sounds as 0ould be emitted by earthly demons. And the voi$es rose and $lamoured like those of a throng of 3risoners in some 3rofound oubliette. Anon as he listened in horror ineffable the voi$e of !ooni be$ame arti$ulate above the others/ and the manifold $lamour and muttering $eased as if a multitude 0ere hushed to hear its o0n s3okesman. And #vagh heard the tones of !ooni sayingD GThe 0orm slee3eth but 0e 0hom the 0orm hath devoured are a0ake. !irely has he de$eived us for he $ame to our houses in the night devouring us bodily one by one as 0e sle3t under the en$hantment he had 0rought. &e has eaten our souls even as our bodies and verily 0e are 3art of -lim Shaikorth but eist only
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as in a dark and noisome dungeon/ and 0hile the 0orm 0akes 0e have no se3arate or $ons$ious being but are merged 0holly in the ultraterrestrial being of -lim Shaikorth. G&ear then 8 #vagh the truth 0e have learned from our oneness 0ith the 0orm. &e has saved us from the 0hite doom and has taken us u3on Yikilth for this reason be$ause 0e alone of all mankind 0ho are sor$erers of high attainment and mastery may endure the lethal i$e5$hange and be$ome breathers of the airless void and thus in the end be made suitable for the 3rovender of su$h as -lim Shaikorth. G*reat and terrible is the 0orm and the 3la$e 0herefrom he $ometh and 0hereto he returneth is not to be dreamt of by living men. And the 0orm is omnis$ient save that he kno0s not the 0aking of them he has devoured and their a0areness during his slumber. But the 0orm though an$ient beyond the anti6uity of 0orlds is not immortal and is vulnerable in one 3arti$ular. Whosoever learneth the time and means of his vulnerability and hath heart for this undertaking may slay him easily. And the time for the deed is during his term of slee3. Therefore 0e ad
origin and essen$e/ and he 0as told the se$ret of Yikilth and the manner 0herein Yikilth had floated do0n from trans5Ar$ti$ gulfs to voyage the seas of #arth. #ver as he listened his abhorren$e greatenedD though deeds of dark sor$ery and $on
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bare foothold and sa0 dimly through the reeking va3ours the throned mass of -lim Shaikorth. The gash had 0idened 3rodigiously and a stream surged from it like the 0aters of a broken 0eir billo0ing out0ard around the dais/ and yet as if in further 3roof of the 0orms unearthly nature his bulk 0as in no 0ise diminished thereby. And still the bla$k li6uid $ame in an evil flood/ and it rose s0irling about the knees of #vagh/ and the va3ours seemed to take the forms of a myriad 3ress of 3hantoms 0reathing obs$urely together and dividing on$e more as they 0ent 3ast him. Then as he tottered and gre0 giddy on the stair5head he 0as s0e3t a0ay and 0as hurled to his death on the i$e5 ste3s far belo0. That day on the sea to east0ard of middle &y3erborea the $re0s of $ertain mer$hant galleys beheld an unheard5of thing. ;or lo as they s3ed north returning from far o$ean5isles 0ith a 0ind that aided their oars they sighted in the late forenoon a monstrous i$eberg 0hose 3inna$les and $rags loomed high as mountains. The berg shone in 3art 0ith a 0eird light/ and from its loftiest 3inna$le 3oured an ink5bla$k torrent/ and all the i$e5$liffs and buttresses beneath 0ere a5stream 0ith ra3ids and $as$ades and sheeted falls of the same bla$kness that fumed like boiling 0ater as they 3lunged o$ean0ard/ and the sea around the i$eberg 0as $louded and streaked for a 0ide interval as if 0ith the dark fluid of the $uttlefish. The mariners feared to sail $loser/ but full of a0e and marvelling they stayed their oars and lay 0at$hing the berg/ and the 0ind dro33ed so that their galleys drifted 0ithin vie0 of it all that day. They sa0 that the berg d0indled s0iftly melting as though some unkno0n fire $onsumed it/ and the air took on a strange 0armth and the 0ater about their shi3s gre0 te3id. Crag by $rag the i$e 0as runneled and eaten a0ay/ and huge 3ortions fell off 0ith a mighty s3lashing/ and the highest 3inna$le $olla3sed/ but still the bla$kness 3oured out as from an unfathomable fountain. The mariners thought at 0hiles that they beheld houses running sea0ard amid the loosened fragments/ but of this they 0ere un$ertain be$ause of those ever5mounting va3ours. By sunset5time the berg had dimished
to a mass no larger than a $ommon floe/ yet still the 0elling bla$kness overstreamed it/ and it sank lo0 in the 0ave/ and the 0eird light 0as 6uen$hed altogether. Thereafter the night being moonless it 0as lost to vision/ and a gale rose blo0ing strongly from the south/ and at da0n the sea 0as void of any remnant. Con$erning the matters related above many and various legends have gone forth throughout )hu Thulan and all the etreme &y3erboreal kingdoms and ar$hi3elagoes even to the southmost isle of 8s'htror. The truth is not in su$h talesD for no man has kno0n the truth heretofore. But 7 the sor$erer #ibon $alling u3 through my ne$roman$y the 0ave50andering s3e$tre of #vagh have learned from him the veritable history of the 0orms advent. And 7 have 0ritten it do0n in my volume 0ith su$h omissions as are needful for the s3aring of mortal 0eakness and sanity. And men 0ill read this re$ord together 0ith mu$h more of the elder lore in days long after the $oming and melting of the great gla$ier.
The isinterment of en)s 9rior to $ertain highly de3lorable and s$andalous events in the year 1%%R the vegetable garden of 9erigon 0as situated on the southeast side of the abbey. After these events it 0as removed to the north0est side 0here it has remained ever sin$e/ and the former garden5site 0as given to 0eeds and briars 0hi$h by stri$t order of the su$$essive abbots no one has ever tried to eradi$ate or $urb. The ha33enings 0hi$h $om3elled this removal of the Benedi$tines turni3 and $arrot 3at$hes be$ame a 3o3ular tale in Averoigne. 7t is hard to say ho0 mu$h or ho0 little of the legend is a3o$ry3hal. 8ne A3ril morning three monks 0ere s3ading lustily in the garden. Their names 0ere 9aul 9ierre and &ughes. The first 0as a man of ri3e years hale and robust/ the se$ond 0as in his early 3rime/ the third 0as little more than a boy and had but re$ently taken his final vo0s.
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Being moved 0ith an es3e$ial ardour in 0hi$h the vernal stirring of youthful sa3 may have 3layed its 3art &ughes 3ro$eeded to dig the loamy soil even more diligently than his $omrades. The ground 0as almost free of stones o0ing to the $areful tillage of many generations of monks/ but anon through the mus$ular 'eal 0ith 0hi$h it 0as 0ielded the s3ade of &ughes en$ountered a hard and 0ell5buried ob
statue there 0as an una$kno0ledged 3leasure 0hi$h the three 0ould have rebuked in themselves as vile and shameful if they had re$ogni'ed it. ;earful of $hi33ing or s$rat$hing the marble they 0ielded their s3ades 0ith mu$h $hariness/ and 0hen the digging 0as $om3leted and the $omely feet 0ere un$overed on their 3edestal 9aul the oldest standing beside the image in the 3it began to 0i3e a0ay 0ith a handful of 0eeds and grass the ma$ulations of dark loam that still $lung to its lovely body. This task he 3erformed 0ith great thoroughness/ and he ended by 3olishing the marble 0ith the hem and sleeves of his bla$k robe. &e and his fello0s 0ho 0ere not 0ithout $lassi$ learning no0 sa0 that the figure 0as evidently a statue of "enus dating no doubt from the -oman o$$u3ation of Averoigne 0hen $ertain altars to this divinity had been established by the invaders. The vi$issitudes of half5legendary time the long dark years of inhumation had harmed the "enus little if at all. The slight mutilation of an ear5 ti3 half hidden by ri33ling $urls and the 3artial fra$ture of a sha3ely middle toe merely served to add if 3ossible a keener sedu$tion to her languorous beauty. She 0as e6uisite as the su$$ubi of youthful dreams but her 3erfe$tion 0as tou$hed 0ith inenarrable evil. The lines of the mature figure 0ere fraught 0ith a maddening luuriousness/ the li3s of the full Cir$ean fa$e 0ere half 3outing half smiling 0ith ambiguous allure. 7t 0as the master3ie$e of an unkno0n de$adent s$ul3tor/ not the noble maternal "enus of heroi$ times but the sly and $ruelly volu3tuous Cytherean of dark orgies ready for her des$ent into the &ollo0 &ill. A forbidden en$hantment an unhallo0ed thralldom seemed to flo0 from the flesh53ale marble and to 0eave itself like invisible hair about the hearts of the Brothers. With a sudden mutual feeling of shame they re$alled their monkhood and began to debate 0hat should be done 0ith the "enus 0hi$h in a monastery garden 0as some0hat mis3la$ed. After brief dis$ussion &ughes 0ent to re3ort their find to the
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abbot and a0ait his de$ision regarding its dis3osal. 7n the mean0hile 9aul and 9ierre resumed their garden labours stealing 3erha3s o$$asional $overt glan$es at the 3agan goddess. Augustin the abbot $ame 3resently into the garden a$$om3anied by those monks 0ho 0ere not at that hour engaged in some s3e$ial task. With a severe mien in silen$e he 3ro$eeded to ins3e$t the statue/ and those 0ith him 0aited reverently not venturing to s3eak before their abbot had s3oken. #ven the saintly Augustin ho0ever in s3ite of his age and rigorous tem3er 0as some0hat dis$omfited by the 3e$uliar 0it$hery 0hi$h seemed to emanate from the marble. 8f this he gave no sign and the natural austerity of his demeanour dee3ened. Curtly he ordered the bringing of ro3es and dire$ted the raising of the "enus from her loamy bed to a standing 3osition on the garden ground beside the hole. 7n this task 9aul 9ierre and &ughes 0ere assisted by t0o others. )any of the monks no0 3ressed for0ard to eamine the figure $losely/ and several 0ere even 3rom3ted to tou$h it till rebuked for this unseemly a$tion by their su3erior. Certain of the elder and more austere Benedi$tines urged its immediate destru$tion arguing that the image 0as a heathen abomination that defiled the abbey garden by its 3resen$e. 8thers the most 3ra$ti$al 3ointed out that the "enus being a rare and beautiful eam3le of -oman s$ul3ture might 0ell be sold at a goodly 3ri$e to some ri$h and im3ious art5lover. Augustin though he felt that the "enus should be destroyed as an im3ure 3agan idol 0as filled 0ith a 6ueer and 3e$uliar hesitation 0hi$h led him to defer the ne$essary orders for her demolishment. 7t 0as as if the subtly 0anton loveliness of the marble 0ere 3leading for $lemen$y like a living form 0ith a voi$e half human half divine. Averting his eyes from the 0hite bosom he s3oke harshly bidding the Brothers to return to their labours and devotions and saying that the "enus $ould remain in the garden till arrangements 0ere made for her ultimate dis3osition and removal. 9ending this
he instru$ted one of the Brothers to bring sa$k$loth and dra3e there0ith the unseemly nudity of the goddess. The disinterment of this anti6ue image be$ame a sour$e of mu$h dis$ussion and some 3erturbation and dissension amid the 6uiet Brotherhood at 9erigon. Be$ause of the $uriosity sho0n by many monks the abbot issued an in
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a$$ounted for only by the dire$t influen$e of Satan or some 3o0erful demon.
not been for the hasty and fanati$ 'eal of Brother @ouis.
Worst of all on that very night it 0as found that &ughes and 9aul 0ere absent from their beds in the dormitory/ and no one $ould say 0hither they had gone. They did not return on the day follo0ing 7n6uiries 0ere made by the abbots order in the neighboring village of Sainte Eenobie and it 0as learned that 9aul and &ughes had s3ent the night at a tavern of unsavoury re3ute drinking and 0en$hing/ and they had taken the road to "yones $hief $ity of the 3rovin$e at early da0n. @ater they 0ere a33rehended and brought ba$k to the monastery 3rotesting that their do0nfall 0as 0holly due to some evil $ontagion 0hi$h they had in$urred by tou$hing the statue.
This Brother a youth of good family 0as $ons3i$uous among the Benedi$tines both for his $omely fa$e and his austere 3iety. &andsome as Adonis he 0as given to as$eti$ vigils and 3rolonged devotions outdoing in this regard the abbot and the deans.
7n vie0 of the uneam3led demorali'ation 0hi$h 3revailed at 9erigon no one doubted that a diaboli$ 3agan $harm 0as at 0ork The sour$e of the $harm 0as all too obvious )oreover 6ueer tales 0ere told by monks 0ho had laboured in the garden or had 3assed 0ithin sight of the image. They s0ore that the "enus 0as no mere s$ul3tured idol but a living 0oman or she5devil 0ho had $hanged her 3osition re3eatedly and had re5arranged the folds of the sa$k$loth in su$h manner as to lay bare one sha3ely shoulder and a 3art of her bosom. 8thers avo0ed that the "enus 0alked in the garden by night/ and some even affirmed that she had entered the monastery and a33eared before them like a su$$ubus. )u$h fright and horror 0as $reated by these tales and no one dared to a33roa$h the image $losely. Though the situation 0as su3remely s$andalous the abbot still forbore to issue orders for the statues demolition fearing that any monk 0ho tou$hed it even 0ith a motive so 3ious 0ould $ourt the baleful sor$ery that had brought &ughes and 9aul to disaster and disgra$e and had led others into im3urity of s3ee$h or a$tual im3iety. 7t 0as suggested ho0ever that some layman should be hired to shatter the idol and remove and bury its fragments. This no doubt 0ould have been a$$om3lished in good time if it had
At the hour of the statues disinterment he 0as busily engaged in $o3ying a @atin testament/ and neither then nor at any later time had he $ared to ins3e$t a find 0hi$h he $onsidered more than dubious. &e had e3ressed disa33robation on hearing from his fello0s the details of the dis$overy/ and feeling that the abbey garden 0as 3olluted by the 3resen$e of an obs$ene image he had 3ur3osely avoided all 0indo0s through 0hi$h the marble might have been visible to his $haste eyes. When the influen$e of heathen evil and $orru3tion be$ame manifest amid the Brothers he had sho0n great indignation deeming it a most insufferable thing that virtuous *od5fearing monks should be brought to shame through the o3eration of some hellish 3agan s3ell. &e had re3robated o3enly the hesitation of Augustin and his delay in destroying the malefi$ent idol. )ore mis$hief he said 0ould ensue if it 0ere left inta$t. 7n vie0 of all this etreme sur3rise and alarm 0ere felt at 9erigon 0hen on the fourth day after the ehumation of the statue Brother @ouis 0as dis$overed missing &is bed had not been o$$u3ied on the 3revious night/ but it seemed im3ossible that he $ould have fled the monastery yielding to su$h desires and im3ulsions as had $aused the ruin of 9aul and &ughes. The monks 0ere stri$tly interrogated by their abbot and it 0as revealed that Brother @ouis 0hen last seen had been loitering about the abbey 0orksho3. Sin$e formerly he had sho0n small interest in tools or manual labour this 0as deemed a 3e$uliar thing. ;orth0ith a visit 0as made to the 0orksho3/ and the monk in $harge of the smithy soon found that one of his heaviest hammers had been removed.
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
The $on$lusion 0as obvious to allD @ouis im3elled by virtuous ardour and holy 0rath had gone forth during the night to demolish the baleful image of "enus. Augustin and the Brothers 0ho 0ere 0ith him re3aired immediately to the garden. There they 0ere met by the gardeners 0ho noti$ing from afar that the image no longer o$$u3ied its 3osition beside the 3it 0ere hurrying to re3ort this matter to the abbot. They had not dared to investigate the mystery of its disa33earan$e believing firmly that the statue had $ome to life and 0as lurking some0here about the garden. )ade bold by their number and by the leadershi3 of Augustin the assembled monks a33roa$hed the 3it. Beside its rim they beheld the missing hammer lying on the $lodded loam as if @ouis had $ast it aside. :ear by 0as the sa$king that had $lothed the image/ but there 0ere no fragments of broken marble su$h as they had thought to see. The foot3rints of @ouis 0ere $learly im3rinted u3on the 3its margin and 0ere dis$ernible in strangely $lose 3roimity to the mark left by the 3edestal of the statue. All this 0as very 3e$uliar and the monks felt that the mystery had begun to assume a more than sinister tinge. Then 3eering into the hole itself they beheld a thing that 0as e3li$able only through the ma$hinations of Satan F or one of Satans most 3erni$ious and sedu$tive she5 demons. Someho0 the "enus had been overturned and had fallen ba$k into the broad dee3 3it. The body of Brother @ouis 0ith a shattered skull and li3s bruised to a sanguine 3ul3 0as lying $rushed beneath her marble breasts. &is arms 0ere $las3ed about her in a des3erate loverlike embra$e to 0hi$h death had no0 added its o0n rigidity. #ven more horrible and ine3li$able ho0ever 0as the fa$t that the stone arms of the "enus had $hanged their 3osture and 0ere no0 folded $losely about the dead monk as if she had been s$ul3tured in the attitude of an amorous enla$ementO The horror and $onsternation felt by the Benedi$tines 0ere ine3ressible. Some 0ould have fled from the s3ot in 3ani$ after vie0ing this frightful and most abominable 3rodigy/ but
Augustin restrained them his features stern 0ith the religious ire of one 0ho beholds the fresh handi0ork of the Adversary. &e $ommanded the bringing of a $ross an as3ergillus and holy 0ater together 0ith a ladder for use in des$ending into the 3it/ saying that the body of @ouis must be redeemed from the baleful and dolorous 3light into 0hi$h it had fallen. The iron hammer lying beside the hole 0as 3roof of the righteous intention 0ith 0hi$h @ouis had gone forth/ but it 0as all too 3lain that he had su$$umbed to the hellish $harms of the statue. :evertheless the Chur$h $ould not abandon its erring servant to the 3o0ers of evil. When the ladder 0as brought Augustin himself led the des$ent follo0ed by three of the stoutest and most $ourageous Brothers 0ho 0ere 0illing to risk their o0n s3iritual safety for the redem3tion of @ouis. -egarding that 0hi$h ensued the legends vary slightly. Some say that the as3ersions of holy 0ater made by Augustin on the statue and its vi$tim 0ere 0ithout 3al3able effe$t/ 0hile others relate that the dro3s turned to infernal steam 0hen they stru$k the re$umbent "enus and bla$kened the flesh of @ouis like that of a month5old $adaver thus 3roving him 0holly $laimed by 3erdition. But the tales agree in this that the strength of the three stout Brothers labouring in unison at their abbots dire$tion 0as im3otent to loosen the marble $las3 of the goddess from about her 3rey. So by the order of Augustin the 3it 0as filled hastily to its rim 0ith earth and stones/ and the very s3ot 0here it had been being left 0ithout mound or other mark 0as 6ui$kly overgro0n by grass and 0eeds along 0ith the rest of the abandoned garden.
The 6n*hantress of S(laire Why you big ninnyO 7 $ould never marry you de$lared the demoiselle !oroth(e only daughter of the Sieur des ;lL$hes. &er li3s 3outed at Anselme like t0o ri3e berries. &er voi$e 0as honey F but honey filled 0ith bee5 stings.
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Tales of Averoigne
You are not so ill5looking. And your manners are fair. But 7 0ish 7 had a mirror that $ould sho0 you to yourself for the fool that you really are. WhyP 6ueried Anselme hurt and 3u''led. Be$ause you are
and family and se$lude himself be$ause of a girls unkindnessP &e $ould not de$eive himself into thinking that he had be$ome a hermit through any as3iration to0ard sainthood su$h as had sustained the old an$horites. By d0elling so mu$h. alone 0as he not merely aggravating the malady he had sought to $ureP 9erha3s it o$$urred to him belatedly he 0as 3roving himself the ineffe$tual dreamer the idle fool that !orothee had a$$used him of being. 7t 0as 0eakness to let himself be soured by a disa33ointment. Walking 0ith do0n$ast eyes he $ame una0are to the thi$kets that fringed the 3ool. &e 3arted the young 0illo0s 0ithout lifting his ga'e and 0as about to $ast off his garments. But at that instant the nearby sound of s3lashing 0ater startled him from his abstra$tion. With some dismay Anselme reali'ed that the 3ool 0as already o$$u3ied. To his further $onsternation the o$$u3ant 0as a 0oman. Standing near to the $enter 0here the 3ool dee3ened she stirred the 0ater 0ith her hands till it rose and ri33led against the base of her bosom. &er 3ale 0et skin glistened like 0hite rose53etals di33ed in de0. Anselmes dismay turned to $uriosity and then to un0illing delight. &e told himself that he 0anted to 0ithdra0 but feared to frighten the bather by a sudden movement. Stoo3ing 0ith her $lear 3rofile and her sha3ely left shoulder to0ard him she had not 3er$eived his 3resen$e. A 0oman young and beautiful 0as the last sight he had 0ished to see. :evertheless he $ould not turn his eyes a0ay. The 0oman 0as a stranger to him and he felt that she 0as no girl of the village or $ountryside. She 0as lovely as any $hatelaine of the great $astles of Averoigne. And yet surely no lady or demoiselle 0ould bathe unattended in a forest 3ool. Thi$k5$urling $hestnut hair bound by a light silver fillet billo0ed over her shoulders and burned to red living gold 0here the sun5rays sear$hed it out through the foliage. &ung about her ne$k a light golden $hain seemed to refle$t the lusters of her hair dan$ing bet0een her breasts as she 3layed 0ith the ri33les.
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Clark Ashton Smith
The hermit stood 0at$hing her like a man $aught in 0ebs of sudden sor$ery. &is youth mounted 0ithin him in res3onse to her beautys evo$ation. Seeming to tire of her 3lay she turned her ba$k and began to move to0ard the o33osite shore 0here as Anselme no0 noti$ed a 3ile of feminine garments lay in $harming disorder on the grass. Ste3 by ste3 she rose from the shoaling 0ater revealing hi3s and thighs like those of an anti6ue "enus. Then beyond her he sa0 that a huge 0olf a33earing furtively as a shado0 from the thi$ket had stationed itself beside the hea3 of $lothing. Aoselme had never seen su$h a 0olf before. &e remembered the tales of 0ere0olves that 0ere believed to infest that an$ient 0ood and his alarm 0as tou$hed instantly 0ith the fear 0hi$h only 3reternatural things $an arouse. The beast 0as strangely $olored its fur being a glossy bluish5bla$k. 7t 0as far larger than the $ommon gray 0olves of the forest. Crou$hing ins$rutably half hidden in the sedges it seemed to a0ait the 0oman as she 0aded shore0ard. Another moment thought Anselme and she 0ould 3er$eive her danger 0ould s$ream and turn in terror. But still she 0ent on her head bent for0ard as if in serene meditation. Be0are the 0olfO he shouted his voi$e strangely loud and seeming to break a magi$ stillness. #ven as the 0ords left his li3s the 0olf trotted a0ay and disa33eared behind the thi$kets to0ard the great elder forest of oaks and bee$hes. The 0oman smiled over her shoulder at Anselme turning a short oval fa$e 0ith slightly slanted eyes and li3s red as 3omegranate flo0ers. A33arently she 0as neither frightened by the 0olf nor embarrassed by Anselmes 3resen$e. There is nothing to fear she said in a voi$e like the 3ouring of 0arm honey. 8ne 0olf or t0o 0ill hardly atta$k me. But 3erha3s there are others lurking about 3ersisted Anselme. And there are 0orse dangers than 0olves for one 0ho 0anders alone and unattended through the forest of Averoigne. When you have dressed 0ith your 3ermission 7
shall attend you safely to your home 0hether it be near or far. )y home lies near enough in one sense and far enough in another returned the lady $ry3ti$ally. But you may a$$om3any me there if you 0ish. She turned to the 3ile of garments and Anselme 0ent a fe0 3a$es a0ay among the alders and busied himself by $utting a stout $udgel for 0ea3on against 0ild beasts or other adversaries. A strange but delightful agitation 3ossessed him and he nearly ni$ked his fingers several times 0ith the knife. The misogyny that had driven him to a 0oodland hermitage began to a33ear slightly immature even
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Tales of Averoigne
;or some minutes they had follo0ed a little used 3ath that ser3entined through the anti6ue 0ood. 7t 0as a 3ath the hermit had never $ome u3on before in all his 0anderings. @ithe sa3lings and lo05gro0n boughs of huge bee$hes 3ressed $losely u3on it. Anselme holding them aside for his $om3anion $ame often in thrilling $onta$t 0ith her shoulder and arm. 8ften she s0ayed against him as if losing her balan$e on the rough ground. &er 0eight 0as a delightful burden too soon relin6uished. &is 3ulses $oursed tumultuously and 0ould not 6uiet themselves again.
fainted/ but her arms $re3t 0arm and $linging around his ne$k.
Anselme had 6uite forgotten his eremiti$ resolves. &is blood and his $uriosity 0ere e$ited more and more. &e ventured various gallantries to 0hi$h Se3hora gave 3rovo$ative re3lies. &is 6uestions ho0ever she ans0ered 0ith elusive vagueness. &e $ould learn nothing $ould de$ide nothing about her. #ven her age 3u''led himD at one moment he thought her a young girl the net a mature 0oman.
@ifting his head Anselme looked about him 0ith s0iftly gro0ing be0ilderment. &e had $arried Se3hora only a fe0 3a$es F and yet the grass on 0hi$h they lay 0as not the s3arse and sun5 dried grass of the moor but 0as dee3 verdant and filled 0ith tiny vernal blossomsO 8aks and bee$hes huger even than those of the familiar forest loomed umbrageously on every hand 0ith masses of ne0 golden5green leafage 0here he had thought to see the o3en u3land. @ooking ba$k he sa0 that the gray li$hened slabs of the $romle$h itself alone rearmed of that former lands$a3e.
Several times as they 0ent on he $aught glim3ses of bla$k fur beneath the lo0 shado0 foliage. &e felt sure that the strange bla$k 0olf he had seen by the 3ool 0as a$$om3anying them 0ith a furtive surveillan$e. But someho0 his sense of alarm 0as dulled by the en$hantment that had fallen u3on him. :o0 the 3ath stee3ened $limbing a densely 0ooded hill. The trees thinned to straggly stunted 3ines en$ir$ling a bro0n o3en moorland as the tonsure en$ir$les a monks $ro0n. The moor 0as studded 0ith !ruidi$ monoliths dating from ages 3rior to the -oman o$$u3ation of Averoigne. Almost at its $enter there to0ered a massive $romle$h $onsisting of t0o u3right slabs that su33orted a third like the lintel of a door. The 3ath ran straight to the $romle$h. This is the 3ortal of my domain said Se3hora as they neared it. 7 gro0 faint 0ith fatigue. You must take me in your arms and $arry me through the an$ient door0ay. Anselme obeyed very 0illingly. &er $heeks 3aled her eyelids fluttered and fell as he lifted her. ;or a moment he thought that she had
!i''y 0ith the sudden vehemen$e of his emotion he $arried her through the $romle$h. As he 0ent his li3s 0andered a$ross her eyelids and 3assed deliriously to the soft red flame of her li3s and the rose 3allor of her throat. 8n$e more she seemed to faint beneath his fervor. &is limbs melted and a fiery blindness filled his eyes. The earth seemed to yield beneath them like an elasti$ $ou$h as he and Se3hora sank do0n.
#ven the sun had $hanged its 3osition. 7t had hung at Anselmes left still fairly lo0 in the east 0hen he and Se3hora had rea$hed the moorland. But no0 shining 0ith amber rays through a rift in the forest it had almost tou$hed the hori'on on his right. &e re$alled that Se3hora had told him she 0as an en$hantress. &ere indeed 0as 3roof of sor$eryO &e eyed her 0ith $urious doubts and misgivings Be not alarmed said Se3hora 0ith a honeyed smile of reassuran$e. 7 told you that the $romle$h 0as the door0ay to my domain. We are no0 in a land lying outside of time and s3a$e as you have hitherto kno0n them. The very seasons are different here. But there is no sor$ery involved e$e3t that of the great an$ient !ruids 0ho kne0 the se$ret of this hidden realm and reared those mighty slabs for a 3ortal bet0een the 0orlds. 7f you should 0eary of me you $an 3ass ba$k at any time through
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Clark Ashton Smith
the door0ay. F But 7 ho3e that you have not tired of me so soon 55 Anselme though still be0ildered 0as relieved by this information. &e 3ro$eeded to 3rove that the ho3e e3ressed by Se3hora 0as 0ell5founded. 7ndeed he 3roved it so lengthily and in su$h detail that the sun had fallen belo0 the hori'on before Se3hora $ould dra0 a full breath and s3eak again. The air gro0s $hill she said 3ressing against him and shivering lightly. But my home is $lose at hand. They $ame in the t0ilight to a high round to0er among trees and grass5gro0n mounds. Ages ago announ$ed Se3hora there 0as a great $astle here. :o0 the to0er alone remains and 7 am its $hatelaine the last of my family. The to0er and the lands about it are named Sylaire. Tall dim ta3ers lit the interior 0hi$h 0as hung 0ith ri$h arrases vaguely and strangely 3i$tured. Aged $or3se53ale servants in anti6ue garb 0ent to and fro 0ith the furtiveness of s3e$ters setting 0ines and foods before the en$hantress and her guest in a broad hall. The 0ines 0ere of rare flavor and immense age the foods 0ere $uriously s3i$ed. Anselme ate and drank $o3iously. 7t 0as like some fantasti$ dream and he a$$e3ted his surroundings as a dreamer does untroubled by their strangeness. The 0ines 0ere 3otent drugging his senses into 0arm oblivion. #ven stronger 0as the inebriation of Se3horas nearness. &o0ever Ansehne 0as a little startled 0hen the huge bla$k 0olf he had seen that morning entered the hall and fa0ned like a dog at the feet of his hostess. GYou see he is 6uite tameG she said tossing the 0olf bits of meat from her 3late. 8ften 7 let him $ome and go in the to0er/ and sometimes he attends me 0hen 7 go forth from Sylaire. &e is a fier$e5looking beast Anselme observed doubtfully. 7t seemed that the 0olf understood the 0ords for he bared his teeth at Anselme 0ith a hoarse 3reternaturally dee3 gro0l. S3ots of red fire glo0ed in his somber eyes like $oals fanned by devils in dark 3its.
*o a0ay )ala$hie $ommanded the en$hantress shar3ly. The 0olf obeyed her slinking from the hall 0ith a malign ba$k0ard glan$e at Anselme. &e does not like you said Se3hora. That ho0ever is 3erha3s not sur3rising. Anselme bemused 0ith 0ine and love forgot to in6uire the meaning of her last 0ords. )orning $ame too soon 0ith u30ard5slanting beams that fired the tree5to3s around the to0er. You must leave me for a0hile said Se3hora after they had breakfasted. 7 have negle$ted my magi$ of late F and there are matters into 0hi$h 7 should in6uire. Bending 3rettily she kissed the 3alms of his hands. Then 0ith ba$k0ard glan$es and smiles she retired to a room at the to0ers to3 beside her bed5$hamber. &ere she had told Anselme her grimoires and 3otions and other a33urtenan$es of magi$ 0ere ke3t. !uring her absen$e Aoselme de$ided to go out and e3lore the 0oodland about the to0er. )indful of the bla$k 0olf 0hose tameness he did not trust des3ite Se3horas reassuran$es he took 0ith him the $udgel he had $ut that 3revious day in the thi$kets near the 7soile. There 0ere 3aths every0here all leading to fresh loveliness. Truly Sylaire 0as a region of en$hantment. !ra0n by the dreamy golden light and the bree'e laden 0ith the freshness of s3ring flo0ers Anselme 0andered on from glade to glade. &e $ame to a grassy hollo0 0here a tiny s3ring bubbled from beneath mossed boulders. &e seated himself on one of the boulders musing on the strange ha33iness that had entered his life so une3e$tedly. 7t 0as like one of the old roman$es the tales of glamor and fantasy that he had loved to read. Smiling he remembered the gibes 0ith 0hi$h !oroth(e des ;lL$hes had e3ressed her disa33roval of his taste for su$h reading5matter. What he 0ondered 0ould !oroth(e think no0P At any rate she 0ould hardly $are 5 &is refle$tions 0ere interru3ted. There 0as a rustling of leaves and the bla$k 0olf emerged
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Tales of Averoigne
from the bos$age in front of him 0hining as if to attra$t his attention. The beast had someho0 lost his a33earan$e of fier$eness. Curious and a little alarmed Anselme 0at$hed in 0onder 0hile the 0olf began to u3root 0ith his 3a0s $ertain 3lants that some0hat resembled 0ild garli$. These he devoured 0ith 3al3able eagerness. Anselmes mouth ga3ed at the thing 0hi$h ensued. 8ne moment the 0olf 0as before him. Then 0here the 0olf had been there rose u3 the figure of a man lean 3o0erful 0ith blue5 bla$k hair and beard and darkly flaming eyes. The hair gre0 almost to his bro0s the beard nearly to his lo0er eye5lashes. &is arms legs shoulders and $hest 0ere matted 0ith bristles. Be assured that 7 mean you no harm said the man. 7 am )ala$hie du )arais a sor$erer and the one5time lover of Se3hora. Tiring of me and fearing my 0i'ardry she turned me into a 0ere0olf by giving me se$retly the 0aters of a $ertain 3ool that lies amid this en$hanted domain of Sylaire. The 3ool is $ursed from old time 0ith the infe$tion of ly$anthro3y F and Se3hora has added her s3ells to its 3o0er. 7 $an thro0 off the 0olf sha3e for a little 0hile during the dark of the moon. At other times 7 $an regain my human form though only for a fe0 minutes by eating the root that you sa0 me dig and devour The root is very s$ar$e. Anselme felt that the sor$eries of Sylaire 0ere more $om3li$ated than he had hitherto imagined. But amid his be0ilderment he 0as unable to trust the 0eird being before him. &e had heard many tales of 0ere0olves 0ho 0ere re3utedly $ommon in medieval ;ran$e. Their fero$ity 3eo3le said 0as that of demons rather than of mere brutes. Allo0 me to 0arn you of the grave danger in 0hi$h you stand $ontinued )ala$hie du )arais. You 0ere rash to let yourself be enti$ed by Se3hora. 7f you are 0ise you 0ill leave the 3urlieus of Sylaire 0ith all 3ossible dis3at$h. The land is old in evil and sor$ery and all 0ho d0ell 0ithin it are an$ient as the land and are e6ually a$$ursed. The servants of Se3hora 0ho 0aited u3on you yestereve are vam3ires that slee3 by day in the to0er vaults and $ome forth by night.
They go out through the !ruid 3ortal to 3rey on the 3eo3le of Averoigne. &e 3aused as if to em3hasi'e the 0ords that follo0ed. &is eyes glittered balefully and his dee3 voi$e assumed a hissing undertone. Se3hora herself is an an$ient lamia 0ell5nigh immortal 0ho feeds on the vital for$es of young men. She has had many lovers throughout the ages F and 7 must de3lore even though 7 $annot s3e$ify their ultimate fate. The youth and beauty that she retains are illusions. 7f you $ould see Se3hora as she really is you 0ould re$oil in revulsion $ured of your 3erilous love/ You 0ould see her F unthinkably old and hideous 0ith infamies. But ho0 $an su$h things beP 6ueried Anselme. Truly 7 $annot believe you. )ala$hie shrugged his hairy shoulders. At least 7 have 0arned you. But the 0olf5$hange a33roa$hes and 7 must go. 7f you 0ill $ome to me later in my abode 0hi$h lies a mile to the 0est0ard of Se3horas to0er 3erha3s 7 $an $onvin$e you that my statements are the truth. 7n the mean0hile ask yourself if you have seen any mirrors su$h as a beautiful young 0oman 0ould use in Se3horas $hamber. "am3ires and lamias are afraid of mirrors F for a good reason. Anselme 0ent ba$k to the to0er 0ith a troubled mind. What )ala$hie had told him 0as in$redible. Yet there 0as the matter of Se3horas servants. &e had hardly noti$ed their absen$e that morning F and yet he had not seen them sin$e the 3revious eve F And he $ould not remember any mirrors among Se3horas various feminine belongings. &e found Se3hora a0aiting him in the to0ers lo0er hall. 8ne glan$e at the utter s0eetness of her 0omanhood and he felt ashamed of the doubts 0ith 0hi$h )aia$hie had ins3ired him. Se3horas blue5gray eyes 6uestioned him dee3 and tender as those of some 3agan goddess of love. -eserving no detail he told her of his meeting 0ith the 0ere0olf. AhO 7 did 0ell to trust my intuitions she said. @ast night 0hen the bla$k 0olf gro0led and glo0ered at you it o$$urred to me that he 0as 3erha3s be$oming more dangerous than 7 had
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reali'ed/ This morning in my $hamber of magi$ 7 made use of my $lairvoyant 3o0ers and 7 learned mu$h. 7ndeed 7 have been $areless. )ala$hie has be$ome a mena$e to my se$urity. Also he hates you and 0ould destroy our ha33iness.
The 3resent should be a favorable time said Se3hora. 7t is no0 0ithin an hour of noon/ and )ala$hie often hunts at this time. 7f you should find him in his den or he should return 0hile you are there you $an say that you $ame in res3onse to his invitation.
7s it true then 6uestioned Anselme that he 0as your lover and that you turned him into a 0ere0olfP
She gave Anselme $areful instru$tions that 0ould enable to find the 0ere0olfs den 0ithout delay. Also she gave him a s0ord saying that the blade had been tem3ered to the $hanting of magi$ s3ells that made it effe$tive against su$h beings as )ala$hie. The 0olfs tem3er has gro0n un$ertain she 0arned. 7f he should atta$k you your alder sti$k 0ould 3rove a 3oor 0ea3on.
&e 0as my lover F long long ago. But the 0ere0olf form 0as his o0n $hoi$e assumed out of evil $uriosity by drinking from the 3ool of 0hi$h he told you. &e has regretted it sin$e for the 0olf sha3e 0hile giving him $ertain 3o0ers of harm in reality limits his a$tions and his sor$eries. &e 0ishes to return to human sha3e and if he su$$eeds 0ill be$ome doubly dangerous to us both. 7 should have 0at$hed him 0ell F for 7 no0 find that he has stolen from me the re$i3e of antidote to the 0ere0olf 0aters. )y $lairvoyan$e tells me that he has already bre0ed the antidote in the brief intervals of humanity regained by $he0ing a $ertain root. When he drinks the 3otion as 7 think that he means to do before long he 0ill regain human form 53ermanently. &e 0aits only for the dark of the moon 0hen the 0ere0olf s3ell is at its 0eakest. But 0hy should )ala$hie hate meP asked Anselme. And ho0 $an 7 hel3 you against himP That first 6uestion is slightly stu3id my dear. 8f $ourse he is
7t 0as easy to lo$ate the den for 0ell5used 3aths ran to0ard it 0ith little deviation. The 3la$e 0as the mounded remnant of a to0er that had $rumbled do0n into grassy earth and mossy blo$ks. The entran$e had on$e been a lofty door0ayD no0 it 0as only a hole su$h as a large animal 0ould make in leaving and returning to its burro0. Anselme hesitated before the hole. Are you there )ala$hie du )araisP he shouted. There 0as no ans0er no sound of movement from 0ithin. Anselme shouted on$e more. At last stoo3ing on hands and knees he entered the den. @ight 3oured through several a3ertures latti$ed 0ith 0andering tree5roots 0here the mound had fallen in from above. The 3la$e 0as a $avern rather than a room. 7t stank 0ith $arrion remnants into 0hose nature Anselme did not in6uire too $losely. The ground 0as littered 0ith bones broken stems and leaves of 3lants and shattered or rusted vessels of al$hemi$ use. A verdigris5eaten kettle hung from a tri3od above ashes and ends of $harred faggots. -ain5sodden grimoires lay mouldering in rusty metal $overs. The three legged ruin of a table 0as 3ro33ed against the 0all. 7t 0as $overed 0ith a medley of oddments among 0hi$h Anselme dis$erned a 3ur3le vial resembling the one given him by Se3hora. 7n one $orner 0as a litter of dead grass. The strong rank odor of a 0ild beast mingled 0ith the $arrion sten$h.
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Tales of Averoigne
Anselme looked about and listened $autiously. Then 0ithout delay he substituted Se3horas vial for the one on )ala$hies table. The stolen vial he 3la$ed under his
Anselme took the silver oblong and obeyed )ala$hies in
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Clark Ashton Smith
house0ife. Small 0onder that she had failed to understand him.
mirror 0hen he held it u3 at )ala$hies in
What brings you hereP he $ountered. 7 had not thought to see you again.
You have saved meO &o0 0onderfulO $ried !oroth(e.
7 missed you Anselme she sighed. 9eo3le said that you had left the 0orld be$ause of your love for me and had be$ome a hermit. At last 7 $ame to seek you. But you had disa33eared. Some hunters had seen you 3ass yesterday 0ith a strange 0oman a$ross the moor of !ruid stones. They said you had both vanished beyond the $romle$h fading as if in air. Today 7 follo0ed you 0ith my fathers serving men. We found ourselves in this strange region of 0hi$h no one has ever heard. And no0 this 0oman F
Anselme sa0 that she had started to0ard him 0ith out5thrust arms. A moment more and the situation 0ould be$ome embarrassing.
The senten$e 0as interru3ted by a mad ho0ling that filled the room 0ith eldrit$h e$hoes. The bla$k 0olf 0ith
&e re$alled the mirror 0hi$h he had ke3t under his
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Tales of Averoigne
A'(dara$ smiled $onfidently. 7 leave the affair F and the vial F in your hands >ehan. 8f By the -am 0ith a Thousand #0esO By the Tail of $ourse no matter 0hat the eventuation 0ith all !agon and the &orns of !er$etoO said the Satani$ and 3re5Satani$ fa$ilities at my A'(dara$ as he fingered the tiny 3ot5bellied dis3osal 7 should be in no great danger from vial of vermilion li6uid on the table before him. these addle3ated bigots. &o0ever 7 am very Something 0ill have to be done 0ith this $omfortably situated here in Iimes/ and the lot 3estilential Brother Ambrose. 7 have no0 learned of a Christian Bisho3 0ho lives in the odor of that he 0as sent to Iimes by the Ar$hbisho3 of in$ense and 3iety and maintains in a Averoigne for no other 3ur3ose than to gather mean0hile a 3rivate understanding 0ith the 3roof of my subterraneous $onne$tion 0ith Adversary is $ertainly 3referable to the A'a'el and the 8ld 8nes. &e has s3ied u3on my mis$han$y life of a hedgesor$erer. 7 do not $are evo$ations in the vaults he has heard the to be annoyed or disturbed or ousted from my hidden formulae and beheld the veritable sine$ure if su$h $an be avoided. manifestation of @ilit and even of 7og5Sott and )ay )olo$h devour that san$timonious little Sodagui those demons 0ho are more an$ient milkso3 of an Ambrose he 0ent on. 7 must be than the 0orld/ and this very morning an hour gro0ing old and dull not to have sus3e$ted him agone he has mounted his 0hite ass for the before this. 7t 0as the horrorstri$ken and averted return
The oliness of A9dara*
>ehan )auvaissoir looked at the vial and then at A'(dara$. &e 0as not at all horrified nor even sur3rised by the non5e3is$o3al oaths and the some0hat un$anoni$al statements 0hi$h he had ehan at any time. 7 understand said >ehan. You $an de3end u3on it that the $ontents of the vial 0ill be administered. Brother Ambrose 0ill hardly travel 3ost5haste on that ambling 0hite ass/ and he 0ill not rea$h "yones before tomorro0 noon. There is abundant time to overtake him. 8f $ourse he kno0s me F at least he kno0s >ehan )auvaissoir.... But that $an be easily remedied.
former binding of aboriginal sub5human skin 0ith the shee35leather of a Christian missal and had surrounded the volume 0ith ro0s of legitimate 3rayer5books. Ambrose is $arrying it a0ay under his robe as 3roof $on$lusive that 7 am addi$ted to the Bla$k Arts. :o one in Averoigne 0ill be able ta read the immemorial &y3erborean s$ri3t/ but the dragons5blood illuminations and dra0ings 0ill be enough to damn me. )aster and servant regarded ea$h other for an interval of signifi$ant silen$e. >ehan eyed 0ith 3rofound res3e$t the haughty stature the grimly lined lineaments the gri''led tonsure the odd ruddy $res$ent s$ar on the 3allid bro0 of A'(dara$ and the sultry 3oints of orange5yello0 fire that seemed to burn dee3 do0n in the $hill and li6uid ebon of his eyes. A'(dara$ in his turn $onsidered 0ith $onfiden$e the vul3ine features and dis$reet ine3ressive air of >ehan 0ho might have been F and $ould be if ne$essary F anything from a mer$er to a $leri$. 7t is regrettable resumed A'(dara$ that any 6uestion of my holiness and devotional 3robity
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should have been raised among the $lergy of Averoigne. But 7 su33ose it 0as inevitable sooner or later F even though the $hief differen$e bet0een myself and many other e$$lesiasti$s is that 7 serve the !evil 0ittingly and of my o0n free 0ill 0hile they do the same in san$timonious blindness.... &o0ever 0e must do 0hat 0e $an to delay the evil hour of 3ubli$ s$andal and evi$tion from our neatly feathered nest. Ambrose alone $ould 3rove anything to my detriment at 3resent/ and you >ehan 0ill remove Ambrose to a realm 0herein his monkish tattlings 0ill be of small $onse6uen$e. After that 7 shall be doubly vigilant. The net emissary from "yones 7 assure you 0ill find nothing to re3ort but saintliness and bead5telling.
The thoughts of Brother Ambrose 0ere sorely troubled and at varian$e 0ith the tran6uil beauty of the sylvan s$ene as he rode on0ard through the forest of Averoigne bet0een Iimes and "yones. &orror 0as nesting in his heart like a knot of malignant vi3ers/ and the evil Book of Eibon that 3rimordial manual of sor$ery seemed to burn beneath his robe like a huge hot Satani$ sigil 3ressed against his bosom. :ot for the first time there o$$urred to him the 0ish that Cl(ment the Ar$hbisho3 had delegated someone else to investigate the #rebean tur3itude of A'(dara$. So
$loven feet that follo0ed him behind the thronging trees and along the umbrageous meanderings of the road. 7n the obli6ue rays the elongated 0ebs of shado0 0rought by the dying afternoon the forest seemed to attend 0ith bated breath the noisome and furtive 3assing of innominable things. :evertheless Ambrose had met no one for miles/ and he had seen neither bird nor beast nor vi3er in the summer 0oods. &is thoughts returned 0ith fearful insisten$e to A'(dara$ 0ho a33eared to him as a tall 3rodigious Anti$hrist u3rearing his sable vans and giant figure from out the flaming mire of Abaddon Again he sa0 the vaults beneath the Bisho3s mansion 0herein he had 3eered one night on a s$ene of infernal terror and loathliness had beheld the Bisho3 s0athed in the gorgeous $oiling fumes of unholy $ensers that mingled in midair 0ith the sulfurous and bituminous va3ors of the 9it/ and through the va3ors had seen the las$iviously s0aying limbs the bellying and dissolving features of foul enormous entities.... -e$alling them again he trembled at the 3re5Adamite lubri$iousness of @ilit again he shuddered at the trans5gala$ti$ horror of the demon Sodagui and the ultra5 dimensional hideousness of that being kno0n as 7og5Sott to the sor$erers of Averoigne. &o0 balefully 3otent and subversive he thought 0ere these immemorial devils 0ho had 3la$ed their servant A'(dara$ in the very bosom of the Chur$h in a 3osition of high and holy trust. ;or nine years the evil 3relate had held an un$hallenged and unsus3e$ted tenure had befouled the bisho3ri$ of Iimes 0ith infidelities that 0ere 0orse than those of the 9aynims. Then someho0 through anonymous $hannels a rumour had rea$hed Cl(ment F a 0arning 0his3er that not even the Ar$hbisho3 had dared to voi$e aloud/ and Ambrose a young Benedi$tine monk the ne3he0 of Cl(ment had been dis3at$hed to eamine 3rivily the festering foulness that threatened the integrity of the Chur$h. 8nly at that time did anyone re$all ho0 little 0as a$tually kno0n regarding the ante$edents of A'(dara$/ ho0 tenuous 0ere his $laims to e$$lesiasti$al 3referment or even to mere 3riestshi3/ ho0 veiled and doubtful 0ere
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the ste3s by 0hi$h he had attained his offi$e. 7t 0as then reali'ed that a formidable 0i'ardry had been at 0ork. =neasily Ambrose 0ondered if A'(dara$ had already dis$overed the removal of the Book of Eibon from among the missals $ontaminated by its blas3hemous 3resen$e. #ven more uneasily he 0ondered 0hat A'(dara$ 0ould do in that event and ho0 long it 0ould take him to $onne$t the absen$e of the volume 0ith his visitors de3arture. At this 3oint the meditations of Ambrose 0ere interru3ted by the hard $latter of gallo3ing hoofs that a33roa$hed from behind. The emergen$e of a $entaur from the oldest 0ood of 3aganism $ould s$ar$ely have startled him to a keener 3ani$/ and he 3eered a33rehensively over his shoulder at the nearing horseman. This 3erson mounted on a fine bla$k steed 0ith o3ulent tra33ings 0as a bushy5bearded of obvious $onse6uen$e/ for his gay garments 0ere those of a noble or a $ourtier. &e overtook Ambrose and 3assed on 0ith a 3olite nod seeming to be 0holly intent on his o0n affairs. The monk 0as immensely reassured though vaguely troubled for some moments by a feeling that he had seen else0here under $ir$umstan$es 0hi$h he 0as unable to re$all the narro0 eyes and shar3 3rofile that $ontrasted so oddly 0ith the bluff beard of the horseman. &o0ever he 0as $omfortably sure that he had never seen the man in Iimes. The rider soon vanished beyond a leafy turn of the arboreal high0ay. Ambrose returned to the 3ious horror and a33rehensiveness of his former solilo6uy. As he 0ent on it seemed to him that the sun had gone do0n 0ith untimely and a33alling s0iftness. Though the heavens above 0ere inno$ent of $loud and the lo05lying air 0as free from va3ors the 0oods 0ere embro0ned by an ine3li$able gloom that gathered visibly on all sides. 7n this gloom the trunks of the trees 0ere strangely distorted and the lo0 masses of foliage assumed unnatural and dis6uieting forms. 7t a33eared to Ambrose that the silen$e around him 0as a fragile film through 0hi$h the rau$ous rumble and mutter of diaboli$ voi$es might break at any moment even as the foul
and sunken driftage that rises anon above the surfa$e of a smoothly flo0ing river. With mu$h relief he remembered that he 0as not far from a 0ayside tavern kno0n as the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e. &ere sin$e his
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0ay to "yones. &e did not altogether like the Sieur des mau 0hose slitted eyes gave ba$k the $andle5light of the inn 0ith a $overt glitter and 0hose manner 0as some0hat effusive not to say fulsome. But there seemed to be no ostensible reason for refusing a $ourtesy that 0as doubtless 0ell5meant and genuine. &e a$$om3anied his host to their se3arate table. You belong to the Benedi$tine order 7 observe said the Sieur des mau eyeing the monk 0ith an odd smile that 0as tinged 0ith furtive irony. 7t is an order that 7 have al0ays admired greatly F a most noble and 0orthy brotherhood. )ay 7 not in6uire your nameP Ambrose gave the re6uested information 0ith a $urious relu$tan$e. Well then Brother Ambrose said the Sieur des mau 7 suggest that 0e drink to your health and the 3ros3erity of your order in the red 0ine of Averoigne 0hile 0e are 0aiting for su33er to be served. Wine is al0ays 0el$ome follo0ing a long
already $ontained a small amount of some sanguine fluid before the 0ine 0as 3oured into it/ but he $ould not have s0orn to this in the dim light and thaught that he must have been mistaken. &ere are t0o mat$hless vintages said the Sieur des mau indi$ating the 3it$hers. Both are so e$ellent that 7 0as unable to $hoose bet0een them/ but you Brother Ambrose are 3erha3s $a3able of de$iding their merits 0ith a finer 3alate than mine. &e 3ushed one of the filled goblets to0ard Ambrose. This is the 0ine of @a ;renaie he said. !rink it 0ill verily transyort you from the 0orld by virtue of the mighty fire that slumbers in its heart. Ambrose took the 3rof;ered goblet and raised it to his li3s. The Sieur des mau 0as bending for0ard above his o0n 0ine to inhale its bou6uet/ and something in his 3osture 0as terrifyingly familiar to Ambrose. 7n a $hill flash of horror his memory told him that the thin 3ointed features behind the s6uare beard 0ere dubiously similar to those of >ehan )auvaissoir 0hom he had often seen in the household of A'(dara$ and 0ho as he had reason to believe 0as im3li$ated in the Bisho3s sor$eries. &e 0ondered 0hy he had not 3la$ed the resemblan$e before and 0hat 0i'ardry had drugged his 3o0ers of re$olle$tion. #ven no0 he 0as not sure/ but the mere sus3i$ion terrified him as if some deadly ser3ent had reared its head a$ross the table. !rink Brother Ambrose urged the Sieur des mau draining his o0n goblet. To your 0elfare and that of all good Benedi$tines. Ambrose hesitated. The $old hy3noti$ eyes of his interlo$utor 0ere u3on him and he 0as 3o0erless to refuse in s3ite of all his a33rehensions. Shuddering slightly 0ith the sense of some irresistible $om3ulsion and feeling that he might dro3 dead from the virulent 0orking of a sudden 3oison he em3tied his goblet. An instant more and he felt that his 0orst fears had been
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6ui$ksilver. Then all at on$e an unbearable $old had inundated his being/ an i$y 0hirl0ind 0ra33ed him round 0ith $oils of roaring air the $hair melted beneath him and he 0as falling through endless gla$ial gulfs. The 0alls of the inn had flo0n like re$eding va3ors/ the lights 0ent out like stars in the bla$k mist of a marish/ and the fa$e of the Sieur des mau faded 0ith them on the s0irling shado0s even as a bubble that breaks on the milling of midnight 0aters.
7t 0as 0ith some diffi$ulty that Ambrose assured himself that he 0as not dead. &e had seemed to fall eternally through a gray night that 0as 3eo3led 0ith ever5$hanging forms 0ith blurred unstable masses that dissolved to other masses before they $ould assume definitude. ;or a moment he thought there 0ere 0alls about him on$e more/ and then he 0as 3lunging fron terra$e to terra$e of a 0orld of 3hantom trees. At 0hiles he thought also that there 0ere human fa$es/ but all 0as doubtful and evanes$ent all 0as drifting smoke and surging shado0. Abru3tly 0ith no sense of transition or im3a$t he found that he 0as no longer falling. The vague fantasmagoria around him had returned to an a$tual s$ene F but a s$ene in 0hi$h there 0as no tra$e of the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e or the Sieur des mau. Ambrose 3eered about 0ith in$redulous eyes on a situation that 0as truly unbelievable. &e 0as sitting in broad daylight on a large s6uare blo$k of roughly he0n granite. Around him at a little distan$e beyond the o3en s3a$e of a grassy glade 0ere the lofty 3ines and s3reading bee$hes of an elder forest 0hose boughs 0ere already tou$hed by the gold of the de$lining sun. 7mmediately before him several men 0ere standing. These men a33eared to regard Ambrose 0ith a 3rofound and almost religious ama'ement. They 0ere bearded and savage of as3e$t 0ith 0hite robes of a fashion he had never before seen. Their hair 0as long and matted like tangles of bla$k snakes/ and their eyes burned 0ith a
freneti$ fire. #a$h of them bore in his right hand a rude knife of shar3ly $hiselled stone. Ambrose 0ondered if he had died after all and if these beings 0ere the strange devils of some unlisted hell. 7n the fa$e of 0hat had ha33ened and the light of Ambroses o0n beliefs it 0as a far from unreasanable $onouissan$e and delivered into the hands of those 3re5Sataai$ entities that served the sor$erous Bisho3. Be$oming $onvin$ed of his o0n 3hysi$al solidity and integrity and refle$ting that su$h 0as s$ar$ely the a33ro3riate $ondition of a disin$arnate soul and also that the sylvan s$ene about him 0as hardly $hara$teristi$ of the infernal regions he a$$e3ted this as the true e3lanation. &e 0as still alive and still on earth though the $ir$umstan$es of his situation 0ere more than mysterious and 0ere fraught 0ith dire unkno0able danger. The strange beings had maintained an utter silen$e as if they 0ere too dumbfounded for s3ee$h. &earing the 3rayerful nurmurs of Ambrose they seemed to re$over from their sur3rise and be$ame not only arti$ulate but vo$iferous. Ambrose $ould make nothing of their harsh vo$ables in 0hi$h sibilants and as3irates and gutturals 0ere often $ombined in a manner diffi$ult for the normal human tongue to imitate. &o0ever he $aught the 0ord taranit several times re3eated and 0ondered if it 0ere the name of an es3e$ially malevolent demon. The s3ee$h of the 0eird beings began to assume a sort of rude rhythm like the intonations of some 3rimordial $hant. T0o of them ste33ed for0ard and sei'ed Ambrose 0hile the voi$es of their $om3anions rose in a shrill trium3hant litany. S$ar$ely kno0ing 0hat had ha33ened and still less 0hat 0as to follo0 Ambrose 0as flung su3ine on the granite blo$k and 0as held do0n
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by one of his $a3tors 0hile the other raised aloft the keen blade of $hiselled flint 0hi$h he $arried. The blade 0as 3oised in the air above Ambroses heart and the monk reali'ed in sudden terror that it 0ould fall 0ith dire velo$ity and 3ier$e him through before the la3se of another moment. Then above the demonia$ $hanting 0hi$h had risen to a mad malignant fren'y he heard the s0eet and im3erious $ry of a 0omans voi$e. 7n the 0ild $onfusion of his terror the 0ords 0ere strange and meaningless to him/ but 3lainly they 0ere understood by his $a3tors and 0ere taken as an undeniable $ommand. The stone knife 0as lo0ered sullenly and Ambrose 0as 3ermitted to resume a sitting 3osture on the flat slab. &is res$uer 0as standing on the edge of the o3en glade in the 0ide5flung umbrage of an an$ient 3ine. She $ame for0ard no0/ and the 0hite5garmented beings fell ba$k 0ith evident res3e$t before her. She 0as very tall 0ith a fearless and regal demeanor and 0as go0ned in a dark shimmering blue like the star5laden blue of no$turnal summer skies. &er hair 0as knotted in a long golden5bro0n braid heavy as the glistening $oils of some eastern ser3$nt. &er eyes 0ere a strange amber her li3s a vermilion tou$hed 0ith the $oolness of 0oodland shado0 and her skin 0as of alabastrine fairness. Ambrose sa0 that she 0as beautiful/ but she ins3ired him 0ith the same a0e that he 0ould have felt before a 6ueen together 0ith something of the fear and $onsternation 0hi$h a virtuous young monk 0ould $on$eive in the 3erilous 3resen$e of an alluring su$$ubus. Come 0ith me she said to Ambrose in a tongue that his monasti$ studies enabled him to re$ogni'e as an obsolete variant of the ;ren$h of Averoigne F a tongue that no man had su33osedly s3oken for many hundred years. 8bediently and in great 0onder he arose and follo0ed her 0ith no hindran$e from his glo0ering and relu$tant $a3tors. The 0oman led him to a narro0 3ath that 0ound sinuously a0ay through the dee3 forest. 7n a fe0 moments the glade the granite blo$k
and the $luster of 0hite5robed men 0ere lost to sight behind the heavy foliage. Who are youP asked the lady turning to Ambrose. You look like one of those $ra'y missionaries 0ho are beginning to enter Averoigne no0adays. 7 believe that 3eo3le $all them Christians. The !ruids have sa$rifi$ed so many of them to Taranit that 7 marvel at your temerity in $oming here. Ambrose found it diffi$ult to $om3rehend the ar$hai$ 3hrasing/ and the im3ort of her 0ords 0as so utterly strange and baffling that he felt sure he must have misunderstood her. 7 am Brother Ambrose he re3lied e3ressing himself slo0ly and a0k0ardly in the long5disused diale$t. 8f $ourse 7 am a Christian/ but 7 $onfess that 7 fail to understand you. 7 have heard of the 3agan !ruids/ but surely they 0ere all driven from Averoigne many $enturies ago. The 0oman stared at Ambrose 0ith o3en ama'ement and 3ity. &er bro0nish5yello0 eyes 0ere bright and $lear as a mello0ed 0ine. 9oor little one she said. 7 fear that your dreadful e3erien$es have served to unsettle you. 7t 0as fortunate that 7 $ame a7ong 0hen 7 did and de$ided to intervene. 7 seldom interfere 0ith the !ruids aud their sa$rifi$es/ but 7 sa0 you sitting on their altar a little 0hile agone and 0as stru$k by your youth and $omeliness. Ambrose felt more and more that he had been made the vi$tim of a most 3e$uliar sor$ery/ but even yet he 0as far from sus3e$ting the true magnitude of this sor$ery. Amid his bemusement and $onsternation ho0ever he reali'ed that he o0ed his life to the singular and lovely 0oman beside him and began to stammer out his gratitude. You need not thank me said the lady 0ith a dul$et smile. 7 am )oriamis the en$hantress and the !ruids fear my magi$ 0hi$h is more sovereign and more e$ellent than theirs though 7 use it only for the 0elfare of men and not for their bale or bane. The monk 0as dismayed to learn that his fair res$uer 0as a sor$eress even though her 3o0ers 0ere 3rofessedly benignant. The kno0ledge added to
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his alarm/ but he felt that it 0ould be 3oliti$ to $on$eal his emotions in this regard. 7ndeed 7 am grateful to you he 3rotested. And no0 if you $an tell me the 0ay to the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e 0hi$h 7 left not long ago 7 shall o0e you a further debt. )oriamis knitted her light bro0s. 7 have never heard of the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e. There is no su$h 3la$e in this region. But this is the forest of Averoigne is it notP in6uired the 3u''led Ambrose. And surely 0e are not far from the road that runs bet0een the to0n of Iimes and the $ity of "yonesP 7 have never heard of Iimes or "yones either said )oriamis. Truly the land is kno0n as Averoigne and this forest is the great 0ood of Averoigne 0hi$h men have $alled by that name from 3rimeval years. But there are no to0ns su$h as the ones 0hereof you s3eak Brother Ambrose. 7 fear that you still 0ander a little in your mind. Ambrose 0as a0are of a maddening 3er3leity. 7 have been most damnably beguiled he said half to himself. 7t is all the doing of that abominable sor$erer A'(dara$ 7 am sure. The 0oman started as if she had been stung by a 0ild bee. There 0as something both eager and severe in the sear$hing ga'e that she turned u3on Ambrose. A'(dara$P she 6ueried. What do you kno0 of A'(dara$P 7 0as on$e a$6uainted 0ith someone by that name/ and 7 0onder if it $ould be the same 3erson. 7s he tall and a little gray 0ith hot dark eyes and a 3roud half5angry air and a $res$ent s$ar on the bro0P *reatly mystified and more troubled than ever Ambrose admitted the vera$ity of her des$ri3tion. -eali'ing that in same unkno0n 0ay he had stumbled u3on the hidden ante$edents of the sor$erer he $onfided the story of his adventures to )oriamis ho3ing that she 0ould re$i3ro$ate 0ith further information $on$erning A'(dara$. The 0oman listened 0ith the air of one 0ho is mu$h interested but not at all sur3rised.
7 understand no0 she observed 0hen he had finished. Anon 7 shall e3lain everything that mystifies and troubles you. 7 think 7 kno0 this >ehan )auvaissoir also/ he has long been the man5servant of A'(dara$ though his name 0as )el$hire in other days. These t0o have al0ays been the underlings of evil and have served the 8ld 8nes in 0ays forgotten or never kno0n by the !ruids. 7ndeed 7 ho3e you $an e3lain 0hat has ha33ened said Ambrose. 7t is a fearsome and strange and ungodly thing to drink a draft of 0ine in a tavern at eventide and then find ones self in the heart of the forest by afternoon daylight among demons su$h as those from 0hom you su$$ored me. Yea $ountered )oriamis it is even stranger than you dream. Tell me Brother Ambrose 0hat 0as the year in 0hi$h you entered the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$eP Why it is the year of our @ord 11,% of $ourse. What other year $ould it beP The !ruids use a different $hronology re3lied )oriamis and their notation 0ould mean nothing to you. But a$$ording to that 0hi$h the Christian missionaries 0ould no0 introdu$e in Averoigne the 3resent year is A.!. 4,%. You have been sent ba$k no less than seven hundred years into 0hat the 3eo3le of your era 0ould regard as the 3ast. The !ruid altar an 0hi$h 7 found you lying is 3robably lo$ated on the future site of the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e. Ambrose 0as more than dumbfounded. &is mind 0as unable to gras3 the entire im3ort of )oriamis 0ords. But ho0 $an su$h things beP he $ried. &o0 $an a man go ba$k0ard in time among years and 3eo3le that have long turned to dustP That mayha3 is a mystery for A'(dara$ to unriddle. &o0ever the 3ast and the future $o5 eist 0ith 0hat 0e $all the 3resent and are merely the t0o segments of the $ir$le of time. We see them and name them a$$ording to our o0n 3osition in the $ir$le. Ambrose felt that he had fallen among ne$roman$ies of a most unhallo0ed and
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uneam3led sort and had been made the vi$tim of diableries unkno0n to the Christian $atalogues. Tongue5tied by a $ons$iousness that all $omment all 3rotest or even 3rayer 0ould 3rove inade6uate to the situation he sa0 that a stone to0er 0ith small lo'enge5sha3ed 0indo0s 0as no0 visible above the turrets of 3ine along the 3ath 0hi$h he and )oriamis 0ere follo0ing. This is my home said )oriamis as they $ame forth from beneath the thinning trees at the foot of a little knoll on 0hi$h the to0er 0as situated. Brother Ambrose you must be my guest. Ambrose 0as unable to de$line the 3roffered hos3itality in s3ite of his feeling that )oriamis 0as hardly the most suitable of $hatelaines for a $haste and *od5fearing monk. &o0ever the 3ious misgivings 0ith 0hi$h she ins3ired him 0ere not unmingled 0ith fas$ination. Also like a lost $hild he $lung to the only available 3rote$tion in a land of fearful 3erils and astounding mysteries. The interior of the to0er 0as neat and $lean and homelike though 0ith furniture of a ruder sort than that to 0hi$h Ambrose 0as a$$ustomed and ri$h but roughly 0oven arrases. A serving5 0oman tall as )oriamis herself but darker brought to him a huge bo0l of milk and 0heaten bread and the monk 0as no0 able to assuage the hunger that had gone unsatisfied in the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e. As he seated himself before the sim3le fare he reali'ed that the Book of Eibon 0as still heavy in the bosom of his go0n. &e removed the volume and gave it gingerly to )oriamis. &er eyes 0idened but she made no $omment until he had finished his meal. Then she saidD This volume is indeed the 3ro3erty of A'(dara$ 0ho 0as formerly a neighbor of mine. 7 kne0 the s$oundrel 6uite 0ell F in fa$t 7 kne0 him all too 0ell. &er bosom heaved 0ith an obs$ure emotion as she 3aused for a moment. &e 0as the 0isest and the mightiest of sor$erers and the most se$ret 0ithal/ for no one kne0 the time and the manner of his $oming into Averoigne or the fashion in 0hi$h he had 3ro$ured the immemorial Book of Eibon 0hose runi$ 0ritings
0ere beyond the lore of all other 0i'ards. &e 0as master of all en$hantments and all demons and like0ise a $om3ounder of mighty 3otions. Among these 0ere $ertain 3hiltres blended 0ith 3otent s3ells and 3ossessed of uni6ue virtue that 0ould send the drinker ba$k0ard or for0ard in time. 8ne of them 7 believe 0as administered to you by )el$hire or >ehan )auvaissoir/ and A'(dara$ himself together 0ith this man5servant made use of another F 3erha3s not for the first time F 0hen they 0ent on0ard from the 3resemt age of the !ruids into that age of Christian authority to 0hi$h you belong. There 0as a blood5red vial for the 3ast and a green for the future. BeholdO 7 3ossess one of ea$h F though A'(dara$ 0as una0are that 7 kne0 of their eisten$e. She o3ened a little $u3board in 0hi$h 0ere the various $harms and medi$aments the sun5dried herbs and moon$om3ounded essen$es that a sor$eress 0ould em3loy. ;rom among them she brought out the t0o vials one of 0hi$h $ontained a sanguine5$olored li6uid and the other a fluid of emerald brightness. 7 stole them one day out of 0omanly $uriosity from his hidden store of 3hiltres and eliirs and nagistrals $ontinued )oriamis. 7 $ould have follo0ed the ras$al 0hen he disa33eared into the future if 7 had $hosen to do so. But 7 am 0ell enough $ontent 0ith ny o0n age/ and moreover 7 am not the sort of 0oman 0ho 3ursues a 0earied and relu$tant lover.... Then said Ambrose more be0ildered than ever but ho3eful if 7 0ere to drink the $ontents of the green vial 7 should return to my o0n e3o$h. 9re$isely. And 7 am sure from 0hat you have told me that your return 0ould be a sour$e of mu$h annoyan$e to A'(dara$. 7t is like the fello0 to have established himself in a fat 3rela$y. &e 0as ever the master of $ir$umstan$e 0ith an eye to his o0n a$$ommodation and $omfort. 7t 0ould hardly 3lease him 7 am sure if you 0ere to rea$h the Ar$hbisho3.... 7 am not revengeful by nature ... but on the other hand F
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7t is hard to understand ho0 anyone $ould have 0earied of you said Ambrose gallantly as he began to $om3rehend the situation. )oriamis smiled. That is 3rettily said. And you are really a $harming youth in s3ite of that dismal5 looking robe. 7 am glad that 7 res$ued you from the !ruids 0ho 0ould have torn your heart out and offered it to their demon Taranit. And no0 you 0ill send me ba$k,
is not altogether disagreeable Ambrose yielded to this feminine and irrefutable reasoning. &e hardly kne0 0hat 0as to ha33en/ but under the e$e3tional $ir$umstan$es indi$ated by )oriamis the rigors of monasti$ dis$i3line might 0ell be relaed to almost any $on$eivable degree 0ithout entailing s3iritual 3erdition or even a serious brea$h of vo0s.
)oriamis fro0ned a little and then assumed her most sedu$tive air. Are you in su$h a hurry to leave your hostessP :o0 that you are living in another $entury than your o0n a day a 0eek or a month 0ill make no differen$e in the date of your return. 7 have also retained the formulas of A'(dara$/ and 7 kno0 ho0 to graduate the 3otion if ne$essary. The usual 3eriod of trans3ortation in time is ea$tly seven huadred years/ but the 3hiltre $an be strengthened or 0eakened a little. The sun had fallen beyond the 3ines and a soft t0ilight 0as beginning to invade the to0er. The maid5servant had left the room. )oriamis $ane over and seated herself beside Ambrose on the rough ben$h he 0as o$$u3ying. Still smiling she fied her amber eyes uyon him 0ith a languid flame in their de3ths F a flame that seemed to brighten as the dusk gre0 stronger. Without s3eaking she began slo0ly to unbraid her heavy hair from 0hi$h there emanated a 3erfume that 0as subtle and deli$ious as the 3erfume of gra3e5flo0ers. Ambrose 0as embarrassed by this delightful 3roimity. 7 am not sure that it 0ould be right for me to remain after all. What 0ould the Ar$hbisho3 thinkP )y dear $hild. the Ar$hbisho3 0ill not even be born for at least si hundred and fifty years. And it 0ill be still longer before you are born. And 0hen you return anything that you have done during your stay 0ith me 0ill have ha33ened no less than seven $enturies ago ... 0hi$h should be long enough to 3ro$ure the remission of any sin no matter ho0 often re3eated. @ike a man 0ho has been taken in the toils of some fantasti$ drean and finds that the dream
A month 7ater )oriamis and Ambrose 0ere standing beside the !ruid altar. 7t 0as late in the evening/ and a slightly gibbous moon had risen u3on the deserted glade and 0as fringing the tree5to3s 0ith 0efted silver. The 0arm breath of the summer night 0as gentle as the sighing of a 0oman in slumber. )ust you go after allP said )oriamis in a 3leading and regretful voi$e. 7t is my duty. 7 must return to Cl(ment 0ith the Book of Eibon and the other eviden$e 7 have $olle$ted against A'(dara$. The 0ords sounded a little unreal to Ambrose as he uttered them/ and he tried very hard but vainly to $onvin$e himself of the $ogen$y and validity of his arguments. The idyll of his stay 0ith )oriamis to 0hi$h he 0as oddly unable to atta$h any true $onvi$tion of sin had given to all that 3re$eded it a $ertain dismal insubstantiality. ;ree of all res3onsibility or restraint in the sheer obliviousness of dreams he had lived like a ha33y 3agan/ and no0 he must go ba$k to the drear eisten$e of a nediaeval monk beneath the 3rom3ting of an obs$ure sense of duty. 7 shall not try to hold you )oriamis sighed. But 7 shall miss you and remenber you as a 0orthy lover and a 3leasant 3laymate. &ere is the 3hiltre. The green essen$e 0as $old and almost hueless in the moonlight as )oriamis 3oured it into a little $u3 and gave it to Ambrose. Are you sure of its 3re$ise effi$a$yP the monk in6uired. Are you sure that 7 sha& return to the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e at a time not far subse6uent to that of my de3arture therefromP Yea said )oriamis for the 3otion is infallible. But stay 7 have also brought along the other vial F the vial of the 3ast. Take it 0ith you F for 0ho
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kno0s you may sometime 0ish to return and visit me again.
full thirty years of 0hi$h 7 s3eak/ and surely you 0ere not even born at the time of his de$ease.
Ambrose a$$e3ted the red vial and 3la$ed it in his robe beside the an$ient manual of &y3erborean sor$ery. Then after an a33ro3riate fare0ell to )oriamis he drained 0ith sudden resolution the $ontents of the $u3.
Ambrose began to reali'e 0hat had ha33ened. The emerald 3otion by some error or e$ess of 3ot$n$y had taken him many years beyond his o0n time into the futureO 7 must resume my
The moonlit glade the gray altar and )oriamis all vanished in a s0irl of flame and shado0. 7t seemed to Ambrose that he 0as soaring endlessly through fantasmagori$ gulfs amid the $easeless shifting and melting of unstable things But Cl(ment has been dead even longer than the transient forming and fading of irresoluble my father e$laimed the inn5kee3er. ;rom 0orlds. At the end he found himself sitting on$e 0hen$e do you $ome that you are ignorant of more in the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e. at 0hat he thisP 7t 0as 3lain from his manner that he had assumed to be the very same table before begun to doubt the sanity of Ambrose. 8thers 0hi$h he had sat 0ith the Sieur des mau. 7t overhearing the strange dis$ussion had begun 0as daylight and the room 0as full of 3eo3le to $ro0d about and 0ere 3lying the monk 0ith among 0hom he looked in vain for the rubi$und ouissan$eP $ro0d about him had in$reased and in s3ite of his robe he 0as being made the subouissan$e in my fathers time but the name 0as said others. What year is thisP demanded $hanged after his death. Ambrose in his des3eration. Ambrose 0as filled 0ith $onsternation. But the inn 0as differently named and 0as ke3t by another man 0hen 7 visited it not long ago he $ried in be0ilderment. The o0ner 0as a stout
The year of our @ord 12R re3lied the taverner breaking into a derisive laugh. And 0hat year did you think it 0asP 7t 0as the year 11,% 0hen 7 last visited the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e admitted Ambrose. &is de$laration 0as greeted 0ith fresh
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a more thoughtful toneD When 7 0as a $hild my father told me of a young monk about your age 0ho $ame to the 7nn of Bonne >ouissan$e one evening in the summer of 11,% and vanished ine3li$ably after drinking a draft of red 0ine. 7 believe his name 0as Ambrose. 9erha3s you are Ambrose and have only
&e 0as ba$k in the forest glade by the giganti$ altar. )oriamis 0as beside him again lovely and 0arm and breathing/ and the moon 0as still rising above the 3ineto3s. 7t seemed that no more than a fe0 moments $ould have ela3sed sin$e he had said fare0ell to the beloved en$hantress. 7 thought you might return said )oriamis. And 7 0aited a little 0hile. Ambrose told her of the singular misha3 that had attended his
You 0ill have to remain 0ith me no0 for 7 3ossessed only the t0o vials. 7 ho3e you are not sorry. Ambrose 3ro$eeded to 3rove in a some0hat unmonasti$ manner that her ho3e 0as fully
The 0aker of "argo(les Among the many gargoyles that fro0ned or leered from the roof of the ne05built $athedral of "yones t0o 0ere 3re5eminent above the rest by virtue of their fine 0orkmanshi3 and their su3reme grotes6uery. These t0o had been 0rought by the stone5$arver Blaise -eynard a native of "yones 0ho had lately returned from a long so
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anonymous rumors even to the end through la$k of veritable eviden$e. &o0ever the 3eo3le 0ho sus3e$ted -eynard of diaboli$ affiliations 0ere 0ont for a0hile to instan$e the t0o gargoyles as suffi$ient 3roof. :o man they $ontended 0ho 0as so ins3ired by the Ar$h5#nemy $ould have $arven anything so sheerly evil and malignant $ould have embodied so $onsummately in mere stone the living lineaments of the most demonia$al of all the deadly Sins. The t0o gargoyles 0ere 3er$hed on o33osite $orners of a high to0er of the $athedral. 8ne 0as a snarling murderous $at5headed monster 0ith retra$ted li3s revealing formidable fangs and eyes that glared intolerable hatred from beneath ferine bro0s. This $reature had the $la0s and 0ings of a griffin and seemed as if it 0ere 3oised in readiness to s0oo3 do0n on the $ity of "yones like a har3y on its 3rey. 7ts $om3anion 0as a horned satyr 0ith the vans of some great bat su$h as might roam the nether $averns 0ith shar3 $len$hing talons and a look of Satani$ally brooding lust as if it 0ere gloating above the hel3less ob
eventually they 0ere almost forgotten. The s$andal of o33osition died do0n and the stone5 $arver himself though the to0n5folk $ontinued to eye him askan$e 0as able to se$ure other 0ork through the favor of dis$riminating 3atrons. &e remained in "yones/ and 3aid his addresses albeit 0ithout visible su$$ess to a taverners daughter one :i$olette "illom of 0hom it 0as said he had long been enamored in his o0n surly and reti$ent fashion. But -eynard himself had not forgotten the gargoyles. 8ften in 3assing the su3erb 3ile of the $athedral he 0ould ga'e u3 at them 0ith a se$ret satisfa$tion 0hose $ause he $ould hardly have assigned or delimited. They seemed to retain for him a rare and mysti$al meaning to signali'e an obs$ure but 3leasurable trium3h. &e 0ould have said if asked for the reason for his satisfa$tion that he 0as 3roud of a skilful 3ie$e of handi0ork. &e 0ould not have said and 3erha3s 0ould not even have kno0n that in one of the gargoyles he had im3risoned all his festering ran$or all his ans0ering s3leen and hatred to0ard the 3eo3le of "yones 0ho had al0ays hated him/ and had set the image of this ran$or to 3eer venomously do0n for ever from a lofty 3la$e. And 3erha3s he 0ould not even have dreamt that in the se$ond gargoyle he had someho0 e3ressed his o0n dour and satyr5 like 3assion for the girl :i$olette F a 3assion that had brought him ba$k to the detested $ity of his youth after years of 0andering/ a 3assion singularly tena$ious of one ob
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At that time in the year of our @ord 11? "yones 0as the 3rin$i3al to0n of the 3rovin$e of Averoigne. 8n t0o sides the great shado05 haunted forest a 3la$e of e6uivo$al legends of lou3s5garous and 3hantoms a33roa$hed to the very 0alls and flung its umbrage u3on them at early forenoon and evening. 8n the other sides there lay $ultivated fields and gentle streams that meandered among 0illo0s or 3o3lars and roads that ran through an o3en 3lain to the high $hateau of noble lords and to regions beyond Averoigne. The to0n itself 0as 3ros3erous and had never shared in the ill5fame of the bordering forest. 7t had long been san$tified by the 3resen$e of t0o nunneries and a monastery/ and no0 0ith the $om3letion of the long53lanned $athedral it 0as thought that "yones 0ould have hen$efor0ard the additional 3rote$tion of a more august holiness/ that demon and stryge and in$ubus 0ould kee3 their distan$e from its heaven5favored 3urlieus 0ith a more meti$ulous $aution than before. 8f $ourse as in all mediaeval to0ns there had been o$$asional instan$es of alleged sor$ery or demonia$al 3ossession/ and on$e or t0i$e the 3erilous tem3tations of su$$ubi had made their inroads on the 3ious virtue of "yones. But this 0as nothing more than might be e3e$ted in a 0orld 0here the !evil and his 0orks 0ere al0ays more or less ram3ant. :o one $ould 3ossibly have anti$i3ated the reign of infernal horrors that 0as to make hideous the latter months of autumn follo0ing the $athedrals ere$tion. To make the matter even more ine3li$able and more blas3hemously dreadful than it 0ould other0ise have been the first of these horrors o$$urred in the neighborhood of the $athedral itself and almost beneath its sheltering shado0. T0o men a res3e$table $lothier named *uillaume )as3ier and an e6ually re3utable $oo3er one *erome )a''al 0ere returning to their lodgings in the late hours of a :ovember eve after imbibing both the red and 0hite 0ines of the $ountryside in more than one tavern. A$$ording to )as3ier 0ho alone survived to tell the tale they 0ere 3assing along a street that skirted the $athedral s6uare and $ould see the
bulk of the great building against the stars 0hen a flying monster bla$k as the soot of Abaddon had des$ended u3on them from the heavens and assailed *erome )a''al beating him do0n 0ith its heavily fla33ing 0ings and sei'ing him 0ith its in$h5long teeth and talons. )as3ier 0as unable to des$ribe the $reature 0ith minuteness for he had seen it but dimly and 3artially in the unlit street/ and moreover the fate of his $om3anion 0ho had fallen to the $obblestones 0ith the bla$k devil snarling and tearing at his throat had not indu$ed )as3ier to linger in that vi$inity. &e had betaken himself from the s$ene 0ith all the $elerity of 0hi$h he 0as $a3able and had sto33ed only at the house of a 3riest many streets a0ay 0here he had related his adventure bet0een shudderings and hi$$u33ings. Armed 0ith holy 0ater and as3ergillus and a$$om3anied by many of the to0ns53eo3le $arrying tor$hes staves and halberds the 3riest 0as led by )as3ier to the 3la$e of the horror/ and there they had found the body of )a''al 0ith fearfully mangled fa$e and throat and bosom lined 0ith bloody la$erations. The demonia$ assailant had flo0n and it 0as not seen or en$ountered again that night/ but those 0ho had beheld its 0ork returned aghast to their homes feeling that a $reature of nethermost hell had $ome to visit the $ity and 3er$han$e to abide therein. Consternation 0as rife on the morro0 0hen the story be$ame generally kno0n/ and rites of eor$ism against the invading demon 0ere 3erformed by the $lergy in all 3ubli$ 3la$es and before thresholds. But the s3rinkling of holy 0ater and the mumbling of the stated forms 0ere futile/ for the evil s3irit 0as still abroad and its malignity 0as 3roved on$e more on the night follo0ing the ghastly death of *erome )a''al. This time it $laimed t0o vi$tims burghers of high 3robity and some $onse6uen$e on 0hom it des$ended in a narro0 alley slaying one of them instantaneously and dragging do0n the other from behind as he sought to flee. The shrill $ries of the hel3less men and the guttural gro0ling of the demon 0ere heard by 3eo3le in the houses along the alley/ and some 0ho 0ere
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hardy enough to 3eer from their 0indo0s had seen the de3arture of the infamous assailant blotting out the autumn stars 0ith the sable and missha3en foulness of its 0ings and hovering in ee$rable mena$e above the house5to3s. After this fe0 3eo3le 0ould venture abroad at night unless in $ase of dire and eigent need/ and those 0ho did venture 0ent in armed $om3anies and 0ere all furnished 0ith flambeau thinking thus to frighten a0ay the demon 0hi$h they ad
0ould be effi$a$ious enough to drive a0ay the dreadful visitant. 7n the meantime the horror 0aed and mounted to its $ulmination. 8ne eve to0ard the middle of :ovember the abbot of the lo$al monastery of Cordeliers 0ho had gone forth to administer etreme un$tion to a dying friend 0as sei'ed by the bla$k devil
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noisome in$ubus. )any 0ere a33roa$hed by it and 0ere terrified immoderately by the hideousness and lustfulness of its demeanor/ but no one 0as ever tou$hed. #ven in that time of horror both s3iritual and $or3oreal there 0ere those 0ho made a ribald
ea$h turn and angle that the gloom 0as $urded by the un$lean umbrage of Satani$ 0ings and might reveal in another instant the gleaming of abhorrent eyes ignited by the everlasting $oals of the 9it. When he $ame forth at the alleys end he sa0 0ith a start of fresh 3ani$ that the $res$ent moon 0as blotted out by a $loud that had the semblan$e of un$outhly ar$hed and 3ointed vans.
The lodgings of Blaise -eynard 0ere se3arated only by the length of a dark and $rooked alley from the tavern ke3t by >ean "illom the father of :i$olette. 7n this tavern -eynard had been 0ont to s3end his evenings/ though his suit 0as fro0ned u3on by >ean "illom and had re$eived but s$ant en$ouragement from the girl herself. &o0ever be$ause of his 0ell5filled 3urse and his almost illimitable $a3a$ity for 0ine -eynard 0as tolerated. &e $ame early ea$h night 0ith the falling of darkness and 0ould sit in silen$e hour after hour staring 0ith hot and sullen eyes at :i$olette and gul3ing
&e rea$hed the tavern 0ith a sense of su3reme relief for he had begun to feel a distin$t intuition that someone or something 0as follo0ing him unheard and invisible F a 3resen$e that seemed to load the dusk 0ith 3rodigious mena$e. &e entered and $losed the door behind him very 6ui$kly as if he 0ere shutting it in the fa$e of a dread 3ursuer.
@ike everyone else in "yones -eynard had felt the suffo$ating burden of su3erstitious terror during those nights 0hen the fiendish marauder 0as hovering above the to0n and might des$end on the lu$kless 0ayfarer at any moment in any lo$ality. :othing less urgent and im3erative than the obsession of his half5bestial longing for :i$olette $ould have indu$ed him to traverse after dark the length of the 0inding alley to the tavern door. The autumn nights had been moonless. :o0 on the evening that follo0ed the dese$ration of the $athedral itself by the murderous devil a ne05 born $res$ent 0as lo0ering its fragile sanguine5 $olored horn beyond the house5to3s as -eynard 0ent forth from his lodgings at the a$$ustomed hour. &e lost sight of its $omforting beam in the high50alled and narro0 alley and shivered 0ith dread as he hastened on0ard through shado0s that 0ere dissi3ated only by the rare and timid ray from some lofty 0indo0. 7t seemed to him at
There 0ere fe0 3eo3le in the tavern that evening. The girl :i$olette 0as serving 0ine to a mer$ers assistant one -aoul Cou3ain a 3ersonable youth and a ne0$omer in the neighborhood and she 0as laughing 0ith 0hat -eynard $onsidered unseemly gayety at the broad ean "illom 0as dis$ussing in a lo0 voi$e the latest enormities and 0as drinking fully as mu$h li6uor as his $ustomers. *lo0ering 0ith
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fitting dress of a33le5green that revealed the firm sedu$tive outlines of her hi3s and bosom. &er air 0as disdainful and a little $old for she did not like -eynard and had taken small 3ains at any time to $on$eal her aversion. But to -eynard she 0as lovelier and more desirable than ever and he felt a savage im3ulse to sei'e her in his arms and $arry her bodily a0ay from the tavern before the eyes of -aoul Cou3ain and her father. GBring me a 3it$her of @a ;renaieG he ordered gruffly in a voi$e that betrayed his mingled resentment and desire. Tossing her head lightly and s$ornfully 0ith more glan$es at Cou3ain the girl obeyed. She 3la$ed the fierey blood5dark 0ine before -eynard 0ithout s3eaking and then 0ent ba$k to resume her bantering 0ith the mer$ers assistant. -eynard began to drink and the 3otent vintage merely served to inflame his smoldering enmity and 3assion. &is eyes be$ame venomous his $urling li3s malignant as those of the gargoyles he had $arved on the ne0 $athedral. A baleful 3rimordial anger like the rage of some morose and th0arted faun burned 0ithin him 0ith its slo0 red fire/ but he strove to re3ress it and sat silent and motionless e$e3t for the fre6uent filling and em3tying of his 0ine5$u3. -aoul Cou3ain had also $onsumed a liberal 6uantity of 0ine. As a result he soon be$ame bolder in his love5making and strove to kiss the hand of :i$olette 0ho had no0 seated herself on the ben$h beside him. The hand 0as 3layfully 0ith5held/ and then after its o0ner had $uffed -aoul very lightly and briskly 0as granted to the $laimant in a fashion that stru$k -eynard as being no less than 0anton. Snarling inarti$ulately 0ith a mad im3ulse to rush for0ard and slay the su$$essful rival 0ith his bare hands he started to his feet and ste33ed to0ard the 3layful 3air. &is movement 0as noted by one of the men in the far $orner 0ho s3oke 0arningly to "illom. The tavern5kee3er arose lur$hing a little from his 3otations and $ame 0arily a$ross the room 0ith his eyes on -eynard ready to interfere in $ase of violen$e.
-eynard 3aused 0ith momentary irresolution and then 0ent on half insane 0ith a mounting hatred for them all. &e longed to kill "illom and Cou3ain to kill the hateful $ronies 0ho sat staring from the $orner and then above their throttled $or3ses to ravage 0ith fier$e kisses and vehement $aresses the shrinking li3s and body of :i$olette. Seeing the a33roa$h of the stone5$arver and kno0ing his evil tem3er and dark ean "illom had inter3osed his burly bulk bet0een the rivals. ;or the sake of the taverns good re3ute he 0ished to 3revent the 3ossible bra0l. GBa$k to your table stone5$utterG he roared belligerently at -eynard. Being unarmed and seeing himself outnumbered -eynard 3aused again though his anger still simmered 0ithin him like the $ontents of a sor$erers $auldron. With ruddy 3oints of murderous flame in his hollo0 slitted eyes he glared at the three 3eo3le before him and sa0 beyond them 0ith insti$tive rather than $ons$ious a0areness the leaded 3anes of the tavern 0indo0 in 0hose glass the room 0as dimly refle$ted 0ith its glo0ing ta3ers its glimmering table0are the heads of Cou3ain and "illom and the girl :i$olette and his o0n shado0y fa$e among them. Strangely and it 0ould seem in$onse6untly he remembered at that moment the dark ambiguous $loud he had seen a$ross the moon and the insistent feeling of obs$ure 3ursuit 0hile he had traversed the alley. Then as he still ga'ed irresolutely at the grou3 before him and its vague refle$tion in the glass beyond there $ame a thunderous $rash and the 3anes of the 0indo0 0ith their 3i$tured s$ene 0ere shattered in0ard in a s$ore of fragments. #re the litter of falling glass had rea$hed the tavern floor a s0art and monstrous form fle0 into the room 0ith a beating of heavy vans that $aused the ta3ers to flare troublously and the shado0s to dan$e like a sabbat of missha3en devils. The thing hovered for a
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Tales of Averoigne
moment and seemed to to0er in a great darkness higher than the $eiling above the heads of -eynard and the others as they turned to0ard it. They sa0 the malignant burning of its eyes like $oals in the de3th of Tartarean 3its and the $urling of its hateful li3s on the bared teeth that 0ere longer and shar3er than ser3ent5fangs. Behind it no0 another shado0y flying monster $ame in through the broken 0indo0 0ith a loud fla33ing of its ribbed and 3ointed 0ings. There 0as something las$ivious in the very motion of its flight even as homi$idal hatred and malignity 0ere manifest in the flight of the other. 7ts satyr5 like fa$e 0as t0isted in a horrible never5 $hanging leer and its lustful eyes 0ere fied on :i$olette as it hung in air beside the first intruder. -eynard as 0ell as the other men 0as 3etrified by a feeling of astonishment and $onsternation so etreme as almost to 3re$lude terror. "oi$eless and motionless they beheld the demonia$ intrusion/ and the $onsternation of -eynard in 3arti$ular 0as mingled 0ith an element of uns3eakable sur3rise together 0ith a dreadful re$ogni'an$e. But the girl :i$olette 0ith a mad s$ream of horror turned and started to flee a$ross the room. As if her $ry had been the one 3rovo$ation needed the t0o demons s0oo3ed u3on their vi$tims. 8ne 0ith a fero$ious slash of its outstret$hed $la0s tore o3en the throat of >ean "illom 0ho fell 0ith a gurgling blood5$hoked groan/ and then in the same fashion it assailed -aoul Cou3ain. The other in the mean0hile had 3ursued and overtaken the fleeing girl and had sei'ed her in its bestial forearms 0ith the ribbed 0ings enfolding her like a hellish dra3ery. The room 0as filled by a moaning 0hirl0ind by a $haos of 0ild $ries and tossing struggling shado0s. -eynard heard the guttural snarling of the murderous monster muffled by the body of Cou3ain 0hom it 0as tearing 0ith its teeth/ and he heard the lubri$ous laughter of the in$ubus above the shrieks of the hysteri$ally frightened girl. Then the grotes6uely flaring ta3ers 0ent out in a gust of s0irling air and -eynard re$eived a violent blo0 in the darkness F the blo0 of some rushing ob
0as hard and heavy as stone. &e fell and be$ame insensible. !ully and $onfusedly 0ith mu$h effort -eynard struggled ba$k to $ons$iousness. ;or a brief interim he $ould not remember 0here he 0as nor 0hat had ha33ened. &e 0as troubled by the 3ainful throbbing of his head by the humming of agitated voi$es about him by the glaring of many lights and the thronging of many fa$es 0hen he o3ened his eyes/ and above all by the sense of nameless but grievous $alamity and uttermost horror that 0eighed him do0n from the first da0ning of sentien$y. )emory returned to him laggard and relu$tant/ and 0ith it a full a0areness of his surroundings and situation. &e 0as lying on the tavern floor and his o0n 0arm sti$ky blood 0as rilling a$ross his fa$e from the 0ound on his a$hing head. The long room 0as half filled 0ith 3eo3le of the neighborhood bearing tor$hes and knives and halberds 0ho had entered and 0ere 3eering at the $or3ses of "illom and Cou3ain 0hi$h lay amid 3ools of 0ine5diluted blood and the 0re$kage of the shattered furniture and table0are. :i$olette 0ith her green go0n in shreds and her body $rushed by the embra$es of the demon 0as moaning feebly 0hile 0omen $ro0ded about her 0ith ineffe$tual $ries and 6uestions 0hi$h she $ould not even hear or understand. The t0o $ronies of "illom horribly $la0ed and mangled 0ere dead beside their over5turned table. Stu3efied 0ith horror and still di''y from the blo0 that had laid him un$ons$ious -eynard staggered to his feet and found himself surrounded at on$e by in6uiring fa$es and voi$es. Some of the 3eo3le 0ere a little sus3i$ious of him sin$e he 0as the sole survivor in the tavern and bore an ill re3ute but his re3lies to their 6uestions soon $onvin$ed them that the ne0 $rime 0as 0holly the 0ork of the same demons that had 3lagued "yones in so monstrous a fashion for 0eeks 3ast. -eynard ho0ever 0as unable to tell them all that he had seen or to $onfess the ultimate sour$es of his fear and stu3efa$tion. The se$ret
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
of that 0hi$h he kne0 0as lo$ked in the seething 3it of his tortured and devil5ridden soul.
a0ay the malignant lust and eultation. Again -eynard raised the heavy hammer.
Someho0 he left the ravaged inn he 3ushed his 0ay through the gathering $ro0d 0ith its terror5 muted murmurs and found himself alone on the midnight streets. &eedless of his o0n 3ossible 3eril and s$ar$ely kno0ing 0here he 0ent he 0andered through "yones for many hours/ and some0hile in his 0anderings he $ame to his o0n 0orksho3. With no assignable reason for the a$t he entered and re5emerged 0ith a heavy hammer 0hi$h he $arried 0ith him during his subse6uent 3eregrinations. Then driven by his a0ful and unremissive torture he 0ent on till the 3ale da0n had tou$hed the s3ires and the house5to3s 0ith a ghostly glimmering.
7t fell on em3ty air/ for even as he stru$k the stone5$arver felt himself lifted and dra0n ba$k0ard by something that sank into his flesh like many se3arate knives. &e staggered hel3lessly his feet sli33ed and then he 0as lying on the granite verge 0ith his head and shoulders over the dark deserted street.
By a half5$ons$ious $om3ulsion his ste3s had led him to the s6uare before the $athedral. 7gnoring the ama'ed verger 0ho had
&alf s0ooning and si$k 0ith 3ain he sa0 above him the other gargoyle the $la0s of 0hose right foreleg 0ere firmly embedded in his shoulder. They tore dee3er as if 0ith a dreadful $len$hing. The monster seemed to to0er like some fabulous beast above its 3rey/ and he felt himself sli33ing di''ily a$ross the $athedral gutter 0ith the gargoyle t0isting and turning as if to resume its normal 3osition over the gulf. 7ts slo0 ineorable movement seemed to be 3art of his vertigo. The very to0er 0as tilting and revolving beneath him in some unnatural nightmare fashion. !imly in a da'e of fear and agony -eynard sa0 the remorseless tiger5fa$e bending to0ard him 0ith its horrid teeth laid bare in an eternal ri$tus of diaboli$ hate. Someho0 he had retained the hammer. With an instin$tive im3ulse to defend himself he stru$k at the gargoyle 0hose $ruel features seemed to a33roa$h him like something seen in the ultimate madness and distortion of delirium. #ven as he stru$k the vertiginous turning movement $ontinued and he felt the talons dragging him out0ard on em3ty air. 7n his $ram3ed re$umbent 3osition the blo0 fell short of the hateful fa$e and $ame do0n 0ith a dull $langor on the foreleg 0hose $urving talons 0ere fied in his shoulder like meat5hooks. The $langor ended in a shar3 $ra$king sound/ and the leaning gargoyle vanished from -eynards vision as he fell. &e sa0 nothing more e$e3t the dark mass of the $athedral to0er that seemed to soar a0ay from him and to rush u30ard unbelievably in the livid starless heavens to 0hi$h the belated sun had not yet risen. 7t 0as the ar$hbisho3 Ambrosius on his 0ay to early )ass 0ho found the shattered body of -eynard lying fa$e do0n0ard in the s6uare.
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Tales of Averoigne
Ambrosius $rossed himself in startled horror at the sight/ and the 0hen he sa0 the ob
The 0andrakes *ilies *renier the sor$erer and his 0ife Sabine $oming into lo0er Averoigne from 3arts unkno0n or at least unverified had sele$ted the lo$ation of their hut 0ith a $areful forethought. The hut 0as $lose to those marshes through 0hi$h the sla$kening 0aters of the river 7soile after leaving the great fosest had overflo0ed in sluggish reed5$logged $hannels and sedge5 hidden 3ools mantled 0ith s$um like 0it$hes oils. 7t stood among osiers and alders on a lo0 mound5sha3ed elevation/ and in front to0ard the marshes there 0as a loamy meado05 bottom 0here the short fat stems and tufted leaves of the mandrake gre0 in lush abundan$e being more 3lentiful and of greater si'e than else0here through all that sor$ery5 ridden 3rovin$e. The fleshly bifur$ated roots of this 3lant held by many to resemble the human body 0ere used by *illes and Sabine in the bre0ing of love53hiltres. Their 3otions being $om3ounded 0ith mu$h $are and $unning soon a$6uired a marvelous reno0n among the 3easants and villagers and 0ere even in re6uest among 3eo3le of a loftier station 0ho $ame 3rivily to the 0i'ards hut. They 0ould rouse 3eo3le said a kindly 0armth in the $oldest and most 3rudent bosom 0ould melt the armor of the most obdurate virtue. As a result the demand for these sovereign magistrals be$ame enormous.
The $ou3le dealt also in other drugs and sim3les in $harms and divination/ and *illes a$$ording to $ommon belief $ould read infallibly the di$tates of the stars. 8ddly enough $onsidering the tem3er of the ;ifteenth Century 0hen magi$ and 0it$h$raft 0ere still so 0idely re3robated he and his 0ife en
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
Averoigne it be$ame remarked by neighbors and $ustomers that *illes 0as alone. 7n re3ly to 6ueries the sor$erer merely said that his s3ouse had de3arted on a long
3leased rather than troubled by the thought of that $harnel nourishment 0hi$h might have $ontributed to the lushness of the dark glossy leaves. 7n fa$t it may 0ell have been a similar irony that had led him to $hoose the mandrake meado0 as a 3la$e of burial for the murdered 0it$h50ife. *illes *renier 0as not sorry that he had killed Sabine. They had been ill5mated from the beginning and the 0oman had sho0n to0ard him in their 6uotidian 6uarrels the venomous s3itefulness of a very hell5$at. &e had not loved the vien/ and it 0as far 3leasanter to be alone 0ith his some0hat somber tem3er unruffled by her a$rid s3ee$hes and his sallo0 fa$e and gri''ling beard untorn by her shar3 finger5nails. With the rene0al of s3ring as the sor$erer had e3e$ted there 0as mu$h demand for his love5 3hiltres among the smitten s0ains and lasses of the neighborhood. There $ame to him also the gallants 0ho sought to over$ome a stubborn $hastity and the 0ives 0ho 0ished to re$all a 0andering fan$y or allure the forbidden desires of young men. Anon it be$ame ne$essary for *illes to re3lenish his sto$k of mandrake 3otions/ and 0ith this 3ur3ose in mind he 0ent forth at midnight beneath the full )ay moon to dig the ne0ly gro0n roots from 0hi$h he 0ould bre0 his amatory en$hantments. Smiling darkly beneath his beard he began to $ull the great moon53ale 3lants 0hi$h flourished on Sabines grave digging out the homun$ulus5 like ta3roots very $arefully 0ith a $urious tro0el made from the femur of a 0it$h. Though he 0as 0ell used to the 0eird and often vaguely human forms assumed by the mandrake *illes 0as some0hat sur3ri'ed by the a33earan$e of the first root. 7t seemed inordinately large unnaturally 0hite/ and eyeing it more $losely he sa0 that it bore the ea$t likeness of a 0omans body and lo0er limbs being $loven to the middle and $learly formed even to the ten toesO These 0ere no arms ho0ever and the bosom ended in the large tuft of ovate leaves. *illes 0as more than startled by the fashion in 0hi$h the root seemed to turn and 0rithe 0hen he lifted it from the ground. &e dro33ed it hastily
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Tales of Averoigne
and the minikin limbs lay 6uivering on the grass. But after a little refle$tion he took the 3rodigy as a 3ossible mark of Satani$ favor and $ontinued his digging. To his ama'ement the net root 0as formed in mu$h the same manner as the first. A half5do'en more 0hi$h he 3ro$eeded to dig 0ere sha3ed in miniature mo$kery of a 0oman fsom breasts to heels/ and amid the su3erstituous a0e and 0onder 0ith 0hi$h he regasded them he be$ame a0are of their singularly intimate resemblan$e to Sabine. At this dis$overy *illes 0as dee3ly 3erturbed for the thing 0as beyond his $om3sehension. The mira$le 0hether divine or demonia$ began to assume a sinister and doubtful as3e$t. 7t 0as as if the slain 0omen herself had returned or had someho0 0rought her unholy simula$rum in the mandrakes. &is hand trembled as he started to dig u3 another 3lant/ and 0orking 0ith less than his usual $are he failed to remove the 0hole of the bifur$ated root $utting into it $lumsily 0ith the tro0el of shar3 bone. &e sa0 that he had severed one of the tiny ankles. At the same instant a shrill re3roa$hful $ry like the voi$e of Sabine herself in mingled 3ain and anger seemed to 3ier$e his ears 0ith intolerable a$uity though the volume 0as strangely lessened as if the voi$e had $ome from a distan$e. The $ry $eased and 0as not re3eated. *illes sorely terrified found himself staring at the tro0el on 0hi$h there 0as a dark blood5like stain. Trembling he 3ulled out the severed root and sa0 that it 0as dri33ing 0ith a sanguine fiuid. At first in his dark fear and half5guilty a33rehension he thought of burying the soots 0hi$h lay 3alely before him 0ith their eldrit$h and obs$ene similitude to the dead sor$eress. &e 0ould hide them dee3ly from his o0n sight and the ken of others lest the murder he had done should someho0 be sus3e$ted. 9resently ho0ever his alarm began to lessen. 7t o$$urred to him that even if seen by others the roots 0ould be looked u3on merely as a freak of nature and 0ould in no manner serve to betray his $rime sin$e their a$tual resemblan$e to the
3erson of Sabine 0as a thing 0hi$h none but he $ould rightfully kno0. Also he thought the roots might 0ell 3ossess an etraordinary virtue and from them 3erha3s he 0ould bre0 3hiltres of never5e6ualled 3o0er and effi$a$y. 8ver$oming entirely his initial dread and re3ulsion he filled a small osier basket 0ith the 6uivering leaf5headed figurines. Then he 0ent ba$k to his hut seeing in the bi'arre 3henomenon merely the $urious advantage to 0hi$h it might be turned and 0holly oblivious to any darker meaning su$h as might have been read by others in his 3la$e. 7n his $allous hardihood he 0as not dis6uieted overmu$h by the 3rofuse bleeding of a sanguine matter from the mandrakes 0hen he $ame to 3re3are them for his $auldron. The ungodly furious hissing the mad foaming and boiling of the bre0 like a devils broth he as$ribed to the uni6ue 3oten$y of its ingredients. &e even dared to $hoose the most sha3ely and 3erfe$t of the 0oman5like 3lants and hung it u3 in his hut amid other roots and dried herbs and sim3les intending to $onsult it as an ora$le in future a$$ording to the $ustom of 0i'ards. The ne0 3hiltres 0hi$h he had $on$o$ted 0ere bought by eager $ustomers and *illes ventured to re$ommend them for their sur3assing virtue 0hi$h 0ould kindle amorous 0armth in a bosom of marble or enflame the very dead. :o0 in the old legend of Averoigne 0hi$h 7 re$ount here0ith it is told that the im3ious and auda$ious 0i'ard fearing neither *od nor devil nor 0it$h50oman dared to dig again in the earth of Sabines grave removing many more of the 0hite female5sha3en roots 0hi$h $ried aloud in shrill $om3laint to the 0aning moon or turned like living limbs at his violen$e. And all those 0hi$h he dug 0ere formed alike in the miniature image of the dead Sabine from breasts to toes. And from them it is said he $om3ounded other 3hiltres 0hi$h he meant to sell in time 0hen su$h should be re6uested. As it ha33ened ho0ever these latter 3otions 0ere never dis3ensed/ and only a fe0 of the first 0ere sold o0ing to the frightful and $alamitous $onse6uen$es that follo0ed their use. ;or those to 0hom the 3otions had been administered
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
3rivily 0hether men or 0omen 0ere not moved by the genial fusy of desire as 0as the 0onted resu7t but 0ere driven by a darker rage by a 0oful and Satani$ madness irresistibly im3elling them to harm or even slay the 3ersons 0ho had sought to attra$t their love. &usbands 0ere turned against 0ives lasses against their lovers 0ith s3ee$hes of bitter hate and s$atheful deeds. A $ertain young gallant 0ho had gone to the 3romised rende'vous 0as met by a vengeful mad0oman 0ho tore his fa$e into bleeding shreds 0ith her nails. A mistress 0ho had thought to 0in ba$k her re$reant knight 0as mistreated foully and done to death by him 0ho had hitherto been im3e$$ably gentle even if faithless. The s$andal of these unto0ard ha33enings 0as su$h as 0ould attend an invasion of demons. The $ra'ed men and 0omen it 0as thought at first 0ere veritably 3ossessed by devils. But 0hen the use of the 3otions be$ame rumored and their 3rovenan$e 0as $learly established the burden of the blame fell u3on *illes *renier 0ho by the la0 of both $hur$h and state 0as no0 $harged 0ith sor$ery. The $onstables 0ho 0ent to arrest *illes found him at evening in his hut of raddled osiers stoo3ing and muttering above a $auldron that foamed and hissed and boiled as if it had been filled 0ith the s3ate of 9hlegethon. They entered and took him una0are. &e submitted $almly but e3ressed sur3ri'e 0hen told of the lamentable effe$t of the love53hiltres/ and he neither affirmed nor denied the $harge of 0i'ardry. As they 0ere about to leave 0ith their 3risoner the offi$ers heard a shrill tiny shre0ish voi$e that $ried from the shado0s of the hut 0here bun$hes of dried sim3les and other sor$erous ingredients 0ere hanging. 7t a33eared to issue from a strange half50ithered root $loven in the very likeness of a 0omans body and legs F a root that 0as 3artly 3ale and 3artly bla$k 0ith $auldron5smoke. 8ne of the $onstables thought that he re$ogni'ed the voi$e as being that of Sabine the sor$erers 0ife. All s0ore that they heasd the voi$e $learly and 0ere able to distinguish these 0ordsD
G!ig dee3ly in the meado0 0here the mandrakes gro0 the thi$kliest.G The offi$ers 0ere sorely frightened both by this un$anny voi$e and the obs$ene likeness of the root 0hi$h they regarded as a 0ork of Satan. Also these 0as mu$h doubt anent the 0isdom of obeying the ora$ular in
0other of Toads GWhy must you al0ays hurry a0ay my little onePG The voi$e of )ere Antoinette the 0it$h 0as an amorous $roaking. She ogled 9ierre the a3othe$arys young a33renti$e 0ith eyes full5 orbed and unblinking as those of a toad. The folds beneath her $hin s0elled like the throat of some great batra$hian. &er huge breasts 3ale as frog5bellies bulged from her torn go0n as she leaned to0ard him. &e gave no ans0er/ and she $ame $loser till he sa0 in the hollo0 of those breasts a moisture glistening like the de0 of marshes... like the slime of some am3hibian... a moisture that seemed al0ays to linger there. &er voi$e rau$ously $oaing 3ersisted. GStay a0hile tonight my 3retty or3han. :o one 0ill miss you in the village. And your master 0ill not
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Tales of Averoigne
mind.G She 3ressed against him 0ith shuddering folds of fat. With her short flat fingers 0hi$h gave almost the a33earan$e of being 0ebbed she sei'ed his hand and dre0 it to her bosom.
him. GSome night my lad you 0ill remain 0ith herG he had said. GBe $areful or the big toad 0ill $rush you.G -emembering this gibe the boy flushed angrily as he turned to go.
9ierre 0ren$hed the hand a0ay and dre0 ba$k dis$reetly. -e3elled rather than abashed he averted his eyes. The 0it$h 0as more than t0i$e his age and her $harms 0ere too un$outh and unsavory to tem3t him for an instant. Also her re3ute 0as su$h as to have nullified the attra$tions of a younger and fairer sor$eress. &er 0it$h$raft had made her feared among the 3easantry of that remote 3rovin$e 0here belief in s3ells and 3hilters 0as still $ommon. The 3eo3le of Averoigne $alled her @a )ere des Cra3auds )other of Toads a name given for more than one reason. Toads s0armed innumerably about her hut/ they 0ere said to be her familiars and dark tales 0ere told $on$erning their relationshi3 to the sor$eress and the duties they 3erformed at her bidding. Su$h tales 0ere all the more readily believed be$ause of those batra$hian features that had al0ays been remarked in her as3e$t.
GStayG insisted )ere Antoinette. GThe fog is $old on the marshes/ and it thi$kens a3a$e. 7 kne0 that you 0ere $oming and 7 have mulled for you a goodly measure of the red 0ine of Iimes.G
The youth disliked her even as he disliked the sluggish abnormally large toads on 0hi$h he had sometimes trodden in the dusk u3on the 3ath bet0een her hut and the village of @es &ibou. &e $ould hear some of these $reatures $roaking no0/ and it seemed 0eirdly that they uttered half5arti$ulate e$hoes of the 0it$hs 0ords. 7t 0ould be dark soon he refle$ted. The 3ath along the marshes 0as not 3leasant by night and he felt doubly anious to de3art. Still 0ithout re3lying to )ere Antionettes invitation he rea$hed for the bla$k triangular vial she had set before him on her greasy table. The vial $ontained a 3hilter of $urious 3oten$y 0hi$h his master Alain le !indon had sent him to 3ro$ure. @e !indonthe village a3othe$ary 0as 0ont to deal surre3titiously in $ertain dubious medi$aments su33lied by the 0it$h/ and 9ierre had often gone on su$h errands to her osier5 hidden hut. The old a3othe$ary 0hose humor 0as rough and ribald had sometimes rallied 9ierre $on$erning )ere Antoinettes 3referen$e for
She removed the lid from an earthen 3it$her and 3oured its steaming $ontents into a large $u3. The 3ur3lish5red 0ine $reamed dele$tably and an odor of hot deli$ious s3i$es filled the hut over3o0ering the less agreeable odors from the simmering $auldron the half5dried ne0ts vi3ers bat50ings and evil nauseous herbs hanging on the 0alls and the reek of the bla$k $andles of 3it$h and $or3se5tallo0 that burned al0ays by noon or night in that murky interior. G7ll drink itG said 9ierre a little grudgingly. GThat is if it $ontains nothing of your o0n $on$o$tion.G GTis naught but sound 0ine four seasons old 0ith s3i$es of ArabiaG the sor$eress $roaked ingratiatingly. GT0ill 0arm your stoma$h... and...G She added something inaudible as 9ierre a$$e3ted the $u3. Before drinking he inhaled the fumes of the beverage 0ith some $aution but 0as reassured by its 3leasant smell. Surely it 0as inno$ent of any drug any 3hilter bre0ed by the 0it$hD for to his kno0ledge her 3re3arations 0ere all evil5 smelling. Still as if 0arned by some 3remonition he hesitated. Then he remembered that the sunset air 0as indeed $hill/ that mists had gathered furtively behind him as he $ame to )ere Antoinettes d0elling. The 0ine 0ould fortify him for the dismal return 0alk to @es &ibou. &e 6uaffed it 6ui$kly and. set do0n the $u3. GTruly it is good 0ineG he de$lared. GBut 7 must go no0.G #ven as he s3oke he felt in his stoma$h and veins the s3reading 0armth of the al$ohol of the s3i$es... of something more ardent than these. 7t seemed that his voi$e 0as unreal and strange falling as if from a height above him. the 0armth gre0 mounting 0ithin him like a golden flame fed by magi$ oils. &is blood a seething
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torrent3oured tumultuously and tumultuously through his members.
Clark Ashton Smith
more
There 0as a dee3 soft thundering in his ears a rosy da''lement in his eyes. Someho0 the hut a33eared to e3and to $hange luminously about him. &e hardly re$ogni'ed its s6ualid furnishings its litter of baleful oddments on 0hi$h a torrid s3lendor 0as shed by the bla$k $andles ti33ed 0ith ruddy fire that to0ered and s0elled giganti$ally into the softgloom &is blood burned as 0ith the throbbing flame of the $andles. 7t $ame to him for an instant that all this 0as a 6uestionable en$hantment a glamor 0rought by the 0it$hs 0ine. ;ear 0as u3on him and he 0ished to flee. Then $lose beside him he sa0 )ere Antoinette. Briefly he marvelled at the $hange that had befallen her. Then fear and 0onder 0ere alike forgotten together 0ith his old re3ulsion. &e kne0 0hy the magi$ 0armth mounted ever higher and hotter 0ithin him/ 0hy his flesh glo0ed like the ruddy ta3ers. The soiled skirt she had 0orn lay at her feet and she stood naked as @ilith the first 0it$h. The lum3ish limbs and body had gro0n volu3tuous/ the 3ale thi$k5li33ed mouth enti$ed him 0ith a 3romise of am3ler kisses than other mouths $ouldyield. The 3its of her short round arms the $on$ave of her 3onderously droo3ing breasts the heavy $reases and s0ollen rondures of flanks and thighs all 0ere fraught 0ith luurious allurement. G!o you like me no0 my little onePG she 6uestioned. This time he did not dra0 a0ay but met her 0ith hot 6uesting hands 0hen she 3ressed heavily against him. &er limbs 0ere $ool and moist/ her breasts yielded like the turf5mounds above a bog. &er body 0as 0hite and 0holly hairless/ but here and there he found $urious roughnesses... like those on the skin of a toad... that someho0 shar3ened his desire instead of re3elling it. She 0as so huge that his fingers barely
She led him to her $ou$h beside the hearth 0here a great $auldron boiled mysteriously sending u3 its fumes in strange5t0ining $oils that suggested vague and obs$ene figures. The $ou$h 0as rude and bare. But the flesh of the sor$eress 0as like dee3 luurious $ushions... 97#--# AW8N# in the ashy da0n 0hen the tall bla$k ta3ers had d0indled do0n and had melted lim3ly in their so$kets. Si$k and $onfused he sought vainly to remember 0here he 0as or 0hat he had done. Then turning a little he sa0 beside him on the $ou$h a thing that 0as like some im3ossible monster of ill dreams/ a toadlike form large as a fat 0oman. 7ts limbs 0ere someho0 like a 0omans arms and legs. 7ts 3ale 0arty body 3ressed and bulged against him and he felt the rounded softness of something that resembled a breast. :ausea rose 0ithin him as memory of that delirious night returned/ )ost foully he had been beguiled by the 0it$h and had su$$umbed to her evil en$hantments. 7t seemed that an in$ubus smothered him 0eighing u3on all his limbs and body. &e shut his eyes that he might no longer behold the loathsome thing that 0as )ere Antoinette in her true semblan$e. Slo0ly 0ith 3rodigious effort he dre0 himself a0ay from the $rushing nightmare sha3e. 7t did not stir or a33ear to 0aken/ and he slid 6ui$kly from the $ou$h. Again $om3elled by a noisome fas$ination he 3eered at the thing on the $ou$h F and sa0 only the gross form of )ere Antoinette. 9erha3s his im3ression of a great toad beside him had been but an illusion a half5dream that lingered after slumber. &e lost something of his nightmarish horror/ but his gorge still rose in a si$k disgust remembering the le0dness to 0hi$h he had yielded. ;earing that the 0it$h might a0aken at any moment and seek to detain him he stole noiselessly from the hut. 7t 0as broad daylight but a $old hueless mist lay every0here shrouding the reedy marshes and hanging like a ghostly $urtain on the 3ath he must follo0 to @es &ibou. )oving and seething al0ays the mist seemed to rea$h to0ard him 0ith inter$e3ting fingers as he started home0ard. &e shivered at
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its tou$h he bo0ed his head and dre0 his $loak $loser around him. Thi$ker and thi$ker the mist s0irled $oiling 0rithing endlessly as if to bar 9ierres 3rogress. &e $ould dis$ern the t0isting narro0 3ath for only a fe0 3a$es in advan$e. 7t 0as hard to find the familiar landmarks hard to re$ogni'e the osiers and 0illo0s that loomed suddenly before him like gray 3hantoms and faded again into the 0hite nothingness as he 0ent on0ard. :ever had he seen su$h fogD it 0as like the blinding stifling fumes of a thousand 0it$h5stirred $auldrons. Though he 0as not altogether sure of his surroundings 9ierre thought that he had $overed half the distan$e to the village. Then all at on$e he began to meet the toads. They 0ere hidden by the mist till he $ame $lose u3on them. )issha3en unnaturally big and bloated they s6uatted in his 0ay on the little foot3ath or ho33ed sluggishly before him from the 3allid gloom on either hand. Several stru$k against his feet 0ith a horrible and heavy flo33ing. &e ste33ed una0are u3on one of them and sli33ed in the s6uashy noisomeness it had made barely saving himself from a headlong fall on the bogs rim. Bla$k miry 0ater gloomed $lose beside him as he staggered there. Turning to regain his 3ath he $rushed others of the toads to an abhorrent 3ul3 under his feet. The marshy soil 0as alive 0ith them. They flo33ed against him from the mist striking his legs his bosom his very fa$e 0ith their $lammy bodies. They rose u3 by s$ores like a devil5driven legion. 7t seemed that there 0as a malignan$e an evil 3ur3ose in their movements in the buffeting of their violent im3a$t. &e $ould make no 3rogress on the s0arming 3ath but lur$hed to and fro sli33ing blindly and shielding his fa$e 0ith lifted hands. &e felt an eery $onsternation an eldri$h horror. 7t 0as as if the nightmare of his a0akening in the 0it$hs hut had someho0 returned u3on him. The toads $ame al0ays from the dire$tion of @es &ibou as if to drive him ba$k to0ard )ere Antoinettes d0elling. They bounded against him like a monstrous hail like missiles flung by unseen
demons. The ground 0as $overed by them the air 0as filled 0ith their hurtling bodies. 8n$e he nearly 0ent do0n beneath them. Their number seemed to in$rease they 3elted him in a noious storm. &e gave 0ay before them his $ourage broke and he started to run at random 0ithout kno0ing that he had left the safe 3ath. @osing.all thought of dire$tion in his franti$ desire to es$a3e from those im3ossible myriads he 3lunged on amid the dim reeds and sedges over ground that 6uivered gelatinously beneath him. Al0ays at his heels he heard the soft heavy flo33ing of the toads/ and sometimes they rose u3 like a sudden 0all to bar his 0ay and turn him aside. )ore than on$e they drove him ba$k from the verge of hidden 6uagmires into 0hi$h he 0ould other0ise have gallen. 7t 0as as if they 0ere herding him deliberately and $on$ertedly to a destined goal. :o0 like the lifting of a dense $urtain the mist rolled a0ay and 9ierre sa0 before him in a golden da''le of morning sunshine the green thi$k5gro0ing osiers that surrounded )ere Antoinettes hut. The toads had all disa33eared though he $ould have s0orn that hundreds of them 0ere ho33ing $lose about him an instant 3reviously. With a feeling of hel3less fright and 3ani$ he kne0 that he 0as still 0ithin the 0it$hs toils/ that the toads 0ere indeed her familiars as so many 3eo3le believed them to be. They had 3revented his es$a3e and had broughthimba$k to the foul $reature... 0hether 0oman batra$hian or both... 0ho 0as kno0n as The )other of Toads. 9ierres sensations 0ere those of one 0ho sinks momently dee3er into some bla$k and bottomless 6ui$ksand. &e sa0 the 0it$h emerge from the hut and $ome to0ard him. &er thi$k fingers 0ith 3ale folds of skin bet0een them like the beginnings of a 0eb 0ere stret$hed and flattened on the steaming $u3 that she $arried. A sudden gust of 0ind arose as if from no0here lifting the s$anty skirts of )ere Antoinette about her fat thighs and bearing to 9ierres nostrils the hot familiar s3i$es of the drugged 0ine. GWhy did you leave so hastily my little oneMG There 0as an amorous 0heedling in the very tone of the 0it$hs 6uestion. G7 should not have
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let you go 0ithout another $u3 of the good red 0ine mulled and s3i$ed for the 0arming of your stoma$h... See 7 have 3re3ared it for you... kno0ing that you 0ould return.G She $ame very $lose to him as she s3oke leering and sidling and held the $u3 to0ard his li3s. 9ierre gre0 di''y 0ith the strange fumes and turned his head a0ay. 7t seemed that a 3araly'ing s3ell had sei'ed his mus$les for the sim3le movement re6uired an immense effort. &is mind ho0ever 0as still $lear and the si$k revulsion of that nightmare da0n returned u3on him. &e sa0 again the great toad that had lain at his side 0hen he a0akened. G7 0ill not drink your 0ineG he said firmly. GYou are a foul 0it$h and 7 loathe you. @et me go. GWhy do you loathe mePG $roaked )ere Antoinette. GYou loved me yesternight. 7 $an give you all that other 0omen give ... and more.G GYou are not a 0omanG said 9ierre. GYou are a big toad. 7 sa0 you in your true sha3e this morning. 7d rather dro0n in the marsh50aters than slee3 0ith you again.G An indes$ribable $hange $ame u3on the sor$eress before 9ierre had finished s3eaking. The leer slid from her thi$k and 3allid features leaving them blankly inhuman for an instant. Then her eyes bulged and goggled horribly and her 0hole body a33eared to s0ell as if inflated 0ith venom. G*o thenOG she s3at 0ith a guttural virulen$e. GBut you 0ill soon 0ish that you had stayed...G The 6ueer 3aralysis had lifted from 9ierres mus$les. 7t 0as as if the in
out till he seemed to 0alk on the sheer rim of a 0hite abyss that moved 0ith him as he 0ent. @ike the $lammy arms of s3e$ters 0ith death5 $hill fingers that $lut$hed and $aressed the 0eird mists dre0 $loser still about 9ierre. They thi$kened in his nostrils and throat they dri33ed in a heavy de0 from his garments. They $hoked him 0ith the fetor of rank 0aters and 3utres$ent oo'e ... and a sten$h as of li6uefying $or3ses that had risen some0here to the surfa$e amid the fen. Then from the blank 0hiteness the toads assailed 9ierre in a surging solid 0ave that to0ered above his head and s0e3t him from the dim 3ath 0ith the for$e of falling seas as it des$ended. &e 0ent do0n s3lashing and floundering into 0ater that s0armed 0ith the numberless batra$hians. Thi$k slime 0as in his mouth and nose as he struggled to regain his footing. The 0ater ho0ever 0as only knee5 dee3 and the bottom though sli33ery and oo'y su33orted him 0ith little yielding 0hen he stood ere$t. &e dis$erned indistin$tly through the mist the nearby margin from 0hi$h he had fallen. But his ste3s 0ere 0eirdly and horribly ham3ered by the toad5seething 0aters 0hen he strove to rea$h it. 7n$h by in$h 0ith a ho3eless 3ani$ dee3ening u3on him he fought to0ard the solid shore. The toads lea3ed and tumbled about him 0ith a di''ying eddylike motion. They s0irled like a vis$id underto0 around his feet and shins. They s0e3t and s0elled in great loathsome undulations against his retarded knees. &o0ever he made slo0 and 3ainful 3rogress till his outstret$hed fingers $ould almost gras3 the 0iry sedges that trailed from the lo0 bank lhen from that mist5bound shore there fell and broke u3on him a se$ond deluge of those demonia$ toads/ and 9ierre 0as bome hel3lessly ba$k0ard into the filthy 0aters. &eld do0n by the 3iling and $ra0ling masses and dro0ning in nauseous darkness at the thi$k5 oo'ed bottom he $la0ed feebly at his assailants. ;or a moment ere oblivion $ame his fingers found among them the outlines of a monstrous form that 0as someho0 toadlike... but large and heavy as a fat 0oman. At the last it
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seemed to him that t0o enormous breasts 0ere $rushed $losely do0n u3on his fa$e.
A :endevo)s in Averoigne *erard de lAutomne 0as meditating the rimes of a ne0 ballade in honor of ;leurette as he follo0ed the leaf5arrased 3ath0ay to0ard "yones through the 0oodland of Averoigne. Sin$e he 0as on his 0ay to meet ;leurette 0ho had 3romised to kee3 a rende'vous among the oaks and bee$hes like any 3easant girl *erard himself made better 3rogress than the ballade. &is love 0as at that stage 0hi$h even for a 3rofessional troubadour is more 3rodu$tive of distra$tion than ins3iration/ and he 0as re$urrently absorbed in a meditation u3on other than merely verbal feli$ities. The grass and trees had assumed the fresh enamel of a mediaeval )ay/ the turf 0as figured 0ith little blossoms of a'ure and 0hite and yello0 like an ornate broidery/ and there 0as a 3ebbly stream that murmured beside the 0ay as if the voi$es of undines 0ere 3arleying deli$iously beneath its 0aters. The sun5lulled air 0as laden 0ith a 0afture of youth and roman$e/ and the longing that 0elled from the heart of *erard seemed to mingle mysti$ally 0ith the balsams of the 0ood. *erard 0as a trouvLre 0hose s$ant years and many 0anderings had brought him a $ertain reno0n. After the fashion of his kind he had roamed from $ourt to $ourt from $hateau to $hateau/ and he 0as no0 the guest of the Comte de la ;rHnaie 0hose high $astle held dominion over half the surrounding forest. "isiting one day that 6uaint $athedral to0n "yones 0hi$h lies so near to the an$ient 0ood of Averoigne *erard had seen ;leurette the daughter of a 0ell5to5do mer$er named *uillaume Co$hin/ and had be$ome more sin$erely enamored of her blonde 3i6uan$y than 0as to be e3e$ted from one 0ho had been so fre6uently sus$e3tible in su$h matters. &e had managed to make his feelings kno0n to her/ and after a month of billets5dou ballades and stolen intervie0s $ontrived by the hel3 of a $om3laisant 0aiting50oman she had made this 0oodland tryst 0ith him in the absen$e of her
father from "yones. A$$om3anied by her maid and a man5servant she 0as to leave the to0n early that afternoon and meet *erard under a $ertain bee$h5tree of enormous age and si'e. The servants 0ould then 0ithdra0 dis$reetly/ and the lovers to all intents and 3ur3oses 0ould be alone. 7t 0as not likely that they 0ould be seen or interru3ted/ for the gnarled and immemorial 0ood 3ossessed an ill re3ute among the 3easantry. Some0here in this 0ood there 0as the ruinous and haunted Chateau des ;aussesflammes/ and also there 0as a double tomb 0ithin 0hi$h the Sieur &ugh du )alinbois and his $hatelaine 0ho 0ere notorious for sor$ery in their time had lain un$onse$rated for more than t0o hundred years. 8f these and their 3hantoms there 0ere grisly tales/ and there 0ere stories of lou35garous and goblins of fays and devils and vam3ires that infested Averoigne. But to these tales *erard had given little heed $onsidering it im3robable that su$h $reatures 0ould fare abroad in o3en daylight. The mad$a3 ;leurette had 3rofessed herself unafraid also/ but it had been ne$essary to 3romise the servants a substantial pourboire sin$e they shared fully the lo$al su3erstitions. *erard had 0holly forgotten the legendry of Averoigne as he hastened along the sun5 fle$ked 3ath. &e 0as nearing the a33ointed bee$h5tree 0hi$h a turn of the 3ath 0ould soon reveal/ and his 3ulses 6ui$kened and be$ame tremulous as he 0ondered if ;leurette had already rea$hed the trysting53la$e. &e abandoned all effort to $ontinue his ballade 0hi$h in the three miles he had 0alked from @a ;renaie had not 3rogressed beyond the middle of a tentative first stan'a. &is thoughts 0ere su$h as 0ould befit an ardent and im3atient lover. They 0ere no0 interru3ted by a shrill s$ream that rose to an unendurable 3it$h of fear and horror issuing from the green stillness of the 3ines beside the 0ay. Startled he 3eered at the thi$k bran$hes/ and as the s$ream fell ba$k to silen$e he heard the sound of dull and hurrying footfalls and a s$uffling as of several bodies. Again the s$ream arose. 7t 0as 3lainly the voi$e of a 0oman in some distressful 3eril. @oosening his dagger in its sheath and $lut$hing more firmly a long hornbeam staff
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0hi$h he had brought 0ith him as a 3rote$tion against the vi3ers 0hi$h 0ere said to lurk in Averoigne he 3lunged 0ithout hesitation or 3remeditation among the lo05hanging boughs from 0hi$h the voi$e had seemed to emerge. 7n a small o3en s3a$e beyond the trees he sa0 a 0oman 0ho 0as struggling 0ith three ruffians of e$e3tionally brutal and evil as3e$t. #ven in the haste and vehemen$e of the moment *erard reali'ed that he had never before seen su$h men or su$h a 0oman. The 0oman 0as $lad in a go0n of emerald green that mat$hed her eyes/ in her fa$e 0as the 3allor of dead things together 0ith a faery beauty/ and her li3s 0ere dyed as 0ith the s$arlet of ne0ly flo0ing blood. The men 0ere dark as )oors and their eyes 0ere red slits of flame beneath obli6ue bro0s 0ith animal5like bristles. There 0as something very 3e$uliar in the sha3e of their feet/ but *erard did not reali'e the ea$t nature of the 3e$uliarity till long after0ards. Then he remembered that all of them 0ere seemingly $lub5footed though they 0ere able to move 0ith sur3assing agility. Someho0 he $ould never re$all 0hat sort of $lothing they had 0orn. The 0oman turned a besee$hing ga'e u3on *erard as he s3rang forth from amid the boughs. The men ho0ever did not seem to heed his $oming/ though one of them $aught in a hairy $lut$h the hands 0hi$h the 0oman sought to rea$h to0ard her res$uer. @ifting his staff *erard rushed u3on the ruffians. &e stru$k a tremendous blo0 at the head of the nearest one a blo0 that should have levelled the fello0 to earth. But the staff $ame do0n on unresisting air and *erard staggered and almost fell headlong in trying to re$over his e6uilibrium. !a'ed and un$om3rehending he sa0 that the knot of struggling figures had vanished utterly. At least the three men had vanished/ but from the middle bran$hes of a tall 3ine beyond the o3en s3a$e the death50hite features of the 0oman smiled u3on him for a moment 0ith faint ins$rutable guile ere they melted among the needles. *erard understood no0/ and he shivered as he $rossed himself. &e had been deluded by 3hantoms or demons doubtless for no good
3ur3ose/ he had been the gull of a 6uestionable en$hantment. 9lainly there 0as something after all in the legends he had heard in the ill5reno0n of the forest of Averoigne. &e retra$ed his 0ay to0ard the 3ath he had been follo0ing. But 0hen he thought to rea$h again the s3ot from 0hi$h he had heard that shrill unearthly s$ream he sa0 that there 0as no longer a 3ath/ nor indeed any feature of the forest 0hi$h he $ould remember or re$ogni'e. The foliage about him no longer dis3layed a brilliant verdure/ it 0as sad and funereal and the trees themselves 0ere either $y3ress5like or 0ere already sere 0ith autumn or de$ay. 7n lieu of the 3urling brook there lay before him a tarn of 0aters that 0ere dark and dull as $lotting blood and 0hi$h gave ba$k no refle$tion of the bro0n autumnal sedges that trailed therein like the hair of sui$ides and the skeletons of rotting osiers that 0rithed above them. :o0 beyond all 6uestion *erard kne0 that he 0as the vi$tim of an evil en$hantment. 7n ans0ering that beguileful $ry for su$$or he had e3osed himself to the s3ell had been lured 0ithin the $ir$le of its 3o0er. &e $ould not kno0 0hat for$es of 0i'ardry or demonry had 0illed to dra0 him thus/ but he kne0 that his situation 0as fraught 0ith su3ernatural mena$e. &e gri33ed the hornbeam staff more tightly in his hand and 3rayed to all the saints he $ould remember as he 3eered about for some tangible bodily 3resen$e of ill. The s$ene 0as utterly desolate and lifeless like a 3la$e 0here $adavers might kee3 their tryst 0ith demons. :othing stirred not even a dead leaf/ and there 0as no 0his3er of dry grass or foliage no song of birds nor murmuring of bees no sigh nor $hu$kle of 0ater. The $or3se5grey heavens above seemed never to have held a sun/ and the $hill un$hanging light 0as 0ithout sour$e or destination 0ithout beams or shado0s. *erard surveyed his environment 0ith a $autious eye/ and the more he looked the less he liked itD for some ne0 and disagreeable detail 0as manifest at every glan$e. There 0ere moving lights in the 0ood that vanished if he eyed them intently/ there 0ere dro0ned fa$es in the tarn that $ame and 0ent like livid bubbles before he
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$ould dis$ern their features. And 3eering a$ross the lake he 0ondered 0hy he had not seen the many many5t 5tur urre rete ted d $ast $astle le of hoar hoaryy ston stone e 0hos 0hose e nearer 0alls 0ere based in the dead 0aters. 7t 0as so grey and still and vasty that it seemed to have stood for in$om3utable ages bet0een the sta stagna gnant tarn tarn and and the the e6ua e6uallllyy stag tagnant nant heavens. 7t 0as an$ienter than the 0orld it 0as older than the lightD it 0as $oeval 0ith fear and darkness/ and a horror d0elt u3on it and $re3t unseen but 3al3able along its bastions. There 0as no sign of life about the $astle/ and no banners fle0 above its turrets or its don
turned and fled/ and on$e more after similar 0anderings and like struggles he $ame ba$k to the inevitable tarn. With a leaden sinking of his heart as into some ulti ltimate mate sloug lough h of des des3air air and and terro error r he resigned himself and made no further effort to es$a es$a3e 3e.. &is &is very very 0ill 0ill 0as 0as benu benumb mbed ed 0as 0as $rus $rushe hed d do0n do0n as by the the in$u in$umb mben en$e $e of a su3erior volition that 0ould no longer 3ermit his 3uny 3uny re$a re$al$ l$it itra ran$ n$e. e. &e 0as 0as unab unable le to resi resist st 0hen a strong and hateful $om3ulsion dre0 his footste3s along the margent of the tarn to0ard the looming $astle. When he $ame nearer he sa0 that the edifi$e 0as surrounded by a moat 0hose 0aters 0ere stagnant as those of the lake and 0ere mantled 0ith 0ith the the irid irides es$e $ent nt s$um s$um of $o $orr rru3 u3ti tion on.. The The dra0 dra0br brid idge ge 0as 0as do0n do0n and and the the gate gatess 0ere 0ere o3en as if to re$eive an e3e$ted guest. But still there 0as no sign of human o$$u3an$y/ and the 0alls of the great grey building 0ere silent as those of a se3ul$her. And more tomb5like even than the rest 0as the s6uare s6uare and over5to0ering over5to0ering bulk of the mighty don
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*erard had a33roa$hed them. &is eyes 0ere 3ale and luminous as marsh5lights/ and *erard shuddered at his ga'e and at the $old ironi$ smile of his s$arlet li3s that seemed to reserve a 0orld of se$rets all too dreadful and hideous to be dis$losed.
other other 3hanta 3hantasma small and ma$ab ma$abre re though thoughts ts in *erards brain/ though he $ould not formulate them fully till after0ards. And someho0 he 0as 3rom3ted to retain the 0ea3on no matter ho0 useless it might be against an enemy of s3e$tral or diaboli$ nature. So he saidD
G7 am the Sieur du )alinb inboisG the man announ$ed. &is tones 0ere both un$tuous and hollo0 and served to in$rease the re3ugnan$e felt by the young troubadour. And 0hen his li3s 3arted *erard had a glim3se of teeth that 0ere unnat unnatur ural ally ly smal smalll and and 0ere 0ere 3oin 3ointe ted d like like the the fangs of some fier$e animal.
G7 must $rave your indulgen$e if 7 retain the staff. 7 have made a vo0 to $arry it 0ith me in my right hand or never beyond arms rea$h till 7 have slain t0o vi3ers.G
G;ortune has 0illed that you should be$ome my guestG the man 0ent on. GThe hos3itality 0hi$h 7 $an 3roffer you is rough and inade6uate and it may may be that that you you 0ill 0ill find find my abod abode e a trif trifle le disma ismal.l. But But at lea least 7 $an $an assu ssure you you of a 0el$ome no less ready than sin$ere.G G7 thank you for your kind offerG said *erard. GBut 7 have an a33ointment 0ith a friend/ and 7 seem in some una$$ountable manner to have lost my 0ay. 7 should be 3rofoundly grateful if you 0ould dire$t dire$t me to0ard to0ard "yones. "yones. The There re shoul should d be a 3ath not far from here/ and 7 have been so stu3id as to stray from it.G The 0ords rang em3ty and ho3eless in his o0n ears even as he uttered them/ and the name that that his his stra strang nge e host host had had give given n the the Sieu Sieurr du )alinbois 0as haunting his mind like the funereal a$$ents of a knell/ though he $ould not re$all at that moment the ma$abre and s3e$tral ideas 0hi$h the name tended to evoke G=nf G=nfor ortu tuna nate tely ly ther there e are are no 3ath 3athss from from my $hateau to "yonesG the stranger re3lied. GAs for your your rend rende' e'vo vous us it 0ill 0ill be ke3t ke3t in anot anothe herr mann manner er at ano notthe herr 3la$ la$e than than the the on one e a33o a33oin inte ted. d. 7 mu must st ther theref efor ore e insi insist st that that you you a$$e3t my hos3itality. #nter 7 3ray/ but leave your hornbeam staff at the door. You 0ill have no need of it any longer.G *era erard thou thoug ght that hat he mad made a mo moue ue of distaste and aversion 0ith his over5red li3s as he s3ok s3oke e the the last last sent senten en$e $es/ s/ and and that that his his eyes eyes lingered on the staff 0ith an obs$ure a33rehensiveness. And the strange em3hasis of his his 0ord 0ordss and and deme demean anor or serv served ed to a0ak a0aken en
GThat is a 6ueer vo0G re
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Clark Ashton Smith
Tales of Averoigne
neve nevert rthe hele less ss he re$o re$ogn gni' i'ed ed the the 0oma 0oman n in emerald green 0ho had vanished in so doubtful a fashion amid the 3ines 0hen *erard ans0ered her $all for su$$or. At one side looking very 3ale and and forl forlor orn n and and frig fright hten ened ed 0as 0as ;leur leuret ettte Co$hin. At the lo0er end reserved for retainers and inferiors there sat the maid and the man5 servant 0ho had a$$om3anied ;leurette to her rende'vous 0ith *erard. The Sieur du )alinbois )alinbois turned to the troubadour troubadour 0ith a smile of sardoni$ amusement. G7 beli believ eve e you you have have alre alread adyy me mett ever everyo yone ne assembledG he observed. GBut you have not yet been been formall formallyy 3resen 3resented ted to my 0ife 0ife Agathe Agathe 0ho is 3residing over the board. Agathe 7 bring to you *erard de lAutomne a young troubadour of mu$h note and merit.G The 0oman nodded slightly 0ithout s3eaking and and 3oin 3ointe ted d to a $hai $hairr o33o o33osi site te ;leu ;leure rett tte. e. *era erard seate eated d hims himsel elf f and and the the Sie Sieur du )alinbois assumed a$$ording to feudal $ustom a 3la$e at the head of the table beside his 0ife. :o0 for the first time *erard noti$ed that there 0ere servitors 0ho $ame and 0ent in the room setting u3on the table various 0ines and viands. The The serv servit itor orss 0ere 0ere 3ret 3reter erna natu tura rally lly s0if s0iftt and and noiseless and someho0 it 0as very diffi$ult to be sure of their 3re$ise features or their $ostumes. They They seeme seemed d to 0alk 0alk in an adum adumbr brat atio ion n of sinister insoluble t0ilight. But the troubadour 0as disturbed by a feeling that they resembled the s0art demonia$ ruffians 0ho had disa33eared toge togeth ther er 0ith 0ith the the 0oma 0oman n in gree green n 0hen 0hen he a33roa$hed them. The meal that ensued 0as a 0eird and funereal affa affairir.. A sens sense e of insu insu3e 3era rabl ble e $o $ons nstr trai aint nt of smothering horror and hideous o33ression 0as u3on u3on *era *erard rd// and and thou though gh he 0ant 0anted ed to ask ask ;leurette a hundred 6uestions and also demand an e3lanation of sundry matters from his host and hostess he 0as totally unable to frame the 0ords or to utter them. &e $ould only look at ;leurette and read in her eyes a du3li$ation of his o0n hel3less hel3less be0ilder be0ilderment ment and nightmare thra thralllldom dom.. :o :oth thin ing g 0as 0as said said by the the Sieu Sieurr du )alinbois and his lady 0ho 0ere e$hanging glan$es of a se$ret and baleful intelligen$e all thro throug ugh h the the me meal al// and and ;leu ;leuret rette tes s maid maid and and
man5servant 0ere obviously 3araly'ed by terror like birds beneath the hy3noti$ ga'e of deadly ser3ents. The foods 0ere ri$h and of strange savor/ and the 0ines 0ere fabulously old and seemed to reta retaiin in thei theirr to3 to3a' or viol violet et de3th e3thss the the une uneti ting ngui uish shed ed fire fire of buri buried ed $ent $entur urie ies. s. But But *erard and ;leurette $ould barely tou$h them/ and they sa0 that the Sieur du )alinbois and his lady did not eat or drink at all. The gloom of the $hamber dee3ened/ the servitors be$ame more furt furtiv ive e and and s3e$ s3e$tr tral al in thei theirr mo move veme ment nts/ s/ the the stifling air 0as laden 0ith unformulable mena$e 0as $onstrained by the s3ell of a bla$k and lethal lethal ne$rom ne$roman$ an$y. y. Above Above the aromas aromas of the rare foods the bou6uets of the anti6ue 0ines there $re3t forth the $hoking mustiness of hidden vaul vaults ts and and em emba balm lmed ed $ent $entur uria iall $o $orr rru3 u3ti tion on toge togeth ther er 0ith 0ith the the ghos ghostl tlyy s3i$ s3i$e e of a stra strang nge e 3erf 3erfum ume e that that seem seemed ed to emana emanate te from from the the 3erson of the $hatelaine. And no0 *erard 0as remembering many tales from the legendry of Averoigne 0hi$h he had heard and disregarded/ 0as re$alling the story of a Sieur du )alinbois and his lady the last of the name and the most evil 0ho had been buried some0here in this forest hundreds of years ago/ and 0hose tomb 0as shunned by the 3easantry sin$e they 0ere 0ere said said to $ontinu $ontinue e their their sor$er sor$eries ies even even in deat death. h. &e 0ond 0onder ered ed 0hat 0hat infl influe uen$ n$e e had had bedru edrugg gged ed his me memo mory ry tha that he had had no nott re$alled it 0holly 0hen he had first heard the name. And he 0as remembering other things and and othe otherr stor storie ies s all all of 0hi$ 0hi$h h $o $onf nfirirme med d his his instin instin$t $tive ive belie belieff regard regarding ing the nature nature of the 3eo3le into 0hose hands he had fallen. Also he re$alled re$alled a folklore folklore su3erstit su3erstition ion $on$erning $on$erning the use to 0hi$h a 0ooden stake $an be 3ut/ and reali'ed 0hy the Sieur du )alinbois had sho0n a 3e$uliar interest in the hornbeam staff. *erard had laid the staff beside his $hair 0hen he sat do0n/ and he 0as reassured to find that it had not vanished. "ery 6uietly and unobtrusively he 3la$ed his foot u3on it. The un$anny meal $ame to an end/ and the host and his $hatelaine arose. G7 shall no0 $ondu$t you to your roomsG said the Sieur du )alinbois in$luding all of his guests in a dark ins$rutable glan$e.
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Tales of Averoigne
Clark Ashton Smith
G#a$h of you $an have a se3arate $hamber if you so desire/ or ;leurette Co$hin and her maid Angeli6ue $an remain together/ and the man5 servant -aoul $an slee3 in the same room 0ith )essire *erard.G A 3ref 3refer eren en$e $e for for the the latt latter er 3ro$ 3ro$ed edur ure e 0as 0as voi$ed voi$ed by ;leur ;leurett ette e and the trouba troubadou dour. r. The thou though ghtt of un$o un$om3 m3an anio ione ned d soli solitu tude de in that that $astle of timeless midnight and nameless mystery 0as abhorrent to an insu33ortable degree. The The four four 0ere 0ere no0 no0 led led to thei theirr res3 res3e$ e$ti tive ve $hambe $hambers rs on o33osi o33osite te sides sides of a hall hall 0hose 0hose length 0as but indeterminately revealed by the dismal lights. ;leurette and *erard bade ea$h other other a dismay dismayed ed and relu$t relu$tant ant good5n good5nigh ightt beneath beneath the $onstraini $onstraining ng eye of their host. Their rende'vous 0as hardly the one 0hi$h they had thought to kee3/ and both 0ere over0helmed by the the su3e su3ern rnat atur ural al situ situat atio ion n amid amid 0hos 0hose e dubious dubious horrors horrors and inelu$table inelu$table sor$eries sor$eries they had someho0 be$ome involved. And no sooner had had *era *erard rd left left ;leu ;leuret rette te than than he bega began n to $urse himself for a 3oltroon be$ause he had not refused to 3art from her side/ and he marvelled at the the s3el s3elll of drug drug5li 5like ke invo involiliti tion on that that had had bedro0sed all his fa$ulties. 7t seemed that his 0ill 0as not his o0n but had been thrust do0n and throttled by an alien 3o0er. The room assig assigned ned to *erard *erard and -aoul -aoul 0as furnished 0ith a $ou$h and a great bed 0hose $urtains 0ere of anti6ue fashion and fabri$. 7t 0as 0as ligh lighte ted d 0ith 0ith ta3e ta3ers rs that that had had a fune funere real al suggestion in their form and 0hi$h burned dully in an air that 0as stagnant 0ith the mustiness of dead years. G)ay G)ay you you slee slee3 3 soun soundl dly yGG said said the the Sieu Sieurr du )alinb )alinbois ois.. The smile smile that that a$$om3 a$$om3ani anied ed and follo0ed the 0ords 0as no less un3leasant than the oily and se3ul$hral tone in 0hi$h they 0ere uttered. The troubadour and the servant 0ere $ons$ious of 3rofound relief 0hen he 0ent out and $losed the leaden5$langing door. And their relief relief 0as hardly hardly dimini diminishe shed d even even 0hen 0hen they they heard the $li$k of a key in the lo$k. *erard 0as no0 ins3e$ting the room/ and he 0ent to the one 0indo0 through 0hose small and and dee3 dee35s 5set et 3ane 3aness he $o $oul uld d see see only only the the 3ressing darkness of a night that 0as veritably
solid as if the 0hole 3la$e 0ere buried beneath the earth and 0ere $losed in by $linging mould. Then 0ith an a$$ess of unsmothered rage at his se3aration from ;leurette he ran to the door and hurled himself against it he beat u3on it 0ith his $len$hed fists but in vain. -eali'ing his folly and desisting at last he turned to -aoul. GWell -aoulG he said G0hat do you think of all thisPG -aoul $rossed himself before he ans0ered/ and his fa$e had assumed the vi'ard of a mortal fear. G7 think )essireG he finally re3lied Gthat 0e have all been de$oyed by a malefi$ sor$ery/ and that you myself the demoiselle demoiselle ;leurette ;leurette and the maid Angeli6ue are all in deadly 3eril of both soul and body.G GThat also is my thoughtG said *erard. GAnd 7 believe it 0ould be 0ell that you and 7 should slee3 only by turns/ and that he 0ho kee3s vigil should retain in his hands my hornbeam staff 0hose end 7 shall no0 shar3en 0ith my dagger. 7 am sure that you kno0 the manner in 0hi$h it should be em3loyed if there are any intruders/ for for if su$h su$h shou should ld $o $ome me ther there e 0oul 0ould d be no doubt as to their $hara$ter and their intentions. We are are in a $ast $astle le 0hi$ 0hi$h h has has no legit legitim imat ate e eisten$e as the guests of 3eo3le 0ho have been dead or su33osedly dead for more than t0o hundred years. And su$h 3eo3le 0hen they stir abroad are 3rone to habits 0hi$h 7 need not s3e$ify.G GYes )essireG -aoul shuddered/ but he 0at$hed the shar3e shar3enin ning g of the staff staff 0ith 0ith $onsid $onsidera erable ble intere interest st.. *erard *erard 0hittled 0hittled the hard hard 0ood 0ood to a lan$e5like 3oint and hid the shavings $arefully. &e even $arved the outline of a little $ross near the middle of the staff thinking that this might in$rease its effi$a$y or save it from molestation. Then 0ith the staff in his hand he sat do0n u3on the bed 0here he $ould survey the litten room from bet0een the $urtains. GYou GYou $an slee3 slee3 first first -aoul. -aoul.GG &e indi$a indi$ated ted the $ou$h 0hi$h 0as near the door. The t0o $onversed in a fitful manner for some minu minute tes. s. Afte Afterr hear hearin ing g -aou -aoullss tale tale of ho0 ho0 ;leurette Angeli6ue and himself had been led astray by the sobbing of a 0oman amid the
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Clark Ashton Smith
Tales of Averoigne
3ines and had been unable to retra$e their 0ay the troubadour $hanged the theme. And hen$eforth he s3oke idly and of matters remote from his real 3reo$$u3ations to fight do0n his torturing $on$ern for the safety o f ;leurette. Suddenly he be$ame a0are that -aoul had $eased to re3ly/ and sa0 that the servant had fallen aslee3 on the $ou$h. At the same time an irresistible dro0siness surged u3on *erard himself in s3ite of all his volition in s3ite of the eldrit$h terrors and forebodings that still murmured in his brain. &e heard through his gro0ing hebetude a 0his3er as of shado0y 0ings in the $astle halls/ he $aught the sibilation of ominous voi$es like those of familiars that res3ond to the summoning of 0i'ards/ and he seemed to hear even in the vaults and to0ers and remote $hambers the tread of feet that 0ere hurrying on malign and se$ret errands. But oblivion 0as around him like the meshes of a sable net/ and it $losed in relentlessly u3on his troubled mind and dro0ned the alarms of his agitated senses. When *erard a0oke at length the ta3ers had burned to their so$kets/ and a sad and sunless daylight 0as filtering through the 0indo0. The staff 0as still in his hand/ and though his senses 0ere still dull 0ith the strange slumber that had drugged them he felt that he 0as unharmed. But 3eering bet0een the $urtains he sa0 that -aoul 0as lying mortally 3ale and lifeless on the $ou$h 0ith the air and look of an ehausted moribund. &e $rossed the room and stoo3ed above the servant. There 0as a small red 0ound on -aouls ne$k/ and his 3ulses 0ere slo0 and feeble like those of one 0ho has lost a great amount of blood. &is very a33earan$e 0as 0ithered and vein5dra0n. And a 3hantom s3i$e arose from the $ou$h a lingering 0raith of the 3erfume 0orn by the $hatelaine Agathe. *erard su$$eeded at last in arousing the man/ but -aoul 0as very 0eak and dro0sy. &e $ould remember nothing of 0hat had ha33ened during the night/ and his horror 0as 3itiful to behold 0hen he reali'ed the truth. G7t 0ill be your turn net )essireG he $ried. GThese vam3ires mean to hold us here amid their unhallo0ed ne$roman$ies till they have drained
us of our last dro3 of blood. Their s3ells are like mandragora or the slee3y siru3s of Cathay/ and no man $an kee3 a0ake in their des3ite.G *erard 0as trying the door/ and some0hat to his sur3rise he found it unlo$ked. The de3arting vam3ire had been $areless in the lethargy of her re3letion. The $astle 0as very still/ and it seemed to *erard that the animating s3irit of evil 0as no0 6uies$ent/ that the shado0y 0ings of horror and malignity the feet that had s3ed on baleful errands the summoning sor$erers the res3onding familiars 0ere all lulled in a tem3orary slumber. &e o3ened the door he ti3toed along the deserted hall and kno$ked at the 3ortal of the $hamber allotted to ;leurette and her maid. ;leurette fully dressed ans0ered his kno$k immediately/ and he $aught her in his arms 0ithout a 0ord sear$hing her 0an fa$e 0ith a tender aniety. 8ver her shoulder he $ould see the maid Angeli6ue 0ho 0as sitting listlessly on the bed 0ith a mark on her 0hite ne$k similar to the 0ound that had been suffered by -aoul. &e kne0 even before ;leurette began to s3eak that the no$turnal e3erien$es of the demoiselle and her maid had been identi$al 0ith those of himself and the man5servant. While he tried to $omfort ;leurette and reassure her his thoughts 0ere no0 busy 0ith a rather $urious 3roblem. :o one 0as abroad in the $astle/ and it 0as more than 3robable that the Sieur du )alinbois and his lady 0ere both aslee3 after the no$turnal feast 0hi$h they had undoubtedly en
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