Lankar of Callisto
- Автор: Картер Лин Спрэг
- Серия: Callisto #6
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Lankar of Callisto». Краткое содержание книги:
...in the mysterious and treacherous domain of the insidious Mind Wizards. Searching for him is a fearless armada of his loyal friends, and a stranger who knows him better than anyone on Callisto. The stranger, Lankar, is none other than Lin Carter, accidentally transported through the Gate Between the Worlds to the land of the Thanatorians. Aware of Jandar's plight, Lankar joins the search beyond the world's edge and suddenly finds himself battling for his own existence against the most nightmarish creatures on the planet - the gruesome flesh robots of Kuur and the fiendish Mind Wizards of Callisto themselves...
“About over now, I think,” Zantor was saying. “How did so few manage to seize the Jalathadar and the Conqueress in the first place, my Prince? To say nothing of the Arkonna?”
“They had been forewarned of our coming, and maintained sentries on the mountain peak,” Jandar said. “Then they boarded the two ships, Princess Zamara explained, taking them by surprise in the darkness just before moonrise. Nobody suspected the Mind Wizards had a means of boarding a ship when it was aloft, you see; but they flew aboard on saddled ghastozars, controlling the winged monsters by telepathy. Seizing temporary command of the minds of the lookouts on the ships, they gained quick ascendancy through the advantage of surprise. Those flesh robots of theirs are formidable opponents. Luckily, however, the ships were captured with very little loss of life. They are still skyworthy, incidentally: the Wizards moored them in a huge cavern in the side of the triplepeaked mountain over there. The entrance is masked by another of those mentally induced illusions. We can all return home in one voyage, the six ships together. However, I think we had better leave a fair-sized force here to occupy Kuur on a temporary basis, until we are certain we have cleaned out this nest of vipers for all time.”
“Here comes Lukor with the death roster,” Zantor observed as the spry and elegant old swordmaster of Ganatol came up with a scrap of parchment in one hand and a gore-smeared rapier in the other. “How goes the count now, Master Lukor?”
“Fair enough, my Admiral,” the Ganatolian smiled cheerfully. “I have myself examined the corpses, and no fewer than thirteen of the yellow devils are accounted for.”
“I gather your total does not include the naked brain in the case, slain by the boy Taran, or the one in the floating chair struck down by Prince Lankar’s othode,” Zantor rumbled in his deep tones.
“Quite right,” the silver-haired master swordsman nodded. “That raises the total of dead Mind Wizards to fifteen. You said there were only seventeen of the fiends in all, lad?”
“Sixteen,” corrected Jandar thoughtfully. “Bozo the othode slew one at the Gates of Kuur just before Lankar was captured. That means there is only one Kuurian left alive … .”
“Well, lad, he’s down there in that nasty warren somewhere, and our men will smoke him out ere long,” Lukor said.
“Let’s hope so,” Jandar said wearily. “We’ll not be able to rest easy until the last of them is dead and the entire race has been exterminated. What about the flesh robots? Are all of them dead?”
“A half-dozen were taken alive, the poor creatures! Better if they had gone down fighting, for I doubt their minds can ever be restored to them. Mayhap we had best put the miserable creatures out of their misery … .”
“Well, we can decide on that later.”
A tall warrior of noble mien approached the command post where they stood. He was accompanied by Koja the Yathoon, Princess Zamara of Tharkol and two young officers, survivors of the capture of the First Armada, whose names were Sojan of Shondakor and Karan of Tharkol.
“Greetings; Valkar! What’s the word?” Jandar hailed the young noble, who was thus identified as Lord Yarrak’s son.
“What’s to be done with all the Kuurian weapons and instruments we have taken? We have thus far discovered an entire armory of the hand-weapons and the gas-receptacles.”
“I want them all destroyed,” Jandar ordered. “And all of the equipment in the laboratories, as well. The devilish science of the Mind Wizards must die with the last of their race. Never again must these devices be used against our kingdoms.”
“I agree;” Zamara said warmly. “The warriors of Thanator need no devil-magic to defend their cities against whatever foes shall rise to threaten us in the future. Our gallant fighting men have proved here this day that simple courage, armed with simple steel, can whelm even the evil science of Kuur. Let everything be destroyed!”
“Yes, but not until we have all left the caverns,” Jandar advised. “Some of the laboratories may contain deadly poisons or acids or powerful explosives. See to this, will you Lukor?”
“With great pleasure, lad!” the elegant old Ganatolian nodded. “Some of us had best remain here for a time, to see to the disposition of these matters, while the remainder of the Armada voyages home.”
“Zantor and I were just discussing this very point,” Jandar agreed. “Zantor, if the Jalathadar is still as skyworthy as I believe she is, let’s leave her here under Haakon, with Lukor in charge of the occupation force.”
Zantor nodded his agreement to this, and Koja and Ergon spoke up, requesting to remain at Kuur to assist Lukor in his task. It was soon decided.
By this time hundreds of warriors had emerged from the door in the cliff and stood about exchanging weary jests, binding each other’s wounds, cleansing the bloody blades. The men from the Second Armada had brought down wine and packaged field rations so that thirsty, hungry men might refresh themselves at leisure after the hard day’s work. Valkar flew in one of the gigs to the triple-crested mountain, and returned to announce the Jalathadar, the Arkonna and the Conqueress were safely moored, in a condition of fair skyworthiness, and ready to be reprovisioned for the return flight.
“Good news, but no more than I had expected,” Jandar said. “Are all of our people accounted for, Lukor?” The Ganatolian shook his head.
“Two parties are still missing,” he recounted. “They were assigned to tracing the extent of the tunnels and have not yet returned. Also one of the ex-prisoners and one crew member of the Second Armada are missing. Neither had been assigned to the two search parties and I am unable to account for their whereabouts, unless they met and joined with one or another of the searching parties.”
“Oh? Who are these?”
“Ylana the jungle maid, and young Tomar,” Lukor said. “I last laid eyes on the boy when we were all mingling in the corridor, having just been released from our cells. As for the jungle girl, she was fighting near me when we cut our path through the second complex of laboratories and storerooms. She may have sought out young Tomar after we crushed that pocket of resistance, for I believe there exists, ahem, a certain fond ness between the young people?”
“Well, doubtless they will turn up soon enough,” said Jandar. “Let me know when the missing search parties return. Zantor, let us begin getting the men back to their ships―the wounded and the former prisoners first. The men need rest badly. Lukor, take Sojan and Karan here and notify those who will remain behind as part of your occupation force. We must get their gear down from the ships. Zantor, will you assign crews to the Conqueress, the Arkonna and the Jalathadar? We need to get them out of their moorings in the cavern, test them for airworthiness, and see them fully reprovisioned. Then, once these matters are attended to, I see no reason why the combined fleets cannot begin the long voyage home … home to Shondakor and Tharkol, with the good news of victory and of the destruction of the greatest menace that has ever threatened our world!”
Chapter 19
RETURN TO SHONDAKOR
Before very long it was time to depart. We bade farewell to Lukor and Koja and Ergon and the others who would remain here for a time to make certain the armories and laboratory facilities of the Mind Wizards were destroyed, and to ascertain that no hidden pockets of resistance lingered undiscovered. For me, of course, these farewells were final, for I must be getting back to Earth to take up the affairs of my own private life which for so long had hung in abeyance.