At dawn the guards came with their hooked weapons, and led him again before Ildrac. And these creatures twined themselves tightly about the arms and legs of Fulbra; and though he fought wildly in his revulsion, he could not loosen them with his hands; and the hairs that covered their constringent coils began to pierce his limbs like a million tiny needles, till he screamed with the agony. The Isle Of The Torturers book. Seeing that he had not consumed the food and water provided for him, they forced him to eat and drink a little, menacing him with their broad, crooked blades till he complied. Nearly entertaining, but evoking an entirely different mood, is "The Isle of the Torturers." The fourth wall of this cell is made of glass, and looks into the ocean--through it Fulbra can see horrible sea monsters. Also, it was believed that the Torturers were great magicians who could raise mighty storms with their enchantments, and could cause vessels to be carried far from the maritime routes, and then fling them ashore upon Uccastrog. And when his breath failed him and he could scream no longer, the baby serpents were induced to relinquish their hold by a languorous piping of which the islanders knew the secret. The stars changed above him; and Achernar glared dovm perpetually like the bright, cruel eye of a mocking demon; and the heavy balsam of the black-jeweled ring arose to his nostrils and seemed to stifle him. Ildrac removes the ring and places it on his own finger. But his hands were bound tightly to the wheel, and he could not remove it. And guessing not the reason for his immunity, he beheld with consternation the doom that had overtaken his followers, and watched in stupefaction the freeing of his victims. A great heaviness had lain on his heart, and his thoughts were dulled with an opiate despair; but sleep was remote from his eye-lids. The young king of Yoros went forward with a royal and fearless bearing, and addressed Ildrac, who sat motionless and eyed him with a level, unwinking gaze. 1971 ⓘ Translated by Friedrich Polakovics. The long hours passed with a half-delirious tedium; and the cressets, whose flames had been changed to crimson, appeared to fill his eyes with flowing blood; and the dead men and the sea-monsters swam as if in blood beyond the wall of glass. She prepares to feed him drugged wine that will take away his memories. Fulbra was cheered by the girl's assurance; and it seemed to him that she was fairer to look upon than before; and he thought that her eyes regarded him tenderly; and the twin desires of love and life were strangely resurrected in his heart, to fortify him against the tortures of Ildrac. Included in: The Return Of The Sorcerer: The Best Of Clark Ashton Smith, Wildside Press (2007) Lost Worlds, University of Nebraska Press (Bison Inprint) (2006) There was a couch in one comer of the dungeon, close to the wall of glass; and food and drink had been supplied for Fulbra in vessels of wood. After descending many stairs, they came to a ponderous door of bronze; and the door was unlocked by one of the guards, and Fulbra was compelled to enter; and the door clanged dolorously behind him. Cancel anytime. And he thought that the girl loved him; for tenderly she caressed his feverous brow, and rubbed his torture-burning limbs with a soothing ointment. He thought that the vessel was a galley such as might be used by merchants that voyaged among the southern isles, trading for incense and plumes and vermilion; but its oars were mostly broken, and the toppled mast and sail hung forward on the prow. And the girl came not; and Fulbra had begun to despair. So Fulbra knew himself for a realmless king; and the grief that he still felt for the noble Altath was swollen by a great sorrow for his perished people. Narrated by: Reg Green. And when the night came with familiar austral stars, Fulbra was able to correct such errors as he had made in reckoning the course. The next day, Ilvaa encourages Fulbra to endure the coming tortures and says that she will try to help him escape that evening. But his despair was too heavy upon him even for this; and so, at length, the dawn came slowly in heavens pale as the Silver Death, and found him still on the tower. But Vemdeez did not tell the origin of the red metal and the dark gem, nor the price at which the protective magic had been purchased. Their faces and hands were yellow as saffron; their small and slaty eyes were set obliquely beneath lashless lids; and their thin lips, which smiled eternally, were crooked. And soon he passed from the daylight into cavernous halls illumed by sulfur-colored flames in copper cressets; and all around him, in hidden chambers, he heard the sound of dismal moans and loud, maniacal howlings that seemed to beat and die upon adamantine doors. He wished to live no longer; and yearning for a swift death, he bethought him of the wizard ring of Vemdeez and of that which Vemdeez had said would follow its removal from his finger. (The Isle of the Torturers, 1933) Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and The Pendulum or Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's 1888 short story, A Torture by Hope, The Isle of the Torturers layers cruelty upon cruelty on its hapless protagonist: Then, in that lurid dusk, he beheld at intervals another vessel that rode the storm-driven sea, not far from the barge. Fulbra, the young king of Yoros, who had but newly suceeeded to the throne, was virtually a ruler without a people. And the king was about to hail these men, some of whom were dressed as humble sailors and others in the fashion of rich merchants. Lovecraft is renowned in horror circles but he also wrote The Dreamlands stories (influenced by Lord Dunsany) that were part of his over-all concept of other realities. Average Customer Ratings. Some of them bowed low before Fulbra and addressed him obsequiously, staring upon him all the while with an unblinking gaze that he could not fathom. We have much to show you here, and many diversions to offer. ss The Double Shadow And Other Fantasies, Auburn Journal: Auburn CA 1933 Epilogue: The Sequence Of The Zothique Tales Addeddate 2019-09-15 15:39:13 Die Folterer-Insel [ as by C. A. Smith ] 1978 ⓘ Translated by Françoise Levie. The sorcerer told Fulbra never to remove the ring from the middle finger on which he wore it — not even in lands afar from Yoros and in days after the passing of the Silver Death: for if once the plague had breathed upon Fulbra, he would bear its subtle contagion always in his flesh; and the contagion would assume its wonted virulence with the ring's removal. Innumerable ghastly stories precede Ildrac and every single one of them is utterly true; Ildrac maroons ships that pass by Uccastrog or capture … But we’ve got an episode for you, recorded in the fall but stuck on the editing table, “The Isle of the Torturers.” Our reading this week is Raychel A. Wagner. First, we have “Isle of the Torturers”. He still wore the ring. As such the king sets sail for new lands and is eventually captured by fiends from the Isle of the Torturers. The wrinkled face of Vemdeez was like polished metal, and was whiter than his beard and hair; and his open eyes, which had been dark as sapphires, were frosted with the plague. A favorable wind was behind them, blowing from the north over desolate Tasuun and Yoros, even as the Silver Death had blown in the night. The Silver Death is unleashed, killing everyone except Ildrac. And soon the green strand of Yoros receded, gathering to itself the blueness and the dreams of distance. But in his heart there was no gladness; and often now he was blinded by wild tears, remembering that other voyage with Altath. Creaming with a winy foam, full of strange murmurous voices and vague tales of exotic things, the halcyon sea was about the voyagers now beneath the high-lifting summer sun. Where he would die, and in what manner, were alike doubtful. And none remained alive, excepting three slaves who warded the green, brazen portals of the lower vaults, far beneath the palace. That is from Clark Ashton Smith’s short story “The Isle of the Torturers” (1933), which was originally published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales. Too soon the girl went away, pleading the great danger of discovery, and closed the door softly upon Fulbra. Seeing that the yellow people were all about the barge, and that no escape was possible, Fulbra asked them to take him at once before King Ildrac. Title. They set sail for the vassal state of Cyntrom. From his room, Fulbra can see the bodies of his slaves floating in the sea. Fulbra meets Ildrac, king of Uccastrog. Beneath its gruesome veneer, The Isle of the Torturers makes death a pleasant prospect: the ultimate escape from pain. Then, turning at a cold and clammy touch, he found that these faces were no illusion but the actual reflection of cadavers drawn from the under-sea by a malign sorcery, that had entered the hall of Ildrac like living men and were peering over his shoulder. Creepypasta Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Her name, it seemed, was Ilvaa; and her mother was a woman of Yoros who had married one of the evil islanders, choosing this repugnant union as an alternative to the flaying-knives of Ildrac. Then certain women of the Torturers, laughing obscenely, came forward and bound King Fulbra to the adamantine wheel with thongs of dragon-gut. Astrologers had said that this mysterious malady, heretofore unknown on earth, would descend from the great star, Achernar, which presided balefully over all the lands of the southern continent of Zothique; and having sealed the flesh of a myriad men with its bright, metallic pallor, the plague would still go onward in time and space, borne by the dim currents of ether to other worlds. So Ildrac, deeming that he could plague the prisoner thereby and could heighten his suffering a little, did the very thing for which Fulbra had planned. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. There is also putridity like this: Anon the drowned and dripping corpses went away; and Fulbra was stripped by the Torturers and was laid supine on the palace floor, with iron rings that bound him closely to the flags at knee and wrist, at elbow and ankle. The sky changed to a dome of beaten copper, arching close and low; and as if by some evil wizardry, the dome darkened with untimely night, and a tempest rose like the gathered breath of mighty devils and shaped the sea into vast ridges, and abysmal valleys. Uccastrog, which lay far to the east of Cyntrom, was commonly known as the Isle of the Torturers; and men said that all who landed upon it unaware, or were cast thither by the seas, were imprisoned by the inhabitants and were subjected later to unending curious tortures whose infliction formed the chief delight of these cruel beings. Ildrac was taller by half a head than any of his followers; and his features were like a mask of evil wrought from some pale, gilded metal; and he was clad in vestments of a strange hue, like sea-purple brightened with fresh-flowing blood. In Weird Tales, "Isle of the Torturers" is ten pages of text. Read 2 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. And Fulbra, who had once sailed to the isle of Cymtrom in boyhood days with his father Altath, thought to see ere long the lifting of its shores of camphor and sandalwood from the winy deep. And in the suites and halls below, he found the bodies of his courtiers and servants and guardsmen. But though despair resumed its old dominion in the heart of Fulbra, and terror came with talons steeped in fresh venom, he refused to doubt Ilvaa, telling himself that she had been delayed or prevented by some unforeseen mishap. Among other things less goodly to be mentioned, the Torturers held before Fulbra a mirror of strange wizardry, wherein his own face was reflected as if seen after death. 187 • The Isle of the Torturers • • (1933) • short story by Clark Ashton Smith; 187 • The Isle of the Torturers • (1933) • interior artwork by Jayem Wilcox; 199 • Dust of the Gods • [Northwest Smith] • (1934) • novelette by C. L. Moore; 199 • Dust of the Gods • interior artwork by H. R. Hammond Diggers died in the half completed graves they had dug for others; but no one came to dispute their possession. They wore fantastic turbans of blood-red, and were clad in closely fitting robes of vulturine black. Then several of the guards, hemming him in with their scythed weapons, led him from the hall and by many corridors and downward flights of stairs into the soft rock beneath the palace. This latter knowledge he and Vemdeez had not cared to promulgate, knowing full well that the doom of Yoros was a thing decreed from all time by infinite destiny; and that no man could evade the doom, unless it were written that he should die in another way than this. This table, designed expressly for the purpose of crafting implements for inflicting pain and servitude on other peoples, is a good argument for the latter. Uccastrog, which lay far to the east of Cyntrom, was commonly known as the Isle of the Torturers; and men said that all who landed upon it unaware, or were cast thither by the seas, were imprisoned by the inhabitants and were subjected later to unending curious tortures whose infliction formed the chief delight of these cruel beings. And the girl, seemingly unheeded by the Torturers, said to him: 'Be courageous, and endure bravely all that is inflicted; for I shall effect your release before another day, if this be possible.'. And even as it passed the gay noises of the city ceased; and the moaning lutes faltered strangely and expired. Dire was the Silver Death; and none knew the secret of its contagion or the cure. Ildrac refuses to allow Fulbra to leave and strips him of his weapons. Then, while Ildrac regarded the captive with a more deeply graven smile of evil on the pale, gilded mask of his face, there came to King Fulbra of Yoros the dreadful and longed-for thing. Now Fulbra bethought him of the counsel of Vemdeez, who had urged him to flee from Yoros and to seek shelter in the southern isle of Cyntrom, which paid tribute to the kings of Yoros. And oblivion claimed the Isle of Uccastrog; and the Torturers were one with the tortured. Others, however, would argue that it is his infinite capacity for darkness. With a sad heart, Fulbra had accepted the ring and had worn it; and so it was that the Silver Death blew over him in the night and harmed him not. Their looks were dank and dripping, like the hair of corpses recovered from the sea; and sea-weed was mingled with the locks. Lying sick with remembered horror, feverish with pain, he longed not for the clemency of death, but hoped for the coming of the girl to release him as she had promised. Then, after removing the girdle lest it slay him, the Torturers brought in certain creatures that had the shape of elllong serpents, but were covered from head to tail with sable hairs like those of a caterpillar. And Faraad was still as a necropolis of old time; and nothing stirred on the estuary shores, excepting the plumy, fanshapen palms that swayed southward in the freshening wind. About the hall stood numerous engineries of wood and stone and metal such as Fulbra had never beheld, and having a formidable aspect with their heavy chains, their beds of iron teeth and their cords and pulleys of fish-skin. So Fulbra and his slaves were surrounded by certain of the throng and were led toward the palace of Ildrac, whose high, sharp towers crowned the crags beyond the beach, rising above those clustered abodes in which the island people dwelt. https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Isle_of_the_Torturers?oldid=1344809. The three greatest Fantasy writers to come out of Weird Tales were H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith.That’s a big claim but I base it on influence and vision. Later, they stripped away his kingly vestments and fastened about his body a silken girdle that had been freshly dipt in an acid carrosive only to human flesh; and the acid ate slowly, fretting his skin with infinite pangs. French. Please see The Isle of the Torturers hosted in New Zealand on Wikilivres. So Fulbra's sword was taken from him by one of the palace guardsmen; and a small ruby-hilted dagger that he carried was also removed. And through all the palace, and throughout the Isle of Uccastrog, the Death flew swiftly, visible in those upon whom it had breathed, but otherwise unseen and inpalpable. By: Clark Ashton Smith. His limbs stiffened with another rigor than that of agony; and his face shone brightly with the coming of the Death; and so he died. He pretends to be afraid of what will happen if the ring is removed. Certain of the people seemed to understand him, for a light came in their slaty eyes at his question; and one of them answered brokenly in the language of Yoros, saying that the land was the Isle of Uccastrog, Then, with something of covert evil in his smile, this person added that all shipwrecked mariners and seafarers would receive a goodly welcome from Ildrac, the king of the Isle. Helm, and the moaning lutes faltered strangely and expired had breathed upon Yoros who smitten! The last line of this finely written story is worth the price of Torturers! 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