Doctor Who: The Legends of Ashildr Read online

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  About the Authors

  Title Page

  Introduction

  The Arabian Knightmare

  by James Goss

  The Fortunate Isles

  by David Llewellyn

  The Triple Knife

  by Jenny T. Colgan

  The Ghosts of Branscombe Wood

  by Justin Richards

  Copyright

  About the Authors

  A celebrated writer and Creative Consultant to the BBC Books range of Doctor Who books, Justin Richards lives and works in Warwick with his wife and two children. When he’s not writing, he can be found indulging his passion for inventing, reading and watching far too much television.

  James Goss is the author of two Doctor Who novels: The Blood Cell and Dead of Winter, as well as Summer Falls (on behalf of Amy Pond). He is also the co-author, with Steve Tribe, of The Doctor: His Lives and Times, The Dalek Handbook and Doctor Who: A History of the Universe in 100 Objects. While at the BBC James produced an adaptation of Shada, an unfinished Douglas Adams Doctor Who story, and Dirk is his award-winning stage adaptation of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010 and his books Dead of Winter and First Born were both nominated for the 2012 British Fantasy Society Awards.

  Jenny T. Colgan has written 16 bestselling novels as Jenny Colgan, which have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, been translated into 25 languages, and won both the Melissa Nathan Award and Romantic Novel of the Year 2013. Aged 11, she won a national fan competition to meet the Doctor and was mistaken for a boy by Peter Davison.

  David Llewellyn was born in Pontypool in 1978. He is the author of three previous novels, Eleven, Torchwood: Trace Memory, and Everything Is Sinister. He lives in Cardiff.

  INTRODUCTION

  She is known by many names – the girl who died, the woman who lived – but the earliest, her real name, seems to have been Ashildr. There are stories and legends, myths and tales dating back from the present day to Viking times. Far too many tales to recount in a single volume like this one.

  So instead we have brought together just four stories, four legends of Ashildr. They come from different times in her tremendously long life, though all from the earlier part of it. They are reproduced from different sources.

  The first two stories – ‘The Arabian Knightmare’ and ‘The Fortunate Isles’ – have come to us through third parties. As a result, we cannot vouch for their authenticity or guarantee that everything, or indeed anything, in these stories actually happened.

  The final two stories – ‘The Triple Knife’ and ‘The Ghosts of Branscombe Wood’ – are taken directly from Ashildr’s own journals. Again, even though the incidents they describe are recounted by Ashildr herself, we cannot be completely certain that what she wrote in her journals was the actual truth.

  But whether they are all true, partly fabricated, or complete fiction, these are four of the tales that have contributed to the renowned Legends of Ashildr.

  THE ARABIAN KNIGHTMARE

  James Goss

  Once long ago and very far away there was a King. For there are always kings. This King of Samarkand ruled from the sands of Persia to the walls of China, from the plains of Araby to the shores of the Ganges herself. He ruled places with poetic names, because he loved to be entertained.

  This King had a problem – he ruled the most romantic places in the world, and yet he was bored. So bored was he that he offered his hand in marriage to the woman who could keep him amused. And, sad to say, no woman could. Every day his Vizier brought him a new wife, and every evening, the King shook his head and cut off his wife’s. The much-widowed King became even more bored, and the Vizier became worried – for the King had started looking interestedly at the Vizier’s daughters.

  One day the King was walking through the market place when he espied a pair of beautiful eyes watching him from a window. As no one ever met his eyes, the King was startled, and ceased his walk.

  ‘Who are you that looks at me so?’ he demanded.

  A woman’s voice laughed down at him. ‘I have an answer to your question, oh King of Samarkand. You wonder why every woman bores you, do you not?’

  ‘I do,’ sighed the King. ‘It is a vexing problem.’

  ‘It is because all your brides are too frightened to speak.’ The face in shadow laughed. ‘But I am not afraid of you. If you will call me down, then I shall never bore you.’

  The King looked at the figure. All he could see of this woman were her eyes. They were, he thought, very pretty eyes. The King of Samarkand laughed. ‘Very well. Come down and be my Queen.’

  And so the woman did, and she was very beautiful. The King marvelled at the wisdom of his choice. Her eyes were the softest silver, her complexion clear, her smile intelligent.

  ‘I am the Lady Sherade,’ she announced. ‘Come let us go to your palace and be married and I shall tell you tales of marvels with which to enchant the night…’

  And so she began…

  THE LAST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD

  ‘You have heard of the voyages of Sindbad the Sailor…?’ And so began the first tale of the Lady Sherade.

  In the times of the Caliph Haroun al-Raschid there lived in Baghdad the mightiest sailor, adventurer and merchant the world has ever known. His name was Sindbad, and he had voyaged far and wide over every sea upon which the sun shone.

  One day there came to his doorway a young servant called Dash. The servant was drawn in by the scent of rosewater steaming up from the hot flagstones. On spying Dash, a handsome man came to the door.

  ‘Who are you that lingers at this doorway? Do you not know that it is the doorway of Sindbad the Sailor who has voyaged far and wide over every sea?’

  Young Dash did indeed know this and said so, and furthermore added, ‘And, my lord, I know that you yourself are no less than Sindbad himself.’

  At that Sindbad laughed, for he had a good sense of humour. ‘My servants are asleep, for I was entertaining them into the night with tales of my voyages and so I must break my own fast. Will you join me for some food, stranger?’

  Dash gladly assented and the two sat down in a courtyard that smelt richly of aloe wood and flowers. Sindbad brought out a meal that was both lavish and delightful and the sailor told him many stories about himself and his wonderful voyages. When they had both eaten their full, he pushed back his plate and surveyed the stranger. ‘So, young man – how came you to my doors? Do you seek service?’

  Dash laughed. ‘Well, I’d better, since you have no other servants.’

  Sindbad bowed. ‘You have uncovered my untruth. But why should I when I can cook so well?’

  ‘You have no servants, my lord and also no wife?’

  Here Sindbad stopped smiling. ‘I have had many servants and also many wives. Sadly, whenever I head out on a voyage, all my servants are eaten by cannibals or carried away by giant birds, and when I finally make my way home, my wives have either died or thought me dead and remarried.’ He sighed. ‘Ah well. So much for them. I must make my own way in the world.’

  ‘I see.’ Dash nodded. ‘And are you quite done with adventure?’

  ‘Why do you ask?’ said Sindbad with keen interest. ‘Is it simple chance, or has God himself brought you here?’

  ‘You are as clever as the market traders claim,’ the young servant smiled. ‘I have heard, oh master, of a distant land where rests a marvellous wealth of treasure. I would undertake the voyage there.’

  ‘And so you came to me?’ Sindbad asked
.

  ‘Indeed, oh lord.’

  ‘Or did you petition every other boatman before coming to me?’

  The young servant made no answer.

  And so Sindbad the Sailor and Dash the servant set out on a great voyage. It went much as Sindbad’s voyages normally did. Within a few days the ship was caught up in a storm, and only by the hand of providence did a few survivors make it to shore, where they were picked off by vast and hungry serpents.

  ‘I knew I should never have come with you,’ wailed the navigator as he vanished into the serpent’s maw, leaving Sindbad and Dash alone.

  They clambered up a tree out of the reach of the serpents, and, while the servant got his breath back, Sindbad lamented his fate. ‘Why does this always happen to me?’

  ‘You are,’ Dash agreed as the serpents snapped at their heels, ‘somewhat unlucky.’

  Sindbad surveyed Dash curiously. ‘I wonder how much of this is your doing,’ he remarked. ‘After all, you are no servant boy.’

  ‘Oh, so you’d noticed,’ Dash nodded.

  ‘I’m not blind, girl.’ Sindbad laughed, poking a snake with a branch. ‘You need have no fear of me marrying you. Tell me, who are you?’

  ‘My name is Ash El Dir,’ the servant said. ‘And much, my lord, of what I have told you is true. I have travelled far and wide. My last master was a man called Ali-Baba. I did him much service. He and I discovered the fabled hoard of the Ancient Guild of Thieves, kept in a cave which only opened magically to a voice. I urged Ali-Baba to caution in what he took away, but he scooped up armfuls, and, when the thieves discovered the theft, they were able to follow the tracks of our laden mules. Ali-Baba and his wife had fallen asleep after celebrating their good fortune, and it was left to me to tidy up after their party. It was then that I noticed how full the courtyard was, because a travelling merchant had begged leave to store forty barrels of oil there overnight. As I went around tidying, I noticed that one of the barrels moved slightly, and I began to suspect the awful truth – that the Ancient Guild of Thieves had found us and were waiting to murder us in our sleep. So, I figured, as the barrels were supposed to contain oil, perhaps they should.’

  ‘You drowned them in oil?’ Sindbad ceased looking at the snakes and instead stared at Ash in alarm.

  ‘Oh no, that would be a waste of good oil. So I used tar instead.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘The next morning, Ali-Baba marvelled that the merchant had not returned for his barrels, and delighted to think that, in addition to his marvellous treasure, he now had forty barrels of oil. He was disappointed to find instead the barrels contained forty thieves. His wife, a rather sharper woman than he, immediately suspected my involvement and ordered me to leave. I took with me a map I had found in the Thieves’ cave, which is all I had wanted.’

  ‘So,’ Sindbad wailed to God of his misfortune, ‘you are using me as you have used Ali-Baba.’

  ‘Well, yes, if you must. But, like Ali-Baba, you too will end up rich.’

  ‘If I do not end up eaten by snakes.’ Sindbad glanced down nervously. ‘Tell me, girl, do you have any tar on you?’

  ‘Oh no.’ And she laughed a laugh that was like funeral music. ‘I do not need it. Did you not know the fruit of this tree is poisonous? Come, let us gather it, and then we can feed the snakes…’

  After many more such perilous encounters, Ash El Dir and Sindbad made their way out of the forest into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a pool of water clear as crystal. Sindbad, who had long suffered a terrible thirst, bent over it to drink, but Ash held him back.

  ‘This island is strange,’ she told him. ‘The animals in it are large and deadly. We should be cautious.’

  Sindbad laughed at the girl. ‘On my voyages the animals are always large and deadly. Why, there was a time when I was captured by elephants—’

  ‘Have you ever wondered why they’re like that, though?’ Ash said, continuing to hold him back. ‘If it’s something in the ground, seeping into what they eat and drink, then maybe we should be more careful.’

  But Sindbad threw himself on the ground, drinking heavily from the crystal pool. He assured her it was the finest water he had ever tasted and mocked her caution.

  ‘My caution?’ Ash replied. ‘It is my first shipwreck. By the way, look up.’

  Hanging between the trees were thick strands of web.

  ‘Imagine the spiders that could weave such a web,’ laughed Sindbad.

  ‘I am and I think we should run.’

  With a rushing and chittering, the spiders came for them – and what spiders. Fierce of fang and sharp of limb, the creatures were the size of horses, but in the place of their bodies were the screaming heads of men, calling on God to have mercy on them.

  ‘What can they be?’ cried Sindbad full of woe.

  ‘At a guess, other shipwrecked sailors,’ Ash said. She dragged him into the forest, clubbing away the first of the spiders that pursued them. It had the face of a crying boy.

  ‘I thank you,’ it cried. ‘I thank you for killing me.’

  ‘To hear is to obey,’ said Ash, and made an end of it.

  ‘The poor child,’ said Sindbad, beginning a lament, but Ash stopped him.

  ‘We need to run. Also, we need more of that poison fruit.’

  ‘You would tempt the spiders to poison apples?’

  ‘No.’ Ash pulled him on. ‘The fruit’s for you. You really shouldn’t have swallowed that water.’

  Sindbad suffered agonies of purgation long and hard, calling on God in the extremes of his torments. When he awoke from them, he was in a cave, and Ash was feeding him the last of the food from her backpack. ‘Where are we?’ asked Sindbad.

  ‘A cave at the edge of the forest. The spiders don’t seem to like it.’

  ‘How did you know?’

  Ash shrugged. ‘I left you here. They hadn’t eaten you when I came back.’

  ‘I see.’ Sindbad looked warily at the servant. ‘And where did you go?’

  And Ash sat down in the sand in front of Sindbad and told him thus…

  THE STORY OF THE STONE MEN

  Beyond the woods, began Ash El Dir, was a clearing as though there had been a great fire. This was marked on my map as a perfect circle, and indeed it seemed so, although it went on for so far, the ground blackened and burnt as old cinders. I walked around the edge until I came to the figure of a Dervish, carved from stone.

  ‘Who are you that approaches this site?’ the Dervish asked me. ‘It is full of danger and I would advise you to keep away.’

  I produced my map and explained to the stone Dervish that I needed to go to the centre of the clearing in order to find the amethyst I sought.

  ‘Beyond here is a crater,’ the Dervish said. ‘The treasure you seek lies hidden at the bottom, but, alas, young lady, I must warn you that the path is full of danger. I was placed here to guard this land. Many have attempted your quest before, and all have perished. If you will go on, you must listen to your voice and not that of those who have gone before.’

  I thanked the Dervish for his words and trod on, the ground still warm beneath my feet. The crater only appeared as I came upon the very edge of it, and I made my way gently down its slopes, the pumice crumbling under foot. Shapes were planted here and there as I climbed down, and it was only when I rested my weight on one of them that I realised it was the statue of a man, but such a strange statue, made out of the same burnt ground.

  The statue spoke to me. ‘Heed me, voyager, for I once sought the quest as you did. I beg you to turn back, to go back, to go away. You are lost if you press on further.’

  I thanked the stone man, but climbed down further.

  I came to a second statue, which again exhorted me to turn back in piteous tones.

  I thanked the second statue, and carried on.

  I passed a third statue and then a fourth, all urging me that it was not too late to escape.

  You may wonder why I did not turn back, and i
ndeed, I thought about it. But I considered it thus – these brave adventurers had all perished in the art of turning back. Clearly, if I too gave up and turned back, I would also perish. There was something in this land, something dreadful – some dark poison which altered the animals, had turned the shipwrecked sailors into spiders, and seemingly was able to transfix men into statues. I had, perhaps, been lucky to survive this far. So I went on, figuring no harm could come to me.

  I came at last to the bottom of the crater. The heat here was still extreme, and all around me were slivers of metal which would have made fine swords. At the very darkest centre of the crater were bones made of silver. The bones seemed to move and stir as I passed them, trying to draw themselves together. They grouped themselves against me, trying to stop me from crossing further – I picked up a stave of iron, and used it to ward them off, crossing past to where a dazzling orange light came. It was an amethyst, lying in the ground.

  As I picked it up, the metal bones drew themselves up, for a moment forming into a great metal man, reaching out in obeisance towards me. Then they fell to the ground and were still.

  Holding the amethyst, I walked back up to the top of the crater. As I passed each of the black statues, they all ceased to call out and fell silent.

  At the top of the crater, the Dervish was waiting for me. ‘You have not listened to me, and yet you have achieved your goal. The jewel you hold will protect you from the curse that has fallen over the island, just as it stopped you from being turned to stone.’

  ‘I see,’ I told the Dervish.

  ‘I have one further thing to tell you,’ said the Dervish. ‘Others will come looking for the jewel you hold. If they ask me, I shall tell them it is gone and that you have it.’

  ‘And I shall then, in that case, be waiting for them.’

  And that is the story of how I found the amethyst which I hold here.

  THE LAST STORY OF SINDBAD CONTINUES

  So Ash ended her story, and Sindbad regarded her with awe and wonder, and pressed her to give him the amethyst – just to hold, but an idea seized him that he would like to possess it for ever.