Elric and Smiorgan return to the Isle of Purple Towns. The Pale Prince resolves to return to Melniboné and regain the Ruby Throne from Yyrkoon, he hires a Filkharian ship to take him home, but it blows off course and deposits him on the Sorcerer's Isle. He is forced to fight the inhabitants at a great cost

And when Elric had told his tree lies to Cymoril, and when he had taken leave of Rackhir the Red Archer, he set off into lands unknown, to seek knowledge which he believed would help him rule Melniboné as she had never been ruled before… But it was in the desert city of Quarzhasaat that he began the adventure which was to help set the course for his weird for years to come. The Chronicle of the Black Sword Lost in the immensities of the Sighing Desert, Quarzhasaat is a city of elaborate intrigue, ruled over by a council of seven known whimsically as the Six and One Other. When Elric, albino prince of Melniboné, arrives there he is weak and close to death, and is easily forced into agreeing to a mysterious quest: to find the Pearl at the Heart of the World, which will convey much power to its owner, but which lies concealed in the hidden Fortress of the Pearl. It is a quest which has defeated many before him, but Elric, armed with his soul-eating sword Stormbringer, is no ordinary adventurer