The Conan Compendium

by Robert E. Howard

  A ragged cheer went up from the selkies. The way to a selkie's heart was through his stomach, and if that entry was not enough, well, the other route would usually suffice. Both together could not be denied. Food and females, Kleg thought, it worked every time.

  "Come let us depart and make ready for our enemies."

  Conan awoke, swimming up through murky depths to find that he did not recall where he was or how he had come to be there; more, his head hurt exceedingly. Had he drank too much wine?

  The Cimmerian sat up, and saw that he was in a cage. Next to him was the boy Hok.

  Ah. Now he remembered. There had been a beautiful bald woman, naked, beckoning him. That was the last thing he recalled before the sky fell on him.

  "Ah, my stalwart man is awake at last," came a voice.

  Conan turned. It was her, the woman. No, not a woman, a Pili, though for purposes of looks, there seemed little difference, save for the lack of hair and the blue tint to her skin. She wore a red wrap he had last seen bunched at her feet.

  More torches had been set aflame, so that the interior of the cave was quite bright, and when the Pili woman saw Conan look at her, she moved her hands slightly and the wrap gaped wide down her front, revealing again the bare breasts and other delights he had noticed before.

  "I see you find me somewhat attractive," she said.

  Indeed, Conan thought, she cold not help but notice that. He shifted his position slightly.

  The Pili woman laughed. When she moved closer, Conan could see that her eyes were catlike, the pupils narrow and diamond-shaped. And her face was not ugly, though he spent little time looking at that portion of her, since her slow walk caused other parts of her to move in a much more interesting manner than her face.

  Though the squarish pattern of the cage's bars would allow Conan to reach through them, the Pili woman stopped well out of his grasp. "I am Thayla, Queen of the Pili," she said. "Welcome to our caves."

  "You always keep your guests in cages?"

  "Usually. But fear not, you shall be released soon. How may I address you, my stalwart man?"

  "I am Conan, of Cimmeria."

  "Are all the men of your Cimmeria so . . . large?" She waved at him, and for a moment, Conan thought there was more to her comment than it seemed. He must be mistaken.

  "Nay."

  "Then I must consider myself especially blessed to be able to take you in," she said. "Why have you come here?"

  "To fetch the boy." He nodded at Hok. "The selkies stole him."

  "Ah. Well, perhaps some bargain might be arranged."

  "I have nothing of value save my sword," Conan said.

  She smiled. "Indeed. It seems a mighty weapon."

  Conan looked at where his sword lay, on the floor behind the queen, but she was looking at him.

  What, he wondered, did the queen wish of him? He knew that the Pili ate his kind, but the hunger in her eyes seemed to him of a different kind than one lusting for food.

  The waterway that had been little more than a meandering stream when the selkies crossed it outbound now raged past, a churning brown river of mud and foam, carrying sticks and other detritus along at a heady speed. Even Changed, the selkies would be hard-pressed to maintain their position against such a current. The timing on this would be tricky, Kleg realized.

  The leader of the selkies dispatched a scout to watch for the arrival of the lizard men. He would have his troops wait until the last moment before entering the turbulent waters for their attack.

  Kleg himself waded into the river, feeling the powerful tug of the current at his legs. He dropped the water's embrace, shifted his form as quickly as he could, and swam across to the opposite bank. It was a difficult task, as powerful as he was. When he attained the far shore, he had been carried hundreds of spans downriver.

  After resuming his upright form, Kleg walked back to the river's narrowest width, the place the lizards would logically make their crossing. Being -land dwellers arid poor swimmers, the pursuers would likely attempt to build some kind of ferry. A line strung across the river by some bravo would be followed by a thicker rope, and a raft constructed to be worked along the rope. There were plenty of trees about, but even so, the raft would take several hours to build, at least, and that in itself should buy Kleg enough time to be safely away and far ahead of the lizards. When the raft was overturned and at least some of the lizards turned into carrion, it would take more time to catch the raft or perhaps even to build another. Kleg figured he could count on at least half a day gained thusly, perhaps more.

  The Prime selkie grinned. He waved at his troops, motioning for them to move upriver, to allow for the current. They would hide there in the thick brush and wait for the lizards; once the raft was constructed, they would slip into the water and attack. It was a good plan, Kleg felt.

  Being the author of such a tactic pleased Kleg, and he felt it only right that he stay and watch it put into practice. An hour more would make little difference, since he would gain a dozen times that; what survivors remained would never catch him with that kind of lead, assuming they even bothered to continue.

  So Kleg found a comfortable spot and awaited the upcoming slaughter with a certain amount of gleeful anticipation.

  The queen left Conan in the cage, alone with Hok.

  "They are going to eat us!" Hok said.

  "Perhaps not," Conan said. "The queen has indicated that some accommodation might be reached."

  "She lies. She said I would go free if I told her what the fishmen wanted at our grove. I said, but she only laughed at me when I asked her to open the cage."

  Conan nodded. So, the queen was not to be trusted. Good to know.

  "We aren't eaten yet, boy," he said. "We shall see what happens." He brushed several small rocks to one side, clearing a space on the floor, then stretched out flat.

  "What are you doing?" Hok asked. .

  "Going to sleep."

  "How can you sleep? We must find a way out!"

  "The way out is through the door, boy. When they come and open it, then we shall have a way out. In the meanwhile, I am tired, so I shall sleep."

  "But-but-but-"

  "Awaken me if they begin to eat us."

  With that, Conan closed his eyes and drifted into slumber, albeit a light one. The boy was fretful and rightfully so, but there was nothing to be done at the moment and Conan might need his strength later. He felt certain that the Queen of the Pili was not quite ready to make soup of him just yet. She had something else in mind.

  Three chambermaids scurried around in her sleeping quarters, cleaning the queen's room.

  "Fresh pillows!" Thayla ordered. "Make them thick ones. And burn incense, the pungent black kind. Hurry!"

  As Thayla watched her maids rush to freshen her chamber, she felt an excited flutter in her belly. Such a giant of a man would doubtless furnish her with much pleasure! She could hardly wait. She might keep him for days before her husband returned. They could have the boy for the festival, but this large man would not be consumed until she had worn him to exhaustion. However long it took.

  She much looked forward to the task.

  Things were not going according to Kleg's plan.

  First, the lizard men had not bothered to send a line across the river with a swimmer. Well, all right, that was no great problem. If they built enough rafts to carry all their troops, or didn't mind following the raft downstream to return it for another crossing, so much the better. That would take even more time.

  But instead of starting to fell, trees, the lizards had begun to unpack things from several large containers they carried. Tents, perhaps? Were they planning on being here long enough to require a camp?

  From his hidden vantage point across the wide river, Kleg smiled. Even better. He was practically home free-Wait. What were they doing now?

  A dozen of the lizards scurried about, each carrying what looked like bellows. What . . . ?

  As Kleg watched, the lizards began pumping a
ir into the tents-no, not tents, but some kind of large skin bags. These were sewn in such a way that they inflated easily, forming oblong if somewhat squashed-looking eggs ....

  Floats. They weren't going to make a raft, they planned to cross the river on these skin bags!

  Kleg's moment of panic quickly passed. Well, so they had floats; it mattered not. So much the better. His selkies would have less problems with these than with a wooden raft. One pass, one bite, and the floats would pop like foam bubbles!

  Kleg had to see this. It would be a slaughter, truly.

  It was but a matter of minutes before a dozen of the floats were fully inflated and made ready. Eight or nine lizards gathered around each float and hustled it to the water's edge. Kleg's anticipation grew. Ah, to be in the water and enjoying the feast himself!

  But the lizards did not launch the floats as expected. Instead, one of them passed along the line of troops, carrying a large earthen pot. The lizards began to dip the tips of their throwing darts into the pot. Some kind of ritual?

  Kleg's eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

  The short spears came out of the pot with their tips a smoldering red that glistened in the daylight.

  Poison!

  The lizards started their crossing, and while three or four of them on each float wielded paddles, the other four or five stood with their dart slingers held high, watching the water!

  Kleg stared. Upstream, the scout would have given the word to the dozen selkies, who by now would be in the river and moving to attack. The angle of a Changed selkie's jaws would require that they roll onto their backs to bite the floats, exposing their bellies! The floats rode high in the water, so the selkies would be close to the surface when they came for the floats.

  Kleg knew he should run, should gain as much time as possible, but he was frozen in place, watching.

  The first float into the water began to drift rapidly downstream as it gained a little in the crossing. The lizards began to hurl their poisoned spears, yelling as they did so.

  The float deflated suddenly and the lizards screamed as they fell into the water, but Kleg recognized the thrashing forms of three of his dozen selkies in their death throes, spears sticking out of their poison-maddened bodies.

  More floats began the crossing. More darts were thrown. Some of the lizards went down as their floats were deflated, but most did not.

  Kleg managed to find his feet. At least a third of the lizards would finish the crossing, and all or nearly all of his selkies would sleep with the fishes when it was over.

  Kleg had miscalculated. They were only minutes behind him now.

  He ran for his life.

  Chapter TEN

  Conan awoke feeling somewhat refreshed, to find the boy Hok staring nervously at him. He sought to put the boy at ease.

  "Fear not," Conan said. "I have a plan."

  Hok's eyes widened. "Really?"

  "Aye. When the lizard men come for us, they will open the door and we shall pretend to be docile. Once out, I shall overcome them and thus we shall make good our escape."

  The boy stared. His mouth gaped. "That is your plan?"

  "Simple, is it not?"

  "Simple-minded, more like."

  "I am open to other suggestions," Conan said, feeling somewhat irritated at Hok.

  "Why do we not turn into birds and fly away? Or maybe squirrels? That is as likely to happen as your plan."

  "For such a small boy you seem to be burdened with more than your share of tongue, Hok."

  "For such a large man, your wit seems rather small-"

  "Shhh. Someone comes."

  Hok stilled his voice at the sound of approaching footsteps on the stone floor.

  It was the queen, and she was alone.

  "I have come to invite you to my chamber, Conan my stalwart."

  "Gladly I accept," Conan said. "If you would but open the door."

  "Oh, to be sure, I shall open it wide for you," she said.

  Conan did not have to fake his smile. This was going to be almost too easy.

  The Queen of the Pili raised her right hand, closed into a loose fist. "But first a small guarantee of your cooperation." With that, she opened her hand and flung into Conan's face some kind of powder.

  Before he could stop himself, Conan sucked in a quick breath. He sneezed and tried to cough the powder from his lungs, but it was too late. As his consciousness faded, taken from him by the dust the queen had thrown, Conan had time for a final thought: Perhaps he was going to have a harder time of this than he had thought:.

  When next Conan awoke, he found himself lying on silken cushions next to the Queen of Pili. He, like she, was altogether naked. And he was feeling rather tired.

  The queen smiled at him. "Ah, my stalwart man arises yet again."

  Conan stared at her. His thoughts were muddled. She had drugged him, he recalled. And she must have had him taken to her chambers.

  "You have been magnificent," she said, touched his shoulder with her fingertips. "None has ever done better."

  "I have done nothing," Conan managed.

  "You are too modest. Surely you recall?"

  "I recall you flinging a powder into my face."

  "And nothing since? Ah, if that was how you behaved when asleep, I cannot help but wonder how much better you shall do when awake!"

  Conan shook his head, trying to clear it. What was she talking about?

  The queen then rolled toward him, and showed him exactly what she meant.

  Kleg called for the curses of ten thousand gods to fall upon the lizard men, but he had no intention of stopping to see if the imprecation worked. At first he thought to hide, that surely a single selkie would be more difficult to find than a dozen, but given the unknown tracking abilities of the lizards, he decided not to chance it. No, speed would be his best ally. One selkie could certainly move as fast as a troop of lizards, especially given that the lizards sought only booty, while the selkie ran for his skin.

  Kleg wove his way through the thick forest as the day wore down to night, and while he saved his breath for his physical efforts, his mind continued to conjure up curses against his chasers.

  Conan arose from the queen's bed, not a little tired himself, and found his clothes. The effects of the drug had long since worn off, but the queen finally slept.

  He found his sword under a cushion that had been thrown. across the room earlier. Likely there were guards posted without, but obviously they had been instructed not to enter the chamber unless specifically called upon to do so; had mere noise been the signal, they would have burst in on Conan and the queen half a dozen times already.

  Conan grinned. He could not say that his visit with the lizard woman had been unpleasant; indeed, he found it most difficult to think of her as other than a human woman, given her actions thus far.

  Conan stuck his head through the chamber's opening. There were two guards, one on either side of the door. Softly, the Cimmerian said, "Hark, the queen wishes to convey a message." His voice was little more than a confidential whisper.

  The two guards looked at each other, then back at Conan.

  Conan waved them closer, grinning like a conspirator.

  The two grinned, doubtless thinking themselves men of the world, and leaned toward Conan.

  The Cimmerian grabbed each guard by the neck and slammed their heads together, hard. There came a sound like a gourd dropped on stone. When he released the guards, they fell like pole-axed oxen.

  Conan hurried down the hallway to fetch Hok.

  When Thayla awoke, she did so smiling. Who would have thought . . . ?

  Where was he?

  She sat up abruptly. Conan was gone! How had he gotten out?

  "Guards! To me!"

  Nothing happened. Thayla leaped up and ran to the doorway.

  The two guards lay sprawled on the cavern floor unconscious.

  By the Great Dragon!

  "To arms!" Thayla screamed. She had to find him, and
quickly. It would not do to have a human running around who might speak of his actions with the Queen of the Pili, especially when such speech might reach the wrong ears.

  Her husband's ears.

  "To arms! "

  Conan ran across the desert to the east, the boy Hok next to him.

  "But how did you escape?" Hok asked. "Did you smite the queen with your sword?"

  "Save your breath for running, boy."

  "It takes no breath to listen."

  "Ask your sister when you see her. Better still, ask your brother, Tair."

  If he continued moving through the night, Kleg would reach the village of Karatas on the Home Lake early the next day. Once there, he would be safe, for although the village was peopled largely by humans, there were also others of his own kind here and there, and all paid obeisance to He Who Creates. Once he reached the Sargasso, he could Change and wend his way through the weed paths to the underwater castle entrance, the talisman held safely in his teeth. There were creatures in the weed who would challenge even a Changed selkie, but not many, and none who could catch one in open water. Yes. A few more hours and he would be in the clear.

  As darkness painted the earth with her colors of gray and black, Kleg ran, calling on all his strength and speed. He could rest when he got home; to tarry now would mean death.

  When it was determined that Conan and the human boy were nowhere to be found inside the caves, Thayla assembled a dozen of the remaining males into a tracking force.

  "We must find the escaped man and boy," she said. "It is most important."

  Some of the males snickered at this, but Thayla cut their laughter short with a baleful stare. "Should they not be caught, I shall explain to the king that you allowed them to escape.

  The dozen young males became serious. She knew what they would be thinking: whatever else happened, she was the queen, and she had the king firmly gripped where a male was most sensitive. If it came to it, whom was he more likely to believe?