Part 3 (1/2)

Now the reat dark corridor that seehted, but by so and walls were highly polished and gleaures of ancient heroes and half-forgotten Gods He shuddered to see the vast shadowy outlines of the Nameless Old Ones, and he knew somehow that mortal feet had not traversed the corridor for centuries

He came upon a wide stair carved in the solid rock, and the sides of the shaft were adorned with esoteric sy Conan's skin crawled The steps were28carven each with the abhorrent figure of the Old Serpent, Set, so that at each step he planted his heel on the head of the Snake, as it was intended from old times But he was none the less at ease for all that

But the voice called him on, and at last, in darkness that would have been ie crypt, and saw a vague white-bearded figure sitting on a toure spoke in sepulchral tones

”Oh

”Man,” said the ancient, ”I ae has been dead for fifteen hundred years!” staly ”As a pebble cast into a dark lake sends ripples to the further shores, happenings in the Unseen World have broken like waves on my slumber I have hty happenings and great deeds is upon you But dooainst which your sword can not aid you”

”You speak in riddles,” said Conan uneasily ”Let me see my foe and I'll cleave his skull to the teeth”

”Loose your barbarian fury against your foes of flesh and blood,” answered the ancient ”It is not against uessed by man, wherein formless monsters stalk fiends which may be drawn from the Outer Voids to take icians There is a serpent in your house, oh king an adder in your kingdoia, with the dark wisdo man dreams of the serpent which crawls near him, I have felt the foul presence of Set's neophyte He is drunk with terrible power, and the blows he strikes at his enedoainst him and his hell-hound pack”

”But why?” bewilderedly asked Conan ”Men say you sleep in the black heart of Golas to aid Aquilonia in times of need, but I I ahostly tones reverberated through the great shadowy cavern ”Your destiny is one with Aquilonia Gigantic happenings are for in the web and the womb of Fate, and a blood-mad sorcerer shall not stand in the path of io Set coiled about29the world like a python about its prey All ht him I drove hiia men still worshi+p hiht his worshi+ppers and his votaries and his acolytes Hold out your sword”

Wondering, Conan did so, and on the great blade, close to the heavy silver guard, the ancient traced with a bony finger a strange sylowed like white fire in the shadows And on the instant crypt, to froolden-doeness of his drea his sword in his hand And his hair prickled at the nape of his neck, for on the broad blade was carven a symbol the outline of a phoenix And he remembered that on the toht to be a siure, carven of stone Noondered if it had been but a stone figure, and his skin crawled at the strangeness of it all

Then as he stood, a stealthy sound in the corridor outside brought hian to don his array wolf at bay

What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie?

I, as born in a naked land and bred in the open sky

The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing;

Rush in and die, dogs-I was a h the silence which shrouded the corridor of the royal palace stole twenty furtive figures Their stealthy feet, bare or cased in soft leather, made no sound either on thick carpet or barethe halls gleaed ax

”Easy all!” hissed Ascalante ”Stop that cursed loud breathing, whoever it is! The officer of the night-guard has removed most of the sentries from these halls and made the rest drunk, but we uard!”30

They crowded back behind a cluster of carven pillars, and al by at a lanced at the officer as leading them away frouard passed the hiding-places of the conspirators, he was seen to wipe the sweat fro, and this betrayal of a king did not colorious extravagance which had put him in debt to thepoliticians

The guardsmen clanked by and disappeared up the corridor

”Good!” grinned Ascalante ”Conan sleeps unguarded Haste! If they catch us killing him, we're undone but few ”

”Aye, haste!” cried Rinaldo, his blue eyesabove his head ”My blade is thirsty! I hear the gathering of the vultures! On!”

They hurried down the corridor with reckless speed and stopped before a gilded door which bore the royal dragon symbol of Aquilonia