Part 35 (1/2)

THE SECOND DAY

Conan was a captive in Belverus Xaltotun and Orastes were in Belverus Tarascus was on his way fro through the hills toward Tarantia Prospero was approaching Tarantia

That Night

Conan was a captive in Belverus and escaped Orastes and Xaltotun were in Belverus, Xaltotun sleeping the sleep of the black lotus of Stygia Tarascus reached Belverus Prospero arrived in Tarantia and found that news of the battle had preceded him Amalric and Valerius ca the countryside

THE THIRD DAY

Conan crossed the border and took refuge in the hills Tarascus, wounded, was in Belverus, with Xaltotun and Orastes The king's squire pursued Conan in the hills That evening Prospero evacuated Tarantia At sunset Amalric and Valerius entered the city, unopposed

That Night

314

Conan slept in the hut of Zelata, the witch Tarascus and Orastes set out fro of Aquilonia in the great coronation hall of Tarantia

Xaltotun remained in Belverus

THE FOURTH DAY

Conan h the hills toward Tarantia Xaltotun remained at Belverus

Tarascus and Orastes were on their way to Tarantia Ae

That Night

Conan h the devastated plains toward Tarantia Xaltotun remained at Belverus Tarascus and Orastes were on their way to Tarantia Amalric and Valerius remained at Tarantia

THE FIFTH DAY

Conan, at evening, caht of Tarantia Xaltotun re surrounding provinces Tarascus and Orastes arrived at Tarantia Valerius re property

Xaltotun left Valkia at sunset, and arrived in Belverus before dawn He travelled faster than the average man could travel That means he made the journey in about twelve hours It would take the average chariot fifteen, with a change of horses A ht ht, say he was on the road at one o'clock and riding like hell, he had been riding six hours when the sun caht hours to ride He rested an hour, which ht o'clock It would be about four o'clock when he reached the hills He would really be taking a shorter cut, because he had left the road which wound toward the passes in the hills Belverus lay nearer the border than Tarantia

315

Conan was ht's hardfrom Tanasul; Amalric could reach Tanasul in little over a day'sthe valley of Khor, about three days ht's march to the Pass of Falcons, and a little over a day's march from Tanasul

THE FIRST DAY:

Tarascus at Galparan; Amalric, Valerius and Xaltotun at the ca the shi+rki; The Gunderht: Tarascus at Galparan; The other in ca Tanasul; The Gunder southward toward Tanasul; THE SECOND DAY:

At dawn the courier reached Tarascus, who broke camp and reached Amalric's camp with his horsemen at sunset; the footmen arrived some hours later; A for Tarascus; 316

Conan nearing Tanasul; The Gunderht: Tarascus, Amalric, Valerius and Xaltotun lay in the caht Conan reached Tanasul and crossed and camped on the other side

The Gundermen were camped further back in the hills

THE THIRD DAY:

Tarascus, and the Ne toward Tanasul, learned that Conan had crossed; he pushed ahead with his horseht; Conan was ca southward swiftly; The Third Night: The Nemedians camped in the plain beside the river; Conan cahtfall

Part of two nights It took Conan a day and a night ofto reach Tanasul;

317

Conan ht; caht and set out before dawn; marched all the second day; reached Tanasul late the second night Tihts; would have taken another ht A for Tarascus, who took a whole day in getting there He could reach Tanasul in a day's hard riding; with his host it required a day and part of a night

If he had set out when he wished to, he would have reached the shi+rki first, but Xaltotun wished him to wait for Tarascus

318

Untitled Synopsis (A Witch Shall Be Born) The story began with Taraht of a spot of light glowing on the velvet-tapestried wall In that spot she saw the head of her sister, Salome, who had been carried into the desert shortly after her birth, to die, because she had the witch-mark upon her bosom the blood-red crescent In the conversation which followed it was explained that because, centuries before, a Queen of Khauran had cohabited with a pre- Adamite demon, every so often a witch would be born in the royal family Salome said there had always been witches named Salome, and alould be She, Taramis' twin sister, had been carried into the desert, but had been discovered by a Khitan nized the witchher in many black arts Now she had returned to seize the throne Her master had driven her forth, because she lacked the cosmic scope of true wizardry, was merely a harlot of the black arts She had fallen in with a Kothian adventurer who co men, Shemites from the western cities of Shem This man had come to Khauran and asked the hand of Queen Taramis He was at that tiates were carefully guarded, for Taramis did not trust the man

Salome told Tara all the queen's servants She told her that she, Taran in her place The Kothian entered just then, and Salome cynically handed her sister over to be raped by hiates orders to ad soldier being bandaged by his terrified sweetheart, as he told of the treachery Queen Taraiven orders to her dumbfounded soldiers that the Shemites were to be admitted into the city This was done, and she announced that she would n beside her The soldiers and populace rose, but only her guard were left in the city These were cut down by the Sheuard, Conan the Cimmerian, who refused to believe that Taramis was Taraht ferociously before being overpowered The boy said that the Kothian was having hiht off the vultures with his teeth, and attracted the attention of a bandit chief as scouting near the walls in hopes of plunder This was Olgerd Vladislav, a Zaporoskan, or kozak, who had wandered down fro the nomadic Shemitish tribes of the desert He freed Conan and took hie test of the Cimmerian's endurance

In thein Khauran showed Salo as Taramis, had abolished the worshi+p of Ishtar, filled the tees, made 319

human sacrifices and placed in the shrine a hideoussoldier, convinced that Tara in her stead, haunted the palace and prisons disguised as a beggar, and Salo her the head of a trusted councillor, tossed it to the beggar to dispose of, and unwittingly revealed the secret He hurried to Conan with the news Conan had in the reat ar Khauran, but Conan deposed hi her back on the throne

The young soldier rescued Taramis from prison, but they were driven into the temple by Salome But Conan defeated the Kothian, swept into the city, destroyed the monster The Kothian was crucified, and Taramis set back upon her throne

320

Appendices HYBORIAN GENESIS PART II

Notes on the Creation of the Conan Stories by Patrice Louinet The year 1933 ended on a un for Robert E Howard It had promised to be catastrophic In 1932, Fiction House had ceased publication of Fight Stories and Action Stories, twoHoward of a e Tales a direct competitor to Weird Tales which paid well, and on acceptance rather than publication, had been a coazine was also going out of circulation As 1933 began, he was left with only one regular azine, a fledgling quarterly, and Weird Tales There was but one thing to do, and for a feeeks Howard literally deluged Weird Tales with submissions, with one clear ai the stories submitted were most of the inferior Conan stories, written with a visible need for a quick sale It was only in the spring of 1933, with an iht's azine (Xuthal of the Dusk, Queen of the Black Coast, The Pool of the Black One, Iron Shadows in the Moon and Black Colossus), that Howard began to devote his attentions to building other ent, the Texan spentto sell soenres that were new to hian to seriously consider the question of the rights to his stories, and looked into the possibility of having short-story collections published in England