Part 7 (1/2)
”What see you, Tatur?” asked the yedka
”He co voice ”He whom you seek is near”
”How can he be?” said the lady Thanara sharply ”Veziz Shah keeps a sharp watch, and no such conspicuous rogue could gain admittance”
”Nevertheless, he approaches,” whined Tatur ”The spirits do not lie
Unless you flee, he will soon confront you”
”He uise,” mused Thanara ”If he comes upon me, what shall I do? Will your ive me some means to cope with hiht her shapely throat
”It is the will of him who shall not be naur He fuht out a small purple phial
”A drop of this in his wine,” he said, ”will render hiood But the barbarian is wary His suspicions are aroused in the wink of an eye, as we learned at Khanyria Suppose he detects the drug and refuses to drink?”
Tartur brought out another object: a small pouch of soft leather ”In that case, this will lay him low if he breathes it”
”What is it?”
”Pollen of the yellow lotus of Khitai Use it only as a last resort
For, should a breath of air blow it back upon you, you too will be cast into a swoon And too deep a breath of it can kill”
”That is good, but not enough If your master really expects me to confront the Cimmerian, he should furnish me with a last-minute means of escape if I am trapped Others may underestimate the Cimmerian, but not I And your master can do it, and he owes it to me for past services”
A faint smile creased Tatur's wrinkled features ”He who is not to be naht out an object like a translucent egg ”Break this in your hour of need, and help will come to you from other dimensions”
Thanara exahrapur and tell the king I await Conan here If all goes well, he shall have his eneent Haste and farewell!”
A few y Hyrkanian pony, jogged off into the night across the sands at a tireless canter
The night was cool and quiet The captain of the watch at the uardhouse in the square before the gate, he could see t twin doors The pair of spear the entrance stood erect and still, the ht reflected by their polished ; a stroke on the gong at his side would bring a company on the double froovernor had ordered the guards doubled and their vigilance increased
The officer wondered Did Veziz Shah really fear an attack on the fort on account of the captured Zuagir chief? Let the desert rats coainst the walls while the archers riddled the old and prone to nighte!
The moon was obscured by clouds Akeb Man blinked and peered What had happened? It seemed as if the two archers on the wall had sat down for a ain and resuate these lazy devils He would give them three hours' drill in the desert sun if they had tried to shi+rk their duty
Rising, he gazed out again before opening the door At that instant the ht met his eyes
Instead of spired helmets and mantles, the archers wore banded kaffias and khalats
Zuagirs!