The Scroll of Anoch
THE
dour-looking landlord kept a grim watch over his tavern. Here, in this
particular section of the City of Thieves, could be found the most wretched
collection of thieves and cutthroats in all of Zamora, and maybe even the
world. What caused the landlord the most distress, the reason he always
appeared on edge, was that he never knew when a fight might break out. Even
though he had a strict rule that prohibited weapons, these types of patrons did
not need steel to kill one another or to break his heavy wooden tables and
chairs. More than once, a customer had been beaten to death with a broken table
leg. That is why he kept a close eye on everyone in the place and was ready to
stop a fight before it began. Under the bar, he kept his peacekeeper just in
case of trouble. The peacekeeper was a long-handle, heavy wooden mallet.
The ones that
concerned him tonight were three loud men at a table in the middle of the
place. They were an unlikely trio. One was a handsome, well-bred Corinthian who
took pride in his appearance; another was a tall, dark Kothian with a hawk nose
and ringleted beard, and the third was a tough-looking Nemedian.
The three came in
and took over a table from two other patrons. They were boisterous and overbearing
and did not shy away from intimidating and mocking anyone in the place.
As much as the
landlord was concerned about these three, he was more concerned about a young
barbarian who had come in and sat by himself in a dark corner of the tavern. The
barbarian had ordered nothing, though he gazed about the room like a hungry
wolf.
“Here’s to the end
of Yara!” the Nemedian said, holding up his leather drinking jack.
His two companions
joined in the toast, banging their jacks together and spilling their drinks
onto the table.
“Good riddance to
that black priest,” said the Kothian.
“I hear he was a
wizard,” said the handsome Corinthian.
“Wizard or priest,
he was evil and good riddance, I say,” said the Nemedian.
“What became of
his tower?” said the bearded Kothian.
“It vanished
overnight,” the Corinthian said, gesturing with his hands.
“That was
strange,” the Nemedian said, soberly.
“They say Yara had
a fabulous fortune of jewels in that tower,” said the Kothian, his eyes
gleaming greedily.
“Not to mention
the Heart of the Elephant,” added the Corinthian.
“What do you think
happened to all that wealth?” asked the Kothian.
The Corinthian
made his hand gesture again. “Disappeared.”
“The rumor is that
Taurus the Prince of Thieves was there that night,” the Kothian said. “He was a
countryman of yours, wasn’t he?”
The Nemedian
nodded slowly. “I did not know him, but I knew of him. Only the Prince of
Thieves would dare such a feat. Now, he has disappeared as well.”
“I have heard it
mentioned that a northern barbarian was arrested by the authorities for being
involved in the tower, somehow,” said the Corinthian.
“Bah!” said the
Nemedian with derision, and spat out a few profanities. “Probably some brainless
lout from the north lying through his teeth to make himself more important than
he is! Hang the braggart! He was trying to get by on Tauras’s reputation. No
barbarian could ever hold a candle to Taurus or any Nemedian. I wish that
barbarian were here now. I’d prove him a liar and a coward!”
As if by some
sorcery, a young barbarian stood silently beside their table. All three were
taken by surprise. It was as if there was no one there, then suddenly the
younger man was standing amidst them. He was lean-waisted and broad-shouldered.
His muscled body was bronzed by the sun. He was naked save for a breechcloth
belted at his waist and his high-strapped sandals.
“I can tell you
what happened to Yara and his tower,” the man said. He spoke in a low voice. His
blue eyes regarded the men at the table carefully as if looking for weaknesses.
“And who the hell
are you?” the Nemedian asked.
“My name is Conan and
I am from Cimmeria.”
“Are you the man
who was arrested by the authorities?” the Corinthian asked.
Conan nodded.
“All right,
Cimmerian,” the Kothian said, stroking his beard. “Tell us what happened.”
“I would not
object to you buying me a drink first,” Conan said.
The table burst
into laughter.
“When I was
arrested, they took everything I had, even my sword,” Conan explained. “I have
not eaten nor had a decent drink of any kind, not even clean water.”
The Nemedian stood
up smiling. “Certainly. I’ll get you a drink, Cimmerian. Here, you can have mine!”
The man threw the contents of his drinking-jack into Conan’s face.
The three men laughed
again. In a flash, Conan gave the Kothian a strong backhand blow that knocked
the man out of his chair. Conan lunged at the Nemedian, and the two locked together
in combat. Blows were exchanged, and the Corinthian grabbed Conan from behind.
The Kothian was now on his feet and joined in the fray.
The Cimmerian was
unusually strong, but was not strong enough to take on these three. Soon, the
Kothian and the Corinthian held Conan’s arms, and the Nemedian was pummelling
him with terrific blows.
Just then, the
large landlord stood behind the Nemedian. The landlord brought his wooden peacekeeper
down on the head of the Nemedian, who crumpled to the floor.
“Three against one
is hardly fair,” the landlord said. “Turn him loose.”
When the two men
released Conan, he instantly turned on them, but the landlord used his
persuader on the young Cimmerian. Conan dropped to the floor.
“Now you two, pick
up your friend and get out,” the landlord said, brandishing his peacekeeper.
They picked up the
Nemedian and carried him out.
The landlord
looked at the Cimmerian. He bent down, grabbed the unconscious youth by the foot,
and dragged him out of the tavern and left him in the street. The landlord’s
attention was caught by a man across the street who appeared to be watching the
landlord. He was a large, bald man who did not move or say a word. The landlord
moved to go back into his tavern. He stopped at the door and looked again at
the bald man. Was the bald man watching him, or was he watching the Cimmerian?
3 Blades Against Darkness also comes in a non-graphic edition entitled Three Blades Against Darkness.
Look for them and all of Stephen Gaspar's books on Amazon!
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