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Conan's pride will not let him be "Mr. Queen" to any wonwn, no matter how
beautiful or ardent. After a time, Conan slips away to revisit his Cimmerian
homeland and avenge himself on his old enemies, the Hyperhoreans. Conan is now nearly thirty. His blood brothers among the Cimmerians and the AEsir have won wives and sired sons, some of them as old and almost as big as Conan had been when he first ventured into the rat-infested slums of Zamora. His experiences as a corsair and a mercenary have stirred the spirit of battle and plunder too strongly in his blood for him to follow their example. When traders bring word of new wars in the South, Conan rides back to the Hyborian kingdoms. A rebel prince of Koth is fighting to overthrow Strabonus, penurious king of that far-stretched nation, and Conan finds himself among old companions in the princeling's army. Unfortunately, the prince makes peace with his king, and his mercenary force becomes unemployed. Its members, Conan among them, form an outlaw band, the Free Companions, who harry the borders of Koth, Zamora, and Turan impartially. They finally gravitate to the steppes west of the Sea of Vilayet, where they join the ruffian horde known as kozaki. Conan soon fights his way to the leadership of this lawless crew and ravages the western borders of the Turanian Empire, until his old employer, King Yildiz, adopts a policy of massive retaliation. A force under Shah Amurath lures the kozaki deep into Turanian terrioty and cuts them down in a bloddy battle by the river Ilbars. |
Chapters:
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four