The Towering Sky Read Online Free

[Jacinda Saleeby]

Thisman halted in his description of an intended victim'scharms, and thrust his muzzle into a huge tankard of frothingale. Then blowing the foam from his fat lips, he said, 'By Bel,god of all thieves, I'll show them how to steal wenches: I'llhave her over the Zamorian border before dawn, and there'll be acaravan waiting to receive her. Three hundred pieces of silver, acount of Ophir promised me for a sleek young Brythunian of thebetter class. It took me weeks, wandering among the border citiesas a beggar, to find one I knew would suit. And is she a prettybaggage!'

A touch on his tunic sleeve made him turn his head, scowlingat the interruption. He saw a tall, strongly made youth standingbeside him. This person was as much out of place in that den as agray wolf among mangy rats of the gutters. His cheap tunic couldnot conceal the hard, rangy lines of his powerful frame, thebroad heavy shoulders, the massive chest, lean waist and heavyarms. His skin was brown from outland suns, his eyes blue andsmoldering; a shock of tousled black hair crowned his broadforehead. From his girdle hung a sword in a worn leatherscabbard.

'I have seen this tower,' he said. 'It is set in a greatgarden above the level of the city, surrounded by high walls. Ihave seen no guards. The walls would be easy to climb. Why hasnot somebody stolen this secret gem?'

'I am a Cimmerian,' the outlander answered, in no friendlytone. The reply and the manner of it meant little to the Kothian;of a kingdom that lay far to the south, on the borders of Shem,he knew only vaguely of the northern races.

'Listen to him!' he shouted jeeringly. 'The barbarian is aneagle who would fly to the jeweled rim of the tower, which isonly a hundred and fifty feet above the earth, with rounded sidesslicker than polished glass!'

The Cimmerian glared about, embarrassed at the roar of mockinglaughter that greeted this remark. He saw no particular humor init, and was too new to civilization to understand itsdiscourtesies. Civilized men are more discourteous than savagesbecause they know they can be impolite without having theirskulls split, as a general thing. He was bewildered andchagrined, and doubtless would have slunk away, abashed, but theKothian chose to goad him further.

'Will you mock me and then lay hands on me?' grated thebarbarian, his quick rage leaping up; and he returned the pushwith an open-handed blow that knocked his tormenter back againstthe rude-hewn table. Ale splashed over the jack's lip, and theKothian roared in fury, dragging at his sword.

'Heathen dog!' he bellowed. 'I'll have your heart for that!'Steel flashed and the throng surged wildly back out of the way.In their flight they knocked over the single candle and the denwas plunged in darkness, broken by the crash of upset benches,drum of flying feet, shouts, oaths of people tumbling over oneanother, and a single strident yell of agony that cut the dinlike a knife. When a candle was relighted, most of the guests hadgone out by doors and broken windows, and the rest huddled behindstacks of wine-kegs and under tables. The barbarian was gone; thecenter of the room was deserted except for the gashed body of theKothian. The Cimmerian, with the unerring instinct of thebarbarian, had killed his man in the darkness and confusion.

His gods were simple and understandable; Crom was their chief,and he lived on a great mountain, whence he sent forth dooms anddeath. It was useless to call on Crom, because he was a gloomy,savage god, and he hated weaklings. But he gave a man courage atbirth, and the will and might to kill his enemies, which, in theCimmerian's mind, was all any god should be expected to do.

His sandalled feet made no sound on the gleaming pave. Nowatchmen passed, for even the thieves of the Maul shunned thetemples, where strange dooms had been known to fall on violators.Ahead of him he saw, looming against the sky, the Tower of theElephant. He mused, wondering why it was so named. No one seemedto know. He had never seen an elephant, but he vaguely understoodthat it was a monstrous animal, with a tail in front as well asbehind. This a wandering Shemite had told him, swearing that hehad seen such beasts by the thousands in the country of theHyrkanians; but all men knew what liars were the men of Shem. Atany rate, there were no elephants in Zamora.

The Cimmerian, engrossed in these thoughts, shrank quicklyagainst the wall. Within the garden someone was passing, whowalked with a measured stride. The listener heard the clink ofsteel. So after all a guard did pace those gardens. The Cimmerianwaited, expected to hear him pass again, on the next round, butsilence rested over the mysterious gardens.

At last curiosity overcame him. Leaping lightly he grasped thewall and swung himself up to the top with one arm. Lying flat onthe broad coping, he looked down into the wide space between thewalls. No shrubbery grew near him, though he saw some carefullytrimmed bushes near the inner wall. The starlight fell on theeven sward and somewhere a fountain tinkled.

The Cimmerian cautiously lowered himself down on the insideand drew his sword, staring about him. He was shaken by thenervousness of the wild at standing thus unprotected in the nakedstarlight, and he moved lightly around the curve of the wall,hugging its shadow, until he was even with the shrubbery he hadnoticed. Then he ran quickly toward it, crouching low, and almosttripped over a form that lay crumpled near the edges of thebushes.

A quick look to right and left showed him no enemy in sight atleast, and he bent close to investigate. His keen eyes, even inthe dim starlight, showed him a strongly built man in thesilvered armor and crested helmet of the Zamorian royal guard. Ashield and a spear lay near him, and it took but an instant'sexamination to show that he had been strangled. The barbarianglanced about uneasily. He knew that this man must be the guardhe had heard pass his hiding-place by the wall. Only a short timehad passed, yet in that interval nameless hands had reached outof the dark and choked out the soldier's life.

Straining his eyes in the gloom, he saw a hint of motionthrough the shrubs near the wall. Thither he glided, gripping hissword. He made no more noise than a panther stealing through thenight, yet the man he was stalking heard. The Cimmerian had a dimglimpse of a huge bulk close to the wall; felt relief that it wasat least human; then the fellow wheeled quickly with a gasp thatsounded like panic, made the first motion of a forward plunge,hands clutching, then recoiled as the Cimmerian's blade caughtthe starlight. For a tense instant neither spoke, standing readyfor anything.

A low laugh answered him. Taurus was as tall as the Cimmerian,and heavier; he was big-bellied and fat, but his every movementbetokened a subtle dynamic magnetism, which was reflected in thekeen eyes that glinted vitally, even in the starlight. He wasbarefooted and carried a coil of what looked like a thin, strongrope, knotted at regular intervals. 'Who are you?' hewhispered.

'Of course. I slid over the wall when he was on the other sideof the garden. I hid in the bushes; he heard me, or thought heheard something. When he came blundering over, it was no trick atall to get behind him and suddenly grip his neck and choke outhis fool's life. He was like most men, half blind in the dark. Agood thief should have eyes like a cat.'

'Said the novice to the master of the art. They will notchange the guard until past midnight. Should any come searchingfor him now, and find his body, they would flee at once to Yara,bellowing the news, and give us time to escape. Were they not tofind it, they'd go on beating up the bushes and catch us likerats in a trap.'

'Then follow me.' And turning, Taurus leaped up, caught thewall and drew himself up. The man's suppleness was amazing,considering his bulk; he seemed almost to glide up over the edgeof the coping. Conan followed him, and lying flat on the broadtop, they spoke in wary whispers.

The garden was a vague pool of shadows, where feathery bushesand low spreading trees waved darkly in the starlight. Conan'swary soul felt the aura of waiting menace that brooded over it.He felt the burning glare of unseen eyes, and he caught a subtlescent that made the short hairs on his neck instinctively bristleas a hunting dog bristles at the scent of an ancient enemy.'Follow me,' whispered Taurus, 'keep behind me, as you value yourlife.'

Taking what looked like a copper tube from his girdle, theNemedian dropped lightly to the sward inside the wall. Conan wasclose behind him, sword ready, but Taurus pushed him back, closeto the wall, and showed no indication to advance, himself. Hiswhole attitude was of tense expectancy, and his gaze, likeConan's, was fixed on the shadowy mass of shrubbery a few yardsaway. This shrubbery was shaken, although the breeze had dieddown. Then two great eyes blazed from the waving shadows, andbehind them other sparks of fire glinted in the darkness.

'Death!' hissed the Nemedian. 'If a wind springs up and blowsit back upon us, we must flee over the wall. But no, the wind isstill, and now it is dissipating. Wait until it vanishesentirely. To breathe it is death.'

Presently only yellowish shreds hung ghostily in the air; thenthey were gone, and Taurus motioned his companion forward. Theystole toward the bushes, and Conan gasped. Stretched out in theshadows lay five great tawny shapes, the fire of their grim eyesdimmed for ever. A sweetish cloying scent lingered in theatmosphere.

Conan knelt beside the great forms, assuring himself that theywere indeed beyond power of harm. He shook his head; the magic ofthe exotic lands was mysterious and terrible to the barbarians ofthe north.

'Because that was all the powder I possessed. The obtaining ofit was a feat which in itself was enough to make me famous amongthe thieves of the world. I stole it out of a caravan bound forStygia, and I lifted it, in its cloth-of-gold bag, out of thecoils of the great serpent which guarded it, without awaking him.But come, in Bel's name! Are we to waste the night indiscussion?'

3a8082e126