The People of the Black Circle

by Robert E. Howard

  2 A Barbarian from the Hills

  Chunder Shan, governor of Peshkhauri, laid down his golden pen andcarefully scanned that which he had written on parchment that bore hisofficial seal. He had ruled Peshkhauri so long only because he weighedhis every word, spoken or written. Danger breeds caution, and only awary man lives long in that wild country where the hot Vendhyan plainsmeet the crags of the Himelians. An hour's ride westward or northwardand one crossed the border and was among the Hills where men lived bythe law of the knife.

  The governor was alone in his chamber, seated at his ornately carventable of inlaid ebony. Through the wide window, open for the coolness,he could see a square of the blue Himelian night, dotted with greatwhite stars. An adjacent parapet was a shadowy line, and furthercrenelles and embrasures were barely hinted at in the dim starlight. Thegovernor's fortress was strong, and situated outside the walls of thecity it guarded. The breeze that stirred the tapestries on the wallbrought faint noises from the streets of Peshkhauri--occasional snatchesof wailing song, or the thrum of a cithern.

  The governor read what he had written, slowly, with his open handshading his eyes from the bronze butterlamp, his lips moving. Absently,as he read, he heard the drum of horses' hoofs outside the barbican, thesharp staccato of the guards' challenge. He did not heed, intent uponhis letter. It was addressed to the _wazam_ of Vendhya, at the royalcourt of Ayodhya, and it stated, after the customary salutations:

  'Let it be known to your excellency that I have faithfully carried out your excellency's instructions. The seven tribesmen are well guarded in their prison, and I have repeatedly sent word into the hills that their chief come in person to bargain for their release. But he has made no move, except to send word that unless they are freed he will burn Peshkhauri and cover his saddle with my hide, begging your excellency's indulgence. This he is quite capable of attempting, and I have tripled the numbers of the lance guards. The man is not a native of Ghulistan. I cannot with certainty predict his next move. But since it is the wish of the Devi--'

  He was out of his ivory chair and on his feet facing the arched door,all in one instant. He snatched at the curved sword lying in its ornatescabbard on the table, and then checked the movement.

  It was a woman who had entered unannounced, a woman whose gossamer robesdid not conceal the rich garments beneath them any more than theyconcealed the suppleness and beauty of her tall, slender figure. A filmyveil fell below her breasts, supported by a flowing headdress boundabout with a triple gold braid and adorned with a golden crescent. Herdark eyes regarded the astonished governor over the veil, and then withan imperious gesture of her white hand, she uncovered her face.

  'Devi!' The governor dropped to his knees before her, surprize andconfusion somewhat spoiling the stateliness of his obeisance. With agesture she motioned him to rise, and he hastened to lead her to theivory chair, all the while bowing level with his girdle. But his firstwords were of reproof.

  'Your Majesty! This was most unwise! The border is unsettled. Raids fromthe hills are incessant. You came with a large attendance?'

  'An ample retinue followed me to Peshkhauri,' she answered. 'I lodged mypeople there and came on to the fort with my maid, Gitara.'

  Chunder Shan groaned in horror.

  'Devi! You do not understand the peril. An hour's ride from this spotthe hills swarm with barbarians who make a profession of murder andrapine. Women have been stolen and men stabbed between the fort and thecity. Peshkhauri is not like your southern provinces--'

  'But I am here, and unharmed,' she interrupted with a trace ofimpatience. 'I showed my signet ring to the guard at the gate, and tothe one outside your door, and they admitted me unannounced, not knowingme, but supposing me to be a secret courier from Ayodhya. Let us not nowwaste time.

  'You have received no word from the chief of the barbarians?'

  'None save threats and curses, Devi. He is wary and suspicious. He deemsit a trap, and perhaps he is not to be blamed. The Kshatriyas have notalways kept their promises to the hill people.'

  'He must be brought to terms!' broke in Yasmina, the knuckles of herclenched hands showing white.

  'I do not understand.' The governor shook his head. 'When I chanced tocapture these seven hill-men, I reported their capture to the _wazam_,as is the custom, and then, before I could hang them, there came anorder to hold them and communicate with their chief. This I did, but theman holds aloof, as I have said. These men are of the tribe of Afghulis,but he is a foreigner from the west, and he is called Conan. I havethreatened to hang them tomorrow at dawn, if he does not come.'

  'Good!' exclaimed the Devi. 'You have done well. And I will tell you whyI have given these orders. My brother--' she faltered, choking, and thegovernor bowed his head, with the customary gesture of respect for adeparted sovereign.

  'The king of Vendhya was destroyed by magic,' she said at last. 'I havedevoted my life to the destruction of his murderers. As he died he gaveme a clue, and I have followed it. I have read the _Book of Skelos_, andtalked with nameless hermits in the caves below Jhelai. I learned how,and by whom, he was destroyed. His enemies were the Black Seers of MountYimsha.'

  'Asura!' whispered Chunder Shan, paling.

  Her eyes knifed him through. 'Do you fear them?'

  'Who does not, Your Majesty?' he replied. 'They are black devils,haunting the uninhabited hills beyond the Zhaibar. But the sages saythat they seldom interfere in the lives of mortal men.'

  'Why they slew my brother I do not know,' she answered. 'But I havesworn on the altar of Asura to destroy them! And I need the aid of a manbeyond the border. A Kshatriya army, unaided, would never reach Yimsha.'

  'Aye,' muttered Chunder Shan. 'You speak the truth there. It would befight every step of the way, with hairy hill-men hurling down bouldersfrom every height, and rushing us with their long knives in everyvalley. The Turanians fought their way through the Himelians once, buthow many returned to Khurusun? Few of those who escaped the swords ofthe Kshatriyas, after the king, your brother, defeated their host on theJhumda River, ever saw Secunderam again.'

  'And so I must control men across the border,' she said, 'men who knowthe way to Mount Yimsha--'

  'But the tribes fear the Black Seers and shun the unholy mountain,'broke in the governor.

  'Does the chief, Conan, fear them?' she asked.

  'Well, as to that,' muttered the governor, 'I doubt if there is anythingthat devil fears.'

  'So I have been told. Therefore he is the man I must deal with. Hewishes the release of his seven men. Very well; their ransom shall bethe heads of the Black Seers!' Her voice thrummed with hate as sheuttered the last words, and her hands clenched at her sides. She lookedan image of incarnate passion as she stood there with her head thrownhigh and her bosom heaving.

  Again the governor knelt, for part of his wisdom was the knowledge thata woman in such an emotional tempest is as perilous as a blind cobra toany about her.

  'It shall be as you wish, Your Majesty.' Then as she presented a calmeraspect, he rose and ventured to drop a word of warning. 'I can notpredict what the chief Conan's action will be. The tribesmen are alwaysturbulent, and I have reason to believe that emissaries from theTuranians are stirring them up to raid our borders. As your majestyknows, the Turanians have established themselves in Secunderam and othernorthern cities, though the hill tribes remain unconquered. KingYezdigerd has long looked southward with greedy lust and perhaps isseeking to gain by treachery what he could not win by force of arms. Ihave thought that Conan might well be one of his spies.'

  'We shall see,' she answered. 'If he loves his followers, he will be atthe gates at dawn, to parley. I shall spend the night in the fortress. Icame in disguise to Peshkhauri, and lodged my retinue at an inn insteadof the palace. Besides my people, only yourself knows of my presencehere.'

  'I shall escort you to your quarters, Your Majesty,' said the governor,and as they emerged from the doorway, he beckoned the warrior on guard
there, and the man fell in behind them, spear held at salute.

  The maid waited, veiled like her mistress, outside the door, and thegroup traversed a wide, winding corridor, lighted by smoky torches, andreached the quarters reserved for visiting notables--generals andviceroys, mostly; none of the royal family had ever honored the fortressbefore. Chunder Shan had a perturbed feeling that the suite was notsuitable to such an exalted personage as the Devi, and though she soughtto make him feel at ease in her presence, he was glad when she dismissedhim and he bowed himself out. All the menials of the fort had beensummoned to serve his royal guest--though he did not divulge heridentity--and he stationed a squad of spearmen before her doors, amongthem the warrior who had guarded his own chamber. In his preoccupationhe forgot to replace the man.

  The governor had not been long gone from her when Yasmina suddenlyremembered something else which she had wished to discuss with him, buthad forgotten until that moment. It concerned the past actions of oneKerim Shah, a nobleman from Iranistan, who had dwelt for a while inPeshkhauri before coming on to the court at Ayodhya. A vague suspicionconcerning the man had been stirred by a glimpse of him in Peshkhaurithat night. She wondered if he had followed her from Ayodhya. Being atruly remarkable Devi, she did not summon the governor to her again, buthurried out into the corridor alone, and hastened toward his chamber.

  * * * * *

  Chunder Shan, entering his chamber, closed the door and went to histable. There he took the letter he had been writing and tore it to bits.Scarcely had he finished when he heard something drop softly onto theparapet adjacent to the window. He looked up to see a figure loombriefly against the stars, and then a man dropped lightly into the room.The light glinted on a long sheen of steel in his hand.

  'Shhhh!' he warned. 'Don't make a noise, or I'll send the devil ahenchman!'

  The governor checked his motion toward the sword on the table. He waswithin reach of the yard-long Zhaibar knife that glittered in theintruder's fist, and he knew the desperate quickness of a hillman.

  The invader was a tall man, at once strong and supple. He was dressedlike a hillman, but his dark features and blazing blue eyes did notmatch his garb. Chunder Shan had never seen a man like him; he was notan Easterner, but some barbarian from the West. But his aspect was asuntamed and formidable as any of the hairy tribesmen who haunt the hillsof Ghulistan.

  'You come like a thief in the night,' commented the governor, recoveringsome of his composure, although he remembered that there was no guardwithin call. Still, the hillman could not know that.

  'I climbed a bastion,' snarled the intruder. 'A guard thrust his headover the battlement in time for me to rap it with my knife-hilt.'

  'You are Conan?'

  'Who else? You sent word into the hills that you wished for me to comeand parley with you. Well, by Crom, I've come! Keep away from that tableor I'll gut you.'

  'I merely wish to seat myself,' answered the governor, carefully sinkinginto the ivory chair, which he wheeled away from the table. Conan movedrestlessly before him, glancing suspiciously at the door, thumbing therazor edge of his three-foot knife. He did not walk like an Afghuli, andwas bluntly direct where the East is subtle.

  'You have seven of my men,' he said abruptly. 'You refused the ransom Ioffered. What the devil do you want?'

  'Let us discuss terms,' answered Chunder Shan cautiously.

  'Terms?' There was a timbre of dangerous anger in his voice. 'What doyou mean? Haven't I offered you gold?'

  Chunder Shan laughed.

  'Gold? There is more gold in Peshkhauri than you ever saw.'

  'You're a liar,' retorted Conan. 'I've seen the _suk_ of the goldsmithsin Khurusun.'

  'Well, more than an Afghuli ever saw,' amended Chunder Shan. 'And it isbut a drop of all the treasure of Vendhya. Why should we desire gold? Itwould be more to our advantage to hang these seven thieves.'

  Conan ripped out a sulfurous oath and the long blade quivered in hisgrip as the muscles rose in ridges on his brown arm.

  'I'll split your head like a ripe melon!'

  A wild blue flame flickered in the hillman's eyes, but Chunder Shanshrugged his shoulders, though keeping an eye on the keen steel.

  'You can kill me easily, and probably escape over the wall afterward.But that would not save the seven tribesmen. My men would surely hangthem. And these men are headmen among the Afghulis.'

  'I know it,' snarled Conan. 'The tribe is baying like wolves at my heelsbecause I have not procured their release. Tell me in plain words whatyou want, because, by Crom! if there's no other way, I'll raise a hordeand lead it to the very gates of Peshkhauri!'

  Looking at the man as he stood squarely, knife in fist and eyes glaring,Chunder Shan did not doubt that he was capable of it. The governor didnot believe any hill-horde could take Peshkhauri, but he did not wish adevastated countryside.

  'There is a mission you must perform,' he said, choosing his words withas much care as if they had been razors. 'There--'

  Conan had sprung back, wheeling to face the door at the same instant,lips asnarl. His barbarian ears had caught the quick tread of softslippers outside the door. The next instant the door was thrown open anda slim, silk-robed form entered hastily, pulling the door shut--thenstopping short at sight of the hillman.

  Chunder Shan sprang up, his heart jumping into his mouth.

  'Devi!' he cried involuntarily, losing his head momentarily in hisfright.

  '_Devi!_' It was like an explosive echo from the hillman's lips. ChunderShan saw recognition and intent flame up in the fierce blue eyes.

  The governor shouted desperately and caught at his sword, but thehillman moved with the devastating speed of a hurricane. He sprang,knocked the governor sprawling with a savage blow of his knife-hilt,swept up the astounded Devi in one brawny arm and leaped for the window.Chunder Shan, struggling frantically to his feet, saw the man poise aninstant on the sill in a flutter of silken skirts and white limbs thatwas his royal captive, and heard his fierce, exultant snarl: '_Now_ dareto hang my men!' and then Conan leaped to the parapet and was gone. Awild scream floated back to the governor's ears.

  'Guard! _Guard!_' screamed the governor, struggling up and runningdrunkenly to the door. He tore it open and reeled into the hall. Hisshouts re-echoed along the corridors, and warriors came running, gapingto see the governor holding his broken head, from which the bloodstreamed.

  'Turn out the lancers!' he roared. 'There has been an abduction!' Evenin his frenzy he had enough sense left to withhold the full truth. Hestopped short as he heard a sudden drum of hoofs outside, a franticscream and a wild yell of barbaric exultation.

  Followed by the bewildered guardsmen, the governor raced for the stair.In the courtyard of the fort a force of lancers stood by saddled steeds,ready to ride at an instant's notice. Chunder Shan led his squadronflying after the fugitive, though his head swam so he had to hold withboth hands to the saddle. He did not divulge the identity of the victim,but said merely that the noblewoman who had borne the royal signet-ringhad been carried away by the chief of the Afghulis. The abductor was outof sight and hearing, but they knew the path he would strike--the roadthat runs straight to the mouth of the Zhaibar. There was no moon;peasant huts rose dimly in the starlight. Behind them fell away the grimbastion of the fort, and the towers of Peshkhauri. Ahead of them loomedthe black walls of the Himelians.