Conan the Barbarian by L Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter

Author:L Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter [Camp, L Sprague de & Carter, Lin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, adventure, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780553225440
Goodreads: 1612812
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 1982-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

IX

The Road

For two days after their audience with King Osric, the adventurers went to bed bone weary. Many preparations had to be made in haste—dried foods, skins of wine, bedding, and a hundred other things were needed for the journey. Jewels had to be bartered for coins of gold, silver, and humble copper. Then there was the matter of the horses.

One morning Conan and Valeria strolled about the horse market while Subotai, the only experienced horseman among them, haggled over their mounts. Once Conan drew Subotai’s attention to a spirited stallion, which pranced at the end of its tether and rolled a wicked eye.

“That’s the one for me!” exclaimed Conan.

The Hyrkanian chuckled. “Just how long do you think you would sit that steed? Since you have never been astride any nag, let me find you one that is safe and slow and big enough to bear your weight.”

Conan spent hours learning to ride the beast that Subotai selected for him. Under his friend’s tutelage, he learned how to walk, trot, and gallop, and how to saddle, curry, and feed the animal. Once, when a tumble weed, driven by the wind, startled the horse, it moved with unexpected suddenness and threw its rider. Cursing, the barbarian picked himself up and set about catching his mount.

“I told you to use your knees!” admonished Subotai. “Never mind; if that’s the worst tumble you ever take, you’ll be luckier than most. We Kerlaits say a man is not a horseman until he has had seven falls.”

That evening, as Conan sat in the bedchamber nursing his sore muscles, two of the king’s servants hauled in a large wooden tub. Other attendants appeared with buckets of steaming water. When they withdrew, Valeria stripped off her clothes and stepped into the tub with a sigh of contentment.

“Come on in!” she said. “There’s room for both of us.” Conan shook his head. “Hot baths are unhealthy. Steam damages the lungs.”

“Rubbish! I’ve had hot baths all my life, and look at me! Besides, you don’t smell like attar of roses. I’ll scrub your back for you.”

Still the barbarian refused. “Later, perhaps, when you are done.”

The girl sat in the tub, scrubbing her slender limbs. Suddenly she turned to Conan. “To hell fires with Doom and the princess, both! The man is evil—a sorcerer who can summon demons from the nether pits, things like that which you slew on the parapet. As for the princess, why should we save her if she wants to die in his service? Let her reap the results of her folly!

“Besides, ’tis said this Mountain of Power, Doom’s fortress, cannot be breached. It houses thousands of his followers. What chance have we against so many?” She stood up. “Throw me that towel, will you?”

Bathed and dried, Valeria lay back on the huge bed, toying with her fistful of gems. She watched the firelight flicker across their polished surfaces as she let them trickle between her fingers, cascade down the cleft between her high breasts, and spill across her belly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.