Conan the Barbarian: Red Nails

The young woman got down from her tired horse. She tied it to a nearby tree and looked around. Tall trees with thick undergrowth between them stood by the pool where she stopped to drink.

She was a tall, strong figure, wearing brown boots, red breeches, a red belt, and a white shirt. Her long, golden hair was tied back. She had a straight sword, and a long knife in her belt. She was Valeria, one of the famous Red Pirates from the coast, and her eyes were the colour of the sea.

Turning, she walked beyond the pool to the east. The silent forest made her uncomfortable. No birds sang in the trees. No small forest animals moved in the undergrowth. Nothing broke the heavy, unnatural stillness around her.

She was hungry now. So she looked for some fruit to eat. Suddenly, she saw a large hill of grey rock before her. Its sides narrowed as they went up, and its top went above the tree branches.

"Maybe up there I can see what lies beyond this forest", she thought. So she climbed up the crag. Soon she stood on a wide stone ledge as high as the tallest tree. A thin finger of rock went up from this into the sky.

Just then, the toe of her boot hit something hard under the dry leaves on the ledge. She moved these to one side and found the whitened bones of a man underneath. She looked at these carefully. He had died a natural, not violent death, she decided. "But why did he come up here to die?", she wondered.

She climbed up the finger of rock and looked around her. To the north, she saw hills at the furthest edge of the forest. She had crossed those, escaping from the town of Sukmet. To the west and east, there were only trees as far as she could see. But southward, she saw something surprising. There the green forest ended in a wide yellow desert, full of cactus plants. And in this desert there was a great, walled city. "Hmm... it's strange to find a large city so far from the nearest town", thought Valeria. "Maybe it's worth visiting".

She climbed back down to the ledge. Just then, she heard something behind her. She turned quickly, her hand going to her sword. Her eyes widened when she saw the man who was standing on the ledge. He was dressed like her, in pirate's clothes - boots, breeches, and a shirt open at the neck. He also had a sword and knife in his belt.

"Conan!", cried Valeria. "What are you doing here?"

Conan the Barbarian stared at her with fierce blue eyes. "I thought you guessed how I felt about you in Sukmet".

"I noticed", she replied coolly. "So you came after me".

"Yes", answered Conan. "The Chief of the Stygian Army went crazy when he heard you'd killed one of his officers. Suddenly you were an enemy and he sent his men after you".

"What could I do? The man attacked me, said he wanted me as his wife. I wasn't interested. So I used my knife and ran".

"It was good that you left quickly", Conan said. "The man's brother came after you - to kill you".

"And?", asked Valeria.

"I killed him, and left his body for the wild animals. That stopped me for a while, and I nearly lost you. But here I am".

"Ready to take me back to Sukmet", Valeria said coldly.

"No", Conan answered. "I'm bored with army life".

"You prefer to be a poor traveller", Valeria smiled.

"I'm a pirate, like you. Money comes and goes easily for us. Coming south was clever", went on Conan, "The dead officer's brother was the only man to come this way. So you're safe".

"And what are you going to do now?", Valeria asked.

"Travel to the coast", answered Conan.

"Then go", she said, "I have other plans".

"Come with me", he answered, taking a step toward her.

"Never!", she cried, pulling out her sword.

Just then, they heard loud animal screams far below them, together with the noise of breaking bones.

"What's that?", cried Valeria.

"Our horses", answered Conan. "I left mine next to yours by the pool. Something's attacking them. But what?"

They climbed slowly down the crag until they were just under the forest roof. In the green darkness between the vines, they looked toward the place where they had left both of their horses. They could see nothing.

"Listen", whispered Conan.

They heard terrible sounds from the undergrowth of great teeth pulling at horsemeat. Then a gentle wind blew past Conan and Valeria, taking their smell straight to the nose of the killer among the leaves.

At once, the large head of a great reptile looked up on its long neck over the plants around it. It had rows of fierce-looking, yellow teeth, and its open mouth was bloody. It stepped out of the undergrowth, and they could see its short legs, rounded body, and long tail.

"A dragon! Back up the crag - quick!", cried Conan. "I don't think it can climb, but maybe it can stand on its back legs".

They hurried back up the grey rock, while the dragon ran toward them. It hit the rock face with a crash, and stood on its back legs to attack them. But it could not reach them, so it sat at the bottom of the crag and waited.

"How long will it stay, do you think?", asked Valeria.

Conan put the toe of his boot to the bones of the man lying on the ledge. "Well, this man climbed up to escape from a dragon, and it never left the bottom of the crag until he died".

"Can't we move across to a tree and escape that way?", asked Valeria.

"The branches around us aren't thick enough. And that dragon could push down a tree easily", answered Conan.

"But can't we climb down when it goes to eat or drink?"

"It's just eaten, and drunk blood! It won't be hungry or thirsty for some time now".

"Then let's die fighting it", said Valeria. It was hard, as a fighter, to sit waiting calmly for death.

"No, its skin is too thick for our swords. And why die for nothing?", said Conan. "We'll find a way out of this, I'm sure. It's lucky for us that it's not a flying fire-dragon!"

Just then, Valeria saw some purple fruits on a tree branch near them. It was a tree with dark green leaves.

"At least we won't die hungry", she said. "Look".

"Don't touch those!", cried Conan. "They're Apples of Death. Take a bite of one, or let some of its juice fall on your skin, and you'll die in seconds".

Suddenly, he smiled at Valeria. "Hey!", he cried. "You've just found the answer to our problem!"