Appearing in "Bugs, Brigands, and Blind Seers"
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Synopsis for "Bugs, Brigands, and Blind Seers"
Conan rides through the tall grass of the marsh towards Shadizar and encounters a small group of travelers held at bay by a large swamp cat. Conan manages to kill the beast and is invited to dine with the travelers. The band is transporting a beautiful woman who seems to be under the hypnotic spell of the leader, Harpagus, who orders her to stay in her tent. That night, Conan, unable to sleep, allows curiosity to take over and approaches but is stopped by the men, and a battle breaks out. Conan gets the advantage, but is stopped by the hypnotic powers of Harpagus and awakens the next morning, his memories of the entire event gone. Several days later Conan wanders into the town of Urkira and assists a blind prophet beggar who was in the process of being mugged. The beggar invites Conan to his home for a meal, and despite his general disinterest in the beggar, the prospect of food sways Conan. The beggar, Kushad, turns out to be quite rich - he just really enjoys his work, and in the course of the evening, he realizes that Conan's mind has been clouded by sorcery. He uses his own power to restore Conan's memories and offers to train Conan on how to block such attacks in the future. Conan, furious that his mind has been invaded twice already, is apprehensive, but when Kushad offers to pay the barbarian to hunt down the truths of the rumored kidnapping of Turaninan King Yikdiz's wife Jumilah by Zamorians in Yezud. Conan realizes that was the woman in the tent, and agrees to help. Kushad uses his powers of hypnotism and illusion to make Conan believe he is in the jungle and attacked by several monsters. Conan survives, barely, and rages against sorceries he doesn't understand. That night, he is approached by Kushad's 15-year-old daughter Tahmina, but wisely turns her away, musing that he really needs to find a woman soon. The next day he resumes his training, and Kushad coaches him in multiplication tables to focus his mind. Once again he suddenly finds himself in a jungle attacked by dinosaurs and manages to use his mind to break the spell. Unfortunately, during the training a group of thieves raid Kushad's house and threaten Tahima. Conan charges into the gray, assisted by the powers of Kushad, and the thieves are quickly dealt with. As trained as he can ever be, Conan heads towards Yezud, the City of the Spider God, to begin his search for Jumilah.
Notes
- synopsis by YardIHS