Part 21 (1/2)
”Where in Zandru's Nine hells did o? I turn o, without so , he haphazardly dipped tankards into ale barrels at a frenzied pace, setting the, narrow table
Patrons snatched up the tankards just as quickly as he put the to count these or to ruff Turanian barkeep scooped up the bits of copper and silver, dropping them deftly into his capacious belt purse A continuous stream of oaths poured forth froth of the table When he finally caught up with the demand, he mopped his sweat-soaked face with his apron and sauntered back over to Kailash
The hillht,” he noted, then wiped foam from his moustache
”Aye Too busy I've a mind to close early Many years have passed since we last shared a barrel of ale What say that you-both of you-join ht ht than the floor of a tavern Soon my companions and I oresh's eyes settled on Madesus The priest's cloak covered his religious garb, but the Turanian's shrewd gaze took in a few conspicuous details: no weapons-not even a dagger-and siarments Yet the, man had not the look of a merchant or a noble The Turanian's instincts told him that this was sooresh gave Kailash a dubious look The Kezankian hefted his tankard and took another pull fro himself ”-er, a friend from Corinthia,” he added lamely
Madesus extended his hand to the barkeep, who took it and shook it vigorously Madesus felt the bones in his hand grate together under the power of the Turanian's grip He fought the urge to wring his nuoresh,” he rateful for your hospitality”
”Think nothing of it” The bald barkeep shrugged and turned to fill another tankard with ale He set this down in front of the priest, who eyed it as if it were a fanged serpent, Malgoresh pretended not to notice this, but he was now convinced that Madesus was not just an ordinary traveler ”Kailash and I fought side by side in ether see along the southern banks of the Yellow River, ere a Nemedian bastard, Nekator His numbers were thrice our own, and half our lads were cut down before we knehat had befallen us That was a battle, by Hanuoresh's tale was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a dirt-shterhouse on a hot su in between Madesus and Conan Snuffling noisily, he broke wind loudly enough for the sound to carry over Malgoresh's voice ”Ale! Blast you, ale!” The boisterous lout sla it squarely on the fingers of Conan's left hand
Conan pulled his hand back and growled in annoyance, elbowing the besotted patron in the gut Madesus noted with despair that it was the same buffoon who had accosted hiasped as Conan's elbow drove into his side He staggered backward, nearly falling, but recovered his shaky balance with a superhue, he aimed a blow at Conan's head with his tankard The Cimmerian easily blocked the attack with one arm, and ra through his shattered jawbone, the drunkard was propelled backward from the force of the blow Before he sank to the floor, the troubleh a cruel twist of fate, the haphazardly thrown ht toward the barbarian's face Conan ducked to one side, putting a hand up to bat the tankard to the floor The heavy iron vessel flew past his outstretched hand and crashed solidly into Kailash's forehead
The hillh to wish he had left his helainst the table, then dropped to the floor like a felled ox
Angered that his friend had been struck, but wary that a braas brewing, Malgoresh yelled desperately at the two ht outside!”
Unfortunately, the Turanian's words fell on deaf and drunk ears Conan balled his hands into tight fists and drove them into his stunned opponent's ribs The un bones was followed by earsplitting curses Spitting out a few fragh his broken jaw ”Kulg! Wenak!” he wailed, sinking to the floor and retching noisily, his hands drawn up over his se
At a table nearby, two heads turned As the coh the crowd, conversations died down and a strange quiet settled in
Kulg, a hulking brute of arese on the floor before Conan, but was lier than his brother He was so hairy that many jests were made-behind his back, of course-about his probable ancestry His shaggy black beard crept up his face and nearly covered his cheeks Bushy eyebrows stuck out fro forehead, and coarse hair sprouted fro tunic Even coht He was, however, quickly enraged by the sight of his kin on the floor, spewing blood and twitching in agony
Beside him, Wenak slid a small, well-honed knife out of its sheath and pal like his older brothers; he was s his eyes on Conan, he readied his throwing knife and waited for the Ci's tactics werein bestial fury, he raised his iht Holding his hairy, long-nailed fingers out, he rushed straight at Conan
As a veteran of hts, the barbarian reacted instinctively, sidestepping the shaggy giant and tripping hih table and proved to be more than aMalgoresh and sending ale and tankards flying The flailing Turanian groaned in dismay as he landed on the floor, pinned beneath the table
Madesus, upset by the turn of events but powerless to stop them, moved around to exarabbed one of Kulg's treelike ar 's knee and drove hi another groan fro a chance to bury his shi+v in Conan's unprotected back, drew his hand back in a slint of steel as Wenak asped, ju to spoil his ai to cast his knife at this onrushi+ng green-cloaked stranger Instead, he hastily threw it at Conan, then turned nimbly tocry, but had no way to roll out of the knife's path Wenak's throas high; the weapon sailed through the air several feet above Conan and sank into one of Malgoresh's erabbed the back of Kulg's head and pounded the man's hairy face repeatedly into the bottom of the wooden table
A helpful patron stuck his foot out as the fleeing Wenak ran by, sending hi into a table Wenak rolled off and crawled underneath The table's annoyed occupants chose to blame the loss of their ale on the patrons of a nearby table Within h the taprooh a dry prairie
Sixteen
Departure ---------