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Rogues in the House

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"Rogues in the House" is a novelette by Robert E. Howard first published in Weird Tales 23 1 (January 1934).

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[edit] Synopsis

"When did a priest keep an oath?” complained Conan, comprehending the trend of the conversation. “Let me cut his throat; I want to see what color his blood is. They say in the Maze that his heart is black, so his blood must be black too..."

— Robert E. Howard, "Rogues in the House"

The story takes place in an unnamed city-state between Zamora and Corinthia, during an apparent power struggle between two powerful leaders - Murilo, an aristocrat, and Nabonidus, the "Red Priest," a clergyman with a strong power base. After Nabonidus delivers a subtle threat to Murilo, he turns to Conan for help. Prior to the story's beginning, Conan killed a corrupt priest of Anu who was both a fence and a police informer, but was caught after he became intoxicated and a prostitute turned him in. Languishing in a jail and awaiting execution, Conan receives Murilo's visit and is proposed a bargain: in exchange for setting him free and getting him out of Corinthia with a bag of gold, Conan will kill Nabonidus. Conan is brought food but while he's consuming it the jailer who should set him free when Murilo is at home (thus with an alibi) is arrested on unrelated corruption charges (corruption seems to run rampant in the city), the new jailer is flabbergasted to see a prisoner ought to be exectuted chomping a huge piece of beef, but when he gets in the cell to sequester it Conan manages to split his skull with the very bone he was gnawing at and secures his flight. For a while he considers leaving Murilo on his own but then decides to follow the original plan not to break his word. After taking revenge on the prostitute who turned him in (he slays her new lover and drops her into a foul cesspit), Conan sneaks into the Red Priest's booby-trapped mansion, only to find that Murilo and Nabonidus himself are being held captive after a mysterious third party took Nabonidus' place and impersonated him. This turns out to be a trained ape-like creature, called Thak, whom Nabonidus had been keeping as a pet and servant. The three observe Thak via a series of hidden periscopes and see that the creature has learned to imitate Nabonidus enough to activate a toxic pollen trap which eliminates yet another party of assassins (nationalistic agitators) penetrating the villa. Finally they manage to get back into the house from the basement and Conan defeats Thak in combat. The Red Priest then turns on his temporary compatriots but, while presenting a monologue of his plans, he is also killed by Conan. The surviving pair leave and go their separate ways.

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