The Tower Heist

The three-thief expedition into the Tower of the Black Serpent, a spine of night climbing, serpent-killing, and escape.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Maul's Conspiracy

The Maul's Conspiracy Subotai tells Conan of the treasure hoard in the Tower of the Black Serpent. The Serpent's Eye The Eye of the Serpent is said to be worth dukedoms, and the tower is guarded only by serpents, not by men. The Reckless Pact Nearly penniless, Conan agrees to break into the temple. A single cloudy night will shroud their climb.

The Woman in the Shadows

The Woman in the Shadows A twig snaps and a black-leather figure appears in the moonlight. The Queen of Thieves She is Valeria, a famous she-thief whose own band abandoned the tower in fear. Her curved knife points at Conan's chest. A Merger of Thieves She agrees to climb with them, though she laughs at their lack of climbing gear.

The Parapet Guardian

The Parapet Guardian Conan reaches the tower's rim and a scaly, hooded creature rushes at him. The Monster's Second Eye He stabs the thing only to see a fungoid growth open into a red eye. Terror and steel combine until the guardian falls from the parapet. Valeria's Smile She watches from an embrasure and says that for a thief Conan makes an excellent killer.

The Serpent's Hoard

The Serpent's Hoard Below the temple floors, Conan and Subotai discover a shrine of the great serpent. The Frozen Eye On the altar rests the enormous tear-shaped ruby. Coiled beneath it is a serpent larger than any dream of snake. The Medallion Conan plucks the gem and sees a bronze medallion carved with intertwined serpents. The memory of the black sun seizes him like a blade.

The Counterweight Escape

The Counterweight Escape The temple erupts and cultists pour toward the stair while Valeria holds them back. The Puppet's Sacrifice She slashes bowstrings, hangs an axe-man with his own rope, and uses his falling weight as a counterweight to hurray herself up the tower shaft. The Rope Cut Conan is left on the tower face as a knife severs the rope. He drops into the reflecting pool and surfaces laughing.

after the selling of the jeweled pendant

outside the Tower of the Black Serpent

as Conan climbs the tower wall

in the tower's lower rotunda

when the cult pursues the thieves to the well