Beyond the Black River
| "Beyond the Black River" | |
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| Author | Robert E. Howard |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Conan the Cimmerian |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Published in | Weird Tales |
| Publication type | Pulp magazine |
| Publisher | Rural Publishing |
| Publication date | May 1935 |
| Preceded by | "Jewels of Gwahlur" |
| Followed by | "Shadows in Zamboula" |
"Beyond the Black River" is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine, v. 25, nos. 5-6, May-June 1935. The story was republished in the collections King Conan (Gnome Press, 1953) and Conan the Warrior (Lancer Books, 1967). It has more recently been published in the anthology The Mighty Swordsmen (Lancer Books, 1970), and the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon (Gollancz, 2001) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Three (1935-1936) (Del Rey, 2005). It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan fighting the savage Hyborian Picts in the unsettled lands beyond the infamous Black River.
The foreword to the story tells of Conan's travels to Punt with Muriela, refers to a scam perpetrated against worshippers of an ivory goddess and then on to Zembabwei, where he joins a trading caravan on its way to Shem. Around 40 now, Conan visits his homeland and finds his old friends are fathers. Bored, Conan sets off for the Bossonian Marches and becomes a Scout at Fort Tuscelan on the Black River, at the western border of the newly conquered Aquilonian province Conajohara.
A young settler named Balthus encounters Conan in the forests slaying a forest devil. Accompanying the young man back to the Fort, Conan finds the body of a merchant ensorcelled by a Pictish wizard named Zogar Sag and slain by a swamp demon. The Fort Tuscelan Commander, Valannus, desperately asks Conan to slay Zogar Sag before he raises the Picts against the whole borderlands, especially since the fort is vastly undermanned after the Aquilonian king Numedides has foolishly decided to withdraw most of the garrison. Taking a hand picked team of scouts and Balthus, Conan sets off stealthily in canoes.
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Wikipedia