Rogues in the House
| "Rogues in the House" | |
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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 Corporation |
| Publication date | January 1934 |
| Preceded by | "The Pool of the Black One" |
| Followed by | "Shadows in the Moonlight" |
"Rogues in the House" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in January 1934. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan inadvertently becoming involved in the power play between two powerful men fighting for control of a city. It was the seventh Conan story Howard had published.
"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..."
The story takes place in an unnamed city-state between Zamora and Corinthia during an apparent power struggle between two powerful leaders: Murilo, an , and Nabonidus, the "Red Priest," a clergyman with a strong power base. After he is delivered a subtle threat by Nabonidus, Murilo learns of Conan's reputation as a mercenary and turns to him 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 awaiting execution whilst chomping on a haunch of beef; but when he enters the cell to confiscate it, Conan splits his skull with the very bone he was gnawing on and makes his escape.
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Wikipedia