Conan has been scouting in the employ of a Border Kingdom outpost when he is waylaid by a band of Picts. During his return to the outpost, he kills a deer for meat and glimpses a great stag in the forest. That night a woman approaches him, saying this land is her lord's, and seduces Conan. When he awakens the next morning, not only is the woman gone, but so is the entire forest, leaving Conan alone in an empty plain. With no trees, though, the mountains where the outpost is located is clear, and within the day he is back at the fort and meets with his friend Cleon, who makes a good amount of money having bet favorably on Conan's return. The barkeep at the villager tells Conan that a witch has been seducing and turning men into wild beasts, and that night an owl bursts into the common sleep