Conan, and Bourtai head through the desert when they encounter a man hassled by bandits. They ride to the man's rescue, but are too late; with the man's dying breath he tells them about the Azure Eye, a great jewel from the city of Kara-Shehr. A sandstorm consumes them, and when it disperses, they find the lost city. Conan is wary, but Bourtai wants the jewel, and they search through the ruins. In the castle's throne room they find a skeleton clutching a great blue gem, and, although Conan is sure the instant anyone touches the gem the skeleton will come to life (he's been in that situation before), Bourtai takes the prize, to no seeming skeletal resurrection. Conan makes him put it back, and the skeletal hand closes on the gem. At that moment, the bandits appear, having tracked Conan, and