Conan is waylaid by a group of bandits, and though he kills them all, his horse breaks its leg and Conan is bitten by a viper. He collapses but is rescued by a young woman and her uncle, who happens to be the lord of the small village Keshaan, and had been run out by the mad priest Ghul-Azalel. Ghul-Azalel had convinced Ben-Hussal to begin sacrificing virgins to a sea dragon to end a curse of death that had infected the town over the past year. When the sacrifices were unsuccesful and when Ghul-Azalel demanded the sacrifice of Ben-Hussal's neice Rachalla, the two fled the town leaving it to Ghul-Azalel. However, they have had word that the priest had died and it was safe to return. The two ask for Conan's assistance in returning, and Conan agrees, only to find themselves captured when they