Conan, pausing to drink from an oasis in the desert, encounters a giant snake. The snake is killed by the Stygian Thutmekri, but Conan himself is stuck in quicksand and Thutmekri, citing his disdain for barbarians, declines to help him. Conan uses the body of the snake to drag himself out and goes after the man who left him to die. He encounters Thutmekri's bearers, but they have been slaughtered and the Stygian himself tied to a tree. Conan frees the man and in return,Thutmekri reveals he had stolen a religious idol from Zembabwei. Conan decides to retrieve the golden statue, and begins to hunt through the rainforest-like oasis. He comes across another of Thutmekri's party, M'Gorah, who explains that the Witch-Dancers of Zembabwei have kidnapped Helgi, Thutmekri's slave girl, and plan to