A group of hill-men attack Conan's party, whittling them down to a handful of men. Captain Malthuz calls for a retreat and the group takes refuge in a cave. The hill-men, trap them inside, and offer a bargain: a Turanian champion will fight a hill-man to the death. Malthuz accepts the challenge, and states that only magic sword could hope to beat the hill-man champion, Toruk. This causes Conan to reminisce finding a magic sword some time ago. When sundown approaches, Conan knocks Captain Mathuz out and takes his place. Conan is outmatched physically, but manages to direct the mountainous hill-man to a pile of precariously placed boulders. Conan causes a landslide and buries Toruk, who happens to be carrying the same magical sword Conan found some years ago. The Turanians are allowed to lea