The Tower of the Elephant, first published in the March 1933 issue of Weird Tales. One of Howard's best stories about Conan the Cimmerian. Conan's meeting with the being in the tower is unusual to say the least. Conan's ability to empathize with this creature reveals once and for all that Conan is a barbarian, yes - but he has a good heart .... He had no idea what this unnatural entity could be, but without really knowing why the marks of his suffering were so terrible, so pathetic, that a strange painful sadness took possession of the Cimmerian. He only felt like he was in the midst of a cosmic tragedy, and he backed away as if ashamed, as if the guilt of an entire race was weighing on him.
Rogues in the House, first published in Weird Tales 23 (January 1934). Conan is in jail for killing a priest —who betrayed him; he receives a visit from Murillo who offers him to kill Nabonidus, the Red Priest, to regain his freedom; he will provide Conan with a horse, a bag of gold, and free passage to get out of the city and avoid the gallows .... But they will be stunned by the fleeting awareness of the abyss of bestiality through which humanity had painfully evolved.
Queen of the Black Coast, first published in Weird Tales 23 (May 1934). Conan weighs anchor with the pirates of Belit, queen of the black coast who soon falls under the spell of the Cimmerian: With the infallible instinct of the elemental feminine, she knew that she had found the alpha of her omega; his lineage didn't matter, except that it gave him the prestige of distant lands ....
Black Colossus, first published in Weird Tales (June 1933). By divine command, Princess Yasmela entrusts Conan with the responsibility of a powerful army to defend the kingdom of Khoraja, and her life, against a mysterious sorcerer.
