This page has been validated.
The People of the Black Circle
By ROBERT E. HOWARD
![A recumbent, bearded man exposes his chest, while a woman holding a knife recoils.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/WeirdTalesv24n3pg274_People_of_the_Black_Circle.png/600px-WeirdTalesv24n3pg274_People_of_the_Black_Circle.png)
"Strike, I command you! Strike!"
A stupendous story of Conan the barbarian soldier of fortune, and a tremendous adventure in the castle of the Black Seers
1. Death Strikes a King
The king of Vendhya was dying. Through the hot, stifling night the temple gongs boomed and the conchs roared. Their clamor was a faint echo in the gold-domed chamber where Bunda Chand struggled on the velvet-cushioned dais. Beads of sweat glistened on his dark skin; his fingers twisted the gold-worked fabric beneath him. He was
274