Conan The Indomitable Read Online Free PDF

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    Conan and Elashi stopped and stared at the beast. Big it was, as large as a
draft horse, but save that it stood on four legs, altogether unlike any horse
they had ever seen. The beast looked to have been assembled by some mad god
intent on blending dog, cat, and rat. The head was mostly canine but with
catlike jowls and teeth; the body wore striped fur, much like a domestic
tabby’s, but in contour it was more like a hunting hound. The tail was long and
pink, naked of hair, and properly belonged on a giant rat. The feet were also
ratlike, with four toes on each foot, and each toe was tipped with a black
claw. The thing growled and emitted a short bark, sounding like a great
grizzled bear.
    Without taking her startled gaze from the monster, Elashi spoke. “Some
mangy stray dog, you said? Or perhaps a fat goose upon which we could dine, eh?
Once again you astound me with your predictive powers, Conan.”
    “Better you should use your blade than your mouth,” Conan said,
starting to reach for his own sword.
    The thing gave another bearlike bark and sniffed the air. Conan froze,
leaving his sword in place. The wind was at the watchbeast’s back, as the
outlander could tell from the stench reaching his nostrils. Perhaps it could
not see particularly well, for it made no move toward them.
    “It seems unsure of us,” he said, dropping his voice to a whisper.
“Perhaps if we remain still, it will lose interest.”
    “We might stand here until we starve,” Elashi said, her voice also
low.
    “I am open to suggestion.”
    “Why do you always say that at such times as this?” Her voice grew
somewhat louder.
    “Why not yell, to better attract its attention?”
    That shut her up. They stared at the composite beast.
    For its part, the watchbeast did seem somewhat confused. It cocked its head
from side to side, quizzically staring in Conan and Elashi’s direction. Had it
any sight at all, it seemed impossible that it would miss them, the distance
being less than perhaps thirty spans; it sniffed the frosty air unmoving.
    Conan’s hand itched to pull his sword, but he remained still. Better to wait
a few moments at least, to see what the thing would do. If it came at them, he
would have plenty of time to draw his weapon, although fighting such a monster
hardly seemed a pleasant pursuit.
     
    The horseman touched the track in the snow, then turned to face the Harskeel and the other riders. “Very
fresh, m’lord. The snow has kept the impression of the footwear’s
strings. They can be no more than a very few minutes ahead of us.”
    The Harskeel flashed its ambiguous smile. “Good. Forward!”
     
    “Have you gods we can call upon?” Elashi whispered.
    “None but Crom,” Conan said. “And Crom rarely listens to
prayers. He gives a man strength and cunning in certain measure at birth, then allows him to make his own way in the world.”
    “A harsh god,” Elashi said.
    “Aye. He rules over a harsh land, he could be
little else.”
    “My own gods tend to be good for finding water or helping with the
hunt,” she said. “I don’t think we have any god for dealing with the
likes of that.” She gestured at the beast with a glance. The thing had by
this time sat upon its haunches, still staring in the direction of the two
unmoving people.
    “I cannot understand why it does not merely approach closer to see what
we are,” Conan said.
    “Let us not give it any ideas in that direction, Conan.”
    “We cannot stay here forever,” he said. “Perhaps we can
utilize the same trick we played upon the Harskeel. I shall run aslant to it
and when it chases me, you can attack it from the rear.”
    “A good idea,” she said quickly.
    Conan could not suppress a small chuckle. She did not hurry to volunteer to
draw this beast’s attention, he noted.
    “Of course, once I move, it might notice us both,” Conan said.
“And mayhap choose to take the stationary meal instead.”
    Elashi considered this for all of three