In a chasm, Conan encounters a detachment of soldiers and takes cover undetected. Having overheard the conversation, Conan finds out that the squad has an order to capture not just anyone, but him, Conan. Having interrupted them one by one, Conan moved on, flattering himself without checking whether life was still glimmering in the squad officer, Nestor. And he turned out to be alive and overtook Conan in the city of the ancients, but only after Conan had to fight among the ruins with a slippery creature, with some semblance of a giant snail, and emerge from the battle (naturally) victorious. However, Conan did not have to fight with Nestor - he entered into an alliance with him, according to which they would together get from the ruins of the city wealth of such magnitude that if at least a tenth of the rumors about these riches are true, then they are both secured for the rest of their lives...