The story is set in the decadent, evil Zamorian city of Arenjun, the City of Thieves. A callow young Conan, just beginning his career in the civilized regions, is drinking at a rowdy tavern when a Kothian rogue mentions a fabulous jewel known as the "Heart of the Elephant". It is kept in the tower of the evil sorcerer Yara, who has long terrorized the Kingdom of Zamora, most recently having transformed a prince into a spider and crushed the young man underfoot. When Conan interrogates the rogue for more information, the man mocks him and a fight ensues. The candle is knocked over and the tavern is plunged into darkness, but Conan's sword finds his opponent in the dark, and he escapes into the moonlit streets. (The Kothian's death saves a damsel he had planned to kidnap and sell into slavery.)