Sunset transformed the cloudy vault of heaven into a canopy of burning splendor.  Over the dark waves, flecked with crimson reflections, the blunt black bow of the Petrel threw up a snowy bow wave as she ran free to the southwest under a quartering west wind.  Far behind her and unknown to any aboard her, Conan followed in the Wastrel, hovering just beyond easy detection under the burning sunset and later under the silently wheeling stars.

In the master's cabin, Zarono sprawled in his great chair, brooding over a silver goblet set with uncut smaragds.  The bouquet of strong Shemitish wine filled the wood-paneled chamber.  The swaying lamps, hung by chains from overhead, shed wavering light on crinkled parchments pinned to the walls between ribbed stanchions.  The light winked on the jewels in the hilts of swords and daggers, which also adorned these walls.

Zarono's sallow features were gloomy and his cold black eyes withdrawn.  He wore a loose, full-sleeved blouse of soiled white silk, with lacy ruffles at throat and wrist.  His thick black hair was tousled, and he was deep in drink.

When knuckles rapped lightly on his door, he growled a curse, then called a grudging permission to enter.  In came Menkara with the rolled chart in one hand.  The lean Stygian surveyed the sprawled figure of the privateer with prim disfavor.

"More sorceries?" sneered Zarono, and hiccuped.  "Can you never leave an ordinary mortal to the pleasures of the vine, without thrusting your ugly face into his thoughts?  Well, say your say."

Without answering this flare of drunken temper, Menkara unrolled the chart on the table before Zarono and pointed a bony finger at the lines of cryptic glyphs wherewith the enigmatic scroll was inscribed.

"I have been puzzling over the Mitraist priest's chart ever since we took it from him," said the Stygian, with unusual tension in his normally dull and listless voice.  "The coastline shown here is obviously that of southerly Stygia.  Although the language is unknown to me, I found that some of the captions bore a tantalizing familiarity.  I have bent my intellect to the task of deciphering the inscription, while you have sat here swilling like a fool -"

Zarono flushed and started to rise, one hand going to the hilt of his sword.  But Menkara halted him with a raised palm.

"Control your personal feelings, man.  This is a matter of greater importance.  Listen: I have studied comparable tongues in my magical apprenticeship, and I know that the ancient Valusian tongue, like those of ancient Stygia and Acheron, was writ with an alphabetic script, each symbol denoting a sound.  Since certain parts of this chart show the lands we know as Shem and Stygia, with cities like Asgalun and Khemi, I was able to deduce the meaning of certain letters in the inscription, where they appear in the captions denoting these places.  Other inscriptions seem to mark the sites of such vanished elder cities as Kamula and Python."