Conan travels home to Cimmeria only to discover that his childhood sweetheart, Mala, has been abducted by a band of Vanir raiders. He pursues them by boat and comes across a ship with dead Vanir and Picts next to a dark idol. Conan takes the idol and heads for the Isle of Swords, where Thorfel the Fair is about to marry Mala. Bur rather than giving herself to Thorfel, Mala kills herself. Conan kills Thorfel and receives unexpected help from a band of Picts who have come to the island looking for their dark idol.; Conan becomes Captain of the royal guard in the small city-state of Zahmahn as well as the lover of Queen Fatima. When the Queen catches Conan with the servant girl Yaila in a delicate situation, she leaves them in the dungeon to be devoured by the Dweller in the Dark. They manage to escape, however, and Conan throws the Queen to the monster. According to tradition, Zahmahn can only be ruled by a female sovereign, so Conan nominates Yaila as the new queen.; Upon learning that he is actually Frankish nobility, the Saracen warrior known as El Alemein joins the Crusaders. Saladin appears and challenges King Richard the Lion-Hearted to a duel, but El Alemein offers to fight in the king's place and defeats Saladin. King Richard knights El Alemein and names him Lord O'Dare.