Shadows in the Moonlight (story)

The story begins when Olivia, having fled from her captivity in the city of Akif, is finally cornered near a marsh on the edge of the Vilayet Sea. Olivia's pursuer and former master is a sadistic rogue named Shah Amurath. Suddenly, before Amurath could lay his hands on Olivia, a figure rises from the reeds. The newcomer has witnessed all his friends betrayed and treachery cut him down to a man, before escaping into the marshes. There, he has hidden out for so long he is nearly mad. The newcomer quickly kills Amurath, as he and Olivia climb aboard a raft while deciding to lie low for a while. Only then, does the stranger identify himself: Conan the Cimmerian.

Illustration for "Shadows in the Moonlight" on p. 467 of Weird Tales by Hugh Doak Rankin, April 1934

The couple sail towards a dark and apparently deserted island, where they spend the night sleeping near ancient ruins decorated with remarkably lifelike statues. Olivia has a bizarre dream where she witnesses a tribe of men being transformed into the statues by a vengeful god, and is convinced they will come to life in the moonlight. Conan is less than convinced by Olivia's fears; he's more concerned by whatever it is lurking in the jungle, lobbing giant boulders at the two fugitives.

Eventually, a pirate ship arrives on the island. Leaving Olivia hidden in the foliage, Conan challenges their captain, an old rival. He slays the pirate captain, but is knocked unconscious by a stone from another pirate's sling. The pirates capture Conan and drag him to the ruins, where they discuss his fate, before passing out drunk. Meanwhile, Olivia narrowly escapes from a dark figure which pursues her close to the ruins.

Olivia sneaks past the drunken pirates and frees Conan. Soon, Conan slays the dark figure pursuing Olivia, a giant ape, which had also been hurling the boulders at them. As Conan recovers from his battle with the ape, he hears the beginning of a horrific slaughter back at the ruins.

The two quickly head back to the deserted pirate ship. As Conan prepares the ship to sail, a band of bruised and bewildered pirates appear while asking for his aid in leaving the "devil island". Conan challenges the pirates and they accept him as their new captain. At the end, Olivia begs Conan to allow her to stay with him and he, laughing, accepts, saying he will make her into a "Queen of the Blue Sea".

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala in Savage Sword of Conan #4 in 1974, then by Tim Truman and Tomás Giorello in Conan the Cimmerian #22-25 in 2010.

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Shadows in the Moonlight

• Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
• Conan.com: The official website
• Shadows in the Moonlight public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• Shadows in the Moonlight title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database