Conan Stories · Chapter
III: Khemsa Uses Magic explained
The Devi's maid betrays her mistress by reporting Conan's abduction to Khemsa and Kerim Shah.
What happens
The Devi's maid betrays her mistress by reporting Conan's abduction to Khemsa and Kerim Shah. She persuades Khemsa to use his magic for their own gain, leading him to kill the seven Afghuli prisoners and break free from his masters. Kerim Shah, feigning sleep, overhears their plot and sends a message to Khosru Khan to intercept Conan and the Devi.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Corruption
Khemsa's use of forbidden magic for personal ambition, betraying his masters and killing prisoners to seize power.
Love and Sacrifice
The maid's passionate love for Khemsa drives her to betray her mistress and push him to rebel against his masters.
Supernatural and Ancient Evil
Khemsa's hypnotic powers and the green magical cloud that kills the Afghuli prisoners demonstrate dark sorcery.
Characters to notice
- Khemsa
A Rakhsha magician who uses hypnotism and lethal magic; persuaded by the maid to betray his masters and seize power.
- Kerim Shah
Hyrkanian agent who feigns sleep, overhears the plot, and sends a carrier pigeon to Khosru Khan.
- Yasmina
The Devi of Vendhya, abducted by Conan; her absence is the catalyst for the chapter's events.
- Conan
The Cimmerian who kidnapped Yasmina; mentioned as having taken her to the Afghuli villages.
- Chunder Shan
Governor of Peshkhauri who led riders in pursuit of Conan; his prisoners are killed by Khemsa.
Key passages
“In the confusion that reigned in the fortress while the guard was being turned out, no one noticed that the girl who had accompanied the Devi slipped out the great arched gate and vanished in the darkness.”
Amid the chaos of the fortress guard being mobilized, the Devi's maid escaped unnoticed through the main gate.
The maid's stealthy departure sets the plot in motion.
“I love you! I will make a king of you! For love of you I betrayed my mistress; for love of me betray your masters!”
She declares her love and promises to make him a king, urging him to betray his masters as she betrayed hers.
The maid's passionate persuasion convinces Khemsa to rebel.
“Khemsa flicked the spear aside with his left hand, as a man might flick a straw, and his right flashed out and back, seeming gently to caress the warrior's neck in passing. And the guard pitched on his face without a sound, his head lolling on a broken neck.”
Khemsa effortlessly deflected the guard's spear and broke his neck with a single, swift motion.
Demonstrates Khemsa's superhuman strength and lethal skill.
“Then from a golden cage he drew forth a carrier pigeon, to whose leg he made fast the parchment, rolled into a tiny cylinder and secured with gold wire. Then he went quickly to a casement and tossed the bird into the night.”
Kerim Shah attached his message to a carrier pigeon and released it from the window.
Kerim Shah secretly alerts Khosru Khan of Conan's abduction.