river

Winter closed early over the great desert of the Northwest, and the first dense snow lay on the banks and covered dark trees with a white mantle. Ice formed under the river banks, and its huge layers crumbled under the sound of a choking stern wheel and rattled like broken glass on a track. In the snowy forest thickets, neither human dwellings nor living creatures were visible. The still air was bitter...

A young settler named Balthus walks blissfully unaware through a forest trail when the sound of combat draws his attention. He hides behind a tree and sees Conan step into the open, having just slain a Pictish robber who was about to ambush Balthus. Conan had been tracking the Pict for some hours, as he has been chasing the encroaching Picts on commission from nearby Fort Tuscelan.