The Treasure of Tranicos (collection)

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The Treasure of Tranicos is a 1980 collection of one fantasy short story written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, together with essays by de Camp on the title story and on Howard. The book is profusely illustrated by Esteban Maroto.

The title story was revised by de Camp from the original version by Howard and was first published at "The Black Stranger" in Fantasy Magazine for February, 1953. It subsequently appeared in the collections King Conan (Gnome Press, 1953) and Conan the Usurper (Lancer Books, 1967).

Contents:

• "Introduction" (L. Sprague de Camp)
• "The Treasure of Tranicos" (Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp)
• "The Trail of Tranicos" (L. Sprague de Camp)
• "Skald in the Post Oaks" (L. Sprague de Camp)

[edit] Plot

The title story finds Conan in the Pictish Wilderness fleeing native warriors who are hunting him. Finally he turns at bay before a hill, whereupon he sees them inexplicably abandon the chase and turn back. He realizes the spot must be a taboo place to the Picts. The hill turns out to hold a treasure cave, along with the preserved bodies of the pirate Tranicos and his men. Moreover, the treasure draws others to the forbidden cave in quest for it — one Count Valenso, and both Zingaran and Barachan sea reavers. But the bane of Tranicos is quite ready to take new victims, and Conan must outmaneuver all of them if he is to claim the riches.

Howard's original story pointed toward a new piratical career for Conan; one of de Camp's major changes was to make it lead instead into the revolution that would bring the Cimmerian to the throne of Aquilonia. The essay following the story relates the circumstances of de Camp's discovery of Howard's manuscript and his revision and publication of it; the remaining essay is about Howard himself.