Rogues in the House

"Rogues in the House" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in January 1934. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, and concerns Conan inadvertently becoming involved in the struggle between two powerful men fighting for control of a city-state. It was the seventh Conan story Howard had published. It is famous for the fight scene between Conan and an ape, often known as the cover by artist Frank Frazetta.

This article is about a short story. For the protagonist and principal character, see Conan the Barbarian. For the collection of the same title that contains this story, see Rogues in the House (collection).
"Rogues in the House"
AuthorRobert E. Howard
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesConan the Cimmerian
Genre(s)Fantasy
Published inWeird Tales
Publication typePulp magazine
PublisherRural Publishing Corporation
Publication dateJanuary 1934
Preceded by"The Pool of the Black One"
Followed by"Shadows in the Moonlight"

Publication history

Plot summary

"When did a priest keep an oath?” complained Conan, comprehending the trend of the conversation. “Let me cut his throat; I want to see what color his blood is. They say in the Maze that his heart is black, so his blood must be black too..."

— Robert E. Howard, "Rogues in the House"

The story begins in an unnamed city-state between Zamora and Corinthia during a power struggle between two powerful leaders: Murilo, an aristocrat, and Nabonidus the "Red Priest", a clergyman with a strong power base. After he is delivered a threat by Nabonidus (the ear of a corrupt secretary that worked with Murilo), Murilo learns of Conan's reputation as a mercenary and turns to him for help.

Prior to the story's beginning, Conan kills a corrupt priest of Anu, who was both a fence and police informer. However, Conan was arrested after he became intoxicated and a prostitute turned him in. Languishing in a jail cell while awaiting his execution, Conan receives Murilo's visit and is proposed a bargain: in exchange for setting him free and getting him out of Corinthia with a bag of gold, Conan will assassinate Nabonidus.

After accepting his offer, Conan is given food and wine by Murilo. However, while he's eating, the jailer who should release Conan when Murilo has left (thus with an alibi) is arrested on unrelated corruption charges (corruption seems to run rampant in the city). Soon, his replacement is flabbergasted to see a prisoner awaiting execution while chomping down on a slice of beef. As he's entering the cell to confiscate it, Conan splits the man's skull with the very bone he was gnawing on and makes his escape. He briefly considers leaving Murilo on his own, but then decides to follow the original plan and keep his word.

After taking revenge on the prostitute who turned him in (he slays her new lover and throws the woman into a foul cesspit), Conan sneaks into Nabonidus' trap-filled mansion. However, he finds that Murilo and Nabonidus himself are being held captive by a mysterious third party who took control of Nabonidus' position while impersonating him. This turns out to be Thak, a primitive ape-like creature who Nabonidus had captured as a cub and trained as his personal bodyguard. The three observe Thak, via a series of hidden periscopes, and see that the creature has learned to imitate Nabonidus well enough to activate a toxic pollen trap, which eliminates yet another party of assassins (nationalistic agitators) penetrating the villa.

Finally, Conan and the other two men manage to escape from the basement and regain entry into Nabonidus' mansion. Later, Conan defeats Thak in hand-to-hand combat. The Red Priest soon betrays both Conan and Murilo; but, while Nabonidus is gloating over his plans in a monologue, Conan slays him with an expertly hurled stool. The surviving pair leave and go their separate ways.

Motifs

"Rogues in the House" is written in an extremely ironic fashion and as a Jacobean revenge story. It's eventually revealed that Nabonidus' "usurper" is actually his pet, Thak, an intelligent ape-like creature who got the better of his master.

The story's title also reflects the other main irony, the conflict between Murilo and Nabonidus. Each man has been using his position of influence for personal profit (Nabonidus by manipulating the king; Murilo by selling state secrets to foreign rulers). After stumbling upon each other in a pit beneath Nabonidus' house, the two rivals realize that they're equally corrupt and, indeed, Conan may be the most morally honest of the three men because he doesn't attempt to conceal his criminal nature.

Reception

In a January 1934 letter to H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith (discussing the January 1934 issue of Weird Tales) praised "Rogues in the House". Smith stated, "Conan, as usual, put on a very entertaining and imaginative show." [1]

Influence

The point where Conan clamors to be brought food while he waits to be set free evidently struck a chord in Lin Carter, the post-World War II heroic fantasy writer who cooperated with L. Sprague de Camp in bringing Lovecraftian and Howardian fiction back into publication. He included similar scenes in almost all instances when his Conan-inspired Lemurian hero Thongor managed to end up imprisoned.

Adaptation

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith in Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian #11 (Nov 1971), and by Tim Truman and Cary Nord and Tomás Giorello in Dark Horse Comics' Conan #41–44.

References
  1. Clark Ashton Smith, Selected Letters of Clark Ashton Smith, edited by David E. Schultz & Scott Connors. Sauk City, Wis. : Arkham House, 2003. ISBN 978-0-87054-182-7 (p. 248)
Preceded by
"The Pool of the Black One"		 Original Howard Canon
(publication order) 		Succeeded by
"Shadows in the Moonlight"
Preceded by
"The Hall of the Dead"		 Original Howard Canon
(Dale Rippke chronology) 		Succeeded by
"The Hand of Nergal"
Preceded by
Conan the Warlord		 Complete Conan Saga
(William Galen Gray chronology) 		Succeeded by
Conan the Victorious
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