User:DoctorWho42/The Tomb-Spawn

"The Tomb-Spawn" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the May 1934 issue of Weird Tales.

Publication history
According to Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography (1978) by Donald Sidney-Fryer, "The Tomb-Spawn" was first published in the May 1934 issue of Weird Tales. It was included in the books Tales of Science and Sorcery (1964) and Zothique (1970).

Plot
Two brother merchants, Milab and Marabac, arrive to a wine shop in Faraad of Yoros. There they listen to a tale told by a storyteller. The storyteller relates how Ossaru, a wizard king, ruled over half of Zothique. Foretold by astrology, king Ossaru expects an otherworldly monster arrive named Nioth Korghai. Arriving as a comet, king Ossaru keeps the monster in a chamber beneath his throne. Later, Nioth Korghai dies and then the king. The two were kept int two rings of enchantment (one for incorruptibility, another for defence) in the same room. Milab and Marabac remark it is a good story but does not have an ending. The storyteller then notes a prophecy that two travelers come upon it unawares. The two travel with a caravan to Ustaim via a desert. However, a monstrous people named the Ghorii eat much of the caravan in an ambush. Milab and Marabac decide to take an alternate route and eventually find the ruins of an ancient city. Near dehydration, they search a palace for signs of water. Hearing something of a stream, they descend into a dark room. As they explore the darken room, they find a monster with a human fused to it. The sight of the monster causes the two to forget everything especially the storyteller's story. The monster follows the two beyond the magic rings and perish. Meanwhile, the Ghorii explore the tomb but find nothing.