chunk: Conan and Valeria emerge from the jungle to make their way to a walled city they spotted from the crag. Finding no grazing herds or cultivated fields around the city, they assume it is deserted. They force the rusted gates and enter a bizarre twilight world: the city is a single massive structure made of jade with traces of other materials, consists entirely of four tiers of rooms, chambers and passageways. A single great hallway runs the length of the city, but there are no other streets or open courtyards. The pair separate to search the city. Valeria encounters a man named Techotl whom she saves from his would-be killer; Conan arrives in time to save them from his comrades. Techotl invites Conan and Valeria into the stronghold of his people, the Tecuhltli, where they welcomed by the rulers, Olmec and Tascela.