Chronologically Speaking, Part Six: "Rogues in the House"

Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.

"Rogues in the House" was first published in the January 1934 issue of Weird Tales, about three months after readers had been treated to their previous Conan story, "The Pool of the Black One." The story appeared seventh in the mag and didn't make the cover, suggesting perhaps a lack of confidence in this entry in the Conan saga. If that's what they felt, it was certainly misguided, as "Rogues" is a through-and-through banger.

• Conan is thieving, suggesting an early placement alongside "The Tower of the Elephant:" "...because the district on which he bordered was the Maze, a tangle of muddy, winding alleys and sordid dens, frequented by the bolder thieves in the kingdom. Daring above all were a Gunderman deserter from the mercenaries and a barbaric Cimmerian." Many people have in the intervening years questioned whether this is the same Gunderman referred to in the Nestor synopsis that would be turned into "The Hall of the Dead" by L. Sprague de Camp.
• Conan seems to have improved in his stealth and thieving skills: "But the Cimmerian fled, and learning in devious ways of the priest's treachery, he entered the temple of Anu by night and cut off the priest's head. There followed a great turmoil in the city, but the search for the killer proved fruitless until a woman betrayed him to the authorities."
• Conan is described as having zero respect for authority that is "instilled" in a person by civilization, which could be suggestive of its earlier placement in the timeline, or could just describe Conan's innate barbarism: "He had none of the fear or reverence for authority that civilization instills in men. King or beggar, it was all one to him."
• Conan's clothing is simple and threadbare: "He discarded his ragged tunic and moved off through the night naked but for a loincloth." Though Conan also wore a loincloth in "Xuthal of the Dusk," there he had acquired a set of weapons and a large gold-buckled belt. Conan's clothing is more similar to his starter kit in "The Tower of the Elephant."
• There's a suggestion of Conan being an ignorant, possibly foolish barbarian when Nabonidus reveals his complex mirror system. Conan growls at Thak, threatening him in Cimmerian, like an animal: "Murilo felt his blood freeze again as he looked at the horror which seemed to be staring directly into his eyes. Involuntarily he recoiled from the mirror, while Conan thrust his head truculently forward, till his jaws almost touched the surface, growling some threat or defiance in his own barbaric tongue” and "'Surely he sees us,' muttered Conan. 'Why does he not charge us? He could break this window with ease.'" It makes Conan look like a simpleton.
  • Other lines suggest Conan being a provincial idiot too: "Murilo realized that the priest must be centuries ahead of his generation, to perfect such an invention; but Conan put it down to witchcraft and troubled his head no more about it."
• Lotus powder is mentioned, this time the gray lotus from the "Swamps of the Dead, beyond the land of Khitai" (that sounds cool as shit; can we get a Conan story set there?), but Conan makes no mention of having come across lotus powder before and does not betray that he knows anything about the lotus, suggesting a placement prior to "Xuthal."
• Conan's kill of Nabonidus echoes how he killed the spider in "The Tower of the Elephant," but with more confidence and grace. Muscle memory? "Too quickly for the sight to follow, Conan caught up a stool and hurled it."
• Conan is ready to leave the kingdom for another at the end of the story, suggesting that the next chronological story will take place in a different land. "'I'm tired of this city anyway,' grinned the Cimmerian. 'You mentioned a horse waiting at the Rats' Den. I'm curious to see how fast that horse can carry me into another kingdom. There's many a highway I want to travel before I walk the road Nabonidus walked this night.'"

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All of the above leads me to conclude that within our chronology so far, "Rogues" should be only the second in the timeline. I think the elements that put it after "The Tower of the Elephant" are a little weak, though. It's mostly my interpretation of how Conan's thieving and combat skills are described. There's nothing that's a smoking gun, so it could go first.

Here is the updated chronology.

1. The Tower of the Elephant
2. Rogues in the House
3. Xuthal of the Dusk
4. Black Colossus
5. The Pool of the Black One
6. The Phoenix on the Sword
7. The Scarlet Citadel