"Shadows in Zamboula" by Robert E. Howard is a Conan story first published in November 1935. When Conan spends the night in a cheap tavern in the desert city of Zamboula, he discovers streets filled with roaming cannibals and deadly political intrigue. The barbarian hero must navigate treacherous innkeepers, a hypnotic high priest, and a formidable strangler while becoming entangled in a dangerous scheme involving a satrap's mistress and her insane lover.