They set out to Luxor.

"Amon Toth?" Sonja frowned at the name. "Not the man to help out of the goodness of his shrivelled black heart. Nor would your looks sway him. He desires power and magic more than even a beauty such as yours. We have such an artefact, but it means losing a valuable and hard-won prize."

"No wait, Sonja!" Conan called out too late as the warrioress stooped to gather the fist-sized ruby from the temple floor.

Sonja grinned at Conan, the crimson gem clutched in her fist. She held it for several seconds, studying it for several seconds without the magical effect that had transformed Conan being triggered. With an amused laugh, she tossed it a couple of times in her palm before slipping it inside the coin purse on her hip.

"Relax, Connie." Sonja chuckled. "Cybelle is the goddess of female beauty and fertility. Her enchantment worked on you to remake you according to her tenets. Am I not beautiful and nubile enough for her tastes already?"

"How could you be certain the gem would have no effect?" Conan demanded, admitting silently to herself that Red Sonja's vanity was not misplaced.

"An educated guess rather than certainty," Sonja replied with a smug grin. "I witnessed the manner in which your body was transformed. In all the stories of Cybelle's priestesses, they are counted as the most voluptuous and beautiful of wenches. I wager from how you were altered that many of her handmaidens were dried-up crones with faces like camels before they entered her service. Perhaps some were even men like the mighty Conan?"

Conan scowled again, knowing the flame-haired beauty was teasing her. She went to pick up her sword, but the ancient blade was as wide as a man's hand and nearly as long as she was tall. It was a struggle to even lift it from the ground. Conan knew it would be impossible for her to wield. Most men could not have hefted and swung such a blade with any skill. She allowed the sheathed sword to drop with an angry and frustrated moan.

"Come, Connie," Sonja relented from her teasing and spoke more gently. "We shall get you a new sword once you are restored. We must not tarry longer; the path to Luxor is long, and we should hurry to make the closest oasis before nightfall."