"But Murilo, for his scented black curls and foppish apparel, was no weakling to bend his neck to the knife without a struggle. He did not know whether Nabonidus was merely playing with him, or giving him a chance to go into voluntary exile, but the fact that he was still alive and at liberty proved that he was to be given at least a few hours, probably for meditation."

Murilo is an aristocratic rogue who wished to have Nabonidus killed. When his first assassin failed, he hired Conan to kill the Red Priest. When it seemed Conan would also fail, Murilo tried the feat himself, becoming imbroiled in the Cimmerian's adventure in the Red Priest's house.

Murilo is a fop who dresses stylishly and considers himself quite the politician.

Combat
Murilo prefers to hire people to do his fighting for him, but he is capable of action with his rapier (Howard only says he girds on a sword, but doesn't say what sort. Feel free to substite the rapier for another type of sword if you wish).

Robert E. Howard's story, "Rogues in the House," was first published in Weird Tales in January of 1934.  The cover to that issue can be seen to the left. The interior art that accompanied the story can be seen to the right. Below is the cover to the Marvel Comics adaptation from Conan the Barbarian #11.

The story can also be found in the Ace/Lancer paperback "Conan"; and the Gnome Press collection "The Coming of Conan".  It is also available in the Arkham House, "Skull-Face and Others". Currently it is also in Millenium's "Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle."

Frank Frazetta used a scene from "Rogues in the House" for his painting that was used for the cover of Lancer/Ace's "Conan."

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