The Tower of the Elephant by Robert Ervin Howard is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard. Set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, it concerns Conan infiltrating a perilous tower to steal a fabled gem from an evil sorcerer named Yara. Excerpt: "TORCHES flared murkily on the revels in the Maul, where the thieves of the east held carnival by night. In the Maul, they could carouse and roar as they liked, for honest people shunned the quarters, and watchmen, well paid with stained coins, did not interfere with their sport."