Conan is having a friendly wrestling competition with the crew, beating them handily, when Belit arrives and skirmishes with the barbarian herself. Belit gets a little jealous when Conan mentions the fighting prowress of his friend Sonja, but they are interrupted by the ship's passing of the entrance to the river Zarkheba, which the crew regards with distrust. The ship sails further south for several days to collect tribute from the Watambi tribe, but they discover the tribe has no tribute; it has been taken by the Riders of the River Dragons,a tribe that tames giant crocodiles. Belit is furious with the Watambi, but Conan calms her down and they decide to spend the night to see if the Watambi's excuses are true. That night, the Watambi perform a frenzied dance to gain power over the River Dragons, and Conan joins in the dance with the chief's daughter, Nyami, to Belit's chagrin and N'Yaga's amusement. To calm Belit down, N'Yaga drugs her drink, and when Conan comes back, he takes her unconscious body into their tent. That night, the Dragon Riders attack, and Conan and N'Yaga help the Watambi win the battle. Questioning a survivor reveals that the Dragon Riders are seeking slaves and under the command of Amra, a legendary man who is said to run with the cats and whose very name means lion. Conan, wondering why Belit didn't join the battle, but when he checks back in the tent he discovers the reason - she has been kidnapped...
