Dion

Dion was the fat, wealthy Baron of Attalus, and one of Ascalante's co-conspirators in his plot to kill King Conan and take control of the throne of Aquilonia.

Ascalante used Dion's great wealth to smuggle liquor over the border to the Picts, encouraging them to attack the border and draw away Aquilonia's imperial squadrons. The plan was that Dion would become King of Aquilonia after Conan's death, claiming the throne due to a trace of royal blood. However, Ascalante planned to then kill Dion and take the throne for himself.

As Ascalante prepared for the final strike against Conan, he told Dion to ride out to his country estate and remain there until the bloodshed was over, since he feared that the cowardly baron would be unable to conceal his nervousness before the king, and might even reveal the whole plot to save his own hide. He then sent his slave Thoth-amon to stay with Dion and prevent him from leaving.

When they were alone at the estate, Thoth-amon told Dion about the treachery that awaited. He also told his own story - Thoth-amon had been a mighty sorcerer, but had lost the Serpent Ring of Set from which he drew his great power. He had to flee from Stygia, but was captured by Ascalante's reavers and had to reveal his identity to save his life. He hoped to make a pact with Dion, but the baron considered slaves too far beneath him to be worth listening to, and had not paid attention to Thoth-amon. The slave realized that Dion had ignored his words completely.

However, the talk about a ring had stirred a memory, and Dion retrieved a lucky ring he'd bought from a Shemite thief. He hoped that the charm would bring him luck in the plot against Conan, but as he held it up, Thoth-amon recognized it as the Serpent Ring of Set. He drew his dagger and plunged it into the fat baron, taking the ring from his corpse. Arguably, it may have been King Ctesphon of Stygia who arranged for the ring of Thoth to appear in Dion's hand.