substance [ˈsʌbstəns], tenacious [tɪˈneɪʃəs], determine [dɪˈtə:mɪn]

Conan glared about, but no other horror appeared, and he set himself to working free of the web. The substance clung tenaciously to his ankle and his hands, but at last he was free, and taking up his sword, he picked his way among the gray coils and loops to the inner door. What horrors lay within he did not know. The Cimmerian's blood was up and, since he had come so far and overcome so much peril, he was determined to go through to the grim finish of the adventure, whatever that might be. And he felt that the jewel he sought was not among the many so carelessly strewn about the gleaming chamber.

Stripping off the loops that fouled the inner door (сняв петли, которые запутали внутреннюю дверь; to foul — загрязнять; запутываться), he found that it, like the other, was not locked (он обнаружил, что она, как и другая, не заперта на замок; to find — обнаруживать; устанавливать). He wondered if the soldiers below were still unaware of his presence (он гадал, всё ли еще солдаты внизу не знают о его присутствии; to wonder — удивляться; интересоваться; размышлять; unaware — незнающий, неведающий). Well, he was high above their heads (в общем-то, он был высоко над их головами; well — ну, итак), and if tales were to be believed (и если верить рассказам), they were used to strange noises in the tower above them (они привыкли к странным шумам в башне над ними; to be used to — быть привыкшим, иметь привычку /к чему-л./) — sinister sounds, and screams of agony and horror (к зловещим звукам и воплям агонии и ужаса).