Savage Sword of Conan 182

= The Devourers=

Creators

 * Writer: Doug Murray
 * Penciller: Rich Buckler
 * Inker: Romeo Tanghal
 * Letterer: Richard Parker

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous chronological appearance CBA-9; next chronological appearance in first story of SSOC-185).

Minor Characters

 * Athicus (First and only appearance to date); dies in this issue.
 * Esecelan (First and only appearance to date); dies in this issue.
 * Galter (First and only appearance to date); dies in this issue.
 * Unnamed girl (First and only appearance to date)

Location

 * Kush, along the Zarkheba River

Timeframe
Two days

Synopsis
Conan and three companions, Athicus, Escelan, and Galter, travel along the Zarkheba River after fleeing the city of Xucha. They heard tale of a lost city (different from the lost city where Belit was killed) and, while Conan sees something movie in the jungles, Athicus trips over paved stones which herald civilization of some sort. Through the brush, they see a massive. ornately carved dam holding back a lake, with the scattered houses and huts of a small village at the base. They wander the mysteriously empty streets until they find a woman tied to a bed in one of the houses. When they take off her gag, she tells them to beware the Maribunta, then faints. A suddenly terrified Escenlan rushes to the top of a tall house and points out to Conan a wave of army ants slowly devouring swaths of land on a direct path towards the village. The girl awakens and says she was tied up by her master Moloch, whose caravan travels behind the Maribunta and picks the treasure of the villages that are cleared by the ants. She tried to warn this village of the coming danger, but Moloch captured her and left her to die. She shows her appreciation to Conan that night, to Athicus's annoyance, and the next day the group sets out to observe the slowly moving ants. Galter gets a little too close and the ants swarm him and eat him to the bone. Conan and Athicus quickly dig a ditch and fill it with pitch and oil, lighting it on fire and slowing the relentless march. Conan intends to destroy the dam and drown the insects, but Escenlan, believing the ornately covered dam is the work of the gods, and resigned to his fate, refuses to let Conan destroy it. He attacks and gets the better of Conan, profusely apologizing as he is about to make the killing blow, but Athicus manages to shoot Escenlan with an arrow just in time. The men get to work putting barrels of pitch under the damn's wooden supports, but the ants begin to enter the town. Conan uses a few swords and a plank of wood to build a makeshift shelf for them in the side of the dam and lights a fire in the middle section, hoping that the supports will burst and that section of the dam will collapse. It does, just as the ants reach the dam and they are swept away in flames and flood. Unfortunately, Athicus's plank collapses and he is swept along as well. As everything settles down, Conan finds and buries Athicus, with his share of the treasure, and decides to leave to find Moloch.

Creators

 * Writer: Steve Proudfoot
 * Artist: Armando Gil
 * Letterer: Joe Rosen

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous chronological appearance CA-2; next chronological appearance in flashback of CB-31).

Minor Characters

 * Roegar (Aesir; first appearance; no further appearances to date).
 * Heigal, Feider (Vanir; first appearance for both. Both die in this issue).

Location

 * Vanaheim

Time Frame

 * A couple of hours.

Synopsis
Returning from a raid in Vanaheim with his Aesir allies, Conan notices a lone, weaponless Aesir steal away. Suspicious., Conan follows the Aesir and picks a fight. The Aesir, Roegar, defends himself with a shield and earns Conan's trust. Roegar explains that after he became a man of peace after he killed his drunken father. He is still haunted by his father's murder of his mother. Conan and his new friend are attacked by a number of Vanir, and, in order to save Conan's life, Roegar is forced to kill. Conan and Roegar survive and become friends.