Conan the Barbarian 124

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).

Minor Characters

 * Atreah (Previous appearance in CB-123); dies in this issue.
 * Jonnwalli (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).
 * Dukenrik (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).
 * Murilo (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).
 * Yvonna (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).
 * A Waif (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).
 * Petroccia (Previous appearance in CB-123; next appearance in CB-125).
 * Eilaynia (Previous appearance in CB-123); dies in this issue.
 * Mayalla (First and only appearance to date0; dies in this issue.

Locations

 * Pergona, Ophir

Time Frame

 * Two days

Synopsis
The alchemist Eilaynia informs Conan that he will serve her, but Conan obviously scoffs at this despite Petroccia's assurances that her magical mists will compel him. They do, in fact, cause him to fall asleep and when he wakes up, although he can vocally complain, finds he cannot resist when she tells him to follow. She leads Conan to her bedchamber and explains that thousands of years ago, she was Princess of the kingdom of Nincenno, and she fell in love with a wandering alchemist named Mayella who taught her his craft. But Mayella was a spy for a conclave of wizards who sought to destroy Nincenno, and did so even though Mayella had a change of heart and and fought against him. Mayella was condemned to a living death between the earth, and millennia later, Eilaynia, the only survivor of Nincenno, wants him to suffer more and has been at war with him for centuries. She has lured men down below to fight for her, and constant exposure to her controlling mists turns men into the toadlike creatures that serve her. Conan doesn't seem to fight her commands when she compels him to bed her. Meanwhile, at the entrance to the mine above, Jonnwalli and Dukenrik wait with some of Murillo's soldiers when they see something creeping inside the caverns. Back in Pergona, Yvonna has had the waif girl cleaned and pampered, but then is shocked when the formerly silent girl begins to speak menacingly towards her. In the caverns, Eilaynia gathers her army with Conan at the lead and prepares to send them out against Mayella, but Conan notices Atreah and isn't among them. The army moves for some time until they find Mayella's group, led by a controlled Murilo! The two armies clash, and Conan knocks Murilo unconscious as his army wins the battle. They press forward and find a gleaming palace constructed in the cavern, Mayella atop one of its spires. The sorcerer throws potions of fire at the soldiers, but Conan climbs up the tower wall and confronts Mayella. Ultimately, Conan tosses him from the tower and when Mayalla hits the ground, dead, his body ages into a thousand-year old skeleton. Eilaynia arrives and, seeing Mayella dead, immediately regrets the conflict and in her despair orders a confused Conan to drive his sword into his own heart. Conan has no choice but to obey but suddenly Eilaynia's tower of mists collapses, along with her powers over men. Returning to the tower, Murilo and Conan see Atreah's body. He was not affected by the mists and while all were gone, found the source of Eilaynia's power and destroyed it, causing the tower to collapse and kill him while freeing the others. A furious Conan turns his sword to the woman, but she is also rapidly aging and soon collapses, skeletal, onto Mayella's bones.

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 16 - The Eternity War and Other Stories