Conan the Barbarian 34

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance CB-33; next appearance CB-35).

Minor Characters

 * Bourtai (Previous appearance CB-33; next appearance CB-35).
 * The Seven Wizards (Previous appearance for all CB-33; all die in this issue).

Location

 * The city of Wan Tengri in Khitai.

Time Frame

 * One day.

Synopsis
Conan, facing Death herself in the arena, tries to hold her back. Unfortunately, when he grabs her hand he immediately begins aging. With his last breaths, as he grows weak and frail, his hair greying, he asks how one man may rule Wan Tengri, knowing that the answer would be enough to topple the precarious government rules by the seven wizards. Death, impressed with his refusal to simply give in, gives him back his life, and whispers in his ear the key to defeating the wizards. Then Death vanishes, leaving Conan holding the body of Kassar, the man who he had come to rescue. The guards of the wizards leap forward to claim the barbarian's head, and Conan plays them against each other as even the wizards begin attacking amongst themselves, hoping to gain the upper hand. Conan manages to sneak away, led to freedom by Bourtai. The two of them crawl through the underground catacombs and emerge underneath the Flame Tower. Conan kills a lion and guard on his way through the tower, and ultimately finds the princess that Death told him to search for. The girl is chained to her throne, and Conan releases her. He, the Princess, and Bourtai run through the tower, and Conan discovers the machine that creates the flame winds that surround the sky of the city. Whoever controls the flame, controls the city, and down below all out war has broken out between the seven wizards and their soldiers, soon joined by the city folk, desperate for any chance to topple the wizards. Conan decides that the only way to truly end the threat of the wisards is to destroy the flame winds, and he topples the coal that feeds the wind. Their power truly destroyed, the wizards are set upon and killed by the citizens. The Princess rewards Conan with a galley and boxes full of treasure, which Conan is happy to accept. However, as he and Bourtrai sail away, the Princess reignites the flames, and magically transports her treasure back to her, leaving Conan and his companion adrift on the lake.

Reprinted

 * Conan Saga #70
 * The Chronicles of Conan Volume Five: The Shadow in the Tomb and Other Stories