Savage Sword of Conan 97

=The Leopard Men of Darfur=

Creators

 * Writer: Michael Fleisher
 * Artist: Pablo Marcos
 * Letterer: Richard Parker

Major Characters

 * Conan (Last appearance in CB-83; next appearance in CB-84).

Minor Characters

 * Anya (first and only appearance to date)
 * Tomak Tharn (first and only appearance to date; dies in this issue).
 * Lesuthi Pa (first and only appearance to date). Wongolo tribesman of Darfar.
 * Tirzan B'Alreq (first and only appearance to date).
 * Rajid (first and only appearance to date)
 * Surkan (first and only appearance to date)
 * Nzinga (first and only appearance to date). Queen of the Amazons
 * Noutu Fah (first and only appearance to date; dies in this issue). War chief of the Leopard Men.

Location

 * Stygia
 * Darfur

Time Frame

 * A week

Synopsis
A scantily clad girl dances in front of a fire to the appreciation of three admirers, when suddenly Conan crashes the party, slaughtering the tribesmen and taking the girl, Anya. Her father has hired Conan to retrieve her from Tomak Tharn, against her wishes as she loves the tribal chieftan, but Conan is not deterred. After tying her to a tree when they make camp at an oasis, they are attacked by camel-riding slavers. Meanwhile, Tomak Tharn finds the remains of Conan's ambush, vowing to find his woman and punish her kidnappers. As Conan is forced to march by the slavers, he gets to know Lesuthi Pa, an enslaved Wongolo tribesman attached by chains to Conan and Anya. Although the scholarly Lesuthi Pa seems to have come to terms with his enslavement, Conan was merely biding his time until he could get the drop on his captors. He manages to take out a couple, and although Lesuthi Pa is willing to fight to the death beside Conan, the Cimmerian decides it would be wiser to flee with his companions. Pa trips in the tall grass, bringing Conan and Anya to the ground with him, but luckily the grass shields them from pursuers, who decide tracking the escapees is not worth it. They make their way to a small estate and are greeted by its lord, Tirzan B'Alreq. They explain how they escaped slavers, and B'Alreq opens his doors to them, but has his servant Tajid fetch the nearby village guard. As Conan and his companions ravenously feast, the guard arrives and a fight breaks out. Conan and his companions are victorious, but are forced to flee just before Tomak Tharn and his men, following a trail left behind by Anya, arrive. Armed and in relative safety for the moment, Conan is able to break the chains connecting him to Lesuthi and Anya. As they plan their next move, a giant python stretches from the trees and wraps itself around Anya. An annoyed Conan kills the beast, making sure she knows he's saved her only because the reward stipulated she be alive. Soon, Conan steals a canoe from the cannibalistic Duhwolu tribe, and the three continue their journey on the river. Unfortunately, they are paddling into a waterfall, and the group goes over the edge. They manage to swim to the shore only to find themselves facing a tribe of zebra-mounted Amazons. They are captured and put in hanging cages, but that night Queen Nzinga has Conan released and bound, and brought to her. She attempts to seduce the bronze-skin barbarian, but Conan breaks free of his bindings, kills her black panther protectors, and drags her out of her hut by the hair, demanding his companions be set free. As they ride away on zebras, Pa explains how an tribesman such as he became educated. The Wongolos, his tribe. had been attacked and beaten by a tribe of shape-shifting leopard men ruled by the war chief Noutu Fah. He demanded that the hearts of infants be brought to him as a sacrifice, but Pa's mother fled with her infant son and gave him to a group of passing traders. He was raised far from his home jungles but vowed to return. Pa leads his companions to a witch woman who blesses his quest and gives him a magical spear and several days later they arrive at the valley of the Wongolo tribe, still enslaved these many years later by the leopard men. As the three spy on the village from above, Noutu Fah himself, along with a few of his men, sneak up behind them. The war chief transforms into his leopard man form and Lesuthi Pa attacks. Pa is easily swatted aside, although Conan manages to put up a bit of a fight. He, too, however, is outmatched until he manages to blind Noutu Fah with one of the golden discs Anya was using to create a trail for Tomak Tharn to follow, and he grabs the sacred spear, stabbing Fah in the throat. Seeing this, the Wongolo slaves take up arms and revolt. As the victorious tribe celebrates, Anya asks Conan how he ended up with the disc, and he tells her he knew she was creating a trail, so he gathered up some of the pieces, and steered the trail into a valley of carnivorous plants. He's in no hurry, but he still plans to deliver Anya to her father in Luxor!

Reprinted

 * Savage Sword of Conan, vol. 9