Conan the Barbarian 151

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-150; next appearance in CB-152).

Minor Characters

 * Osiirans and Yggdars (First appearance for both tribes; no further appearances to date). Most die in this story.

Locations

 * Cimmeria

Time Frame

 * Two days

Synopsis
Conan rides back to his camp in the snow-covered Cimmerian hills with a slain deer when a desperate giant hawk swoops from the sky and attempts to grab him. Conan is carried away but manages to break free, finding himself lost in the hills. He spies smoke in the distance and comes across a ransacked fort, the one remaining living soldier gives Conan a locket before he expires. A rider approaches, expressing surprise that Conan is from neither the Yggdar or Osiiren clans, but when he tries to take Conan's cloak Conan makes short work of him and claims the horse. He begins to ride away but is knocked over by a panther. Before the creature can reach Conan's throat, it is called off by a man who is aiming an arrow at Conan's heart. He suspects Conan is a Yggdar, but when Conan shows him the locket, the man explains that it belongs to his fiance, who was taken by the Yggdar. The man takes Conan to see his father, king of the Osiiren, who tells Conan how the two tribes warred for control of the valley for ages, the Yggdar creating powerful war machines, but the Osiiren able to channel their life energy into devastating beams of force. Eventually, the Osiiren retreated into their castle and turned their attentions to knowledge and art, while the Yggdar's retreated to their caves and became more savagely inclined. Conan and the Osiiren prince return to the valley to find his beloved, and come across a small war party who have the captive woman. Conan and his companion and panther attack, but they kill the girl before are all the Yggdar are slain. Suddenly, they notice flames coming from the stronghold and realize the main Yggdar forces have attacked the castle. The two men rush back but the castle has already been sacked and all are dead. Conan agrees to help get revenge, and the two head toward the Yggdar's caves were they are celebrating in front of an idol of their death god. Conan sneaks behind the giant statue and pushes it forward, crushing those underneath while the fleeing Yggdars are picked off by the Osiiren's arrow and attacked by the mountain lion. Soon, the man uses his powers to bring the entire cavern structure down, and although a few Yggdar families escape, most are dead as Conan rides away.

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 20 - Night of the Wolf and Other Stories