Savage Tales 4

=Night of the Dark God=

Creators
Writer: Roy Thomas

Penciller: Gil Kane & Neal Adams

Inker: Diverse Hands

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous chronological appearance in CB-164; next chronological appearance in first story of ST-1).

Minor Characters

 * Mara (First and only appearance to date; dies in this issue). Cimmerian maiden.
 * Thorfel and his men (First and only appearance to date; all die in this issue). Vanir brigands.
 * Brogar and his men (First and only appearance to date). Pict sailors.

Location

 * A lake in Vanaheim, near the Cimmerian border.

Time Frame

 * Several days. It has been about four years since Conan left his home.

Synopsis
Conan, feeling a longing for home has ridden straight through to Cimmeria and his home village, which he discovers has recently been raided by Vanir and a childhood friend taken. He tracks the Vanir and borrows a boat from a fisherman to finish the journey to the Isle of Swords. He finds an boatload of dead Picts floating on the sea, and takes a surprisingly lightweight statue he finds on board with him on his journey. Finally, he reaches the Isle of Swords and begins to spy on the Vanir encampment. The Vanir find his boat and take the statute to their camp, but for them, the statue is impossibly heavy. Conan makes his way into the camp, killing witnesses, nutil he finds the drinking-hall, where Mara is about to be an unwilling bride to the brigands' leader, Thorfel. Before ayone to act, though, Mara steals Thorfel's dagger and plunges it into her chest. Enraged, Conan bursts from hiding and begins to slaughter the brigands. The odds begin to turn against the barbarian, until the doors burst open and the hall is full of the dead Pict sailors, resurrected by the Dark God statue that sits in the hall. Conan is free to find and kill Thorfel, then he sails quietly away.

Reprinted

 * Conan Saga #10
 * The Savage Sword of Conan Volume One

=The Origin of the Crusader, Part 2=

=The Dweller in the Depths=