Conan the Barbarian 13

Major Characters

 * Conan (Last appearance in second story of SSOC-91; next appearance in first story of SSOC-120).

Minor Characters

 * Thanix (First appearance; dies in this issue). Desert dweller.
 * Lea (First appearance; no further appearances to date). Thanix's daughter.
 * Tork (First appearance; no further appearances to date). Shadizar spy.
 * Modar (First appearance; dies in this issue).

Location

 * East of Ophir, likely Corinthia.

Time Frame

 * A week.

Synopsis
Conan is attacked by marauders near an oasis. Surprisingly, Conan is defeated and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he stumbles throough the sands for some time. After having a vision of a giant spider, he finally arrives at an oasis and is helped by an elderly desert dweller, Thanix. The old man tells Conan about Omm, the spider-god worshipped in the Zamoran city of Yezud, and that the priests have kidnapped his daughter to be sacrificed. In return for saving his life, Conan travels with Thanix to Yezud and quickly runs afoul of Yezud's soldiers. Conan and Thanix are tossed into the dungeon where all the sacrifices are kept. Conan causes a distraction to allow Tork, a spy from Shadizar, to escape. Tork has a plan to destroy the city by creating a rockslide in the caverns underneath the town. Conan is brought to Modar, the high priest of Omm, for sacrifice, and sees the gigantic spider the town worships. Conan breaks free and throws the frail priest into the spider's web where he is killed. Conan is pushed into the web himself, but manages to fend off Omm. The wounded spider tries to crawl back into its cave but Conan doesn't stop stabbing and beating it. The twonspeople, furious that the barbarian treats its god so, attacks, and Thanix is killed. At that moment the city starts to collapse into the ground as Tork has succeeded in sabotaging the tunnels. Conan and Thanix's daughter, Lea, escape, and Lea and Tork go to Shadizar as Conan continues his wanderings.

Reprinted

 * Conan Classic #11
 * Conan Saga #5
 * Essential Conan
 * The Chronicles of Conan Volume Two: Rogues in the House and Other Stories