Conan the Barbarian 140

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-139; next appearance in CB-141).

Minor Characters

 * Captain Lupos Davalte (First appearance; next appearance in CB-141).
 * First mate Fhrank (First appearance; next appearance in CB-141).
 * Bokus (First and only appearance to date). Sailor
 * Nupa (First and only appearance to date; dies in this issue). Sailor
 * Sondra (First and only appearance to date). Serving wench
 * Theta (First appearance; next appearance in CB-141).
 * Pietra (First and only appearance to date). Sailor
 * Droga (First and only appearance to date; dies in this issue). Sailor

Locations

 * Border Kingdom
 * Shikri River

Time Frame

 * One day

Synopsis
A drugged Conan is dragged aboard Lupos Davalte's ship. When he wakes up, he pummels the guard Nupa and goes to the deck where he confronts Lupos, but is taken down and tied up by the crew. Lupos wants to kill Conan but Fhrank, who seems annoyed by the captain, convinces Lupos to make Conan an oarsman instead. Conan is chained below deck and the captain sits in his room remembering how the night before, Conan interrupted his carousing with the wench Sondra and embarrassed him in front of the whole tavern, so Lupos had his ale drugged and Conan brought on board. The next day while placed on oar duty, Conan is taunted by the sailor Nupa, who chokes Conan with his whip. Conan turns the tables and kills Nupa, and then takes his place on the oars when the body is discovered by the other crewman, although all the oarsman remain silent. Meanwhile, Lupos teases the girl Theta, much to Fhrank's continued annoyance. Soon the entire crew disembarks along the riverside to replenish supplies, with all the oarsmen shackled together by the neck. Exploring the treeline, they find a skeleton covered in webs, and when the sailors Pietra and Droga investigate further, Droga is attacked by an unseen force that causes Pietra to run off screaming. The group crosses a chasm on a log, but one of the slaves slips and they all tumble off the log, choking or breaking their necks because of the manacles. Only Conan manages to stand his ground, holding the dead bodies up by the dangling chain. Fhrank runs to help and unlocks Conan's manacle and they continue. Soon they encounter what looks like hanging moss, but closer inspection shows Droga wrapped in what in reality is a web. Theta screams as monstrous spiders crawl out of the trees and advance on the party...

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 18 - Isle of the Dead and Other Stories