Conan the Barbarian 135

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-134; next appearance in CB-136).

Minor Characters

 * Merya (First and only appearance to date). Border Kingdom Witch
 * Cleon (First and only appearance to date)
 * Arawn (first and only appearance to date). Forest god.

Locations

 * The Border Kingdoms

Time Frame

 * A week

Synopsis
Conan has been scouting in the employ of a Border Kingdom outpost when he is waylaid by a band of Picts. During his return to the outpost, he kills a deer for meat and glimpses a great stag in the forest. That night a woman approaches him, saying this land is her lord's, and seduces Conan. When he awakens the next morning, not only is the woman gone, but so is the entire forest, leaving Conan alone in an empty plain. With no trees, though, the mountains where the outpost is located is clear, and within the day he is back at the fort and meets with his friend Cleon, who makes a good amount of money having bet favorably on Conan's return. The barkeep at the villager tells Conan that a witch has been seducing and turning men into wild beasts, and that night an owl bursts into the common sleeping room. The owl transforms into the stag Conan saw and charges, pinning Conan to the wall. Suddenly, Conan is shaken awake by the other men from his dream and they notice the head of the deer Conan killed laying next to him in the bed. The men recognize the omens, and for the next several days stay away from the cursed Conan. His nightmares continue and he gets a leave of absence to find the witch as the men of the outpost bet with Cleon against Conan's survival. He heads to the valley which, at sunset, turns once again into a forest, and finds the witch, Merya. She claims that she was shipwrecked in Pictland and while fleeing the Picts was rescued by Arawn, a god of the forest, who wanted her as a bride. When she reacted with shock, he cursed her to live in the enchanted forest for seven years, and in that time she has been trying to find a champion to defeat Arawn or she will be trapped forever. Conan has no interest in helping until she tells him she is carrying Conan's child. Conan doesn't entirely believe her, but he is attacked by a stag nonetheless and, in killing the beast, is crushed underneath it. A small group of animals appears to escort Merya to Arawn, and she goes with them. Soon, Conan awakens and pushes the dead stag off and follows. He shoots an arrow into the stallion that carries Merya to a portal where Arawn awaits, and then Conan attacks the host of animals. Eventually the incredulous god himself takes form and attacks Conan, who is sorely outmatched until he notices that the sparks from Arawn's ax as it hits rock seems to affect him. Conan uses some flint to create a fire and it causes great pain to Arawn who retreats through his portal and frees Merya and Conan from the curse. Merya dies the death she should have seven years ago and Conan returns to the outpost, making Cleon even richer.

Reprinted

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