Savage Sword of Conan 78

=Demons of the Firelight!=

Creators

 * Writer: Michael Fleisher
 * Penciller: John Buscema
 * Inker: Ernie Chan
 * Letterer: Joe Rosen

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous chronological appearance Savage Sword of Conan #71; next chronological appearance in first story of Savage Sword of Conan #79).

Minor Characters

 * King Maklos (First appearance; next appearance in in first story of Savage Sword of Conan #79); King of Turbin-D'Qhat
 * Gabrelle Pok (First appearance; next appearance in in first story of Savage Sword of Conan #79)
 * Derth, Lament (First and only appearance to date). Soldiers of Turbin-D'Qhat
 * Norlar, Trelinka (First and only appearance to date). Members of Conan's army

Location

 * Corinthia
 * City-State of Turbin-D'Qhat

Timeframe

 * Several weeks

Synopsis
The army of Turbin-D'Qhat is in retreat from the forces of Rh'Brr P'Hmenn, but the retreat is a ruse by Conan to entrap and wipe out the men of Rh'Brr P'Hmenn. The survivors are tortured and executed by King Maklos, to the displeasure of Conan and his men. The king and his advisers note the discomfort and arrange an ambush at a celebratory party that evening, but Conan grows aware of the attack and rallies his men, though fully half are killed in the battle. For some weeks, Conan and his men conduct raids on the king's holdings and even draw peasants to his side, so the king commissions an alchemist to devise a way to stop him. One night, demons emerge from the fire to attack Conan, though nobody else can see them and rumors about Conan begins to spread. It turns out Conan's concubine is working for the king's alchemist, Gabrelle Pok, and while he is working on bringing a corpse to life, the concubine is magically creating demons only Conan can see. Nearly a quarter of Conan's army deserts him so he resolves to attack the castle in three days time. When the alchemist discovers this, he leverages the threat into demanding half the kingdom from Maklos for his aid in defending it. Soon, Conan's reduced army stands before the city's gates...