Conan the Barbarian 128

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-127; next appearance in CB-129).

Minor Characters

 * Noyo (First appearance; next appearance in CB-129). Khitain princess.
 * Laynnen (First appearance; next appearance in CB-129). Cimmerian.
 * Dreeme (First appearance; next appearance in CB-129). Son of Laynnen and Noyo.
 * Pau-Styss (First appearance; next appearance in CB-129). Khitain wizard.

Locations

 * Cimmeria
 * The Black Kingdoms

Time Frame

 * A day

Synopsis
Conan stumbles through a harsh Cimmerian blizzard and sees a house; he pushes his way inside and collapses. When he awakens, he finds he is in the house of his childhood friend Laynnen, who has taken a Princess of Khitai as his wife and lives in self-imposed exile from his tribe, as he is a more a gentle poet than a barbarian. His wife, Noyo, has been cursed by a Khitain wizard to be a living wind. Their conversation is interrupted by mysterious sounds outside, and when they investigate, a group of hawk-men swoop from the sky and grab Leynnan. As Conan regroups, the image of the Khitain wizard Pau-Styss appears, he who caused Noyo to flee Khitai in the first place, and demands Noyo return to him. Back at his castle, Pau-Styss tells Laynnen it was not he who cursed Noyo but rather her position as chosen of the Khitain gods to know the secrets of four items that bear the power of the cosmos. Pau-Styss sought the items and for years battled Noyo until she cast a spell turning her into the wind and fled the combat. After five hundred years, Pau-Styss has tracked her down and kidnapped Laynnen in order to obtain the cornerstones of creation. Meanwhile, Noyo has informed Conan of the whole story and together they agree to find the objects and save Laynnen. Noyo transports herself, Conan, and Dreeme to the prehistoric-like Black Kingdoms, where, among the dinosaurs, lays the Sword of Strength. But as they approach the altar on which the giant sword is placed, the ground opens up, and green-skinned giants rise from the earth - the Warriors of Eternity...

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 17 - The Creation Quest and Other Stories