Conan the Barbarian 160

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-159; next appearance in CB-161).

Minor Characters

 * Vezek, Gurneg, and various brigands (First and only appearance to date). All die in this issue.
 * Unnamed musician (First and only appearance to date).

Locations

 * Border Kingdoms
 * Ophir

Time Frame

 * Two days

Synopsis
Traveling through a city in Ophir, Conan is ambushed by a pack of brigands he had previously driven off the road, led by Vezek, whose arm Conan cut off in the process. Conan is assisted by a local musician, who warns him of an attack, and Conan manages to take only a grazing blow to the temple rather than a sword to the back. The brigands run as the town guard approaches, but the hit to Conan's head has caused him to go temporarily blind. The musician leads Conan to a healer, who bandages Conan's eyes, but Conan is tracked down by Vezek and they are forced to sneak out the back. In the forest, Conan works on fighting blind, coached by the musician, and that night their campsite is attacked. However, having anticipated this, the two men laid in wait themselves and attacked the brigands by surprise, the musician calling out to Conan where to swing his sword and what to avoid. When Conan whittles the brigands down to two, Vezek and Gurneg, the two thieves flee but Conan, recalling this road, knows what's up ahead. They enter a mountainous area and Conan finds an old mine, which he spends much time littering with debris and then familiarizing himself with, much to the musician's curiosity. Suddenly, a hurled dagger flies into the musician's stomach and Vezek nd Gurneg approach silently. With the musician out of commission, the two men think Conan will finally be brought down, but Conan has planned for this and puts out the candles and lamps. Having memorized the ground, he is at an advantage in the pitch black and makes short work of the brigands as they trip and fumble in the darkness. The next morning, Conan and the bandaged musician stumble out of the cave and Conan is gratified to see his sight has returned.

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 21 - Blood of the Titan and Other Stories