Conan the Barbarian 46

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous chronological appearance in first story of SSOC-34; next appearance in CB-47).

Minor Characters

 * Merdoramon (First appearance; next appearance in ??). Magician.
 * Stefanya (First appearance; next appearance in CB-47).
 * Shokotth of the Many Stones (First and onl appearance to date; dies in this issue). Golem made of stones.
 * Zoqquanor (First appearance as corpse; next appearance in CB-47). Deceased sorcerer.

Location

 * The Haunted Lands and the village of Sfanol in the Border Kingdoms.

Time Frame

 * A few days. The events of ST-4 have taken place "a few months gone."

Synopsis
Conan travels south through the Border Kingdoms in the region known as the Haunted Land. He is being followed by Yemli, humanoid demons who are keeping their distance, but herding Conan to some unknown destination. Eventually, they send him to Merdoramon, a magician who tasks Conan with taking a magical amulet to Themas Herklar, regent of Phalkar, to the east. A bag of gold makes the deal attractive to Conan, and he falls asleep to find the odd magician gone in the morning. Conan begins the journey and enters the small village of Sfanol, where he sees a girl, Stefanya, in the process of being burned at the stake for her service to the sorcerer Zoqquanor. Never one to let a pretty girl die, Conan rescues her and discovers that the girl is mysticaly bonded to Zoqquanor, and though the sorcerer has died, she must ensure the safety of Zoqquanor's remains lest she die herself. They head to Zoqquanor's keep, which was recently razed by the villagers, only to find the place protected by the living statue Shokkoth of the Many stones. Conan manages to use the chemicals in Zoqquanor's lab to melt the creature into its component stones, and in the next room, they find the body of Zoqquanor, and Stefanya vows to return the sorcerer to life...

Reprinted

 * Conan Saga 81
 * The Chronicles of Conan Volume Seven: The Dweller in the Pool and Other Stories