King Conan 4

Major Characters

 * Conan (Last appearance in KC-3; next appearance in the framing sequence of KC-5).
 * General Pallantides (Last appearance in KC-3; next appearance in the framing sequence of KC-5).
 * Conn (Last appearance in KC-3; next appearance in ??.
 * Thoth-amon (Last appearance in KC-3; dies in this issue).

Minor Characters

 * Mbega (Last appearance in KC-3; next appearance in ??).
 * Rimush (First and only appearance to date; dies in this issue). Priest.
 * Princess Nzinga (First appearance)
 * Trocero (Last appearance in KC-3; next appearance in the framing sequence of KC-5).
 * Lilit (First and only appearance to date; dies in this issue).

Locations

 * Zembabwei
 * Yanoga

Time Frame

 * Several days

Synopsis
Conan and Mbega watch as the priest Rimush attempts to commune with the spirits to find the location of Thoth-Amon. He is able to say the wizard is south, near a waterfall and a giant skull, but suddenly dies. Conan prepares to head south, taking with him Mbega's best troops and Amazons who have arrived from his old ally Queen Nzinga and led by her daughter, also called Nzinga. Pallantides is too injured to make the trip, although he gives Conan the idea to use the wyverns along with Nzinga's army. Flying south, they find a cave entrance in the form of a giant skull, but a magical barrier shocks the the wyverns into falling from the sky. Conan manages to control his descent, though two of his comrades die. When the survivors get their bearings, Conn points out a large golden temple against the mountain side and the procession of women that are emerging to greet them. Conan takes half of his men into the temple for a three-day party in their honor thrown by Queen Lilit. As the women seduce the men one by one, Conan is drugged into a slumber. Luckily, Conn sees that the reflection of the girl he has wandered off with is of a serpent-man, and kills her. Meanwhile, Lilit prepares to stab Conan but is stopped by Thoth-Anon, who wants to kill Conan himself. Their argument ends with the arrival of Trocero, Princess, Nzinga, and their armies, and Lilit is quickly slain. They watch in horror as the body turns into a serpent-man right before her eyes, and the rest of Lilit's people shift to their true forms and attack. In the ensuing melee, Thoth-Amon spirits Conan's unconscious body away, preparing to sacrifice him to Set, but Conan revives and leaps at the wizard, the two engaging in a battle both spiritual and physical, until suddenly Thoth-Amon shrieks and falls dead, stabbed by Conn, who had followed. Thoth-Amon's body crumbles to dust, and Conan takes his magical serpent ring and throws it into a nearby river. Father and son return to the cave to assist in the vanquishing of the serpent-men.

Reprinted

 * King Conan Volume One - The Witch of the Mists and Other Stories