Conan the Barbarian 144

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-143; next appearance in CB-145).

Minor Characters

 * Valen Triafer (Previous appearance in CB-143; no further appearances to date.
 * Nikolas (Previous appearance in CB-143; dies in this issue).
 * Captain Johell (Previous appearance in CB-143; no further appearances to date.

Locations

 * Cimmeria
 * Solvanthia

Time Frame

 * A few hours

Synopsis
Conan and Valen back away from the lizard-like beast as it approaches. Conan hurls the sword into its side and the beast's thrashing brings down the cavern roof as the two men scamper away. Valen explains that the dragon attacked the village a thousand years ago, and only the forging of a magical sword, wielded by a great warrior, could s top it. The man died but the beast was sealed in the caverns and a golden statue holding the sword was placed at the foot of the mountain to prevent the creature from emerging. But when the sword was stolen, the magic and curse of the sword required the thief's sacrifice to reseal the caverns, so when the sword was passed to Conan, a scheme was cooked up to lure him into the dragon's domain, though Valen could not let him face the beast alone. As Valen and Conan try to find a way out of the collapsed cave, the lumbering beast finds its own exit, the sword still wedged in its side, and breathes fire on Nikolas while Johell hides behind the statue. As the dragon heads towards the village, the sword wedges into a branch and is pulled out, giving the beast even more strength. Johell grabs the sword and follows. Meanwhile, Conan and Valen find a blue wall of glass, and, suspicious, Conan chips at the wall with a rock until it bursts apart, having blocked a raging river. As the cavern fills, the two make their way through the hole to an outside lake, where they find the near-dead body of Nikolas. Beforet he necromancer dies he tells Conan that, as a pure Cimmerian only he can slay the dragon. They follow the trail of carnage to the now-destroyed village and find the Johell unsuccessfully trying to battle the dragon. Conan takes the sword and it glows with power and Conan manages to wound the creature and force it off a cliff where it is impaled on the rocks below and dies, freeing the village.

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 19 - Deathmark and Other Stories