Conan the Barbarian 119

Major Characters

 * Conan (Last chronological appearance in CB-118; next appearance in CB-120).

Minor Characters

 * Jenna (Last appearance in CB-118; next appearance in CB-120).
 * Drogin (First appearance; no further appearances to date). Conan's Grandfather.
 * Ravenna (First and only appearance to date). Monstrous wizard.

Locations

 * Southern Shem

Time Frame

 * A day

Synopsis
Conan grows restless while the village celebrates the defeat of Myya L'rrasleff and decides to leave. Jenna chooses to follow him and the two ride for a bit until it is time to make camp. Conan still feels uneasy; for some reason he is recalling his grandfather, Drogin, who helped school him in the ways of the wild when Conan was a boy, and who, when he became too old, walked alone into the mountains to die, much to Conan's anguish. Jenna falls asleep while Conan tells the take, and a man approaches - the living embodiment of a young Drogin! Conan thinks he sees a ghost but when the man convinces him he is flesh and blood, Conan attacks and knocks the man down, but the realization that this IS his grandfather stops Conan from making the killing blow. Drogin tells him to follow him and they approach a glowing portal that Drogin bids Conan enter. Although he is unsure, he can't quite resist his grandfather's words and they nter the mystical light. They step out in a swamp, and Drogin leads Conan to the castle of his master, an incredibly obese wizard named Ravenna. Ravenna welcomes Conan and has a mighty feast prepared served by beautiful women, and Drogin tells his tale. As he trudged through the snow mountains all those years ago, waiting to die, he encountered the spirit of Ravenna, who was trapped in his castle far away. Ravenna offered Drogin a youthful body if they could share it so Ravenna could experience the world. Drogin agreed and with Ravenna sharing his mind, they wandered the world, experiencing wonders and delights, until Drogin grew weary and wished for release. Conan assumes Drogin wants him to kill Ravenna and advances menacingly on the wizard, but Revenna tells him he needs to defeat the enemies in the next room. Conan enters and confronts Yag-Kosha, the ape Thak, and a Devil Beast of Nergal before realizing he is hallucinating due to Revenna's magic. Still, when Belit appears and mocks him, Conan fights back, insisting it is not truly Belit, and then suddenly awakens shackled to a table with a shambling mound of tentacles and green hair - Revenna's true form. Drogin had lured Conan here so Conan can take his place as Revenna's companion. Bonding with the monster allows Revenna to feel and experience everything, but the body is merely a shell and all emotions and feelings are sucked away by Revenna. The thing starts to merge with Conan, but Conan resists, and Drogin finally snaps and begins to attack the creature. Conan breaks free and slices at it with his sword, and the monster blasts the two back to their dimension, although Drogin has regained his age. He apologizes to Conan and walks off to die again, and Conan returns to Jenna.

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 15 - The Corridor of Mullah-Kajar and Other Stories