Conan the Barbarian 132

Major Characters

 * Conan (Previous appearance in CB-131; next appearance in CB-133).

Minor Characters

 * Palla Jhet (first and only appearance to date).
 * Gharn (first and only appearance to date). Cimmerian.
 * Jhara-An (first and only appearance to date; dies in this issue).
 * Mira ((first and only appearance to date).

Locations

 * Near the border of Cimmeria and the Border Kingdoms

Time Frame

 * A week

Synopsis
Conan is traveling to Cella to meet his old companion Gharn when he gets involved in a tavern brawl and makes friends with Palla Jhet. Pella tells him about the games about to start at Cella, with the prize a jewel encrusted sword. Palla takes his leave and Conan greets his friend, now hobbled, who wants Conan to stand in for him in the competition so he may sell the sword to earn enough to marry his love, Mira. At the competition, the first event involves crossing a rope over a bear cage. Although the hulking Jhara-An tries to shake Conan off the rope, the nimble Cimmerian makes it to other side. Jhara-An himself is not so lucky, and falls into the bear den, but with his great strength slays the bear. That night, Conan meets Mira, and she manages to drink Conan under the table, much to his surprise. The next day, although a bit hung over, Conan participates in the swimming round of the competition, across a river stocked with crocodiles. Jhara-An once again tries to cheat by attacking Palla and leaving him, bloody, to the crocodiles, but Conan swims back to rescue his friend, and they all make it across. Once again, Mira tempts Conan to drink until he's unconscious, and again, the next morning, a stunned Conan must ready himself for another competition. This time they are placed in a labyrinth and hundreds of hungry rats are let loose to devour the competitors unless they find a rope to climb out. Only three survive - Palla, Jhara-An. and Conan. Despite his protests, Conan again finds himself unconscious that night and with a raging headache the next morning. The three remaining men are tied above a giant roc's nest and are tasked with stealing the egg - the winner to face the huge Nubian guardian of the jeweled sword who has never been defeated. Jhara-An breaks free first and grabs the egg, but is mauled to death by the roc. The other two free themselves and fend off the roc, though Palla is injured. Conan makes his way to the Nubian, and manages to choke the man with his own chain, but when he claims the sword, instantly realizes it is a fake, and tumbles into a recently dug tunnel. At the end of the tunnel lies an injured Gharn, who explains that Mira drugged Conan each night so he would not notice Gharn off digging the tunnel. THey were using Conan to prolong the competition, as usually Jhara-An wins on the second day. But Mira betrayed Gharn and took the sword. Conan races after her, and finds that Gharn, not trusting Mira, drugged her horse so she didn't get far. Conan grabs the sword from her but she explains she needed the money the sword will fetch for her family, and that her brother, who tried to win the sword the honest way, was Palla! Conan sighs and leaves the sword for Palla to find while he and Mira decide to celebrate, this time without wine...!

Reprinted

 * The Chronicles of Conan 17 - The Creation Quest and Other Stories