Appearing in "The Secret of Skull River!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Unnamed blind man (First appearance)
- Naia (First appearance)
- Lord Mayor Thuribald (First appearance)
- Grandall (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Hanuman (First appearance)
- Sophos (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
- Anaximander (First appearance)
Other Characters:
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Iron-Bound Books of Skelos (Mentioned)
- Hidden Scrolls of Vathelos the Blind (Mentioned)
Events:
Synopsis for "The Secret of Skull River!"
Conan, on the way to Shadizar, comes across a blind seer prophesying danger at the river called Skull. Conan ignores him, but soon encounters a deformed giant of a man, named Hanuman, and only succeeds in the battle by toppling the wretched creature off a cliff. Conan stumbles to a nearby stream, badly injured, and as he falls into the water perceives a skull grinning at him from its depths. Conan loses consciousness, but regains it a week later in the home of Thuribald, mayor of a small village. The mayor and his daughter, Naia, have found him and nursed him back to health in hopes that he can stop the pollution of the river by the mage Anaximander, who is under the employ of a man named Sophos, and conducting unknown experiments the byproduct of which taint the river and slowly rot the skin and weaken those who drink from it. Thuribald and Naia are unaffected because, in return for "favors" from Naia, they are provided a small supply of pure water. They promise Conan anything he wants from the village if he defeats the two pollutors, and Conan agrees, but not before he samples some of Naia's favors himself. Conan makes his way to the small keep, but is swiftly captured and thrown into an arena with another hulking giant, but this time Conan manages to communicate with it and discovers that the two giants were brothers captured by the sorcerer and mutated into giants. Anaximander has promised to return the giant, Grandall, to his normal state, but Conan and Grandall soon discover that is not possible. They also find out the purpose behind the experiments when Anaximander uses a potion to turn a metal statue into solid gold. Conan and Grandall attack and kill Sophos and Anaximander, but the giant loses his life in the process. Conan returns to the small villages and claims his reward. To Naia's humiliation, he chooses a fine horse and rides away.
Appearing in "Spell of the Dragon"
Chamber of Chills #2
Featured Characters:
- Brak the Barbarian (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Jonel (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Valena (First appearance; dies)
- Dragon-Thing (Unnamed) (First appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Villagers (Mentioned)
- Jonel's father (Mentioned)
- Brak's Horse
- Yob-Haggoth the Unspeakable (Invoked)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-73012[1]
- Khurdisan the Golden (Referenced)
- Village (Unnamed)
- Dead Place
Items:
- Brak's Broadsword
Events:
- Age of Blood[2]
Synopsis for "Spell of the Dragon"
Chamber of Chills #2
Brak the barbarian seeks the magical aid of a witch in his quest to slay a dragon, but she betrays him by telling the beautiful village headman's daughter that Brak is wounded and sends her after him. Part of her spell requires that he slay the first human he gazes upon after killing the beast and she despises beautiful young women. When Brak returns to the witch he has a red sash draped over his head and the witch feels as though she had seen it before. He tells her that it belongs to the headman's daughter and he used it to prevent him from gazing upon any until he returned to the witch. She tries to slay him with a spell, but his sword arm is faster. The headman's daughter comments as he leaves the witch's hovel that it was fortunate the sun blinded him from seeing her until he could fasten the sash about his head.
Appearing in "The Legend of the Lizard Men"
Astonishing Tales #9
Featured Characters:
- Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder) (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- Zabu (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
- Queen Iranda (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Fall People (Main story and flashback)
- Unnamed Old Man (Only in flashback)
- Lowani (Main story and flashback)
- Numerous unnamed tribesmen (Main story and flashback)
- Lizard-Men (Only in flashback)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Smilodon (Main story and flashback)
- Lizard-Men (Main story and flashback)
- Pythons (Mentioned)
- Tigers (Mentioned)
- Jaguars (Mentioned)
- Mastodons (Mentioned)
- Boars (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- Antarctica (Main story and flashback)
- Savage Land (Main story and flashback)
- Castle of Iranda (First appearance)
- Savage Land (Main story and flashback)
- Antarctica (Main story and flashback)
Items:
- Iranda's Crown
Synopsis for "The Legend of the Lizard Men"
Astonishing Tales #9
When Ka-Zar goes in search of missing women and men from a local village, he finds the woman, Iranda Queen of the Lizard-Men. She takes him to her castle where he sees one of the missing women. When he tries to rescue her, the Lizard Men attack him. He is barely able to escape but when he does, he takes Iranda's crown with him. With her crown gone, at moonrise her enchantment wears off and she becomes a Lizard being. After she dies, her enchantments fade and the Lizard Men turn back into the missing warriors from the village.
Notes
The Secret of Skull River! was freely adapted from a plot by John Jakes.
- The Secret of Skull River! was reprinted in color in Conan the Barbarian #64.
- Synopsis by YardIHS.
