Appearing in "Night of the Gargoyle!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Arlinna / "Lady Asqueth" / "Merriam" (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
- Baron Takkim (First appearance; dies)
- Thieves (First appearance)
- Armand (First appearance)
- Womar of the Single Eye (First appearance)
- Brutos of he Weak Mind (First appearance)
- Krono (First appearance)
- Lun-Faar (First appearance; dies)
- Tavashtri (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- The Thief-God Bel (Mentioned)
- Unnamed Khitan ambassador (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Lady Asqueth (Mentioned)
- Ishtar (Invoked)
- Zhadorr (Only in recap)
- Mitra (Invoked)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Dragon-Head of Koblar-Zann
Events:
Synopsis for "Night of the Gargoyle!"
Conan has finally made his way to Arenjun, which he saw the last time in Conan the Barbarian #4. While trying to drink his memories of the journey away, Conan notices a young woman in a window. He follows her and assists her in escaping a small group of thieves. The woman, Arlinna, is being blackmailed by Baron Takkim to steal a treasure from the khitan merchant Lun-Faar, and allows Conan to safely escort her to his quarters. She knocks Conan out and makes her way to Lun-Faar, who believes she is Lady Asqueth, there to view his artifacts, including a giant gargoyle statue. Arlinna attempts to steal the Dragon Head of Koblar-Zann but is caught by Lun-Faar, who beats her and turns her loose. He wants to see who she is working with, and orders the gargoyle, in reality a demon bound by the merchant's willpower, to kill her compatriot. Meanwhile, Conan has recovered and tracks the girl, who confesses everything. The two go to Baron Takkim, so Conan can have words with him, but the gargoyle attacks and kills Takkim first. It then turns to Conan, but the fight with Conan so drains the mental energy of Lun-Faar, that his mental control snaps, and the demon, furious at being controlled, flies away to exact its revenge on its former captor. Conan and Arlinna, unsure what has happened, decide to head back to his place once again.
Notes
- Freely adapted from "the Purple Heart of Erlik", by Robert E. Howard.
- Synopsis by YardIHS.
- between this and the following issue take place the events of "Curse of the Undead-Man", published in Savage Sword of Conan #1: In Arenjuns Maul Conan mets Red Sonja again and encounter the undead argossean wizard Costranno, whom the both help to a second death.