—ConanI lost my mount coming to this place, so I wanted another. This looks like a good one... one well worth riding twice.
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; dies)
Antagonists:
- Hanuman (First appearance; dies)
- Sophos (First appearance; dies) (Main story and flashback)
- Anaximander (First appearance; dies) (Main story and flashback)
- Sophos' Guards
- Numerous unnamed guards (First appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Crom (Invoked)
- Death (Vision or hallucination)
- Devil (Mentioned)
- Ivan (First appearance)
- Moon-God (Mentioned in narration or thoughts)
- Mitra (Invoked)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Horses
- Abstract Entities (Vision or hallucination)
- Ghosts (Mentioned in narration or thoughts)
- Gods of Earth (Mentioned)
- Vultures (Mentioned)
- Buzzards (Mentioned)
- Jackals (Mentioned)
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 "Savage Tales is Dead! Long Live Savage Tales!"
- A text article discussing real world characters or events, as such no conventional appearances.
Synopsis for "Savage Tales is Dead! Long Live Savage Tales!"
A text article detailing the changes coming to the Savage Tales title.
Appearing in "The Legacy of Greenberg, Part II of The Hour of the Gnome"
- A text article discussing real world characters or events, as such no conventional appearances.
Synopsis for "The Legacy of Greenberg, Part II of The Hour of the Gnome"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "Spell of the Dragon"
Featured Characters:
- Brak the Barbarian (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Jonel (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Valena (First appearance; dies)
- Unnamed Dragon-Thing (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
- Khurdisan the Golden (Mentioned in narration or thoughts)
- Unidentified Village
- Dead Place
Items:
- Brak's Broadsword
Events:
- Age of Blood[1]
Synopsis for "Spell of the Dragon"
Appearing in "The Legend of the Lizard Men"
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 (First appearance) (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-616 (Main story and flashback)
- 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)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
Items:
- Iranda's Crown (First appearance)
Synopsis for "The Legend of the Lizard Men"
Notes
Publication 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.
- The synopsis for "The Secret of Skull River!" was provided by the Conan Wiki.
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ Savage Tales #6 's recap