3. Tor Conan #13, Conan the Defiant, Part 4

chapters 15-19

Starting up where last we left off, our group has billeted themselves at the local in. Conan has gone off to inspect the fortifications of Neg's Castle leaving the pair of girls behind. This leads to trouble as Elashi is kidnapped and Tuanne nearly so. Conan's research goes a bit better, finding that the fortress is well guarded..including some sort of giant fish in the moat.. the remaining two set off to find her and her kidnapper. As mentioned in the last installment, Conan had become a theif.. well it was who he thieved from which has landed him in his current predicament. The one thieved from it seems was a Disguise Master, and Conan saw through his disguise before robbing him.. this was insult to injury and needed to be avenged.

Conan defeats the Disguise Master's equally unimaginatively named fighter " Brute " with similar ease to his fight with Malo earlier.. Brutes dieing words were telling Conan where to find Elashi and he again sets off to reclaim the girl. Apparently Mr. Perry had begun to lose steam at this point in regards to his characters names, as the other two of the Disguise Master's cohorts are named Starboard and Port...Tuanne and Conan dispatch them all and rescue Elashi.. All of this episode has seemed to be totally unnecessary except to establish that Conan can dodge arrows thanks to having seen a traveling circus performer do it once as a child.

Meanwhile, Skeer has completed his task and brought the talisman to Neg.. Neg pours them both a glass of wine before giving Skeer his reward.. though not exactly the reward hoped for. He was such an excellent servant in life, Neg has decided to make him a permanent addition to his servants in Death. He's quickly and against his will, put to work gathering the implements which Neg requires to make use of the Talisman in his unholy activities.. which at the moment is the hair of an Unclean woman and he dutifully tromps off down to the village to collect it.

Skeer is observed on his way to town, Tuanne seeing whats been done to him prevents Conan from attacking him. Judging that if Skeer knows Conan is here, then he will assume Tuanne is as well. Which would allow Neg to reassert his control over her. Instead she performs a magic ritual to open the in-between world, in order to get the group into Neg's Fortress. A fortress now home to the newly Omnipotent Neg.

Catching back up with the Tarantula horde.. if less than a dozen can be truly called a Horde.. they've finally managed to gain entrance to Neg's castle as well. They find their quarry already dead.. such an odd concept no doubt to a Tarantula.. but we as readers get an odd and humorous bit as the result of it. Followed by the frightening prospects of Neg's quickly building undead army.. marching from all the length and breadth of the hyborian world to answer his call. Unfortunately this includes Tuanne, leaving Conan and Elashi alone to finish navigating the magic realm she had opened for them.