Unsurprisingly, our tale begins with Conan in a bar in the city of Shadizar. Our Cimmerian bemoans the fact that it’s been four years and he’s no further along then when he first embarked on his life of adventure. As the barbarian thinks to himself, he hears a minstrel singing and one drunk patron begins to heckle the poor entertainer. 

Ever the savior of the underdog, Conan tells the drunken patron to leave the minstrel alone. Naturally, an all out brawl ensues, and Conan and the bard (whom we learn is named Laza-Lanti) decide to hightail it out of the inn before the city guard arrives. They’re too late.

Sitting together in their jail cell, Conan comments that Laza-Lanti seems cheerful, but there is something melancholy in his music and his lyrics. Noting that Conan is correct, he recalls and sings a tune from his childhood (which also happens to be Robert E. Howard’s poem.)

Laza-Lanti tells Conan that somehow, he believes the Lord of Dark Valley, as mentioned in the poem, is his father. And he feels compelled to rid the valley of the menace. Ironically, Laza-Lanti produces a large dagger from inside his lute after finishing his song.

The jailer, none-too-bright, is surprised – and when Laza-Lanti threatens to throw the dagger at him, the guard unlocks their cell as the two escape into the night. They leave the jailer tied up but unharmed.

Laza-Lanti makes it clear that he is bound for Dark Valley – and as repayment for getting him out of jail, Conan agrees to follow. A brief journey ensues, and soon the pair arrive near the valley just in time to see some people leading a pair of cows towards an open cave. Laza-Lanti approaches one of the men that he knows, indicating he is back and glad to see him. But instead of welcoming the minstrel, he threatens to beat him, swearing that Laza-Lanti’s return will awaken the Lord of the Valley who has left them unharmed for years.

Once again, Conan defends his young friend, grabbing the villager by the scruff of the neck. As the villager explains to Conan how the sacrifices have kept the demon in the hills at bay, the barbarian simply says that they can gang up on and kill the creature.

The villager remains defiant, adding that the creature is not human. Better a cow – or a whole herd of them – be sacrificed than the beast roam free among men, he says.

As the men banter, Lazi-Lanti notices a lovely, scantily clad woman continuing to lead the cattle towards the open cave mouth. Following her from a distance, they are terrified to see a misshapen, eldritch monstrosity consuming the last cow and the woman dancing, mesmerized, in front of the beast.

CAPSULE REVIEW: This story was strange. Haunting and eerie, it’s one of those tales that you’d read as a kid and then have nightmares about later. Roy Thomas has managed once more to take a small sampling of Howard’s work and weave an intriguing narrative around it.

This tale channels the same Lovecraftian feeling that Roy Thomas mustered for his adaptation of the “Tower of the Elephant” story in Conan the Barbarian #4. The ending here is just as shocking as that issue.

I’m not as impresssed with the coloring on this story, although given the ethereal character of the story, the colors get a pass. I’m not sure that Glynis Wein knew quite what to make of this yarn either, and I’m guessing that played some part in the choice of colors. John Buscema’s pencils seem to take on a different appearance here, too, as if he’s drawing for a narrative storybook instead of a regular comic. It all puts the comic into a category of its own.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it an 8.0. On eBay, copies are readily available in ungraded condition for less than $10. If you’re like me and prefer collected trade paperback editions, this story is included in The Chronicles of Conan Vol. 7 – The Dweller in the Pool and Other Stories by Dark Horse.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)