"Lair of the Ice Worm" by L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter (1967) Originally appeared in Conan of Cimmeria, 1969. Plot: Conan saves a young Virunian woman named Ilga from the Beast-men of Hyperborea. They can not get down off the glacier in time so they have to spend a night in a cave. During the night Ilga gets up and wakes off while Conan remains in a magical sleep. In the morning he finds her half-eaten body. Conan realizes he is dealing with a remora, or ice worm, and tracks it to its lair. he destroys it by throwing a helmet full of coals into its gullet. Monsters: The Beast-men of Hyperborea - savage, apish men of Hyperborea, further down the evolutionary scale than humans The Remora or yahkmar- the ice worm of legend with its furry body and hypnotic eyes. History: This story was written as a bridge between "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" (which also takes place in the cold north) and the tropical "Queen of the Black Coast". Carmine Infantino & Alfred Alcala's Snow Worm from Savage Sword #34 (October 1978)
|
1
1