SHLIME

Real Name: Shlime

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Reality-81165) extraterrestrial (Backworld) magic-user

Occupation: Sorcerer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Reanimated servants/"Kells" (Ghort, Phork, others unidentified), his pet;
    formerly Bront (Emmanuel Cody)

Enemies: Amazons (Axomeen, Soreana, others unidentified), King Balok, Bront, Katrin, a whampa, unidentified princess (Balok's daughter), unidentified sorcerer;
    unidentified farm boy (not really an enemy of Shlime, but given the chance, I bet Shlime would have tried to get rid of him and take Balok's daughter back...or maybe Shlime would have been too afraid of Balok's sorcerer to try again)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Slime" (nickname from Bront)

Base of Operations: A castle atop misty crags raised far above the surface of an unspecified waterway (his castle is located in the second fjord relative to the location in which his servant claimed Bront from the Amazonian women), Backworld, Reality-81165

First Appearance: Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 (August, 1982)

Powers/Abilities: Shlime had a number of mystic abilities, including reanimating deceased men (only men were seen anyway) and using them as servants that he could then mentally and/or verbally direct. He could project his mind to view distant events and speak into the minds of others. He could cause a stone bridge to crumble into pieces in a matter of seconds; he did this from a great distance, acting through one of his reanimated servants. He may have had other abilities, but these are the only ones he demonstrated.

    His legs are an immobile block of solid limestone, which rather limits his mobility; he has his reanimated servants carry him. He describes himself as thusly, "...my torso is that of the greatest wizard who ever breathed...while my lower half has been reduced to a toilet for pigeons."

    Shlime had knowledge of other worlds beyond Backworld, including a number of locations on modern day Earth. The origin and extent of this knowledge is unrevealed (see comments). He's also a bit off mentally, and is something of a pervert; he apparently has no problem with sexual assault on a young woman.
    Shlime's age (and whether there is any variation from normal human aging) is unrevealed. He was likely more powerful and or physically robust in his youth; and certainly before he was rendered hemi-petrified.

    Shlime has a library of mystic (and other?) knowledge.

Height: Unrevealed; perhaps 5'2" (standing); 2'8" sitting (his permanent position since the petrifaction)
Weight: Approximately 743 lbs.; perhaps 110 lbs. pre-petrifaction
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: None (possibly had hair in his youth)

History:
(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - King Balok concealed his daughter by some means (general or specific) that prevented her discovery by the sorcerer Shlime (and perhaps others).

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - On multiple occasions, Shlime mystically perused the castle of King Balok, despite an unwritten code among the wizards that disdained snooping. Shlime consistently found something interesting in Balok's castle.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) <At some point, during an evening in July> - Bored, Shlime was absently perusing the countryside via his black magic. In re-visiting Balok's castle, Shlime discovered Balok's beautiful daughter, who had been hidden from him for the previous 18 years.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking a closer look at Balok's daughter, Shlime sent some of his reanimated servants to bring the young woman to him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Limited in their ability to process information, etc., Shlime's servants roughly abducted Balok's daughter (apparently putting her in a sack and carrying her over their shoulders) and failed to cover their tracks. A messenger soon relayed the direction in which the reanimates had taken the daughter.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Recognizing Shlime's nature and abilities, Balok enlisted another, unidentified sorcerer.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - The unidentified sorcerer conjured up and plagued Shlime with "seven straight nights of screaming horror and boiling diarrhea...hurt like Hell...I let the wench go, but not before some, er, recreational activity, however!"

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Balok was reunited with his daughter, and the shrieking hordes left Shlime alone. That night, however, Shlime suffered progressive pain in his legs that culminated in his waist down being turned to solid limestone ("Toward morning I was, you'll forgive the expression, completely stoned...The cheap bastard couldn't even afford marble!").

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - One month later, Balok's daughter apparently became pregnant via some farm boy and she ran off with him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Shlime searched his library for a cure and eventually found one, an antidote that grew in the topmost branches of the monkey-puzzle tree, which grew within a sea of fire five days journey from Shlime's abode.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Shlime sent three of his undead slaves, but each one of them dropped over within arm's reach of the tree, "like horseflies on a nork's tail."
    Something about the lake of fire interfered with his control over his servants, leaving them truly dead and inanimate...or close to it.

(Savage Sword of Conan#65/2 (fb) - BTS) - A starship from Emmanuel Cody's world deposited cylinders onto Backworld; the former Cody arose from one and was eventually captured by a group of Amazonian women.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Shlime sent one of his undead servants -- with whom the amazons were experienced, and who they knew as the Kell -- via a boat to capture Bront and bring him to him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 / Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 (fb) - BTS) - As the "Kell" stared at them, Shlime, acting in unseen fashion through his servant, caused the stone bridge to crumble, and the amazons fell into the water. Bront was struck by a rock and rendered unconscious. Shlime had his servant reach into the water and drag Bront to the surface, then -- speaking through his servant -- guiding him to gently lift Bront over the boat's gunwale (the upper edge of a boat's side).

    As the undead servant brought Bront to Shlime's home, Shlime rambled on, admiring Bront's physique (and telling his servant not to look, but rather continuing rowing), after which he chided the servant for nearing missing the second fjord, and then for dripping water all over Bront. Arriving at Shlime's home within the misty mountains, the servant carried Shlime up the steps to a room, and all the while Shlime chided the servant and noted Bront's powerful form would serve him well. Shlime sent the servant out of the room, so as to not contaminate it further, and instructed him to summon three other servants.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 - BTS) - The latter three servants changed Bront into new clothes made from fheta-skin.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2) <Hours, minutes, or days later> - Speaking telepathically, Shlime awakened Bront and guided him -- via a game of "hot and cold" through his base, explaining that his servants were dead and thus could not speak. As Bront entered his chambers, Shlime greeted him, assuring he meant no harm and wondering if he liked the costume. When Bront noted the clothes were fine, Shlime apologized somewhat, noting that the barbarian thing is a bit “de la rue,” (uneducated, scruffy, sort of homeless) but that he was never partial to those stuffy office clothes. Realizing he was prattling on while Bront must be starving, Shlime had a servant bring in some mushroom soup (he hoped Bront could tolerate it as it was nearly all the undead servants were capable of preparing). At Bront's request, Shlime introduced himself, then answered Bront's query of where he was with, "M-m, yes, where are you? Where indeed, am I? Where are any of us these days? >Heh-Heh< It's a moot point, don't you think? Is it drafty in here to you? I can't tell anymore."

    Shlime then summoned another servant, the warrior Ghort, to test Bront's fighting ability. Fully armored and wielding a shield and axe, Ghort shattered the chair Bront tried to use against him, at which point Shlime considered that the barbarian thing was a bit of a bore, and perhaps Bront would look better in a buccaneer outfit. As Ghort nearly smashed Bront's head with his axe, Shlime advised Bront that Ghort was the castle champion. When Bront grabbed Ghort's axe-holding arm, only for Ghort to swing Bront into the air and then smash him against the wall, Shlime mockingly marveled at Bront's "graceful" moves. After Bront got his feet against Ghort's head and ribs, pinned his arm, knocked him to the ground, and began battering him, Shlime commended him on his performance; but Shlime halted the fight, as Bront couldn't kill Ghort any more dead than he already was. As Shlime sent Ghort away to polish his armor, Bront angrily asked who Shlime was and why he was just sitting there like a statue while making wisecracks about his clothing. Acting as if offended, Shlime opened his robe to reveal that he was indeed half-statue, his legs an immobile block of stone.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2) - Carried by one of his servants (who he chastised for the rough travel), Shlime led Bront through his home to another chamber/throne from which Shlime detailed his own origins. Rightly suspecting that Shlime intended for him to obtain the cure, Bront intended to depart, until Shlime told Bront he knew who he was and could send him home. Shlime gave Bront a heavy battleaxe (which Phork had sharpened) and a dagger, and them mentally guided him along the way.
    Bront hacked his way through thick wooden branches until he came upon a still-living man suspended by his upper arms from a tree branch. Ignoring Shlime's orders to ignore the man, Bront cut him down, only find the man to actually be a monstrous being. Shlime instructed Bront to stab the being with his silver dagger, but when this failed to subdue the creature, Shlime considered that Phork must have given Bront the wrong dagger. At Shlime's guidance, Bront then threw his battleaxe to cleave the creature's head right between the eyes, which indeed fell the creature.

    Shlime continued his guidance, leading Bront over a ridge and to a cave; as he approached, Bront was unaware he was being watched by several man-creatures armed with axes and other weapons.

(Savage Sword of Conan#81/2) - As Bront expressed reluctance to enter the cave, questioning whether it was necessary, Shlime assured Bront he was seeking to cure his own malady and wouldn't lead Bront astray. Soon after, however, Shlime realized he actually had made a mistake and that this was the wrong cave, but it was too late to stop Bront from being ambushed by at least seven dwarven creatures; armed with battle-axe-like weapons, they swiftly subdued Bront.

(Savage Sword of Conan#81/2 - BTS) - The dwarves bound Bront's hands and feet to a pole and carried him through the caverns to their mistress, Katrin.

(Savage Sword of Conan#81/2) - Bront awakened near the end of the trip and futilely attempted to re-establish mental contact with Shlime, and his one-sided conversation amused Katrin. Intrigued, she wondered what else he could do, and his responses led her to have him brought to her bed and left there (hands still bound). Once alone, she tried to establish a carnal relationship, but while Bront was also interested, Shlime then re-established their rapport and instructed him to leave "Crazy Katrin" behind. Annoyed by both Shlime and Katrin's responses to his own responses to Shlime, Bront departed Katrin's abode, fighting his way past a number of dwarves in the process.
    Outside, Shlime protected Bront from the airs as he approached the flaming sea surrounding the monkey-puzzle tree; this took all of Shlime's concentration. Shlime then alerted Bront of the approaching Whampa (a giant lizard-creature) and guided Bront (including the use of a "cerebral nudge" that drove Bront off of a rocky prominence he had climbed to escape it) to slay it with a stab to its forehead. After Bront skinned the Whampa and wrapped himself in its flesh, which protected Bront from the flames (during which time Bront had a brief flash of memory, thinking he could make a fortune selling the hide to...places he couldn't remember), Shlime had him climb the tree, pluck the desired fruit, and then get out of the sea of flames before the whampa hide dissolved into powder (though the impending dissolution may have been a threat or a joke Shlime used against Bront). Though Bront considered a brief rendezvous with Katrin, Shlime urged him to return to his base, as the deal wasn't complete until the fruit was in his hands.
  After following a safe path back to Shlime's base and listening to Shlime's instructions to trust him, Bront withheld the fruit from Shlime, demanding to first learn where he was from. Shlime quickly told him he was from St. Louis, and when Bront had never heard of St. Louis, Shlime corrected himself as having meant Mars...and then Altair Seven...and then Phobos. Despite Shlime's insistence that Bront's memory was still weak, Bront turned and headed out of Shlime's chambers, taking a bite of the fruit as he did so. Shlime desperately warned him that the fruit was full of worms...would give him diarrhea...would make him impotent...Bront apparently finished the fruit (or discarded it) and left Shlime's castle behind.

Comments: Created by John Buscema, with aid from Bruce Jones.

    When Bront first attempted to leave Shlime, intending to "head home," Shlime replied, "Indeed? And where might that be...Venus? Jupiter? Boise, Idaho?"
    While apparently attempting to trick Bront into giving him the fruit/cure, Shlime ratted off a number of locations, including St. Louis, Mars, Altair Seven (apparently a fake planet, used in various sci-fi stories), and Phobos (one of Pluto's moons).
    Shlime also referenced "an evening in July" when he "visited" King Balok's castle.
    One has to wonder where Shlime was from or how he knew so much about modern day Earth, but I think it was most likely that Bruce Jones was just having fun with the character, and having him make comments the readers might find amusing. Or perhaps Shlime could mystically view Earth.

    Throughout Savage Sword of Conan#80/2, Bront called Shlime "Slime" even after being corrected by Shlime. By #81/2, however, Bront was calling him the right name.

    When Bront was reluctant to enter a cave, Shlime told Bront some of Shlime's dearest friends live in caves. Again, he was either just be whimsical, or he does have friends in caves...or he has pretty much no friends, so anyone in a cave is as close as anyone else.

    In comics (as well as mythology, and other sci-fi/fantasy media), at least, it is very common that when there is a single sexual encounter, the woman is impregnated. I would have to wonder, therefore, whether Balok's daughter gave birth to Shlime's child...and perhaps she and/or her husband believed it be from their own union.
    Further, I'd guess that Shlime had had his way with the girl before the sorcerer set the painful spell upon him...since the torment didn't end until Shlime released the girl, you'd think he'd have been to desperate to end the pain to delay for such dalliance (and it makes sense that he would have acted almost immediately upon her arrival), but, you never know...

    Shlime's castle was within some misty mountains. I had thought the text had referenced those words and figured it was a play on Led Zeppelin's Misty Mountain Hop...but then I couldn't find the reference, so maybe it was just me doing it subconsciously in my text.

    Thanks to OHotMU engineering guru Mike Fichera for providing an estimation of how much Shlime would weigh with a lower half made of limestone.

    Like Soreana of the Amazonian tribe, Shlime also referenced "Great Zharn!" ... (presumably some deity or historical figure; and Shlime once apparently misspoke, referencing "Great Zhan!")

    Shlime sent three of his undead slaves, but each one of them dropped over within arm's reach of the tree, "like horseflies on a nork's tail."
    I don't know what a Nork is; perhaps some sort of equid creature.

    The barbarian costume Bront got from Shlime was made of fheta-skin...some sort of furred creature.

    The title of the Bront story in Savage Sword of Conan#79 was misspelled, "In the Halls of Shilme."

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Shlime should be distinguished from:

Balok

    Balok was another resident of Backworld and the king of an unspecified realm. When Shlime had his 18 year old daughter abducted, Balok enlisted an unidentified sorcerer who mystically tortured Shlime until he sent the daughter back home.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - King Balok mystically concealed his daughter by some means (general or specific) that prevented her discovery by the sorcerer Shlime (and perhaps others).

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - On multiple occasions, Shlime mystically perused the castle of King Balok, despite an unwritten code among the wizards that disdained snooping. Shlime consistently found something interesting in Balok's castle.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) <At some point, during an evening in July (see comments)> - In re-visiting Balok's castle, Shlime discovered Balok's beautiful daughter.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Shlime sent some of his reanimated servants to bring the young woman to him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Limited in their ability to process information, etc., Shlime's servants roughly abducted Balok's daughter  and failed to cover their tracks.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - A messenger soon relayed to Balok the direction in which the reanimates had taken the daughter.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Recognizing Shlime's nature and abilities, Balok enlisted another, unidentified sorcerer.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - The unidentified sorcerer conjured up and plagued Shlime with "seven straight nights of screaming horror and boiling diarrhea" Shlime released the girl after some "recreational activity."

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Balok was reunited with his daughter, and the shrieking hordes left Shlime alone.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - That night, however, Shlime was turned from waist down into solid limestone.

--Savage Sword of Conan#80/2

 

Balok's daughter

    Her name unrevealed, she was the daughter of King Balok and dwelled within a castle in an unidentified realm. Her existence was kept secret for her first 18 years. When Shlime had her abducted, Balok enlisted an unidentified sorcerer who mystically tortured Shlime until Shlime sent her back home, but not before he had apparently had his way with her.
    One month later, Balok's daughter apparently became pregnant via some farm boy and she ran off with him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - King Balok mystically concealed his daughter by some means (general or specific) that prevented her discovery by the sorcerer Shlime (and perhaps others).

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) <At some point, during an evening in July (see comments)> - Mystically viewing Balok's castle, the sorcerer Shlime discovered Balok's beautiful daughter, who had been hidden from him for the previous 18 years.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Shlime sent some of his reanimated servants to bring the young woman to him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Limited in their ability to process information, etc., Shlime's servants roughly abducted Balok's daughter (apparently putting her in a sack and carrying her over their shoulders) and failed to cover their tracks.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - A messenger soon relayed to Balok the direction in which the reanimates had taken the daughter.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Recognizing Shlime's nature and abilities, Balok enlisted another, unidentified sorcerer.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - The unidentified sorcerer conjured up and plagued Shlime with "seven straight nights of screaming horror and boiling diarrhea" Shlime released the girl after some "recreational activity."

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Balok was reunited with his daughter, and the shrieking hordes left Shlime alone.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - One month later, Balok's daughter apparently became pregnant via some farm boy and she ran off with him.

--Savage Sword of Conan#80/2

 

 

 

Balok's sorcerer

    Balok enlisted this unidentified sorcerer to recover his daughter after Shlime had had her abducted. The sorcerer conjured up forces to torture Shlime until he sent the daughter back to Balok.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - King Balok concealed his daughter by some means (general or specific) that prevented her discovery by the sorcerer Shlime (and perhaps others).

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) <At some point, during an evening in July (see comments)> - Shlime discovered Balok's beautiful daughter.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Shlime sent some of his reanimated servants to bring the young woman to him, though they left an obvious trail that allowed Balok to recognize Shlime's involvement.

 

 

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Recognizing Shlime's nature and abilities, Balok enlisted another, unidentified sorcerer.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - The unidentified sorcerer conjured up and plagued Shlime with "seven straight nights of screaming horror and boiling diarrhea." Shlime released the girl after some "recreational activity."

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Balok was reunited with his daughter, and the shrieking hordes left Shlime alone. That night, however, Shlime suffered progressive pain in his legs that culminated in his waist down being turned to solid limestone ("The cheap bastard couldn't even afford marble!").

--Savage Sword of Conan#80/2

Note: It is unrevealed whether Balok had anything to do with the daughter being previously concealed from Shlime. For that matter, we don't know anything about the sorcerer beyond what it discussed above...even Shlime had no idea who he was.

 

 

Shlime's base

 

    Shlime lived within a castle apparently carved into or built atop a mountain. It was situated along a water way, in the second fjord. It was filled with long passageways and lengthy sets of stairs. There were occasional chandeliers and candles, but despite otherwise being surrounded by solid stone with very few windows, pretty much the entire castle was bright enough to see by; perhaps this was Shlime's magic, or some property of the stone. It had a dining room, library, and bedchambers, at least. Some walls were sealed with bars, and there was at least one skeleton just hanging out in a concave section of a wall in a passageway.

    Shlime lived alone, served by and his only company being his reanimated but deceased servants.

 

--Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 (80/2 (fb), 79/2-81/2

 

 

 

 

 

fruit/cure

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 - BTS) - In his library, Shlime discovered the cure for Shlime's hemi-petrified condition: A fruit the grows in the topmost branches of the monkey-puzzle tree, which grows within a sea of fire five days journey from Shlime's castle. However, when Shlime sent three reanimated servants to fetch the fruit, each of them dropped over within arm's reach of the tree; Shlime felt that something in the lake of fire interfered with his ability to control the servants' minds; "They became even deader than normal..."

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2) - Shlime protected Bront from the airs as he approached the flaming sea surrounding the monkey-puzzle tree. Shlime then alerted Bront of the approaching Whampa (a giant lizard-creature) and guided Bront (including the use of a "cerebral nudge" that drove Bront off of a rocky prominence he had climbed to escape it) to slay it with a stab to its forehead. After Bront skinned the Whampa and wrapped himself in its flesh, which protected Bront from the flames (during which time Bront had a brief flash of memory, thinking he could make a fortune selling the hide to...places he couldn't remember), Shlime had him climb the tree, pluck the desired fruit, and then get out of the sea of flames before the whampa hide dissolved into powder (though the impending dissolution may have been a threat or a joke Shlime used against Bront). Though Bront considered a brief rendezvous with Katrin, Shlime urged him to return to his base, as the deal wasn't complete until the fruit was in his hands.
  Not trusting Shlime, Bront withheld the fruit from him, demanding to first learn where he was from. Bront didn't believe Shlime, who rattled off a number of places in succession that Bront shot down. Bront then headed out of Shlime's chambers, taking a bite of the fruit as he did so. Shlime desperately warned him that the fruit was full of worms...would give him diarrhea...would make him impotent...Bront apparently finished the fruit (or discarded it) and left Shlime's castle behind.

 

--Savage Sword of Conan#80/2

 

 

 

Ghort

 

    One of Shlime's reanimated servants, Ghort was used as a warrior; he was the castle champion, meaning he could fight better than the other reanimated corpses in Shlime's castle.

 

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2) - Shlime summoned Ghort to test Bront's fighting ability. Fully armored and wielding a shield and axe, Ghort shattered the chair Bront tried to use against him and then nearly smashed Bront's head with his axe. Bront grabbed Ghort's axe-holding arm, only for Ghort to swing Bront into the air and then smash him against the wall, but then Bront got his feet against Ghort's head and ribs, pinned his arm, knocked him to the ground, and began battering him. Shlime subsequently halted the fight, as Bront couldn't kill Ghort any more dead than he already was. Shlime then sent Ghort away to polish his armor.

--Savage Sword of Conan#79/2

 

 

 

reanimated servants/"Kells"

 

    Via magical means, Shlime reanimated an unspecified number dead men (at least, only males were shown) to act as his servants. Following simple instructions, they traveled and acted out tasks for him (even before his hemi-petrifaction), carried him when he needed to be transported, cooked, cleaned, etc. He could mentally direct/control his servants over at least a distance of several miles. He could direct multiple servants at once, but the number he can control is uncertain. His servants could only follow simple orders, and presumably only follow them literally. The lake of fire surrounding the monkey puzzle tree interfered with Shlime's control, and they collapsed and were left no more than a simple corpse as they approached the tree.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Seeking a closer look at Balok's daughter, Shlime sent some of his reanimated servants to bring the young woman to him. Limited in their ability to process information, etc., Shlime's servants roughly abducted Balok's daughter (apparently putting her in a sack and carrying her over their shoulders) and failed to cover their tracks. A messenger soon relayed the direction in which the reanimates had taken the daughter.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb) - BTS) - Balok enlisted a sorcerer who mystically tortured Shlime until he sent Balok's daughter back, after which the sorcerer turned Shlime's lower half into stone.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2 (fb)) - Shlime sent three servants to obtain the antidote for his hemi-petrifaction, a fruit that grew in the topmost branches of the monkey-puzzle tree, which grew within a sea of fire five days journey from Shlime's abode; each one of them dropped over within arm's reach of the tree.
    Something about the lake of fire interfered with his control over his servants, leaving them truly dead and inanimate...or close to it.

(Savage Sword of Conan#65/2 (fb) - BTS) - A starship from Emmanuel Cody's world deposited cylinders onto Backworld; the former Cody arose from one and was eventually captured by a group of Amazonian women.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Shlime sent one of his undead servants -- with whom the amazons were experienced, and who they knew as the Kell -- via a boat to capture Cody, who had become known as Bront and bring him to him.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 / Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 (fb) - BTS) - As the "Kell" stared at them, Shlime, acting in unseen fashion through his servant, caused the stone bridge to crumble, and the amazons fell into the water. Bront was struck by a rock and rendered unconscious. Shlime had his servant reach into the water and drag Bront to the surface, then -- speaking through his servant -- guiding him to gently lift Bront over the boat's gunwale (the upper edge of a boat's side).

    As the reanimated servant brought Bront to Shlime's home, Shlime rambled on, admiring Bront's physique (and telling his servant not to look, but rather continuing rowing), after which he chided the servant for nearing missing the second fjord, and then for dripping water all over Bront. Arriving at Shlime's home within the misty mountains, the servant carried Shlime up the steps to a room, and all the while Shlime chided the servant and noted Bront's powerful form would serve him well. Shlime sent the servant out of the room, so as to not contaminate it further, and instructed him to summon three other servants.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2 - BTS) - The latter three servants changed Bront into new clothes made from fheta-skin.

(Savage Sword of Conan#79/2) <Hours, minutes, or days later> - Speaking telepathically, Shlime guided Bront through his base, explaining that his servants were dead and thus could not speak. Shlime had a servant bring in some mushroom soup (he hoped Bront could tolerate it as it was nearly all the undead servants were capable of preparing).

    Shlime then summoned another servant, the warrior Ghort, to test Bront's fighting ability. Fully armored and wielding a shield and axe, Ghort shattered the chair Bront tried to use against him, at which point Shlime considered that the barbarian thing was a bit of a bore, and perhaps Bront would look better in a buccaneer outfit. As Ghort nearly smashed Bront's head with his axe, Shlime advised Bront that Ghort was the castle champion. When Bront grabbed Ghort's axe-holding arm, only for Ghort to swing Bront into the air and then smash him against the wall, Shlime mockingly marveled at Bront's "graceful" moves. After Bront got his feet against Ghort's head and ribs, pinned his arm, knocked him to the ground, and began battering him, Shlime commended him on his performance; but Shlime halted the fight, as Bront couldn't kill Ghort any more dead than he already was. Shlime then sent Ghort away to polish his armor.

(Savage Sword of Conan#80/2) - Carried by one of his servants (who he chastised for the rough travel), Shlime led Bront through his home to another chamber/throne Convincing Bront to help him find a cure for his hemi-petrified state in exchange for sending Bront back to his real home, Shlime gave Bront a heavy battleaxe (which Phork had sharpened) and a dagger, and them mentally guided him along the way.
    After Bront unwittingly cut down and was attacked by a monstrous being, Shlime instructed Bront to stab the being with his silver dagger, but when this failed to subdue the creature, Shlime considered that Phork must have given Bront the wrong dagger. At Shlime's guidance, Bront then threw his battleaxe to cleave the creature's head right between the eyes, which indeed fell the creature.

--Savage Sword of Conan#80/2

 

 

 

Phork

 

 

    Another of Shlime's reanimated servants, he supplied Bront with the weaponry he took on his quest to find the cure for Shlime's hemi-petrifaction. While he was supposed to give Bront a silver dagger, he apparently gave him a regular dagger; he did, however, sharpen the axe Bront used to slay an attacking beast-man.

 

--Savage Sword of Conan#80/2

 

 

 

images: (without ads)
Savage Sword of Conan#79/2, pg. 2, panel 2-3 (reanimated/Kell boatmen full and face);
        pg. 4, panel 2 (mountains/fjords around Shlime's base);
        pg. 7, panel 6 (Ghort, profile);
        pg. 8, panel 1 (Ghort, frontal);
        pg. 10, panel 6 (Shlime, main image);
    #80/2, pg. 1, panel 1 (reanimated servant carrying Shlime);
        pg. 2, panel 4 (standing Shlime performing magic);
            panel 5 (Balok's daughter);
        pg. 3, panel 2 (Balok);
            panel 3 (Balok's sorcerer);
            panel 4 (Shlime assaulted by Balok's sorcerer's demons);
            panel 5 (Balok & daughter reunited);
        pg. 4, panel 5 (monkey puzzle tree);
        pg. 5, panel 4 (with pet lizard);
            panel 6 (Phork);
    #81/2, pg. 11, panel 2 (fruit);
        pg. 12, panel 8 (Balok's castle)

Appearances:
Savage Sword of Conan#79/2-81/2 (August-October, 1982) - John Buscema (art/plot), Bruce Jones (script), Danny Fingeroth (associate editor), Louise Jones (editor)

Last updated: 01/01/15

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