Marvel Feature Presents: Red Sonja #2 (Marvel Comics, 1975)

Red Sonja surprises a sleeping brigand in the woods by waking him with a poisonous Hyrkanian Asp placed on his chest at swordpoint. Sonja robs him of his possessions, including a strange gold key that she tucks into her armored bra. After gloating, she rides away to the outskirts of Khishtam to find a drinking establishment of ill repute.

While quaffing flagons of ale, she recites a strange inscription engraved on the key which says "Quinca Hepla Balek Hepla Nestro". The barmaid screams that the name Balek is steeped in evil! And just like that, someone steals Sonja's horse (that she stole from the brigand)

Sonja steals another horse and chases down the horse-jacker, who turns out to be a crippled teenager with a missing leg. After the kid runs into a tree, she retrieves her horse and returns to the tavern to get drunk, but finds everyone inside dead and lying on the floor. The barmaid scribbled a map in her own blood.

Sonja rides off, with the kid riding beside her, into a battle where Gromlic's Band is surrounded by and fighting Picts. She aids Gromic's men and succeeds in driving the Picts away. It turns out that the kid is named Dunkin and that he's Gromlic's son. Dunkin feels inferior because of his injury, and sulks away after challenging Red Sonja to a duel.

Red Sonja follows him to the river, where they talk about the key, an old mage, and his confidence with women. Dunkin kisses her to prove he is a man (and strangely, she lets him). Then, the two are interrupted by a dying man of Gromlic's party who brings them back to see that everyone is dead and lying on the ground, just like at the tavern earlier.

Sonja believes that she is cursed, knocks out Dunkin so he cannot follow her, and rides off alone in search of the mystery of the golden key. After camping in the woods overnight, she wakes to find Dunkin murdered beside her.

The terrified Sonja rides off again, but discovers the earth scorched, towns burned, and all of the water poisoned on her journey. She believes that she is the cause of this and collapses to the ground. When she wakes, she finds a poisonous coral snake on her chest. The snake slithers off.

The brigand whom she robbed earlier stands above her, laughing. Before he kills her, he reaches into her saddlebag to retrieve the stolen key, but finds a poisonous coral snakebite instead. He dies, and Sonja drinks his water (which is not poisoned)

She rides off in search of the old mage named Neja, whom Dunkin mentioned earlier.