Zurga was a Barachan Pirate who made his base of operations a winery in the slums of the port-city of Tortage in Zingara. He was originally allied to Conan of Cimmeria, Verucca, a slaver out of Tortage and the ruthless Melitus in a united effort to pillage the trade coming and going between Zingara and Argos.

As the quartet of pirate's wealth and prestige grew, Zurga sided with Verucca and Melitus in a bid to eliminate their Cimmerian ally. Though the trio failed to kill him, they did succeed in driving Conan from the city for a time. As news spread that the kingdom of Zingara had entered into a pact with its rival nation Argos to jointly rid the seas of the pirates that plagued their waters, Conan returned to Tortage under cover of darkness and killed Verucca for his part in their betrayal.

It was as Zurga was returning with a hoard of pirated booty from a Stygian vessel that he was confronted on the docks by Conan, who both informed him of the deaths of Melitus and Verucca, as well as warned him of the joint efforts to rid the seas of the pirates.

Zurga conceived a plan to use the Ravena, the daughter of a local wizard named Ziostes to control the winds and the waves to give the pirate fleet an advantage over the Argossean and Zingaran ships.

Ziostes kept to his part of the bargain and with his magic, the pirates overcame the allied fleet and destroyed many of their ships. During the battle, Zurga and his crew fled the area with Ravena in an attempt to lure Conan to an isolated spot where they could kill him. The Cimmerian gave chase, and a brief clash ensued on the coastline of a remote beach.

It was at the point that Ravena’s father appeared, and revealed himself to be Tritus, “King of the Air and Water. Who collects all debts and forgives no unpaid debtors.”

Tritus used his power to turn the bodies of his daughter’s abductors into sand, collecting the salt of their anguished tears that he may return to his realm. In an instant, Zurga perished and was reduced to bones as the waves knocked over the sand that comprised his form.

Tritus spared Conan’s life, leaving the Cimmerian alone on the beach with the skeletal remains of Zurga and his crew.