Rahan. Episode Sixty-Nine. By Roger Lecureux. The weapon of terror. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Rahan.
The son of the fierce ages.
Episode Sixty-Nine.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Andre Cheret.

The weapon of terror.

The men who had chased him reappeared between the charred trees and the son of Crao resumed his course. The charred branches cracked under his feet and with each stride he raised a cloud of charred dust.

Oh. Perhaps these caves lead to the other side of the hills?
The fugitive had a choice, since six caves were available to him!

As he rushed towards the one that seemed the largest, a clamor of fear rose behind him.

Page Two.

And He noticed that his pursuers stood still, as if stunned by a sacrilegious act!
Perhaps this cave is sacred to them? In this case, Rahan will be safe from their spears!

The clan, intoning a funeral chant, in fact withdrew.
The sentences carried by the wind which reached Rahan announced "The imminent death of the hunter with the hair of fire."

Strange!
They announce the death of Rahan and seem to deplore it!
The cave was, in fact, quite small and had no other exit than the entrance.

A lava flow had once been stopped by these hills and the cracks in the ground were full of sand the color of "Fruits of the Sun".

A white powder fell from the crumbly walls, mixing with the black dust carried by the wind.
Hum! Rahan was not the only one to seek refuge here!

Page Three.

As night fell, the son of Crao heard the rumble of a "Gorak"
He is very close! He approaches!

The “Gorak” goes wild when we confront him.
But his fury falls before a lifeless prey!

Lying on his back, Rahan held his breath when the saber-toothed tiger appeared.
But his hand tightened firmly on the ivory knife.

The big beast approached and smelled the man.
When his instinct told him that the life inhabited this body, it was too late for him!

Ra-ha-ha!

For a moment Rahan thought he had been cowardly.
No! In front of a "Gorak" cunning is not cowardly!
But more will come if Rahan does not light a fire.

Page Four.

At the entrance to the cave he cut some dead branches.
His fire, he knew, would keep the wild animals away.

He had discovered flints on the powdery ground.
He made a spark emerge.

And it was terrifying!
With a sound like an angry volcano the cave seemed to burst!
The breath of this fantastic explosion threw the son of fierce ages thirty steps away!
Baroom!

Page Five.

“Hair-of-fire” is still alive!
Thick smoke was still escaping from the cave when hunters discovered him.
His sacrilege nevertheless deserved death!

The shock was so violent that Rahan did not regain consciousness until daybreak.
Men surrounded him.
We were not pursuing you yesterday.

We wanted to tell you how dangerous it is to approach the “thundering caves”!
You should not have run away from us "Hair of Fire."

Rahan does not understand.
He only struck the “Star-Throwing Stones.”
And.

It was enough to unleash the wrath of the cave!

Taiwa, the leader of this clan, related how, one night, his brother had been torn to pieces in another cave.
The unfortunate man believed that the light of his torch would chase away evil spirits!

Page Six.

And yet Arrix had warned him.
We never challenge these evil spirits with impunity!
"Hair of Fire" should be punished for arousing their anger!

Rahan does not believe in "Evil spirits"!
Taiwa's brother had a torch to enter the cave.
And Rahan made a spark.
It is the fire that makes the caves thunder!

Rahan will discover why!
He will prove to Arrix the sorcerer that evil spirits do not exist!
Nothing could have stopped the son of Crao from returning to the mysterious caves.

Arrix still spoke of "Sacrilege", but the hunters admired his courage when he entered the one where he had almost died.

Of the great charred "Gorak", only a few bones and ashes remained.
The smoke and flames had blackened the walls.

Page Seven.

And Rahan noticed a strange thing.
The lava floor was now bare.
The flows of yellow sand, the layer of black dust and white powder had disappeared!

The “dust of the cave” has burned.
And maybe that was the one who thundered!?
In these wild times, such an assumption defied understanding.

But the son of Crao knew nature was capable of very strange things!
An instant later he entered another cave.

Here, the yellow streams were numerous, the trails of coal dust were wide.
The layer of white powder was thick.
Rahan could not know that it was sulfur, and saltpeter.

Worried cries erupted when he appeared with the small piles of powder.
Hair of Fire provokes the evil spirits.
Fear nothing!
Rahan thinks it is one of those powders that "Thunders."
He wants to know which one!

Page Eight.

A little later.
Stay where you are. Rahan will join you!
The son of fierce ages lit fine lines buried in the three powders.

And ran towards the hunters.
Arrix will know that the “Thundering Caves” are not haunted by “Evil Spirits”!

Everyone held their breath.
The little flames gnawed at the vines, approaching the small piles.

They reached the black powder, then the white, then the yellow.
And nothing happened!

“Hair of Fire” wants to deceive our clan!
Kill him immediately!
Arrix-the-witch had triumphed and the hunters stared at the son of Crao with anger.

Page Nine.

But he did not resign himself so quickly to failure.
Wait! The powders may only “Thunder” when mixed!

He made a pile of the three powders and lit the vine.
Again there was silence.
And pointed looks.

And suddenly.
Ka-Boom!
A muffled noise resounded as a high flame rose, which went out almost immediately.
The powder had disappeared.

Does Arrix still believe in “Evil Spirits”?
Rahan was right to believe in the power of powders!
That flame had nothing to compare with those of the caves!

The caves thunder in such a terrifying way, because the powders are there in large quantities and because they are trapped in there!
Rahan will prove it to you!

Page Ten.

The son of Crao had had a new experience that day.
In this bamboo, the three powders should make a loud "Thunder"!
Oh!

As he had almost spilled the powder, he decided to block the bamboo with a plug of clay.
Attention, stay away!

This time the explosion was so strong that, although he moved away, he was thrown to the ground by the blast.
Ka-boom!

Rahan has discovered a wonderful and terrible secret!
The “Two-toothed” themselves would flee before these “bamboos that Thunder”!

This demonstration definitely chipped away at the authority of Arrix-the-sorcerer.
And it was more so in the days that followed.

Page Eleven.

The son of ages tried new blends.
More white powder and less yellow increased the power of the “Thundering Bamboos”

“Hair-of-Fire” will soon have more influence over the clan than you do, Taiwa.
Since we know the secret of the powders, you should chase him away!

Unaware of the sorcerer's intrigues, Rahan continuously experimented with the "bamboos that thunder”.
Let us see their effect in the river, brothers!

Hum! The water extinguishes the vine!
We should protect the embers for a moment.
Just a little moment.

That morning he imagined a cover to protect the fuse of the explosive.
And the result was astonishing.

Page Twelve.

A spray rose and dozens of fish came floating to the surface.
When game becomes scarce, the river will feed the clan!

A dull rumble in the mountain, suddenly interrupted the "Fishing."
An avalanche!
Quickly Rahan, To the big cave! There always the clan takes refuge!

Large rocks were moving down the slope, dragging others down in their fall, creating a torrent of granite.

And the avalanche stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
We will never see ours again!

Beyond the deserted village, the entrance to the large cavern was blocked by huge rocks.
Taiwa.
Arrix.
Our women, Our children.
All will die in the belly of the mountain!

Page thirteen.

No!
The “Bamboos that Thunder” will save them!

In the black gap of an interstice he threw some “Bamboos.”
Then he plunged the torch into it.
Run away! Flee!

Baroom!
He had barely rejoined his companions when the explosion shook the landslide.
Rocks were still crumbling.
But a breach had been made

A gateway to life!
Taiwa and Arrix appeared first.
Then the hunters.
Then the women and children.

The night that followed was a night of celebration.
But it was disturbed by a harangue from Arrix.
Do not forget, my brothers, that the “Thundering Bamboos” give us “Almighty power”!

Page Fourteen.

We will be able, thanks to them, to decimate those of the Green Valley and seize their territory, which is so full of game!

Arrix is more disgusting than a monster!
Thundering Powder" should not be used against "Those Who Walk Upright"!

The sorcerer roared.
Your tongue chatters too much "Hair of Fire"!
Our young warriors will snatch it from you!

As an eddy stirred in the hunters, the son of Crao jumped towards the fire, a "Thundering Bamboo" in his hand.
Rahan awaits your young warriors, Arrix!

Calm returned, but Rahan had a premonition that the ignoble idea of Arrix would permeate into their primitive minds.
Rahan had simply wanted to discover the secret of the powders.

Page Fifteen.

But he does not want their terrifying power to be used against men!

Obsessed by his thoughts, he could not sleep.
He observed the sleeping village.
The hut of Taiwa, and that of the sorcerer.

And suddenly.
Ooh! Arrix is not sleeping either.
But what is he afraid of?
Casting worried glances around him, the wizard crawled out of his hut.

And the son of fierce ages saw him heading towards the lava flow.
Towards the “Thundering Caves”!

A moment later he surprised the trickster filling a “Bamboo” with powder.
He saw many other "Thundering Bamboos", no doubt prepared the previous nights.
Arrix has not abandoned his criminal ideas!

Page Sixteen.

With these “Sticks” Arrix will impose his law!
Taiwa will have to obey him!
We will annihilate those of the Green Valley!
Blinded by the jet of powder, Rahan backed away.

He fell against a stone and lost his balance.
Ha-ha-ha!
The “Territory of Shadows” awaits you, “Firehair”!

Between his powder-covered eyelashes, the son of Crao caught a glimpse of the sorcerer brandishing his spear.
His hand instinctively closed around a large flint.

Arrix jumped back to avoid the projectile.
And.

As a fantastic explosion shook the cave, the silhouette of his disjointed body was silhouetted against the dazzling light.

Page Seventeen.

Other explosions followed.
Those of the “Bamboos-that-thunder” accumulated by the sorcerer.
Why did Rahan make the cave thunder?!

Rahan recounted what he had just seen, what he had just done.
The stone-that-throws-stars missed Arrix, but it must have hit the wall to make a spark.

So, this cheat prepared “Thundering Bamboos.”
Unbeknownst to the clan!
And he wanted to lead your people into war!

The son of fierce ages was serious.
Rahan should not have discovered the secret of the caves!
The powder gives too much power to those who have bad thoughts!

He looked at the caves.
The one where the sorcerer had just died, and which was still smoking.
The one where Taiwa's brother had been torn to pieces.
The one where he himself had almost died.
These three were forever harmless.

Page Eighteen.

But there were still the others!
What are you doing?
Rahan rushed towards the village where the fire was still burning.

He soon appeared again, with three torches.
No one knows if your people, or other hunters, will not one day give in to bad thoughts!

But Rahan will not give them the means to decimate themselves!
The torch flew towards the giant mouth of a cave.

The explosion was still shaking the hill when he threw the other torches into the last two caves.

All the powder will burn!
The caves will never thunder again, brothers!
The explosions. Flames. Smoke.
The son of fierce ages seemed to have emerged from an inferno.
But this “Devil” only proclaimed words of peace, this precious good of “Those-who-walk-upright,” men.

Index:
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