Jun
2020
Dinosaur Hunter Diaries #041: Lair of Death
Turok: Son of Stone #24
Turok goes on a fetch quest.
At their campsite, Andar is inexplicably violent towards Turok, escalating from
kicking cinders at him, throwing stones, to trying to peg him with a poison
arrow! Turok's left with no choice but to knock some sense into his friend...
... and it soon becomes clear: he's got a burning fever, apparently from
drinking tainted water. An old woman had warned him not to after her son fell
ill the same way, and they seek her out hoping she has answers. The only herb
that can cure them is up a big nasty cliff, guarded by a territorial mountain
tribe...
... and they're facing a crisis of their own -- there's a dinosaur hogging the
water supply! It gets the jump on unsuspecting water-carriers by lunging out
from its cave... but Turok put the kibosh on that by flushing it out with fire,
then sinking it with a poison arrow.
The tribe stand by their word — they hand over the herb that cures what's ailing
Andar, and use it to tie up some loose ends.
Young Earth presents The Vanished Mammals, a salute to those we lost to
the ice age. As always, it's largely an excuse to enjoy Rex Maxon's depictions
of prehistoric creatures, among them heavy hitters like the sabre-toothed
tiger... but also rarely-seen specimens like the giraffe-tapir indricotherium,
or the bear-like megatherium, which I've already fallen in love with. Look at
the blep on that dude.
Turok and Andar find themselves in the middle of some nefarious jungle warfare,
running into spike traps, rockfalls, and the odd spear or two. They're still
popular among the tribes -- they've just blundered into a feud between the
tribes of Org and Grak, all over a medicine war club.
See, Org wants Grak's cave, but their sacred war club is what gives them the
confidence to bust heads -- without it, they're a bunch of chickens, apparently.
So Grak took the club and hid it in a spooky cave, sacrificing good men all just
to keep Org off his back. Turok volunteers a solution to keep the peace until he
can retrieve the club... but some of Grak's men won't stand for it.
... this is a whole lot of words to say: Turok's on a fetch quest, and Grak's
men want to sabotage his efforts.
T & A venture into the cave, its labyrinthine layout sparking fears they've been
led astray on a wild goose chase. They finally find the war club, but with it
they also find the monster that gives the cave its reputation!
The beast whips them both with its tail, scattering their weapons -- all but the
vaunted war club. Turok sticks it in the creature's gob, giving him time to stab
it with a poison arrow. Outside, they return to Org's cave to return his
cherished possession, only to be besieged by members of Grak's tribe!
The attackers are whacked in the back and quickly captured; they were the
hostages Org had taken as part of Turok's peace deal, and will be dealt with by
the proper authorities. With his manhood restored, Org and Grak are on civil
terms again, and our heroes can hopefully walk two steps without horrific injury
-- or worse, being asked to run errands.