Sep
2020
Dinosaur Hunter Diaries #067: Scavenger of the Storm
Turok: Son of Stone #37
Unintentionally, Turok nearly seals Andar's fate!
Being trapped in the Lost Valley has made Andar throw caution to the wind; he's
out hunting at night, without care for what beast he may stumble upon, and
devoting himself to exploring every possible exit, no matter how dangerous. He's
determined to find a way out of Lost Valley or die trying, and a
reluctant Turok follows after, ready to pick him up when he falters.
The misty lake takes them to a craggy cliff, and they begin their ascent,
hoping even for a glimpse of a potential escape. they're assaulted by pteranodons and other winged beasts... and one takes off with Andar in tow!
Turok can't dare shoot it down without it
dropping his friend to the abyss below, so he climbs up further in hopes of spying
his destination... and finds the boy right in front of him. The cliff's top is
home to dozens of pteranodon nests! He saves him from being some little
nestlings' breakfast...
... but their quest was for naught. Now that the mist is cleared, they realise
they're only on an island, with no hope of scaling the nearby mountains. So much
for that.
But there hasn't been enough danger to cap off the story, so Turok sets a
pteranodon ablaze that crashes into the nests, setting the whole colony on fire. Andar apologises, his reckless quest having landed them in
hot water, but Turok
respects his chutzpah; it's that kind of determination and tomfoolery that he
hopes will lead them out of the
valley someday.
Turok awakes floating on a raft, trying to remember how he got there — and more
importantly, where Andar is! He and Andar had witnessed something curious — every animal in the vicinity putting aside their differences to run like the
wind! And at first glance, it might seem like it was the tribe of bald dudes are
responsible for the frenzy...
... but it was actually the incredible storm that was a-brewing. The tribe had
hoped to sacrifice them to the cave of wind in hopes of quelling it, but the
violent gust is what saved their bacon, tearing down trees to scare off their
attackers — but also knocking Andar unconscious. The last thing Turok remembers
is securing Andar to a tree before being plunged into the river, unable to fight
the gale.
Turok turns to the hairless tribe in hopes of getting directions, but they're
still a trifle miffed that their sacrifices escaped, forcing them to endure this
awful gale. Turok's not leaving without answers, and smokes them out until they
send a guide to make him go away.
The hairless tribe had been depicted as bald, loincloth-wearing warriors up
until this point... when suddenly there's a mother with her children among the
crowd. Of all the trivia to point out, this becomes a strangely recurring trend
in future stories: whenever Turok has to smoke out his enemies, there'll
suddenly be women and children among them, as if to add a tang of guilt to the
endeavour. They're not all savages and brutes — humble families are part of
these communities too!
It'll be a long time before we even see a woman
with more than two lines of dialogue, and until then, these brief glimpses are
about the only hint there even are still women in the Lost Valley. After they retconned all the mammals
away, you can't be too sure what else has disappeared
off-screen!
The woman guides Turok to the cave of wind, where he finally finds Andar — who's successfully freed himself from his bonds, but now facing down a
toothy
tyrannosaurus! One poison arrow is all it takes, and the pair are reunited, all
the more willing to bail on this place entirely.
For all the ominous mentions of it, we never see more than the entrance to the
cave of wind... and rightfully so, because it's implied to be little more than a
wind tunnel from who knows where. If they could brave the wind, would it have
led them out? Who's to say. Turok himself says "forget the tunnel!"
Neat-looking dinos aside, Scavenger of the Storm is notable for its in medias
res opening, a storytelling method that'd see an unexpected boom of usage in
a dozen issues time.