Rahan. Episode 158. By Roger Lecureux. The Shadow Trail. A Puke(TM) Comic.

Translated by the Son of the Puke Ages.
Index:
https://rumble.com/v3486cm-rahan-index-of-episodes-by-roger-lecureux..html

Source of Rahan Comics:
Philippe Ropers.
https://vk.com/topic-203785966_47424128

Rahan.

Episode One Hundred and Fifty Eight.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Romero.

The Shadow Trail.

Hum. Rahan is eager to know what territory you are taking him to.
The ivory knife made one more turn and came to a stop, its blade pointed towards the wall of high brush.
Entrusting his destiny to his knife had became a ritual for the son of Crao, one he rarely shied away from.

What horizon will Rahan discover?

Only "Those-who-walk-upright" were able to raise this. This thing.
Far away, beyond the forest and the swamps, stood a tower of bamboo.

Rahan will need to probe the "Mud-that-devours."
Zlac!

Oh!
Rahan did not mean to disturb your sleep, "Forked-tongue."
Rahan knew the snake would unwind and strike, faster than an arrow!

Page Two.

But he was faster than the reptile.
Ra-ha-ha!

The blow was delivered with such force that the cobra was thrown thirty paces away.
Do not strike, "Forked-tongue"!
Death has already struck me!

It was a man who had thrown these words!
Without even thinking, the son of Crao rushed to help him.
Rahan arrives, Brother!

As luck would have it, the cobra fell near a dying hunter.
Back, "Fork-tongue"!
If you strike, Rahan will not spare you!

Did the Reptile understand?
Was he afraid of the roaring bamboo?
He immediately disappeared into the tall grass.
Go-Haka thanks you, brother.
But you cannot do.
Nothing more for him.
Go-Haka is going to die.

Page Three.

The son of Crao, in fact, could do nothing more for this hunter whose body was swollen with bites.
If you meet mine.
You will tell Go-Naho the chief and Hulg the sorcerer that I did not know how to find the herbs that heal.

You will tell them that my only regret.

Is to reach the kingdom of the dead without going through the trail of the "Shadows."
"The Trail of Shadows"?

The unfortunate man, with a final gasp, ceased to live.
The "Trail of Shadows." Rahan will never know what he meant.

Farewell, Go-Haka!
Rahan will have known you only by your name!
Rahan respected the custom that required "Those-Who-Walk-Upright" to bury their own.

Page Four.

Curse the "Mud-that-devours"! But Rahan will not back down!
And the son of Crao set off through the swamps, towards this bamboo tower which had intrigued him.

He had to, at every step, probe the mud ahead.

He advanced slowly, raising clouds of large birds.
Disturbing eddies, caused by invisible beasts, sometimes agitated the surface.

Rahan must triumph over his fear!
He must prove himself worthy of Crao!
He sometimes used vines that hung from the foliage.

He sometimes glimpsed the strange tower of bamboo.
And the ground, finally, became firmer under his feet.

Page Five.

Rahan must be crazy to obey his knife like this. How will the hunters of this clan welcome him?

Intrigued by the tall bamboo tower, the son of Crao did not hesitate to brave the swamp to reach this village.

Children and women were crying around the largest of the huts.
Why are you so sad, women?!
Where are the men of the clan?

The woman pointed to the bamboo tower.
All the men are hunting, and Hulg the sorcerer is dying!
The evil burns in his body. He will soon take the trail of the "Shadows"!

"The Trail of Shadows"?
It is the custom of the clan to burn its dead!
Because only the smoke of a pyre can carry them to the kingdom of "Shadows"!

Page Six.

Rahan knows the herbs that drive the fire out of the body!
Maybe he will save Hulg!
Overwhelmed by fever, the old sorcerer moaned softly.

A moment later, under incredulous gazes, Rahan was busy.
Hum.
If Rahan fails, these women will not forgive him!

These herbs, whose properties the son of Crao knew, grew in the middle of the marsh, among the rushes where clouds of mosquitoes buzzed.

But Rahan knew how to protect himself from the "Beasts-that-sting." His smoky torch kept these fearsome clouds at bay.

A "Mud-Lizard"!
If he attacks, Rahan is lost!

Page Seven.

The big iguana appeared, dripping with slime, hideous.
As soon as it saw the man, the monster threw itself forward.
You will have to find another prey besides Rahan!

Thrown with skill, the torch disappeared into the gaping maw!
A worried clamor rose from the village.

May the herbs heal Hulg the sorcerer!
But Rahan had nothing more to fear from the monster that retreated to the depths of its mud territory.

Led by a leader with a Hateful look, the hunters had emerged from the nearby forest.
Oh!

The women have just told us your intentions, "Fire-Hair"!
Why do you want to heal Hulg?
Do you think you are a god to dare to oppose the destiny that strikes our sorcerer!

Page Eight.

Rahan does not think he's a god!
But when one of his brothers is about to die, Rahan fights to push back death!

And Rahan is ready to face the first person who does not agree!
Although he had no desire to draw it, Rahan had placed his hand on his ivory knife.

The chief must have guessed that the son of Crao would not draw.
Chief Go-Naho does not agree!
He will kill you!

Ha-ha-ha!
Go-Naho has more muscle than intelligence!
But he had not anticipated that Rahan had many other resources.

Soon, among the hunters, disapproval gave way to curiosity.
Rahan was sent to prepare his remedy, to administer it to the Sorcerer.

The fire will soon flee your body, Hulg!
Rahan promises you!

Page Nine.

Only Go-Naho remained hostile.
Since you claim to save Hulg, we will wait until sunrise.
But if you lied to us, if Hulg dies. You will die with him!

No one cared any more about the son of Crao.
And the others, anxious, watched for the slightest groan from the sorcerer.
Rahan cannot be sure his remedy will work.

But Rahan has no right to abandon Hulg to his fate!
I thank you. For thinking out loud. Unknown brother.

Hulg!
How, how do you feel?
Better, my son.
A little better. Which, which will doubtless irritate Go-Naho who has. Always hated me.

Hulg! Hulg!
The old sorcerer had just fallen unconscious again.
But the reaction he had seen gave Rahan hope.

Who stood outside the hut.
A brutal leader. Jealous of the clan's sorcerer! Rahan has been in this situation so many times!

Page Ten.

It was while contemplating the tall bamboo tower intended to become a pyre that the son of Crao finally fell asleep.

Cries of hatred tore him from his sleep.
Go-Naho and some hunters threatened him with their spears.
You lied to the clan! “Fire-hair”!

You wanted to defy death!
But it was she who won! See! Our poor Hulg left us by the Shadow Trail!

At the top, men hoisted the body of the sorcerer to the top of the "Bucher Tower."
Before dying, Hulk confided his last wishes to me.

He asked me to become both the leader and the sorcerer of our clan!

Very touched by the sympathy you showed him, he asked that you accompany him on the "Path of Shadows"!

Page Eleven.

The circle of hunters was already closing in on the son of Crao.
You have lost your mind, Go-Naho!
Rahan does not want to join the Shadow Realm!

Argh! Vlang!
Rahan hates fighting those who walk upright!

Argh!
But he is forced to defend his own life!

Cornered at the "Tower-pyre", Rahan started making the mistake of climbing into the bamboo.
"Fire-Hair" hastened the death of our sorcerer with his cursed medicine!
He must die in turn!

Spears roared.
One of them nearly killed Rahan.
Zlang! Ziz!

Page Twelve.

The hunters who had lifted Hulg the sorcerer onto the platform were coming back down.
Oh!
Rahan is caught between two fires again!

Tearing out the spear that had grazed him.
Rahan has no choice.
Surrender or fight!
He will fight!

The other two avoided the confrontation.
Since these cowards are fleeing from this demon, light the pyre!

Ra-ha-ha!
Argh!
The son of Crao stood up to them with such ardor that two hunters were thrown into the void.

Men already carrying torches and bundles of wood piled up at the foot of the bamboo tower.

Hulk's last wish will be granted!
Rahan accompanies him on the "Trail of Shadows"!

Page thirteen.

The flames now surrounded the tower in a ring of fire.
Rahan has thrown himself into this trap!
There is only one way out for him.

This one!
A clamor arose.
Unfolding like a wild animal, the son of Crao had just plunged into the void!

Vlang!
Rahan had an idea, the only one that could save him.
Argh!

Tell your people to let Rahan go in peace, Go-Naho!
Order them!
Never!
You are going to die!

Hunters were running when.
Drop the spears, brothers!
Your sorcerer demands it!

Page Fourteen.

The "Fire-Hair" Brew Saved Me, Brothers!
And I now know how far Go-Naho's felony can go!

This rogue lied to you!
To reign supreme over the clan, he wanted my death and that of Rahan who was trying to heal me!
Go-Naho wanted all the power!

Unmasked by the sorcerer, Go-Naho had suddenly torn himself away from Rahan's grasp.

Argh!
But he did not have time to escape to the nearby forest.

Hunters were gathering the bundles of wood and putting out the fire.
The sorcerer descended the tower where he had almost been burned alive.

And Rahan thought of the Thirst for Power.
This strange disease that could sometimes make "Those-who-walk-upright", beings more cruel than wild animals!