naza5

NAZA #5

Published quarterly by Dell Publishing Co., Inc.
January-March 1965
Writer: ?
Artist: Jack Sparling

Part 1: Cave of Fear

The great flood precipitated by the comet has subsided.
The Gairn leave the Star Shrine because it continues to
collapse until only a few stones remain standing (there is an implication that these stones may be Stonehenge). However, there is no place to go, since the flood had destroyed all the land for miles and miles. All that is left is a barren, soggy plain.

Naza notices a mountain and sees that there is life on top of it that escaped the flood. His friends do not believe that the cliff can be scaled, and Naza sets out to prove them wrong. He states that not to try is to surely fail.

Naza climbs up to the first ridge and pulls the others up with a vine-rope. No sooner are they on this ridge when natives from above roll boulders down on them. Naza tries to plead with these tribesmen, assuring them that the Gairn come in peace. The reply is, "there is only one way for the Mengs to keep peace here--slay all who try to reach us."

With no other choice than to continue upward, Naza climbs up the cliff despite the continual shower of rocks. On the of the cliff he persuades the Meng tribesmen that they have nothing to fear from four lone Gairn.

But the Meng have no food either. There caves are located midway up the cliff and before the flood they had hunted on the plains below. One of the Meng wants to eat Roon, but a harsh blow from Naza's fist changes his mind.

Naza wonders why the Mengs do not climb up on the top of the cliff where he sees trees. The Mengs explain that the warlike Trilds live up there and these savage tribesmen will kill anyone who goes up. Naza elects to go up and talk with the Trilds in the hope that they will let the Gairn and Mengs come up in peace.

Again rocks are thrown down on Naza. And worse, the medicine man for the Trilds is Vang, the traitor.

Part 2: The Challenge

Vang offers Naza the choice of starving below or coming up to a violent death. Keena implores Vang to be merciful, and Vang, who loves Keena, says that she can come up and no other. She refuses, stating that she would prefer death with Naza to life with Vang.

The Trilds hurl more rocks down on the Meng, who are driven back into their caves. After a long wait, a foolish Meng tribesman goes out and is hit in the neck by a rock. Naza rushes out and carries him back to the safety of the caves.

As he did this, Naza saw a very large cave nearby and questions Lilg, the leader of the Meng, about it. Lilg says it is the cave of the gods, who speak to the Mengs from there, and that no one would dare enter the cave.

Naza, Sola and Roon approach the cave. The Lone One wonders if there is an opening on the other side. Lilg warns Naza not to enter the cave of the Blackwind God, or he will bring down the doom of the squeaking Blackwind gods upon himself.

Of course, hungry and desperate, Naza lights a torch and enters the cave with Roon at his side. As he penetrates the darkness he hears squeaking that grows louder with each step. Something hits his hand and he drops his torch into a pool of water. The torch goes out and Naza is in total darkness. Something swarms in the air around him; Naza flails with his arms to fend it off. Suddenly Sola rushes in with a flaring torch and the two men see that the cave is infested with giant bats. They beat them off with torch and spear. One of them picks up Roon and carries him away, until Naza hurls his spear at him, killing the bat. Then they fight their way back out of the cave; Sola falls, but them managed to reach the opening.

Naza explains that the Black Wind gods are bats. He asks Lilg if the gods have ever left the cave via the entrance he and Sola just left. Lilg replies in the negative.

Naza explains his hope: there was a draft in the cave which meant that there most be an opening above or in back. It might be possible to drive off the bats long enough for the Mengs and Gairn to travel through the caves. Naza suggests fire, though the Mengs are afraid to disturb the gods.

Above, Vang has a devised a new plan. He instructs the Trilds to drop burning weeds down on the Meng. He hopes he can burn the Mengs out, but Naza reacts quickly. He spears one of the burning bushes and puts it into the bats' cave.

Part 3: Final Fight

Smoke enters the cave of the Blackwind Gods. Some of the roosting bats drop from their rooftop perch and seek to escape the smoke. Naza leads the trapped tribesmen into the large cave, realizing that as the Trilds drop more and more burning bushes the cave is their only hope to live. Even the superstitious Mengs realize this.

Armed with torches, the Mengs and Gairn drive the bats before them. Half crazed by smoke and fire, the bats flee the cave, using the opening in the top of the cavern. The Trilds flee
as the bats erupt from a hole in the ground near where they had been standing.

Naza leads the others up the pathway that leads to the opening from which the bats fled. He is the first to exit, but he stops when he sees that Vang has rallied the frightened Trilds and holds them nearby, but the Trilds are near the edge of the cliff. Naza and the others spring out and pin the Trilds against the cliff. Naza asks for peace, hoping that no one will be hurt in a foolish fight. The Trilds give up, though Vang had insisted that they fight.

The Trilds are forced to throw their weapons over the cliff as a condition of their surrender.

Suddenly the huge swarm of giant bats blots out the sun. Vang takes advantage of this distraction to further incite all the tribesmen against Naza and the Gairn.

According to Vang, the Blackwind Gods are angry and have hidden the sun because Naza and the Gairn have led the tribesmen to violate the Gods' sacred cave. Naza warns them not the be fooled by Vang. Vang points to the cave entrance and states that there will be no squeaking voice of the gods because they will not speak while Naza lives. It is a testament to the stupidity of the tribesmen that the accept this as truth (perhaps they failed to realize that the bats were the voice of the gods) and begin to consider that they must slay Naza to satisfy the gods or they will never hear the gods speak again.

Naza and his friend flee. Vang has united the Mengs and the Trilds against them. The tribes start to chase the Gairn, but are halted when the swarm of bats return to their cavern through the hole in the ground nearby. Fortunately, their return is between the fleeing Gairn and the pursuing tribesmen. The Gairn get away.

Keena's departing comments, "And I had hoped that after helping them, the Mengs would accept us into their tribe."

Naza's reply: "We could not have remained! The superstitious fears that rule them would have separated us, eventually! We must find another place to live, but for now, be happy that here we can eat."

And the Gairn continue on.

NOTES:

The major lesson in this story is how superstition can make people stupid. Although Naza solved the problems of the Mengs, and united them peacefully with the Trilds, their superstitions allowed Vang to convert what should have been gratitude to malice toward Naza and the Gairn. Ultimately, superstition halted the reasoning process of these primitive peoples.

There was an article on the inside of the cover page about Stonehenge. Perhaps that was to strengthen the idea that the Larns were the builders of Stonehenge. If that was true then the location of Naza's people would be in Britain.

Rod Hunsicker comments

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