Naza # 7

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

Part 1: The Dark and Deadly Forest

The story begins with the Gairn sleeping under a full moon.
Roon barks a warning as two strangers seize and carry Keena away. Apparently, Naza is very tired because it takes persistence on the part of Roon to awaken him. When the Lone One rises he sees that Keena is gone.

In the darkness, despite their torches, they cannot see who took Keena. Suddenly, a loud mocking shriek bursts on them, making them wonder what sort of creature had taken Keena. In the morning they start off looking for her. The tracks leading away from their camp simply stop and the trail with it. Naza notes that Roon had faced the woods when he first barked his warning, so he decides that it is in the woods that they shall look for her.

Walking along in a dense, gloomy forest, Roon leads the way. Suddenly he stops. The Gairn see a deer ahead of them that is captured by a net dropped from above. Three men spring out of the trees and kill the stag; then they carry it up into what is called their tree kingdom.

Naza starts to climb up into the trees. The others warn him that he doesn't belong in the tree world, but he must go because it is in that world that Keena is. The Lone One has little difficulty traveling along the thick intertwining branches and soon locates a tree-top village. He spots Keena kneeling on a platform in the village and tries to sneak to rescue her without being seen. He doesn't get far before an alarm is given and soon he is attacked by a pack of tree-men. Though Naza fights, he is eventually overpowered. But the worse is yet to come; Naza is hustled to the chieftain of the tree people. It is Vang!

Keena comes over and asks why Naza tried to find her. He replies, "to rescue you and that will be done despite Vang and his tree men."

Again Vang puts the old choice to Keena. Would she rather be his bride or the cause of Naza's death. Before she can answer a horde of great apes attacks the village of the tree people. Vang reveals the power he has over the tree people when he uses fire to drive the tree apes away. While the tree people use torches to drive away the apes, Vang keeps the secret of fire to himself after the battle is over by extinguishing each torch himself.

Vang asks Keena again if she will be his mate, because if she doesn't agree then he will kill Naza.

Part 2: The Challenge

Angry, Naza kicks the smoldering fire that Vang had been working with, causing on of the burning embers to roll out on the platform that everyone is standing on. In the confusion of the small fire, Naza breaks free and tries to escape with Keena. He swings from the tree village on a vine, only to fall when on of the tree men cuts the vine from above. Naza and Keena land on a bush, basically unharmed. They wonder why the tree people have not chased them until the see the answer. They have landed near a cluster of tree apes. One of these large beasts, drops down and attacks Naza, who strangles it with a vine. More apes come, but instead of attacking Naza and Keena, they go after the tree men who have lingered in the trees to watch Naza's fight.

Vang calls out to Naza, stating that although he won a brief victory, he will never be able to cross the woods. When he tries to do so the tree people will kill him.

Naza and Keena rejoin Mair and Sola. A light rain falls upon them and with the rain comes a new tribe. They are wanders who have been displaced by the great flood. Their leader is Loki, and although Naza warns them that the woods before them are dangerous, Loki states that they have no other way to go. Behind them is desolation and death.

The rain continues to fall. Naza and Loki hope that it will conceal them long enough so they can pass through the territory of the tree men. But Vang is watching, and orders his new tribe to attack. They hurl a large net on the travelers, which Naza cuts them free of, but the travelers retreat, unable to compensate for the advantage of height that the tree men have.

The travelers find shelter from the rain under a rock outcropping. Loki insists that they must go forward. The river behind them is rising and soon they all will drown. Loki's plan is to force their way through the tree people's woods. Even if some die, some will make it through. Naza has another plan.

Naza shouts out a challenge to Vang to personal combat. When his tree people wonder if he is a coward, Vang agrees to the fight. He comes down to the ground where he engages Naza without weapons.

They fight in the rain; eventually, Naza gets the better of Vang. Trickery springs from the Gairn traitor as he pulls a hidden knife from his loincloth.

Part 3: The Forest Foes

Vang attacks Naza with the knife, while the Lone One berates the traitor to his new people, the Tree Men. Then Naza yanks a vine that was under Vang's feet and drops Vang to his back. Before anyone can do anything, a duo of giant apes swing down and carry Vang off.

No one can stop Vang's abduction. His Tree Men run away in panic, fearing the nearby presence of the tree apes no that they no longer have Vang to make fire sticks for them. Apparently, the tree apes are intelligent enough to know which human to seize, the one who gave fire sticks to the tree men.

The tribesmen decide to push through to safety beyond the woods, now that the Tree Men have fled. Keena speaks to Naza, "When Vang drew that hidden blade, I thought..."

"Keep your fearful woman's thoughts to yourself, Keena. Forget what had happened. Think only of what lies ahead," is Naza's reply.

As they pass through the woods, the darkness around them grows blacker and more threatening. Someone hears birds, and a bird such as none of them ever saw before glides by. It has a long beak, a black head with gleaming yellow eyes. Keena describes it as evil.

Suddenly, the bird swoops down on a boar and plunges its beak into the pig. Almost instantaneously it dies, apparently from the poison in the Bird's beak. Here is a danger greater than the Tree Men or the tree apes. Loki wants to turn back, but Naza doesn't give up. He builds a fire and drives the birds away with torches that he flings at the birds as they dive down on the travelers.

They go on. A wild boar attacks the group, but Naza spears it. It flees from the travelers but not far as a strange thing happens. The boar is caught in a huge meat eating plant. Curious, the men shove their spears into the plant but cannot pry loose its powerful closing petals. Naza experiments with an open plant by tossing a rock into its center. Reflexively, the carnivorous plant closes on the rock.

Loki claims that Naza has led his people into a deadly trap. There are many of the plants ahead, baring the way of the travelers. Naza climbs up a tree and sees that the people can easily cross over the short span of plants by using the trees to go overhead. Already, Loki is resenting Naza's natural leadership qualities, and quarrels with the Lone One at every opportunity.

When one of the travelers tries to climb a tree, he is grabbed by a vine from one of the nearby carnivorous plants. This man is cut free, but Loki again blames Naza for bringing his people to this deadly place. Apparently, he has forgotten that it was Loki himself who insisted that they must go on to escape the flooding river behind them.

Some of the tribesmen find merit with Naza's plan. Loki agrees to it if Naza will go ahead so he would be the first one to face danger.

As this is done, Roon barks a warning and Naza is attacked by a giant snake. Naza wants to fight the immense constrictor alone, as per his agreement with Loki, but Sola rushes forth and helps his friend kill the snake.

The tribe passes the plant barrier and come to the end of the woods and the beginning of a land that is perfect to settle on. It contains grass lands, gentle river, and no unusual threatening beasts or plants.

Seeing Naza's devotion to his jackal-dog, Loki uses the standard plan to alienate Naza from his tribe. He states that the Gairn are welcome to live among his people but first they must offer an animal sacrifice to the gods. Naturally, he picks up Roon, concluding that Warm-Eyes is the perfect sacrifice. Naza strikes him, freeing Roon, and Loki reacts typically by shouting that Naza has offended the gods. He and his people must be driven away.

And so it is that the Gairn run away from the traveler tribe.

Keena, "Why? Why, when it seemed we had finally found a tribe we could live among?"

Naza, "Loki was jealous of me. He saw me as a rival. He grabbed Roon so he could have an excuse to drive us away. We could not settle among people who understand us so little. We must go on."

Notes:

This issue is sort of a typical adventure story with common Naza, Stone Age Warrior elements.

Rod Hunsicker comments

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws