Rahan. Episode 153. By Roger Lecureux. The Petrified Men. 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.

The Son of the Ferocious Ages!

Episode One Hundred and Fifty-Three, similar to episode 92.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Romero.

The Petrified Men.

The man had only one breath of life left.
Ka-Ha rejoins the “Territory of the Shadows”
Do not imitate him, brother!
Do not seek to uncover the secret of the river of fire and the stone men.

The man still had the strength to point out the mountains that loomed beyond the savannah.
Then he froze, in death.

Page Two.

The fire ate away at his body!
How long had he been dragging himself through the savannah!?
The ocean of giant grasses was spread as far as the eye could see.

Rahan hopes you do not point him in that direction! Oh! No!
The knife stopped, its blade pointing towards the savannah!

No!
You always drag Rahan on the most difficult tracks!
Let us start again!
He spun the weapon again and it pointed to the savannah once again!

No! Rahan will not obey you!
With an angry slap he swung his knife several paces away.
Unaware that this angry gesture could be fatal to him!

Oh!
When the rustling of the foliage alerted him, he did not have time to evade!

Page Three.

The son of Crao had often faced boas.
But this time, without a knife, the fight was too unequal!

Rahan knew the strength of these silent killers. He tried in vain to loosen the grip.
The monster was slowly, inexorably suffocating him!

You, You are stronger than Rahan, "Boak"!
He gasped and his vision blurred.
As happens to those who cross the border of the kingdom of shadows.

Flashing thoughts assailed him. He returned to the blue mountain decimating all his people.
He returned to Crao, leaving him his necklace of claws.

He also returned, to stealing the ivory knife from the cruel chief of the river clan.

And he shouted with joy!
You have not won yet, "Boak"!
His knife was there, almost under his hand!

Page Four.

As a red veil fell before his eyes, Rahan struck, and struck, and struck.
Ra-ha-ha!

When he came to his senses the reptile was still weighing on him, but he was dead..
Rahan was stupid to get mad at you!
You have once more saved his life!
Rahan will obey you!

As a seasoned hunter, Rahan knew that he risked getting lost in this labyrinth of tall grass which would hide any point of reference from him.

As giraffes passed by in the distance he sighed.
Rahan would need a long neck, like those beasts!
Or long legs like theirs!

Rahan will never have a long neck. But he can, perhaps, make himself "Long Legs"!
A vision of his childhood suddenly came back to him.

Page Five.

That of hunters perched on rudimentary ladders to hoist themselves into the trees.
He himself had often played with these ladders.

They do not "Walk" because their "Legs" were prisoners!
But what if those legs were freed?

Rahan's imagination was such that the image of a dislocated ladder gave way to that of crude stilts.

Ra-ha-ha! Rahan knows how to make "Long Legs"!
Once the idea had germinated, the son of Crao always knew how to improve it and perfect it.

This is why he quickly knew how to find and shape what would be his "Long Legs"!
Beyond the tall grass Rahan will discover the Secret of the "River of Fire"!

His sense of balance allowed him, after a few attempts, to walk quite easily with his stilts.
Ha-ha-ha! Rahan will be taller than the "Tall Grass"!

Page Six.

Improving his- discovery, he still imagined to attach, with the help of vines, the stilts to his thighs!
And shortly after he made his way in the reddish ocean of the savannah!
Do not run away, "Long necks"! Rahan does not wish you any harm!

This walk was exhausting, but from time to time, an isolated tree allowed him to take a little rest.

Ka-ha's last words then came back to him.
Do not seek to uncover the secret of the "River of Fire" and that of the "Stone Men"!
It is horrible!

He was walking towards the distant mountains, when the light wind suddenly brought him a familiar smell.
Of the “long Manes”!

His sense of smell was not wrong! A pair of wild animals sprang out of the tall grass!
The lioness leaped first, claws out.

Page Seven.

The ivory blade cut the lioness' throat

The big male attacked in turn.
Handicapped by his "Long legs" which hindered his movements, the son of Crao did not have time to free himself.

Brutally thrown to the ground, he saw the terrifying jaws open.
The ivory knife plunged only once into the wild beast's flank.
Ra-ha-ha!

He reared up before collapsing near the female's body.
Hum. The "Long Legs" are as dangerous as they can be useful!

Learning from this confrontation which had almost been fatal for him, he cut the vines which pinned the stilts to his thighs.

Page Eight.

Then he went back into the savannah.
Sometimes there were clearings that he could cross without the help of his "Long Legs".
Rahan has not crossed the tall grass territory yet!
He is keeping you with him!

Oh!

Is this the "River of Fire" that Ka-ha spoke of!?
He saw something unusual in the distance.
It was like a long serpent of steam coming out of the mountain.

And undulated in the savannah.
More intrigued than worried, the son of Crao forced the pace.

It was indeed a river from which a light steam was rising.
Rahan has never seen clouds come out of a "Water way" before!

As he cautiously crept towards the strange river a rush of warmth enveloped him.
He dipped a finger in the water and.

Page Nine.

Aie!
This water is boiling like the water that is boiled on the fire before cleaning the wounds of hunters!

Suddenly he understood Ka-Ha's horrible burns.
If he fell into the "River of Fire" his suffering must have been terrible!

The son of Crao followed this river for a long time.
The bank had a strange stony consistency.

Which sometimes cracked under his weight.
Even Crao, who knew so much, never spoke of a ground protected by a stone skin!

Rahan will probably never understand this mystery!
How could he have imagined, in those times of ignorance, that the waters, loaded with limestone, had formed these alluviums!?

Oh!
He suddenly froze. What he discovered, in a cove of the river, was terrifying.

Page Ten.

The Men of Stone!
Bodies lay here and there.
The "Stone Skin" had petrified these men into death.

Overcoming his emotion Rahan approached.
These bodies are as smooth and polished as Rahan's Ivory cutlass!

Fire Hair, should never have ventured into the territory of the Gahoudas!

You will perish like these! Your body will become stone and will remain so until the end of time!
I am Rahan, the son of Crao!
And Rahan does not come as an enemy

All those who violate the territory of Gahouda are enemies!

Page Eleven.

Brandishing lances and maces, the hunters charged forward.
Rahan detests fighting with "Those-Who-Walk-Upright"! But since you are obliging him to.

He defends his life!
Argh!
Argh!
The "long leg" whirled around, mowing down the first attackers.

For a short moment, the terrible windmills kept the Gahoudas at bay.
But, at one against ten, the confrontation could not last.

Argh!

No one has ever escaped the Gahoudas, "Fire-Hair”!

Bring the enemy to the village.
Grawa will decide when we will offer his life to the god Gahou!

Page Twelve.

When Rahan came to, he was tied to a totem tree.
The whole clan was watching.
The hunters of the country of "Behind-the-tall-grass" are decidedly too curious!

The sorcerer who approached carried the ivory knife on his belt.
Ka-Ha also wanted to spy on the Gahoudas!
You will be, like him, sacrificed to the Gahou god!

If Rahan has to die why do you not kill him right away!?
Because Gahou demands that we sacrifice living beings to him!
You will be delivered to the river at sunrise!
An ovation greeted the words of Grawa-the-chief!

At night, the Gahoudas disappeared into their huts.
Only Gaia, the hunter who had knocked Rahan unconscious, watched over the captive.
It is a great honor for Gaia to oversee the offering that will be made to Gahou!
At dawn, you will be thrown into "The smoking water"!
Life will leave you but your body will remain!

Page thirteen.

Because the river, with each new flood, will cover it with a new skin of stone!
Slowly, over the seasons, you will become a "Stone Hunter", like all those we sacrifice to Gahou!

Rahan has a chance to free himself!
But Gaia would have to approach him!
How to attract him?

And the son of Crao had the right idea.
The Gahoudas are as stupid as they are cruel!
Rahan despises their god!
He spits on Gahou!

Indignant, Gaia jumped forwards.
I would like to kill you for these sacrilegious words!
But I have no right!

Gaia did not threaten twice!
Argh!

The spear remained stuck in the totem trunk.
A moment later Rahan had cut his bonds.
Rahan cannot flee without his knife!

Page Fourteen.

From each hut there rose murmurs.
No doubt they were talking about the imminent sacrifice to the god Gahou.
This is the hut that Grawa entered!
Rahan hopes he is asleep!

Grawa was sleeping, but on his stomach!
And Rahan had to turn him around to snatch the ivory knife from him!
“Hair of Fire”! Alert! Alert!

A moment later Rahan was being chased by the Gahoudas.
They had deployed, blocking the savannah from the fugitive, driving him towards the "river of fire".

Under the moon, the spectacle of the "Stone Men" was even more fantastic.
Rahan will not be able to cross the river! He will end up like those men! Unless.

The “Long Legs”!
He came to find his stilts! The clamors of the Gahoudas redoubled.

They suddenly stopped. "Fire-Hair" seemed to be walking on the "Smoking River"!
May Gahou forgive us! We were going to kill one of his envoys!

Page Fifteen.

The burning river was shallow.
But let Rahan fall and it would be death.
A terrible death like that of Ka-ha!

But cautiously probing the bottom with each step, he finally reached the other bank.
Ra-ha-ha!

Farewell, Bahoudas!
Rahan leaves you to your stupid beliefs!
When the sun rises you will have only your lamentations to offer to your “Gahou”!

Soon after, the ivory knife turned on the "Skin of Stone".
Its blade, fortunately, pointed towards the green forest.
Ra-ha-ha!

Rahan's cry of victory echoed from far away.
As the darkness dissipated on the horizon, the son of Crao joyfully set out to meet the sun.
A sun he had almost never seen again!