Thundarr The Barbarian in Hunted

[Thundarr]

IN​

HUNTED​

Chapter One

In the year 1994, from out of space came a runaway planet, hurtling between The Earth and The Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Man's civilization is cast in ruin. Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn. A strange new world rises from the old. A world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. Across this broken land ride three heroes, striving to free the opressed and the downtrodden from the rule of the evil tyrannical wizards. In the lead, riding a magnificent white stallion the colour of fresh fallen snow, rides a large golden haired warrior. His long blonde hair is the colour of wheat. He is big and muscular, far larger than your common peasant. The animal tooth necklace and brown furs that he wears mark him as a barbarian, born to live free. On his wrists he wears brown leather bracers, and attached to the left bracer is a golden sword hilt. The barbarian's name is Thundarr, a name which is quickly growing in legend and becoming a sound of dread to any wizard who hears it.

Following close behind Thundarr is a beautiful young woman riding a chestnut coloured mare with black mane and tail. The young woman is dressed in an blue and gold outfit that leaves very little to the imagination, what is remeniscent of the one piece swimsuits worn by people who swam for recreation and sport thousands of years ago. The suit itself is blue, with a gold trim about the waist. Yellow boots which go up to her knees and gold bracelettes on her wrists round out the outfit. Her skin is a dark olive colour, her hair as black as a ravens wing. Her almond shaped eyes hide an intelligence and wisdom which transends her years. She is Princess Ariel, a powerful sorceress. Years ago Thundarr was enslaved by her stepfather, the evil wizard Sabian. Disgusted by her stepfather's cruelty, Ariel freed all of his slaves and has been riding with Thundarr ever since. Thundarr is quick to act and stubborn as a rock, but he has found Ariel's magic and her vast knowledge of ancient Earth's history extremely valuable in their adventures.

Bringing up the rear on a large yellow reptilian mount called an equart is their companion, Ookla. Ookla is a mok, a race of large lionine humanoids which combine the traits of lions and men in much the same way the minotaurs of ancient Greek myth combined the traits of men and bulls. Moks are very large and very strong, far too large to ride horses, which is why Ookla rides an equart. Their size, strength, and fierce appearance make moks very formidable in battle, so very few people willingly attack a mok village. Unfortunately their size and strength also makes them ideal slaves. This is how he and Thundarr met, for he too was a slave to the wizard Sabian. During their escape, Thundarr had saved Ookla from certain death. Ookla has been a devoted friend and companion ever since, for it is mok custom to be forever indebted to any person who risks personal harm to save your life.

The three friends are riding through the swamplands that was once known as The Florida Everglades. There's an ancient Volks Wagon bus lying half burried in the dirt across their path. Thundarr jumps the obsticle with ease on his white stallion. Ariel jumps the ancient automobile with similar ease on her mare. Ookla jumps the vehicle on his equart, which lands on the obsticle and squashes it flat. It is the middle of summer, and the Florida weather is hot and humid. The sky is bright and clear, with the afternoon sun shining down upon them. The horses of Thundarr and Ariel are glistening with sweat, as are the riders themselves. The barbarian and the sorceress's hair are matted to their heads, and their clothes are soaked right through with sweat. The only ones not sweating are Ookla and his equart, but that doesn't mean they aren't suffering. Moks have no sweat glands, thus Ookla is panting heavily in an attempt to cool himself off. His mount is repltilian in nature, and neither pants nor sweats. However it can become dehydrated, which is a very real threat during this heatwave. Princess Ariel looks at the swampwater they're riding past almost longingly.

"If that water wasn't so muddy, I'd consider stopping for a swim," she says to Thundarr.

"That would be unwise," replies the barbarian, "There are worse things than mud and slime in these swampy waters."

"Such as?" Ariel asks.

"This is carock territory," explains Thundarr, "and there are all manner of man eating beasts and flesh eating plants in these swamps that are even less pleasant."

Ookla roars something in his native tongue, and Thundarr nods his head affermatively.

"Aye," says the barbarian, "if we don't find a fresh water source soon we might all die from this heat."

All of a sudden, Thundarr's horse stops dead in its tracks. It rears up and begins to nay and nicker nervously. Ariel and Ookla's mounts start behaving the same way. They all have to struggle tho get the animals under control.

"Easy, boy. Easy," says Thundarr to his horse as he tries to calm it, "What's the matter boy? Do you smell something?"

Ookla starts sniffing the air, trying to catch the scent of whatever had spooked their horses. He points to a copse of trees on the other side of a muddy body of water and growls. Thundarr nods his head and dismounts.

"Ookla says that whatever has the horses spooked is over there," says Thundarr, "Let's check it out."

"I thought it was unwise to go wading through these waters," says Ariel.

"It is," replies Thundarr, "But the horses will not budge until we find whatever has frightened them and deal with it."

Ookla and Ariel dismount as well. Ookla takes his composite bow and quiver of stun arrows from his equart's saddle.

"I don't feel like being a snack for leaches," says Ariel, and she conjures up a magical bridge to allow them to cross the swampy water. "Good thing I'm not just a pretty face. Right Thundarr?"

Thundarr starts walking across the bridge without even acknowledging her comment. She looks at Ookla, who simply shrugs his massive shoulders in reply before following. Ariel let's out a sigh and follows her companions. They enter the copse of trees and find a horrible discovery. Six humanoid creatures are strung up by their heels, like sheep in a butcher shop, skinned like animals. Princess Ariel covers her mouth and turns away, the grotesque sight just too much for her. Thundarr and Ookla take a closer look, to try and desypher any clues that the killers may have left behind.

"These are carocks," says Thundarr after examining the bodies, "Males by the look of it."

"What killed them?" Ariel asks.

"Not sure," replies the barbarian, "A bladed weapon by the looks of things. But it appears to have sliced cleanly right through the bones, without even causing them to splinter. I've never heard of anything that could do that, save for the Sunsword."

"Let me see," says Ariel, and she steels herself for what she was about to look upon.

She walks over to the bodies and examines their wounds. She finds Thundarr's conclusions to be very accurate.

"Whatever made these cuts was made of metal," she confirms, "The Sunsword, or even a similar weapon, doesn't truly cut in the strictest sense of the word. It descintigrates whatever touches it with extreme heat, so quickly that it seems to be cutting through its target. If used on a living creature, a being of flesh and blood, it would cauterize the wound. Burn the flesh, keeping it from bleeding. These poor souls bled out."

"It appears as though they were killed first, then skinned," adds Thundarr, "A small consolation, but at least they died quickly."

Ookla kneels down on the ground, inspecting the area, then he starts growling and howling out something in his native language and pointing into the bush.

"What is it?" Ariel asks, "What did he find?"

"A blood trail," translates Thundarr, "from that direction."

Thundarr grabs his Sunsword from its bracer and ignites the blade with a thought. Ookla nocks a stun arrow in his composite bow and half draws the bowstring, ready to shoot at a seconds notice. Ariel stands back, hands at the ready should her magic be needed. They follow the blood trail, which leads them to a clearing. As they aproach, Thundarr feels his foot catch on some kind of vine. Too late he realizes that it's a trip wire. He looks up just in time to see a heavy log with many sharpened branches swinging at him from the trees above where it was suspended by a pair of vines.

"Look out!" Shouts Thundarr as he cuts the log in two with his Sunsword.

Ariel and Ookla both dodge to the sides as the two halves of log swing past Thundarr and head straight for them. Ariel does an impressive acrobatic tumble, coming right back to her feet. Too late she realizes that she had just tumbled into another cleverly concealed tripwire. This time a heavy branch with sharpened stakes bound to it swings out horizontally from the bushes. She dives onto her belly just in the nick of time, as the deadly branch swings out over her back.

Ookla's landing is less graceful than Ariel's. He basically bellyflops onto the ground. He too sets off another trap. He sees a vine whipping up into the air as though it was being pulled up by something really large and powerful. The mok rolls over onto his back and sees a large, heavy log with one end whittled into a point coming straight for him. He rolls to the side just before the point of the log is driven deep into the ground.

The moment Thundarr had cut the deadfall in two, he dives ahead into a forward roll, coming up to his feet with Sunsword at the ready. He hears a loud 'snap' and a heavy net made of vines, set out on the ground, whips up about him and lifts him up into the air. Before the net could even stop swinging, the barbarian cuts himself free and then drops back down to the ground.

"What happened?" Ariel asks, "Were the carocks ambushed? Did they get caught in these traps?"

Thundarr studies the traps for a moment. "Nay," he says, "The carocks weren't caught in these traps. They're the ones who set them."

Thundarr and Ookla investigate the area further. They find the areas where the carocks were killed. In addition to the blood splatter from the mortal wounds, they also discover carock weapons that have been cut cleanly by a bladed weapon, much like the carocks themselves.

"They were waiting in ambush," says Thundarr, "There, there, and over there," he adds, pointing out the three different hiding spots. "I figure they were planning on waiting for their enemy to fall into their trap, then hit them from all sides once they were incapacitated. But whoever, or whatever their foe was, it managed to get through all of these traps and eliminate the carocks. It looks as though they didn't even put up much of a fight."

"Let me see their weapons," says Ariel.

Thundarr hands her the spear of one of the carocks. It was cut into three pieces. Two of the pieces are at least a couple of feet long, but the third is only about six inches long. And judging by the way the three pieces fit together, it appears as though the two cuts on the spear shaft were done simultaniously and perfectly parallel.

"I think this was cut by a double bladed weapon," she says to Thundarr, "One attack made both of these cuts. And it cut cleanly, just like the bones of the slain carocks. Just as you said."

"I may be a barbarian," says Thundarr, "but reading the signs left on the plain ground is one of the things I do best."

"Never have I thought otherwise, my friend," replies Ariel, "There are no better trackers than barbarians, and none more skilled than the mighty Thundarr."

"Your praise is in jest," says Thundarr.

"Only a little," replies Ariel, "but I am being sincere."

Ookla growls something and Thundarr laughs.

"Ookla is reminding you that he is the one who lead us here and found the bodies," says Thundarr.

"I'm sorry Ookla," says Ariel, "I meant that barbarians are the greatest human trackers, and Thundarr is exceptional even by their high standards. Moks are the best trackers out of all sentient humanoid species, and you are exceptional amongst your kind."

Ookla growls in satisfaction and folds his arms across his chest with pride.

Just then they hear a loud, anguished, almost primal scream coming from the bushes towards where the bodies were found. A moment later, several carocks armed with a variety of weapons ranging from heavy clubs to steel tipped spears come charging out of the brush.

"Murderous mok!" Cries one of them.

"Defiler!" Cries another.

"Filthy beast!"

Ookla takes up his composite bow and fires stun arrow after stun arrow, knocking out each carock he hits. Princess Ariel raises her hands and unleashes several blasts of magical energy, knocking out several of their attackers.

"Demon dogs!" Says Thundarr as he grabs his Sunsword from its bracer and ignites the blade. A carock attacks him with a pickaxe, which Thundarr cuts in two with a parry from his Sunsword, then retaliates by elbowing the carock in the temple, knocking him out. Another carock charges him with a spear leveled at his heart. He sidesteps the charge and cuts the spear in two, then knees the carock in the gut as he stumbles past, following up by cracking him on the back of the skull with the pommel of the Sunsword.

Most of the carocks rage seems focussed on Ookla, as most of their numbers are focussing their attacks on him. When the carocks get too close for Ookla to continue using his bow, he drops it in favour of going hand to hand. A carock tries to attack the mok with a cruelly edged battle axe. Ookla grabs the axe by the handle and throws the carock into a group of his buddies. Another carock tries to hit Ookla with a spiked club. Ookla grabs him by the wrist and throws him into a tree. A third carock tries to impale Ookla with his spear. The mok stops the reptilian humanoid cold by grabbing the spear by the shaft, then knocks him out with a headbutt.

Princess Ariel casts a spell on the net hanging up above their heads, animating it and sending it to tie up a group of carocks that are just getting back to their feet.

A very large and powerfully built carock comes at Thundarr with a very large and dangerous looking spiked club. Thundarr cuts the club in two with his Sunsword, then knocks him to the ground with a spin kick to the chest. He begins to get back up, but is stopped by the tip of the Sunsword being pointed at his heart.

"Go ahead!" Says the carock, "Do it! Skin me alive as you did my kinsmen!"

"Your anger is misplaced," says Thundarr, "We did not skin your fellow carocks. They were like that when we found them. We were merely trying to determine who or what did kill them."

"We know who killed them!" Shouts the carock, "You ride with one of them! The moks did this deed!"

Ookla howls in protest.

"No mok would ever disrespect an enemy like that!" Thundarr declairs.

"Liar!" Shouts the carock, "Mok lover! Our clan has been battling the moks for generations! Ever have our confrontations been violent, but it is they who have escalated to this level of cruelty!"

"But Ookla is not even from any of the local prides," says Ariel.

"It doesn't matter!" Replies the carock, "They're all the same!"

"'Tis your quarrel with the moks that doesn't matter," says Thundarr, "for the weapon that killed your kinsmen was not of mok design."

"You lie!"

"I do not," says Thundarr, "Moks prefer crushing weapons, such as clubs, or cleaving weapons like axes. Whatever killed your kinsmen used a bladed weapon, sharper than anything I've ever seen."

"Moks can use swords too!" Declairs the carock.

"If they did, we would know," replies Thundarr, "Ookla and I found no tracks other than those of your kin. Mok tracks are very distinct. There were none. Whatever killed your kin, they weren't moks."

"Liar!"

"Thundarr," says Ariel, "you're never going to convince him of our innocence, or the moks'. He said it himself that they've been at war with them for generations."

"So what should we do?"

Ariel casts a spell, binding the carock in bands of energy. "Let's leave them to attend to their fallen comrades," she says, "while we go to the mok village and see if we can find out what's going on."

Thundarr extinguishes his Sunsword and replaces it on its bracer. "Very well," he says, "To the horses!"

Ariel conjures another magical bridge to get them back to their mounts. As she's about to climb aboard her mare, she spots a movement up in the trees across the way. She stops and stares at it for a moment. The shape looks vaguely humanoid, but is all wavy, like looking through gas or vapour. But there doesn't appear to be any substance, like it's there yet it isn't. Ariel closes her eyes tight and vigorously shakes her head, then looks again. Whatever was there is gone now.

"What is it?" Thundarr asks her when he realizes she hasn't mounted her horse yet, "What's wrong?"

"I thought I saw something," she replies, "It must be the heat, making me see things."

"Come!" Says Thundarr, "We can find clean drinking water at the mok village and learn more of this conflict!"

Princess Ariel takes another uneasy look up into the trees. Whatever it was she saw, it was gone now. But she had this uneasy feeling that it was not just a trick of the heat. She mounts her horse and spurs it into a gallop.

"Ariel! Ookla! RIIIIDE!" Cries Thundarr as they continue on down the trail. Behind them, the shimmering translucent humanoid form leaps from the trees and lands on the trail and stands there watching them gallop away.

 

[Thundarr]

Chapter Two

Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla ride through the Everglades for several hours before finally arriving at the mok village. The place was quite a sight to behold. The entire town is surrounded by a great wall made of heavy logs, each one so thick it could be hollowed out and lived in by people. In fact, as the three get closer to the wall the see that some of those logs have been hollowed out to allow archers to hide inside and shoot out of arrow slots. In the centre of the town they can see an ancient castle with tall pointed spires. It had fallen in disrepair since The Cataclysm, and the moks have patched it up as best they could when they settled here, but Ariel could imagine what it looked like during the days of Old Earth. The three of them approach the gate, which is being guarded by four fierce looking moks armed with heavy spears. The glint of sunlight on metal from above catches Thundarr's eye. The barbarian looks up and sees that the archers have their bows trained on them, and they're not using stun arrows. As they approach one of the moks says something to them in the mok tongue.

"What did he say?" Ariel asks the barbarian.

"He wants to know who we are and why we've come," Thundarr replies.

"I've never known a mok village that was this unwelcoming," says Ariel.

"Neither have I," agrees Thundarr, "but these moks have been at war for a long time. Distrust of strangers would be a natural reaction."

The mok says something to them again, aparently irritated that they haven't responded.

"Now what?" Asks Ariel.

"The guard grows impatient," says Thundarr. To the guard he says, "My name is Thundarr. These are my friends, Ookla and the Princess Ariel. We are friends to the moks. We come seeking food and water. Perhaps in return we can help you in your fight with the carocks."

Ookla says something to the guard as well. Ariel looks to Thundarr to translate.

"Ookla said that we are his family," says Thundarr, "That while we may not be moks, we are considered members of his tribe."

The mok guard thinks this over for a while, then nods his head in agreement and motions for them to follow. He then pounds on the gate in a simple pattern, three, then one, then three more. The companions hear the bars being removed so that the gate may open. The guard leads them inside, then barks some orders at two of the guards inside. One of them runs off towards the castle, the other motions for the three companions to follow him.

"What's happening?" Ariel asks.

"We are being taken to an audience with their king," explains Thundarr, "That other guard is going ahead to inform the king of our arrival."

As they are being lead towards the castle, they see a great bronze statue of what appears to be a giant mouse wearing a tuxedo. Thundarr points it out to Ariel.

"The humans who lived here revered groundlings?" He asks.

"Not groundlings," Ariel says with a laugh, "cartoons. This mok village was once known as Disney World. I read about it in my stepfather's library. That is a statue of one of its most famous characters, Mickey Mouse."

"Carrrr-toooon?" Asks Thundarr, pronouncing the new word slowly to make sure he gets it right, "What is that?"

"They were shows, animated drawings used to educate and entertain children. Mickey Mouse was one of their most famous creations."

"These were like the mooo-veees of the Manhats?" Thundarr asks.

"Something like that," agrees Ariel.

"The Ancients were a strange people," says Thundarr.

"They would probably say the same thing about us," replies Ariel, "In fact, they already have. Remember our journey to Old Earth when we had to repair The Guardian machine for the Alamo People?"

"Yes. The girl, Samantha, did not find us strange."

"No, but that traffic officer sure did. And I'm sure many of the other people who saw us battling the wizard Crom did as well."

"Fair enough," concedes the barbarian.

As they ride through the village, they see that all the mok males are armed for battle. The females and children are all staying indoors. None of them are at play. Even those that are working at their chores are not doing them with any sense of joy. Ookla says something to Thundarr, who nods his head in agreement.

"Aye, old friend," he says, "they behave as though they are at a funeral."

"As you said, Thundarr," says Ariel, "They're at war. It's to be expected."

The three companions stable their horses and follow their guide into the castle. They are brought to the tribe's king, a huge grey haired mok with a white mane. He wears a horned headdress and carries a scepter with a carock skull on the end as a symbol of his station. Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla wait patiently as they are introduced, then bow reverently to the king. The aged mok says something to them and Thundarr translates for Ariel.

"He says his name is King Korog. He bids us welcome, and asks what we know about their conflict with the carocks."

"King Korog," says Ariel, "of the history of your conflict with the carocks, I'm afraid we know very little. I can guess that it began as a dispute over hunting, fishing, or water rights. What I do know is that it has escalated, and if it becomes an all out war, then no matter who wins you'll both lose."

The king replies in his own tongue for Thundarr to translate.

"He says that you are very wise. The conflict did indeed begin as a dispute over the things you say, hunting, fishing, and drinking water. Lately the fighting has gotten worse. Some of his security patrols have gone missing, as have hunters and fishermen. Others have been found murdered. Some of them without their heads, others without their skins. Always when the weather is hottest. The carocks seem to like to murder in the hot weather."

"Your Highness," says Ariel, "We found a group of carocks in the swamps. They were killed and skinned, just as your warriors were. When other carocks found us near the bodies, they blamed the moks for this atrocity."

The king roars, then goes into a tirade that even Thundarr had difficulty following.

"He says the carocks lie," Thundarr translates, "He says his warriors would never be so dishonourable. That the carocks likely did that to their own and blamed it on the moks."

"We don't believe your people were responsible, Highness," says Ariel, "But we don't think the carocks would slay their own just to go to war with the moks. They would go to war with your people regardless. I think something else is happening here."

The king growls something at Ariel.

"Like what?" Thundarr translates.

"I'm not sure," admits Ariel, "Yet. But I get the feeling there's a third party involved. I just don't know who or why."

The mok king says something in reply, which Thundarr translates.

"He says that he will consider your words. Until he decides what to do, we are to be his honoured guests here at the palace. We will be given rooms to sleep in, and we are to join him for dinner and a special ceremony to celebrate our new friendship."

"We thank you, Your Highness," says Ariel with a respectful bow, "It will be our honour to accept such gracious hospitality. May I request something for myself and Thundarr? For before the feast?"

King Korog says something in the mok tongue, which Thundarr translates.

"What is it?" By the expression on Thundarr's face, he is just as curious.

"We could both use a bath," she replies, "and our clothes need to be laundered. I know this is a strange request to make of a mok king, given moks' dislike of water, but humans need to bathe frequently. And we don't clean ourselves with our tongues."

King Korog says something, which Thundarr translates.

"King Korog says that while moks do not bathe as humans do, they do launder their clothes. He will have water, soap, and tubs brought to our rooms."

"Again, we thank you, Your Majesty," replies Ariel with a bow.

The mok king nods his head in reply, then motions to a couple of his personal guards to take them to their rooms. As they are walking away, Thundarr turns to Ariel.

"A bath?" He asks.

"I feel sweaty, sticky, and gross," she replies, "and you smell like a dead animal. Trust me, we can both use a nice cool bath."

Thundarr looks confused, then he sniffs under his arms. He shrugs his shoulders and continues on. The three companions are lead to their rooms. Their accomodations aren't very luxurious, but given that this castle was just a 20th century tourist attraction, none of them minded. Besides, after spending much of their lives sleeping under the stars, just having a roof over their heads for a night was a luxury.

Princess Ariel had hardly settled into her room when there was a knock at her door. A female mok enters into the room carrying what appears to be an ancient, threadbare, folded terrycloth towel. She lays it on the sorceress's bed as several young moks, both male and female, come in after her. One of them carries a steel wash basin and a brick of home made soap, while the others each carry in a pair of buckets of water. The adult female growls something to Ariel in the mok tongue. The sorceress wasn't as fluent in the language as Thundarr, but she is pretty sure the mok said something along the lines of "As you requested."

"Thank you," says Ariel, to which the female mok bows in reply and leaves, with the mok children following close behind.

Princess Ariel examines her "bath tub". It was designed to wash clothes in, not a full grown human. Still, as a guest of a race that licks themselves clean, she is hardly surprised. She decides to do her laundry first. She dumps a couple of buckets of water into the tub and gets undressed. She picks up the towel to wrap around herself, and notices the picture printed on it. It's old and faded, but she can clearly make out the image of a red headed mermaid, a teenager by the looks of her, dancing underwater with a smiling crab and a blue and yellow striped fish. Ariel smiles at the image, then wraps the towel about her body. She then uses the soap to wash out the insides of her boots, which smelled worse than Ookla does after a hard rain, and then her leotard. Once they're clean, she hangs the leotard out on the patio railing and sets her boots out in the sun to dry. She then goes back inside and steps into the wash basin. After throwing her towel onto the bed, she picks up a bucket of cold water and pours it over her head, letting the cool water run down her naked body. She repeats with another bucket of water, enjoying the sensation of the cool water playing on her skin. She lathers up with the soap, washing her hair and her naked body. As she's rinsing away the soap suds from her skin and her hair, she hears an odd noise coming from her open window. Is sounds almost like the clacking of a giant insect's mandibles, but kind of muffled, like it were coming from within a person's throat. Quickly grabbing the towel from the bed and whiping the soapy water from her face, the sorceress looks towards her open patio doors, then the windows. There is no one there and the noise has stopped. Figuring it must be her imagination, Ariel uses her magic to lift the tub of soapy water and throw the dirty liquid out over the balcony. A second later she hears the angry scream of a mok. She runs to the balcony and looks out, where she sees one of the mok warriors absolutely soaked. He looks up at her, shakes his fist and howls and roars. Even with her rudimentary understanding of the mok language, she can tell that what the mok is saying is not very nice.

"Sorry!" Ariel shouts down to him.

The mok roars some more and then stomps away. Ariel turns away from the balcony, laughing over the scene below. She walks over to the bed and is just about to lie down to take a brief nap when she stops and looks back to the balcony door. For some reason, she still can't seem to shake the feeling that she's being watched.

Over on the town wall, a shimmering, transparent, humanoid figure slips over the top of the wall, unnoticed by the mok guards, and disappears from sight.

 

[Thundarr]

Chapter Three

Hours later, Princess Ariel awakens on her bed feeling quite refreshed. She takes the hair brush that the moks had left for her and starts brushing her long black hair. Thankfully, while moks aren't fond of bathing (at least not in the human sense of the word), they are rather fussy about their hair. Likely because they have so much of it. Once all of the knots and tangles have been brushed out of her hair, the sorceress fetches her clothes from the balcony. Fortunately with this heat wave, the clothes are now bone dry and smelling clean. She quickly dons the familiar garments, finally feeling like herself once more. No sooner is she dressed than there's a knock at her door. She opens it to find Thundarr and Ookla there waiting for her.

"You look rested," comments the barbarian.

"As do you," replies the sorceress.

Indeed, Thundarr does look well rested. His hair has been washed, and his furs have been laundered. He's now cleaner looking, and better smelling than he had been for some time in this humid heatwave. She joins them in the hallway and they head to the dining hall for the feast.

"Thundarr," says Ariel, "Did you notice anything strange while you were bathing?"

"Strange?" Thundarr asks, "How?"

"I don't know," admits Ariel, "But as I was bathing, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched."

"Watched?" Says Thundarr, "By who?"

"I'm not sure," says Ariel, "It was just a feeling, nothing tangible. But I thought I heard something as well. Kind of a throaty, clicking sound."

"The only thing I heard," says Thundarr, "was the angry tirade of a mok after someone dumped a tub of water on his head."

He and Ookla laugh at Ariel's accidental dousing of the mok. Ariel joins in on their mirth.

"I suppose I might just be a little jumpy after discovering those skinned carocks," says Ariel, chuckling.

"I would worry about you if you weren't," says the barbarian.

Ookla makes an affirmative growl and picks Ariel up in an affectionate hug.

"Thanks fellas," says the sorceress.

The three of them arrive at the dining hall, and are honoured by being seated at King Korog's table. They feast on roasted meats and fresh vegetables. The king tells them of the pride's conflict with the carocks and how they've been on the brink of war for generations. Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla tell their own tale in return. They tell of how Thundarr and Ookla were enslaved by Ariel's stepfather Sabian, and of how Princess Ariel aided them in their daring escape. Then they tell of all the adventures they have had since. They told the tale of defending Chief Ogrot's mok village of Knox against the evil pirate queen, Captain Corden, and of their confrontations with the evil wizard Gemini.

After dinner, King Korog takes his guests to the ceremony chamber. Princess Ariel recognizes it as an ancient theatre. At one end was an enormous sheet of white cloth nailed up on the far wall. At the other was an ancient movie projector with what looks like a stationary bike hooked up to it. Everyone sits down in their seats. The lights go down and the mok on the stationary bike begins peddling. The electic generator starts up, powered by the bike, which in turn powers the projector. The moks all chear as the images come on the screen. It's a collection of ancient Disney animated shorts, including the antics of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Ookla seems quite impressed with Donald, and laughs hardest whenever those cartoons come on. Thundarr leans over to Ariel.

"These are . . . Carrrr-tooooons?" The barbarians asks her.

"That's right," says Ariel.

"And this was the basis of these humans' entire community?"

"Not a community," says Ariel, "a theme park. Although it appears as though the moks have built a community around these films."

The reel ends and all the moks cheer. Thundarr and Princess Ariel applaud the show as well. Just as the mok projectionists have rewound the reel and switched films, a pair of mok guards come running into the theatre in a virtual panic. They run up to the mok king and growl out their report. The king drops to his knees and roars in anguish.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Ariel asks Thundarr.

"They've just found the king's son," replies Thundarr, "He went hunting this morning. They found him with his head gone and spine torn out."

The king roars an order to his warriors.

"The king has told his warriors to prepare for war," Thundarr translates.

"Wait!" Ariel cries. The mok king turns and looks at her. "Your highness!" says Ariel, "Please, don't be hasty. Are you sure that the carocks are responsible?"

The mok king roars in her face.

"Of course," Thundarr translates, "Who else could it be?"

"Someone strong enough to tear a mok's spine from its body," Ariel replies. "How many carocks have you known that posess such strength?"

The mok king growls a reply, which Thundarr translates.

"None. But that doesn't mean that they aren't responsible. Maybe they brought in some outside help."

"Then why are these same atrocities happening to the carocks?"

The mok king growls a reply.

"Perhaps they lost control of their mercenary," Thundarr translates, "Maybe the murdered carocks were criminals condemned to death and used to fuel a war between our tribes?"

"Then let Thundarr, Ookla, and me investigate and get to the bottom of this," she says, " before you go to war."

King Korog thinks this over for a few minutes, then growls a reply.

"He says you have until the sunrise after next to prove your theory," translates Thundarr, "It will take them that long to give the prince a proper funeral. After that they go to war."

"Then we should leave at first light," says Ariel.

The mok king growls something to Ariel, which Thundarr translates.

"The king says that he will send the warriors who found the body with us, to help us track down the killers."

"Thank you, Your Highness," says Ariel, "That will be most helpful."

The next morning, Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla awake before the first rays of light. They head out to the city's main gate, where they meet three mok warriors. There is a huge warrior with dark grey fur and a black mane, carrying a heavy spiked club. Then there's another warrior about the same size as Ookla armed with a spear, with black fur and a white mane. And finally there's a third mok, small by mok standards, with similar colouring to Ookla's, armed with a mok composite bow and a quiver of deadly tipped arrows. The three guides introduce themselves to the three companions.

"This is Skarr, Kilgor, and Arunt," Thundarr translates for Ariel.

"Pleasure to meet you," greets Ariel, "I'm sorry it couldn't be under happier circumstances."

Skarr, the large mok with the club, growls a reply and then turns and walks out of the city. Kilgor and Arunt follow close behind.

"He says the feeling is mutual," translates Thundarr.

The barbarian follows the mok guides. Then Ariel and Ookla follow suit. The guides lead them deep into the Everglades. The heat and humidity is already pressing upon the humans, and the sun has barely risen above the eastern horizon. The guides take them through the marsh, wading through muddy water that's waist deep. They stomp down tall grasses and smash through thick brush. Finally they come to where the mok prince was found. Ookla and the mok guides take up guard positions around the perimeter as Thundarr and Princess Ariel investigate the scene. They find mok arrows lodged deep into various trees around the small clearing. They find his quiver of arrows, with a large hole burned through it. There appears to be a fair bit of blood, but very little splatter.

"The prince was shooting his bow in all directions," says Thundarr.

"Shooting at what?" Ariel asks.

"I don't know," admits the barbarian, "I found no tracks. Certainly none belonging to carocks."

"Well, I think whoever he was shooting at shot back," says Ariel pointing to the discarded quiver of arrows, "That hole was made by an energy weapon, and it went right through."

"How was the prince killed?" Thundarr asks their guides.

Skarr growls out a reply, which Thundarr translates for Ariel.

"He says that the prince's chest was blown out," says the barbarian, "and that the edges of the wound were burned, as if by fire."

"Cauterized," says Ariel, "from a laser blast."

"I've never known carocks to use lasers," says Thundarr.

"Neither have I," agrees Ariel, "They're typically a rather primitive race. Though they may have joined forces with a wizard who had provided them with energy weapons."

"Then why weren't the carocks we found armed with more advanced weapons?" Thundarr asks, "Or the ones who attacked us? They were all armed with clubs and spears."

"We seem to be finding more questions than answers," says Ariel.

"Not necessarily," says Thundarr, "We now know that whoever killed the prince used an energy weapon. We know that the carocks who attacked us don't. And we know that it is highly unlikely that the carocks are responsible."

"Yeah, but that's not enough to prevent a war," says Ariel.

"True," says the barbarian, "but it's a start."

"We had better hurry and find a lot more evidence then," says the sorceress, "We only have today to find it."

The four moks come over to the humans to see what they have found. Thundarr and Ariel point out their findings to their companions. Ookla nods his head thoughtfully, but Skarr growls angrily at the humans.

"He says that we've proven nothing," translates Thundarr, "He says that it was the carocks."

"Give us time," says Ariel, "We will find the proof we need."

Skarr growls again and walks away.

"He says, we'll see," translates Thundarr.

"Then let us waste no time," says Ariel, and she moves to follow the mok.

Thundarr and Ookla follow the sorceress, and the other two moks bring up the rear. The six companions continue their search. They find no tracks belonging to carocks, or anything else. Skarr turns to Ariel and growls something at her.

"He says that we're wasting time," translates Thundarr, "He says we should be preparing to march to war, not be stomping through the bush looking for clues which do not exist."

"I'm not giving up," says Ariel, "We have until sunrise to find something, and I intend to keep looking until then."

Just then, they hear the voice of a mok crying out in distress. Skarr takes up his spiked war club and howls in reply, then runs off in the direction of the shouting.

"Skarr!" cries Ariel, "Wait!"

But it's too late, the mok warrior is running off to the rescue. Thundarr grabs his Sunsword from its bracer and ignites the blade.

"Demon dogs!" Thundarr cries, and runs after the mok.

Ookla, Kilgor, and Arunt follow close on the barbarian's heels. Princess Ariel shakes her head at their impetuousness and follows close behind. All the while, she just can't shake the feeling that this is a trap. Skarr has a tremendous lead on his companions, and Thundarr can't even see the mok ahead of him. Suddenly the barbarian hears an unearthly howl. Skarr is crying out in pain somewhere up ahead. frantically, Thundarr starts cutting through the heavy brush to get to the distressed mok. He finally makes it to a clearing and stops dead in his tracks.

There, no more than ten feet away, Skarr is hovering in the air, apparently unsupported, with twin metal blades protruding from his back. Then the barbarian sees the shimmering translucent image of the creature holding Skarr up. It turns and looks at Thundarr, its eyes glowing green for just an instant. Ookla, Kilgor, Arunt, and Princess Ariel come crashing out of the brush a moment later. The creature drops Skarr and flees. Ookla and Arunt loose arrows after the departing creature, while Ariel launches her spells at the disappearing figure. Meanwhile, Thundarr and Kilgor run to check on their fallen companion. Skarr's wound is mortal, and his life blood is quickly spilling out onto the cold wet ground. He coughs up a lungful of blood, growls something in his native tongue, then expires in his friend's arms. Princess Ariel walks up to them as Ookla and Arunt look for signs that they at least wounded their friend's killer.

"What did he say?" asks the sorceress.

"He said, 'It's not the carocks'," replies Thundarr.

Ookla and Arunt return to the others. Arunt kneels beside his fallen friend while Ookla delivers the news of what they found.

"You found nothing?" asks Thundarr in disbelief, "No tracks? No Blood Trail? Nothing at all?"

Ookla growls a reply.

"It's like it just disappeared," Thundarr translates.

"So what now?" asks Ariel, "Do we go back to the mok village and tell King Korog?"

Kilgor growls a reply, and Arunt nods his head in agreement. Even Ookla seems to agree with what was said.

"What?" asks Ariel, "What did he say?"

"He says, 'No'," translates the barbarian, "He says 'We track down this monster and we kill it. Then we bring its head back to King Korog as proof that the carocks are innocent of his son's death and that justice has been served'."

"And what do you say?" she asks.

"I say we give this creature a taste of Thundarr's wrath!"

"Then we should hurry," says Ariel, "The day grows long and the moks are preparing to march to war."

 

[Thundarr]

Chapter Four

Kilgor takes point in the hunt for the creature that had killed Skarr. Thundarr and Ookla follow not far behind, making sure to keep their companion in sight. Following close behind them is Princess Ariel, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement in the branches above them. Bringing up the rear is Arunt, his composite bow drawn and ready, watching the trail behind them to make sure nothing attacks them from behind. As good of a tracker as Kilgor is, he just can't find any trace of the creature they're searching for. Still, they continue their search. After several hours, the party stops in a small clearing for a rest. The three moks are panting heavily, while Thundarr and Ariel are soaked with sweat. Kilgor says something to Thundarr, and the barbarian nods his head in agreement.

"What did he say?" asks Ariel, whose own understanding of the mok tongue is too limited to understand everything her hairy companions say.

"He said 'If the creature doesn't kill us, this heat will'," Thundarr translates.

"If we don't find the creature before nightfall, we should head back to the mok village," suggests Ariel, "Kilgor and Arunt's accounts of what happened to Skarr should be enough to stop the upcoming war. Plus, we should be able to gather reinforcements to help us find this . . . thing."

Thundarr looks to their mok companions for their opinions. After a moments contemplation, they both nod their heads in agreement. The companions quench their thirsts with their canteens, then begin the hunt anew. Once more, Kilgor takes up the point position. Just as the group is leaving the clearing, Kilgor notices three red dots of light on the hand he has resting on a large tree, forming a triangle. He stops and looks at it curiously. The dots move up his arm, across his chest, and stop just over his heart. Too late, Kilgor's warrior senses alert him to the danger and he turns to dodge out of the way. Just as he turns around, an energy blast, like a miniature bolt of lightning, shoots down from the trees ahead of them and catches the mok right in the back. The blast goes right through the mok's chest, blowing out his chest as though he was shot with a canon. He falls face first at his companions feet, dead before he even hits the ground.

"KILGOR!" Cries Ariel.

"Demon dogs!" shouts Thundarr as he grabs his Sunsword and ignites the blade.

Ookla and Arunt howl in rage and let loose with their arrows in the direction the energy blast came from. Princess Ariel blindly launches a series of devastating offensive spells into the area. After a moment, she places a calming hand on the shoulder of Ookla.

"Save your arrows, my friend," she tells him, "I have a feeling you're going to need them again all too soon."

"What on Earth is that thing?" demands Thundarr, "What does it want?"

"Whatever it is," replies Ariel, "it didn't come from this Earth."

Arunt says something to them in the mok tongue, and Thundarr nods his head in agreement.

"Aye," says the barbarian, "It is very clear that whatever this creature is, whatever its evil purpose, that it was indeed this creature who killed the prince."

"That energy weapon it used to kill Kilgor was certainly the same weapon that killed the prince," agrees Ariel, "Their wounds were almost identical."

"And the bladed weapon that killed Skarr," adds Thundarr, "It had two blades, like whatever killed the carocks we found. Certainly this creature is responsible for their deaths as well."

Ookla growls a question of his friends.

"That is a good question, old friend," says Thundarr, "I do not know what its purpose is. Only that it kills without mercy."

"Should we go back to the mok village now?" asks Ariel, "We have all witnessed the creature and its weapons. And it has already killed two of our guides. Perhaps we should get reinforcements before trying to track it any further."

Arunt says something in the mok tongue, and Ookla growls a reply.

"They say that our words may not be proof enough to keep the moks from marching to war," translates Thundarr, "And Arunt hungers for vengeance. He was very close to the prince, as well as Kilgor and Skarr."

"But how are we supposed to hunt something we can't even see?"

We will do what the carocks did," answers Thundarr, "We will set a trap for it."

"And that worked so well for the carocks," says Ariel sarcastically.

"That's because the carocks thought they were hunting moks," replies Thundarr, "We know that we aren't. We will set the traps to stop that . . . whatever that was."

"Are you sure we can?" she asks, "Stop it, I mean."

"We have to try," says Thundarr, "For all our sakes."

Ookla and Arunt both nod their heads in agreement. So the next several hours are spent setting booby traps all around the small clearing that they had used as a rest stop. Thanks to Ariel's magic and Thundarr's Sunsword, it takes a lot less time to make and set the traps than it normally would. Ookla's and Arunt's incredible mok strength also makes things easier than they normally would have been. The most time consuming part is weaving the net out of vines and setting the dead-falls. When they're finished, the entire clearing is set up as a death trap.

"So what are we going to use as bait?" asks Ariel.

"Kilgor," says Thundarr.

Ookla and Arunt both make questioning growls.

"What?" asks the sorceress.

"This creature skinned the carocks," explains Thundarr, "It took the prince's head. I think it will likely return for Kilgor's body."

"And when it does," finishes Ariel, "it will find a death trap waiting for it."

Ookla and Arunt carefully lay the dead mok's body in between the net trap and the pit trap. Then they all spread out and hide in the bushes surrounding the clearing. Princess Ariel had used her magic to dig out shallow pits in which they could hide, to better conceal themselves. Thundarr took a position next to a series of vines they had set up to trigger various traps. Ookla and Arunt hide almost exactly across from each other, in hopes of catching the creature in their crossfire. Princess Ariel hides right across from Thundarr, so that she can protect him from this creature with her spells if need be.

The four of them sit in wait for the creature to return. None of them know how long they are waiting for. The shadows are growing longer as the day is getting older. Just as Thundarr's patience is about to wear out, the net trap sets off, seemingly of its own accord. They can see a large figure thrashing about inside, all covered in dead leaves, unleashing an unearthly scream of primal rage. Thundarr ignites his Sunsword and slashes a pair of vines tied to the trunk of a tree right behind him. Two large and heavy logs, their ends carved into sharp points, swing down towards the thrashing net. At the last possible second, the occupant of the net slashes the vines holding it up and falls out of the way of the log trap. The two logs collide with each other with a loud and audible 'crack'. Thundarr quickly slashes the vines holding the logs up, sending them crashing down to the ground. The creature lands on the pit trap, crashing through the thin branches and leaves covering the hole. The creature quickly crawls out of the hole, having apparently caught itself by the ledge on its way in and not fallen all the way to the bottom.

Before it could fully regain its balance, Arunt shoots it with his composite bow. The arrow buries itself deep into the creature's flesh. The creature turns towards Arunt's hiding place, and a trio of laser sights begin searching the area. Thundarr quickly slashes another vine, releasing a bombardment of wooden spears that fly at the creature from all angles. With agility unexpected for a creature its size, the thing leaps aside and dodges the spears without a single one hitting it. It trips another trap, and a branch covered in sharpened spikes swings out of the bushes towards its chest. The creature extends a pair of blades and slashes the trap into pieces before it could even make contact. Arunt leaps from his hiding spot, Kilgor's spear in his hands, and charges the creature with his friend's weapon.

"Arunt!" shouts Ariel, "No!"

But it's too late. The creature knocks the spear aside with his blades and then grabs the mok by the throat and lifts him one handed. Ookla takes aim with his own composite bow, but Arunt is in the way and he can't get a clear shot. Ariel tries to blast the creature with her magic, but she also can't get a clear shot around Arunt. The creature impales Arunt on his blades, then cuts downward, disemboweling the mok. Arunt howls in agony, then brings up the spear and drives it into the creature's flesh. The creature roars in pain and drops the mok. It grabs Arunt by the mane and slashes its blades across his neck, severing the mok's head. It pulls the spear from its body and throws the bloody weapon to the ground. Ookla shoots at it with a stun arrow, but misses terribly as the creature leaps into the air and takes to the trees like an ape.

"Demon dogs!" shouts Thundarr.

Ookla growls something to Thundarr. The barbarian shakes his head.

"No, old friend," says Thundarr, "You must go back to the mok village. Tell King Korog what has happened here. Tell him it wasn't the carocks that killed his son, and that Ariel and I are on the trail of the real killer. Whatever happens, the moks must not go to war."

"And what are we going to do?" asks the sorceress.

"Arunt injured it, twice," explains Thundarr, "It's bleeding. And if it bleeds, we can kill it. We will follow its blood trail to its lair and put an end to it, once and for all."

After a quick search of the area, they discover a blood trail heading out into the swamp. The blood is green, not red, and appears to glow slightly. Thundarr and Ariel follow the blood trail into the thick underbrush. The trail would stop for several feet, then pick up again further into the trees. The follow the trail to a tree covered hill, the driest piece of land they have found in the entire Everglades. There's a game trail leading up into the trees. With Thundarr's Sunsword and Princess Ariel's spells both at the ready, the barbarian and the sorceress continue to follow their query. The sun is nearing the western horizon, and the shadows are growing longer. As they are nearing the top of the hill, Ariel notices three red beams of light coming from the trees up ahead and finding Thundarr's chest.

"Thundarr! Look out!" cries Ariel.

Just as she shouts her warning out to the barbarian, a lightning like bolt of energy shoots straight for Thundarr's chest. With uncanny speed and agility, Thundarr parries the energy blast with his Sunsword. The energy bolt deflects off the Sunsword's blade of magical flame and strikes a dead tree, toppling it over into the two companion's path. The creature fires its weapon again. This time Ariel puts up a magical shield between them with a spell. The energy blast bounces off of the shield and strikes the fallen tree, setting it ablaze.

As the flames between the two heroes and the creature grow higher, Ariel tackles Thundarr to the ground. A split second later, multiple energy blasts fire over their heads. As the two hit the ground, they go tumbling down a particularly steep part of the hill they had been climbing. They bounce off of trees, large rocks, tree stumps, and other such obstacles until they go over the ledge of a sheer cliff and fall into the large clear lake below.They both hit the water so hard that it drives the air from their lungs. As they're under the water, neither of them knows which way is up. Luckily, a swift upward current from the nearby waterfall pushes them up to the waters surface. They gulp in great lungs full of oxygen and begin swimming towards shore. Thundarr, who had somehow managed to hold onto his Sunsword throughout this entire ordeal, returns the weapon to its place on his wrist as he swims. They get to the muddy shore and collapse in exhaustion.

As they are catching their breath in the cold mud, there is a large splash in the middle of the lake. Desperate to get away from their dangerous adversary, Thundarr and Ariel scramble through the mud to try and get to the cover of the surrounding trees. The mud is slick and difficult to maintain any traction in. Both the barbarian and the sorceress slip several times as they scramble for the surrounding trees. Both Thundarr and Ariel try to help each other up out of the mud so that they can get away, as often as not falling into the mud themselves in the attempt. They get to the tree line and find that the trees have grown too close together here for them to easily slip past, and there is a pile of dead driftwood blocking their way as well. The two companions turn to watch as their enemy emerges from the water. Princess Ariel puts her back up against the tree and raises her hands in preparation for a spell. Thundarr stands in front of her, determined to shield her from harm, to his dying breath if need be.

The creature steps from the lake. It's huge, at least as large as a mok. Its skin is scaly, like a carock's. It has thick growths coming from its head, like dreadlocks or braids, except they don't seem to be made up of hair. It wears a metal mask over its face, metal shoulder pads with what appears to be a small canon attached to one, and metal bracers on its forearms. One bracer, on his right arm, has a pair of blades attached to it. The other has several lights and panels on it, apparently a control device of some kind. The creature looks down at itself, appearing to be surprised that it's no longer camouflaged. It presses some buttons of the panel of its left bracer, and its body begins to shimmer and fade, but then becomes visible again. Thundarr reaches for the Sunsword on his wrist, but Princess Ariel places a hand on his shoulder in a silent bid to wait. The barbarian holds still, even though it goes against his very nature. But like Ariel, he too is curious about his adversary. The creature activates its laser sighting and starts scanning the area. It slowly sweeps the area with its laser. As the triple beams get close to Thundarr , Ariel grips his shoulder more tightly. The triple beams sweep slowly across the barbarian's chest and moves on past them.

As he searches for the barbarian and the sorceress, a carock slips out of the water behind it wielding a trident. Just as Thundarr and Ariel think the carock is about to strike, the shoulder canon on the creature's armor swivels and blasts the carock, taking its arm. The carock throws itself face first into the mud and desperately tries to crawl back into the lake. The creature casually walks up to its prey, places a foot on the carock's back to hold it in place, then drives its clawed fingers into the small of the carock's back and pulls out its spine and skull in one powerful move. It turns and looks back about the beach of the lake, as though it's looking for Thundarr and Ariel again, then it turns and walks away with its prize. The Barbarian and the sorceress stand there for several minutes waiting to make sure it's gone before Thundarr dares to turn to Ariel and speak.

"What was that?" he asks.

"I don't know," admits Ariel, "But I think I finally know what's going on."

"What does it want?" asks Thundarr.

"It's a hunter," she says, "It's after trophies. The more dangerous the prey, the better the hunt."

"Why didn't you want me to attack it?" he asks, "I could have finished it."

"We are hurt and exhausted. We are in no condition to fight such a creature, my friend . . . not yet. But now we know what its weaknesses are. Once we've rested and prepared, we can fight it on our terms instead of its terms."

"What do you mean?" asks the barbarian, "What weaknesses?"

"One weakness it its camouflage," she explains, "It gives the creature a huge advantage, but it doesn't work when it's wet. If we can force the creature to be submerged in water, we will be able to see it. That will make fighting it much easier."

"Yes, I see," says Thundarr.

"Also," continues Ariel, "it wasn't able to see us. I think it can only see in the infrared spectrum. It hunts by seeing our heat. This mud has blocked our body heat, camouflaging us, making us invisible to him. We must have looked to him like a couple of mud covered tree stumps or rocks."

"So if we cover our bodies in mud," says Thundarr, "then we will be the ones who are invisible."

"That's what I'm thinking," says the sorceress, "but we have a lot of work to do before we try to face it."

"Then let's get started!" exclaims Thundarr.

 

[Thundarr]

Chapter Five

In a dark, mist filled hallway, the creature walks along with his trophies. The halls are made out of an alien metal, and the little bit of illumination that lights up the hall is tinted red, though there doesn't appear to be any discernible source. The creature casually places the skulls and attached spines of Kilgor and the carock on a table, and sets the head of Arunt next to them. It then walks over to the wall and presses a button on a lighted panel. A hidden door slides open, and a metal frame lined with hooks slides out. The creature holds up the skin of Skarr, and begins sticking the metal hooks into the edges of the hide. It then touches a control on the side of the frame, and the wires connected to the hooks retract into the frame, pulling the skin taught.

At the lake, Thundarr and Ariel are hard at work setting up their battlefield. They've chosen an area with a fallen log forming a bridge to a small rock island, only fifty feet or so out into the water. Thundarr carries bundles of dead driftwood across and piles them up on the island. As he's doing this, Princess Ariel is using her magic to turn large wooden logs into mannequins of similar height, shape, and build as herself and Thundarr.

The creature places the skulls and spinal columns of Kilgor and the carock each into a metal container and seals the lids shut. Once they're sealed in, it presses a button on each container and a small red light on the sides lights up. It then turns his attention to Arunt's head. It takes out a bladed tool and begins pealing away the mok's flesh and skin. When it's finished, it then takes a flexible tube that looks as though it were made of plastic or rubber, then uses it to suck out the eyeballs and the brain. Once the skull is clear of all flesh and organs, it is put into a metal container much like the other two skulls. The lid is sealed in place and the device is turned on.

Thundarr pulls a large dead-fall trap up into place in a tall tree with a long rope-like vine. Princess Ariel uses her magic to raise several wooden mannequins that look somewhat like herself and Thundarr up into the trees. They are all attached to vines and are set to start swinging. She also uses her magic to levitate large pieces of driftwood to the island. She and Thundarr build a similar pile of wood on the beach, at the other end of the fallen log. They also build a semicircle wall of driftwood around their chosen battlefield.

The creature sits down at a table. It presses a button on the table's surface, opening up a hidden compartment. A selection of vials, syringes, and various small metal tools comes up. The creature takes out a syringe and injects itself with some sort of chemical, right next to the wound it suffered from the spear. It takes out a second syringe and injects itself again, this time where it was hit by Arunt's arrow. It takes out an odd looking metal tool and puts it directly into the wound, then squeezes it. The tool makes a loud 'click', and the creature appears to wince from the pain. It then resets the tool and uses it on its other wound. It then takes out a glass-like vial and pours the glowing blue liquid inside onto the wounds. The wounds smoke and smolder, the creature's blood bubbles and hisses, and then it roars in pain at its medical attention.

At the lake, Thundarr and Ariel turn and look out at the darkened trees of the Everglades. The creature's cries of pain echo throughout the area. Princess Ariel holds her hands over the open wounds on Thundarr's body. Her hands glow with a yellow radiance and his injuries immediately mend. Once she had healed all of the barbarian's wounds, she starts in on her own injuries. After they're both well enough to deal with the upcoming conflict, they begin smearing the thick, cool mud all over their bodies, in their hair, everything. As soon as they're both fully camouflaged, they each head off to a different hiding spot to await their prey's arrival. Once hidden, Ariel uses her spells to light the bonfires. As the bonfires begin to blaze, Thundarr throws his head back and lets out a primal scream.

The creature opens up one of the metal containers it had placed its trophies into. When it does, the containers pour out a thick mist or steam. The creature reaches in and pulls out Arunt's skull. It then uses some sort of power buffing machine to polish it to a high sheen. The creature takes the skull over to the wall, where there are several other trophies on display, and places it next to Kilgor's and the carock's skulls, which had already been cleaned and polished. As the creature stands back to admire its collection, it hears Thundarr's challenge carrying on the night air. It makes it's native clicking sound in reply, though it is way to low for anyone outside the immediate area to hear it. It extends the blades from its bracer, then pulls out a device from its belt and begins running a laser back and forth across the metal blades. With each pass, the blades glow brighter and brighter, until they are wight hot. The creature then runs another tool across the blades. Once this is done, it pulls another tool from its belt, then blasts the blades with a concentrated fog. when the fog clears, the blades are once again cool. With its weapons thus sharpened, the creature activates its camouflage and runs off into the night.

At the lake, the whole area is lit up by the light of multiple fires. Thundarr is up in a tree, looking for any signs of the creature. Princess Ariel is in a tree across the way, similarly seeking signs of the creature. Soon, Thundarr hears an unearthly clicking sound coming from behind him. His warrior's instincts scream at him to take out his Sunsword and attack, but he knows that the strategy he and Ariel had devised requires him to wait. So he holds himself in check. The creature crawls right past the barbarian, completely oblivious of the fact that its prey is within an arms reach. It looks all about the area, but cannot see the two humans.

Ariel slowly waves her hand in the direction of one of the bonfires, the one on the beach closest to the log bridge. The flames shoot out towards the fallen log, igniting a wooden mannequin made in the shape of the sorceress. The creature looks towards the flame burst and sees the warm form of a human female. It activates its laser targeting system and aims its canon at her. A bright, lightning-like blast lights up the area as the creature blasts the mannequin. The wooden dummy topples over, and the creature leaps down to investigate. As it approaches the bonfire, Thundarr swings across the beach on a vine and hides in a tree opposite his previous position. The creature hears the sound of the barbarian swinging and aims its laser target about the area. The whole area is so thick with smoke that the lasers are easily seen by both Thundarr and Ariel, even if the creature is not. But no matter how hard it searches, it cannot see Thundarr or Ariel.

Again, Ariel waves her hand towards the bonfires. This time her target is the bonfire on the island. Like before, the fire shoots flames towards a wooden mannequin. This one looks somewhat like Thundarr, and is standing on the fallen log which leads to the island. The mannequin begins to burn, and the creature sees its heated form. Once again it shoots the figure with its shoulder canon. The burning dummy flies off the log and into the water. The creature cautiously steps out onto the log and heads out to investigate its 'kill'. As it's crossing the bridge, Ariel swings on a vine across the beach to another tree. Once again, the creature hears the sound and looks about. It aims its laser targeting system at random areas but can't find anything to shoot at.

Once more, Ariel motions towards the bonfires. This time she focuses her attention on the smaller fires scattered about the beach. The fires let out a burst of flames into the air, as though they're a bunch of miniature volcanoes. The creature aims its laser sights at the fires, one after another, in an attempt to find out what's causing these fire bursts. As it's focusing on the bonfires, small red embers float up into the air. At a casual glance, these embers are just random bits of burning flotsam. However each ember is floating directly towards a wooden mannequin that looks like either Thundarr or Ariel. As the embers land on the wooden dummies, they begin to burn with an unnatural intensity. The mannequins smoke and smolder, then one by one they each burst into flame. As soon as they're burning, the vines holding them in place let go and the mannequins start swinging towards the creature. The creature looks up and sees these hot man shaped bodies swinging towards it on vines. It starts blasting away with its canon, sending the burning dummies into the water to be extinguished. Thundarr unties their log dead-fall trap and awaits Ariel's signal. The sorceress uses her magic to cause all of the bonfires to explode simultaneously. When they do, the fallen log that is being used as a bridge is engulfed in flames, making walking on it without getting burned difficult, if not impossible. The instant The bonfires explode, Thundarr releases the log. With so much heat around on all sides, the creature is disoriented, and the explosions seem to have temporarily blinded it. It doesn't even look up at the sound of the swinging log until the last possible second. By then it is too late, and the log slams into its chest full force. Its torso is punctured in several places from the multiple sharpened branches on the log. The creature is thrown out into the water, its green glowing blood pouring out of several puncture wounds in its chest and abdomen.

If the creature was hurt badly, it certainly doesn't show it. No sooner does it get thrown into the water than it emerges, walking with purpose towards the shore. Princess Ariel points her hands at the low wall of driftwood that is surrounding the creature and unleashes her magic, setting it ablaze. The creature sees the spell being cast, however, and fires its canon at the source of the energy. Ariel quickly ducks behind the trunk of the tree she's hiding in, but the explosion from the energy weapon striking the trunk causes her to lose her balance and she falls from the tree to the ground below, getting knocked unconscious by the impact with the ground.

"ARIEL!" cries Thundarr as he sees the sorceress fall.

The creature turns around at the sound of the barbarian's voice and begins scanning the area with its laser targeting system. But while it can hear the barbarian's concerned cry, it still can't see him. It then hears Princess Ariel groan as she's beginning to come to. The creature extends the blades from his right bracer and turns to try and find the source of the sound. When Thundarr sees this he takes up his Sunsword and ignites the blade. Grabbing a vine from the tree, Thundarr cuts it free and swings towards the creature.

"Yaaaa-hee!" Thundarr shouts his barbarian's battle cry.

The creature turns towards the sound of the battle cry, but can only see the glaring bright heat of the Sunsword's blade. The creature begins blindly firing its canon in the general area of the Sunsword in an attempt to get the weapon's wielder. Most of the energy blasts miss badly, but one lucky shot severs the vine just above Thundarr's hand. The barbarian falls into the water below, washing away the camouflaging mud that is coating his body. The creature scans the water with his laser target, waiting for the barbarian to surface.

Just as Thundarr surfaces, a blast of magical energy hits the creature's canon from behind. The creature turns around to seek its attacker. It scans the area with its laser target. Thundarr looks past the creature and sees Princess Ariel standing on the beach, still covered from head to toe in mud. The creature's triple lasers seem to settle on Ariel's face. The fall from the tree had given her a bloody nose and split her lip, and unbeknownst to her, the creature is able to focus in on the warmth of her blood. Thundarr desperately tries to get to the creature to keep it from shooting the sorceress. As the creature tries to fire its canon at Princess Ariel, the damage from her spell causes it to explode in its face. The explosion blasts the mask off of the creature's face, and momentarily stuns Thundarr as well. The creature brings its hands up to its injured face and howls in pain. It takes its hands away from its face, revealing a ridged forehead and a wicked set of mandibles. Half of its face is badly burned, and there are several deep cuts from the metal pieces of the canon that acted as shrapnel when it exploded. Green glowing blood flows freely down its burned face. It opens its mandibles, revealing a mouth full of vicious looking fangs, and roars at the sorceress.

"You are one ugly mother . . ." begins Ariel.

Before she can finish her comment, the creature pulls a weapon out of its belt which looks like a flashlight, and shoots it at her. She is caught in a wire net which throws her back against the massive trunk of a large tree. The spikes attached to the net dig deep into the wood and begin to reel in the net, pulling it tighter and tighter. Ariel can feel the wires begin to cut into her skin, and she instinctively knows that if she doesn't get out of this fast she will be cut into little cubes. Before the net is too tight to allow her to use her magic, the sorceress quickly casts a spell teleporting herself out of the net and out of the way of the two combatants.

When Thundarr sees Ariel get caught in the net, he attacks the creature with unmatched fury. He swings his Sunsword at the thing with all his might, guided more by anger than by strategy or discipline. The creature is far more agile than one would expect of something its size, however, and manages to evade Thundarr's every blow. What's more, it parries with its own blades. And to Thundarr's astonishment, the Sunsword doesn't affect the alien metal. The barbarian raises his Sunsword up high for a big downward slash on the creature, but with blinding speed the creature slashes Thundarr across the abdomen with its blades. The blades didn't get him very good, it was only a minor flesh wound, but it was enough to knock the barbarian down to the ground. The creature stands over him and raises its blades to give the final strike of the fight.

"THUNDARR!" cries Ariel.

The creature turns towards her for a moment, and that split second distraction is all that Thundarr needs. He stabs the creature through the abdomen with his Sunsword. It staggers back clutching its wound as Thundarr regains his footing. It raises its blades for another attack and Thundarr slashes it across the thigh, not deep enough to sever the limb, but enough to stop the attack. Thundarr steps in close to try and finish the creature off, and is backhanded by his opponent. The barbarian is struck hard enough to be thrown to the ground. When he hits the water, his head strikes a rock and he drops his Sunsword. As he's trying to get back up, the creature come up behind him and steps on the back of his neck in an attempt to drown him. Thundarr can see his Sunsword stuck in the mud just beyond his reach. His lungs are screaming for air, and he can't take a breath with this predator holding him under water. He tries to push himself up out of the water, but he's too beat up and the creature is too heavy. Suddenly the creature takes its foot off of Thundarr's neck. The barbarian pushes himself up out of the water and takes a deep breath of life giving oxygen. He looks up to see what caused the creature to let him up, and sees that Princess Ariel is bombarding it with magical blasts. Quickly, Thundarr searches about in the water until he finds his Sunsword. Once it's in his grasp, he ignites the blade and attacks the creature anew.

Between the sorceress with her magical bombardment and the barbarian with his enchanted blade, the creature sees its end is near. Thundarr slashes it across the chest. Again, the wound isn't fatal, but it is enough to know the creature down onto its back. Thundarr straddles the creature and stands poised to strike, but pauses as he sees the creature is beaten and cannot defend itself. The creature lies there on its back, looking up at the barbarian, glowing green blood oozing down its face. It taps a panel on its bracer, causing a hidden flap to open and expose a glass screen. The creature taps a few more panels, causing the screen to light up. The bracer begins to beep, and the red symbols on the screen begin to disappear. The beeping gets faster and faster, and the creature begins to perfectly mimic the sound of a mok's laughter. Princess Ariel's eyes grow wide in fear as she realizes just what their adversary is doing.

"Thundarr!" she says, "Destroy that device! Quickly!"

"Why?" asks the barbarian.

"Just do it! Trust me!"

Thundarr trusts Ariel implicitly, and so he brings his Sunsword up high and slashes the alien contraption with all his might. The glowing energy blade slices right through the device and the arm wearing it, severing the arm just below the elbow. As the device is destroyed it releases a blinding white light, stunning Thundarr and Ariel. As Thundarr staggers backward, the creature kicks the barbarian away, sending him flying into Princess Ariel. Howling in rage and pain, the creature gets back to its feet and runs away from its dangerous prey. It leaps over the wall of fire surrounding the battlefield and runs off into the night. As he recovers from his fall, Thundarr gets up off of Ariel and then helps her to her feet.

"What was that?" he asks her.

"It was a bomb," explains the sorceress, "It would rather blow us all up than let us win."

"Come!" says Thundarr, "We must stop that creature from leaving!"

"Why?" asks Ariel, "We beat it. It won't be able to hunt here any more. And we should have enough evidence to stop the moks from going to war with the carocks."

"If it gets back to others of its kind, it may send more of them here to hunt. It cannot be allowed to do so."

"Then let's get a move on," says Ariel, "We don't have much time to stop the creature and get back to the mok village to stop the war."

Casting a spell to create a bridge over the flames surrounding them, the two companions start running after the creature.

 

[Thundarr]

​

Chapter Six

Thundarr and Ariel chase after the creature through the swamplands. Apparently it is too injured to take to the trees, for it's leaving a trail behind that a child could follow. On dry land they find the creature's glowing green blood. In the water the find many freshly broken branches on trees and bushes. It leaves deep tracks in the mud, and there are several places where the creature appears to have fallen down, likely dizzy from shock and blood loss. Even without the sun blazing overhead, the Everglades are hot and humid. Thundarr's skin is slick with sweat, and Ariel's camouflaging mud is washing away in little rivlets of sweat. The barbarian and the sorceress run through the swamp as fast as they can trying to keep up with the creature that has been hunting them. Unfortunately the creature's longer strides and greater speed give it an advantage in this foot race, even with its many injuries. Finally the two companions get to a fairly large stretch of dry ground. Thundarr cuts his way through the heavy underbrush with his Sunsword until he and Ariel get to a large clearing. They stop dead in their tracks at the sight before them. There, in the clearing, is a space ship.

"Lords Of Light!" says Thundarr.

"So that's where it's from," says Ariel, "It came from another planet. It came here to hunt."

"Well let's show it what it's like to be another's prey," says Thundarr.

Just then they hear a horrific howl coming from within the ship.

"Demon dogs!" says Thundarr, "What was that?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out," replies Ariel.

The two of them head over to the ship. Cautiously walking up the metal ramp, they enter the alien space craft. The halls inside the space craft are dark, the only illumination being a mysterious red glow with no discernible source. There's a heavy mist which seems to cling to the floor, and floats about their knees. The air is heavy and warm, causing Thundarr and Ariel to cough in discomfort.

"Now I know why the creature wore the mask," says Ariel, "The air on its home planet is different from ours. It was likely as uncomfortable breathing our air as we are breathing its."

"I care not why it wore a mask," says Thundarr, "So long as it no longer breathes air of any kind. Its own, or ours."

The two of them search the ship, keeping a wary eye out for an ambush. They eventually come upon the creature's trophy room. They see the many skins stretched out in metal frames. They recognize the skins as belonging to moks, carocks, as well as humans and various humanoid mutants. They then see the creature's trophy case, filled with the heads and skulls of various races, both from Earth and elsewhere.

"Demon dogs," says Thundarr, as he looks upon the macabre collection.

"Thundarr, look," says Ariel as she points out one of the trophies.

It is the head of a creature that came to Earth several years ago, to stalk and capture humans. It wrapped them up in cocoons to take back to its home planet to eat later. It was a powerful adversary, but it was helpless against the germs of Ookla's cold. Once infected it was easy to defeat. Apparently this other creature from the stars had hunted and killed the alien arachnid after it had left Earth, or at least another of its kind. There are also the skulls of humans, moks, the reptilian carocks, the rat-like groundlings, man-apes, tiger mutants, hawk mutants, and other creatures even Princess Ariel couldn't identify. There is the head of some creature with a glossy black exoskeleton, with no eyes that Ariel could see, but a mouth full of razor sharp teeth and what looks like a tongue with a second mouth on the end of it. Thundarr recognizes the heads of the silicoids, huge humanoid creatures made of living rock that once served the wizard Gemini. There are also the heads of the various models of battle-droids typically employed by wizards as guards and foot soldiers.

"Ariel," says Thundarr, "Battle-droids."

"That means some of these skulls must be from . . ."

"Wizards," says Thundarr, completing the thought, "Even one of their kind doesn't deserve such a fate."

Princess Ariel sees some of the human skulls are smaller than the others. She picks one up and shows it to Thundarr.

"Look at this," says the sorceress.

"The creature hunts children as well?" asks the barbarian, "Hunting humans for sport is bad enough! But that goes beyond terrible! When Ookla and I hunt for food, we never hunt animals that are too young."

"They may be the skulls of Zek's people," says Ariel, "The valley where their village is located is not far from here."

"And the creature has taken many man-ape trophies," adds Thundarr, "Simius and his people may have returned to the valley after we left."

"But that makes little sense," says Ariel, "The creature seems more interested in dangerous prey. Zek and his tiny people are farmers, not warriors."

"Perhaps they are the skulls of the desert people," suggests Thundarr, referring to the tiny people who dwell beneath the ruins of Saint Louis in The Desert Of Demons, "They are violent and cruel, as well as very cunning. Perhaps this creature has hunted for its prey there."

"Let's hope so," says Ariel. She still has ill feelings towards the desert people for their part in the conflict between the wizards Skellos and Octagon.

Just then, Thundarr notices movement reflected in the glassy skull of the alien head. Acting on pure instinct, the barbarian tackles Ariel to the floor a split second before the creature attempts to slash them with its blades. In an instant, Thundarr is back up with his Sunsword in hand. He and the creature attack each other wildly, both parrying the other's attacks. Princess Ariel stands to the side, ready to help Thundarr with her spells, but not daring to just yet for fear of hurting her friend.

As the barbarian and predator are doing battle, the sorceress notices that the creature's severed arm and wounded face are no longer bleeding. The wounds appear to have been cauterized by something. Very likely it was this doctoring that caused the creature to scream the way it did when she and Thundarr first arrived at the ship.

Thundarr is fighting for all he's worth, yet somehow the creature is able to match every strike of his Sunsword. Then things take a turn for the worst for the barbarian. Rather than parrying Thundarr's latest thrust, the creature instead grabs Thundarr by the wrists with its existing hand. Before the blonde barbarian can break free of the creature's grip, it knees Thundarr in the gut, then throws him against the metal wall. Thundarr hits the wall with such force that his Sunsword flies from his hand. Seeking to finish its prey off, the predator slashes at Thundarr's neck in an attempt to decapitate him. At the last possible second, Thundarr dives out of the way and the creature's blades spark as they strike the metal wall. Frantically, the barbarian crawls about on his hands and knees in an attempt to find his Sunsword in the heavy mist. He sees it, just a few feet away. But as he's reaching for it, the predator kicks him in the ribs with enough force to send him flying into the wall. He's not sure, but Thundarr thinks he may have broken a rib.

The creature walks up to Thundarr, raises its blades for the final blow . . . Then is hit by a burst of magical energy. it turns and sees Princess Ariel off to the side, her hands glowing with mystical energy, ready to do battle. The creature takes a couple of steps towards her, and she unleashes a barrage of exploding magical balls of energy. The creature raises its arms in an attempt to shield itself from the unrelenting assault. Princess Ariel doesn't let up. The creature's hide seems highly resistant to her magical attacks, but she can tell that she is in fact hurting the thing. The predator holds its good arm out towards the sorceress, pointing the blades on its bracer right at her. Ariel almost doesn't see the danger until it's too late, but at the last possible instant moves out of the way. The creature fires its blades at her as projectiles. One of them missed her completely, the other cuts deep into her upper arm. Ariel screams in pain and falls to the floor clutching her wounded arm. Before she can even think of moving, the predator is upon her. It grabs her by the throat and lifts her up off the ground one handed, slamming her against the hard metal wall.

Ariel struggles to free herself from the creature's grip, but it's as strong as a mok with an iron grip. She tries to conjure a spell to save herself, but she's quickly blacking out from the lack of oxygen. Just as she thinks all is lost, Thundarr comes up out of the mist, Sunsword in hand, and lops the predator's other arm off at the shoulder. Ariel falls to the floor with the severed arm still clutching her throat. The creature howls in agony as it loses its second arm. Thundarr drives the blade of his Sunsword into the creature's gut, twisting it around, causing the creature even more agony. As he pulls his blade from the predator's gut, it drops down to its knees. It tries desperately to grasp its wounded stomach, though it no longer has any arms to do so. Thundarr raises his Sunsword and then slashes the creature across the neck, decapitating it. The predator's headless body topples over onto the floor, very dead. Thundarr extinguishes the blade of the Sunsword with a thought and attaches it to its usual place on his bracer. Then he helps Ariel up to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asks her.

"I'll live," she replies with a strained voice, "It's only a flesh wound. It will heal."

"Come," says Thundarr, "We have precious little time. We must make haste if we are to stop the moks and the carocks from going to war."

They walk over to the severed head of the predator and Ariel picks it up, to take to King Korog as evidence of the carocks' innocence. Just as they take a couple of steps towards the hall leading to the exit, three red laser targets mark Thundarrs chest. Then three more mark Ariel's chest. Then another three. Then another three. Then another. And another. And another. Then several creatures like the one Thundarr and Ariel had just fought step out of the mist, deactivating their cloaking devices and aiming their shoulder canons at the barbarian and the sorceress. Another predator deactivates its cloaking device. This one appears to be their leader. It's not wearing a face mask like the others, and is heavily decorated in bones, teeth, and skulls, and has many battle scars all over its body. Thundarr steps protectively in front of Ariel and takes the Sunsword from its bracer, igniting the blade.

"Alright," says the barbarian, "who's next?"

One of the creatures aims its laser target at the severed head in Ariel's hand, then pulls out a short metal cylinder which quickly extends into a long metal javelin. It takes a couple of steps towards to two friends when the leader puts its arm out and blocks the other predator's path. The two of them appear to converse in their own tongue for a moment, then the younger creature puts its javelin away. It goes over to the decapitated body with some of the others of its kind and picks it up. They then carry the body away, like a funeral procession for a noble warrior. They all reactivate their cloaking devices, but not before the young hunter gives Thundarr and Ariel one last look. While it is impossible to tell from under that mask, Thundarr is certain the creature was glaring at them. The leader of these hunters begins to walk away, then stops. Almost as an afterthought, it pulls something from its belt.

"Here," it says in raspy sounding human, and it tosses the object to Thundarr and Ariel.

Ariel snatches the object out of the air with her good arm.

"Go," says the leader. Then it turns around and activates its cloaking device, disappearing into the mist.

Princess Ariel looks at what it was that was thrown to her. It is a chrome plated Colt .45 single action Peace Maker with a pearl handle grip and a brass plaque riveted onto the butt of the handle. Ariel looks to see what's written there.

"1894?" she reads out loud.

Just then the whole ship begins to shake.

"Lords Of Light!" says Thundarr, "An earthquake?"

"Worse!" replies Ariel, "The ship is taking off! We have to get out of here! NOW!"

Thundarr and Ariel make a mad dash for the door. As they approach they see that the ramp is rising up. The two of them put their heads down and force themselves to run just a little bit faster. They run up the ramp, ducking to keep from bashing their heads into the doorway, and leap from the space ship. They hit the ground hard, but Ariel gets back to her feet immediately. She grabs Thundarr by the arm and tries to lift him up.

"Come on!" she says, "We have to go! It's not safe here!"

Thundarr knows better than to argue with Ariel, especially when it comes to matters she understands better than he does. He forces himself up to his feet, picks up the predator's head, and starts running towards the trees as fast as he can go. They don't stop running when they reach the trees. Just as they're about to make it to the water, there's a bright light behind them and a burst of intense heat, like nothing either of them had ever experienced before. They both leap into the muddy water of the swamp just as flames go roaring over their backs. As they emerge from the water, they see pure devastation all around them. Most of the trees surrounding the immediate area around the clearing which the alien craft had landed in had simply disintegrated and there was nothing left but ash. The trees that were farther away from the craft are all aflame. The air is heavy with smoke and ash. The barbarian and the sorceress quickly begin their long hike back to the mok kingdom. They can only hope and pray that they will make it there on time.

As the sun rises on the mok Kingdom, King Korog and his warriors are gathered in the courtyard outfitted for war. Ookla is there with the king, asking him to give his friends more time. The king refuses. While he repects Ookla's loyalty to his friends, he cannot take the mok's word that his son was killed by some invisible creature. King Korog demands that the city gates be opened. A group of mok guards rush to do their king's bidding. They remove the heavy bars locking the gates, and push the heavy doors open. When they do, there, standing on the other side, are Thundarr and Princess Ariel. They are battered and bloody, covered in mud and ash, and leaning heavily on each other for support. In one hand, Thundarr is holding what appears to be a severed head. The two of them limp in through the gates.

"King Korog!" says Thundarr, "The carocks are not responsible for the deaths of your son and your warriors!"

He holds up the severed head, showing all who have gathered there just what it was.

"This, is what killed your people!" he says, "A hunter from the stars! He came here to hunt for sport! Ariel and I were inside its space ship! It has been hunting moks, carocks, groundlings, man-apes, humans, even wizards! The one who killed your kin is dead! Others of its kind may come back in the future, and you must be ready for them if they do! But the carocks are innocent of the deaths of your people! This war is unjust! You must offer the carocks peace!"

There are mumblings among the moks as they listen to Thundarr's speech. Finally, King Korog says something to the barbarian, and all the moks cheer.

"What is it?" asks Ariel, "What did he say?"

"He says there will be no war," replies Thundarr.

"Will there be peace between the moks and the carocks?" she asks.

"Doubtful," says Thundarr, "But at least it will not be open warfare."

"Thank goodness for small victories."

Thundarr and Ariel spend the next several days tending their wounds and regaining their strength. The two of them, along with Ookla, are considered heroes of the tribe. They are even made honorary members of the tribe, so that they never need ask permission to stay within their walls again. The three of them tell and retell the story of their hunt for the predator from beyond the stars over and over again. The mok children are especially fond of listening to the story, and continually ask for them to tell it again and again. Eventually, Thundarr and Ariel are well enough to be on the road once more. King Korog has their packs filled with enough provisions and fresh drinking water to last them many days.

"Thank you for your hospitality, my friend," says Thundarr.

King Korog growls something in return, which Ariel recognizes as mok for "You're welcome."

"So long King Korog," says Ariel, "May you always rule wisely, and may your kingdom know nothing but peace and prosperity."

The mok king growls in reply, and Ariel recognizes it as mok for "Thank you."

Thundarr gets his white stallion to rear up. "ARIEL! OOKLA!" he says, "RIIIIIDE!"

And the three of them gallop off towards the rising sun.

THE END

 

[Thundarr]

Bumped

 

[Thundarr]

Bump!

 

[Thundarr]

bumped