(Dutch: De Doder van Eriban) (part 1)
Art by Don Lawrence; script by Martin Lodewijk
When last we left our heroes, they were drifting on a giant seed-pod into space. As luck would have it, they see a ship heading in their direction. They try to get the attention of the crew, but the ship doesn't change course.
The ship passes them close enough to see the seemingly obivious, cloaked crew, but too far for them to get to. Nomad quickly formulates a daring plan. He makes a knife throw that cuts one of the ship's lines. As it swings out under tension, he jumps and grabs it. He climbs aboard the ship and gets a surprise:
All the crew are dead. Exploring the captain's cabin they find a curious sarcophagus. And inside:
Storm is puzzled as to why the sarcophagus is bigger than it's inhabitant, but the three leave the mystery to explore elsewhere. Storm and Nomad go into the hold and find only the earth that creates the ship's gravity. Suddenly, they hear Ember calling to them.
The boy explains that he was not in a coffin but a regeneration-capsule calibrated to his aura. He also addresses the three as his servants, asserting Pandarve sent them to replace the ones he lost. He introduces himself as Renter Ka Rauw, professional assassin of the Eriban.
The three aren't willing to be servants. Renter demonstrates his abilities. He throws Nomad. He lays Storm out with a kick, and blocks Embers strike with a club.
Finally, he threatens to kill Nomad with a touch. Storm and Ember have no choice but to surrender. The boy assigns them duties while he meditates on a course. Ember is angry about being assigned to cook. Storm counsels his friends to calm down and bide their time.
I said it before, but here's where the really good stuff started. Some people may dislike Renter as they think he's bratty, but personally I think he's actually more interesting than Marduk who over the course of the series was becoming more and more a caricature of a villain.
ReplyDeleteThis is disappointing, after Ember manages to be a real hero in the last story, here she is (literally!) sent back to the kitchen. Glad she is objecting to it all.
ReplyDeleteAnd, hey, they were on a flying thing that did not crash at the start of the story! Progress.
@seaofstarsrpg: Maybe it's comforting to know that Storm and Nomad were also unable to fight against Renter, so it's not just Ember. But... be prepared for some big disappointments in future episodes, mixed with some kick-ass moments (to the point that Ember even takes over the leading role in a story about Nomad's origins.)
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