Well, he doesn't find the city, but he does find several thousand green men locked in mortal combat. Still a surprising aversion of the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy, they shoot him down as soon as he shows up.
He lives through the crash, though, and it turns out that it's between Warhoons and...is that Tars Tarkas? Unfortunately, Tars Tarkas trips as he's recovers from slaying one.
John leaps into action, striking down one Warhoon, giving Tars Tarkas time to stand and slay the other.
- Despite the dye, Tars Tarkas recognizes him immediately. He's the only person on Barsoom who would have done that.
The battle rages for hours, but finally the Warhoons retreat. It was a bloody battle, on both sides, though, and the Tharks return to their city to regroup. A summons arrives for John, from Tal Hajus (the king, the Fat Bastard John punched in the face); Sarkoja recognized John and reported his return.
Tars Tarkas tells John to borrow a thoat and flee; Tal Hajus will want to (horribly) torture John. That would probably bode poorly for Tars Tarkas, but John seems to have a few things up his sleeve harness, buckle, thing.
Not the least of which is the Sola's tale, of Tars Tarkas's family. He says nothing, but his face is...interesting, for a time.
They pay a visit to Sarkoja; Tars Tarkas warns her that the lover of the woman she got tortured has discovered her part in the matter, and though it would be against custom to kill her, there is no custom against "tying one end of a strap about your neck and the other end to a wild thoat, merely to test your fitness to survive and help perpetuate our race.", and suggests she departs upon her pilgrimage. It's quicker.
She's gone when they leave the next morning. Nor was she seen after. But hey, Woola's back!
Tal Hajus demands John's horrible torture, of course, but John demands justice, as is custom for a chief. Lorquas Ptomel is the first to second him.
John calls out Tal Hajus, saying he tortures women and little children while the men fight, that he's a coward, and to add insult to injury, he's wimpy enough to be punched out by a midget. He asks, why do the proud warriors of Thark have such an embarrassment as their king, and suggests that someone worthy challenge him for leadership. Someone like Tars Tarkas.
Jeddak Tars Tarkas' first order of business is to officially elevate John to a chieftan, and his second, at John's proposal, is to unite the clans gather The Horde, rescue Dejah Thoris (and sack Zodanga) and then use the goodwill to ally with Helium. Having a steady ally and supplier would assure their supremacy among the green Martians.
The Tharks, a few neighboring clans, and clans they meet along the way...a hundred and fifty thousand green warriors, worth ten times their weight in red men, the greatest horde of green Martians ever assembled, march on Zodanga.
- They're surprisingly stealthy, traveling by night and hiding by day, and Tars Tarkas is a good enough leader to keep infighting to a minimum.
John leads a squad to sneak over the wall and open a gate; using a human Martian pyramid as a step, he leaps over the wall and lowers a rope. The squad takes out the sentries silently, and takes the gate by stealth. As the invasion proceeds, John leads an element to the palace to rescue Dejah.
Tars Tarkas is so awesome his battle isn't even described; the scene skips from drawing swords to Jeddak Tars Tarkas, his foot on Tal Hajus' head.
- This book is full of MemeticBadasses, and not just the main character.
- I'm also getting the feeling of a Nakama. It's strange, I'd never really seen or understood that idea, but it looks like I'm starting to understand it.
Again, The Power of Friendship seems to be a really strong theme in this book. He comes back to his friend Tars Tarkas, helps him, and bam, horde of barbarians.
- Speaking of which, does killing Sab Than by proxy count, if your proxy is a hundred and fifty thousand screaming warriors?
Yeah, I have to say, the Tharks are definitely the Noble Savage, with varying degrees of noble or savage. It's nifty to see that they're not just Mooks, but on the other hand, the Warhoons seem to hold that position.
- It is interesting that the Tharks aren't doing it out of the goodness of their heart, they're there to loot Zodanga and forge an alliance. And yet, they're rescuing the Princess.
It also seems interesting, that going from regretting killing the guards at the palace and sparing the sentry, he's ordered a barbarian horde to sack the entire city. I wonder why? I don't think A Million Is a Statistic works that way, and you know there's going to be butchery on a massive scale when they hit the city. True love, I guess, maybe with some When All You Have Is a Hammer…?
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