READ THE NOVEL- Chapters 1-31 - ERBzine

Tarzan on Mars
know not. How long must we wait for you to produce her?"
Tario recalled his plan to create an Issus. That he might
yet materialize the coveted phantom he had once dreamed of
in Lothar he was reasonably confident, nor had the personal
advantages of this possibility been forgotten.
"Sooner, perhaps, than you imagine," he smiled.
At that moment, a detachment of Tarnathian guardsmen
entered the great amphitheater in haste. The dwar who was
their commanding officer ordered his men to remain near the
entrance as he approached the Sacred Council's table. When
he reached the steps of the wide balcony, he dropped to one
knee.
"Sire!" he cried, to Ranas Ghol. "Forgive this interruption
of the most sacred Council, but I bring you an announcement
of great importance!"
"Speak, warrior!" commanded Tario, stubbornly asserting
himself above the others.
The dwar hesitated, looking from Tario to Ranas Ghol,
but as the latter signalled him to speak, he said, "There awaits
the Council a powerful jeddak from the outer world. He has
told me to say that he demands an audience!"
Zithad frowned at Sardon Dhur. "Since when were your
priests permitted to divulge the secret of Tarnath's location?"
he demanded. "This is not only our most strategic fortress—it
is temporarily a part of the inner Sacred Worlds, which men
from the outside may never visit unless they have departed
on their final journey from the living!"
Sardon Dhur smiled. "The bait we have dangled before
men's souls is to tantalizing, Zithad. Did it not occur to you
that my workers could be tortured for information? I knew
this would happen. The 'faithful' have forced our hand,
gentlemen."
"Who is the royal delegate?" asked Ranas Ghol of the
Tarnathian dwar, who still waited on one knee.
"He is Tavan Jal, sire, the ruling Jeddak of the far
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