The Sea of Mud (Italian: Il mare di fango) is the sixteenth episode of the third season (The Two Tigers) and the sixty-eighth overall episode of the animated series, Sandokan.
Plot[]
Naga leads our heroes through an enormous swamp. He tells them that for the Cambodians a dragon is really a crocodile and there’s an enormous one living in the sea of mud. But no one has ever been able to tell the story of its existence since no one has ever returned. Walking with swamp water up to one’s calves is certainly not the most comfortable experience, but being swarmed by thousands of mosquitoes and insects is certainly one of the most dreadful experiences to bear. Yanez is aware of this as he slaps his shoulders, cheeks and arms in an attempt to drive away those bothersome insects. They finally come close to the sea of mud, which is an enormous stretch of water and quicksand. Naga says that they must now proceed in a boat. “Which boat?”, wonders Sandokan. They will find one in the nearby village that is inhabited by rather strange people.
Amongst the other insects flies a fly that sheds a green light. During their journey, our heroes also talk about Suyodhana and right when Morugan gets annoyed for their moans about the bloodsuckers and the various other insects, some swamp people appear on a pirogue. Sandokan and his companions are led towards their camp. Here they find the pirogue that will take them to the middle of the swamp and then they are fitted with all that’s necessary to battle the enormous crocodile that, according to legend, lives in the centre of the sea of mud.
With a sense of terror and respect, the crocodile is considered a sort of deity. But once Sandokan, Yanez and Naga reach the middle of the sea of mud, they are attacked by an army of crocodiles. The magical dagger has a fundamental role in keeping them at bay, but at a certain point it falls into the sea of mud. All is lost. But, oddly enough, the crocodiles slowly swim away from the pirogue while a blue light springs up from the depths of the sea of mud. The dagger rises out of the water, lifted up by a mysterious force. The dagger is now on the surface, in the middle of the sea of mud.
Sandokan approaches on his pirogue and is close within its reach when an enormous crocodile materializes and with a leap swallows the dagger and disappears. Sandokan lures the crocodile back and when it reappears with its jaws wide open, Yanez shoves a keg of gunpowder into its mouth. At the same time, Sandokan shoots at the keg. Everything goes flying up into the air: pieces of crocodile and the dagger that ends up hanging from the branches of a tree surrounded by quicksand. Sandokan and Yanez, assisted by Naga, stretch a rope between the tree and the pirogue and finally manage to get hold of the dagger.
But Naga snatches the dagger from Yanez and cuts the rope that ties Sandokan to the pirogue – all the while laughing maliciously. A green flash of light makes them realize that the dagger is now in Suyodhana’s possession. Our heroes are sinking into the quicksand and have lost all hope when a rope is thrown in their direction. Morugan, Marianne and Kammamuri have reached them.
Characters[]
Main[]
Supporting[]
- Naga (who is possessed by Suyodhana)
Villains[]
- Suyodhana (who possesses Naga)
