Lo scettro di Tin-Hinan / I negromanti di Kush / Il dio della polvere / Duello sull'oceano / Alligator Bayou

The scepter of Tin-Hinan contains the last of the jewels from the disappeared continent of Atlantis that, joined together, could form the dangerous Key of Knowledge... The other jewels seem to have vanished forever, along wih the evil Professor Richter. Why then, Princess Marada has been mysteriously kidnapped in the Sahara, together with the scepter? Where is her husband Andrew Cain, the monster hunter? Who’s the man with the golden mask? Who’s the leader of the living corpses attacking a hamless family of settlers? And why was Cico mistaken for Zagor?... The Spirit-with-the-Hatchet can’t solve these enigmas now, since he’s busy fighting against the Forces of Darkness!

Looking for his kidnapped bride, Andrew Cain is in Darkwood along with his Tuareg warriors, ready to give Zagor a helping hand against the Kushite necromancers and their living corpses. But an ambitious enemy is scheming in the shadows. Soon the game will be unwittingly entered by the archaeologist Dexter Green, while a deadly and unstoppable weapon is prepared against our heroes: the sinister Dust God, who destroys everything in his path...

Dug up from the desert sands and held captive by the Kushite necromancers’ magic, the creature that appears as a shiny greenish fog is invulnerable to the common weapons and impossible to stop! How will Zagor, Cico, Cain and the Tuareg be able to avoid its deadly embrace, that consumes every living being it touches? While they’re fighting for their lives, in Philadelphia Dexter Green falls into the trap prepared by his long-standing enemy, Professor Richter...

With the help of Elsewhere’s agents, the hunt is on for the kidnappers of Princess Marada and Dexter Green. Will Zagor and Cain be able to save them, before Richter and his Kushite necromancer ally can change them into servants of Evil or zombies devoid of will? The fight goes on on the open sea, between a U.S. Navy steamboat and the zombies’ cursed sailer. After the boarding of their ship by the Marines, Zagor’s enemies seem to be on the verge of defeat... But the diabolical Professor Richter has an incredible ace up his sleeve...

The dramatic ending of Zagor’s adventure with Andrew Cain is just the prologue of a long journey that will take the Spirit-with-the-Hatchet to the extreme borders of the world. The hero from Darkwood goes to New Orleans, following the tracks of a traitor determined to sail south. Meanwhile, on the Mississippi Delta, a cajun gang kidnaps Baroness Moreau, a French lady new to Louisiana, while in thhe city center somebody tries to dispose of Marcel Dutronc, an old acquaintance of Zagor and Cico’s, burning his house...

In this episodes Zagor again works with agents from organisation “Elsewhere”, which is often seen in Martin Mystere episodes. Another reference is Atlantis saga which is also often seen in Martin Mystere.