The Land of Painted Caves ec-6 Read online

  For the most part, conditions did not favour the growth of trees with their deeper root systems, except in certain locations. In places that were protected from the coldest winds and the hardest frosts, several feet of topsoil might be thawed, enough for trees to take root. Gallery forests often sprung up alongside the water-saturated edges of rivers.

  Wood River Valley was one of those exceptions. It had a relative abundance of both coniferous and deciduous trees and brush, including varieties of fruit and nut trees. It was an amazingly rich resource that provided a wealth of materials, especially firewood, for those who lived near enough to benefit, but it wasn't a dense forest. It was more like a narrow valley parkland with open clearings of meadows and lovely glades between heavier wooded patches.

  The large band travelled northwest through Wood River Valley for about six miles of gentle upgrade, a very pleasant beginning of the trek. At a tributary that cascaded down a hillside on the left, Manvelar stopped. It was time for a rest and to let some of the stragglers catch up. Most people built small fires to make tea; parents fed children and snacked on travelling food, dried strips of meat or pieces of fruit or nuts saved from the previous year's harvest. A few ate some of the special travelling cakes that nearly everyone had, a mixture of dried meat ground fine, dried berries or small chunks of other fruit, and fat, shaped into patties or cakes and wrapped in edible leaves. They were filling, high-energy food but they took some effort to prepare and most people saved them for later when they wanted to cover long distances quickly or were stalking game and didn't want to start a fire.

  'This is where we turn,' Manvelar said. 'From now on, if we just continue due west, when we reach West River, we should be close to the Twenty-sixth Cave and the floodplain, which is where the Summer Meeting will be held.' He was sitting with Joharran and several others. They looked at the hills rising up on the west bank and the tumultuous tributary tumbling down the slope.

  'Should we camp here tonight?' Joharran asked, then looked up at the sun to check its path across the sky. 'It's a little early, but we got off to a late start this morning, and that looks like a hard climb. We might be able to handle it better after a good night's rest.' He feared it might be hard for some.

  'Only for the next few miles, then it levels out on higher ground, more or less,' Manvelar said. 'I usually try to make the climb first, then stop and set up camp for the night.'

  'You're probably right,' Joharran said. 'It's better to have this behind us and start out fresh in the morning, but some people may find this climb more difficult than others.' He looked hard at his brother, then flicked his eyes toward their mother, who had just arrived, and seemed grateful to sit and rest. He had noticed that she seemed to be having a harder time than usual.

  Jondalar caught the silent signal, and turned toward Ayla. 'Why don't we stay back and bring up the rear, and direct any stragglers who may have fallen behind.' He motioned toward a few others who were still coming.

  'Yes, that's a good idea. The horses would rather be behind everyone, anyway,' she said, lifting Jonayla up and patting her back. She had finished nursing, but seemed to want to play around at her mother's breast. She was awake and lively, and giggled at Wolf, who happened to be behind them. He reached out and licked her face and the milk dribbling down her chin, which made her giggle more. Ayla, too, had seen the signal pass between Joharran and Jondalar, and like Joharran, she had noticed that Marthona seemed to be slowing as the day progressed. She had noticed that Zelandoni, who had just arrived, had been falling back also, but she wasn't sure if it was because she was tiring, or if she was slowing down to keep pace with Marthona.

  'Is there some hot water to make tea?' Zelandoni said when she reached them, pulling out the pouch in which she kept her medicines, and bustling around preparing to make her tea. 'Have you had any tea yet, Marthona?' Even before the woman shook her head from side to side to indicate that she hadn't, the Donier continued, 'I'll make some for you along with mine.'

  Ayla watched them both closely and quickly realised that Zelandoni had also noticed that Marthona seemed to be having some difficulty with the hike, and was preparing some medicinal tea for her. Marthona knew it, too. Many people seemed to be concerned for the woman, but they were keeping it at a subtle undercurrent. Ayla could tell, however, that no matter how they tried to minimise it, they were genuinely worried. She decided to see what Zelandoni was doing.

  'Jondalar, will you take Jonayla? She's fed and wide awake and wants to play,' Ayla said, giving the baby to him.

  Jonayla waved her arms and smiled at him and Jondalar smiled back as he took her. It was obvious that he adored this baby girl, this child of his hearth. He never seemed to mind taking care of her. To Ayla he seemed more patient with her than she was. Jondalar himself was a little surprised at the strength of his feeling for her, and wondered if it was because for a time, he had doubted that there would ever be a child of his hearth. He feared he had offended the Great Earth Mother when he was young by wanting to mate with his donii-woman, and wasn't sure She would ever choose a piece of his spirit to mix with the spirit of a woman to create a new life.

  That was what he had been taught. The creation of life was caused by the spirits of women mingling with the spirits of men with the help of the Mother, and most people he knew, including those he had met on his Journey, believed essentially the same thing … except for Ayla. She had a different view of the way new life came to be. She was convinced that there was more to it than just the mixing of spirits. She had told him that it wasn't only his spirit that had combined with hers to create this new person, but his essence when they shared Pleasures. She said Jonayla was as much his child as hers, and he wanted to believe her. He wanted this child to be as much his as hers, but he didn't know.

  He knew Ayla had come to that belief when she lived with the Clan, though it wasn't what they believed either. She had told him that they thought it was totem spirits that caused a new life to start growing inside a woman, something about the male totem overpowering the female totem spirit. Ayla was the only one he knew who thought that a new life was begun by something more than spirits. But Ayla was an acolyte, training to become a Zelandoni, and it was the zelandonia that explained Doni, the Great Earth Mother, to Her children. It made him wonder what would happen when the time came for her to explain how new life began to the people. Would she say that the Mother chose the spirit of a particular man to combine with her spirit the way the other Zelandonia did, or would she insist that it was a man's essence, and what would the zelandonia have to say about it?

  When Ayla approached the two women, she noticed Zelandoni looking through her bag of medicinal herbs, and Marthona sitting on a log in the shade of a tree near Wood River. Jondalar's mother did look tired, though it seemed to Ayla that she was trying not to make an issue of it. She was smiling and chatting with some people nearby, but she looked as if she would rather just close her eyes and rest.

  After she greeted Marthona and the others, Ayla joined the One Who Was First. 'Do you have everything you need?' she asked quietly.

  'Yes, though I wish I had time to prepare a fresh foxglove mixture properly, but I'll have to use the dried preparation I have,' the woman said.

  Ayla noticed that Marthona's legs seemed a little swollen. 'She needs to rest, doesn't she? Not visit with those people who just want to be sociable,' Ayla said. 'I'm not as good as you at letting people know they should let her be for a while, without embarrassing her. I don't think she wants people to know how tired she feels. Why don't you tell me how to make the tea for her.'

  Zelandoni smiled and said almost inaudibly, 'That was perceptive of you, Ayla. They are friends from the Third Cave whom she hasn't seen recently.' Then she quickly explained how to make the infusion she wanted, and approached the chatting friends.

  Ayla was concentrating on the instructions she had been given, and when she looked up, she saw that Zelandoni was walking away with Marthona's friends, and Marthona had closed her e
yes. Ayla nodded to herself; that will discourage others from stopping to talk, she thought. She waited a while to let the hot drink cool, and just as she was bringing it to Marthona, Zelandoni returned. They both hovered around the former leader of the Ninth Cave, making a point of showing their backs while she sipped her tea, blocking the view of passers-by. Whatever was in Zelandoni's mixture, after a while it seemed to help, and Ayla thought that she would ask the Donier about it later.

  When Manvelar started out again, leading the way up the incline, Zelandoni followed, but Ayla stayed seated beside Marthona. Willamar had joined them, and was seated on the other side of his mate. 'Why don't you wait with us and let Folara go ahead,' she said. 'Jondalar has volunteered to stay until the last, to make sure everyone gets started in the right direction. Proleva has promised to save something for us to eat whenever we get to the camp.'

  'I will,' Willamar said, without hesitation. 'Manvelar said from here, it's straight west for the next few days. How many days depends on how fast someone wants to go. No one has to be in a hurry. But it's good if someone follows along at the end just to make sure no one is delayed because they got hurt or ran into some other problem.'

  'Or has to wait for a slow old woman,' Marthona said. 'There may come a time when I won't be going to Summer Meetings.'

  'That's true for all of us,' Willamar said, 'but not yet, Marthona.'

  'He's right,' Jondalar said, holding a sleeping baby in one arm. He had just arrived after talking to a family group with several young children, making sure they got started in the right direction. The wolf was following behind, keeping watch on Jonayla. 'It doesn't matter if we take a little longer to get there. We won't be the only ones.' He motioned toward the family starting the climb. 'And once we get there, people will still be wanting your counsel and advice, mother.'

  'Do you want me to take Jonayla in my carrying blanket, Jondalar?' Ayla said. 'We seem to be the last ones.'

  'I'm fine with her, and she seems comfortable. She's sound asleep, but we have to find an easy way for the horses to get to the top of that waterfall,' he said.

  'I'm looking for the same thing. An easy way. Perhaps I should follow your horses,' Marthona said, not entirely in jest.

  'It's not so much the horses — they are good climbers — it's getting up there with the heavy pole-drags and the loads on their backs,' Ayla said. 'I think we need to traverse our way up, making wide turns to allow for the poles they are dragging behind them.'

  'So you want an easy way with a gentle slope,' Willamar said. 'As Marthona said, that's what we want. If I'm not mistaken, I think we passed a gentler slope on our way here. Ayla, why don't we walk back a ways and see if we can find it?'

  'Since Jondalar is so comfortable holding the baby, he can stay and keep me company,' Marthona added.

  And watch out for her, Ayla thought as she and Willamar started out. I don't like the idea of her waiting alone. There are many animals that might wander by and think of her as fair game: lions, bears, hyenas, who knows what? Wolf, who had been resting on the ground with his head between his paws, got up and seemed uneasy when he saw that Jonayla was staying, but Ayla was getting ready to leave.

  'Wolf, stay!' she said, signalling the same thing to him. 'Stay with Jondalar and Jonayla, and Marthona.' The wolf lowered himself back down, but his head was up and his ears cocked forward, alert to any other words or signals from her as she walked away with Willamar.

  'If we hadn't loaded the horses so heavily, Marthona could ride up that hill on a pole-drag,' Ayla commented, after a while.

  'Only if she were willing,' Willamar said. 'I've noticed something interesting since you came with your animals. She has absolutely no fear of that wolf, who is a powerful hunter that could easily kill her if he chose, but the horses are another matter. She doesn't like to get too close to them. She hunted horses when she was younger, but she fears them much more than the wolf, and they only eat grass.'

  'Perhaps it's because she doesn't know them as well. They are bigger, and can be skittish when they are nervous, or if something startles them,' Ayla said. 'Horses don't come into the dwelling; maybe if she spent more time with them, she wouldn't be so anxious about them.'

  'Maybe, but first you'd have to persuade her, and if she gets it in her mind that she doesn't want to, she's very good at evading what you want and doing what she wants, without seeming to. She's a very strong-minded woman.'

  'Of that, I have no doubt,' Ayla said.

  Though they weren't gone very long, by the time Ayla and Willamar returned, Jonayla had awakened and was now being held by her grandam. Jondalar was with the horses, checking their loads, making sure everything was securely fastened.

  'We found a better place to climb that ridge. In some places it's a little steep, but it is climbable,' Willamar said.

  'I'd better get Jonayla,' the young woman said, heading toward Marthona. 'She's probably made a mess and doesn't smell too good. She usually does when she wakes in the afternoon.'

  'She did,' Marthona said, holding the baby so that she was sitting on her lap, facing her. 'I haven't forgotten how to take care of a baby. Have I, Jonayla?' She bounced the infant lightly and smiled at her, and saw her smile returned along with some soft cooing sounds. 'She is such a sweet little thing,' she added, giving up the child to her mother.

  Ayla couldn't help smiling at her daughter when she picked her up, and saw the smile returned as she arranged her baby in her carrying blanket, tying it securely. Marthona seemed rested and more lively when she stood up, which pleased her. They headed back along Wood River and around a bend, then started up the easier slope. When they reached the top, they went north again until they reached the small stream that had been spilling down to the river below, then proceeded west. The sun was shining almost directly in their eyes as it neared the horizon before they reached the camp that had been set up by the Third and the Ninth Caves. Proleva had been watching out for them and was relieved to see them when they finally arrived.

  'I kept some food warm by the fire. What took you so long?' she said, leading them to the travelling tent they were sharing. She seemed particularly solicitous of Joharran's mother.

  'We walked back along Wood River and found a slope that was easier for the horses to climb, so it was easier for me, too,' Marthona said.

  'I didn't think that the horses would have difficulties. Ayla said they were strong and could carry the loads,' Proleva said.

  'It wasn't the size of the loads, it was those pole things trailing behind them,' Marthona said.

  'That's right,' Jondalar said. 'The horses need a wider, easier path up a steep hill. They can't turn as sharply when they are pulling the pole-drags. We found a way up that allowed them to traverse their way up the hill, but we had to backtrack a ways down Wood River.'

  'Well, it's nearly level and open for the rest of the way,' Manvelar said. He and Joharran had just joined them, and had heard Jondalar's comments.

  'That will make it easier for everybody. Keep the food warm for us, Proleva. We have to unload the horses and find a good place for them to graze,' Jondalar said.

  'If you have a nice bone with some meat left on for Wolf, I'm sure he'd appreciate it,' Ayla added.

  It was dark when they returned from settling the horses and were finally able to have their meal. Everyone using their family travelling shelter was gathered around the fire: Marthona and Willamar, and Folara; Joharran and Proleva, and her two children, Jaradal and Sethona; Jondalar, Ayla, and Jonayla, and Wolf; and Zelandoni. Although she wasn't technically part of the family, she didn't have any other family in the Ninth Cave and usually stayed with the leader's family when they travelled.

  'How long until we reach the Summer Meeting, Joharran?' Ayla asked.

  'It depends how fast we go, but Manvelar said probably no more than three or four days.'

  It rained off and on most of the way and everyone was glad when, by the afternoon of the third day, they saw some tents ahead. Joharran and Manv
elar, and Joharran's two close aides, Rushemar and Solaban, hurried ahead to find a place to set up their camps. Manvelar chose a place along a tributary, near its confluence with West River, and claimed it with his backpack. Then he found the leader of Sun View, and they all went through a short form of the formalised greeting.

  '… In the name of Doni, I greet you, Stevadal, leader of Sun View, the Twenty-sixth Cave of the Zelandonii,' Joharran finished.

  'You are welcome to the Gather Field of the Twenty-sixth Cave, Joharran, leader of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii,' Stevadal said, letting go of his hands.

  'We are glad to be here, but I'd like to ask your advice about where to set up our camp. You know how big we are, and now that my brother has returned from his Journey with some rather unusual … companions, we need to find a place where they won't disturb neighbours, and won't feel too crowded by people they don't know yet.'

  'I saw the wolf and two horses last year. They are rather unusual "companions",' Stevadal said, grinning. 'They even have names, don't they?'

  'The mare is Whinney — that's the horse Ayla usually rides. Jondalar calls the stallion he rides Racer; the mare is his dam, but it's three horses now. The Great Mother saw fit to Bless the mare with another young one, a little female. They call her Grey, for the colour of her coat.'

  'You may end up with a whole herd of horses at your Cave!' Stevadal said.

  I hope not, Joharran thought, but he didn't say anything, just smiled.

  'What kind of place are you looking for, Joharran?'

  'You remember last year we found a place somewhat out of the way. At first I thought it might be too far away from all the activities, but it turned out to be just right. There was a place for the horses to graze and for the wolf to be away from the people of the other Caves. Ayla controls him perfectly, and he even pays attention to what I say sometimes, but I wouldn't want him frightening anyone. And most of us liked that we were able to spread out a bit.'