The Land of Painted Caves

Chapter 17

'Why don't we take the horses for a run this morning?' Ayla said softly to the man who was lying beside her. 'Yesterday they seemed restless and edgy. I am too. They don't really get to go free and fast when they are pulling the pole-drags. It's hard work, but not the kind of exercise they like.'

Jondalar smiled. 'That's a good idea. I don't get to exercise the way I'd like to either. What about Jonayla?'

'Maybe Hollida would like to watch her, especially if Zelandoni will keep an eye on them,' Ayla said.

Jondalar sat up. 'Where is Zelandoni? She's not here.'

'I heard her get up earlier. I think she went to talk to the Fifth,' Ayla said. 'If we leave Jonayla, perhaps we should leave Wolf, too, though I'm not sure how the people of this Cave feel about him. They seemed a little nervous around him while we were eating last night. This is not the Ninth Cave … Let's take Jonayla with us. I can take her in her carrying blanket. She likes to ride.'

Jondalar pulled the top of their sleeping roll back and got up. Ayla got up too, leaving the baby who had been sleeping at her side to wake up while she went to pass her water.

'It rained last night,' Ayla said when she got back.

'Now aren't you glad you stayed inside, in the tent and under cover?' Jondalar said.

Ayla didn't answer. She hadn't slept well. She just couldn't get comfortable, but they did stay dry and the tent aired out.

Jonayla had rolled over on her stomach and was kicking her legs and holding her head up. She had also rolled out of her swaddling, and the soiled absorbent wadding it held in place. Ayla collected the unpleasant material and dumped it in the night basket, rolled up the damp, softened-leather swaddling blanket, then picked up the baby and headed down to the small stream to clean the little one, herself, and the blanket. She rinsed herself and the baby in the running water, a procedure to which the baby was now so accustomed, she didn't even fuss about it, though it was cold. Ayla hung the swaddling across some brush near the water, then got dressed and found a comfortable place to sit outside of the stone shelter to nurse her infant.

In the meantime, Jondalar had found the horses not far up the valley, brought them back to the abri, and was tying riding blankets on the backs of both Whinney and Racer. At Ayla's suggestion, he tied equally balanced pack baskets across the mare's rump as well, but had some difficulty when Grey started nuzzling her dam, trying to nurse. About the time they were ready to go to what Ayla thought of as the main shelter in this place of many shelters, Wolf returned. She assumed he had gone off to hunt earlier, but he appeared so suddenly, he spooked Whinney, which surprised the woman. Whinney was normally a calm horse and the wolf didn't usually alarm her; it was Racer who was more excitable, but all the horses seemed skittish, even the little filly. And Wolf, too, Ayla thought as he pressed against her as though looking for attention. She felt odd herself. Something seemed off, just not quite right. She looked at the sky to see if any storm threatened; a film of high clouds made the sky white with telltale traces of blue. They probably all needed a good run.

Jondalar put the halters on Racer and Grey. He had also made one for Whinney but Ayla used it only on special occasions. Before she even knew she was training Whinney, she had taught the mare to follow her; she still didn't think of it as training. When she showed Whinney what to do, and repeated the instruction many times until she understood, then the mare did it because she wanted to. It was similar to the way Iza had trained Ayla to remember the many different plants and herbs, and their uses, by repetition and rote memorisation.

When they were all packed, they walked to the shelter of the Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave, and again the procession of man, woman, baby, wolf, and horses caused the people to stop what they were doing and watch, hard pressed to avoid the discourtesy of outright staring. Both the Fifth and the One Who Was First walked out from the shelter.

'Come and join us for a morning meal,' the man said.

'The horses are agitated and we've decided to take them out for some exercise to run off their restlessness and settle them down,' Jondalar said.

'We just arrived yesterday. Don't they get enough exercise travelling?' the First said.

'When we're travelling and they are pulling loads, they don't run or gallop,' Ayla explained. 'Sometimes they need to stretch their legs.'

'Well, at least come and have some tea, and we'll pack up some food for you to take with you,' the Zelandoni of the Fifth said.

Ayla and Jondalar looked at each other, and understood that although they would have preferred to just leave, it might offend the Fifth Cave, and that would not be appropriate. They nodded to each other in acquiescence.

'Thank you, we will,' Jondalar said, reaching into the carrying pouch attached to his waist thong and pulling out his personal drinking cup. Ayla also found her cup and passed it down to a woman near the fireplace who was ladling out the hot liquid. She filled the drinking containers, and handed them back. Rather than settling down to graze while they were waiting, the horses were markedly apprehensive, displaying their anxiety. Whinney was dancing in place, sniffing loudly as furrows appeared over her eyes. Grey was picking up her dam's nervous symptoms, and Racer was sidestepping with his neck arched high. Ayla tried to comfort the mare, running her hand along the side of her neck, and Jondalar was having to hang on to the rope halter to keep the stallion from breaking away.

Ayla glanced across the stream dividing the valley and watched some children running and screaming alongside the waterway in some kind of game that to her seemed more frenzied than usual, even for excited youngsters. She watched them dashing in and out of the shelters, and suddenly had a feeling that it was dangerous, though she didn't see how it could be. Just as she was about to speak to Jondalar and tell him they had to go, some people brought them rawhide-wrapped packages of food. The couple thanked everyone as they stashed the parfleches in the pack baskets on Whinney; then with the help of some nearby rocks, they climbed up on to the horses' backs and started riding out of the valley.

As soon as they reached a clear, open field, they eased their control and let the horses run. It was exhilarating and lessened Ayla's nervousness, but didn't eliminate it. Finally the horses grew tired and slowed down. Jondalar noticed a stand of trees in the distance and guided Racer in that direction. Ayla saw where he was heading and followed. The young filly, who could already run as fast as her mother, trailed behind. Young horses quickly learned to run fast; they had to if they were going to survive. The wolf raced along with them; he also enjoyed a good run.

As they neared the trees, they could see a small pool, obviously spring fed, that overflowed its banks in a rill that ran off across the field. But as they neared the pool, Whinney suddenly stopped short, which nearly knocked Ayla to the ground. She wrapped her arm around her baby, who had been sitting in front of her, and quickly slid down from the mare's back. She noticed Jondalar having trouble with Racer, too. The stallion reared up, neighing loudly, and the tall man slid back, then quickly stepped off. He didn't fall, but had trouble regaining his footing.

Ayla became aware of a loud rumbling, feeling it as much as hearing it, and realised it had been going on for some time. She glanced ahead and saw the water in the pool shoot up in a fountain as though someone had squeezed the spring and sent a squirt of liquid up in the air. It was only then that she noticed the ground was moving.

Ayla knew what it was — she had felt the earth shift beneath her feet before — and felt a gorge of panic rise up in her throat. The earth was not supposed to move. She struggled to keep her balance. Petrified, she clung to her baby, afraid to take a step.

She watched the knee-high grass of the open field perform a strange, quivering dance as the groaning earth moved in unnatural ways to unheard music deep within. Ahead, the small stand of trees near the spring amplified the movement. The water bounced up and fell back, swirled over its bank, churned up dirt from its bed, and spit out muddy globs. She smelled the stench of raw earth; then with a crack, one fir tree suddenly gave way and slowly began to tip over, pulling up and exposing half its circle of roots.

The shaking seemed to go on forever. It brought back recollections of other times, and the losses that had come with the moving, groaning earth. She shut her eyes tight, trembling, and sobbed with grief and fear. Jonayla started to cry. Then Ayla felt a hand on her shoulder, and arms wrap around her and the baby that offered solace and comfort. She leaned against the warm chest of the man she loved, and the baby quieted. Slowly, she became aware that the quaking had stopped and the shuddering earth had stilled, and she felt the tightness inside her lessen.

'Oh, Jondalar,' she cried. 'That was an earthquake. I hate earthquakes!' She trembled in his arms. She thought, but didn't want to say it aloud — voicing thoughts could give them power — that earthquakes were evil; bad things always seemed to happen when the earth shook.

'I don't much like them either,' he said, holding his fragile little family close. Ayla looked around, and noticed the tilted fir tree near the spring. She shivered with a unexpected memory of a scene long ago.

'What's wrong?' Jondalar asked.

'That tree,' she said.

He looked where she was gazing and saw the tree near the spring, canted over and roots exposed.

'I remember seeing many trees tipped over and leaning like that, and some on the ground and fallen across a river. It must have been when I was very young …,' she said, hesitating, 'before I lived with the Clan. I think it was when I lost my mother, and family, and everything. Iza said that I could walk well and talk; I suppose I could count five years when she found me.'

After she told him of her memory, Jondalar held her until she relaxed again. Though it was just a brief recitation, it gave him a better understanding of the terror she must have felt as a little girl when an earthquake had brought her world crashing down around her, and life as she had known it came to an abrupt end.

'Do you think it will come back? The earthquake? Sometimes when the earth moves like that, it doesn't settle down right away. It comes back,' Ayla said, when they finally let go of each other.

'I don't know,' he said. 'But maybe we should get back to Old Valley, and make sure everyone there is all right.'

'Of course! I was so scared, I wasn't thinking about anyone else. I hope everyone is safe. And the horses! Where are the horses?' Ayla cried, looking around. 'Are they all right?'

'Aside from being as frightened as we were, I think they're fine. Racer reared up and made me slide off, but I managed not to fall. Then he started running in big circles. As far as I could tell, Whinney didn't move, and Grey stayed by her side. I think she must have run away after it stopped.'

Off in the distance on the level field, Ayla spied the animals, and breathed out, relieved. She whistled her special summons loudly and saw Whinney's head go up, then start in her direction. Racer and Grey followed, and Wolf behind them.

'They're coming now, and there's Wolf, too. I think he must have run off with them,' Jondalar said.

By the time the horses and Wolf arrived, Ayla was more composed. Since there was no convenient rock or stump of wood nearby to help her climb on Whinney's back, she gave Jonayla to Jondalar for a moment, and holding on to the mare's stand-up mane, she jumped up, threw her leg over, and found her seat. She took the child from the man and watched while Jondalar climbed up on Racer's back in much the same way, though he was so tall, he could almost step up on to the back of the compact, sturdy stallion.

She looked toward the spring, where the tree still leaned at a precarious angle. It would fall soon, she was sure. Though she had wanted to go there before, she didn't want to go near it now.

As they started toward Old Valley, they heard a loud crack, and when they glanced back, there was a more muffled boom as they watched the tall fir hitting the ground. Riding back to the Fifth Cave, Ayla wondered about the horses, and the implication of their recent actions.

'Do you suppose that the horses knew the ground was going to shake like that, Jondalar? Was that why they were behaving so strangely?' she asked.

'They definitely were nervous,' Jondalar said, 'but I'm glad they were. That's why we left and were out in the open when it happened. I think it's safer to be out here; you don't have to worry about things falling on you.'

'But the ground can open up under you,' Ayla said. 'I think that's what happened to my family. I remember that smell of deep earth, of wetness and decay. But I don't think all earthquakes are the same. Some are more powerful than others. And most of them can be felt a long distance away, but not as strongly.'

'When you were young, you must have been very close to the place where the shaking started, if all the trees toppled over and the ground opened up. I don't think we were as close to this one. Only one tree fell.'

Ayla smiled at him. 'There aren't many trees out here to fall, Jondalar.'

He smiled a little ruefully. 'That's true, and all the more reason to be out here when the ground shakes,' he said.

'But how would you know when the ground is going to shake?'

'By paying attention to the horses!' he said.

'If only I could be sure that would always work,' she said.

As they neared Old Valley, they noticed unusual activity. Almost everyone seemed to be outside of the shelters, and many of them were clustered around in front of one of them. They dismounted and walked the horses toward the shelter they had been using, which was just beyond the one where the people were gathered.

'There you are!' the First called out. 'I was a little worried about you when the ground started shaking.'

'We're fine. Are you all right?' Ayla said.

'Yes, yes, but the Fifth Cave has had some injuries, one serious,' the woman said. 'Perhaps you might take a look.'

Ayla detected the note of concern in her voice. 'Jondalar, would you take the horses and see how everything is? I'm going to stay here and help Zelandoni,' she said.

She followed the large woman until they came to the place in front of the shelter where a boy was lying on a fur bedroll that was spread out on the ground, with the fur side down to make a padding underneath. Extra pads and blankets had been placed under him to elevate his head and shoulders slightly. Soft, pliable skins, covered with blood, were directly under his head, and blood was still seeping out. She took Jonayla out of her carrying blanket, set it out on the ground, and put the baby down on it. Wolf laid down next to her. Then Hollida appeared.

'I'll watch her,' she said.

'I would be grateful,' Ayla said. She saw a cluster of people nearby who seemed to be consoling a woman, and realised that it was probably the boy's mother. She knew how she would feel if he were her son. She exchanged a look with the First, held it for a moment, and understood that the boy's injury was more than serious. It was grim.

Ayla knelt down to examine him. He was lying in the open in the light of the sun, though high clouds shielded the brightness somewhat. The first thing she noticed was that he was unconscious, but breathing, though it was slow and irregular. He had bled a great deal, but that was usually the case with head wounds. Much more serious was the pink-tinged fluid draining from his nose and ears. That meant the bone of the skull was cracked and the substance inside injured, which did not bode well for the child. Ayla understood the First's concern. She lifted his eyelids and looked at both of his eyes; one of the pupils contracted in the light, and the other was larger than the first and did not react, another bad sign. She turned his head slightly to allow the bloody mucus coming from his mouth to drain to the side and not clog his breathing passages.

She had to control a reaction to shake her head so the mother wouldn't see how hopeless she thought it was. She got up and looked intently at the First, communicating her bleak prognosis. They went off to the side where the Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave was watching. Some people from his shelter had come to get the Zelandoni when the boy was hurt, and he had already examined him. He had asked the First to look at the child to confirm his diagnosis.

'What do you think?' the man said under his breath, looking at the older woman, then at the younger one.

'I don't think there's any hope for him,' Ayla said in a very soft voice.

'I'm afraid I agree,' the One Who Was First said. 'There is very little that can be done for an injury like that. He has not only lost blood, but he is also losing other fluids from inside his head. Soon the wound will swell and that will be the end.'

'That's what I thought. I will have to tell his mother,' the Zelandoni of the Fifth said.

The three Zelandonia walked to the small group of people who were obviously trying to comfort the woman who was sitting on the ground not far from the boy. When she looked at the expressions on the faces of the three Zelandonia, the woman broke out in sobs. The Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave knelt down beside her.

'I am sorry, Janella. The Great Mother is calling Jonlotan back to Her. He was so full of life, such a joy, that Doni can't bear to be without him. She loves him too much,' the man said.

'But I love him, too. Doni can't love him more than I do. He's so young. Why does She have to take him now?' Janella sobbed.

'You will see him again, when you return to the Mother's breast, and walk the next world,' the Fifth said.

'But I don't want to lose him now. I want to see him grow up. Isn't there anything you can do? You are the most powerful Zelandoni there is,' the boy's mother pleaded, looking at the First.

'You can be sure that if there were, I would be doing it. You don't know how much it hurts me to say it, but there is nothing I can do for someone with such a severe injury,' the One Who Was First said.

'The Mother has so many, why does She want him, too?' Janella sobbed.

'That is one question to which we are not given to know the answer. I am sorry, Janella. You should go to him while he still breathes, and comfort him. His elan must find his way to the next world now and I'm sure he is frightened. Though he may not show it, he will be grateful for your presence,' the large, powerful woman said.

'Since he's still breathing, do you think he might wake up?' Janella asked.

'It is possible,' the First said.

Several people helped the woman up and led her to her dying son. Ayla picked up her child, held her close for a moment, and thanked Hollida, then walked toward the shelter in which they were staying. The other Zelandonia joined her.

'I wish there were something I could do. I feel so helpless,' the Zelandoni of the Fifth Cave said.

'We all do at a time like this,' the First said.

'How long do you think he'll live?' he asked.

'You never know. He could linger for days,' the Zelandoni of the Ninth Cave said. 'If you want us to stay, we will, but I wonder how extensive this earthquake was, and if it was felt at the Ninth Cave. We have a few people who didn't go to the Summer Meeting …'

'You should go and see how they are,' the Fifth said. 'You are right. There's no telling how long the boy will linger, and you are still responsible for the Ninth Cave, and seeing to their well-being. I can do whatever is necessary here. I have before. Sending someone's elan to the next world is not my most favourite part of taking care of one's Cave, but it needs to be done, and it is important that it be done right.'

Everyone slept outside of the stone shelters that night, mostly in tents. They were too apprehensive to go inside, where rocks might still fall, except to run in and retrieve something they needed. There were a few aftershocks, and a little more rock shook loose from the walls and ceilings of the shelters, but nothing as heavy as the piece that fell on the boy's head. It would be a while before anyone would feel like being in a stone shelter, though when the cold and snow of the periglacial winter arrived, people would forget the peril of falling rocks and be glad for some protection from the weather.

The procession of people, horses, and a wolf started out in the morning. Ayla and the First stopped in to see the boy, but more to see how his mother was bearing up. They both had mixed feelings about leaving. They wanted to stay and help the mother of the injured boy cope with her loss, but they were both concerned about those who had stayed behind at the stone shelter of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandoni.

They travelled south, following The River as it wound along its sinuous course downstream. The distance was not too great, though they had to cross back over The River and climb up the highland and back down again because the curving stream forced the water against the rock walls in one section, but the horses made the trek both easier and faster. By late afternoon, they were in sight of the sheer limestone cliff with the column near the top that appeared to be falling, which housed the large abri of the Ninth Cave. They strained to see if there were any differences that might warn them of damage to their home, or injury to its inhabitants.

They reached Wood Valley and made their way across the small river that fed into The River. People were standing on the northern end of the stone front porch that faced southwest waiting for them as they started up the path. Someone had seen them coming and told the others. When they passed by the jutting corner that held the hearth of the signal fire, Ayla noticed it was still smouldering from recent use and wondered why.

Because the Ninth Cave had so many people, the number who had stayed back from the Summer Meeting, for one reason or another, was nearly as great as those who made up the total of some of the smaller Caves, though it was comparable in proportion to the other groups. The Ninth Cave had the greatest number of people of any of the Caves of the Zelandonii, including the Twenty-ninth and the Fifth which had several stone shelters. Their abri was extraordinarily large and had plenty of room to comfortably house their large number, and more. In addition, the Ninth Cave had individuals who were very skilled in many ways and had much to offer. As a result they had a very high status among the Zelandonii. People wanted to join them, but they could only take in so many and tended to be selective, choosing those who reinforced their standing, though once someone was born to them or became a member, they were very seldom turned out.

All who had not gone to the Summer Meeting, who were able, came out to watch the travellers arrive, many of them gaping with surprise; they had never seen their Donier sitting on a seat that was pulled by Ayla's horse. Ayla stopped to let Zelandoni step off the pole-drag, which she did with unruffled dignity. The First saw a middle-aged woman, Stelona, whom she knew to be level-headed and responsible, she had stayed at the Ninth Cave to care for her ailing mother.

'We were visiting the Fifth Cave and felt a strong earthquake. Did you feel it here, Stelona?' the First said.

'We felt it, and people were frightened, but it didn't seem too bad. Some rocks fell, but mostly in the gathering area, not here. No one was hurt,' Stelona said, anticipating the Zelandoni's next question.

'I'm glad to hear that. The Fifth Cave was not so lucky. A boy was severely injured when a large rock fell on his head. I'm afraid there's little hope for him. He may already be walking the next world,' the Donier said.

'Have you heard anything from the other Caves in this area, Stelona? The Third? The Eleventh? The Fourteenth?' The First said.

'Only smoke from their signal fires to let us know they were there and didn't need any immediate help,' Stelona said.

'That's good, but I think I'll go see what damage, if any, they sustained,' the Donier said, then turned to look at Ayla and Jondalar. 'Would you like to come along? And perhaps bring the horses? They could be useful if anyone does need help.'

'Today?' Jondalar asked.

'No, I was thinking of making a tour of our neighbours tomorrow morning.'

'I'd be glad to go with you,' Ayla said.

'Of course, I will, too,' Jondalar said.

Ayla and Jondalar unloaded Racer's travois, except for their own things, and left the bundles on the ledge in front of the living section, then led the horses pulling the nearly empty pole-drags past the part of the shelter where most of the people lived. They lived at the other end of the inhabited area, although the overhanging stone protected a much larger section, which was only used occasionally, except for the places they had made for the horses. As they walked along the front of the huge abri, they couldn't help but notice some newly fallen pieces of stone, but nothing too large, nothing much bigger than pieces that sometimes split off by themselves for no reason that anyone could determine.

When they reached the large, flat stone near the edge of the front porch that Joharran and others sometimes used to stand on when they wanted to address a group, Ayla wondered when it fell and what had caused it. Was it an earthquake or had it just sheared off by itself? Suddenly the stone shelters that had seemed so protective didn't feel quite so safe anymore.

As they started to lead the horses under the overhanging ledge toward their space, Ayla wondered if they would balk the way they had the night before. But the place was familiar to them and they apparently sensed no danger. They went right in, which gave her an immense feeling of relief. There is really no protection when the earth decides to shake, inside or out, but if the horses were to give her a warning again, she did think she would rather be outside.

They unhitched the two pole-drags and left them in their usual place, then led the horses to the corrals that they had made for them. They were not penned in. The structures they had constructed under the overhanging ledge were there for the animals' comfort; they were free to come and go at any time. Ayla brought water from the spring-fed stream that separated the Ninth Cave from Down River, and poured it into their troughs, although the horses could just as easily have got water from the stream themselves. She wanted to make sure that water was available in the middle of the night, especially for the little one.

Only during the spring rutting season were there any constraints on the horses. Then not only did they fasten the gates closed, put halters on the animals, and tie them to posts to keep them from getting free, but Ayla and Jondalar usually slept nearby to drive away the stallions that were drawn to the mare. Ayla didn't want Whinney to be captured by some stallion and driven to his herd, and Jondalar didn't want Racer running off to be hurt fighting with other stallions in an effort to mount the tempting females. He even had to be kept away from his dam, whose mating scent was so overpoweringly close. It was a difficult time for all of them.

Some hunters took advantage of Whinney's luring aroma, which could be detected by males more than a mile away, and killed a few of the wild horses, but they stayed out of sight of Ayla and made sure not to mention it to her. She was aware of the practice and couldn't really blame them. She had lost her taste for horsemeat, and chose not to eat it, but she knew most people enjoyed it. Just so long as they didn't go after her horses, she didn't object to others hunting the animals. They were a valuable food source.

They walked back to their own dwelling and unloaded their belongings. Although they hadn't been gone very long, not even as long as usual for a Summer Meeting, Ayla was happy to be back. Visiting other Caves and Sacred Sites along the way seemed to have taken more time than normal, and the effort left her tired. The earthquake had been particularly draining. She shuddered at the thought of it.

Jonayla had been fussing and she brought the baby to the changing place just outside the dwelling; then she went inside and settled down to nurse, happy to be there. The structure had rawhide-panel walls but no ceiling, at least none that was constructed. When she looked up, she saw the underside of the overhanging rock of the natural stone shelter. She could smell food cooking and knew they would share a meal with some of their usual community, and then she'd be able to crawl into her bedroll and cuddle up between Jondalar and Jonayla, with Wolf just beyond. She was glad to be home.

'There's a sacred cave nearby that you haven't really explored, Ayla,' Zelandoni said while they were sharing their morning meal the day after their return. 'The one we call the Women's Place, on the other side of Grass River.'

'But I've been to the Women's Place,' Ayla said.

'Yes, you've been there, but how far in did you go? There is much more to it than you've seen. It's on the way to Horsehead Rock and Elder Hearth. I think we should make a stop on our way back.'

Ayla found the visits to the sacred caves fascinating, but it was exhausting, and she had seen so many recently, she was tired of visiting decorated caves. It was too much to take in all at once. She wanted some time to think about what she had already seen, but she couldn't bring herself to refuse Zelandoni's suggestion, any more than she could refuse her request to accompany her when she went to visit the other Caves in the region to see how they had fared during the earthquake. She wanted to know, too, though she was also tired of travelling and wouldn't have minded resting for a day or so.

The earthquake had been experienced by the Third, the Eleventh, and the Fourteenth Caves, their closest neighbours, as well as by Elder Hearth, the Second Cave, and Horsehead Rock the Seventh, with little damage, if the signal fires had been interpreted right, but the First wanted to check on the Caves that were a little farther away just to make sure. A few people from the nearby Caves had some bruises from falling stones, and a beautiful lamp that had been carved out of sandstone was smashed. The Donier wanted to make sure that any injuries that might have been sustained really weren't serious. Ayla had the sense that the quake hadn't been as strong in this region as it had been at Old Valley, and wondered if it had been more severe farther north.

On the way to Horsehead Rock, they stopped by a couple of homesites of smaller Caves near Little Grass River that were being formed by some young people who were beginning to feel crowded out. Several caves and abris in the region were inhabited, at least part of the year, and people had started to refer to the area as New Home. They were all empty, even the most settled one, called Bear Hill. Zelandoni explained that the young people who lived there still thought of themselves as belonging to the Cave of their families and travelled with them to the Summer Meeting. Those who couldn't or didn't go gathered with the ones who stayed behind from their primary Cave. Though they didn't see any people, going that way allowed Jondalar and Zelandoni to show Ayla the 'back way' to Horsehead Rock and Elder Hearth, and Sweet Valley, the rich, moist lowland between them.

After checking out Bear Hill, they crossed Little Grass River — the stream was low at this time of year and easy to traverse, especially where it widened out — and headed over the highland toward Sweet Valley and Horsehead Rock, the Seventh Cave of the Zelandonii. The ones who had stayed back from the Second Cave had joined the Seventh Cave, but there were still just a few people left behind, and they welcomed the visitors eagerly, partly because the ones who were ill or failing were glad to see the Doniers, but mostly because it broke up the tedium of seeing only the same few people. The Zelandonii were a sociable folk, used to living in close quarters with a number of others, and most, even if they were unable to go, missed the excitement of the Summer Meeting. Since the people were still at the Summer Meeting, or doing some other summer activity — hunting, fishing, gathering, exploring, or visiting — it felt a bit strange to visit the Caves when they were nearly empty.

They had all felt the earthquake, but no one had been injured, though some were still nervous about it and sought out reassurance from the First. Ayla observed how the woman managed to comfort them with her words, though she didn't really say anything specific, and couldn't have done anything about the natural upheaval anyway. It was her way of speaking, her assured manner, her posture, the younger woman thought. Zelandoni even made her feel better. They stayed overnight; people had started preparing a place for them to sleep and making food for a small feast as soon as they had arrived. It would have been impolite, not to mention unkind, for them to have left any sooner.

On the way back the next day, Zelandoni wanted to check a place they had bypassed on the way out. They rode back over the raised ground again, toward Little Grass River but more upstream, to a community on the edge of the highland called Lookout. It was well named. A settled area around rocky outcrops that offered some protection from weather was unoccupied by its inhabitants at the moment, but from a rise nearby, they could see for a long distance in many directions, particularly toward the west.

Ayla felt unsettled from the moment they drew near to the place. She didn't know why, but she had an uncanny feeling in the middle of her back and as far as she was concerned, they couldn't get away fast enough. The moment she dismounted from her horse, Wolf sought her out, rubbing against her leg and whining. He didn't like the place either, but the horses seemed unperturbed. It was a perfectly normal summer day, with a warm sun and green grass growing on the hillside, and the place had an excellent view of the countryside. There was nothing she could see or detect to account for her discomfort, and she hesitated to say anything.

'Do you want to stop and rest, and have a midday meal here, Zelandoni?' Jondalar asked.

'I don't think there is any reason for us to stay here,' the woman replied, heading back to the pole-drag, 'especially if we are going to stop and see the Women's Place. And if we don't take too long, it's close enough to the Ninth Cave that we can get home before dark.'

Ayla wasn't at all sorry that Zelandoni decided to continue and was glad now that the First had wanted to show her the sacred deep of the Women's Place. They worked their way down the western side of the highland to Little Grass River, and near its confluence with Grass River they crossed over. Just a short distance beyond was a small U-shaped valley surrounded by tall limestone cliffs that opened out on to Grass River, and across that, the green valley that gave the waterway its name, Grass Valley.

The little meadow's lush grass often enticed various grazers, but the high walls of the sides eased to a comfortably climbable slope, especially for hoofed animals, some three hundred feet back, which made it not quite suitable for a hunting trap without extensive construction of fences and corrals. Such work had been started once, but never finished. Only part of a rotting back fence remained of the effort.

The area was known as the Women's Place. Men were not restricted, but since it was used primarily by women, few men outside of the zelandonia visited the site. Ayla had stopped there before, but it was usually to bring a message to someone, or she was with someone who was on the way to some other place. She had never had an occasion to stay long. Usually she had come from the direction of the Ninth Cave, and she knew that when entering the small meadow with Grass River at her back, on the outside of the wall on the right was a small cave, a temporary shelter and sometime storage place. Another small cave penetrated the same limestone wall just after rounding the corner into the enclosed valley.

Of much greater importance were two caves, narrow winding fissures that opened out of a small rock shelter that was at the back of the meadow somewhat raised from the level of the floodplain floor. Those caves at the rear of the valley had contributed to the reluctance to make the site into a hunting site, though it would not have mattered if it had been ideally suited to the purpose. The first passage, on the right, wove its way within the limestone wall back toward the way they had come until it came out at a small, narrow exit not far from the first small cave in the right wall. Though it had many engravings on its walls, it and the rock shelter where it started were used primarily as a place to stay while visiting the other cave.

No one was there when Ayla, Jondalar, and Zelandoni arrived. Most people had not yet returned from their summer activities, and the few who stayed at their living sites had no reason to visit. Jondalar unhitched the pole-drags from the horses to give them a rest. The women who used it kept the area generally neat and orderly, but it was visited often and was well used, and a Women's Place was inevitably a children's place as well. When Ayla had visited before, the usual activities of ordinary living were apparent. There had been wooden bowls and boxes, woven baskets, toys, clothing, and racks and posts for drying or making things. Implements of wood, bone, antler, or flint were sometimes lost or broken, or carried off by children and ended up kicked aside or left in the cave, unnoticed in the dark. Food was cooked, trash piled up, and, particularly when the weather was bad, was disposed of inside the cave, but, Ayla had learned, only in the right-hand cave.

Some things were still around. Ayla found a log with a trough dug out of it that had obviously been used to hold liquid, but she decided to use their own utensils to make tea and soup. She gathered some wood and, using an existing black depression filled with charcoal, started a fire and added cooking stones to heat water. Some logs and chunks of limestone had been dragged close to the fireplace by previous occupants, and Zelandoni took the stuffed pads from her travois and placed them around to make the seating more comfortable. Ayla nursed, then put Jonayla down on her blanket on the grass while she ate, and watched the baby fall asleep.

'Do you want to come along, Jondalar?' Zelandoni asked when they had finished. 'You probably haven't seen it since you were a boy and made your mark inside.'

'Yes, I think I will,' he said.

Nearly everyone made a mark on the walls of this cave at some time, occasionally more than once, although the males of the community were usually children or young adolescents when they made theirs. He remembered the first time he went inside by himself. It was a simple cave with no passages leading off to get lost in, and youngsters were allowed to find their own way. Generally, they went in alone or at most in pairs to make their own private marks, whistling or humming or chanting along the way until the walls seemed to answer back. The marks and engravings did not symbolise or represent names; they were a way that people told the Great Earth Mother about themselves, how they defined themselves to Her. Often they only made finger tracings. It was enough.

After they finished their meal, Ayla wrapped her infant securely to her back and they each lit a lamp and started into the cave, Zelandoni in front and Wolf bringing up the rear. Jondalar recalled that the left cave felt exceedingly long — it was more than 800 feet deep, winding through the limestone — and that the beginning of the fissure was fairly easy to enter, and unremarkable. Only a few markings on the walls near the entrance indicated that someone had been there before.

'Why don't you use your bird whistles to speak to the Mother, Ayla,' the First said.

Ayla had heard the woman humming, not loudly but very melodically, and hadn't expected to be asked. 'If you would like me to,' she said, and began a series of bird calls, the ones she thought of as softer evening sounds.

About 400 feet from the entrance, halfway in, the cave narrowed and the sounds resonated differently. That was where the drawings started. From this point on, the walls were covered with drawings of every kind. The two walls of the winding subterranean passage were marked with almost uncountable, often undecipherably superimposed and intermingled engravings. Some were isolated and many that could be interpreted were very well made. Adult women frequented the cave most often and, consequently, the more accomplished, refined engravings were usually made by them.

Horses predominated, shown at rest and with lively movement, even galloping. Bison were also very prevalent, but there were many other animals: reindeer, mammoths, ibex, bears, cats, wild asses, deer, woolly rhinoceroses, wolves, foxes, and at least one saiga antelope, hundreds of engravings in all. Some were very unusual, like the mammoth with its trunk curled back; the head of a lion that utilised a naturally embedded stone for the eye was strikingly rendered; and a reindeer bending down to drink was outstanding for its beauty and realism, as were the two reindeer facing each other. The walls were fragile and didn't lend themselves well to painting, but were easy to mark and engrave, even with fingers.

There were also many parts of human figures, including masks, hands and various silhouettes, but always distorted, never as clearly and beautifully drawn as the animals, such as the disproportionately large limbs on the seated figure, shown in profile. Many engravings were incomplete and buried in a network of lines, various geometric symbols, tectiform signs, and undefined marks and scribbles that could be interpreted many ways, sometimes depending on how the light was held. The caves were originally formed by underground rivers, and at the end of the gallery there was still a karstic area of active cave formation.

Wolf ran on ahead into some of the more inaccessible parts of the cave. He came back carrying something in his mouth and dropped it at Ayla's feet. 'What is this?' she said as she bent to pick it up. All three of them focused their lamps on the object. 'Zelandoni, this looks like a piece of a skull!' Ayla said. 'and here is another piece, a part of a jaw. It's small. I think this may have been a woman. Where did he find these, I wonder?'

Zelandoni took them and holding them in the light from the lamp. 'There may have been a burial in here, long ago. People have lived near here for as long as anyone can remember.' She saw Jondalar make an involuntary shudder. He preferred to leave things of the spirit world to the zelandonia, and she knew it.

Jondalar had helped with burials when he was required to do so, but he hated the duty. Usually when men returned from digging burial holes, or other activities that brought them dangerously close to the spirit world, they went to the cave called the Men's Place, on a highland across Grass River from the Third Cave, to be scrubbed and purified. Again, women were not prohibited from the Men's Place, but like a fa'lodge, it was mostly male activities that took place, and few women, outside of the zelandonia, went there.

'The spirit is long gone from these,' she said. 'The elan found its way to the world of the spirits so long ago that only pieces of bone are left. There may be more.'

'Do you know why someone was buried in here, Zelandoni?' Jondalar asked.

'It is not what we usually do, but I am sure this person was put in this sacred place for a reason. I don't know why the Mother decided to let the wolf show them to us, but I will put these back farther on. I think it is best to return them to Her.'

The One Who Was First went ahead into the twisting darkness of the cave. They watched her light weaving ahead, then disappear. Not long after, it reappeared, and soon they saw the woman returning. 'I think it's time to go back,' she said.

Ayla was glad to be leaving the cave. Besides being dark, the caves were always damp and chilly once you moved past the opening, and this one felt close and confined, but maybe it was just that she'd had her fill of caves for a while. She just wanted to go home.

When they arrived at the Ninth Cave, they found that more people had come home from the Summer Meeting, though some were planning to leave again soon. They had brought with them a young man who was smiling shyly at a woman seated near him. His hair was light brown and his eyes were grey. Ayla recognised Matagan, the young man of the Fifth Cave who had been gored in the leg by a woolly rhinoceros the year before.

Ayla and Jondalar had been returning from their period of isolation after their Matrimonial when they saw several young men — inexperienced boys, really — who were baiting a huge, full-grown rhino. The youngsters had been sharing one of the bachelor fa'lodges, some for the first time, and were full of themselves, sure they would live forever. When they saw the woolly rhinoceros, they decided to hunt it themselves without going to find an older, more experienced hunter. They were thinking only of the praise and glory they would get when the people at the Summer Meeting saw their kill.

They were really quite young; some had barely gained hunter status, and only one of them had even seen hunters baiting a rhino, though they had all heard of the technique. They didn't know how deceptively quick the huge creature could be, or how important it was to keep focused and not allow their attention to stray for a moment. That was all it had taken. The rhino had shown signs of tiring, and the boy hadn't kept his attention closely enough on the animal. When it came for him, Matagan was unable to move fast enough. He was badly gored in the right leg below the knee. The injury was severe, with the lower part of his leg bent sharply backward and the jagged broken bones sticking out of the profusely bleeding wound. He would likely have died if Ayla hadn't happened to be there and, from her training in the Clan, knew how to set a broken leg and staunch the bleeding.

When he did survive, the fear was that he might never walk on that leg again. He did walk, but there was permanent damage and some paralysis. He could get around fairly well, but his ability to crouch down or stalk an animal was severely curtailed; he would never be a really good hunter. That was when discussions began about him becoming an apprentice to Jondalar to learn flint-knapping. The boy's mother and her mate, plus Kemordan, the leader of the Fifth Cave, Joharran, Jondalar, and Ayla, since he would be staying with them, had finally settled everything at the Summer Meeting before they left. Ayla liked the youngster and approved of the arrangement. The boy needed to have a skill that would give him respect and status, and she remembered when they were travelling, how much Jondalar had enjoyed teaching his craft to anyone willing to learn, especially youngsters. But she had hoped for a day or so of rest and quiet alone in her home. She took a deep, silent breath and walked over to greet Matagan. He smiled when he saw her coming, and hurried to scramble to his feet.

'Greetings, Matagan,' she said, reaching for both of his hands. 'In the name of the Great Earth Mother, I welcome you.' She looked him over closely in her inconspicuous way, and noted that he seemed rather tall for his age, though he was still young and had not reached his full height. She hoped his injured leg would continue to grow to match the length of his good leg. It was hard to tell how tall he would be, but his limp could get worse if his legs became unequal in size.

'In the name of Doni, I greet you, Ayla,' he replied, the polite greeting he had been taught to use.

Jonayla, tied to her mother's back with the carrying blanket, squirmed to see to whom she was talking. 'I think Jonayla wants to greet you, too,' Ayla said, loosening her blanket and shifting her around to the front. The baby sat wide-eyed in her mother's arms looking at the young man; then suddenly she smiled and held out her arms to him. Ayla was surprised.

He smiled back. 'Can I hold her? I know how. I have a sister a little older than her,' Matagan said.

And he's probably homesick and lonesome for her already, Ayla thought, as she handed Jonayla to him. It was obvious that he was comfortable holding a baby. 'Do you have many brothers and sisters?' she asked.

'I guess so. She's the youngest, I'm the oldest, and there are four in between, including two born together,' he said.

'I think you must be quite a help to your mother. She is going to miss you. How many years do you count?' she said.

'I'm a thirteen-year,' he said. He became aware of her unusual accent again. When he had first heard the foreign woman speak, the year before, he had thought her accent was quite strange, but when he was recovering, especially when he woke up after the accident and was in so much pain, he grew to look forward to that accent because she invariably brought some relief. And although the other Zelandonia also checked on him, she came regularly, and stayed to talk to him and straighten his bedding to make him comfortable, as well as giving him medicine.

'And you have reached your manhood and had your rites last summer,' a voice behind Ayla said. It was Jondalar, who had been hearing the conversation as he approached them. The style of Matagan's clothing, the patterns that had been sewn on them, and the beads and jewellery he wore told Jondalar that the youngster was considered a man of the Fifth Cave of the Zelandonii.

'Yes, last summer at the Meeting,' Matagan said. 'Before I was hurt.'

'Now that you are a man, it's time for you to learn a skill. Have you done much flint-knapping?'

'Some. I can make a spear point and a knife, or re-shape one that is broken. They aren't the best, but they work,' the boy said.

'Perhaps the question I should ask is, do you like working the flint?' Jondalar said.

'I like it when it goes right. Sometimes it doesn't.'

Jondalar smiled. 'Even for me, sometimes it doesn't,' he said. 'Have you eaten?'

'I just finished,' Matagan said.

'Well, we haven't yet,' Jondalar said. 'We just got back from a short trip to see some of our neighbours and find out if they suffered any injuries or damage from the earthquake. You know that Ayla is Acolyte to the First, don't you?'

'I think everyone knows that,' he said, shifting Jonayla around to lean against his shoulder.

'Did you feel the earthquake?' Ayla asked. 'Was anyone in your travelling party hurt?'

'We felt it. Some people were knocked down, but no one was really hurt,' he said. 'I think everyone was scared, though. I know I was.'

'I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be afraid during an earthquake. We'll get something to eat; then we'll show you where you can stay. We haven't set anything up special, yet, but we'll work it out later,' Jondalar said as they headed toward the other side of the shelter where people were gathered.

Ayla reached for Jonayla.

'I can hold her while you get some food,' Matagan said. 'If she'll let me.'

'Let's see if she will,' Ayla said, turning toward the firepit where the food had been set out. Suddenly Wolf appeared. He had stopped for water when they reached the Ninth Cave, and then found that someone had put some food in his bowl. Matagan's eyes opened wider with surprise, but he had seen the wolf before and he didn't seem overly frightened of the animal. Ayla had introduced the wolf to Matagan the year before when she was taking care of him, and the animal sniffed the young man who was holding the baby of his pack, and recognised his scent. When the boy sat down, the wolf sat down beside him. Jonayla seemed happy with the arrangement.

By the time they finished eating, it was getting dark. There were always some prepared torches ready for lighting near the main fire where the group often gathered and Jondalar took one and lit it. They all had travelling gear with them — backframes, sleeping rolls, travelling tents. Jondalar helped Ayla with some of hers, while she carried the baby, but Matagan seemed to be able to handle his own, including a sturdy staff that he sometimes used to walk with. He didn't seem to need it all the time. Ayla suspected he had used it on the long walk from the Sun View, the place of the Summer Meeting, to the Ninth Cave, but probably could get by just fine for shorter distances.

When they reached their dwelling, Jondalar went in first, lighting the way, and held open the drape across the entrance. Matagan went in next, followed by Ayla.

'Why don't you set up your sleeping roll here in the main room near the fire for now. We'll work out something better tomorrow,' Jondalar said, suddenly wondering how long Matagan would be living with them.