The Land of Painted Caves

Chapter 18

'Matagan, have you seen Jonayla and Jondalar?' Ayla called out when she saw the young man walking with a limp, coming out of the addition that had been built next to her dwelling. There were three youths living there now: Matagan; Jonfilar, who had come from the west, near the Great Waters, and Garthadal, whose mother was the leader of his Cave, and had travelled with him from far to the southeast because she had heard of Jondalar's skill.

After four years, Matagan was the most senior of Jondalar's apprentices and had gained so much proficiency that he was helping the man train the younger ones. He could have gone back to the Fifth Cave, or almost any other Cave, as an experienced flint-knapper in his own right, but by now he thought of the Ninth Cave as his home and preferred to stay and work with his mentor.

'I saw them earlier heading toward the horse surround. I think I heard him promise her yesterday that he would take her riding today if it didn't rain. She's getting good at riding Grey, as little as she is, even if she can't get on or off by herself yet.'

Ayla smiled to herself with the memory of Jondalar riding Racer with Jonayla sitting in front of him before she was even walking, and they both trained Grey with the child on her back in front of them, her little arms hugging the mare's thick neck. The young girl and the young mare grew up with each other, and Ayla thought the tie between them was as close as the one between Whinney and herself. Jonayla was good with all the horses, including the stallion — in some ways even better than her mother because she learned to direct him using the halter and lead rope, the way Jondalar did. Ayla still directed Whinney using body language and wasn't as comfortable riding a horse using Jondalar's technique.

'When they come back, would you tell Jondalar I'll be late tonight. I may not be back until morning. Do you know about the man who fell off the cliff near The Crossing this morning?' Ayla said.

'Yes. A visitor?' Matagan said.

'A neighbour from New Home. He used to be with the Seventh Cave; now he lives at Bear Hill. I can't understand why anybody would try to climb High Rock when it's so wet from all the rain. Mud has been sliding down some of the steeper slopes; it was probably muddy up there, too,' Ayla said. This has been a wet spring, she thought. Springs have been more wet ever since we had that cold winter that Marthona predicted a few years ago.

'How is he?' Matagan asked. He knew what it was like to suffer the consequences of poor judgment.

'He's seriously hurt. Broken bones and I don't know what else. I'm afraid Zelandoni will be up all night with him. I'll be staying to help her,' Ayla said.

'With you and the First there, I'm sure he's getting the best care possible,' Matagan said, then smiled. 'And I speak from experience.'

Ayla smiled back. 'I hope so. A runner was sent to tell his family. They should be arriving soon. Proleva is making a meal for them and some others at the main hearth. I'm sure there will be enough for you and the boys, and Jondalar and Jonayla, too,' she added as she turned to hurry back.

She found herself still thinking about Jonayla and the animals as she walked back. When she had to be away, Wolf sometimes stayed with Jonayla, sometimes with her. If she went with Zelandoni to help someone at another Cave, Wolf usually came with her, but when she had to make 'sacrifices' and endure 'tests' as part of her training — go without sleep, give up Pleasures, fast for periods of time — she usually went alone.

She often stayed at the small shelter called the Little Hollow of Fountain Rocks, which was comfortable enough. It was right next to the Deep of Fountain Rocks, sometimes called Doni's Deep, the long cave that was the first sacred site she saw when she came to live with the Zelandonii. Fountain Rocks was about a mile away from the Ninth Cave, plus a gentle-sloped but long climb up the cliff. The long painted cave had other names, especially to the zelandonia such as Entrance to the Womb of the Mother or the Mother's Birth Canal. It was the most sacred site in their immediate region.

Jondalar wasn't always happy when she had to be away, but he never minded taking care of Jonayla, and Ayla was glad for both of them that they were developing such a close relationship. He had even started teaching her to knap flint alongside his apprentices.

Ayla's musings were cut short when she noticed two women walking toward her on her way back, Marona and her cousin. Wylopa nodded in greeting and smiled whenever she saw her, and though it always looked insincere, Ayla smiled back. Marona usually acknowledged her only with the briefest of nods and Ayla responded in kind. The woman didn't even do that much if no one else was around, but this time Marona did smile at her. It made Ayla look at her again. It was in no way a pleasant smile. It was more like a sneer, a gloating sneer.

Ever since her return, Ayla couldn't help but wonder why Marona had moved back to the Ninth Cave. She thought the Fifth Cave had accepted her well enough, and the woman had been known to remark when she moved there that she liked it better. I like it better when she's there, too, Ayla thought.

It wasn't just because Marona and Jondalar had once been a couple. Rather that no one had been more malicious and spiteful to her, beginning with the trick of the boys' winter underwear so people would laugh at her. But Ayla had faced the laughter down and gained the respect of the Ninth Cave. Now, particularly when she was riding Whinney, she often wore a similar outfit on purpose, and so did many other women, much to Marona's vexation. Light leggings and a sleeveless tunic in soft leather were quite comfortable to wear when the days were mild.

Ayla had heard talk from some of Matagan's visiting relatives that Marona had angered some high-status women of the Fifth Cave, kin of Kemordan, the leader, or his mate, for persuading a man who was Promised to one of them to run away with her instead. With her nearly white blond hair and dark grey eyes, she was an attractive woman, though Ayla thought the lines of the frown she wore so often were beginning to etch themselves more deeply on her face. Just like most of her relationships, the liaison didn't last very long, and after claiming his regret and making satisfactory reparations, he was accepted back, but she was looked upon with less favour. As Ayla neared Zelandoni's dwelling, her musings slipped into the back of her mind as thoughts of the injured man filled it.

Later in the evening, when she stepped out of the Donier's abode, which was both her home and an infirmary, she saw Jondalar sitting next to Joharran, Proleva, and Marthona. They had finished their meal and were sipping tea, watching Jonayla and Proleva's daughter, Sethona. Jonayla was a happy, healthy child and very pretty, everyone said, with fine, very light soft curly hair and Jondalar's extraordinarily vivid blue eyes. To Ayla, Jonayla was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, but growing up in the Clan had taught her to be reticent in expressing such thoughts about her own child. It could bring bad luck, and when she tried to look at it objectively, she believed she was bound to feel that way about her own offspring, but in her heart, she could hardly believe such an amazing child could be hers.

Sethona, Jonayla's close cousin, born only a few days before her and a constant playmate, was grey-eyed with dark blond hair. Ayla thought she resembled Marthona; she already showed elements of the former leader's dignity and grace, and her clear direct gaze. Ayla turned her attention to Joharran and Jondalar's mother. Marthona was showing her age, her hair was more grey, her face more lined, but it wasn't just her physical appearance. She wasn't well and that worried Ayla. She and Zelandoni had discussed her situation, and every possible remedy and treatment they could think of to help her, but they both knew there was no way to keep Marthona from walking in the next world someday; they could only hope to delay it.

Though she had lost her own mother, Ayla felt herself lucky to have had Iza, the Clan medicine woman as the mother who raised her as a girl, with Creb the Mog-ur as the man of her hearth. Nezzie of the Mamutoi was the mother who wanted to adopt her into the Lion Camp, although the Mamut of the Mammoth Hearth had done it instead. Jondalar's mother had treated Ayla like a daughter from the first, and she thought of Marthona as her mother, her Zelandonii mother. She felt close to Zelandoni as well, but she was more a mentor and friend.

Wolf was watching the girls, his head down on his front paws. He had noticed Ayla when she approached, but when she didn't immediately join them, he raised his head and looked at her, which caused everyone else to look, too. That made Ayla aware that she had been so lost in thought she had stopped walking. She continued toward them.

'How is he?' Joharran asked when she neared.

'It is still hard to know. We've put splints on the broken bones in his legs and arm, but we don't know what may be broken inside. He still breathes, but he hasn't roused. His mate and mother are in with him now,' Ayla said. 'Zelandoni feels she should stay with them, but I think someone could bring her something to eat, which might encourage his family to come out and eat, too.'

'I'll take her the food and try to persuade them to come out here,' Proleva said, getting up and walking toward the stack of visitors' dishes. She took an ivory plate, which had been flaked off a large mammoth tusk and smoothed with sandstone rocks, and selected some slices of meat from the whole mountain goat kid that had been roasted on a spit. It was rare treat. Several hunters from the Ninth and neighbouring Caves had gone ibex hunting, and had had some luck. Proleva added some leafy greens and lightly cooked spring stalks of new thistle and roots of some kind, then carried it to the entrance of Zelandoni's dwelling and scratched at the exposed side of a piece of rawhide next to the heavy leather drape across the entrance. A moment later she went in. Not long after, she walked out with the mate and mother of the injured man, brought them to the main hearth, and gave them visitor plates.

'I should go back in,' Ayla said, looking at Jondalar. 'Did Matagan tell you I will probably be late tonight?'

'Yes. I'll put Jonayla to bed,' he said, standing and picking up the child. He embraced the woman, touching cheeks, while Ayla held them both close.

'I rode Grey today,' Jonayla said. 'Jonde took me out. He rode Racer. Whinney came too, but she didn't have anyone to ride her. Why didn't you come, mama?'

'I wish I could have, Baby,' Ayla said, hugging them both again. Her pet name for her child was similar to the word for 'baby' that she had called the injured lion cub she had once found, nursed back to health, and then raised. It was a modification of the Clan word for infant or little one. 'But a man fell down and got hurt today. Zelandoni has been trying to make him feel better, and I've been helping her.'

'When he gets better, will you come?' Jonayla said.

'Yes, when he gets better, I will come riding with you,' Ayla said, thinking, if he gets better. Then she turned to Jondalar. 'Why don't you take Wolf with you, too.' She had noticed the mate of the man eyeing the animal warily. Everyone knew about the wolf and most had seen him, at least from a distance, but not everyone had tried to find a place to sit and eat with him nearby. The woman had also been looking askance at Ayla, especially after hearing the word she had used to refer to her child. Even modified, the word had a distinctly strange and unfamiliar sound.

After Jondalar left with Jonayla and Wolf, Ayla went back into Zelandoni's dwelling. 'Has there been any improvement in Jacharal?' she asked.

'Not that I've been able to see,' the One Who Was First said. She was glad the two women relatives had gone out so she could speak frankly. 'Sometimes people languish in this condition for quite a while. If someone can manage to get them to take in water and food, they last longer, but if not they are gone within days. It's as though the spirit is confused, the elan is not sure if it wants to leave this world while the body still breathes, even if the rest of the body is damaged beyond repair. Sometimes they wake up, but may not be able to move, or some part of them won't move or doesn't heal right. Occasionally, given enough time, some people will heal from a fall like that, but most often they don't.'

'Has he lost fluid from his nose or ears?' Ayla asked.

'Not since he's been here. There is an injury to his head, but it doesn't seem very deep, just a few superficial scratches. He has so many broken bones, I'm guessing his real damage is internal. I'll watch him tonight.'

'I'll stay with you. Jondalar took Jonayla, and Wolf, with him. This man's mate seemed uncomfortable around Wolf,' Ayla said. 'I thought most people were used to him by now.'

'I suspect she hasn't had time to get used to your wolf. She's not from here; Amelana is her name. Jacharal's mother told me the story. He went on a Journey to the south, mated her there, and brought her back with him. I'm not even sure if she was born in Zelandonii territory or only near it. The borders of territories are not always clear. She seems to speak it well enough, though with that southern inflection, a little like Beladora, Kimeran's mate.'

'What a shame, to come all the way here, and then possibly lose her man. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to Jondalar right after I got here, or even now,' Ayla said, shuddering at the thought.

'You would stay here and become a Zelandoni, just as you are now. You said yourself, you don't really have anyplace to go back to. You're not going to make the long Journey all the way back to the Mamutoi alone, and weren't you adopted by them? You're more than adopted here. You belong. You are Zelandonii,' the woman said.

Ayla was a little surprised at the vehemence of the First's statement, but more than that, she was gratified. It let her know she was wanted.

It wasn't the next morning, but early the day after, that Ayla finally returned to her home. The sun was just coming up, and she paused a moment to watch the glowing colour, brighter in one spot, begin to saturate the sky across The River. The rain had stopped, but clouds hanging low on the horizon strung out in wispy threads of brilliant reds and golds. When the searing light first lifted above the cliffs, Ayla tried to shade her eyes to take notice of the formations nearby so she could compare the rising of the intense radiance with where it rose the day before.

Soon she would be required to note the risings and settings of the sun and moon for a whole year. The hardest part of that, she was told by others of the zelandonia, was missing sleep, especially watching the moon, which sometimes first appeared or disappeared in the middle of the day, and sometimes in the middle of the night. The sun, of course, always rose in the morning and set in the evening, but some days were longer than others, and it moved across the horizon in a predictable way. For half the year as the days grew longer, it travelled a little farther north every day until it stood still for a few days in the middle of summer, when the days were longest, the time of the Summer Longday. Then it reversed its direction, setting a little farther south every day while the days got shorter, passing the time when day and night were the same length, and the sun set nearly directly west, until it stood still again for a few days in the middle of winter, the time of the Winter Shortday.

Ayla had talked with Jacharal's mother and Amelana, and had become better acquainted with the young woman. They had at least one thing in common: they were both foreign women who had mated Zelandonii men. She was quite young, Ayla realised, and a little unpredictable and capricious. And she was pregnant, and still suffering some morning sickness. She really wished they could do more for Jacharal, for Amelana's sake as well as his own.

Both Ayla and Zelandoni watched him closely, for themselves as well as for him. They wanted to see his progress to try to learn more about conditions such as his. So far they had managed to get some water into him, but it was only reflex action that caused him to swallow, and sometimes choke, when they put water in his mouth. He didn't wake up as a result of their efforts. While they were together, Zelandoni also spent some time instructing Ayla in the ways of the zelandonia. They discussed medicines and healing practices, and conducted several ceremonies in an effort to elicit the help of the Great Earth Mother. Ayla was familiar with only some of it. They hadn't yet got the whole community involved in the healing ceremonies, which would be much more elaborate and formal.

They also discussed a forthcoming Journey the older woman wanted to make with her Acolyte, a long Journey that would take the entire summer, and she wanted to leave soon. There were several sacred sites to the south and the east that the First thought they should visit. They would not be going alone. Not only would Jondalar come, but Willamar, the Trade Master and his two young assistants. They were discussing who else should make the trip with them, and Jonokol's name came up. The idea of travelling so far to see new places was exciting, but Ayla knew it would also be arduous, and was grateful for the horses. It would make travelling easier for her and the First. Besides, Zelandoni liked arriving on the pole-drag being pulled by Whinney. It created a commotion and she liked doing things that brought attention to the zelandonia, and the importance of the position of the First.

When Ayla arrived at her dwelling, she thought about making a morning tea for Jondalar, but she was so tired. She hadn't slept much, staying up so Zelandoni could rest. In the morning, the Donier had sent her home to get some sleep. It was so early, everyone was still sleeping, except Wolf, who was outside waiting to greet her. She smiled when she saw him. It amazed her how he always seemed to know when she was coming, or where she was going.

When she went in, Ayla noticed that Jonayla was sleeping beside Jondalar. She had her own smaller sleeping roll beside theirs, but she liked to crawl in with them, and when Ayla wasn't there, which was happening more often, she climbed in with him. Ayla started to pick Jonayla up to move her back to her own sleeping place, then changed her mind and decided to let them finish sleeping without being disturbed. They'd be up soon enough. She went to Jonayla's bed, and though it was small, there was extra bedding in the storage area. Rearranging her child's bedroll somewhat, she used it instead. When Jondalar woke up and saw Ayla sleeping in Jonayla's place, he smiled, then frowned. He thought she must have been very tired, but he missed having her beside him.

Jacharal died a few days later, without ever waking up. Ayla used the travois to transport him back to the Seventh Cave. His mother wanted the funeral ceremony to be held there and him to be buried nearby so his elan would be in a familiar area while he was finding his way to the next world. Ayla, Jondalar, Zelandoni, and several others from the Ninth and neighbouring Caves, and all the people from Bear Hill took part in the burying ritual. Afterward Amelana approached Zelandoni and Ayla and asked to talk with them.

'Someone told me that you are planning to make a Journey south soon. Is that true?' Amelana said.

'Yes,' Zelandoni said, wondering what the young woman wanted. She thought she knew and was already considering how to handle it.

'Will you take me with you? I want to go home,' the young woman said, her eyes welling up with tears.

'But this is your home, isn't it?' the First said.

'I don't want to stay here,' Amelana cried. 'I didn't know that Jacharal wanted to move to New Home and live at Bear Hill. I don't like it. There's nothing there. Everything has to be made or built, even our dwelling and it's still not finished. They don't even have a Zelandoni. I'm pregnant and I would have to walk to another Cave to have my baby. Now I don't even have Jacharal. I told him not to climb up High Rock.'

'Have you talked to Jacharal's mother? I'm sure you could stay at the Seventh Cave.'

'I don't want to stay at the Seventh Cave. I don't know the people there either, and some of them haven't been very nice to me because I come from the south. I am Zelandonii after all.'

'You could move to the Second Cave. Beladora is from the south,' the First said.

'She's south, but more east and she's a leader's mate. I don't really know her. And I just want to go home. I want to have my baby there. I miss my mother,' Amelana said, and burst out into sobs.

'How far along are you?' Zelandoni asked.

'My bleeding stopped more than three moons ago,' she said sniffling.

'Well, if you are sure you want to leave, we'll take you with us,' Zelandoni said.

The young woman smiled through her tears. 'Thank you! Oh, thank you.'

'Do you know where your Cave is?'

'It's on the central highland, a little toward the east, not far from the Southern Sea.'

'We may not be going there directly. There are some places we need to stop along the way.'

'I don't mind if we stop,' Amelana said, then added a little tentatively, 'but I would like to get home before the baby comes.'

'I think we can manage that,' said the One Who Was First.

After Amelana left, Zelandoni mumbled under her breath. 'The handsome stranger visits your Cave and it seems so romantic to run off with him to make a home in a new place. I have no doubt she pleaded just as hard with her mother to let her get mated and go live with him at his home. But once you arrive, you find it's not so different from the old one, only you don't know anyone. Then your exciting new mate decides to join with a group that wants to make a new Cave. They expect you to be as excited about making a place of your own as they are, but they have only moved around the hill from their old Cave, and they are with people they know.

'Amelana is a total stranger, with a slightly different way of speaking, and probably used to a little coddling, who has moved to a new place where customs and expectations are a little different. She doesn't need the excitement of making a new home; she has just moved to a new home. She needs to be able to settle down and learn about her new people. But her mate, who has already shown that he likes to take risks just by going on a Journey, is ready for the adventure of creating a new Cave with his — but not her — friends and relatives.

'They were probably both beginning to regret their hasty mating, beginning to argue about differences, perceived and real, and then she finds herself pregnant with no one to make a fuss over her. Her mother and aunts, and all her sisters and cousins and friends, are back at the home she left. And then her danger-loving mate takes one risk too many and dies. It's probably better for everyone if she goes back to her home, a little wiser for her adventure. She really doesn't have anyone here with whom she has a close attachment.'

'I didn't have anyone here when I came,' Ayla said.

'But you did. You had Jondalar,' Zelandoni said.

'You said that her mate already had shown that he liked to take risks by going on a Journey. I met Jondalar on his Journey. Didn't that make him a man who liked risks?'

'He was not the one who loved to take risks; his brother was. He went along to be with Thonolan, to protect him, knowing of his tendency to rush into precarious situations. And he had no one here to hold him. Marona really had nothing to offer him, except an occasional interlude of Pleasures. He loved his brother more than her, and perhaps he wanted to get out of the implied Promise that she was assuming much more than he was, but he wasn't able to just come out and tell her. He was always looking for someone special. For a while he thought he found it with me, and I admit I was tempted, but I knew that it would never work. I'm glad that he found what he wanted with you, Ayla,' the large woman said. 'Your situation, though superficially similar, is not at all the same as Amelana's.'

Ayla thought about how wise Zelandoni was; then she suddenly wondered how many people were going to be making this Journey south that the First had proposed. The Donier, Jondalar, herself, and Jonayla, of course; she was saying the counting words under her breath, and touching her leg with her fingers tallying the people as she named them. That's four. Willamar and his two assistants are going, seven. He said he wanted to give them the full measure of his experience. He also said it would likely be his last extended trading mission, that he was tired of travelling. No doubt he is, Ayla thought, but she wondered if part of it was because he knew Marthona was not well and he wanted to spend more time with her.

And now Amelana is going; that's eight. And if Jonokol comes, nine: eight adults and one child. Ayla had a feeling there would be more. Almost as though someone had known what she was thinking, Kimeran and Beladora, with their five-year twins sought out Zelandoni. They wanted to go south, too, and bring the children to visit her people. Beladora was almost certain that the First wouldn't mind visiting her Cave. It was near one of the most beautiful sacred sites in the land, and one of the oldest. But they didn't want to make the entire trip that the Donier had planned. They wanted to meet them along the way.

'Where do you want to meet?' Zelandoni asked.

'Perhaps at Jondecam's sister's Cave,' Beladora said. 'Camora is not really his sister, I guess, but he thinks of her that way.'

Ayla smiled at the beautiful woman with dark wavy hair and a full rounded figure, who also spoke with an accent, though it was not as unusual as hers. She felt a special bond with her; another foreign woman who had mated a Zelandonii man and returned with him. Ayla knew about the special circumstances of Kimeran and his much older sister, who took care of him along with her own children following the death of their mother. Her mate had also died young. She became a Zelandoni after her children and her brother were grown.

'There is highland between here and Beladora's people if you try to go directly,' Kimeran was saying. 'Good hunting for ibex and chamois, but difficult climbing in places even if you follow rivers. I thought we'd travel south and then east, and go around it. I think it might be easier for Gioneran and Ginedela, and for us when we have to carry them. Their legs are short still.' Kimeran smiled. 'Not like mine, or yours, Jondalar.' There was warm feeling between Jondalar and the tall, blond man.

'Are you going to travel alone?' Zelandoni asked. 'That may not be wise if you are taking the children.'

'We had thought of asking Jondecam, and Levela and her son, if they would like to come with us, but we wanted to ask you first, Zelandoni,' Beladora said.

'I think they would make good travelling companions,' the First said. 'Yes, we could meet up with you along the way.'

Ayla was tapping her fingers on the side of her leg again. That's sixteen in all, if Jonokol comes, she thought. But Amelana will only be with us on the way there, not the return visit, and we won't meet up with Kimeran and the others until later.

'Will we be going to the Summer Meeting?' Jondalar asked.

'Only for a few days, I think,' Zelandoni said. 'I will ask the Fourteenth and the Fifth to take care of my duties. Between them, I'm sure everything will get done, and I'll be interested to know how they work together. I'll send a runner to Jonokol before we go to the Meeting, to see if he wants to come along with us, and if he can. He may have other plans — after all, he is Zelandoni of the Nineteenth Cave now. I can't just tell him what to do anymore … not that I ever could, even when he was my Acolyte.'

The morning dawned sunny and bright the day the Ninth Cave left for the Summer Meeting. It had been raining on and off for several days before, but on this day the clouds were gone, and the sky shimmered with a crystalline brilliance that gave distant highlands an intense clarity. They travelled southwest this year, and the place where the Summer Meeting was being held was farther away than customary, which took them longer than usual to get there.

When they arrived, Ayla noticed that some people from more western Caves were there who were unknown to her. They were the ones who gawked a little longer at her with the three horses and the wolf, not to mention the pole-drags the horses were pulling, one of which carried the First. There was some disappointment when it was learned that the First and her Acolyte with the unusual animals would not be staying long. Ayla thought she would have liked to stay and get to know some of the Zelandonii she hadn't met, but she was also looking forward to the summer Journey the First had planned.

Jonokol did decide to join them. He had never made a very extensive Donier Tour, partly because in the beginning he hadn't really planned to become a full-fledged Zelandoni; he just wanted to make images and paintings, and the First hadn't pushed him. After he saw the beautiful white walls of the new sacred cave and became serious about the zelandonia, he moved to the Nineteenth Cave, which was closest to the new hallowed site. His Zelandoni there had been too old and weak to make any long Journeys, although her mind was sharp until the end. He had since heard remarkable things about some of the painted caves to the south and didn't want to pass up this opportunity to see them for himself; he might never have another chance.

Ayla was pleased. He had been welcoming to her from the beginning, and he could be good company. They stayed only four days at the Meeting, but almost everyone was there to see them off. A travelling band that had become the size of a small Cave, they made quite a spectacle as they started out, primarily because of the animals and the accoutrements, but the group included more than the ones who planned to make the long trip together. Several people from some of the Caves to the west had joined them who were unfamiliar to Ayla; they planned to go on in another direction. There were also some people from the neighbouring Caves, particularly the Eleventh, including Kareja, their leader.

The First wanted to travel south following The River until they reached its mouth at its confluence with Big River. Once there they would have to cross the larger river, which as its name implied was deeper and wider than The River, with a swifter current. They could cross their familiar river at the Crossing Place, a wider, shallower section, using stepping stones, or wading, sometimes up to the waist, depending on the season, but it would take more than that to cross Big River. To solve that problem, the First and Willamar had approached Kareja and some members of the Eleventh Cave, who were known for the rafts they made, to take the travellers and their gear down The River to its mouth and then across the larger expanse of Big River.

They started out heading back toward the Ninth Cave. With only adults — except for Jonayla — and the horses, their pace was much faster than when an entire Cave moved. Most of the travellers were young and healthy, and though the First was a big woman — a size that gave her a commanding presence — she was strong and walked much of the time. When she got tired and felt she couldn't keep up, she was able to ride on the travois, which did not in any way detract from her authority or dignified bearing, especially since she was the only one who rode on a seat on the pole-drag that was pulled by Ayla's horse.

That evening, when they camped for the night, the First and the Trading Master began discussions with Kareja, the leader of the Eleventh Cave, and some of others who were familiar with the use of their rafts and could estimate how many rafts and people it would require to take the travellers on the next part of their Journey. Then the details for the exchange of goods and services for the use of the rafts had to be worked out. It was not a private discussion and the Zelandonii who were unfamiliar to the Ninth and Eleventh Caves were very interested. A couple of them even wondered if the rafts could be used to travel west on Big River to the Great Waters of the West, which of course they could, at least during the right seasons; it was coming back that was difficult.

As part of their bartering, Kareja of the Eleventh Cave had been asking Jondalar for a future service from the Ninth Cave in exchange for their service in handling the rafts. He had been sitting in on the talks along with the First, but was wishing Joharran were there. Promises of undeclared future services could be problematic and might require more than some wanted to give.

'I don't think I have the right to make a commitment like that for the Ninth Cave,' Jondalar said. 'I'm not the leader. Maybe Willamar or Zelandoni can.'

Kareja had been waiting until the time was right in the negotiations to ask for a particular service from Jondalar that she wanted for a person in her Cave. 'But you can make a commitment for yourself, Jondalar,' Kareja said. 'There is a young woman I know who has shown great promise as a worker of the flint. If you would take her as an apprentice, I would call this matter complete.'

Zelandoni watched him, wondering how he would respond. She knew he had been asked by many to train a youngster, but he was very selective. He already had three apprentices and couldn't possibly take on all who asked. But this was his mate's Donier Tour and it wouldn't be inappropriate for him to contribute something to make it easier.

'A girl? I doubt that a woman could become a fully trained flint-knapper,' a man from one of the western Caves commented. He had travelled with them from the Summer Meeting. 'I've had a little training in working with flint, and it takes both strength and precision to make good tools. We all know of Jondalar's reputation as a flint-knapper. Why should he waste his time trying to train a girl?'

Ayla had become quite interested in the conversation. She didn't at all agree with the man. In her experience, women could knap flint as well as men, but if Jondalar took on a woman apprentice, where would she stay? He couldn't put her in with the young men apprentices, especially when her monthly bleeding came. Although the Zelandonii were not as strict about it as the Clan, where a woman couldn't even look at a man at that time, a woman did need privacy. That meant she would have to live in their dwelling with them, or some other arrangement would have to be made.

Jondalar had obviously been thinking the same thing. 'I'm not sure we can take in a young woman, Kareja,' he said.

'Are you saying a woman cannot learn to knap flint?' Kareja said. 'Women make tools all the time. A woman isn't going to run to a flint-knapper every time a tool breaks when she's scraping a hide or butchering a kill. She reworks it or makes a new one herself.'

Kareja appeared calm, but the First knew she was struggling to control herself. She wanted to tell the man from the west outright how absurd he was, but it seemed to her that Jondalar was agreeing with him. Zelandoni was watching the exchange with interest.

'Oh, I know a woman can make tools for their own uses, a scraper or a knife, but can a woman make a hunting tool? Spear points and darts have to fly straight and true, or you miss the kill,' the man said. 'I don't blame the flint-knapper for not wanting to take a woman as an apprentice.'

Kareja was incensed. 'Jondalar! Is he right? Do you think women can't learn to knap flint as well as any man?'

'That has nothing to do with it,' Jondalar said. 'Of course women can knap flint. When I was living with Dalanar and he was teaching me, he taught my close cousin, Joplaya, right alongside me. We were rather competitive, and when I was younger I'd never tell her, but now I wouldn't hesitate to say that in some ways she's better than I am. It's just that I don't know where a young woman would stay. I can't put her in with the three apprentices I have. They're men and a woman needs some privacy. We could take her in with us, but an apprentice needs a place to keep her tools, and her samples, and flint chips are sharp. Ayla gets upset if any have stuck on my clothes when I come in. She doesn't want them around Jonayla, and I don't blame her. If I took on your young woman, we'd have to build an addition to the apprentice dwelling, or a separate one.'

Kareja immediately calmed down. That the young woman from the Eleventh Cave should have privacy was a reasonable response. With a woman like Ayla for a mate, who was a credible hunter besides being a Zelandoni Acolyte, she should have known Jondalar wouldn't share the ludicrous views of that man from the west. After all, Jondalar's mother had been a leader. But he did bring up a good point, the tall, thin woman thought.

'A separate one would be better, I think,' Kareja said. 'And the Eleventh Cave will help you build it, or if you tell me where you want it, we can build it while you are gone on this Journey.'

'Wait a heartbeat!' Jondalar said, his eyes opening wide with surprise at the speed with which Kareja had taken over. Zelandoni was smiling to herself and glanced at Ayla, who was fighting to keep her smile from showing. 'I didn't say I would take her. I always have to test my prospective apprentices. I don't even know who she is.'

'You know her. It's Norava. I saw you working with her last summer,' Kareja said.

Jondalar relaxed and grinned. 'Yes, I do know her. I think she could be an excellent flint-knapper. When we were on that aurochs hunt last year, she had broken a couple of points. She was reworking them when I walked by. I stopped for a moment to watch and she asked for some help. I showed her a few things, and she immediately caught on. She learns quick and has good hands. Yes, if you make sure she has a place to stay, Kareja, I'll take Norava as an apprentice.'