The Land of Painted Caves

Chapter 25

Syralana looked at the tall woman, who was holding ropes that were attached to the two horses, with a bit of apprehension, which the First noticed.

'We can introduce you later, if you don't mind,' she said. 'You did say your mate is the leader of this Cave?'

'Yes, that is true,' Syralana said. 'Demoryn is the leader here.'

'We have also come to ask your assistance, though it may also be a boon for you,' the One Who Was First said.

A man stepped to the woman's side. 'Here is my mate,' Syralana said. 'Demoryn, leader of the Third Cave of the Zelandonii That Watches Over the Most Ancient Sacred Site, please welcome the First Among Those Who Serve The Great Mother.'

'Zelandoni the First, our Cave is pleased to welcome you and your friends,' he said.

'Allow me to introduce our Trade Master. Willamar, please greet Demoryn, leader of the Third Cave of the Zelandonii That Watches Over the Most Ancient Sacred Site.'

'I greet you, Demoryn,' Willamar began, holding out both his hands, and continued with the formal greetings. Then he explained, 'We stopped for a while just before we came here to hunt and replenish supplies, and to bring you a gift of some meat.' He watched the leader and some others nod knowingly. It was the kind of thing they would have done. 'We seem to have acquired an embarrassment of riches. We found a herd of bison and our hunters were exceptionally lucky. We counted nine bison killed when we were done, and our entire group only numbers sixteen, which includes four children. That is too much for us and in any case, even with the help of the horses, we cannot transport so much, but we don't want to waste the gifts of the Mother. If you can send some people to help transport the meat here, we would like to share it with you. We brought some with us, but left some people behind to guard the rest.'

'Yes, of course we'll help you, and will be pleased to share your good fortune,' Demoryn said, then looked closely at Willamar and saw the tattoo in the middle of his forehead. 'Master Trader, you have been here before, I think.'

Willamar smiled. 'Not to your particular Cave, but I have been in this region before. The First is taking her Acolyte, the woman who controls the horses, on a Donier Tour. She is mated to the son of my mate. He is back at our campsite guarding the meat, along with my assistants, two young traders who will be following in my footsteps, and some others. I think Amelana was fortunate that we had planned this trek before she asked to come with us. She was eager to return to her home and have her baby here, near her mother.'

'We are pleased to have her back with us. Her mother was very sad when she left, but she was so determined to go with the young man who came to visit, we couldn't refuse her. I am sorry that her mate now walks the next world. It must have been hard for his mother and family, but I'm not sorry to see Amelana. I didn't think I would ever see her again after she left,' Demoryn said. 'and she may not be so eager to leave home next time.'

'I think you are right,' Willamar said, with a knowing smile.

'I presume you will be going on to the First Cave to the meeting with all the other Zelandonia,' the leader said.

'I haven't heard about any meeting,' Willamar said.

'I thought that's why the First was here,' Demoryn said.

'I don't know anything about it, but I don't know everything that the First knows.' They both turned to look at the large woman. 'Did you know there was a meeting of the zelandonia?' Willamar said.

'I certainly look forward to attending it,' she said with an enigmatic smile.

Willamar just shook his head. Who could really know a Zelandoni? 'Well, Demoryn, if you can get some people to help us unload the meat we brought, and go back with us to get what's left, then the rest of our travellers can come and visit, too.'

As she helped Zelandoni unload her personal travel things, Ayla asked, 'Did you know there was going to be a gathering of the zelandonia near here?'

'I wasn't certain, but meetings do tend to take place in a sequence of a certain number of years, and I thought this might be the right year for one in this region. I didn't mention it because I didn't want to create any expectations in case I was mistaken, or missed the timing.'

'It looks like you were right,' Ayla said.

'Amelana's mother seemed nervous about the horses, so I didn't rush to introduce you yet,' the First said.

'If she's nervous about the horses, what is she going to think about Wolf?' Ayla said. 'We can deal with formal introductions later. I'll take your pole-drag off Whinney and go back with her and Grey. We can make a new pole-drag for her to help bring the meat here. There's still so much left. I'd forgotten how big a bison was. Maybe we can bring some of it to the zelandonia gathering.'

'That would be a good idea. I can ride in behind Whinney on my pole-drag, and Jondalar and Jonayla can bring in some meat on theirs,' Zelandoni said.

Ayla thought a smile to herself. Arriving on the special travois with a horse pulling her always seemed to cause a commotion, and the First did like making an entrance. Everyone seemed to think it was some kind of magic. Why was it so amazing? Why couldn't people realise that they could make friends with a horse? Especially after seeing not only Jondalar and herself, but Jonayla riding? There was nothing magic about it. It took determination and effort and patience, but not magic.

When Ayla jumped up on Whinney's back, it brought even more expressions of surprise. She had been leading the horses, not riding, when they arrived. Since the rest of the visitors were walking, Ayla decided she would too. Tivonan and Palidar would walk back and lead the helpers from the Cave, but Ayla could get there faster and start making a new travois.

'Where is everyone else?' Jondalar said when she got to the campsite.

'They're coming. I came ahead to make another pole-drag for Whinney to help get the meat moved. We're going to bring some to another Cave. They call themselves the Zelandonii That Watches Over the Most Ancient Sacred Site. Amelana is from the Third Cave, but we're going to the First Cave. There is a gathering of the zelandonia, and the First knew it! Or at least she guessed there might be. It's hard to believe how much she knows. Where's Jonayla?'

'Beladora and Levela are watching her along with their children. That meat has drawn every meat-eater in the region, on legs and wings, and we thought it would be a good idea to keep the little ones in a tent, out of sight. It's been keeping all of us busy protecting that "lucky" hunt,' Jondalar said.

'Have you killed anything?' Ayla asked.

'Mostly we've just been trying to scare them off, shouting and throwing stones.'

Just then a pack of hyenas appeared and, drawn by the scent of meat, went straight for the pile of bison. Without even giving it a second thought, Ayla pulled her sling off her head, reached for a couple of stones from her pouch, and in a smooth motion had a stone in the air aimed at the animal in the lead. A second stone quickly followed it. The leader was down when the second hyena gave a yelp that ended in the sound of a cackling laugh. The leaders of hyena packs were female, but all females had pseudo male organs and tended to be larger than the males. The hyena pack stopped advancing and were running back and forth thrashing about, grunting and howling their peculiar laughing sound, at a loss without their leader. The woman armed her spear-thrower and started for the indecisive pack.

Jondalar jumped in ahead of her. 'What are you doing?' he said.

'Chasing off that dirty pack of hyenas,' she said, her face screwed up in an expression of disgust and the sound of loathing in her voice.

'I know you hate hyenas, but you don't have to kill every one you see. They're just animals like any other, and have their place among the Mother's children. If we drag the leader off, the rest will likely follow,' Jondalar said.

Ayla stopped and looked at him, then felt her tension leave. 'You are right, Jondalar. They are just animals.'

With spear-throwers armed, Jondalar picked up one hind foot and Ayla the other and started dragging. She noticed the hyena was still nursing, but she knew that hyenas often nursed for a year until the young were nearly full grown and the only way to tell the difference was in coat colour. Young ones were darker. The snuffling, snorting, laughing pack followed; the other one she had hit was limping badly. They dumped the animal far away from the camp and as they walked back, they noticed that some of the other carnivores had followed them.

'Good!' Ayla said. 'Maybe that will keep some of them away. I'm going to wash my hands. Those animals smell bad.'

Most of the time Ayla's Zelandonii friends and relatives thought of her as an ordinary woman and mother, and didn't even notice her accent, but when she did something like walking into a pack of hungry hyenas and killing their leader with a stone from her sling without seeming to give it a second thought, then they suddenly became aware of her differences. She was not born to the Zelandonii, her upbringing had been totally unlike any of theirs, and her unusual way of speaking became noticeable.

'We need to cut down some small trees for a new pole-drag. It was Zelandoni's suggestion. I don't think she wants blood on hers. She does consider it hers, you know,' Ayla said.

'It is hers. No one else would think of using it,' Jondalar said.

It took two trips to haul all the meat from the auspicious hunt away, most of it dragged by the horns and pushed by the neighbouring people. By the time the travellers had packed up their campsite, the sun was working its way down to meet the horizon, with shades of orange and red blazoned across the sky. They took the meat they were keeping for themselves and headed for the Cave. Ayla and Jondalar lingered for a while — with the horses they could catch up easily enough. They were making a final tour of the abandoned camp to see if anyone had left anything important behind.

It was obvious that people had been there. Trails between tents had worn paths that now led to flattened and yellow patches of grass; fireplaces were black circles of charcoal; some trees had raw scars of light-coloured wood where branches had been torn off and pointed stumps that looked as though they had been chewed down by a beaver showed where trees had once grown. There was some trash around, a shredded and torn basket near one of the fireplaces, and a small and well-used sleeping roll that Jonlevar had outgrown was open and discarded in the middle of a flattened patch where a tent had been. Scattered chips of flint and broken points, and some piles of bone and vegetable peelings were lying around, but they would soon degrade back into the soil. Yet the vast stretches of cattails and reeds, though well harvested, showed little change, the yellowed grass and the black lenses of firepits would soon be covered with new green, and the trees that were removed made room for new ones to sprout. The people lived lightly on the land.

Ayla and Jondalar checked their waterbags and took a drink; then Ayla felt the urge to pass her water before they started back, and walked around the perimeter of the trees. If they were snowbound in the middle of winter, Ayla wouldn't hesitate to relieve herself in a night basket no matter who was there watching, but if it was possible, she preferred privacy, especially since she had to take down her leggings and not just move aside a loose dress.

She untied the waist thong and squatted down, but when she stood up to pull her leggings back on, she was surprised to see four strange men staring at her. She was more offended than anything. Even if they had come upon her accidentally, they should not have stood there and stared at her. It was very rude. Then she noticed details: a certain griminess in their clothing, rather unkempt beards, stringy long hair, and mostly, lewd expressions. The last made her angry, though they expected her to be frightened.

Perhaps she should have been.

'Don't you have the courtesy to look away when a woman needs to pass her water?' Ayla said giving them a look of disdain as she retied her waist thong.

Her disparaging remarks surprised the men. First because they expected fear, then because they heard her accent. They drew their own conclusions.

One looked at the others with a deriding grin. 'She's a stranger. Probably visiting. Won't be many of her kind around.'

'Even if there are, I don't see any around here,' another man said, then turned to leer at her, as he started toward her.

Ayla suddenly remembered the time they stopped to visit the Losadunai on their Journey here; there had been a band of hoodlums who had been harassing women. She slipped her sling off her head and reached in her pouch for a stone, then whistled loud for Wolf, and followed it by the whistles for both horses.

The whistles startled the men, but the stones did more than startle. The man who was moving toward her yelped with pain as a stone landed soundly on his thigh, another stone hit the upper arm of a second man with a similar response. Both men grabbed their bodies at the points of impact.

'How in Mother's Underworld did she do that?' the first man said angrily. Then looking at the men he said, 'Don't let her get away. I want to give her something back for that.'

In the meantime Ayla had reached for her spear-thrower and armed it with a spear that was aimed at the first man. A voice came from the other side of the stand of trees.

'Just be glad she didn't aim for your head, or you'd be walking the next world now. She just killed a hyena with one of her stones.'

The men turned to face a tall blond man who had a spear in another one of those strange devices aimed at them. He had spoken Zelandonii, but he too had an accent, not the same as the woman's but as though he came from some distance.

'Let's get away from here,' another man said, and started running.

'Stop him, Wolf!' Ayla commanded.

Suddenly a large wolf they hadn't seen raced after the man. He grabbed an ankle with his teeth and brought him down, then stood over him snarling.

'Anyone else feel like running away?' Jondalar said. He looked the four men over and quickly summed up the situation. 'I have a feeling you've been causing lots of trouble around here. I think we need to bring you to the nearest Cave and see what they think.'

With Wolf nearby, he took away the few spears they had among them, and their knives. They weren't used to being compelled to doing anything they didn't want to, but when they resisted, Ayla set Wolf on them again. None of them felt like going against the snarling beast. As they started walking, Wolf herded them, nipping at their heels and snarling. With Ayla on the back of her dun-yellow mare on one side of them and Jondalar on his dark brown stallion on the other, they had little chance to go anyplace but where they were led.

At one point along the way, two of the men decided to make a break for it running in different directions. Jondalar's spear whizzed just past the ear of the man who appeared to be the leader and stopped him short. Ayla's caught a flap of loose clothing of the other man and the momentum unbalanced him and brought him down to the ground.

'I think we should tie the hands of those two together, and maybe the other two as well,' Jondalar said. 'I don't think they want to face the people who live near here.'

They were later coming back than expected. The sun was making a show of fading purples and deep reds in the western sky when they arrived at the stone shelter where the Cave lived.

'They're the ones who did it!' a woman cried when she saw the men. 'They're the ones who forced me and killed my mate when he tried to stop them. Then they took our food and sleeping rolls, and left me there. I walked home, but I was pregnant and lost the baby.'

'How did you meet up with them?' Demoryn asked Jondalar and Ayla.

'Just before we were ready to leave, Ayla went around the stand of trees near our camp to pass water; then I heard her whistle for Wolf and the horses. I went to see what was wrong and found her holding off these four. When I got there, two of them were nursing the bruises she gave them with stones from her sling and she had her spear-thrower armed and ready,' Jondalar said.

'Bruises! Is that all? She killed a hyena with her stones,' Tivonan said.

'I wasn't trying to kill them, just stop them,' Ayla said.

'On our way home from our Journey, there were some young men causing trouble for the people on the other side of the glacier to the west. They had forced one young woman before her First Rites. I wondered if these men might be disturbing people around here,' Jondalar said.

'They've been doing a lot more than disturbing, and they aren't young. It's been going on for years, stealing, forcing women, killing people, but no one has been able to find them,' Syralana said.

'The question is, what do we do with them now?' Demoryn said.

'You take them to the meeting of the zelandonia,' the First said.

'Good idea,' Willamar said.

'But first you should tie them down better than they are. They already tried to run away on our way here. I took away the spears and knives I could find, but I might not have found them all. And someone should guard them overnight. Wolf can help,' Ayla said.

'Yes, you are right. These are dangerous men,' Demoryn said as he walked back toward the shelter. 'The zelandonia can decide what to do, but they need to be stopped, whatever it takes.'

'Remember Attaroa, Jondalar?' Ayla said, both of them falling in beside the leader of the Cave.

'I'll never forget her. She nearly killed you. If it hadn't been for Wolf, she would have. She was vicious, I'd even say evil. Most people are decent. They are willing to help people, especially if they are in trouble, but there always seem to be a few who take what they want and hurt people and don't seem to care,' Jondalar said.

'I think Balderan enjoys hurting people,' Demoryn said.

'So that's his name,' Jondalar said.

'He always had a temper,' Demoryn continued. 'Even as a child he liked to pick on those who were weaker, and inevitably there were always a few boys who followed him, and did what he said.'

'Why do some go along with people like that?' Ayla said.

'Who knows?' Jondalar said. 'Maybe they're afraid of them and think if they go along, they won't be the ones who are picked on. Or maybe they don't have much status and making other people afraid makes them feel more important.'

'I think we need to select some people to watch them closely,' Demoryn said. 'And guard them in shifts, so the watchers don't get sleepy.'

'They should also be searched again. Some of them may keep hidden knives that they can use to cut the ropes and perhaps hurt people,' Ayla said. 'I'll take a shift, and as I said, Wolf can help. He's very good at guarding. It's like he sleeps with one eye open.'

When they were searched, each of the men had hidden at least one knife, which they claimed were just eating knives. Demoryn had been considering whether to untie their hands at night so they could sleep more comfortably, but finding the knives made him change his mind. They were given a meal and watched closely while they ate. Ayla collected their eating knives when they were through. Balderan did not want to give his up, but a signal to Wolf, which brought him to his feet with a menacing snarl caused the man to let go of the sharp-edged tool. When she got close to him she could see his seething anger. He could barely keep it under control. He had been able to exercise his free will for most of his life. He had taken what he wanted with impunity, including the lives of other people. Now he was physically restrained and forced to do something he didn't want to do, and he didn't like it.

The visitors and most of the Third Cave of the Zelandonii That Watched Over the Most Ancient Sacred Site followed a trail upstream beside the meandering river that had cut deep into the limestone, creating a deep gorge that now constrained the river. Ayla noticed that the people of the local Cave began glancing at each other and smiling as though they shared a secret or were anticipating some amusing surprise. They rounded a sharp turn and behind the high gorge walls the visitors were astounded to see high above them a stone arch, a natural bridge spanning the river. The ones who had not seen it before stopped to gaze in wonder at the formation that had been created by the Great Earth Mother. They had never seen anything like it; no one had. It was unique.

'Does it have a name?' Ayla asked.

'It has many names,' Demoryn said. 'Some people name it for the Mother, or for spirits of the next world. Some people think it looks something like a mammoth. We just call it the Arch or the Bridge.'

Some four hundred thousand years before, the force of a subterranean stream carved through the limestone, eventually wearing the calcium carbonate rock away, creating caves and passageways. In the course of time, the level of the water lowered and the land uplifted, and the conduit that had broached the wall of stone had become a natural arch. The present river flowed through what had been a barrier and was now a bridge across the river, but so high it was seldom used. The high stone arch spanning the river was an awe-inspiring formation. Nothing like it existed anywhere else.

The top of the span was approximately on the same level as the top of the high cliffs closest to it, but the ancient channel had also carved out meanders nearer the river that had become level ground. During the wet season, when the river was running high, the sides of the limestone barrier sometimes restricted the flow of the water and caused flooding, but most of the time the river that had once created caves and worn its way through the limestone obstruction was placid and calm.

The field between the stone shelter of the First Cave of the Zelandonii Watchers and the river had a circular shape enclosed by the cliff walls of the deep gorge. Many aeons before, it had been the loop of an oxbow that was the former riverbed, but it was now home to a meadow of mixed grasses, aromatic artemisia shrubs, and a plant whose edible green leaves resembled the feet of the ducks and geese that navigated the river waters in summer — goosefoot — and which bore multitudes of small black seeds that could also be ground between stones, then cooked and eaten.

An area toward the back of the field had a shallow talus slope, whose sharp-edged stones were mixed with enough soil to feed the roots of cold-loving pine, birch, and juniper trees, often dwarfed into brush. Above the field, the dark evergreen of trees and brush growing on the slopes and plateaus of the cliff made a strong contrast with the white limestone of the cliff. It also formed hillocks and terraces that provided a place for the people to gather when someone wanted to impart information to a group.

The First Cave of the Zelandonii That Watched Over the Most Ancient Sacred Site lived under a sheltering limestone ledge on a terrace above the floodplain. The zelandonia had gathered in the field below to hold their meeting.

The arrival of the visitors and the members of the Third Cave of Sacred Cave Watchers created quite a stir. The zelandonia had set up a pavilion of sorts, a tent-like structure with a roof but only partial sides; the roof offered shade from the sun and the sidewalls blocked the wind blowing down the gorge. One of the Acolytes had seen the approaching procession and rushed in, interrupting the meeting. A couple of the leading Zelandonia were annoyed for a moment, until they turned to look; then they felt a frisson of fear, which they tried not to show.

Ayla riding Whinney was in the lead. The First told her to ride up to the meeting tent, which she did. Then she moved her leg over and slid down and went to assist the First to step off the pole-drag. The First had a way of walking that was neither fast nor slow, but carried great authority. The two southern leaders immediately recognised the symbolism of her facial tattoos, clothing, and necklaces, and could hardly believe that the First Among Those Who Served The Great Earth Mother had come to their gathering. They had seen her so seldom that she was almost a mythical figure. They gave lip service to her existence, but thought themselves to be among the highest-ranking of the zelandonia, and they had selected a First of their own. To actually see her was a little overwhelming, but to see the manner of her arrival was even more so. The control of horses was unprecedented. She had to be extraordinarily powerful.

They approached with deference, greeted her with both hands extended, and welcomed her. She returned the greetings, and then proceeded to introduce several of her travelling companions: Ayla and Jonokol, Willamar and Jondalar, and then the rest of the travellers, with Willamar's assistants and the children last. Demoryn greeted the two most important of their zelandonia, the man who was the Zelandoni of his Cave, and the woman who was the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Sacred Site Watchers. Ayla had told Jonayla to keep Wolf out of sight, but after all the formal introductions were over, she and the child brought him out, and she saw another look of shock and fear. After persuading them to let her introduce them to the wolf, there was a little less fear, but some apprehension lingered. By this time the people from the First Cave had come down to the field from their living site on the side of the cliff, but Ayla was glad that formal introductions were held off until later.

The four men they were bringing for the zelandonia to deal with had been held back with the people from the Third Cave of Watchers until after all the formalities were over, but now Demoryn brought them forward. He approached his Zelandoni.

'You know the men who have been causing so much trouble, stealing and forcing women, and killing people?' he asked.

'Yes,' the man replied. 'We have just been talking about them.'

'Well, we have them,' Demoryn said and signalled some men who had been designated to watch them. They were brought forward. The woman who had accused them of killing her mate and harming her came with them. 'This one's name is Balderan. He's their leader.'

All the zelandonia looked at the four men whose hands were tied together. They noted the unkempt look of the men, but the woman Zelandoni of the First Cave wanted something more than appearance upon which to judge them.

'How do you know they are the ones?' the woman Zelandoni asked.

'Because I was one who was forced, after they killed my mate,' the woman said.

'And you are?'

'I am Aremina, of the Third Cave of the Zelandonii That Watches Over the Most Ancient Sacred Site,' she said.

'What she says is true,' the male Zelandoni of the Third Cave of Watchers said. 'She was pregnant at the time and also lost her baby.' He turned to Demoryn. 'We have been talking about them, and were trying to think of a plan to find them. How did you catch them?'

'It was the First's Acolyte,' Demoryn said. 'They tried to attack her, but didn't understand who she is.'

'Who is she besides the First's Acolyte?' the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Watchers said.

Demoryn turned to Willamar. 'Why don't you explain?'

'Well,' Willamar said, 'I wasn't there, so I can only tell you what I was told, but I believe it. I know that Ayla is an extremely skilled hunter with both a stone-slinging weapon, and a spear-throwing weapon, which was devised by her mate, Jondalar. She's also the one who controls the wolf, and the horses, although her mate and child also do. Apparently, when these men tried to attack her, she bruised them with stones, although she can kill with stones if she chooses. Then Jondalar came with his spear-thrower. When one of them tried to run away, she sent the wolf to stop him. I've seen them work together hunting. Those men didn't have a chance.'

'All the visitors use the spear-throwing weapon — Jondalar has promised to show us how — and when they went hunting, they were too lucky,' Demoryn continued. 'Each one brought down a bison. They killed nine of them. That's a lot of meat; bison are big animals. That's why we're bringing you a large load of meat, for your First Cave and for your zelandonia meeting.

'As for these men, once they were caught, we weren't sure what to do with them. Aremina thought they should be killed, since they killed her mate. Perhaps she's right. But we didn't know who should do the killing, or how. We all know how to kill animals that the Great Mother has given us so that we can live, but the Mother does not condone killing people. I didn't know if we should be the ones to kill them. It may bring bad luck to our Cave if we do, or if we didn't do it correctly. We thought the zelandonia should decide, so we brought them here.'

'I think that was wise, don't you?' the First Among Those Who Served said. 'It's fortunate that you are having a meeting so that all of you can discuss it and come to a decision.'

She's letting them know that she doesn't plan to take over just because she's the First, Ayla thought, but she will be interested in what they do.

'I certainly hope you will be staying and will offer your counsel,' said the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Sacred Site Watchers.

'Thank you. I would like that. This is not an easy problem to work out. We are here because I am taking my Acolyte on her Donier Tour. I hope someone will be able to guide us through your Sacred Site. I have seen it only once before, but I have never forgotten it. Not only is it the Most Ancient, it is unbelievably beautiful, both the cave itself and the images that have been painted on the walls. They honour the Great Mother,' the First said with feeling that conveyed her conviction.

'Of course. We have a Watcher at the Sacred Site who will be happy to guide you through it,' the woman said, 'but now let's see these men.'

As the four men were brought forward, they were trying to resist, but Wolf was guarding them and herded Balderan back with snarls and nips to his ankles and legs when he tried to leave. It was obvious that Balderan was seething with rage. He particularly hated the foreign man and woman who could control horses and a wolf, and could therefore control him. For the first time in his life he was afraid, and what he feared most was Wolf. He wanted to kill the animal, but not any more than Wolf wanted to kill him. The four-legged hunter knew in the way that animals with senses more developed than those of humans know that this man was not like other men. He was born with too much or not enough of something that made him different, and Wolf innately knew that this man would not hesitate to harm the ones Wolf loved.

By now everyone from both Caves and all the neighbouring zelandonia had gathered in the field in front of the cliffs, and when the men were brought forward, it caused quite a disturbance. Several people recognised Balderan and some shouted out accusations.

'He's the one!' a woman said. 'He forced me! They all did.'

'They stole meat from me that I had spread out to dry.'

'He took my daughter and kept her for nearly a moon. I don't know what they did to her, but she was never right again and died the next winter. As far as I'm concerned, he killed her.'

A middle-aged man came forward. 'I can tell you about him. He was born to my Cave before I moved away,' he said.

'I would like to hear what this man has to say,' the First said.

'So would I,' the Zelandoni from the Third Cave of Watchers said.

'Balderan was born to a woman who had no mate, and at first everyone was pleased that she had a son who seemed sound and healthy, a son that could one day make a contribution to the Cave, but from quite a young age, he was uncontrollable. He was a strong boy but he used his strength to take what he wanted whenever he wanted it. In the beginning his mother made excuses for him. Since she had no mate, she hoped her strong son, who quickly became a very good hunter because he liked killing things, would take care of her as she grew older, but eventually she came to recognise that he didn't care about her any more than anyone else,' the man began.

'By the time he reached young manhood, all the people of the Cave were angry and afraid of him. It came to a head when he took some spears from a man who had made them for himself. When the man objected and tried to take them back, Balderan beat him so badly, he nearly died. I don't think he ever fully recovered. That was when everyone banded together and told him he had to leave. All the rest of the men and most of the women armed themselves and chased him away. Two friends left with him, young men who admired him for taking what he wanted and not having to work for anything. One of them returned before the summer was over and begged to be allowed to come back, but Balderan always managed to acquire a few followers.

'He would go to a Summer Meeting, settle into a fa'lodge, and challenge the other young men into reckless acts of danger to prove their manhood. He always bullied any who seemed weak or afraid, and when he left, he always had a few new followers charmed by his troublemaking ways. They would harass some new Caves until they finally got together to go looking for them. Then Balderan and friends would travel some distance away, and find other Caves from whom they could steal food, clothing, implements, weapons, and before long, women they could force.'

Balderan sneered while the man related the story. He didn't care what anyone said about him. It was all true anyway, but he had never been caught before, and he didn't like it. Ayla observed him closely and saw that he was more than angry; she could see his fear and his hatred, and she was sure Wolf could smell it. She knew if Balderan made any attempt to hurt her, or Jonayla, or Jondalar, or any of the people travelling with them, Wolf would kill him. She knew that if she merely gave Wolf the signal to kill the man, he would, and the people would probably be grateful. But she didn't want Wolf to be the one to solve their problem and she didn't want Wolf to be known as a killer. Stories tended to grow out of proportion. Everyone knew wolves could kill. The fact that he helped to catch the man, and that he guarded the man and didn't kill him, that was the story she wanted people to tell about Wolf. The people needed to deal with Balderan themselves, and she was curious to see what they would do.

The other men with him weren't angry. They were just scared. They knew what they had done, and there were enough people here who knew it too. The man standing beside Balderan was thinking about the predicament he was in. It always seemed so easy following him, taking whatever they wanted, and frightening people. Of course, Balderan scared him too, sometimes, but it made him feel important to see people afraid of him. And when they saw that people who came after them were close and determined, and felt it was time to move on, they were nimble and quick and could always get away. They were sure they would never get caught, but the foreign woman with her weapons and her animals had changed that.

There was no doubt that she was a Zelandoni, and they should never have gone after One Who Serves The Mother. But how could they have known? She wasn't even tattooed. They said she was an Acolyte, but an Acolyte to the First? He didn't know the First really existed. He thought she was just a story like the Elder Legends. But now the most powerful Zelandoni on earth was here, with her Acolyte, who had magic control of animals and had caught him. What were they going to do to him?

As though hearing his thoughts, one of the Zelandonia said, 'Now that they're here, what are we going to do with them?'

'For now we have to feed them, find a place to keep them, and get some people to watch them until a decision can be made,' the First said, then turned to the woman who was the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Ancient Sacred Cave Watchers. 'And perhaps you should divide out this bison meat.'

She smiled at the First, acknowledging that she had turned over authority to her, as though she knew that she was the First in this region, although no one had told her. The woman called some names and delegated the responsibility to the leaders of the two Caves to decide how the meat should be parcelled out, but assigning several other Zelandonia to supervise the actual work of skinning and butchering the beasts. Some had already been skinned, and they started cutting up that meat for their evening meal. Others were taking Balderan and his men toward the cliff.

Once he was in their hands, Ayla whistled Wolf to her and went to help Jondalar unhitch the pole-drags from the horses. She had seen a nice grassy area away from the people, but decided to ask if there was any reason she shouldn't use it for the horses. It was always a good idea not to make assumptions about the territory of other Caves. She first asked Demoryn, the leader of Amelana's Cave.

'We didn't have a Summer Meeting here this year so I think it just hasn't been trampled, but you might ask the Zelandoni First if you want to make sure,' he said.

'Zelandoni First?' Ayla said. 'Do you mean of the First Cave of the Watchers?'

'Yes, but that is not the reason she is called Zelandoni First. It's because she is our "First",' he said. 'It is only coincidence that she happens to be the Zelandoni of that Cave. Which reminds me, I should also tell her that I sent a runner to tell one or two other Caves that Balderan has been caught. They were troubled more than most by him. A few more people may come.'

Ayla frowned, and wondered how many other Caves would do the same. Maybe she should look for a more secluded spot, or perhaps make a fenced area for the horses the way she did at their Summer Meetings. She decided to talk to Jondalar about it after she talked to Zelandoni First.

Ayla and Jondalar talked to the rest of the travellers, and they decided to look for a choice spot to set up their camp, the way most Caves did when they arrived early at a Summer Meeting. The First agreed with Ayla's intuition that there might be more people coming than anyone expected.

That evening, although meals were cooked by the families or groups that normally ate together, they all more or less sat together, rather like a feast. Balderan and his henchmen were given food, and their hands were untied so they could eat it. They spoke quietly to each other as they ate. There were several people watching them, but it was hard to maintain interest when there was nothing to watch except people eating their food. The night sky darkened as the meal progressed, and people who were friendly strangers were interested in getting to know each other.

Ayla and Jondalar left Wolf with Jonayla to give him a rest from his stressful vigilance and went for a walk together toward the zelandonia dwelling. The First had gone there to talk about making a special tour of the Sacred Cave with Ayla, Jonokol, and a few others, and another tour with the rest of the visitors, except for the children, which might not be as extensive.

The couple knew in general where the men they had captured were being held, but in the dark they didn't notice how carefully they were being watched by them. Balderan had been watching the tall man who was the mate of the woman Acolyte, and as they approached, Balderan spoke to his men.

'We have to get away from here,' he said. 'If we don't, we won't live to see many more days.'

'But how?' one of the men said.

'We need to get rid of that woman who controls the wolf,' Balderan said.

'That wolf won't let us get close to her.'

'Only when he's around. He isn't always with her. Sometimes he stays with the girl,' Balderan said.

'But what about that man that's always around her? The visitor she came with. He's big.'

'I've known men like him, tall and muscular, but too calm and mild. Have you ever seen him angry? I think he's one of those gentle giants who are so afraid they'll hurt someone they even avoid arguments. If we're quick, we can grab her before he knows it, and threaten to kill her if he makes a move. I don't think he'll take a chance that she might get hurt. By the time he thinks about it, it will be too late. We'll be gone and her with us.'

'What are you going to threaten her with? They've taken our knives.'

Balderan smiled, then loosened the leather thong that laced his shirt closed. 'This,' he said, pulling the thong out of its holes. 'I'll wrap this around her neck.'

'But what if your plan doesn't work?' another man asked.

'We won't be any worse off than we are now. We've got nothing to lose.'

The next day one of the other Caves in the region arrived, and by evening, two more. The First came to see Ayla the morning of the following day. Jondalar stepped out to let them talk in private.

'We are going to have to think about how to deal with these men.'

'Why do we have to?' Ayla said. 'We don't live here.'

'But you caught him. You're involved, whether you want to be or not. It could be the Mother wants you to be,' the First added.

Ayla gave her a look of scepticism.

'Well, maybe not the Mother, but the people here want you to be. And I think you should. Besides, we need to talk to them about your tour of their Sacred Site. You will be amazed at this cave. I've seen it once and I know I'm going back in. There are some difficult places, but I'll never get another chance and I won't miss it,' the First said.

That intrigued Ayla, and aroused her curiosity. All the walking on this Journey seemed to have improved the woman's health, but she still had problems and needed help when they got into rough terrain. She was a more than ample woman in spite of all her walking. She carried her weight with grace and assurance, and in many ways it added to her stature, but it could make moving around in tight places with uneven footing difficult.

'You're right, Zelandoni, but I don't want to make decisions about him. I don't think it's my place,' Ayla said.

'You don't have to. We all know what has to be done. He needs to be killed. If he isn't, he will kill more people. The question is, who will do it and how? Deliberately killing someone is not easy for most people. It's not supposed to be. It's not right for people to kill people. That's why we know he's not right inside. He doesn't know that, and that's why I'm glad all these Caves are coming together. It needs to be something they all participate in. I don't mean everyone has to kill him, but they all have to take responsibility for it. And they all have to know that it's the right thing to do in this particular case. A person shouldn't be killed out of anger, or for revenge. There are other ways to deal with those things. There is no other way where he's concerned,' the First said, 'but what is the best way to do it?'

They were both silent, then Ayla said, 'There are plants …'

'I was going to say mushrooms,' the First said. 'They could be fed a meal with certain mushrooms.'

'But what if they guess and decide not to eat them. Everyone knows there are poisonous mushrooms. They are easy to pick out and avoid,' Ayla said.

'That's true, and while Balderan is not right, he's not stupid. What plants were you thinking of?'

'There are two plants that I know grow around here because I've seen them. One is called water parsnip. It grows in water,' Ayla said. 'They are edible, especially the roots, when they are young and tender.'

'Yes, but there is another plant that looks very similar and it's deadly poisonous,' Ayla said. 'I know the word in Mamutoi. I don't know what you call it, but I know it.'

'I know the plant. It's poison hemlock,' the First said. 'That's our name for it. It also grows in water. So the same meal can be cooked for the whole Camp, everyone else will get water parsnip, but Balderan and his men will get hemlock.' She paused, then said, 'I was thinking, they could be served mushrooms, too, edible mushrooms. They may think they are poison and avoid them, and perhaps won't pay attention to the root vegetables, because it will look as though everybody is eating them.'

'That's what I was thinking, unless someone can think of a better way,' Ayla said.

The woman stopped to think again, then nodded, 'Good, we have a plan. It's always good to have a plan, to anticipate, if you can,' said the Zelandoni Who Was First.

When the two women left the tent, no one was outside. The rest of their group of travellers had gone to see what was happening with the impromptu Summer Meeting, and to offer to help with the cooking or whatever needed doing. Except this wasn't a happy coming together of relatives, friends, and neighbours; this was a gathering to pass judgment for serious crimes.

More people were arriving and the field below the cliff was filling up. But the biggest surprise was late in the afternoon. Ayla and the First were in the zelandonia dwelling when Jonayla came running in interrupting the meeting.

'Mother, mother,' she said. 'Kimeran told me to come and tell you.'

'Tell me what, Jonayla?' Ayla said with a stern tone to her voice.

'Beladora's family is here. And there is a strange person with them.'

'Beladora's family? They aren't even Zelandonii; they're Giornadonii. They live far away, how could they have got here in just a day or so?' Ayla said. She turned to the others. 'I think I have to go.'

'I should go with you,' the First said. 'Please excuse us.'

'They don't live that far,' Zelandoni First said, walking them out, 'and they often come to visit. At least every couple of years. I think they are as much Zelandonii as they are Giornadonii, but I doubt if they came because of the runners that were sent out. They were probably planning to visit anyway. They were likely as surprised to see their relative as she was to see them.'

Kimeran was just outside and had heard Zelandoni First. 'That's not entirely true,' he said. 'They went to the Giornadonii Summer Meeting, then decided to go to your Summer Meeting, and were planning on coming here later. They were at the Meeting Camp when the runner arrived and they found out from him that we were here. Of course, they also found out about Balderan. Did you know that he has caused trouble for some of the Giornadonii Caves? Is there anybody he hasn't harmed and alienated?'

'There will be a meeting about that soon,' Zelandoni First said. 'We have to come to some kind of decision, shortly.' As an afterthought, she said, 'Did you say there was a strange person with them?'

'Yes, but you will see for yourself.'

Ayla and the First were presented to Beladora's relatives with full formal introductions; then the First asked if they had set up their camp yet.

'No, we just arrived,' said the woman they had just learned was Beladora's mother, Ginedora. Even without the introduction, it would have been obvious, she was an older, slightly plumper version of the woman they knew.

'I think there may be room near our camp,' the First said. 'Why don't we go claim it before someone else does.'

When they reached the camp, there were more introductions and some initial hesitation about the animals, but then Ginedora saw a boy who looked as though he could have been born to her. She gave her daughter a questioning look. Beladora took her son's hand, and then her blond, blue-eyed daughter's hand.

'Come and meet your grandma,' she said.

'You had two-born-together? They are both yours? And both healthy?' she said. Beladora nodded. 'That's wonderful!' she said.

'This is Gioneran,' the young mother said, holding up the hand of a five-year boy with the dark brown hair and brownish-green eyes like his mother.

'He is going to be tall, like Kimeran,' Ginedora said.

'And this is Ginedela,' Beladora said, holding up the hand of her fair daughter.

'She has Kimeran's colouring, and she's a beauty,' the woman said. 'Are they shy? Will they come and give me hug?'

'Go and greet your grandma. We've come a long way to meet her,' Beladora said, urging them forward. The woman got down on her knees and opened out her arms. Her eyes were feeling full and looked shiny. Somewhat reluctantly, the children gave her a cursory hug. She took one in each arm as a tear rolled down her cheek.

'I didn't know I had grandchildren. That's the trouble with your living so far away,' Ginedela said. 'How long are you staying here?'

'We don't know yet,' Beladora said.

'Are you coming to our Cave?' Ginedela asked.

'We had planned to,' she said.

'You've got to do more than visit for a few days. You've travelled this far — come back with us and stay for a year,' the woman said.

'That's something we would have to think about,' Beladora said. 'Kimeran is the leader of our Cave. It would be hard for him to stay away for a year.' When she saw tears starting in her mother's eyes, she added, 'But we'll think about it.'

Ayla glanced around at the other people who were beginning to set up camp. She noticed a man who was carrying someone on his shoulders. He bent down and helped the person off. At first she thought it was a child; then she looked again. It was a small person, but oddly shaped, with legs and arms too short. She tapped the First and moved her chin in the direction of the person.

The large woman looked, then looked more closely. She understood why Ayla had called her attention to the individual. She had never seen one, but she had heard about similar little people. 'No wonder Beladora's mother seemed so relieved that her daughter's children, born at the same time, were normal. That person is an accident of birth. Like some dwarf trees whose growth becomes stunted, I think that is a dwarf person,' she said.

'I would like to meet that person to learn more, but I don't want to make an issue of it. It would be like staring, and I think that person gets stared at enough,' Ayla said.