The Land of Painted Caves (51 page)

“She reminds me of Latie. Nezzie would never send her daughter out to pick strawberries for a meal. Latie ate everything she picked and never brought anything back, no matter how often her mother chided her. She loved strawberries too much,” Ayla said.

“Is that right?” Jondalar said. “I didn’t know that. I guess I was too busy with Wymez or Talut when you were talking to Latie or Nezzie.”

“I even made excuses for Latie sometimes,” Ayla said. “I’d tell Nezzie there weren’t enough berries for everyone. It was true enough; by the time Latie got through, there weren’t, and she could pick them fast.” Ayla picked for a while in silence, but mentioning Latie brought up other memories. “Remember how much she loved the horses? I wonder if Latie ever managed to find a young one to bring home. Sometimes I miss the Mamutoi. I wonder if we’ll ever see any of them again.”

“I miss them, too,” Jondalar said. “Danug was becoming a fine flint-knapper, especially with Wymez to train him.”

When she finished picking her second basket of strawberries, Ayla noticed other things growing that could add to their evening meal, and asked Amelana and Dulana if they wanted to help her collect some. Ayla took Jonayla and headed first for the edge of the river they were following to collect cattails. Their rhizomes with their new roots and the corms and the lower stems were particularly succulent at this time of year. The top spike had also filled out with tightly packed green buds, which could be boiled or steamed and then chewed off. There were also several kinds of leafy greens. She saw the distinctive shape of sorrel and smiled when she thought of their spicy, tangy taste, and she was especially pleased to find nettles, delectable when cooked down to a delicious green mass.

Everyone enjoyed the meal that night. Spring foods were usually sparse—a few greens, some new shoots—and the larger variety and quantity of plant foods that summer brought were welcomed. The people sometimes craved vegetables and fruits because they provided essential nutrients that their bodies needed, especially after a long winter of primarily dried meat, fat, and roots. The morning meal was leftovers and hot tea, and a quick start. They planned to cover a lot of ground that day so they would arrive at the local Summer Meeting Camp early on the day after.

On the second day, shortly after they started out, the travelers ran into some difficulty. The river they were following had been spreading out and the banks near the stream were becoming boggy and overgrown with vegetation, making it difficult to walk close to the water. It was midmorning and they had been climbing up the sloping sides of a rise for some time. They finally came to the crest of a knoll, and looked out over a valley below. High hills ranged around a long, low area of land, dominated by a steep-sloped prominence that overlooked the confluence of three rivers: a major one that came from the east and meandered off toward the west, a large tributary originating in the northeast, and the small one they were following. Directly ahead of them in a field between two of the rivers was a profusion of summer shelters, lodges, and tents. They had reached the Summer Meeting Camp of the Zelandonii who lived in the land south of Big River, in the territory of the Seventh Cave.

   One of the spotters came running into the zelandonia lodge. “Wait until you see what is coming this way!” he blurted out.

“What?” said the Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave of South Land Zelandonii.

“People, but that’s not all.”

“All the Caves are here,” another Zelandoni said.

“Then they must be visitors,” the Seventh said.

“Were we expecting any visitors this year?” the elder Zelandoni of the Fourth Cave of the South Land Zelandonii said as they all got up and headed toward the entryway.

“No, but that’s the way it is with visitors,” the Seventh said.

When the Zelandonia went out, the first thing they noticed heading their way was not the band of people, but the three horses, all of which were dragging some kind of contrivances; two also had people on their backs, one of them a man, another a child. A woman was walking in front of a horse dragging a different apparatus, and as they drew closer, movement beside the woman resolved itself into a wolf! Suddenly the Seventh started to recall stories from people who had stopped on the way back from a Journey north. They talked about a foreign woman and horses, and a wolf. Then it all came together.

“If I’m not mistaken,” the tall, bearded, brown-haired man said, loud enough for the rest of the Zelandonia to hear, “we are being paid a visit by the First Among Those Who Serve The Great Earth Mother, and her acolyte.” He added to an acolyte who was standing nearby, “Go and find as many of the leaders as you can and bring them here.” The young man set out in a run.

“Isn’t she supposed to be a large woman? Very impressive, I understand, but this would be a long way for a large woman to come,” said a rather plump Zelandoni.

“We shall see,” said the Seventh. Since the most Sacred Site in this region was near the Seventh Cave, the Zelandoni of the Seventh Cave usually, though not always, became the acknowledged leader of the local zelandonia.

More people started gathering around, and the leaders of various Caves began appearing. The leader of the Seventh Cave came and stood beside the Zelandoni of the Seventh. “Someone said the First is coming to visit?” she said.

“I believe so,” the Zelandoni said. “Do you remember those visitors we had a few years ago? The ones from far to the south?”

“Yes, I do. Now that you mention it, I think I remember that they said one of the northern Caves had a foreign woman living there who had great control over animals, horses in particular,” the woman said. The tattoos on the side of her forehead were on the opposite side of the ones on the forehead of the Zelandoni, but similar.

“They told me she was an acolyte of the First. They didn’t see much of her, at least not before they had to leave. Her mate was a Zelandonii man who went on a long Journey, five years or more, and brought her back home with him. He also had control of horses and even her child did, and they had a wolf, too. It looks to me like that’s who’s coming,” the Zelandoni explained. “I’m guessing the First may be with them.”

   They have efficient spotters, the First said to herself as they pulled up to a rather large lodge, which she assumed was for the zelandonia. They seem to have gathered together quite a welcoming party. Ayla signaled Whinney to stop, and when the First was sure there would be no last-moment jerks, she stood up, and with great agility and grace the large woman stepped off the special travois. That’s why she can travel so far, the plump Zelandoni thought.

All the Zelandonia, leaders, and visitors exchanged formal greetings and identified themselves. The leaders of the Caves from which the young hunters originally came were also glad to see them. Their fa’lodge was empty and no one had seen them for several days, and their families were beginning to worry and wanted a search party sent out to look for them. Since they arrived with the visitors, there was obviously a story here, which could be told later.

“Dulana!” a voice called out.

“Mother! You came!” two happy young voices shouted at the same time.

The elderly Zelandoni from the Fourth South Land Cave looked up, surprised to see the young woman. She had been so despondent after she burned herself, she couldn’t even bring herself to come outside of her shelter, and here she was at the Summer Meeting. She would have to make some inquiries and find out what had changed her mind.

A major celebration, feast, and Mother Festival were immediately planned to welcome the visitors and the First, and when it was learned that they wanted to visit their Sacred Site, the Zelandoni of the Seventh began to make the arrangements. Most of the usual Summer Meeting ceremonies were over, except for the Last Matrimonial, and people had begun making plans to leave, but with the coming of the visitors, most people decided to stay a little longer.

“We may need to arrange a hunt and perhaps a foraging excursion,” the leader of the Seventh said.

“The hunters, including your young men, did manage to intercept a herd of migrating red deer before we left,” the First said. “They made several kills and we brought most of the animals with us.”

“We only field-dressed them,” Willamar said. “They’ll need to be skinned, butchered, and either cooked or dried soon.”

“How many deer did you bring?” the leader of the Seventh Cave asked.

“One for each of your young hunters, seven,” Willamar said.

“Seven! How could you bring so many? Where are they?” a man said.

“Would you like to show them, Ayla?” Willamar said.

“I would be glad to,” Ayla said.

The people nearby noticed her accent and knew she had to be the foreign woman they had heard about. Many of them followed her and Jondalar back to where the horses were patiently waiting. Behind both Racer and Gray were newly made pole-drags that appeared to be piled high with cattail leaves. As Ayla started to remove them, it was quickly revealed that beneath the vegetation were several whole carcasses of red deer of various sizes and ages, female and young. They were covered with cattails mainly to protect them from insects.

“Your young men were very enthusiastic hunters,” Jondalar said. He refrained from adding, “But not very selective.” “These are all their kills. They should make a hearty feast.”

“We can use the cattails, too,” a voice from the watching group said.

“And you are welcome to them,” Ayla said. “There were more growing where we turned away from the river, and other good things to eat as well.”

“I imagine plants growing near your Camp have been picked clean by now,” the One Who Was First said. There were nods and comments of agreement.

“If some of you would be willing to ride on the pole-drags, we can take you to the river where they are, and bring you and your pickings back,” Ayla said.

Several of the younger people looked at each other, then quickly volunteered. They went to get digging sticks and knives, and wide-mesh carrying bags and baskets. On a regular travois, two or three people could semi-recline, but on the one made especially for the First, two normal-size people could sit upright, side by side, three if they were very thin.

When they started out, Jondalar, Ayla, and Jonayla rode on the backs of Racer, Whinney, and Gray, while the horses pulled six more people on the pole-drags. Wolf followed after them. When they reached the place where the travelers had turned away from the river, they halted the horses and the young people got off, feeling rather pleased with themselves for taking the unusual ride; then everyone spread out in several directions to forage. Ayla unhitched the pole-drags to give the horses a rest, and the animals grazed while the gatherers worked. Wolf nosed around, then ran into the woods after a scent he wanted to follow.

They were back at the Camp by midafternoon. While they were gone, many hands had made short work of processing the red deer, and much of it was already cooking. Work had begun on turning some of the pelts into leather that could be worn or made into other useful products.

The feast and celebration went on into the night, but Ayla was tired and as soon as plans were made to visit the Sacred Site, and she could graciously leave, she went to her traveling tent with Jonayla and Wolf to settle in for the night. Jondalar met another flint-knapper and got involved in a discussion about the qualities of flint from various places; the area they were in was the source of some of the best stone in the region.

He told Ayla he would be along soon, but by the time he retired to the tent, both Ayla and Jonayla were sound asleep, along with some of their other tent-mates. The First stayed in the zelandonia lodge that night. Ayla had been invited to stay, and though she knew her Zelandoni would have liked her to get more involved with the local doniers, Ayla wanted to stay with her family and the First didn’t press her. Amelana was the last to return. Though Ayla had told her that while she was pregnant, it probably wasn’t a good idea to drink beverages that would make her intoxicated, she was more than a little tipsy. She went right to bed and hoped Ayla wouldn’t notice.

   Early in the morning Amelana was awakened and asked if she wanted to visit the Sacred Site, but she declined, saying she had overdone it the day before and felt she should rest. Both Ayla and the First knew she was suffering from the morning-after malady. Ayla was tempted to let her just suffer it out, but for the sake of her unborn child, she made her some of the special medicine she had developed for Talut, leader of the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi, to overcome the headache and upset stomach that came with too much indulgence. The young woman still wanted nothing more than to stay in her sleeping roll.

Jonayla didn’t want to go either. After her experience with the men who wanted to hunt her horses, she was worried that someone else might make a try for them, and wanted to stay and guard them. Ayla tried to explain that everyone at the Camp knew they were special horses by now, but Jonayla said she was afraid someone new might come who didn’t know about them. Ayla couldn’t deny that her daughter had done the right thing before, and Dulana was more than happy to watch the child for Ayla, especially since her daughter was close to the same age. So Ayla let her stay.

The rest of those who wanted to see the painted cave started out. The group consisted of the One Who Was First; Jonokol, her First Acolyte, who was now Zelandoni of the Nineteenth Cave; Ayla, her current acolyte; and Jondalar. Willamar came, but not his two apprentices; they had found other objects of interest to distract them. In addition, several of the Zelandonia who were at the Summer Meeting wanted to see the site again, especially if they were going to be led through it by the Seventh, who knew it better than anyone alive.

There were ten satellite Caves in the region, each of which had its own painted cave as a Sacred Site that was complementary to the important one near the Seventh Cave, but many of them had only rudimentary paintings and engravings in comparison. The Fourth Cave of the South Land Zelandonii, which they had just visited, was one of the better ones. The group started up a path that traversed its way up the steep hill they had seen when they first saw the valley.