The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children 3)

The two headwomen were standing inside an almost complete, but empty new earthlodge. Although the outside was covered, the zigzag pattern of the walls was subtly apparent on the inside.

“Are you sure you won’t travel with us, Avarie?” Tulie said. A new string of large amber beads graced her neck. “We’d be happy to wait a few more days, until you are ready.”

“No, you go

ahead. I know everyone is anxious to get to the Meeting, and you have already done too much. The lodge is nearly finished, and without you, we would never have been so far along.”

“It was our pleasure to work with you. I must admit, the new lodge is quite impressive. It is an honor to the Mother. Your brother is truly remarkable. One can almost feel the Mother’s presence inside.” She was sincere, and Avarie knew it.

“Thank you, Tulie, and we will not forget your help. That’s why we don’t want to keep you any longer. You are already late because you stayed to help us. All the best places will be taken.”

“It won’t take us long to get there now. Our load is considerably lighter. Mammoth Camp strikes a hard bargain.”

Avarie’s eyes glanced at the big headwoman’s new necklace. “Not nearly as hard a bargain as Lion Camp,” she said.

Tulie agreed. She believed the Lion Camp had gotten the better of the bargaining, but it was unseemly to admit to it. She changed the subject. “Well, we’ll look forward to seeing you there. If we can, we’ll try to mark a place for you.”

“We would appreciate that, but I suspect we’ll be the last ones. We will have to take what we can get. We will look for you, though,” Avarie said, as they walked out.

“We’ll leave in the morning, then,” Tulie said. The two women embraced, and touched cheeks, then the headwoman of the Lion Camp started toward the tents.

“Oh, Tulie, in case I don’t see Ayla to tell her before you go, please thank her again for the firestone,” Avarie said, then added in an apparently offhand way, “Have you set a Bride Price for her yet?”

“We have been thinking about it, but she has so much to offer, it’s difficult,” Tulie said, then turned to go. After a few steps, she turned back and smiled. “She and Deegie have become so close Ayla is almost like a daughter to me.”

Tulie could hardly suppress a smile as she walked away. She thought she had noticed Vincavec paying particular attention to Ayla, and she knew Avaries comment was no casual remark. He had put his sister up to it. It would not be a bad match, Tulie thought, and having ties with the Mammoth Camp could prove beneficial. Of course, Ranec has first claim. They are, after all, Promised, but if someone like Vincavec made an offer, it wouldn’t hurt to consider it. At the very least, it would raise her value. Yes, Talut had a good idea when he suggested they stop and do some trading.

Avarie watched her go. So Tulie is going to negotiate the Bride Price herself. I thought as much. Perhaps we should stop off at Amber Camp on the way, I know where Mother keeps the raw stone, and if Vincavec is going to try for Ayla, he’s going to need everything he can get. I never saw a woman drive a harder bargain than Tulie, Avarie thought with begrudging admiration. She hadn’t particularly eared for the big headwoman of the Lion Camp before, but these past few days when they had a chance to get better acquainted, she had come to respect her, and even like her. Tulie had worked hard with them and was generous with her praise when it was deserved, and if she was a formidable trader, well, that was the headwoman’s role. In fact, if she were young and ready to make a joining, Avarie thought, she wouldn’t mind having someone like Tulie negotiating her Bride Price.

From the Mammoth Camp, the Lion Camp traveled in a generally northerly direction, for the most part following the river. Near the great waterways that coursed down the continent, the northern landscape changed continually and displayed a rich diversity of plant life. Their trek took them from tundra fells and loess plains to reedy forest lakes, from lush bogs to windy knolls and grassy meadows bright with summer blooms. Though the northern plants were stunted, the flowers were often larger and more brilliant than southern varieties. Ayla could identify most of them, though she didn’t always know what to call them. When they passed them, or if she was out riding or walking alone, she often picked some to bring to Mamut, or Nezzie, or Deegie, or someone to tell her the names.

The closer they came to the place of the Summer Meeting, the more Ayla found reasons to make side trips. Summer had always been the time when she wanted solitude. It had been her pattern for as long as she could remember. In the winter, she accepted the confinement imposed by severe weather, whether it was to the cave of Bruns clan, or the one in her valley, or the Mamutoi earthlodge. But in summer, though she did not like to be alone at night, she had often enjoyed getting off by herself during the day. It was her time to think her own thoughts, and follow her own impulses, free from the restriction of being watched too much, either because of suspicion, or love.

When they stopped for the evening, it was easy enough to say she wanted to identify plants or to hunt, and she did both, using the spear-thrower as well as her sling to bring back fresh meat, but she really wanted to get away alone. She needed time to think. She was dreading their arrival, and couldn’t quite understand why. She had met enough people now, and had been easily enough accepted, so she knew that wasn’t the problem. But the closer they got, the more excited Ranec became, and the more morose Jondalar seemed. And the more she wished she could avoid this gathering of the Camps.

On their last night of traveling, Ayla returned from a long walk with a handful of flowers. She noticed that a patch of ground near the fire had been smoothed out, and that Jondalar was making marks in it with the drawing knife. Tornec had a broken piece of ivory in his hand and a sharp knife out, and was studying marks.

“Here she is,” Jondalar said. “Ayla can tell you better than I can. I’m not sure I could find my way back to the valley from Lion Camp, and I know I couldn’t do it from here. We’ve taken too many turns and detours.”

“Jondalar was trying to make a map showing the way to the valley where you found the firestones,” Talut said.

“I’ve been looking ever since we left, and I haven’t seen one firestone,” Tornec added. “I’d like to make a trip there sometime and get some more. The ones we have won’t last forever. Mine already has a big groove in it.”

“I’m having trouble judging distance,” Jondalar said. “We traveled on horseback, so it’s hard to say how many days it would take on foot. And we explored a lot, stopped when we felt like it, didn’t follow any logical trail. I’m almost certain we went back across the river that runs through your valley, farther north. Maybe more than once. When we went back, it was almost winter, and many landmarks had changed.”

Ayla put down the flowers, and picked up the drawing knife, and tried to think about how to make a map to the valley. She started to make a line, and then hesitated.

“Don’t worry about trying to do it from here,” Talut encouraged. “Just think about how to get there from Lion Camp.”

Ayla crinkled her brow in concentration. “I know I could show you the way from Lion Camp,” she said, “but I still don’t understand maps very well. I don’t think I know how to draw one.”

“Well, don’t worry about it,” Talut said. “We don’t need a map, if you can show us the way. Maybe after we return from the Summer Meeting, we can make a trip there.” Then he motioned with his red-bearded chin toward the flowers. “What did you bring back this time, Ayla?”

“That’s what I want you to tell me. I know what they are, but I don’t know what you call them.”

“I know that red one is a geranium,” Talut said. “And this is poppy.”

“More flowers?” Deegie said, just joining them.