The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children 5)

“But there’s something else you should know that could work in our favor. According to Guban—that was the man’s name…”

“They have names?” Joharran said.

“Of course they have names,” Ayla said, “just like the people in my clan. His name is Guban, hers is Yorga.” Ayla gave the names the true Clan pronunciation, with the full throaty, deep, guttural sounds. Jondalar smiled. She did that on purpose, he thought.

If that’s how they speak, I certainly know where her accent comes from, Zelandoni thought. She must be telling the truth. She was raised by them. But did she really learn her medicine from them?

“What I was trying to say, Joharran, is that Guban …” his pronunciation was much easier to understand “ … told me that some people, I don’t know which Caves, have approached some clans with the idea of establishing trading relations.”

“Trading! With flatheads!” Joharran said.

“Why not?” Willamar said. “I think it could be interesting. Depends what they have to trade, of course.”

“Sounds like the Trade Master talking,” Jondalar said.

“Speaking of trading, what are the Losadunai doing about those young men?” Willamar wanted to know. “We trade with them. I’d hate to have some trading party come down off the other side of that glacier and walk into a party of flatheads with revenge on their minds.”

“When we … I first heard about it, five years ago, they weren’t doing much,” Jondalar said, trying to avoid making reference to Thonolan. “They knew it was going on, some of the men were still calling it ‘high spirits,’ but Laduni became really upset, just talking about it. Then it got worse. We stopped to visit the Losadunai on our way back. The Clan men had started going out with their women when they were gathering food, guarding them, and those ‘high-spirited’ young men weren’t going to provoke the Clan men by going after the women then, so they went after a young woman of Laduni’s Cave—all of them—forced a young woman … before First Rites.”

“Oh, no! How could they, Jondé?” Folara said, bursting into tears.

“Great Mother’s Underground!” Joharran thundered.

“That’s just where they should be sent!” Willamar said.

“They are abominations! I can’t even imagine a strong enough punishment!” Zelandoni fumed.

Marthona, unable to say anything, had her hand on her chest and looked appalled.

Ayla had felt deeply for the young woman who had been assaulted and had tried to ease her anguish, but she couldn’t help but notice how much more strongly Jondalar’s kin had reacted to the news of a young woman of the Others being attacked by the gang than they had when they learned of the attacks on Clan women. When it was Clan women, they were offended, but when it was one of their own, they were outraged.

That, more than anything that had been said or done, made her understand the extent of the chasm that separated the two peoples. Then she wondered what their reactions would have been—inconceivable as the idea was to her—if it had been a gang of Clan men … flatheads that had committed such an abominable act on Zelandonii women?

“You can be sure the Losadunai are doing something about those young men, now,” Jondalar said. “The young woman’s mother was crying for blood retribution against the Cave of the leader of those degenerate men.”

“Ahhh, that’s bad news. What a difficult situation for the leaders,” Marthona said.

“It’s her right!” Folara proclaimed.

“Yes, of course, it’s her right,” Marthona said, “but then some kin or another, or the whole Cave, will resist and that could lead to fighting, maybe someone getting killed, and then someone wants revenge for that. Who knows where it would end up? What are they going to do, Jondalar?”

“Several Cave leaders sent runners with messages, and many of them got together and talked. They’ve agreed to send out trackers, find the young men, separate them to break up the gang, and then each Cave is going to deal with their own member individually. They will be severely punished, I imagine, but they’ll be given a chance to make restitution,” Jondalar explained.

“I’d say that’s a good plan, especially if they all agree to it, including the Cave of the instigator,” Joharran said, “and if the young men come peaceably, once they’ve been found…”

“I’m not sure about the leader, but I think the rest of them want to go home, and would agree to anything to be allowed back. They looked hungry, cold, and dirty, and not too happy,” Jondalar said.

“You saw them?” Marthona asked.

“That’s how we met the Clan couple. The gang had gone after the woman, they didn’t see the man around. But he had climbed up on a high rock to scout game and jumped down when they attacked his woman. Broke his leg, but it didn’t stop him from trying to fight them off. We happened upon them then; it was not far from the glacier we were getting ready to cross.” Jondalar smiled. “Between Ayla, Wolf, and me, not to mention the two Clan people, we chased them off in a hurry. There’s not much fight left in those boys. And with Wolf and the horses, and the fact that we knew who they were, when they had never seen us before, well, I think we put a scare in them.”

“Yes,” Zelandoni said thoughtfully. “I can see how it would.”

“You would have scared me,” Joharran said with a wry smile.

“Then Ayla convinced the Clan man to let her set his broken leg,” Jondalar continued. “We camped together for a couple of days. I made him a couple of sticks to lean on and help him walk, and he decided to go home. I was able to talk to him a little, though Ayla did most of it. I think I became something like a brother to him,” he said.

“It occurs to me,” Marthona said, “that if there is a possibility of trouble with—what do they call themselves? Clan people?—and they can communicate enough to negotiate, it could be very helpful to have someone like Ayla around who can talk to them, Joharran.”