The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children 6)

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 eons 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 Watches 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 Site 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 recognized 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 traveling companions: Ayla and Jonokol, Willamar and Jondalar, and then the rest of the travelers, 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 signaled 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 honor 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 neighboring 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 recognized Balderan and some shouted out accusations.

“He’s the one!” a woman said. “He forced me! They all did.”