When things settled down, Joharran continued. "Once they are mated, most people will think of her as Ayla of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, but Jondalar suggested that the Ninth Cave accept her as Zelandonii be- fore the Matrimonial. In effect, he has asked that we adopt her. It would make the Matrimonial ceremonies easier and less confusing, and wedalar."

Though she tried, she couldn't prevent the unusual quality of the way she spoke, and no one who heard her could mistake her foreign origins; but the simple statement, spoken with such sincere conviction, won most peo- ple over.

"She did travel a long way to get here."

"She'll be the same as Zelandonii anyway."

"But what is her status?" Laramar asked.

"She will have the same status as Jondalar," Marthona said. She had expected him to make trouble, and this time she was ready.

"Jondalar has a high position in the Ninth Cave because you are his mother, but we don't know anything about her, except that she was raised by flatheads," Laramar said loudly."Frebec turned out to be a good man; somehow I don't think Laramar will," Jondalar murmured back.

"That's what she says. How do we know?" Laramar said, continuing his loud objections.

"Because my son was there, and he says the same thing," Marthona re- plied. "The leader, Joharran, doesn't doubt them."

"Joharran is family. Of course Jondalar's brother isn't going to doubt her.

She will be part of your family, and you all want her to have a high status,"

Laramar said.

"I don't know why you are objecting, Laramar," a voice from another quarter spoke out. People turned and were surprised to see that it was Stelona. "If it wasn't for Ayla, your mate's youngest daughter would proba- bly have starved to death. You didn't tell us that Tremeda got sick and lost her milk, or that Lanoga was trying to keep her alive with mashed-up roots.

Ayla did. I wonder if you even knew. Zelandonii don't let Zelandonii starve.

Several of us mothers are feeding the baby, and Lorala is already getting"Do you have any more objections, Laramar?" Joharran said. The man shook his head and backed away. "Does anyone else have any objections to accepting Ayla into the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii?" There was a background murmur, but no one spoke up. He reached down and gave Ayla a hand to help her up onto the level stone, then they turned to face the people. "Since several people are willing to sponsor her, and there are no objections, let me introduce Ayla of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, for- merly a Member of the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi, Daughter of the Mam- moth Hearth, Chosen by the Spirit of the Cave Lion, Protected by the Cave Bear, Friend of the horses, Whinney and Racer, and the four-legged hunter, Wolf." He had spoken to Jondalar to make sure he got her names and ties right, and memorized them. "And soon to be mated to Jondalar,"

he added. "Now, let's go eat!"

They both got down from the Speaking Stone, and as they made their way toward the food, they were stopped by people introducing themselves again, commenting on Tremeda's baby, and in general welcoming her.

But one person had no wish to welcome her. Laramar was not a man who was easily embarrassed, but he had been thoroughly chastened andon the ground, others on logs or blocks of stone that had been brought in at various times and left for future use. Zelandoni caught up with Ayla as she was walking toward Jondalar's family.

"I'm afraid you have an enemy in Laramar," she said.

"I'm sorry about that," Ayla said. "I didn't mean to cause problems for him."

"You didn't cause his problems. He was trying to cause you problems, or rather trying to humiliate Marthona and her family, and brought problems on himself instead. But now, I think he will blame you," Zelandoni said.

"Why should he want to make trouble for Marthona?"

"Because he is the lowest-ranked member of the Ninth Cave and she and Joharran are the highest, and he managed to catch her in a slight mistake the other day. As you may already know, that is hard to do. I think it may have given him a temporary illusion of triumph, and he liked it so well, he thought he'd try it again," the donier said.didn't know the baby had no milk, he didn't even know about Bologan's injuries. It made me angry; I don't like him. Wolf was with me, and I know when Laramar saw him, he got scared. He tried to cover up his fear, and I found myself feeling like a wolf pack leader wanting to put a lower-ranked wolf in his place. I knew I shouldn't have done it. It just gave him bad feel- ings toward me," Ayla said.

"Do leaders of wolf packs really put lower-ranked wolves in their place?"

Zelandoni said. "How do you know?"

"I learned to hunt meat-eaters before I learned to hunt meat," Ayla said.

"I'd spend whole days watching them. That may be why Wolf can live with people. Their ways are not so different from ours."

"How amazing!" Zelandoni said. "And, I'm afraid you're right. You cre- ated some bad feelings, but it wasn't entirely your fault. At the burial, you were among the highest ranked of the Ninth Cave, which is where I thought you belonged; Marthona and I agreed. He wanted you in the place he thought you belonged, which was behind him. Traditionally, he was correct."There you are," Jondalar said. "We were just talking about Laramar."

"So were we," Ayla said, but she doubted that their conversation had brought out the same insights. Partly because of her own doing, and partly because of circumstances she wasn't aware of, she had created an enemy.

Another one, she realized. She hadn't wanted to cause bad feelings in any of Jondalar's people, but in the short time she had been there, she had made two people angry at her. Marona hated her, too. She realized she hadn't seen the woman for some time and wondered where she was.

The people of the Ninth Cave had been making preparations for their annual trek to the Summer Meeting of the Zelandonii since they returned from the last one, but as the time of their departure drew near, activities and anticipation became more intense. There were final decisions about what to take with them and what to leave behind, but it was the process of closing down their dwellings for the summer that always made them aware that they were leaving and would not be back until cold winds blew.journs to group meetings of other Zelandonii, and travels to neighboring peoples. Some young people would venture farther afield and go on Jour- neys. Jondalar's return with new discoveries and inventions, a beautiful and exotic woman with rare talents, and exciting stories would encourage some of those who had been thinking about it to decide to go on a Journey of their own, and some mothers who knew that his brother had died far away would be unhappy that Jondalar had returned and caused such excitement.

The evening before they planned to leave, the entire Ninth Cave was eager and restless. When Ayla thought about the Summer Meeting, where she and Jondalar would be mated, she could hardly believe it was really true. Sometimes she would wake up and be almost afraid to open her eyes for fear that it might be just a wonderful dream and she would find herself back in the small cave in her lonely valley. She thought often of Iza, wishing that somehow the woman she regarded as her mother could know that she would soon have a mate, and that she had finally found her people, at least the ones she chose to be her people.

Ayla had long ago accepted the fact that she would never know the people to whom she was born, or even who they were, and realized that it didn't matter. When she was living with the Clan, she had wanted to be oneOthers.

During the long winter, when most people stayed close to the Ninth Cave, many of them spent time making gifts they would be giving to people when they saw them again at the next Summer Meeting. When she heard people talking about gifts, Ayla decided to make some, too. Though she'd had only a short time to work on them, she made small tokens that she planned to give to those people who had been especially kind to her, and who she knew would be giving gifts to her and Jondalar for their Matrimo- nial. She had a surprise for Jondalar, too. She had brought it with her all the way from the Summer Meeting of the Mamutoi. It was the one thing she insisted on taking with her through all the adversities and hardships of their Journey.

Jondalar was planning a surprise of his own. He had discussed with Jo- harran the best place to establish a home for Ayla and himself within the abri of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, and he wanted it to be ready for Ayla when they returned in the fall. To that end, he had been making ar- rangements. He talked with the fabricators of outside wall panels, and the people who were best at the construction of the lower stone walls, with those who were skilled at stone paving, and the ones who made interiordalar especially admired. In return for the handles, Jondalar had agreed to produce several burins-chisel-like flint carving tools-to the handle- maker's specific requirements. Long talks between the two men that in- cluded drawings made with charcoal on birch bark had created an under- standing of what was wanted.

Some of the skins Jondalar acquired would be used to make the raw- hide panels Jondalar needed for his dwelling, and some would compensate Shevola, the panel-maker, for her time and effort. He also promised to make her a couple of special leather-cutting knives, some hide-scrapers, and some woodcutting tools.

He made similar arrangements with Zelandoni's acolyte, the artist Jonokol, to paint the panels, which would incorporate Jonokol's own ideas of design and composition using basic symbols and animals that all Zelan- donii were generally expected to use, along with some that Jondalar wanted. Jonokol also wanted some special tools. He had some ideas for sculpturing limestone in high relief, but he lacked the flint-knapping skill to convert the ideas he envisioned for a special kind of burin with a beaked nose into the tool he wanted. Burins and specialized flint tools were difficulthe imagined how pleased she would be when they returned in the fall to find she had a home of her own.

Though it took several long afternoons for Jondalar to barter his skill at making flint tools with all the other people who could make the elements that would be needed for him to construct a place to live, the bargaining was often enjoyable. It usually started with pleasantries, then good-natured arguments that sometimes sounded like heated battles or insulting com- ments, but usually concluded in laughter over a cup of tea, or barma, or wine, or even a meal. Jondalar was careful to make sure Ayla was not pre- sent when he was bargaining for the dwelling, but that did not mean she wasn't exposed to the practice.

The first time she heard people bargaining, she didn't understand the nature of the loud, colorfully vilifying exchange. It was between Proleva and Salova, Rushemar's mate, who was a maker of baskets. Ayla thought they were really angry, and she hurried to get Jondalar, hoping he could do something to stop it.

"You say Proleva and Salova are having a terrible disagreement? What are they saying?" Jondalar asked.out loud. "Ayla, Ayla. They are not fighting, they are enjoying themselves.

Proleva wants some of Salova's baskets, and that's the way it's done. They will come to an agreement, and both will be happy. It's called bargaining, and I can't stop it. If I could, they would feel cheated of their fun. Why don't you go back and watch them? You'll see. Before long, they will be smiling, each thinking she has made a good trade."

"Are you sure, Jondalar? They seem so angry," Ayla said. She could hardly believe Proleva just wanted some of Salova's baskets and that this was the way they went about it.

She went back and found a place to sit nearby to watch and listen. If this was the way things were done among Jondalar's people, she wanted to be able to bargain, too. After a few moments, she noticed that several other people were watching the confrontation, smiling and nodding to each other.

She soon realized the two women were not really angry, but she doubted that she would ever be able to say something was so dreadful if she really believed it was beautiful. She shook her head in wonderment. What a strange way to behave!Ayla thought about it. There is more to it than it seems, she thought, but she couldn't quite think what it was.

The night before they were to leave, after bundles had been packed, the tent checked and repaired, and traveling gear readied, everyone in Mar- thona's home was so excited, no one wanted to go to bed. Proleva stopped by with Jaradal to see if any help was needed. Marthona invited them to come in and sit for a while, and Ayla volunteered to make a nice tea. After a second tapping at the entrance, Folara admitted Joharran and Zelandoni.

They had arrived together from different directions, both with offers and questions, but actually wanting to visit and talk. Ayla added more water and extra herbs to the tea.

"Did the traveling tent need repairs?" Proleva asked.

"Not many," Marthona said. "Ayla helped Folara with it. They used Ayla's new thread-puller."

The traveling tents that would be set up each evening were large enough to accommodate several people, and Marthona's family tent would be shared by all of them: Marthona, Willamar, and Folara; Joharran,"Could you resharpen it?" Joharran asked. Though tall straight trees had been cut for tent poles, they would still need wood for fires along the way and after they arrived at the site of the Summer Meeting, and axes to cut trees down, though unpolished stone axes had their own way of being used.

"It shattered. I couldn't sharpen it, I couldn't even get a blade out of it,"

Willamar said.

"It was a bad piece of flint," Jondalar said. "Full of small inclusions."

"Jondalar made a new axe, and resharpened the others," Willamar said.

"It's good to have him back."

"Except now we're going to have to watch out for stray chips of flint again," Marthona said. Ayla noticed she was smiling and understood that she wasn't really complaining. She was glad he was home, too. "He did clean up the flakes he knocked off to sharpen the axes Not like when he was a boy. I didn't see a single sharp sliver of stone. Of course, I don't see as well anymore.""He's right," Marthona said. "Do you remember where it is, Jaradal?"

"Yes, 'Thona," he said, getting up and running to a low shelf and re- turning with a small cup shaped and hollowed out of wood. "Here it is." He held it high to show everyone, causing delighted smiles from the assem- bled group. Ayla noticed that Wolf had moved from his customary spot near the entrance and was wriggling on his belly toward the boy with his tail held high, every motion of his body expressing his yearning to reach the object of his desire. The boy spied the animal, drank down his tea in a few gulps, then announced, "I play with Wolf now," though he was watching Ayla to see what her reaction would be.

Jaradal reminded her so much of Durc, she couldn't help but smile. The boy headed toward the animal, who made a whining yelp as he got up to meet him, then started licking Jaradal's face. Ayla could tell that Wolf was beginning to feel comfortable with his new, though very large, pack, espe- cially the child of the extended family and his friends. For Wolf's sake, she almost felt sorry that they would be leaving so soon. She knew it would be hard on him to be faced with the many new people they would meet. It"And it tastes good." Zelandoni paused, considering her words. "It oc- curs to me, since we are all here, that perhaps you should show Joharran and Proleva your way of making fire. I know I asked everyone not to tell anyone else about it yet, but we are all going to be traveling together and they will see it anyway."

Jondalar's brother and his mate glanced at the others with questioning looks, and then at each other.

Folara smiled. "Should I put the fire out?"

"Yes, why don't you," the donier said. "It is more impressive to see it that way the first time."

"I don't understand. What's this about fire?" Joharran said.

"Ayla discovered a new way to start a fire," Jondalar said, "but it's easier to show you."

"Why don't you show them, Jondalar?" Ayla said.Jondalar held up the firestone. "Ayla discovered the magic in these stones," he said. "I've been meaning to tell you about them, but there's been so much going on, I haven't had time yet. We just showed Zelandoni, and not long ago Marthona, Willamar, and Folara."

"Are you saying anyone can do that?" Proleva said.

"Yes, with practice, anyone can do it," Marthona said.

"Yes, let me show you how the stones work," Jondalar said. He went through the process, and Joharran and Proleva were amazed.

"One of those stones is flint, what is the other one? And where does it come from?" Proleva said.

"Ayla calls it a firestone," Jondalar said, and explained how she hap- pened to discover its properties. "We looked, but didn't see any on the way back. I was beginning to think they could be found only in the east, then Ayla found some not far from here. If there are some nearby, there shouldlanguage and learned healing from them. Are you sure there isn't some- thing else you've forgotten to tell me?" Joharran said.

Jondalar smiled wryly. "Not that I can think of right now," he said. "When you put it all together like that, I guess it does sound rather unbelievable."

"'Rather unbelievable'? Listen to him!" Joharran said. "Jondalar, I have a feeling your 'rather unbelievable' Journey is going to be talked about for many years."

"He does have interesting stories to tell," Willamar admitted.

"It's all your fault, Willamar," Jondalar said with a grin, then looked at his brother. "Don't you remember staying up late listening to him telling stories about his travels and adventures, Joharran? I always thought he was better than many of the traveling Story-Tellers. Did you ever show Joharran the gift he just brought you, mother?"

"No, Joharran and Proleva haven't seen it yet," Marthona said. "I'll go get it." She went into her sleeping room and returned with a flat section of palmate antler and gave it to Joharran. It was carved with two streamlined"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Marthona said.

"We saw some animals like those on our Journey. They live in an inland sea far to the east," Jondalar said.

"Some people think they are spirits of the water," Ayla added.

"I saw another creature that lives in the Great Waters of the West that is thought of as a special spirit helper of the Mother by the people who live nearby," Willamar said. "They are even more fishlike than seals. They give birth in the sea, but it is said they breathe air and nurse their young. They can stand on top of the water on their tails-I saw one do it-and it's said they speak their own language. The people who live there call them dol- phins, and some of them claim they can speak dolphin language. They made high squeaking sounds to show me.

"They tell many stories and legends about them," Willamar continued.

"It's said they help people to fish by driving them into nets, and they have saved the lives of people whose boats have capsized far from shore, who would otherwise have drowned. Their Elder Legends say that all people once lived in the sea. Some of them returned to the land, but the ones whomakes me want to go with you."

"Maybe next year when I go to trade for salt, you can come. It's not such a long Journey, especially compared to the one you made," Willamar said.

"I thought you said you didn't want to travel again, Jondalar," Marthona said, "and here you are, home only a short time and planning another trip.

Have you developed a traveling urge? Like Willamar?"

"Well, trading missions aren't exactly Journeys," Jondalar said, "and I'm not ready to make a trip now, except to the Summer Meeting, but a year is a long way off."

Folara and Jaradal, curled up with Wolf on Folara's bed, tried to stay awake. They didn't want to miss anything, but with the wolf between them, listening to the stories and the soft buzz of conversation, they both fell asleep.

The next day dawned with a gray drizzle, but the summer shower didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the Cave for the impending trek. Despite staying up late the night before, the members of Marthona's household were upmuch larger, Ayla observed, than the group from the Lion Camp when they went to the Mamutoi Summer Meeting. There were still many people Ayla did not know very well, but by now she at least knew almost everyone's name.

Ayla was curious which way Joharran would go. From the ride they took on the horses, she knew that when they started, the floodplain valley on the right bank of The River-the Ninth Cave side-was broad. If they headed upstream along The River in its meandering but generally northeast direc- tion, trees would be close to the water, and a wide expanse of grassy field separated The River from the highlands on both sides, and climbed up to the highlands in a gradual slope. However, after a short distance, water hugged steep cliffs on the other side, the left bank, which was on the right- hand side as one traveled toward the source. "Left bank" and "right bank"

were terms that always referred to the sides of rivers when going down- stream in the direction of the flowing current. They were traveling upstream.

Jondalar had told her that the next closest community of Zelandonii was only a few miles away, but that they would need a raft to complete the trip if they stayed close to The River because the course of the waterway changed. Farther upstream it curved in a more northerly direction, and thehorses shortly after they arrived. Instead of cutting across to the narrow valley with the steep, dry streambed, Joharran took a trail that was parallel to The River, leading to the flat lowlands of the right bank. They turned left through grass and brush and started up the gradual slope, then switch- backed in a zigzag up the face of the highland.

Ayla kept track of Wolf out of the corner of her eye as he ran ahead, following his nose. She recognized most of the plants she saw and regis- tered in her mind their uses and where they were growing. There's a stand of black birch over there by The River, she thought, the bark can help pre- vent miscarriage, and here's some sweet rush, which can cause one. And it's always good to know where willow grows; a decoction of the bark is so good for headaches, and the aching bones of the elderly, and other pains. I didn't know there was marjoram around here. It makes a nice tea, adds a good flavor to meat, and it's good for headaches, too, and helps a baby's colic. I'll have to remember this for later. Durc didn't suffer from colic much, but some babies do.

The trail steepened as they reached the sharper incline near the top, then opened out to the high level field. When they reached the windy pla- teau, she walked a ways ahead to the edge, then stopped to rest and waitThe elevated plateau offered an expansive panorama of the surrounding countryside, and a misty, illusionary scene below. A few wisps of fog were still tangled in the trees near the water, and a shroud of soft white con- cealed The River in places, but the veil was lifting, revealing shafts of light from the brilliant orb glinting from the surging stream. Across in the dis- tance, the fog thickened and the limestone hills faded into a gray-white sky.

When Jondalar arrived with Racer, they started across the high plateau together. Walking with the tall man with whom she had Journeyed for so long, with the wolf at her heels and the horses pulling the pole drags fol- lowing close behind, Ayla was euphoric. She was with the ones she loved most and could hardly believe the man beside her would soon be her mate.

She remembered only too well her feelings during the similar trek they had made with the Lion Camp. Then, she had felt that every step she took brought her closer to an inevitable destiny she did not want. She had promised to mate a man she truly cared for, and might have been happy with, if she hadn't met and loved Jondalar first. But Jondalar had become distant, didn't seem to love her anymore, and there was no doubt that Ra- nee not only loved her, but wanted her desperately.love.

They followed the trail across the level highland that took them to an- other viewpoint at the cliff's edge, where they had stopped when they were there alone. Before they crossed the small stream, they paused to watch the thin waterfall dropping over the edge into The River directly below. The people of the Cave had spread out across the high field, some making their own trail. The walkers took with them only what they could carry, though packs could be heavy and some planned to go back to get a second load, usually of items they wanted to trade.

Ayla and Jondalar had talked to Joharran and offered to the Cave the hauling services of the two horses. The leader spoke to several people, but he decided to load up the horses with meat from the recent deer and bison hunts. When he originally planned the hunts, he had expected that several people would need to make an extra trip back to the Ninth Cave to bring the meat to the site of the Summer Meeting.

Using the horses saved them the trouble, and for the first time he real- ized that trained horses could be more than a novelty. They could be use- ful. Even the help they had provided on the hunt, and Jondalar's fast tripwas more unmanageable. Joharran had seen that his brother had to work with the horse, especially turning on the trail where the poles restricted his movement. It required patience to keep the young stallion calm and lead him around obstacles while maintaining the load intact. At the Ninth Cave, Ayla and Jondalar had started out near the front of the group, but by the time they crossed the small stream and angled northwest again, they were closer to the middle.

They reached the place where Ayla and Jondalar had turned back be- fore, where the path began to descend. This time they followed it as it twisted and turned along the easiest grade, winding through brush, open grassland, and, in a protected dip, trees. They reached a rock shelter that was so close to the water, part of it extended over the water. They had traveled just under two miles in actual distance, though the steep climbs made the journey longer.

The shelter had a front porch that was so close to the edge of The River, a person could dive into water from it. The shelter was called River Front and faced south. It extended from west to east all the way to a southward-turning meander of The River that swung back around on itself so close, it would have joined at the neck of the loop it formed if it hadn'tsteep grade to the valley of a small stream that was usually dry in summer.

After crossing the muddy streambed, Joharran stopped and everybody rested while he waited for Jondalar and Ayla. Several people made small fires to boil water for a hot tea. Some took out traveling food, especially those with children, and had a snack.

"We need to make a choice here, Jondalar," Joharran said. "Which way do you think we should go?"

Because The River meandered through its valley, crowding close to cliff walls on first one side and then the other, it was sometimes easier to travel between Caves across the highlands. To reach the next site, however, there was another possibility.

"From here there are two ways we can go," Jondalar said. "If we follow this trail across the top of the cliffs, we'll have to climb up this slope, go across the highland for about half the distance we've already come, then go down again until we come to another little stream. It usually has water, but it's shallow and easy to cross. Then we have another steep climb that trav- erses the front of the cliff overlooking The River, then down again. TheJoharran pointed to the slope ahead. "Instead of climbing this, we can turn east to The River. It turns north ahead and you have to cross to the other side because the water runs right next to the cliffs on this side, but there's a long, shallow stretch that's easy to get across. And the Twenty- ninth Cave keeps stepping-stones there, as we do at the Crossing. We go along the other side for a while, then The River turns east again and crowds the cliffs on the other side, so you have to cross back over, but it spreads out and gets shallow again and that crossing also has stepping- stones. We can stop at two of the shelters on this side to visit, but we have to cross over again to get to the third and biggest one, because that is probably where we'll stay, especially if it rains."