Chapter 36: Long Valley

It was late morning before Mageb spotted the herd of Auroch. They had been following Auroch spoor since dawn. He was now beginning to worry that they were moving into the Other's territory and would soon be forced to either fight or turn back before a kill was possible.

The Clan would go hungry as it was, because of all the disruption caused by the crazy men of the Others over the past many moons. Mageb still felt anger at these strange people and their strange ways. Why did Ursus create the Others and then let them plague the Clan in the first place, what had they done to displease Him so?

This hunt would be risky. The herd was very close to the Others hunting grounds. Clan men would normally avoid the area beyond the dead cedar trees that defined - at least to the Clan - the beginning of the Others' territory. Even so, they had to try. Mageb signaled the hunters to follow him and they ran silently forward, their heavy thrusting spears gripped in determined hands.

Finally, as they neared the herd, one by one, the men dropped to the ground to hide among the tall dried grass that covered the valley floor in this area. Mageb continued to run, skimming along the edge of the trees in a crouch.

As second to the leader of their Clan, Mageb knew that they only had a short time in this place before they were discovered. He hoped that Mongar, who was leader and who had taken more hunters toward the rising sun, would have better luck than he. Mageb expected to kill only two or three Auroch in the short time they had here. The pity was that their cave members would need much more meat to survive the coming winter than they would be able to hunt before the snows came.

Still running, Mageb passed the grazing herd, barely disturbing their tranquility. His plan was to get in front of them and then to yell and wave his spear. He had tied shreds of hide to it and would run toward the animals. Auroch were amazingly stupid animals, and would run from any sudden noise. Even over a cliff unless something impeded their path.

Mageb decided that he had gone far enough ahead of the herd and turned, now running into the open valley floor and away from the trees. He rose up to stand in the herd's path then began to jump up and down while waving his decorated spear above his head. Adding to the warning, he roared loudly, imitating the sound of a Cave Lion.

The herd's bull looked up in alarm and immediately turned to flee, bellowing a warning to the herd. The huge, normally docile beasts, were now bleating and pounding the earth with their massive hooves as they ran for their lives.

As the herd neared the hunters hiding in the grass, Durg who was hunt leader after Mageb signaled the men into action. They jumped up from their chosen places and as tradition demanded, each hunter would choose an animal, run to a place in its path and then as the beast came upon him he would thrust his heavy hunting spear with the deadly fire-hardened point into the beast's side, preferably his neck, but between the ribs would also be a killing blow.

-o-

Cambarre and Jonayla had crossed the river north of Hilltop Holding about midmorning. Negotiating the river was fairly easy at the end of summer. In a few moon's time it would be covered with ice and could be ridden across, but by spring it would be a torrent and ropes would be needed to guide people across. That would be a challenge for the Chimu attending the next Summer Meeting.

Jonayla was in thought when Cambarre spoke, "Look over there Jonayla." Her eyes followed where he was pointing. They had just crested the southern hills at the edge of Long Valley and were sitting astride their horses, elevated enough to see tiny figures running in the distance among a herd of Auroch.

"Cambarre. Those are Clan hunters!" Jonayla exclaimed in surprise. The Clan hunters were closer to the Chimu territory than they would normally venture. "Maybe with all the disruption over the past year, they have to follow the herds, even into Chimu territory," Jonayla spoke her thought out loud.

"How many people did you say were in their Clan?" Cambarre asked.

"I saw about fifteen when we were there, but I don't know if everyone was at the cave when we were. Some could have been out hunting. We weren't there all that long," Jonayla replied, still watching the hunt. "Maybe we should help them. Some of those Auroch cows have escaped their hunters and are coming our way. We could kill some of those for them. It looks like they'll be lucky to get more than two or three out of the entire herd the way they hunt with those thrusting spears."

"I don't know," Cambarre said. "Do you think they would want us to interfere?"

"No I don't, but I bet they'll take the meat if we offer it." Without further discussion, Jonayla jumped down and pulled a braided fiber rope from the carry basket and tied it around Star's neck. She then wrapped it around his waist, looping it up under the rope collar she had just made to better hold the furry little animal. She hurriedly tied the rope to a shady tree. "I'm sorry Star, but you would probably be trampled by those Auroch. Until you know how to hunt you'll need to be restrained. We'll be back for you as soon as the hunt is over. It shouldn't be very long." She scratched his ears affectionately and then mounted Gray and pulled her spearthrower from its sheath, she then slung the quiver of small but deadly spears over her shoulder. "Come on Cambarre, let's go." She urged Gray out on to the valley floor, racing toward the herd with Cambarre close behind.

-o-

Mageb heard the whooping and the galloping hooves and whirled around to see two of the Others coming toward them. Now there was going to be a confrontation, he thought stoically. They had already killed three animals and there was no way he would leave them behind. Three kills wasn't enough, but every bit of meat was essential if they had any chance of surviving the coming winter.

Mageb had been too far away to participate in the kill and the animals that ran back toward him gave him a wide berth, running to either side of him. He crouched defensively as the two riders came at him, but when they used big sticks to throw small spears into the air and brought down two Auroch cows that had just passed him, his eyes widened and he stood up, grounding his hunting spear to watch.

The riders whirled around and galloped after two more Auroch cows about to pass Megeb and easily took them down with two more small spears. Mageb was amazed. He had never seen anything like it before. Those two had killed more than all his hunters combined and had done it in just moments. He shook his head in wonder as they took two more beasts on the run, killing them neatly and without seeming effort.

Then, as there were no longer any living Auroch left in the field, the Others turned their horses toward him. Mageb tensed, gripping his hunting spear tightly. Would they claim all the kills for their people? At best they could only transport two. Why kill the whole herd? He saw the two stop and retrieve their small flying spears, apparently to use them again. Mageb admitted that they had the right to claim most of the kills, but he would insist they allow his people the three they had killed. He would insist, that is, unless they decided to use those deadly little spears on him.

Standing alone in the middle of the tall dry grass Mageb shivered as if cold. He must control his fear. To show it would be too humiliating, but seeing these Others on a horse's back was against nature, as if they were spirits of the earth. He knew this wasn't so. He had seen them die when in battle just like Clan people, but still, it was a fearsome sight and he felt helpless as they approached.

The two Others stopped and dismounted some distance away from Mageb. It was a man and woman who had killed the Auroch. It still amazed him that their women could hunt like men. It was against the Clan way and so strange that it made him fear them even more as they came closer on foot.

Then the female began to speak. In Clan speech! For a moment Mageb felt the blood drain from his brain in shock. If he hadn't grounded his spear and used it to hold himself upright he might have fallen, as humiliating as that would have been.

Then, as the female of the Others continued, he thought he recognized her. All the Others looked alike to him, even the men, many of them wore no beards. It was hard to tell them apart. He had seen these two before, he was sure of it. The woman was the daughter of the Others' female Mog-ur. The one who had come into their hunting grounds and finally stopped the violence against his Clan.

She was telling him that they only wanted to help. That she, this woman, knew that all the fighting over the past summer must have made hunting and drying meat for winter very difficult. That they didn't want to insult anyone by helping, but thought extra meat would be helpful to the Clan, and in some small way, help repay the Clan for the trouble caused by some of her people.

Jonayla stopped signing and looked past Mageb, as a cry of distress came from behind him. She signed that she was a Medicine Woman then turned, ran to her horse and leapt onto its back. Before Mageb could even try to block her way, she was galloping past him toward his hunters to the east.

Mageb stared at the man of the Others. He was, like many of them, slightly built and had no beard. He looked almost like a woman, he thought to himself, despising him as a weak male. He could confront this man of the Others or go to see what the woman might be doing to his hunters with her weapon. Then the man spoke. Not like the woman, but like a child. He signed, "Woman is healer." It was hard to understand him, but he was certain about the word healer.

Unknown to Mageb, the only reason Cambarre could communicate with him at all was the fact the all the Zelandonii used some of their sign language when hunting. Cambarre knew a bit more, being the mate of the First Zelandoni's daughter. The First Zelandoni had brought the sign language to the people in the first place and that made it somewhat obligatory for him to become more proficient than other men.

Mageb decided that this man with no beard was no immediate threat so he turned and ran toward the place where the woman had gone. He could see that her horse was standing near a group of his hunters, but she was no longer on it, she was down beside one of his men, it was old Bagba. This would have probably been his last year on the hunt and his age had made him too slow to side step a charging beast. A horn must have raked his shoulder or gored him, it was hard to tell, what with all the blood. Bagba would die and someone would have to care for his aging mate.

Mageb reached down and thrust the woman away from the old hunter. What was she doing? He signed to her, "Leave this hunter be. What do you think you are doing?"

Jonayla climbed to her feet. Although she was slightly built compared to the hugely muscled Clan male, she was still slightly taller than him and when she reached her full adult height she would probably be even taller yet. Incensed at being disturbed from her task Jonayla furiously signed, "I am daughter of the female Mog-ur who is also medicine woman! Do not disturb me when I am working!"

She held up the otter medicine pouch that she'd first made with the help of her mother when she was learning the healing arts. Her mother had trained her, giving her all the knowledge that she could from a very young age. She'd been taught about medicinal herbs and horses until she knew them both like the back of her hand. She could speak knowledgably with anyone on either subject.

The experience Jonayla had with medicines made her confident to the point that she had no doubt about her abilities and this showed in her expression and signing. Mageb saw the familiar medicine bag and knew it was real, but he wasn't sure that the Others' medicine would work on his people.

"You may be a medicine woman for your people," he conceded. "But your medicine might not work on my people. Bagba is dying and if you curse him with some strange medicine he may not be able to hunt for food and greet his ancestors in the Spirit World."

Jonayla stood as tall as she could and said, "My mother, the Mog-ur of the Others, was trained by Creb's sibling, Iza. She taught me Clan medicine, so let me help this hunter. He need not die from this wound. It needs only to be cleaned and stitched, so evil spirits cannot enter the wound and cause fever. I have everything I need to care for him, if you will just get out of my way." Mageb was frustrated. Talking to this female was like talking to the river. Nothing he said made a difference.

Cambarre had returned to collect Star from his captivity under the shady tree. Man and wolf cub walked the horses over to stand near Jonayla's Gray. Knowing that it would be several hours now, he unloaded the horses and used a hammer stone and stake to anchor Star's rope to the ground to keep him out of the way. Then he walked over to where Jonayla had been kneeling. He couldn't understand what was being communicated but decided that she was holding her own, so he remained silent and watched.

After a while it appeared that the discussion was over and Jonayla had won the argument because she knelt beside the downed hunter and was once again cleaning the wound. She called over her shoulder to Cambarre to make a fire and heat some water. He began to follow her instructions but the leader of the Clan hunters stood in his way.

"Get water, make fire to heat water, fix hunter," Cambarre signed. "Medicine woman need now." He tried to pass by the Clan man but felt a strong grip on his bicep. He looked into the Clan man's eyes without fear. He knew that to show fear to this man would be a mistake.

That's when Star began to howl his frustration at being tied up. Mageb's head shot around and his eyes grew wide as he saw the wolf pup. What magic was this? How could it be that these Others had a wolf cub! He could see that it was held captive by ropes. The howl of a wolf... any wolf... made Mageb shiver.

Taking advantage of this moment of surprise, Cambarre pulled his arm violently out of Mageb's grip and walked back to the horses, he reached down and playfully pulled a wolf ear, then he slipped the spearthrower out of its holder and loaded a bird spear into it. "I help medicine woman. You take all kills for Clan cave. Send to cave for more help." He managed to make himself understood and walked quickly past the Clan leader - who was still staring at Star in total astonishment.

Mageb was worried. What if these two made some magic? What if they tried to destroy his hunters with a curse? He wasn't sure what to do. But either way they needed the meat, so he sent one hunter running back for the women and their own medicine woman. There were nine Auroch to be skinned and butchered and it would need to be done before night when scavengers would be hard to stop.

The leader stood, watching the two people of the Others work on Bagba. The other hunters cautiously avoided the small wolf and began the preparation of the meat, butchering the animals where they lay and carrying the meat to a place near Mageb so he could both watch the strangers and protect the meat from scavenger animals.

Jonayla knew what was needed. The Auroch's left horn had caught the man just under his left armpit. It had torn the flesh away and he might not regain full use of the arm again, but she thought if she could clean it and stitch the edges together, he would have a chance of survival.

Cambarre watched Jonayla working on the man. At first the man grimaced at the pain when Jonayla cleaned the wound and cut away some of the ragged edges of flesh, but the shock and the pain were finally too much for him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Cambarre was amazed at the amount of pain the man had taken before he passed out. 'Any Zelandonii man would have been screaming from the pain by now,' he thought. It was sobering to realize that these men were so brave and could take such pain with only a grimace.

Jonayla was done working on the still unconscious hunter by the time more hunters and their women arrived. With the women and hunters came their Medicine Woman. Cambarre remembered her, they had spent some time in each other's company before.

Jonayla recognized her immediately, "Greetings 'Dula' I have dressed this man's wounds. I don't think that Mageb was happy about it, but I couldn't let it wait. Maybe if you would inspect it he will be satisfied."

"Yes," Dula signed and knelt beside the prostrate hunter. She looked at the stitched wound and then looked up at the young woman of the Others. "What have you done? The wound is closed."

"Yes, my mother taught me that cut wounds should be cleaned with Lion's Tooth at the wound edges. Then a warm infusion of Butterfly Weed should be poured into the wound, and allowed to drain. Then, if it looks clean, it should be sewn closed before evil can enter the wound to cause fever. I am brewing an infusion of Skullcap to help with the swelling that will come and to keep this man calm when he wakes up," Jonayla said confidently. She only hoped that there were no taboos with these people that would stop any of her treatments.

"That is interesting," Dula signed. She hadn't understood the names of the medicines the young woman of the Others had used, but she did understand the confidence she displayed in her own abilities. "How do I remove the sewing you have done when the wound no longer wants to separate?"

"There is no need to remove the sewing. It was done using very thin strips of boiled sinew. In time, the body will absorb the sinew. I chanted the Mother's sacred healing prayer while I worked on this man. The Mother, who you call Ursus, will have frightened the bad spirits away. I washed the wound with the warm infusion and by closing the wound before other spirits that are harmful could enter, I think he should live," Jonayla assured her.

Finally Dula said, "Maybe you could teach me this prayer so that I can use it in the future."

"It is a long prayer, but if we have the time, I would be glad to," Jonayla replied. She watched as the small but stocky Medicine Woman bent over the prostrate man and touched the stitches Jonayla had made to pull the flesh together.

Dula looked up and said, "It is unusual to see a closed wound like this. Maybe some time we could talk about this also?" Without waiting for an answer to her question she stood and walked over to the Clan man who led the hunters and addressed him, keeling at his feet. Receiving permission to speak Dula said, "This young Medicine Woman of the Others has performed the healing very well. If Ursus allows it, Bagba will live, although he will not hunt again I think, at least not with the use of his damaged arm."

Just then Cambarre came over. His arms and hands were bloody from butchering the animals. Once he'd done what he could for Jonayla, he'd gone to work with the others to butcher the dead animals. At first the hunters were leery of him, but soon accepted his help since he was just as eager as they were to get the job done before dark.

"We should leave now Jonayla. It looks like the Clan has everything they need." Cambarre washed his hands and arms in the water left over from the making of Jonayla's medicinal cures.

"Yes, we should leave," Jonayla paused for a moment then asked, "Cambarre, would you consider leaving your spearthrower with Mageb? They should try to use one, it would help their people if they knew how. Even if they never ride a horse, using a spearthrower would mean that they wouldn't have to stand in the path of a charging beast ten times their size." Jonayla looked at him pleadingly. "I would give them mine, but it was made for me and I'm sure it would be too small for any of these men to use."

Cambarre looked concerned but then agreed. "I just hope we don't have a need for it before we get back to the Summer Meeting," he said, still worried even as he held out both the spearthrower and his quiver full of small but deadly spears for Jonayla to take.

"No Cambarre, you need to give it to Mageb." Jonayla didn't touch it. "According to mother, the Clan men think that a weapon that has been touched by a woman is cursed and can no longer be used to hunt with."

"But you've touched this a hundred times," Cambarre insisted.

"Yes, you know that and I know that, but Mageb doesn't. So long as he doesn't see me touch it, it won't occur to him that you have ever let a woman do such a thing."

"Very well," Cambarre conceded. "I'll see if he'll take it from my hands." Cambarre walked solemnly over to the hunt leader and held out his spearthrower and quiver of spears. "For you. Kill more Auroch than your spear," he said, pointing at Mageb's spear, trying to make him understand.

Mageb wasn't sure what to do. These Others were letting them have all the meat, even though they had killed the greater portion. The woman, even though unasked, had helped old Bagba, according to their Medicine Woman. He didn't want this strange weapon of the Others, but he didn't want to refuse the man of the Others, because that would have been extremely rude.

Reluctantly he held his hands out to accept the gift, wondering what he had of equal value. He guessed that he would have to give this man of the Others his best hunting spear, there was really no alternative. Having taken the Others' contraption in his right hand, he held out his left hand that gripped his own spear, offering it to the man.

The last thing Cambarre wanted was a fire hardened stake, but he took it graciously, nodding his head in acceptance of the gift. With that the two men - who thought and lived lives that were barely understood by each other - turned and walked away to their separate lands.

Cambarre came over to Jonayla who had been loading the horses and asked, "So what do I do with this sharpened log?" he smiled at his own joke.

"Tie it to your carry basket like my mother did when she was given one. Let's leave while everything still seems friendly," she said, swinging up on to Gray's back in one smooth practiced motion, her action catching the Clan people by surprise. To them it looked like she had magically mounted the horse. It didn't look possible that so small a person could have jumped so effortlessly onto a horse's back.

The Clan people watched as the two 'Others' rode away with the wolf cub trailing obediently behind them. After they were out of sight, Mageb laid the spearthrower and quiver on the ground, and along with the others gathered there, he hefted his portion of meat to carry back to the cave.

The sun was sinking into the west and the shadows were elongated, making the dried grass in the valley glow golden in the late afternoon light. Vultures soared high above, keeping their greedy eyes on the piles of bones and offal left behind. The Clan people moved eastward under the burdens that, once the meat was dried and stored, would allow them to survive the winter.

Cambarre's abandoned spearthrower would weather over the winter and become part of the surrounding earth, and would be no more than a few rotting sticks by the next summer...

-o-

Cambarre and Jonayla had turned their mounts toward the Chimu once again. It was obvious that they wouldn't make First Place before dark. "We should find a place to camp soon," Jonayla said, always concerned with their domestic needs. "Keep an eye open for any game. I would like something other than dried meat tonight. Losing our meal last night makes me want something fresh."

"Don't worry about meat for tonight. I kept a couple of good sized Auroch steaks from the kill. I figured it would be fair to at least take enough for tonight's meal. None of the hunters seemed to mind," he said, smiling at her, feeling a bit smug that he'd thought to do it.

"That's good," Jonayla said approvingly. "My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Now all we need to do is find a place to set up camp."

They rode westward until dusk, when they found a good spot up against a bluff that would protect them from the cooler night breeze. While Cambarre collected firewood, Jonayla refilled their water skins from a nearby brook and then built a stone campfire ring.

"Here are the steaks," Cambarre said, holding the thick juicy slabs of meat out to his mate. He'd just unwrapped them from the fresh, uncured Auroch hide that he had tied around them with a rawhide thong for carrying.

"Wonderful!" Jonayla took the meat and smiled approvingly at Cambarre. "What a clever man you are," she said. She had been so caught up with the wounded Clan hunter that she hadn't thought about their meal that night and she was grateful that he had, especially now that her tummy was growling.

"I'll grill these and boil some more of those tubers we found yesterday," Jonayla said. "I was lucky and found spinach and even some dandelion and basswood down by the brook when I was refilling the water skins, so we'll have a really good meal this evening."

Cambarre replied, "That sounds fine. While you do the cooking, I'll unload the horses and hobble them by the brook so they can graze and easily reach the water. I also want to take Star out and check for Woolly Rhino before we eat."

Jonayla knew his last remark was a tease and replied, "Please check well Cambarre but when the food is ready, I am eating it while it's still hot."

-o-

As dark enveloped the landscape, Cambarre and Jonayla enjoyed their meal. Being together and knowing that they had the rest of their lives ahead of them and being alone on their own, made this moment in time almost perfect.

When they finished eating the evening meal, Jonayla was about to get up and take the food platters to the brook to wash when Cambarre reached out and gripped her arm. "Let that wait for a bit," he said. "Just sit there and let me look at you for a while."

"What's this? You see me every day," she said, smiling at him, feeling excitement in the pit of her stomach.

"Yes I do see you every day and glad I am of that, but I don't get to really 'look' at you, not like this," he said.

Jonayla looked back at her mate and met his eyes. They were dark gray, almost black. With his blonde hair and weathered complexion he looked very strong and capable. She admitted to herself that she'd first noticed Cambarre because of his well-developed body and his obvious confidence. She hadn't been sure that she'd liked him at first, but she was sure that she had been attracted to him.

As she held his gaze she felt her body react to the moment. A heat was building up inside her that was exciting, yet at the same time comfortable. Jonayla realized at that moment, maybe for the first time, that she wouldn't want to live without this man. He meant everything to her.

Cambarre, for his part was drinking in the shifting expressions that played across his beautiful mate's face. He had admired her looks from the very first when he'd come to the Ninth Cave to learn the finer points of Knapping from her father. He had never tried to seduce her, as he had other women at the Ninth Cave. He had always felt that she wasn't interested in that type of relationship.

Though, once she made the first move he worked hard to interest her, and now, they were mated and he was a happy man. Looking across the merry little campfire that reflected light into her amazingly blue eyes, he felt happy and satisfied with life. This woman was beautiful, and he was proud of that. Proud when other men looked at her with interest because of her exceptional appearance. Now that he knew her better, more intimately, his pride in her accomplishments and abilities even outweighed his pride in her beauty.

Tonight though, he just wanted to let her unusual beauty soak in, like the sweet scent from a spring meadow. Her skin glowed golden and smooth in the firelight. Full, pouty lips stretched into a wide, dazzling grin, much like her mother's, showing even white teeth. That smile had always made his heart skip a beat when it was directed toward him. It always made him want to do all he could not to disappoint her.

As Cambarre was thinking these thoughts, Jonayla stood and came to him. She sat down beside him, hugging him close. Cambarre tuned his face to hers and she turned her face up toward his and they kissed. Yes, Cambarre thought, this was one of those moments that he never wanted to end. "Why don't we let the platters wait until later," he said. He then stood up and took Jonayla's hand in his, urging her to stand.

Cambarre was determined to show Jonayla just how much he loved and admired her. He quickly banked the fire so that it would burn through most of the night, giving off the smell of smoke that would let wild animals know that humans camped here. Then he gently pulled Jonayla into the tent after him, pulling the open flaps closed behind them.

The only sound to be heard in their campsite for a time was the scuffling of Star, their wolf pup, who had his fill of Auroch steak and who wanted to break out of his little enclosure to join his pack leaders in their tent. After a time, soft moaning and a rhythmic rustling would have been heard - if there were anyone nearby to hear it - but by then even Star had settled down and was sleeping a contented, full-bellied puppy sleep.