'For now we have to feed them, find a place to keep them, and get some people to watch them until a decision can be made,' the First said, then turned to the woman who was the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Ancient Sacred Cave Watchers. 'And perhaps you should divide out this bison meat.'
She smiled at the First, acknowledging that she had turned over authority to her, as though she knew that she was the First in this region, although no one had told her. The woman called some names and delegated the responsibility to the leaders of the two Caves to decide how the meat should be parcelled out, but assigning several other Zelandonia to supervise the actual work of skinning and butchering the beasts. Some had already been skinned, and they started cutting up that meat for their evening meal. Others were taking Balderan and his men toward the cliff.
Once he was in their hands, Ayla whistled Wolf to her and went to help Jondalar unhitch the pole-drags from the horses. She had seen a nice grassy area away from the people, but decided to ask if there was any reason she shouldn't use it for the horses. It was always a good idea not to make assumptions about the territory of other Caves. She first asked Demoryn, the leader of Amelana's Cave.
'We didn't have a Summer Meeting here this year so I think it just hasn't been trampled, but you might ask the Zelandoni First if you want to make sure,' he said.
'Zelandoni First?' Ayla said. 'Do you mean of the First Cave of the Watchers?'
'Yes, but that is not the reason she is called Zelandoni First. It's because she is our 'First',' he said. 'It is only coincidence that she happens to be the Zelandoni of that Cave. Which reminds me, I should also tell her that I sent a runner to tell one or two other Caves that Balderan has been caught. They were troubled more than most by him. A few more people may come.'
Ayla frowned, and wondered how many other Caves would do the same. Maybe she should look for a more secluded spot, or perhaps make a fenced area for the horses the way she did at their Summer Meetings. She decided to talk to Jondalar about it after she talked to Zelandoni First.
Ayla and Jondalar talked to the rest of the travellers, and they decided to look for a choice spot to set up their camp, the way most Caves did when they arrived early at a Summer Meeting. The First agreed with Ayla's intuition that there might be more people coming than anyone expected.
That evening, although meals were cooked by the families or groups that normally ate together, they all more or less sat together, rather like a feast. Balderan and his henchmen were given food, and their hands were untied so they could eat it. They spoke quietly to each other as they ate. There were several people watching them, but it was hard to maintain interest when there was nothing to watch except people eating their food. The night sky darkened as the meal progressed, and people who were friendly strangers were interested in getting to know each other.
Ayla and Jondalar left Wolf with Jonayla to give him a rest from his stressful vigilance and went for a walk together toward the zelandonia dwelling. The First had gone there to talk about making a special tour of the Sacred Cave with Ayla, Jonokol, and a few others, and another tour with the rest of the visitors, except for the children, which might not be as extensive.
The couple knew in general where the men they had captured were being held, but in the dark they didn't notice how carefully they were being watched by them. Balderan had been watching the tall man who was the mate of the woman Acolyte, and as they approached, Balderan spoke to his men.
'We have to get away from here,' he said. 'If we don't, we won't live to see many more days.'
'But how?' one of the men said.
'We need to get rid of that woman who controls the wolf,' Balderan said.
'That wolf won't let us get close to her.'
'Only when he's around. He isn't always with her. Sometimes he stays with the girl,' Balderan said.
'But what about that man that's always around her? The visitor she came with. He's big.'
'I've known men like him, tall and muscular, but too calm and mild. Have you ever seen him angry? I think he's one of those gentle giants who are so afraid they'll hurt someone they even avoid arguments. If we're quick, we can grab her before he knows it, and threaten to kill her if he makes a move. I don't think he'll take a chance that she might get hurt. By the time he thinks about it, it will be too late. We'll be gone and her with us.'
'What are you going to threaten her with? They've taken our knives.'
Balderan smiled, then loosened the leather thong that laced his shirt closed. 'This,' he said, pulling the thong out of its holes. 'I'll wrap this around her neck.'
'But what if your plan doesn't work?' another man asked.
'We won't be any worse off than we are now. We've got nothing to lose.'
The next day one of the other Caves in the region arrived, and by evening, two more. The First came to see Ayla the morning of the following day. Jondalar stepped out to let them talk in private.
'We are going to have to think about how to deal with these men.'
'Why do we have to?' Ayla said. 'We don't live here.'
'But you caught him. You're involved, whether you want to be or not. It could be the Mother wants you to be,' the First added.
Ayla gave her a look of scepticism.
'Well, maybe not the Mother, but the people here want you to be. And I think you should. Besides, we need to talk to them about your tour of their Sacred Site. You will be amazed at this cave. I've seen it once and I know I'm going back in. There are some difficult places, but I'll never get another chance and I won't miss it,' the First said.
That intrigued Ayla, and aroused her curiosity. All the walking on this Journey seemed to have improved the woman's health, but she still had problems and needed help when they got into rough terrain. She was a more than ample woman in spite of all her walking. She carried her weight with grace and assurance, and in many ways it added to her stature, but it could make moving around in tight places with uneven footing difficult.
'You're right, Zelandoni, but I don't want to make decisions about him. I don't think it's my place,' Ayla said.
'You don't have to. We all know what has to be done. He needs to be killed. If he isn't, he will kill more people. The question is, who will do it and how? Deliberately killing someone is not easy for most people. It's not supposed to be. It's not right for people to kill people. That's why we know he's not right inside. He doesn't know that, and that's why I'm glad all these Caves are coming together. It needs to be something they all participate in. I don't mean everyone has to kill him, but they all have to take responsibility for it. And they all have to know that it's the right thing to do in this particular case. A person shouldn't be killed out of anger, or for revenge. There are other ways to deal with those things. There is no other way where he's concerned,' the First said, 'but what is the best way to do it?'
They were both silent, then Ayla said, 'There are plants …'
'I was going to say mushrooms,' the First said. 'They could be fed a meal with certain mushrooms.'
'But what if they guess and decide not to eat them. Everyone knows there are poisonous mushrooms. They are easy to pick out and avoid,' Ayla said.
'That's true, and while Balderan is not right, he's not stupid. What plants were you thinking of?'
'There are two plants that I know grow around here because I've seen them. One is called water parsnip. It grows in water,' Ayla said. 'They are edible, especially the roots, when they are young and tender.'
'Yes, but there is another plant that looks very similar and it's deadly poisonous,' Ayla said. 'I know the word in Mamutoi. I don't know what you call it, but I know it.'
'I know the plant. It's poison hemlock,' the First said. 'That's our name for it. It also grows in water. So the same meal can be cooked for the whole Camp, everyone else will get water parsnip, but Balderan and his men will get hemlock.' She paused, then said, 'I was thinking, they could be served mushrooms, too, edible mushrooms. They may think they are poison and avoid them, and perhaps won't pay attention to the root vegetables, because it will look as though everybody is eating them.'
'That's what I was thinking, unless someone can think of a better way,' Ayla said.
The woman stopped to think again, then nodded, 'Good, we have a plan. It's always good to have a plan, to anticipate, if you can,' said the Zelandoni Who Was First.
When the two women left the tent, no one was outside. The rest of their group of travellers had gone to see what was happening with the impromptu Summer Meeting, and to offer to help with the cooking or whatever needed doing. Except this wasn't a happy coming together of relatives, friends, and neighbours; this was a
