have other plans — after all, he is Zelandoni of the Nineteenth Cave now. I can't just tell him what to do anymore … not that I ever could, even when he was my Acolyte.'
The morning dawned sunny and bright the day the Ninth Cave left for the Summer Meeting. It had been raining on and off for several days before, but on this day the clouds were gone, and the sky shimmered with a crystalline brilliance that gave distant highlands an intense clarity. They travelled southwest this year, and the place where the Summer Meeting was being held was farther away than customary, which took them longer than usual to get there.
When they arrived, Ayla noticed that some people from more western Caves were there who were unknown to her. They were the ones who gawked a little longer at her with the three horses and the wolf, not to mention the pole-drags the horses were pulling, one of which carried the First. There was some disappointment when it was learned that the First and her Acolyte with the unusual animals would not be staying long. Ayla thought she would have liked to stay and get to know some of the Zelandonii she hadn't met, but she was also looking forward to the summer Journey the First had planned.
Jonokol did decide to join them. He had never made a very extensive Donier Tour, partly because in the beginning he hadn't really planned to become a full-fledged Zelandoni; he just wanted to make images and paintings, and the First hadn't pushed him. After he saw the beautiful white walls of the new sacred cave and became serious about the zelandonia, he moved to the Nineteenth Cave, which was closest to the new hallowed site. His Zelandoni there had been too old and weak to make any long Journeys, although her mind was sharp until the end. He had since heard remarkable things about some of the painted caves to the south and didn't want to pass up this opportunity to see them for himself; he might never have another chance.
Ayla was pleased. He had been welcoming to her from the beginning, and he could be good company. They stayed only four days at the Meeting, but almost everyone was there to see them off. A travelling band that had become the size of a small Cave, they made quite a spectacle as they started out, primarily because of the animals and the accoutrements, but the group included more than the ones who planned to make the long trip together. Several people from some of the Caves to the west had joined them who were unfamiliar to Ayla; they planned to go on in another direction. There were also some people from the neighbouring Caves, particularly the Eleventh, including Kareja, their leader.
The First wanted to travel south following The River until they reached its mouth at its confluence with Big River. Once there they would have to cross the larger river, which as its name implied was deeper and wider than The River, with a swifter current. They could cross their familiar river at the Crossing Place, a wider, shallower section, using stepping stones, or wading, sometimes up to the waist, depending on the season, but it would take more than that to cross Big River. To solve that problem, the First and Willamar had approached Kareja and some members of the Eleventh Cave, who were known for the rafts they made, to take the travellers and their gear down The River to its mouth and then across the larger expanse of Big River.
They started out heading back toward the Ninth Cave. With only adults — except for Jonayla — and the horses, their pace was much faster than when an entire Cave moved. Most of the travellers were young and healthy, and though the First was a big woman — a size that gave her a commanding presence — she was strong and walked much of the time. When she got tired and felt she couldn't keep up, she was able to ride on the travois, which did not in any way detract from her authority or dignified bearing, especially since she was the only one who rode on a seat on the pole-drag that was pulled by Ayla's horse.
That evening, when they camped for the night, the First and the Trading Master began discussions with Kareja, the leader of the Eleventh Cave, and some of others who were familiar with the use of their rafts and could estimate how many rafts and people it would require to take the travellers on the next part of their Journey. Then the details for the exchange of goods and services for the use of the rafts had to be worked out. It was not a private discussion and the Zelandonii who were unfamiliar to the Ninth and Eleventh Caves were very interested. A couple of them even wondered if the rafts could be used to travel west on Big River to the Great Waters of the West, which of course they could, at least during the right seasons; it was coming back that was difficult.
As part of their bartering, Kareja of the Eleventh Cave had been asking Jondalar for a future service from the Ninth Cave in exchange for their service in handling the rafts. He had been sitting in on the talks along with the First, but was wishing Joharran were there. Promises of undeclared future services could be problematic and might require more than some wanted to give.
'I don't think I have the right to make a commitment like that for the Ninth Cave,' Jondalar said. 'I'm not the leader. Maybe Willamar or Zelandoni can.'
Kareja had been waiting until the time was right in the negotiations to ask for a particular service from Jondalar that she wanted for a person in her Cave. 'But you can make a commitment for yourself, Jondalar,' Kareja said. 'There is a young woman I know who has shown great promise as a worker of the flint. If you would take her as an apprentice, I would call this matter complete.'
Zelandoni watched him, wondering how he would respond. She knew he had been asked by many to train a youngster, but he was very selective. He already had three apprentices and couldn't possibly take on all who asked. But this was his mate's Donier Tour and it wouldn't be inappropriate for him to contribute something to make it easier.
'A girl? I doubt that a woman could become a fully trained flint-knapper,' a man from one of the western Caves commented. He had travelled with them from the Summer Meeting. 'I've had a little training in working with flint, and it takes both strength and precision to make good tools. We all know of Jondalar's reputation as a flint- knapper. Why should he waste his time trying to train a girl?'
Ayla had become quite interested in the conversation. She didn't at all agree with the man. In her experience, women could knap flint as well as men, but if Jondalar took on a woman apprentice, where would she stay? He couldn't put her in with the young men apprentices, especially when her monthly bleeding came. Although the Zelandonii were not as strict about it as the Clan, where a woman couldn't even look at a man at that time, a woman did need privacy. That meant she would have to live in their dwelling with them, or some other arrangement would have to be made.
Jondalar had obviously been thinking the same thing. 'I'm not sure we can take in a young woman, Kareja,' he said.
'Are you saying a woman cannot learn to knap flint?' Kareja said. 'Women make tools all the time. A woman isn't going to run to a flint-knapper every time a tool breaks when she's scraping a hide or butchering a kill. She reworks it or makes a new one herself.'
Kareja appeared calm, but the First knew she was struggling to control herself. She wanted to tell the man from the west outright how absurd he was, but it seemed to her that Jondalar was agreeing with him. Zelandoni was watching the exchange with interest.
'Oh, I know a woman can make tools for their own uses, a scraper or a knife, but can a woman make a hunting tool? Spear points and darts have to fly straight and true, or you miss the kill,' the man said. 'I don't blame the flint-knapper for not wanting to take a woman as an apprentice.'
Kareja was incensed. 'Jondalar! Is he right? Do you think women can't learn to knap flint as well as any man?'
'That has nothing to do with it,' Jondalar said. 'Of course women can knap flint. When I was living with Dalanar and he was teaching me, he taught my close cousin, Joplaya, right alongside me. We were rather competitive, and when I was younger I'd never tell her, but now I wouldn't hesitate to say that in some ways she's better than I am. It's just that I don't know where a young woman would stay. I can't put her in with the three apprentices I have. They're men and a woman needs some privacy. We could take her in with us, but an apprentice needs a place to keep her tools, and her samples, and flint chips are sharp. Ayla gets upset if any have stuck on my clothes when I come in. She doesn't want them around Jonayla, and I don't blame her. If I took on your young woman, we'd have to build an addition to the apprentice dwelling, or a separate one.'
Kareja immediately calmed down. That the young woman from the Eleventh Cave should have privacy was a reasonable response. With a woman like Ayla for a mate, who was a credible hunter besides being a Zelandoni Acolyte, she should have known Jondalar wouldn't share the ludicrous views of that man from the west. After all, Jondalar's mother had been a leader. But he did bring up a good point, the tall, thin woman thought.
'A separate one would be better, I think,' Kareja said. 'And the Eleventh Cave will help you build it, or if you tell me where you want it, we can build it while you are gone on this Journey.'
'Wait a heartbeat!' Jondalar said, his eyes opening wide with surprise at the speed with which Kareja had
