Ochanda sat in silence for several moments. She patted the table top rhythmically as she considered the question. Finally, the ghost of a smile flitted across her lips. “Yes, I understand part of your riddle. The place you seek is nearer than you know.”
The Arkana team looked at one another in relief.
The etxekoandre rose from her seat and walked over to a kitchen window which had been thrown open to catch an autumn breeze. “It is here,” she said mysteriously.
The trio rose and followed her.
“You seek the dwelling of Andre Mari.”
They gazed out the window where she pointed to a sharp mountain peak jutting up in the distance.
“You must go to the cave where the lady of the mountain lives.”
“We have to climb up there?” Cassie asked in disbelief. “It looks awfully high.”
“If you wish to find your Bones of the Mother, that is where you must go. To the cave of Anbotoko Sorgina—the witch of Anboto.”
“So, she’s a witch too?” The pythia asked warily.
Ochanda laughed. “Come and sit down. I will tell you all about her.”
They obediently followed her back to the table.
Ortzi refilled their glasses.
Erik placed a hand over Cassie’s glass, but she objected. “Give me a break. I only drank half!” As an aside, she whispered, “You don’t want to offend them, do you?”
“It’s a little late for you to start worrying about offending people,” he retorted but withdrew his hand and allowed Ortzi to pour.
The etxekoandre closed her eyes a moment and gathered her thoughts. “A long time ago, goddesses walked among the people of the earth. But in many places, they were chased away by greedy men who wanted to steal their power. They disappeared everywhere else but not here. Mari still lives in the mountains and in the hearts of the Euskaldunak. Her favorite places are in caves on the tops of the mountains. We know where she is because the weather will change. When she is staying on the peak of Anboto, the weather is wet. When she moves to Aizkorri or Aralar, then we have drought.”
“She is very similar to the goddess of the Minoans in her liking for high places,” Griffin interjected.
Ochanda nodded in agreement. “All goddesses like the high places so they can watch what is going on with the people. Mari often sits outside the entrance to her cave on Anboto, dressed all in red and combing her long blond hair. Many have seen her, and some have coveted her wealth. Once a dishonest woman went to the cave and stole Mari’s golden comb.”
“The goddess couldn’t have liked that very much,” Cassie commented.
“No. This woman who stole the comb owned a valuable piece of farmland. When she got back home, she found the field covered in stones, so it could not be tilled. Thieves do not please Mari. It is said there are many golden things to be found in her caves, but when robbers take these objects outside, they turn into worthless pieces of rotten wood. Mari will not stand for injustice. She does not like arrogance or pride or broken promises. When she sees someone who does not respect others and does not help others, she will find a way to punish that person.”
Ochanda paused in her narrative and pensively regarded the peak of Anboto. With a sly glance toward Griffin, she added, “Mari can sometimes be seen on a sunny day outside her cave spinning golden thread.”
The scrivener sat bolt upright. “The spinner’s peak! That’s what the riddle means. The mountain peak where Mari spins gold thread.”
Ortzi and Ochanda both chuckled at his excitement.
Cassie and Erik shared his elation.
“Finally, we’ve got a lead,” Erik said.
Griffin knit his brows. “Yes, but we still don’t understand what Anboto has to do with grazing goats or dragon’s wings.”
“Mari is sometimes said to have the legs of a goat,” Ortzi offered hopefully.
“I rather think it may be some kind of astronomical reference,” the scrivener countered. “The bit about the goat comes directly after the mention of the bull turning the season. I take that to mean the spring equinox.”
“Ahh.” Ochanda nodded sagely. “Then I know what it is.”
“You do?” Griffin peered at her.
“We country people watch the skies at night. You are speaking of a bright star that hovers around the mountain peak. It can be seen clearly just at dawn in the springtime. The Latin name for the star is Capella.”
“Of course,” Griffin agreed. “It makes perfect sense. When we were in Turkey, one of our clues had to do with the heliacal rising of Sirius. The Minoans are using a similar clue here. Only the star in question is different. Capella means ‘goat’ in Latin. Moreover, it isn’t just any goat. The star is a symbol of Amalthea, the she-goat who supposedly nursed Zeus during his infancy on Crete. The Minoans would have been quite familiar with the mythology of that particular star.”
“Wait, aren’t you forgetting something?” Cassie interrupted his explanation. “What about all the hocus pocus you had to do last time to figure out the exact day when Sirius rose three thousand years ago. I mean the same rule should apply here. Capella wouldn’t be in exactly the same spot as it was then.”
Griffin considered her comment a moment. “Given the context this time, I don’t believe we need to be quite as precise. We already know which mountain and which cave, thanks to our Basque friends. When the Minoans first penned the riddle, they had no idea we would be fortunate enough to have so much information provided to us.”
“That still doesn’t answer the part about the dragon’s wing,” Erik interjected.
Griffin looked hopefully toward Ochanda, but she shook her head.
“Ah well, one can’t have everything. I suppose that particular part of the riddle will reveal itself in time.”
“Bottom line is we’ve got some mountain climbing to do,” Cassie said worriedly.
“It is no problem. I will take you,” Ortzi volunteered. “Tourists go to the top of Anboto all the time.
