THE SHELTERS OF STONE

"I'd say the people of the Fifth Cave are known for being very self-sufficient," he said.

Ayla noticed that the four young people who had volunteered to lift the travois when they were crossing The River the day before were still traveling near them and crowded in closer when they heard her question. Though they had lived at the Ninth Cave all their lives, and knew the various neighboring Zelandonii Caves, they had never heard them described so that a stranger would understand them. They were interested in Jondalar's characterizations.

"They pride themselves on having skilled hunters, fishers, and experts in every craft," Jondalar continued. "They even make their own rafts, and say that they were the first Cave to make them, though the Eleventh Cave takes exception to that claim. Their Zelandonia and artists have always been well respected. There are deep carvings on the walls of several of their shelters, others have painted or carved plaques, mostly of bison and horses, because the Fifth Cave has a special connection with those animals."

"Why is this called Old Valley?" Ayla asked.

"Because people have lived here longer than most of the other settlements. Their counting number alone shows their age. Only the Second and Third Caves are older than the Fifth. The Histories of many Caves speak of ties to the Fifth Cave. Most of their wall carvings are so old, they don't really know who made them. One is of five animals that was carved by an ancestor so long ago, it is mentioned in the Elder Legends and is a symbol of their number," Jondalar said, "and the zelandonia say five is a very sacred number."

"What do they mean by sacred?"

"It has special meaning to the Mother. Ask Zelandoni to tell you about the number five sometime," Jondalar said.

"What happened to the First Cave," Ayla paused for a moment to mentally go through the counting words, "and the Fourth Cave?"

"There is a lot about the First Cave in the Histories and Elder Legends, you will probably hear more at the Summer Meeting, but nobody knows what happened to the Fourth. Most people think it was a tragedy of some kind. Some think an enemy used an evil Zelandoni to cause sickness that made them all die. Others think it might just have been an argument with a bad leader that made most of the people decide to leave and join another Cave. But when new people join a Cave, it usually becomes part of their History, and no Cave's History has any mention of the Fourth Cave, at least none that are around now," Jondalar said. "Some people think the number four is unlucky, but the First says it is not the number, only some of its associations that are unlucky."

After a walking distance of about four miles, they climbed a last rise and approached a narrow valley with a lively stream running down the middle and high cliffs rearing up on both sides that offered eight rock shelters of various sizes. As the big procession with Joharran in the lead started down a trail to the head of Old Valley, two men and a woman came up the same trail and met them. After the formality of greetings, they told the travelers that most of the Fifth Cave had already left for the Summer Meeting.

"You are welcome to stay, of course, but since it is barely midday, we thought you might want to continue," the woman said.

"Who is here?" Joharran asked.

"Two oldsters who can't make the trip-one can hardly get out of bed-and a woman who is close to giving birth. Zelandoni didn't think it was safe for her to travel, she's had trouble before. And, of course, these two hunters. They will stay until the moon is new."

"You are First Acolyte of Zelandoni of the Fifth, I believe," The One Who Was First said.

"Yes, I am. I stayed to help with the birth."

"I thought I recognized you. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"I don't think so. She's not ready yet. It will be several days, and her mother and aunt stayed, too. She should be fine."

Joharran called for a consultation with people from the Ninth Cave as well as from the Caves who had joined them. "The best places to set up camp may already be taken," he said. "I think we should keep going rather than stop over here." The others quickly agreed, and it was decided to push ahead.

The River's course straightened out somewhat after the big S curve as it veered toward the northeast. There were several shelters that were home to small Caves along the next stretch of river. All but one had already left for the Summer Meeting, and that one joined them, falling in behind the party of travelers. Joharran became even more concerned about finding a desirable location for his large Cave to settle for the summer.