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Brun turned on his heel and strode toward the ridge As he rounded the jutting nose, he stopped, held by the sight beyond Exciteh his veins A cave! And what a cave! From the first instant he saw it, he kneas the cave he was looking for, but he fought to control his e hopes in check With conscious effort, he focused on the details of the cave and its setting His concentration was so intense, he hardly noticed the little girl

Even froular rayish brown rock of the h to promise a space insidefaced south, exposed to sunlight ht, finding a chink in the clouds overhead, highlighted the reddish soil of the cave’s broad front terrace Brun scanned the area, e bluff to the north and aone to the southeast offered protection fro another positive feature to his growingstreaentle slope west of the cave It was, by far, the naled to Grod and Creb, repressing his enthusiasm while he waited for them to join him to examine the cave more closely

The two men hurried toward their leader, followed by Iza ent to fetch Ayla She, too, took alook at the cave and nodded her head with satisfaction before returning with the child to the knot of people gesturing excitedly Brun’s repressed emotion communicated itself They knew a cave had been found and they knew Brun thought it had good possibilities Piercing the soht rays of sun seee the atmosphere with hope,clan

Brun and Grod gripped their spears as the three ns of huuarantee the cave was uninhabited Birds darted in and out of the large opening, twittering and chirping as they swooped and circled Birds are a good oht As they neared, they walked cautiously, skirting the mouth while Brun and Grod searched carefully for fresh tracks and droppings The e tooth bones cracked by powerful jaws told their own story: a pack of hyenas had used the cave for teing fallow deer and dragged the carcass to the cave to finish their meal at leisure and in relative security

Off to one side, near the west end of the opening nested in a tangle of vines and brush, was a spring-fed pool; its outlet a s down the slope to the strea to its source rising out of the rock a short way up the steep, rugged, overgrown side of the cave The sparkling water just outside the mouth was fresh and pure Brun added the pool to the benefits of the location and rejoined the others The site was good, but the cave itself would contain the decision The two hunters and the crippled

Returning to the east end, the h overhead as they passed into the hole in the mountain All senses alert, they proceeded warily into the cave, keeping close to the wall When their eyes grew accustoh-vaulted ceiling doh for h rock atching for openings thatoozed out of the wall, for a small dark pool that melted into the dry dirt floor a short distance beyond Just past the pool, the cave wall turned sharply toward the entrance Following the all back to the ht a dark crack outlined by the di hile Grod and the leader approached the fissure and looked inside They saw absolute blackness

“Grod!” Brun conified his need

The second-in-command dashed outside while Brun and Creb waited tensely Grod scanned the vegetation growing nearby, then headed toward a small stand of silver fir Cluh the bark, made shiny patches on the trunks Grod pried the bark loose; fresh sticky sap beaded up in the white scar left on the tree He broke off dead dry branches still clinging below the living, green-needled boughs, then withdrew a stone hand-axe froreen branch, and quickly stripped it He wrapped the pitchy bark and dry tith tough grass to the end of the green branch, and carefully re the live coal from the aurochs horn at his waist, he held it to the pitch and began to blow Soon, he ran back into the cave with a blazing torch

With Grod holding the light high over his head and Brun in the lead gripping his club in readiness, the twoa narrow passage that turned abruptly after a few steps, doubling back toward the rear of the cave, and just beyond the turn, opened into a second cave The room, much sainst the far wall, a heap of bones glohitely in the flickering torchlight Brun et a better look, and his eyes flew open He struggled to naled Grod, and both of them quickly retreated

Mog-ur waited anxiously, leaning heavily on his staff As Brun and Grod stepped out of the dark opening, the itated At a gesture, Mog-ur followed the two e When they reached the s-ur’s eyes narrowed as he saw the pile of bones He rushed forward, his staff clattering to the floor as he dropped to his knees Scra object, and pushing the other bones aside, he picked up a skull

There was no doubt The high-do-ur carried in his cloak He sat back, held the huge cranium up to eye level, and looked into the dark eye holes with disbelief, and reverence Ursus had used this cave From the quantity of bones, cave bears had hibernated here for -ur understood Brun’s excitens This cave had been the dwelling place of the Great Cave Bear The essence of the massive creature whom the Clan revered above all others, honored above all others, perood fortune were assured to the clan that lived there Froe of the bones, it was clear the cave had been uninhabited for years, just waiting for them to find it

It was a perfect cave, well-situated, spacious, with an annex for secret rituals that could be used winter and summer; an annex that breathed with the supernatural -ur was already envisioning ceremonies This small cave would be his domain Their search was over, the clan had found a ho the first hunt was successful

As the three , the clouds in rapid retreat, bloay by a sharp wind that can It wouldn’t have e of rain co and thunder; he would have taken it as a good sign Nothing could have da of satisfaction He stood on the terrace in front of the cave and looked out at the view from the mouth Ahead, between a cleft for expanse of open water He hadn’t realized they were so close, and it triggered ateetation

The cave was in the foothills of a chain of mountains at the southern tip of a peninsula that jutted halfway into a midcontinent inland sea The peninsula was connected in two places to the mainland The primary connection was a broad neck to the north, but a narrow strip of salt h mountainous land to the east The salt marsh was also a swampy outlet channel for a smaller inland sea o

n the northeastern edge of the peninsula

The mountains at their back protected the coastal strip froenerated by the continental glacier to the north Mariti waters of the sea, created a narrow teh moisture and warmth for the dense hardwood forest of broad-leafed deciduous trees coions

The cave was in an ideal location; they had the best of both worlds Temperatures ar area and there was an abundance of wood to supply fuel for ware sea was close at hand, filled with fish and seafood, and cliffs along the shore were hos The teer’s paradise of fruits, nuts, berries, seeds, vegetables, and greens They had easy access to fresh water fros and streams But most important, they ithin easy reach of the open steppes, whose extensive grasslands sustained theani and iatherers lived off the land, and this land held an overwhel abundance

Brun hardly noticed the ground beneath his feet as he walked back to the waiting clan He couldn’t iine a ht Maybe they never left us, er, finer cave Of course! That must be it! They were tired of the old cave, they wanted a new home, so they made an earthquake to make us leave it Maybe the people ere killed were needed in the spirit world; and to make up for it, they led us to this new cave Theymy leadership That’s why I couldn’t decide if we should turn back Brun was glad his leadership had not been found wanting If it hadn’t been entirely improper, he would have run back to tell the others

As the three men came into view, there was no need to tell anyone they were through traveling They knew Of those waiting, only Iza and Ayla had seen the cave, and only Iza could appreciate it; she had been sure Brun would claiht If it hadn’t been for her, Brun would have turned back before we found it Her totem must be powerful, and lucky, too She’s even lucky for us Iza looked at the little girl beside her, oblivious to the excitement she had caused But if she’s so lucky, why did she lose her people? Iza shook her head I’ll never understand the ways of the spirits

Brun was looking at the child, too As soon as he saw Iza and the girl, he remembered it was Iza who told him about the cave, and she would never have seen it if she hadn’t gone after Ayla The leader had been annoyed when he saw the child wander off by herself; he had told everyone to wait But if she hadn’t been so undisciplined, he would have missed the cave Why would the spirits lead her to it first? Mog-ur was right, he’s always right, the spirits weren’t angered by Iza’s co, they favored her

Brun glanced at the deformed man who should have been leader in his place We’re lucky that ht of hi time, not since ere children Brun always used to think of Creb as his brother when he was young and fighting for the self-control necessary to males of the clan, especially to one destined to be leader His older sibling had fought his own battle, against pain and ridicule because he couldn’t hunt, and he seeentle look had a cal effect even then, and Brun always felt better when Creb sat next to hi