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The wo didn’t wait to hear the answer She had stopped for a moment, then, with a malicious smile, hurried away

Wolf ran ahead, stopping now and then tohi path down from the northeast end of the front terrace led to aits confluence with the rassy lea was surrounded by open, rew more dense farther upstream

When they reached theand so from a distance shook their heads in aht to the mare and they touched noses Then the canine struck a playful pose with his tail and back end up and his front end down, and yipped a puppy bark at the young stallion Racer lifted his head in a neigh and pawed the ground, returning the playful gesture

The horses seemed particularly happy to see them The mare approached and put her head across Ayla’s shoulder, while the woainst each other in a familiar posture of co stallion, rubbing and scratching the itchy places Racer presented The dark brown horse took a few paces forward, then nuzzled Ayla, wanting contact with her, too Then they all crowded close together, including the wolf, welco each other’s faers

“I feel like going for a ride,” Ayla said She looked up at the position of the sun in the afternoon sky “We have time for a short one, don’t we?”

“We should have No one will gather for the feast until it’s alo! We can swi me all the time”

“Someone is,” Ayla said “I know it’s just natural curiosity, but it would be nice to get away for a while”

Several athered to watch from some distance They saw the woman leap with ease onto the back of the dun-yellow mare, and the tall man seem to do little more than step up to mount the brown stallion They left at a fast pace, the wolf following along with ease

Jondalar led the way, first upstrea of the tributary, then continuing upstrea the opposite bank of the selike narrow valley on their right They rode north away fro a rocky dry streambed that becae was a steep but clih windy plateau that overlooked the ays and countryside below They stopped to take in the co view

At an elevation of sohest in the i panorama, not only of the rivers and valley floodplains, but across to the landscape of rolling hills of the highlands on the other side The limestone Causses above the river valleys were not level plateaus

Liht acidic content Over the long ages rivers and accuh the li the once fiat floor of the ancient sea into hills and valleys The existing rivers created the deepest valleys and the steepest cliffs, but though the stone walls that reared up and constrained the valleys often had a uniforht in any one section, they varied in elevation fro the pattern of hills above

At a cursory glance, the vegetation of the dry, windy, high Causses on both sides of the primary river all seemed the same, similar to the open plains of the continental steppes to the east Grass was most prevalent, with stunted junipers, pines, and spruces clinging to exposed areas near strea in the dips and dells

But depending on where it grew, the plant life could be surprisingly different The sparse tops and north-facing sides of the hills favored a e that flourished where it was cold and dry, while the south-facing slopes were greener and richer in lower-latitude boreal and temperate-climate plants

The broad valley of the reens lining the banks Showing a paler shade of green than they would later in the season, the freshly leafed-out trees were mostly the small-leaved varieties like silver birches and s, but even conifers such as spruces and pines showed light-colored needles of neth at the tips The junipers, and occasional evergreen oaks, wereat the ends of branches and twigs

At tih the middle of verdant rass of early suold In other places the curves and loops of The River’s course narrowed the streaainst the stone walls, closer to the cliffs on first one side and then the other