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When they started out the next rown Many people froh not, she noticed, the people fronized When she mentioned the increase to Joharran, he said most of Summer Camp, nearly half of South Face, and a few fro with them The rest would start out in the next day or so She recalled that Jondalar hadto Suot the impression that the Ninth Cave had closer ties with West Holding than with the other Holdings of the Twenty-ninth Cave

Fro The River upstrea of a broad bend that curved around to the east, then curved south and east again, ain,an extensive S curve The ay then continued with easiercurves toward the northeast There were a few small stone shelters at the northern end of the first loop that were used as te, but the next settlement was at the southernmost end of the second loop, where a sh Old Valley, the home of the Fifth Cave of the Zelandonii

Unless they were traveling by raft, which required poling upstream for almost ten miles, it was easier to reach Old Valley fro directly cross-country rather than following The River around the generous bend to the north and back again Over land, the home of the Fifth Cave was only a little h the trail itself, taking the easiest way across the hilly terrain, was not quite so direct

When Joharran came to the head of the clearly marked trail, he veered away from The River and started up a path that traversed the side of a ridge, then crossed a rounded top, where itfrom the Third Cave at Two Rivers Rock and went down the other side to the level of The River again As they walked, Ayla was interested in learning e Jondalar to talk about them

“If the Third Cave is known for its hunters, and the people of Fourteenth Cave are recognized as good fishers, what is the Fifth Cave known for, Jondalar?” she asked

“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 theh they had lived at the Ninth Cave all their lives, and knew the various neighboring Zelandonii Caves, they had never heard theer would understand them They were interested in Jondalar’s characterizations

“They pride the 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 h 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 thannue 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 knoho made them One is of five anio, it is ends 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 specialto the Mother Ask Zelandoni to tell you about the number five sometime,” Jondalar said

“What happened to the First Cave,” Ayla paused for awords, “and the Fourth Cave?”

“There is a lot about the First Cave in the Histories and Elder Legends, you will probably hear , but nobody knohat 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 ument 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 strea 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 careetings, they told the travelers that