“I mean why did it take you so long to get father and mother to release you?” Giad breathed easily as they covered the ground towards Anaay.
“I didn’t ask, father offered.” Yaa said simply as Giad gaped at her in wonder.
Yaa laughed at his look of astonishment and then sped up so that she would be the first to reach Anaay. Giad did his best to keep pace with his sister without tripping over his own two feet, lately his body seemed out of balance. He knew that he was growing taller and he could never seem to get enough to eat, no matter that there was enough food to go around, he was always hungry.
Anaay seemed to sympathize and he did not grow angry if Giad ate up most of the food that was given to them. Instead the young man would simply hunt for more food while they traveled. The mountains teamed with rabbit, fox and flocks of small white birds that Anaay called ptarmigan.
Already Giad was thinking of the stew that he could make out of the birds that hung at his shoulder, ready to be plucked and cooked. Yaa caught up to Anaay first and then threw her brother a confused look at his lack of pursuit. She laughed when she saw him stroking the ptarmigan tied to his shoulder.
“You are always thinking of your next meal.” Yaa scolded as Giad took up the lead, while Anaay studied the ground that they traveled.
“I admit that I am often hungry, but Father says that I may grow to be as tall as him, if I eat enough.” Giad boosted as Yaa raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“You two are supposed to be scouting the land, not talking.” Anaay counseled the brother and sister as he caught up with them. But his mouth quirked in a sign of affection, the children had an amazing bond that Anaay found refreshing.
“Already you miss the sign of the mammoth.” Anaay pointed ahead of them and they could barely make out the moving shapes of the wooly mammoth on the next rise.
“Wherever the mammoth go, we will follow.” Yaa swore as she once again drew her attention back to their pursuit of the mammoth. “They will show us the way.”
Anaay nodded as he made his way forward, hiding a slight smile at the eagerness that Yaa showed to get closer to the mammoth. Giad rolled his eyes but the expression was lost on his sister as she cast her eyes forward eager to gain on the mammoth herd.
After traveling for awhile Yaa exclaimed in delight. She could see the mammoth herd and they stood waiting on a rise above them.
“How did they get up there, so very high?” Yaa marveled as she looked for the Matriarch, but was unable to spot her from such a great distance.
“They climbed.” Anaay answered even as he looked for an area that would allow them easy access. He saw nothing at first that would help them make their way to the top of the rise. Finally his eyes widened as he saw that mammoth must have moved rocks and great clumps of land in order to create a bridge that would allow them to climb up the side of the mountain. What was left was iced over and slick to the touch.
Anaay wasn’t sure how they would make there way up to the rise above them. He was also surprised that the mammoth had formed a passageway of sorts in order to reach their intended destination. He had no idea that they were such great problem solvers. Anaay assured himself that if the mammoth could do it then so could they.
As Jon’lan led the band to the area that Anaay designated as a resting spot he took the men aside to speak with them briefly before continuing.
“So far, we have followed the mammoth and we have found food and water. It has been a good thing.” Jon’lan focused his attention on Roark, Anaay and the Old One and then he looked at Giad who stood at a slight distance, unsure of his station within the band. He was still a boy, not yet a man, but Jon’lan felt that he deserved to be brought into the discussion and so he looked him in the eye and motioned him closer.
“Now we have a choice to make, we can follow the mammoth up to the rise above us and try to make our way down the other side, or we can cut around this part of the mountain and get ahead of the mammoth and make our own way down.”
The men were silent and Giad kept his own peace as he thought things through. It seemed to him that the mammoth had not led them astray so far and he trusted their instincts. His mother was a daughter of the mammoth people and her blood flowed through his veins. Even though his first father had tried to beat the spirit out of him, Giad had stood strong.
“Jon’lan this decision is not ours to make.” Roark spoke up as he nodded in silent agreement with Anaay before voicing his thoughts.
“You are our leader.” Anaay spoke quietly, but his words held the strength of his conviction.
“We follow you.” Giad stated, even though his instincts were to follow the mammoth, Jon’lan had not led them here by chance, the man had strong survival skills and he was an excellent tracker. He could read the land just as well as anyone that Giad had ever seen. Jon’lan knew the dangers that they faced more so than anyone.
Jon’lan sighed with a heavy heart even as he looked to the Old One who had yet to speak.
“I willingly follow you if you will let me.” The man spoke humbly, all day he waited for the men to turn to him and cast him out of the band. But at the mid-day break they had stopped only to speak to him briefly as they went about their chores, checking on their women and children. Now that he smelled better the little one named Mar-ee came closer, to stand at his knee and tell him her secrets. He was captivated with the happy child and she seemed to return the feeling. The special woman, the one born of power, had given him a meal to eat and water to drink from her own water skin. These people had shown him more kindness than he had ever known within his first band. He would go where they went, gladly.
“Grandfather, you are welcome amongst us.” Jon’lan spoke solemnly reading the relief in the older man’s eyes. Jon’lan thought carefully about the challenges that would face the band if they tried to make it up to the high rise where the mammoth now rested. There was some reason that the animals had sought higher ground, but he could not imagine what it could be. The sky was clear of snow, although the air held a strange chill to it, almost a feeling beyond cold.
Even now the men kept warm only by standing over a small fire and constantly shifting where they stood. Jon’lan thought of the mammoth and he imagined that they traveled this same route year after year. Again his instincts told him that the mammoth went to higher ground for a reason. Perhaps he was wise to follow their course or perhaps the mammoth went the same route through long habit, he had seen this happen before, especially with hunting trails. Hunters would find an animal’s well traveled tracks through the forested areas and lay in wait. Even though the hunter was in direct sight of the animal, long entrenched habit would force the prey to run along the same worn track that it had always traveled. Each time the hunter won out over the animal.
Jon’lan sighed as he was rocked with indecision. He considered Roark’s nagging feeling that someone followed their trail, even though Anaay had gone back alone several times to check behind them and had found no sign of anyone following. Jon’lan trusted Roark’s battle instincts and he would stake his life on the man’s sense of being pursued. Jon’lan closed his eyes for a moment as he weighed the need to hurry with the need to go safely down the mountain.
Roark and Anaay looked away from him out of respect for his desire to think quietly, yet Giad stared at him with all the open curiosity and wonder of youth. Jon’lan opened his eyes and smiled at the boy’s open gaze even as he ruffled his hair. He couldn’t help but think of how much Giad and his sister Yaa had come to mean to their band. They brought joy, laughter and much delight to their parents and family. Jon’lan’s heart would break if even one child was lost on this journey. His soul would surely whither up and die. But he could not allow fear of the unknown to dictate his decision making process. He had to trust his instincts and his breadth of experience with traveling an unknown land.
Chapter Forty-One
“We will follow the mammoth.” Jon’lan announced after saying a silent prayer to the One his wi
fe called the Creator of All Things. Perhaps his efforts to lead their band to safety would be blessed, but if danger should befall them, he would not blame anyone but himself.
Roark and Anaay immediately began stringing rope together, everyone would have to be tied on to the person in front of them. The path ahead would be steep and require some climbing. Jon’lan hated to put his wife through it, but Roark made no protest over his own wife climbing the steep passageway. Roark would carry their young son as well as his wife’s pack. Jon’lan planned to do the same with Mar-ee and the burden pack that Taikiuu carried. Even if it meant making two trips, he would not overburden the women as they grappled with the steep passageway. As everyone got into position Jon’lan could easily see where the mammoth had gouged footholds into the side of the mountain, he made out areas where the large beasts had even crawled on their knees in their effort to reach higher ground, with every track that he found, he felt his heart beat in urgency.
“We must hurry.” Taikiuu told Star Feather and Kii as they looked at her with fear and expectation.
“What is it mother?” Kii asked fretfully, as she held Mar-ee in her arms.
“I cannot name it daughter, know only that you must be brave and follow the words of your father. Let nothing stop you from listening to him.” Taikiuu’s eyes burned into Kii’s for a moment before she looked away. Star Feather bit her lip in concern as she tightened her hold on Mantiloff until he cried out angrily. She kissed Mantiloff’s covered head in an effort to comfort him and held his little body close before transferring the baby over to Roark.
“Do not fear wife, all will be well.” Roark hated to see his wife’s gaze cloud over with fear. “You must believe that Jon’lan knows what he’s doing. But if you cannot believe in him as our leader, believe in me, as your husband.”
“I trust you with my life, husband.” Star Feather whispered as she kissed her son’s head again before covering his face so that he would not take a chill.
“Go now, take your place, I will be behind you with our son.” Roark spoke calmly, although he felt his heart still for a moment at the thought of loosing his beautiful wife. She was his life’s breath and he needed to tell her that more often. He told her so now and she looked back at him with a winsome smile before lowering her eyes.
Roark adjusted Mantiloff’s carrying strap until the baby rested against his chest and he could feel his son settle in. Mantiloff was awake and it seemed that he wanted his father to know that he was not happy with being wrapped up so carefully. He wanted to see the world around him. Roark removed some of the covering from the boy’s face and Mantiloff gave him a gummy smile.
Roark felt a pain in his chest as he looked at his son. The Old One shuffled up to him, “Strong son, strong father.” He murmured as he made his way to his place in line. Jon’lan wanted the older man to be behind him so that he would not be a burden to the others. He climbed carefully using his spear as a walking staff. He could hear the mammoth trumpeting somewhere above them, but their sounds seemed farther away than before. Jon’lan pushed on, careful of his footing as he realized that each person would have to step in a similar place in order to complete the climb.
The passage became very steep and Jon’lan used a tool with a sharp stone edge to slice into the mountain while he pulled himself up using his full body strength. He knew that if he could successfully reach the top of the rise, he could help each member of his band up and over. Jon’lan sweated with the effort that it took to navigate through the steep passageway.
In certain areas he could see where the mammoth had torn away huge patches of rock from the mountain in their effort to make it up the steep path. Jon’lan did not look down as he traveled, nor did he monitor the others below him for signs of weakening. He knew that they could not turn back, going back would pose more danger at this point than continuing onward.
Taikiuu struggled to maintain her calm demeanor as she climbed up the steep mountainside. Mar-ee was strapped to her father’s back and Taikiuu could not see her daughter past the Old One who struggled ahead of her.
She focused solely on placing one hand in front of the other as she climbed. She prayed all the while that each member of their band would make the way up safely. Her breath came out in frigid bursts of air and she realized that the temperature was dropping steadily as they moved upwards.
Taikiuu had never felt such bitter cold before in her life. She was thankful for the fur lined hand coverings that she wore to keep the cold at bay, but each footstep fell on icy ground and she had to avoid slipping at all cost.
Just one slip would cause her to fall and her fall would create a chain reaction that would snap the rope taught between her and the Old One and between him and Jon’lan who carried Mar-ee. Kii hummed a soothing song as she placed one foot after the other and her melody carried to each member of the band and they were soothed.
Anaay was ahead of her and Kii knew that it must surely take all of his will power to avoid looking back to check on her. Jon’lan had cautioned them each about looking behind them. They were to yell out if they fell, so that each person ahead could brace themselves for the shock of a falling person on their ropes, but they were not to speak otherwise.
Kii hummed only to calm the trembling of her limbs and it seemed to have a soothing affect on everyone. Roark was colder and more tired than he had ever been before. Before making the climb he told Jon’lan that he thought he spied smoke from a fire earlier in the day that only furthered his need to make this climb and hide his deteriorating condition from Jon’lan as well as his wife.
They would never have started the climb if he had complained of being too cold or tired. He needed to make his legs and arms work, his son wiggled in the sling on his back and Roark pushed himself beyond all endurance as he climbed his way up the steep passageway. He willed strength into his legs and arms, knowing that as the last one of the group, if he should fall, it would rip the women and children above him away from the mountain and perhaps end their lives. He pushed onward despite the cold that chilled his bones. He found it curious that he no longer shivered and he had long since lost the feeling in his bare hands as he grasped one hand hold after another.
Jon’lan crested the mountain rise and he shuddered in relief as he pulled himself over the top. He could hear the mammoth but he could not see them. Jon’lan did not allow himself a moment to rest as he turned to lie flat on the cold ground. He immediately reached down to help the Old One over the edge of the mountain rise. The man struggled to catch his breath as he lay panting next to Jon’lan. They both shared a strained smile as they reached down to help Taikiuu using both hands to clasp her wrists and pull her over. Mar-ee lay with her face snuggled into the fur of Jon’lan’s parka and he could hear her soft praise, “It is good, father.”
Jon’lan realized that he was overcome with joy. But the hard part was not over, he had to make sure that each person made it over the edge of the rise without slipping. Anaay was the next person to appear and his face was red with exertion and cold.
Taikiuu was already preparing a fire even as Kii strained to make her way to the top. Yaa peeked her head over the edge and her eyes were wet from tears that she refused to shed, but Star Feather kissed the girl on both wind chapped cheeks as she too made it up and over. Giad was next and he submitted to his mother’s ministrations as she looked him over for scratches.
He was fine and his eyes held all the excitement of boyhood and Star Feather did not try to dampen his spirits. She only watched the side of the cliff for the figure of her husband and young son. Jon’lan still lay on his stomach, but Anaay had joined him along with the Old One as they reached down to Roark.
“Come on Roark!” Jon’lan encouraged as the man slipped slightly and then found his grasp. Roark was right below the mountain’s edge, there was only a short way to go, but the man’s hands were bare and by this time his fingers were surely frozen and numb. Roark gave a mighty heave as he lifted his son up and over his head, wher
e Mantiloff swung for a moment before Jon’lan caught hold of the carrying strap. He pulled the baby up without looking away from Roark for even a moment and handed him off to the reaching hands of Star Feather.
“I need to rest here a moment.” Roark bellowed with the last of his strength. The mountain’s cold had sucked all the vital life out of the big man. He had nothing left to give and he didn’t know how he could make it up over the mountains edge. Jon’lan had heard of the cold sickness that could make a man sluggish and tired, rendering him senseless before he died. But he had never thought that he would see such a thing befall a band brother.
“Think of your family Roark, we will help you, climb!” Jon’lan urged as Roark fell again, this time landing on his knees and slipping backwards a few paces. “Climb!” Jon’lan and Anaay both yelled as they pulled on the single rope the held Roark. The two of them could not pull the big man up by themselves and while the Old One sought to help, his strength was feeble.
Roark lay still against the mountain as he strained against the cold and fatigue that seemed to assault him. He wanted to make it to the top of the rise but there was no feeling left in his fingers and his hands felt covered in frost. His eyes drooped of their own accord and for a moment Star Feather’s face drifted in front of him. Roark sagged against the mountain in defeat as he used the last of his strength to shift forward. It was not enough.
Yaa panicked when she realized that her father hadn’t made it over the edge of the mountain. She saw Giad glance once in her direction and she heard him calling out to her even as he raced to help his father. Yaa backed away from the hearth fire and she stumbled as she ran away. She was unwilling to see Roark fall to his death, he was her father and she did not want to lose him. Suddenly she looked around her as tears stung her eyes and she cried out in surprise. She had stumbled into the path of the mammoth herd. They walked towards her, curious to see her appear suddenly in their midst. Yaa had known they were close, but she hadn’t realized that they rested only a few paces from the rest of her band. The Matriarch trumpeted a greeting and Yaa bowed her head humbly, she gulped back the hot tears that still flowed down her cheeks unchecked.
Keeper of the People (Book One) Page 45