A Woman's World

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  The apex of the mountain revealed a breathtaking and lonely view. The vibrant lands stretched as far as they could see in every direction. To the north and south stood many more mountain tops. The rainbow colors of the plains stretched out across the lands to the west. The view to the east didn’t reveal much about what they were to face.

  Baya’s heart sank at the sheer vastness of it. The land bore no sign of people. Only wild nature lay before them. To the east, trees and grass could be seen but the landscape changed dramatically, as if someone had drawn a line on a parchment and colored one side with lovely hues of greens, blues and yellows, while the other side was left a dull tan color.

  Vicaroy’s eyebrows were raised. “What do you think it’s like to the east?”

  Baya tried to sound normal. She didn’t want her voice to give away her fears, “I don’t know. It can’t be any worse than where we came from.”

  Going down the mountain was easier. The swelling had gone down in Vicaroy’s leg and it was no longer as painful to walk. He could move his arm now but it had a ways to go before it would be fully functional. Thankfully, the wound appeared to be closing up nicely and they’d avoided infection.

  The plains at the base of the mountain were warm and lush. While the nicer weather was a plus, the land resembled the plains on the other side. They constantly looked over their shoulders — on high alert for anything that might try to eat them. On the third day of travel through the plains their path eastward came to an abrupt stop.

  Baya and Vicaroy stood at the edge of a cliff. Tara stayed back, leery of the edge. It wasn’t just any cliff, it was a great ravine spanning many lengths down and just as many across. Far below a blue river snaked its way through the mighty valley.

  “There doesn’t appear to be any way down. Well … no safe way down,” Vicaroy said.

  Baya was in deep thought. She studied the sides of the canyon to the north and to the south. Indeed there was no path or way to climb down — only a sheer drop. “The obstacle.”

  “What?” Vicaroy asked.

  “The ancient text, it spoke of a mighty obstacle.”

  “Oh, right. The parchment with the vague text from who-knows-where.” Vicaroy had almost forgotten about it.

  Baya ignored his skepticism. “I can’t think of any greater obstacle than this.” Baya swung her arm out toward the intimidating view before them. “And the stone birds will show us the way.”

  Vicaroy looked around. “I don’t see any stone birds.”

  “It’s difficult to know how to find them. Hold on…” Baya’s eyes lit up. “They should lie directly to the east of the first clue which was the two sentinels. Remember?”

  Vicaroy nodded, trying to hide his impatience.

  “But we veered slightly to the south to get off the plains as quickly as possible. So that means we must be due south of the stone birds.” Baya headed north at once. On her way by she caught the concerned glance that Vicaroy gave Doba.

  Doba had taken a liking to riding on Vicaroy’s shoulders ever since Tara joined their little herd. The insect was still mad at Baya for bringing the creature along. Doba preferred being the only non-human around. It was all he knew — his entire life had consisted of him and his human companions. Tara was nothing but a stupid and scary beast.

  “What’s wrong?” Baya threw her arms up in exasperation. “Are you two conspiring against me?”

  “Annoying, isn’t it?” Vicaroy’s golden-brown, almond-shaped eyes danced with the amusement of playful revenge.

  Baya smiled and rolled her eyes. She was thankful that he was feeling better.

  Vicaroy looked to the north and then to the south again — weighing the options. “Maybe we should head south, the weather will be warmer. Perhaps we can walk around the canyon. It can’t go on forever, can it?”

  “There’s no way of knowing how far it stretches. From what we can see it is hundreds of lengths out of our way. Heading north to find the birds is our best option.”

  “Wasting time looking for a statue does not sound like a good idea. If we were to head south what is the worst that could happen?”

  “That the valley extends much farther than we can see making it thousands of lengths out of our way.”

  Vicaroy bit on his lower lip as his mind mulled over the best course of action.

  “We found the first sign, didn’t we?” Baya continued. “And we’ll find the next one. It should be obvious — like the first one and it shouldn’t be too far to the north. I don’t think we ventured too far off the eastern path. So let’s give it a couple of days. If we don’t find it we’ll reassess the situation.”

  She was entirely too intelligent and logical. Vicaroy could think of no further objections. “Alright.” He held his arm out toward the north indicating for her to lead the way.

  Chapter 58

  On the second morning of hiking north they came to a rock face. Baya let out a screech when she saw it. “I was right!”

  They found themselves staring up at a large carving of two stone birds. The structure blocked their path along the canyon. There was no way they could have missed it. The birds’ smooth wings were outstretched to the sky, as each perched on its one leg.

  Baya wrapped her arm around Vicaroy’s waist, careful not to touch his bandaged arm.

  He smiled down at her. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. Really, it was the scroll that I doubted — not you. I guess whoever wrote it knew what she was talking about.”

  Yet Baya’s initial excitement had already vanished. “The next problem is to figure out what the birds are telling us. I thought they would be clearly pointing to a bridge or some obvious way around the canyon but their wings only point to the sky.”

  “Maybe we’ll be able to see the way across if we climb to the top.”

  Baya raised her eyebrows at Vicaroy — impressed.

  Up they went. Nothing but a dizzying view lay before them. There was no clear path in sight.

  Baya sat down hard in dismay. “I’m such a fool for feeling so hopeful. There’s no short cut. Maybe it was an ancient bridge that has long since rotted away. The canyon could add months of endless walking. I’m so very tired of walking.”

  “Don’t give up. Not after all we’ve been through. Let’s take a careful look at the birds. There must be a clue. We’ve found two of the three clues. They can’t be wrong. After all, how many other giant birds have we seen carved from stone in this land?”

  Baya huffed. “None.”

  “Then we must be on the right path. We just have to figure this out … somehow.”

  They studied the stone birds carefully. Their beaks were worn from centuries of weather. Yet they were still clearly intact. Both birds faced to the right, staring out over the canyon. Vicaroy cautiously ventured to peer over the edge in the direction of the birds’ gaze.

  “See anything?”

  “Nothing but certain death if you fell.”

  Baya investigated every carved line with a furrowed brow. One bird’s talons were worn almost completely off. The foot of the other bird was bent awkwardly to the left.

  As a last resort she placed her hands on the stone and concentrated. It was a long shot but maybe there was a secret door she could open. Maybe it would contain a map.

  Nothing. No secret passageway revealed itself. No light of power shone to lead the way.

  She plopped down in dismay.

  “Why did they carve the bird’s foot like that?” Vicaroy asked.

  “It’s hard to carve front-facing. So they draw them to the side so it’s clear what they are.” She turned to Vicaroy with wide eyes. “Unless —”

  “The foot is pointing the way,” they said at the same time.

  Baya jumped to her feet. She ran her hand along the cliff face, inspecting every inch in the direction of the pointing foot. Above her head was a small rock ledge. She couldn’t see over it but she assumed it was a shallow stone shelf. As she neared the end something appeared on the top of the
ledge. Her heart leapt at the sudden movement. It was the four beady eyes of Doba that stared down at her.

  She placed her hand over her heart. “You scared me!”

  Are you coming or not? Doba said with unmistakable impatience. Then he disappeared.

  “How in the name of Ameris?”

  “What’s wrong?” Vicaroy stopped his investigation of the birds and moved to her side.

  “Doba just … disappeared into the rocks.”

  Vicaroy’s brow wrinkled. “Are you going mad out here in the wild?”

  Baya gripped the stone lip and tried to pull herself up. Her feet slid against the smooth stone so Vicaroy helped her up with his one good arm.

  She peered over the ledge. “Whoa,” and almost fell back in surprise. Baya managed to steady herself before she landed on Vicaroy. “Lift me up all the way?” Her voice was full of excitement.

  Vicaroy shoved and she easily swung herself up. His mouth fell open as one of her legs disappeared entirely.

  “What …? How…?”

  “Its … well … I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m actually straddling a stone wall, of sorts. It’s not a shelf at all. There’s a thin, and I mean thin, gap between the lower part of the cliff and the upper part.” She used her right hand to pat the cliff face that was smashed against her left shoulder.

  Vicaroy still looked baffled.

  “I wonder where it goes.” Baya laid her torso on the wall and peered into the long skinny space between the rocks. Darkness. She lit a fire ball in her hand. This only revealed a dirt floor. In the distance she caught the reflection of four tiny eyes. “Doba, what do you see?”

  It’s a cave. I can’t see the end. It appears to head down into the mountain.

  “Wow.”

  Baya started at the sudden closeness of Vicaroy’s whisper. She turned to find his face right by hers as he examined the long gap in the rock. He’d busied himself by piling up rocks to stand on.

  “This must be the way across the mighty obstacle,” Baya said.

  “How can a cave be the way?”

  “It must lead down to the bottom. I’ll check it out.” Baya swung her leg over the wall so that she was facing Vicaroy. She carefully lowered herself down as far as she could then let go. It wasn’t far to the bottom. The gap was so thin that she had to turn her head to the side so her nose wasn’t ripped off by the stone.

  As Doba had said, there was a dark passage at the far end of the small cave, leading down as far as her firelight would reach.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. Thoughts of being trapped in the dark — stuck in wells with no way out, caused sweat to break out on her forehead. She had no doubt that this was the way or at least it had been the path a thousand years ago. She also knew that she had to put her fear aside — somehow. She forced herself to enter the black hole.

  “Come on. Let’s see where this leads.” Her voice broke and she wondered if Vicaroy noticed the panic in her words.

  Vicaroy threw their packs over the wall into the gap in the rocks. Next came Tara. She had to squeeze through as well. Vicaroy had the toughest time. He was almost too big to fit. Having only one good arm made it all the harder.

  Baya thought his broad chest might not let him through. She debated about trying to help him by pulling on his legs. That would have only made matters worse.

  With a painful moan he landed on his feet. “I sure hope there’s another way out because I don’t think I can make it through that thin gap again.”

  “This must be the way past the Great Obstacle.”

  “Well, the bird’s foot seemed to be pointing to this hidden entrance.”

  They gathered themselves and their belongings. With a long knowing glance, Vicaroy and Baya shared a thousand unspoken words before they headed into the darkness of the waiting cave.

  Tara was the only one who was happy about this. She bounded into the black abyss. It’s like my old den. Her footsteps echoed off the stone walls.

  Chapter 59

  Baya and Vicaroy made their way downward — deep into the earth. Baya’s breathing grew heavier with each step. Being surrounded by darkness led to memories of inescapable black wells — drowning.

  We’re fine. We’re not drowning. It’s only a cave ... leading to … who-knows-where? Baya thought.

  Her breathing turned to gasps and she bent over — greedily sucking in as much air as possible, as if the supply might suddenly run out. She couldn’t get enough and what air did enter her lungs was dank and putrid — like trying to draw a breath out of the mouth of a mummified corpse.

  “Are you okay?” Vicaroy placed a hand on her shoulder.

  She straightened and forced herself to hold her breath in an attempt to get it under control. “I’m …” she was going to lie by saying that she was fine. But why? So she didn’t cause Vicaroy any extra worry? There was a time when she would have lied in this situation but not anymore. There was no point. It was obvious that something was wrong.

  “No. I feel like I can’t get enough air. I can’t stop thinking about being trapped in a freezing well. I hate confined dark places, especially when I don’t know where they lead.”

  “It’s okay. No one likes to feel trapped and no one likes not knowing what lies ahead. It’s terrifying … well, for everyone except Tara.”

  Baya waved her fire ball around to see if she could spot Tara. No sign of her. She was most likely far ahead of them.

  Vicaroy’s eyes were full of affection and understanding as he took her in his arms. “Tara will be our eyes. She’ll warn us of any danger. We have each other and there is plenty of air in here. We’ll be fine.”

  Baya let him hold her tight. She rested her head against his hard chest. Her breathing slowly returned to normal. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?” Vicaroy blinked at her — puzzled.

  “For helping me calm down.”

  “That’s what companions are for.” He took her hand as they moved deeper underground.

  Baya still had to focus on taking deep and regular breaths. This was not the trials. They were safe, she reminded herself. She had never been more grateful for anything than she was now for Vicaroy’s hand in hers.

  Deeper they descended. To keep from panicking, she forced herself to think only of the air flowing in and out of her lungs. She fell into a trance-like state as she matched her breathing with the regular beat of her footsteps. This helped to block out her many worries for a time.

  As time passed Baya’s thoughts strayed again. What if the bottom was filled with water and there was no way out? What if the passage had caved in and they reach a dead-end? Or maybe there was a giant beast waiting for them up ahead. Her increasing panic caused her to yell for Tara.

  Tara bounded back to them.

  Vicaroy squeezed her hand. “See, everything’s fine.”

  Baya took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. She tightened her grip on Vicaroy’s hand. Another long stretch of time passed and her fears threatened to take over once again. What if the cave fell in on them, trapping them ... or crushing them? She wasn’t sure which was worse.

  Stop! Baya scolded herself. At least she managed not to burden Vicaroy with her endless fears. Inhale, exhale. That was all that mattered.

  After a long time they stopped for a brief meal. Tara ran circles around them while Vicaroy fumbled through the packs for some dried meat, nuts and fruit. Doba watched Tara with an irritated glare.

  Baya didn’t sit down to rest, she was desperate to keep moving. The rock walls glistened with moisture in Baya’s firelight. For a moment they appeared to be closing in on them and she shivered. “Let’s walk while we eat.”

  Time began to blur. Vicaroy commented that the path wasn’t as steep anymore, but it barely pierced her panic. It could have been another hour or two, maybe three when the air grew lighter — fresher. This lifted their spirits and kept Baya from turning back, which she had seriously been debating. Within the next hour a light ap
peared up ahead.

  Baya rubbed her eyes and squinted to make sure the light was still visible. When it remained, she ran for it. She was frightened that the darkness would swallow it. A gulp of sweet fresh air filled her lungs and she sprinted toward the light — the way out!

  Blinking and covering their eyes from the intense sunlight, they stepped out of the cave to find that it was late afternoon. Once Baya’s eyes adjusted she let the sun warm her face and she fully enjoyed each breath of fresh air.

  Vicaroy stared up at the sheer rock face behind them, then took in the large river in the distance and the mountain on the other side. “This place is incredible.”

  Baya lowered her head and shook it. All that worrying over nothing, as the cave had led safely to the bottom of the canyon.

  “The birds did point the way to get around the obstacle,” Vicaroy said.

  “Well, half of it anyway. We still have to get across the river and climb out of here.”

  “The other side doesn’t look to be nearly as steep. We should be able to make our way up the far side easy enough.”

  “We made it to the bottom of the canyon in only five or six hours.” Baya was incredulous. To her it felt like the tunnel had warped time. Her mind had blocked out parts of it as if she had been in a trance. It felt like they had been standing at the top of the great ravine only an hour or two prior. Yet the suns’ locations indicated that it was getting late.

  “Maybe it took us eight hours. The suns are staying longer in the sky as we move into the daylight months.”

  They came to an embankment and peered over the edge. The river raged far below.

  “How are we going to cross that?”

  “It must have been a wet dark season. The river is full and swift.”

  Baya’s mouth fell open. “Does that mean we have to wait until the days start getting shorter again before we can cross?”

  Vicaroy didn’t answer.