by Kevin Ashman
‘Do you think it is safe to eat?’ asked Seren to Brola.
‘The deer died quickly,’ said Brola, ‘if there was poison, Morlak would be dead by now.’
He reached for a piece of the meat and followed Morlak’s example, gnawing at the flesh with great relish. Seren waited a few more minutes before, with a sigh; she picked up her own piece and nibbled at the edges, her desperate hunger overcoming her caution.
Eventually, it grew dark and Seren wrapped herself in her cape before curling up between the two Mwrllwch for warmth. For the first time in weeks, she fell asleep without hunger.
----
Chapter 32
Sky and Alid stood in silence watching the Mwrllwch on the other side of the lake. A male stepped forward from the line and started to disrobe, turning his large cape inside out before forming it into a bundle and tying it with vine ropes with his spear secured on the top. Taking the end of another vine, he tied it around his waist and to Sky’s astonishment stepped into the freezing water. His fellow Neanderthal played out the vine behind him and he swam strongly toward their shore, swimming on his side, whilst pulling his floating bundle behind him. Within minutes, he was wading through the shallows and had closed on their position.
‘Put your spear down, Alid,’ said Sky, ‘we want to appear friendly.’
The Neanderthal came close and stood before them both, globules of water glistening in the thick ginger hair that covered his naked muscular body. They stared at each other for a moment before Sky nervously spoke up.
‘I am Sky of the Fire-clan,’ she murmured nervously, ‘and this is Alid of the Morfil.’
He looked from one to the other.
‘I know about you Sky of the Fire-clan,’ he answered in her own language much to her astonishment, ‘the one called Seren talked much around our fires.’
‘Seren?’ She repeated, ‘but she left with Golau.’
‘I am Aarnoy,’ he interrupted, ‘I have come back from the place of the Baal, and I need your help.’
‘Is Golau still alive?’ she blurted out quickly. ‘And Little-bear what about… ’
‘There is no time, I would speak to your chief,’ interrupted Aarnoy, ‘you will take me to him.’
‘Yes,’ she stuttered, ‘of course, what about the rest of your people?’
‘They will follow, we will leave now.’
‘OK!’ she said. ‘Alid you take Aarnoy back to Ceffyl, I will wait until they are all over and bring them along.’
‘I must stay with you, Sky,’ he objected, ‘Ceffyl said…’
‘I don’t care what Ceffyl said,’ she snapped, ‘Golau, Raven and all the others are in danger, Aarnoy may be able to help.’
Alid hesitated.
‘Alid Go!’ she shouted.
‘Follow me,’ he said to Aarnoy, reluctantly and sped off down the tunnel closely followed by the Neanderthal.
Sky watched them go before spinning around to face the rest of the tribe on the opposite shore. One of them picked up their end of the rope and tied it around a boulder, turning back to face her. She hesitated, unsure what to do next. Things were happening so fast. The male on the other side held up the rope and shouted something in his strange language.
Realizing what he wanted, she quickly pulled the rope tight and tied it around a rock on her side of the lake. One by one, they stepped into the freezing lake pulling themselves hand over hand on the rope and trailing their individual skin wrapped bundles behind them. Children swam without the aid of the rope, laughing and splashing in the water while the smaller babies lay motionless on top of the bundles towed by the larger men.
Sky watched as the entire tribe swam slowly over, not sure quite where this strange turn of events would lead.
----
Aarnoy and Alid stood before Ceffyl and the wary armed hunters in the Long-tooth Cave. Though young, Alid’s chest was heaving, having run or crawled through the tunnels without rest. Aarnoy stood as still as if he had just awakened refreshed from a long sleep.
‘Lower your spears,’ ordered Ceffyl, and the points of the brandished weapons sunk slowly to the cavern floor. The other occupants of the cave slowly drew closer, their panic subsiding as soon as they recognized Alid accompanying the stranger out of the recesses of the shadows.
‘I know you,’ said Ceffyl, ‘you were here before.’
‘I am Aarnoy,’ came the reply, ‘I was with Kraiach.’
‘You know our words,’ stated Ceffyl surprised.
‘The one called Seren showed us how’
‘Where are our people?’
‘They are in the place of death.’
Ceffyl indicated his hearth
‘Sit and eat,’ he said, ‘you will tell me all there is. Alid you will join us.’
Aarnoy joined Ceffyl at the fire, and sat cross-legged as one of the women brought them a basket of fruit. Aarnoy ate quietly as Ceffyl watched him closely.
‘Why are you here?’ he asked eventually.
‘I need your help,’ said Aarnoy.
‘Explain.’
‘Kraiach and your hunters are captured by the Baal. They are to die,’ he said, ‘we need more spears to fight them.’
‘I cannot spare any men, Aarnoy,’ he said, ‘we are too few.’
‘I do not ask for men,’ came the guttural reply.
‘Then how can I help?’
‘My people are on their way here,’ he said, ‘I will take all the Mwrllwch males to help Kraiach. Our women will need a safe place to stay while we are gone.’
Ceffyl raised his eyebrows in surprise.
‘You want them to stay here.’
‘Yes.’
‘How many are there?’
‘I do not know your numbers,’ he said looking around, ‘more than you have here.’
‘That is a lot of mouths to feed.’
‘It is good trade,’ said Aarnoy. ‘While you feed my people, I will free yours.’
Ceffyl met the Neanderthal’s gaze for a long time in silence. Turning slightly, he called out to Fox-tooth.
‘How are the food stores?’ he asked.
‘They are full, Ceffyl,’ she replied.
‘Our women will help fill your food baskets,’ continued Aarnoy. ‘They will show you the foods of our people and our children will pick the berries and dig up the shells.’
‘The shells?’
‘There is much food beneath the sand,’ he said, ‘you walk upon it every day.’
‘How do you know?’
‘We have watched you for many moons from high on the cliffs,’ he said, ‘we have studied your ways and have watched you tame the beasts.’
‘We have never seen you.’
‘No’
More silence ensued.
‘Ceffyl,’ said Alid, who had listened patiently throughout the discourse, ‘I would request a favour.’
‘Speak, Alid.’
‘I wish to join with the Mwrllwch and take my spear to help Golau.’
Before Ceffyl could think of a way to let the boy down gently, Aarnoy unexpectedly resolved the situation.
‘This is not possible,’ he said.
They both turned to the Neanderthal.
‘We will be moving like the wind. You will not keep up,’ he continued.
‘I kept up with you in the tunnels,’ objected Alid.
‘If I travelled alone, I would have been here many hours ago,’ he replied.
‘I can run faster.’
‘You cannot run fast enough, we will leave you far behind.’
‘But...’
‘Enough,’ barked Ceffyl interrupting the argument. ‘You will have your trade, Aarnoy. There is not enough room in this cave, but we can use the hunting lodges that have lain idle since last summer.
Alid stood up in anger.
‘They will need as many spears as possible,’ he blurted out in anger, ‘have I not earned my name?’
‘I have need of you, Alid. Curb your tongue.’
Alid stomped away into the gloom.
‘You will sleep at my hearth until your people arrive, Aarnoy’ he said. ‘How long will they be?’
‘The men will not be far behind me. The women will be here tomorrow.’
‘I will arrange food for your journey,’ said Ceffyl
He barked out orders. Some of the women collected dried meat for the Mwrllwch, while others left the cave to start assembling the animal skin hides in the valley below. Ceffyl approached Alid who stood outside, still seething at his apparent snub.
‘Do not let your anger colour your judgment, Alid’ said Ceffyl standing alongside him.
‘I yearn to help our clan, Ceffyl’ he replied.
‘And you will. ‘
Alid turned to him.
‘The other boys laugh at me, Ceffyl,’ he said, ‘they say that anyone could have slain the Morfil and that to them I have still have no name.’
Ceffyl smiled gently.
‘You are a very special boy, Alid,’ he said, ‘and it is true that we would never have let you face the Rheibwr, but you are still an important member of this clan. Yes, others could have killed the Morfil, but it was yours to take. You found it, and the flesh fed our bellies for many days. You earned your name, Alid, and you should carry it with pride. Since the attack of the Baal, I have seen you grow into a young man, and for this reason, I have a very special task for you, one that will prove to all the others, once and for all that you are worthy of your name.’
Alid listened in silence, astounded at the enormity of the task that Ceffyl was giving him. For the next ten minutes, Ceffyl outlined the undertaking he had in mind for the boy in detail, making him repeat the instructions to make sure Alid clearly understood.
‘You will have a long way to go and will have to run like the gazelle,’ said Ceffyl, ‘this is the most important task of all and I would entrust it to no other.’
Alid nodded in silence; awed by the responsibility he had just been given.
‘Should I leave now?’ he whispered.
‘There is no time to lose; the future of this clan is in your hands now, Alid.’
Alid banged his spear against his chest and went inside to fill his food pouch and water skin.
----
The remainder of the Neanderthal emerged from the hole at the back of the cavern and joined their colleagues to one side, talking in quiet whispers amongst themselves and glancing nervously at the activity around the cave.
Similarly, the clan women were nervous of the newcomers, and despite Ceffyl’s instruction to make them welcome, no one made an effort to approach. Each of the Mwrllwch was dressed in loose drapes tied around their waists with vine or animal hide. Some wore small capes around their shoulders that hung down overlapping the animal skin skirts, whilst others were bare breasted, with no sign of embarrassment or self-consciousness. All carried bundles of various sizes that contained their worldly possessions.
Finally, Sky emerged from the shaft, bringing up the rear and walked into the centre between the two groups. She immediately assessed the situation and approached the Mwrllwch woman who seemed the oldest. She tapped herself on her chest.
‘Sky,’ she said, ‘Sky.’
The wise old eyes of the woman immediately understood the gesture.
‘Loma,’ she replied mimicking the gesture, ‘Loma.’
Sky gave her a warm smile and taking the old woman’s hand, led her to her own hearth. Seeing her example, Fox-tooth stepped forward and she too approached their guests, introducing herself in a similar manner and leading a family away. Within minutes, the cave was a hive of activity, as the Clan women made the Mwrllwch welcome. And soon every small hearth was surrounded by nervous women and children sharing food that had been pre-prepared by the Fire-clan.
Neither species knew the other’s language, but despite this, the cave was soon alive with the sound of chatter and laughter as they struggled to make each other understood. Possessions were compared with fascination and when one young Mwrllwch girl stood up, and danced around the cave, singing a strange song that only half of the occupants understood, the cave erupted into laughter erasing any awkwardness that may have remained.
Ceffyl entered the cave and indicated for Sky to approach.
‘How does it go?’ he asked.
‘It will be fine,’ she said, ‘we may not understand their words, but there is a good feeling about them.’
‘Tell them to cover up their bodies,’ he said, ‘they will arouse feelings in our unmarried men, despite their ugliness.’
‘Ceffyl,’ she admonished him, ‘they are not ugly. Yes, they are dirty and they smell a bit, and they certainly have no shame, but once we clean them up they will be fine.’
‘See to it’ he grunted and returned to his duties.
----
Within a few days, close but unusual relationships grew between the two species and once again, members of the Fire-clan found themselves teaching the fascinating people their own words.
Sky and her friends were delighted to learn about the long sharp shellfish that lived beneath the sand that could be easily harvested for the sweet meat and beautiful shells, whilst in turn, the Mwrllwch were fascinated by the iron pyrite that started fire when struck with flint, so much easier than their own fire sticks.
Sky was everywhere without a moments rest. Both the clan women and the Mwrllwch looked to her for resolution whenever there was discord or misunderstanding. It was she who distributed the daily tasks and she who ensured that all understood the now busy daily routines. Every day the fish traps had to be harvested and the traps reset, and due to the threat of the Long-tooth, they brought many thorn bushes from out on the tundra and built fences to enclose their small herd of wild animals.
On the other hand, the men roamed further and further afield to hunt, so as to feed the extra mouths in the valley. Despite Sky trying to explain, the Mwrllwch failed to grasp why they often went for days on end with perhaps little success when they had all that meat close to hand.
Slowly, the animals of the valley started to calm down and soon, using the techniques that Sky had learned with Euraid, many started to eat from their hands. Similarly, the newborn animals, which had never had cause to fear any human or Neanderthal, quickly learnt that they were given good food, so they were always the first to reach over the fences in the morning.
One morning, Sky watched as Loma and some of the others, fussed over a particularly friendly female auroch, feeding her bundles of sweet grass as the calf suckled furiously on her udder. Two of them caressed the cow’s head whilst Loma slowly worked her way down the flanks of the beast, smoothing her skin and talking gently all the time in her strange singsong language, suddenly disappearing from Sky’s sight.
Sky stood up, straining to see what was happening and to her amazement, saw that the old woman was crouched beneath the cow’s belly sucking on the udder next to the calf, drinking the rich nourishing milk straight from the cow.
At first, Sky’s reaction was disgust, but it quickly turned to intrigue, and eventually excitement. All the children had fed on the milk of their mothers or wet nurses, if the mother died at birth as often happened, and sometimes when there was plenty of milk. The old or the sick often shared in the goodness offered by the warm nourishing fluid. This was no different. In fact, if they could harvest this milk, surely here could be massive benefits for the clan as a whole. She wasn’t sure what it would taste like, but judging by the pleased faces of the Neanderthal women as each took their turn, it was certainly not unpleasant. She ran back up to the cave and returned with a wooden bowl.
‘Loma!’ she called.
The old woman looked over and smiled as Sky proffered the bowl.
‘Milk for Sky,’ she said pointing at the calm grazing Auroch.
Loma looked back and fore between the cow and the bowl, grinning as she realized the intention. She grabbed Sky’s arm to pull her to the cow
‘Sky come, take Laith,’ she said
‘No,’ said Sky pulling back, the thought of sucking directly on a beast’s teat repulsing her.
‘Put Laith in bowl,’ she said using the Mwrllwch’s own word for milk.
Loma understood and within minutes, returned with the bowl full of warm frothy milk.
Nervously, Sky raised the bowl to her mouth, encouraged by Loma, and sipped the liquid. She paused to savour the taste, mildly surprised to find that it was warm, creamy and delicious. She quickly drank half the bowl down in a few gulps.
‘Good,’ she said wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
‘Gooood,’ repeated Loma and laughed.
Sky went back to the cave to speak to Ceffyl, careful not to tip any more of the milk, and explained about the surprising new and exciting source of nourishment. Ceffyl listened carefully and tasted the milk, agreeing that it was good, but he seemed to be distracted.
‘Ceffyl,’ she said, ‘something troubles you.’
‘You know me too well, Sky,’ he replied.
‘We have spent a lot of time together these last few months,’ she admitted, ‘I sometimes think I know you better than my own family.’
‘And there lies the problem,’ said Ceffyl.
Sky stared at him in silence.
‘Every day I see you and wonder about your ideas,’ he continued, ‘and every night we sit at my hearth and you tell me your strange plans. You scare away the daily worries of protecting our people and I sleep with a smile on my face.’
‘I’m glad,’ she said carefully
‘I am not,’ he said. ‘Every morning I wake up I remember that I am only Chief until Golau returns. When he does, I will return to being a mere hunter in the clan.
‘But you have led us well, Ceffyl,’ she said earnestly, taking his hand, ‘everyone knows that. You will have great honour.’
‘Perhaps, but it is not that which troubles me,’ he continued, ‘Golau is a great hunter and a close friend. The Clan is his to lead and I will welcome him with open arms.’
‘Then what is the problem?’