Chapter 67

We rose early the next morning to get ready to go. The women started breakfast while I went outside with Tonko and Bogdi to tend to our horses. Tikál joined us after a few minutes, offering to help out. Between the four of us, we led all the animals to the river so they could have a drink and then turned them out on the grassy area between the river and the ruined enclosure so that they could graze. By the time we were done, it was time for us to eat.

I sat with Dunbar and Burton as we ate. We went over what was going to happen that day. Ruba joined us with a big smile on her face, and she seemed very happy. The men simply looked at her as she settled down next to me and shook their heads in amusement. Thankfully no one decided to rib me about the night before, they just let it be. Instead, they focused on my intentions for the coming day, and what I planned to do after that.

That was the big question. At the moment I had three options to consider. The first was to simply merge the Horse People and the Hilltop People into a single community, adding a good number of the women from the south into the mix and then leave them here in the big valley. The place was perfect for a permanent settlement. All I would need to do was to pick a good leader to run the place. As far as I was concerned I had two candidates for the job - Dunbar and Rugar - but I knew for a fact that neither man wanted the job. While Dunbar was coming along linguistically in our common tongue, he hadn’t picked up much of the other dominant languages. He also preferred being second-in-command, rather than the overall boss, which was one of the reasons I’d sent Burton south, and not Dunbar. The same could be said of Rugar, in that, he was a good leader, but he really preferred to be the number two man.

The second option was to use the Gateway to send everyone south. It would take a number of trips to shift everyone and their possessions, but I could see it happening quickly enough. It would be a major culture shock to the people in both tribes, but I was certain that they would come through it reasonably well. Once everyone was in the south, I could split the two communities up, depending on what they wanted to do. In a way, it was probably cruel. In the long term though, it would benefit my people more if some from both tribes joined Burton’s settlement, and some joined the new settlement that Gogra was setting up. It would ensure that we ended up with a good mix of cultures in both groups, and that the River People’s culture didn’t dominate the new society that I was trying to build.

The third option was to march everyone south through the pass in the mountains. While my community in the distant southern valley was already overflowing with new arrivals, marching the Horse People and the Hilltop People south and then settling them in the lower valley would probably be the least invasive emotionally, psychologically, and culturally. It was also the most labour intensive of the three options, since it would require moving the two groups across two hundred plus miles of terrain, mostly on foot, with me leading the way. It would end up taking roughly a month to accomplish, which wasn’t a completely bad thing. It would mean that both tribes would have begun integrating into a single community by the time we reached my valley on the other side of the mountains. The negative aspect was the time commitment. I’d have to lead them, and would probably want Gogra to travel with me, as well as a few others who were with us right now. It meant that Gogra wouldn’t be able to set up the new community to the south, and it would mean that men like Tonko wouldn’t be able to get home to their mates any time soon. It was certainly something to take into consideration.

I left Dunbar and Burton to mull over those thoughts while my party saddled our mounts and headed out. Both men wished me luck, and expressed their regrets to Gogra. The old man accepted their words with solemn gratitude. Then we rode out.

The ride to the Horse People encampment proved quick and uneventful. At a steady lope we were able to make the trip in roughly thirty minutes. When we got there, we found the encampment awake and ready to receive us.

Cadar, Kogar and Heget met us at the edge of the encampment. They’d brought along a couple of young boys with them, and when my party dismounted, the boys took charge of our horses, promising to take care of them which was fine with me. We stopped long enough to remove our weapons from where they’d been tied behind our saddles, and then we handed the kids our reins. We stood and watched the kids lead the animals off, and then once they were out of sight, we turned our attention to the men.

“How are the people here today?” I asked firmly, speaking to all three men as I asked the question; letting my eyes move from one face to the other as I waited upon a reply. “Have the younger men settled down?

“We spoke to everyone last night, once we’d returned,” Cadar informed me. “We explained what happened yesterday, and what was decided once Gogra accepted the leadership. Since all the hunters had been there when Mondo died, and when you told them that they were now part of your tribe, there was no opposition voice. In fact, most of the women were happy to hear the news. They know, as do the hunters, that any contention would lead to unnecessary deaths. Joining your tribe is the better solution. Even the two hunters who’d ridden out with Mondo’s and Laktar’s bodies agreed, once they had time to think about it. Given the alternative, they decided it would be better to live in your tribe than it would be to live alone.”

“Good,” I muttered thoughtfully in acknowledgement. “I’m pleased to hear that. Now, what about Mondo’s and Laktar’s bodies? Have they been prepared for the journey to the burial grounds?”

Kogar quickly assured me that both bodies had been purified the night before, and then prepared for burial, by the women of the encampment. They were actually already loaded upon funeral travois, and the travois had been secured to horses, in anticipation of my arrival. The burial party was ready to go. All I had to do was to give the order to go.

I thanked the man for the information. I then inquired as to who would be attending the funeral which was when things became awkward. All three men looked away in embarrassment in reply to my question, and in the end, Cadar explained what was up.

The only person who actually wanted to attend the funeral was Laktar’s mate. The rest of the tribe saw no good in honouring Mondo or the young hunter, particularly after having suffered through a rough winter in which many of their kinsmen and friends had died.

I could appreciate their sentiment, especially since I had no desire to attend the funeral either, however, I also felt anger at the men, since I was still going, and in a manner of speaking they were insulting Gogra by not offering their support publicly in his hour of grief. I looked over at the older man and noted that his face was flushed with colour. It was clear that he was thinking the very same thing. Regrettably, there wasn’t anything to do about it now. Insisting that the three men accompanied us would only strain what good will we’d already fostered with them, and it would have made matters worse. Instead of giving them grief, I gave them work instead.

“I want you to move the encampment while we are gone,” I told them bluntly. “Take the encampment into the valley and settle it out on the valley floor near where my people are staying. It will bring your people and my people together in one place, and then it will allow me to speak to them about what the future will bring.”

Cadar and the other two men assured me that they would see that the job was done. With that I had Kogar lead me to where the bodies were waiting.

I was surprised by what I found when we got to where the two travois had been left. The bodies lay stretched out on the travois, tied to them, and stripped of all possession except their loincloth. I took one look at Mondo’s body, and then glanced questioningly over at Gogra. One look told me he wasn’t happy. Emboldened by Gogra’s reaction I decided to question what was going on.

“Is this how you normally send a hunter to the next world?” I enquired of Kogar, implying with the tone of my voice that I knew it wasn’t. The man looked away in embarrassment.

“Fetch each man’s weapons and their best shirt,” I told Kogar when he hesitated answering me, “and fetch anything else that should be here with the bodies on their final trip. I am not pleased and I can assure you the Earth Mother is not pleased, either!”

Kogar hurried off to do what I asked, saying nothing in response to my terse words. When he was gone I turned my attention to Laktar’s mate. She was young, medium tall, and very thin. She was standing next to the travois carrying Laktar with her gaze lowered. She was not looking at her late mate, but at the ground.

“Forgive me for intruding upon you in your moment of grief,” I muttered apologetically to the young woman in an attempt to catch her attention. “In fact, I am sorry that we must meet in this way, and that I must offer you my condolences. I am Jake, leader of the Bear Tribe and shaman of my village. I am also the man who killed Laktar. I had not wanted to do it, but Laktar would not listen. For whatever pain that it has caused you, please forgive me. I can assure you that I bear you no ill will, and that as of today you will be a woman of my hearth. In time you will learn what that means in my community, but rest assured that you will not go hungry because you have no mate.”

Laktar’s mate simply nodded her head in response to my words, but she neither replied, nor did she look up at me. She simply remained silent, waiting for us to go.

Kogar returned quickly, followed by a party of older women. He carried the weapons belonging to the two dead men, and the women carried the rest. They carried a fur wrap, a tunic and moccasins for each man and a few personal items for each of them, such as drinking cups, water skins, and packets of food. Once they arrived they got right to work, dressing the bodies as they should have been dressed originally, and then placing them back on the travois, wrapped in the fur and surrounded by the items that belonged to them. Kogar had stayed to oversee the work, and when all was done, he placed the weapons beside each man, ensuring everything was placed correctly.

All of this took time and personally I wasn’t happy that it had occurred in the first place. When Kogar finally approached me to indicate that everything was in order, I let him have it right between the eyes.

“I am not happy, Kogar; and you may tell the others this fact, as well,” I growled at the man. “I may not have liked either man in their life; but in their death, respect should have been shown, at least by their own people. If I, a stranger, can journey with them to the burial ground and ask the spirits to protect them on their trip to the next world; then their own people can at least see to it that custom is adhered to, and that the bodies are prepared properly. What happened this morning is an insult to the Earth Mother, to Gogra, and to me who is now the chief of these people. I will not accept insults. If a man disagrees with me, he may speak of it to my face. I will hear him out courteously. However, this was not to my face. This was behind my back. Make certain that it doesn’t happen again. Is that understood?”

It was. Kogar apologized, first to me and then to Gogra. I dismissed him after that and then ordered everyone to mount up. It was then that I learned we had another problem.

“Do you have a mount?” I asked her, seeing no other horse standing near us, except for our own animals.

The young woman answered with a shake of her head. That just pissed me off even more.

The fact was that the Horse People used one spot to bury their dead and that spot was across the plateau near where they wintered every year. It was going to take us all day to journey there and back upon a horse. It would take days of travel with the girl walking. Someone should have thought about that.

“Very well, you will ride behind me on my horse,” I muttered in a voice filled with annoyance, “Come here and I will help you up.”

My offer surprised the young woman, and it shocked Tikál who’d been watching the events of the morning in silence, uncertain of his place in our group and standing off to the side while I had confronted Kogar, and had vented my anger. Now he found himself biting back whatever thought had popped into his head on hearing me offer a ride to a woman. I glanced quickly at the young man, fixing him with a piercing glare, in response to hearing him gasp out his surprise, but I didn’t hold the glare long. Instead I turned my attention back to the Laktar’s mate.

The young woman hesitated, but only for a second or two. She really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. I was already on the back of my big bay mare and had lowered a hand to help her up. Without a word she accepted it. I told her to put her foot on mine to help boost her up as I pulled her off the ground. She did as she was told and a moment later she was settled behind me.

“Hold on tight,” I told her brusquely as she tried to figure out where to put her hands, “and don’t let go. This is going to be a long trip, and I don’t want to lose you along the way.”

The young woman did what she was told. Once she had her hands tightly wound about my waist and her face and body pressed up against my back, it was time to go. I led the way with Gogra riding beside me. Tonko took the lead rope of the horse pulling Mondo’s travois with Bogdi taking the lead rope of the horse pulling Laktar’s travois. Tikál brought up the rear.

It was mid-afternoon by the time we reached the burial ground. We’d pushed the horses as best we could, considering that two of them were dragging travois. It meant that our stops were short and we ate what food we’d brought with us while in the saddle. I shared mine with the young woman. By that point she’d got over a little of her shyness.

Here name was Gada. Gogra had told me that piece of information as the older man knew her and when Gada had refused to tell me her name, he had offered it up. He’d also told me that she was fourteen years old, and that her brother was one of the village hunters. His name was Gokar and he’d been one of the two men who’d ridden off with the two bodies, when I had given the hunters the choice of staying or leaving. That put me in a quandary.

The impression Cadar, Kogar, and Heget had left me with that morning was that the two men had seen the error of their way and they had changed their minds about opposing my taking over the tribe. That was fine and dandy, but it wasn’t what I had originally had in mind. They’d been given a chance of staying or going and they’d chosen to go, and letting them reconsider their choice hadn’t been part of my plan.

I’d asked Gogra what he thought about it. By then his annoyance at the Horse People had diminished and he was willing to chat. He thought I should allow the two young hunters to stay. If I didn’t, it would probably mean their deaths and the deaths of their families. Two hunters on their own could survive for a time, but if either got injured or sick, their chances of staying alive decreased drastically. In any case, as Gogra saw it, we could easily split the two young men up, sending one to live in Burton’s settlement, and the other to live with Gogra and those who would move to the southern settlement. To Gogra, that should eliminate any future problems.

I accepted his advice, although I had my reservations. I silently hoped he was correct as only time would tell. The truth was that I had a lot of doubts rolling about in my head. My biggest concern was that all of what I had achieved with my original community would fall apart with the integration of new people, and to be honest, the fact that we’d gone off to war. Already we’d experienced discord because of what I’d exposed my people to in the last few weeks. Sygor was the poster child for ‘rocking the boat, ‘ and others had chosen revenge against Winslow’s men over duty to our tribe. I didn’t know how that would play out in the future, particularly when our numbers grew even more. I’d have to figure out some way to bind us all together.

The burial ground was situated on the far side of the plateau within a few miles of where the Horse People wintered every year. It was actually set upon a long, wide, almost flat-topped finger of land that jutted out of the foothills that buffered the escarpment. There were no trees growing on it, and very little brush grew anywhere near it. According to Gogra, the site was an ancient place and it had served as the burial grounds of the Horse People for generations. According to him, the site was chosen after the Horse People had found the first herd of horses. The hunters had then tracked the horses into the nearby box canyon and had trapped the animals in it. One of the hunters had been killed in the process, and the hunters had left his body laid out on the top of the finger of land. It had been used since then by each succeeding generation.

The burial ground wasn’t a nice place to visit. There were a couple of reasons for that. One was the fact that the bodies of the deceased were left in the open to either decompose or to be eaten by carrion birds. That meant the air stank of rotting flesh, and the sky over the burial site was filled with large, cawing birds that would swoop down from time to time to snatch up a morsel of flesh to satisfy their hunger. It was something hard to stomach, even for me, especially with the memories of the carnage left by Winslow still fresh in my head.

I left Tonko, Bogdi, and Tikál to begin setting up the poles that would be used to raise the two bodies off the ground and into the air. While they did that, I dug out my chunk of red ochre and I went and marked each body in the manner that Wodon had shown me long ago when he first learned that I was my village’s shaman. Once I’d done that, I stepped aside so that the men could finish the job. It took them less than half an hour to raise both funeral travois up off the ground, placing the dead above head level. Once they had them up there and the structures secure, I stepped close.

“Hear me, Spirit of the Horse,” I called out in the tongue of the Horse People. “Come to this place and take up the spirits of Mondo and Laktar. Run fast and run surefooted Horse Spirit. The road you must travel is long and uneven and the spirits that you carry are special to the Earth Mother. Take them to her so she can wrap them in her embrace and care for them. Be quick Horse Spirit and go with my prayers and my blessings. Hear me, Bear Spirit. Give to the Horse Spirit your strength. It will be needed.”

With that, I was done as far as the Horse People were concerned. For myself, I had one last prayer to say and I said that one in silence. I said it for me and for all those that I had killed or who I had ordered others to kill. Then I bowed my head. A few minutes later the ceremony was done, and we were all riding east once again.

It was night by the time we returned to the big valley. Fortunately, the moon was up and it lit our way. It helped that on reaching the valley we met up with Dunbar. The man had ridden out to see if he could find us, and he’d taken up an observation post on a hill overlooking the plateau. He’d spotted us well before we even reached the mouth of the valley. With a whistle that our troops used to let each other know they were near, Dunbar made certain that we’d pull up and wait for him to join us which didn’t take him long.

“Is everything all right?” I asked the man as he walked his horse down the slope of the hill and up to where we’d reined in. “Have there been any problems?”

“Not really,” Dunbar admitted as he mounted up. “I just got tired of trying to answer questions from people I could barely communicate with. The Horse People showed up near supper, and those three men you’d been chatting with came over to inquire about our plans for the evening, or at least I think they did. I tried my best to talk to them, but in the end I gave up and left the task to Burton. He was doing a better job at it in any case.”

“Does that mean that Geeta, Gort, and Sygor aren’t back from the Hilltop People yet?” I asked Dunbar, concern clearly audible in my voice.

“It does, but you needn’t worry,” Dunbar reassured me. “Ruba met the trio and some of the Hilltop People when she was out hunting. According to her, Gort and Sygor were out demonstrating the benefit of using a bow when hunting, and what a horse and a travois are good for. Sygor had dropped a female bison, and the group had been dressing it out when Ruba and her party happened upon them. She did say that the men with our people almost went on the warpath when they found out that Ruba was leading a hunt. She’d taken Ohba, Olla, and Ozmat with her and the three women definitely caused a stir.”

I sighed at that and shook my head, exasperated that such a thing was always going to be a problem whenever we met up with another tribe. Hopefully it wouldn’t discourage the Hilltop People from joining us. While I reflected on this, I noted that Dunbar was giving me a questioning look. I finally realized that he was looking at Gada.

I’d put Gada on one of the horses that had pulled the funeral travois once we’d finished the ceremony and we’d mounted up to head home. Unfortunately, Gada had never ridden a horse before and the horse had no saddle. At first she did fine bareback, while we walked our mounts away from the burial site, but the moment we prodded our horses into anything other than a walk, Gada had problems. A trot was painful for her, and a canter threatened to send her falling to the ground. Seeing her discomfort and realizing that she’d probably break her neck falling from her horse, I had reined in long enough for her to clamber back up onto my horse. The only difference this time was that instead of putting her behind me, straddling the big bay’s rump, I had put her in front of me, so we could at least trot or canter from time to time without worrying about her falling off the horse. Since she was a slight woman, comparatively speaking, it hadn’t been that uncomfortable a ride. The thing was that sometime after dark and once we’d slowed our progress to a walk, the young woman had fallen asleep against my chest. She was actually still sleeping, even though Dunbar and I were in the middle of a conversation.

“She’s Laktar’s mate,” I informed the man in a hushed voice. “She came along with us to the funeral, and she doesn’t know how to ride. This was the easiest way to get her back here, without her breaking her neck.”

“Ahh,” Dunbar muttered in response, before flashing me a grin. Then he shook his head and chuckled for a bit. It took him a minute to pull himself together, but when he did, he was all professional again.

Dunbar led us into the valley and back to our enclosure. When we came within a hundred feet or so we were challenged by a guard which put a smile on my face. Dunbar gave the counter sign and we were allowed to pass. As we rode by I noted that it was Ozmat. I’d have to give him a pat on the back come morning as he was doing a very good job.

Burton was happy to see me. He was also pissed off with Dunbar. His sharp, growling voice, laced with a variety of insults in English actually woke Gada. The poor young woman started with fright as Burton cursed Dunbar for being a ‘dumb monkey’ and for abandoning him earlier in the day. I just had to smile at that.

I did reassure the young woman. Once I had her settled, I called Tikál over and quickly spoke to him.

“I want you to take charge of Gada,” I told the young man as I dismounted. “Fetch your mate and Tula and then go find what has happened to her hut. If it has been erected, she can decide to stay in it for the night or you can move her back across the river and into the cave with the rest of my people. It’s her choice. If it hasn’t been erected, or it is missing, gather what you can find of her belongings, and bring her back to me. While you’re at it, you can let Cadar know that I have returned.”

Tikál was surprised to be given jobs upon arriving at the enclosure after such a long day in the saddle, but he was smart enough to understand that complaining wasn’t going to get him anywhere, while doing what I asked meant that he would be recognized by me as someone I could trust. Without another thought the young man promised to complete the job.

I helped Gada off my horse. She was a little sore and uncomfortable and we both knew it, but once she had both feet planted on the ground, she assured me she would be all right. I accepted her reassurance and then I let her go off. Tikál led her away as I turned to tend to my horse. To my pleasant surprise, Bogdi volunteered to do the job. I thanked him and then headed for the communal hearth, promising as I went to leave him some food.

To my surprise I found most of my people already in their beds sleeping. I could understand that as I was tired myself and it had been a very long day. Even so I was hungry, and so were the people who’d been with us. Thankfully, Burton hadn’t been the only person who’d stayed up to welcome us home. Ruba had as well. She greeted me with a kiss and a bowl of food. I thanked her for both. Then she gave Gogra a bowl as well. As he took it from her, she looked at him sorrowfully and she asked him how he was.

“I am fine, Ruba,” Gogra reassured the young woman as he settled himself down next to me at the hearth, “but thank you for asking, and thank you for the food.”

I smiled at that. I watched Gogra dig in and then I watched as Ruba sat herself down on the other side of me. She smiled warmly as she noted I was watching her.

“Eat up, Jake,” Ruba chided me in a teasing manner. “You’ll need it for later tonight. I’m horny again.”

Gogra almost choked on hearing that. He shook his head, chuckled and then took a cup of water from Ruba when she offered him one. She smiled with a hint of modesty in her expression as she passed it to him, and then once he had it, she glanced at me and flashed me a naughty smile. I just grinned back in turn and then settled in to eat my meal. It was very good.

Ruba told me about her hunt. It hadn’t been hard to find the herd of bison as they had been off towards the north-east part of the valley, close to the ruins of the Hilltop village. They had met Gort and the others hunting the animals, and she’d decided to take a few as well. Each member of her party took down a bison each. They had allowed Ozmat to make his kill first since he was using his bow and arrows. Once he’d made his kill, each of the women had used their heavy hunting rifles to bring down their prey.

As Ruba told her tale, Tonko and Bogdi joined us at the hearth. Ruba passed them each a bowl of bison stew, which they took willingly with gratitude. Then she went on, telling how they had dragged the kills back to the cave and how they had given the majority of the meat to the Horse People on their arrival.

“They were surprised to receive it,” Ruba pointed out in a thoughtful manner, as she glanced first at Gogra and then at Tonko and Bogdi. “I guess they aren’t used to people sharing with them.”

“Your people would have been the same,” Tonko declared defensively, interjecting his thoughts into the conversation, “and think about Nola and her people. When we met them last fall they wouldn’t even speak to us, even after we’d shared a kill with them.”

“Not everyone is as welcoming as our tribe,” Gogra mused aloud, looking off into the night as he said it. “I think it is our strength. We have suffered and grown from the experience and thus we can sympathize with the suffering of others. It is what drove the tribe to bring the River People into our community. They have become good members of the tribe. Hopefully these new people will learn the same lessons that we did. If they do, we will grow even stronger. Only time will tell.”

I agreed, as did the others who were sitting with us. Then we went on eating. About then Tikál returned, leading his mate, Vela, along with Tula, and Gada. They were all carrying Gada’s possessions.

“So, Gada has chosen to stay here with us?” I enquired, smiling warmly at the young woman as I spoke.

“No,” Tikál said with a shake of his head. “The village decided. They did not erect her hut when they arrived here. In fact, much of Laktar’s belongings had been taken by others in the move. I was forced to remind Cadar and Kogar of your displeasure this morning. They didn’t like being spoken to by a young hunter like me, but I prevailed. They gathered up what had been taken and they restored them to Gada. Then they told us to leave. We did, as you can see.”

I was on my feet and ready to storm off into the night to give Cadar and Kogar a piece of my mind, within seconds of hearing what Tikál had to say. The only thing that kept me from doing it was Gogra. When I had leapt to my feet, he had risen as well; only he had risen to put a restraining hand on my shoulder.

“No, Jake,” Gogra declared in a calming voice. “Let this be for tonight. It is late and you are tired, and it will serve no purpose to confront these men now. You should save this matter for the morning and for a time of your own choosing, when your thoughts are more lucid.”