WANDERER Part 28

Elune's Love

Zurak could only watch, stupefied and numb, with Oshi sleeping soundly in her arms.  She was safe inside the circle made by the blazing bonfires that kept the wolves away; the acrid smoke was so thick that it became an unpleasant flavor on Zurak’s tongue.  The dancers had been chanting for hours now, ever since the sated wolves moved off and the tribe could safely get near Taeyo’s corpse.

Her leg throbbed beneath the poultice and bandages, but Zurak would not have joined the dancers even if she was uninjured.  Dancing was for times of joy and the Wanderer’s joy had gushed out of her wound along with all that blood.  Watching Taeyo die so brutally felt like a punishment to Zurak, the wrath of an angry goddess towards her most faithful servant.

Elune kept taking away things that Zurak loved; the moon goddess took both of her parents and both of her little brothers named Taeyo, and for what?  Sola took something from Elune and Elune used Zurak to get back at her sister, it was all so pointless.  After the Well was claimed, the sisters would find something else to fight about and some other person would be forced to do the dirty work.

All the gods were churlish, childish beings; demanding absolute devotion without sympathy for those under their dominion and Zurak wanted no more to do with any of them.  She had sacrificed over and over for the glory of Elune only to be literally thrown to the wolves, and now she knew their secret.  The gods had no power, not really, they were just as helpless against the vicissitudes of life as everyone else, but they were bigger.  The gods had greater strength and used it to bully the small people like Zurak.

Zurak could not say any of those things aloud; she could not tell her family that she had changed her mind about Elune after they worked so hard to get her here.  Churashom’s tribe adopted Elune into their family of gods because of Zurak, they had altered their lives to accompany her on this journey and they had all watched Taeyo die together. 

The pyre was burning low, but the stench of burnt hair and flesh lingered around the clearing, filling up Zurak’s nose with the last earthly remains of her beloved brother bear.  The dance would not end until the last ember had eaten itself alive and Churashom never slowed down.  Taeyo had given his life to save the lives of Churashom’s wife and unborn child; Churashom danced to show his gratitude and respect.

Zurak watched the sun come up slowly, cursing Sola with hateful eyes as the pile of orange embers became grey dust for the winds to play with.  Oshi was beginning to stir, rousing Zurak from her vigil of anger; she got up to follow the other women back to camp because there were many preparations to make.  Once the fire was out completely, the men would carefully gather up the ashes; the women would prepare a ritual feast and they would all walk the ashes to the cave after sunset.

This was the night for Zurak to finally claim the Well of Provenance; to finish the quest that Elune started on the beach so many years ago.  This was the night that Zurak had lived for, planned for and cried for; but she thought this would bring her happiness and not eternal grief.  As she crossed the stream, seeing her blood still staining the grass around the boulder, Zurak made a new plan.

Taeyo’s ashes had been gathered into an elaborately decorated leather pouch; under normal circumstances it would have been the tribe’s leader Mohiwalip that carried the remains.  But Taeyo was Zurak’s brother, her protector, and Elune was Zurak’s god; so she held the pouch and walked alongside her father.  The torches they carried cast dancing shadows on the rocks as they moved up the path and chanted a traditional tribal funeral song.

This was the first time that the whole tribe was in the cave together; they stopped in the first chamber to say the first prayer of commitment before squeezing through the tunnel to the cavern of stars.  The lights from the torches sparkled off of the golden chunks that lined the streambed fed by the well, long veins of the glittering metal streaked through the walls embedded with milky crystals.  They said the second prayer together before Churashom climbed up into the well chamber with Mohiwalip and the tribe’s medicine woman.

The Well chamber was small, filled with the sound of rushing water and the gold glowed warmly beneath the torchlight.  Zurak had said very little since the attack, she was quiet still in the Well chamber as the elders led the final prayer of commitment.  Part of her felt like she was not there at all, that she was outside her body somehow and watching from a safe distance.  Zurak barely heard the prayers, it was all breath wasted on an uncaring goddess and Zurak would waste no more breath on gods.

Finally the prayers were over; once again Mohiwalip stepped aside to allow Zurak the honor of being the first.  If she could feel anything, it might be guilt for taking advantage of Mohiwalip’s affection for her, but Zurak was still numb as she reached into the leather bag for the first handful of ashes.  Tears leaked from her blue eyes again as the soft ashes reminded her of Taeyo’s warm, soft fur and Zurak did not try to stop them.

Instead she mixed her salt tears with the ash, forever binding Zurak to Taeyo, and knelt down beside the Well of Provenance.  Lowering her hand into the freezing water and releasing the ashes, Zurak claimed the Well in the language of the Wanderers.

“Since the rising waters stole the Islands of Savage Ice, we have searched on behalf of Elune.  We wandered in her name and at her bidding, but we do not claim this well for her.  I, Zurak of the Western Wanderers, claim the Golden Lands for the golden bear, I claim this well for the Wanderers and the monkey people.  This is our Well, this is our Golden Land, and it belongs to us now.”

With that, Zurak wiped away her tears and watched as the water carried away Taeyo’s ashes, to spread them over the land and anoint the dirt with her claim.  Her family would never know the truth and she would pretend fealty to Elune for the rest of her days, but Zurak would always know. 

The moon goddess already knew, but Zurak no longer cared.

WANDERER Part 27

The Last Expedition

The expedition to Amos Brandecker’s cave had been planned with the care and precision of a sensitive military mission.  The cave’s actual location had been kept a very strict secret by the CaveWomen, they had not even turned over the map when asked politely.  Pet would have burned it first; she and Tass had actually crafted a very good forgery –without telling Araceli of course.  But it had not come down to them becoming criminals, which was a relief to both women, because the court had ruled in their favor.

Amos had left three pictures of the cave behind; two of them were of wall carvings and one was of a wide vein of gold flowing through the stone.  It was because of the third photo that the cave’s location was being withheld.  Gold fever turned even the most rational person into a monster of greed; a monster willing to destroy anything that got between it and its quarry.  Prospectors, treasure hunters and adventure seekers were already searching for the cave, so the CaveWomen had begun a campaign of subtle disinformation.

It had been Tass’ idea, just some vaguely misleading and seemingly innocuous Tweets to throw the raiders of the scent.  The last Pet had heard, the most credible of the groups was searching well over a hundred miles away from the correct site.  They were digging in the wrong place, Tass had said with a happy smile and a nod to her greatest love, Indiana Jones.

Putting the team together had been a challenge, they needed to keep the group small for security reasons, but this initial survey required more than just gifted amateurs.  Two professionals, one a forensic archaeologist the other a geologist, with indisputable pedigrees were coming along.  Their long-time researcher Crandall had been invited, as well as a representative for the native tribes and Walker came on behalf of the Brandecker estate.

Fulstone had been invited too, he had been there practically since the beginning although it had been quite a while since he’d been caving.  The last two members of the team were a cameraman and producer from the Exploration Channel, it was a small cable upstart that had already featured the CaveWomen several times.  There was another team too, of roving airplane mechanics keeping sharp eyes out for anyone following the expedition.

After nearly two exhausting days of trickery, deceit and espionage; the expedition had set out in the gloomy morning hours.  Tass was the official trailblazer of CaveWomen, she had the map and the lead; even though she had never been to the site, her confidence in their route never wavered.  Everyone thought that it was Tass who followed Pet around, but Pet saw the humor in that mistake.  It was almost always Nastassja Romero going first.

Dawn had broken and the sky lightened around them in the weak, watery grays and pinks of sunrise.  The trees and larger rocks they passed steadily became less like dark specters and much more like trees and rocks.

“We should be coming to a stream,” Tass said in a low voice, not for security reasons though, it just seemed wrong to break the drowsy stillness around them.  “Maybe half a mile on.  Shouldn’t be far after that,” she said with a look to Pet.

Pet’s heart was already thudding, as much as she loved Walker; it was the runes that had captured her affections first.  They were a lover no man could compete with and Walker never tried to compete, he seemed to understand Pet’s obsession without needing to be told.  He had been on her side from the moment they had met, Walker had supported Pet all the way and she had cried like an infant when he asked for her hand in marriage.  No wedding plans had been made yet, but it was an expedition that Pet was looking forward to very much.

But it was this expedition that was her life’s work and the stream came into view just like it was supposed to.  Tass checked Amos’ map again and a more recent survey of the area before splashing across the water towards some large boulders.  Even in the dim light, Pet saw the worn glyphs at the base of one the boulders; one could have possibly been her rune at one time and the other was definitely a bear.

Tass led them around the boulders and up a small rocky slope, her sharp eyes had spotted the small, dark opening well before any others.  Tass poked her head through the hole and pulled it back out saying, “This has to be it.”

A text was sent to Chuy with the GPS coordinates and the team quietly set about getting all the equipment and bodies through the small passage.  It had taken almost an hour, but they were all in; Pet was already examining the trove of glyphs on the chamber walls, unable to focus on any particular one.  These glyphs were so varied, some looked like mere rude scratches while others were intricate and deftly carved, that Pet was positive that this was the work of an entire group of people.

She found her rune easily, it was the largest in the chamber and in a prominent place.  Pet was so happy that she could feel tears on her cheeks as her fingers traced the familiar lines and grooves.  Everything fell away from her, the conversations around her could have been a million miles away as Pet wondered about the hand who had carved all of those glyphs.  It was a trail of crumbs that had led straight from Point Reyes to this remote spot in the Sierras and it had to have been left for some purpose.

“GWENDOLYN!”

That snapped Pet out of her reverie; she turned to see most of the faces of the team watching her expectantly.  Tass had a different look though, “If you don’t mind, we have a cave to explore,” she said haughtily.

They were grouped around a tunnel that had been carved out by flowing water for eons, the stream was just a lazy trickle, but the tunnel was passable if they crouched down.  After making sure everyone was ready, Tass stepped up into the water and began beaming her flashlight into the blackness beyond.

The cramped tunnel wasn’t very long and Tass’ sharp intake of breath echoed easily around the group.  Pet started to ask what happened when she stepped out of the tunnel and the question froze on her lips.  This cavern was enormous and completely black except for the galaxy of stars twinkling brightly overhead.  Pet had seen many examples of bio-luminescence in pictures and on television, but never with her own eyes and the array of lights over her head was staggering.

Tass was already moving forward, she was not one to stop and ponder; there was more to find in this cave and she would not be deterred by fairy lights.  Both women had studied Amos’ notes thoroughly, they knew there was one final chamber beyond this one and Tass followed the water.  The night sky chamber ended at a lazy waterfall about four feet high, Tass climbed partially up to aim her light upwards and looked back to Pet.

“This is it,” Tass said as she climbed back down.

Pet was confused, “Why aren’t you going up?”

“Because this one is for you stupid,” Fulstone volunteered from behind.

Tass laughed and gave Fulstone a look of fresh appraisal, “When did you get so smart?”

Pet took a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to slow down her heart’s beating, and stepped past Tass up the boulders towards her destiny.  The water was freezing cold, but not strong enough to push back against her as Pet shimmied through the passage.  The reflected light from her torch was a gleaming golden color and Petra just stopped; the source of the water was a spring pushing up from deep below.

Pet’s flashlight danced over the gold streaked rocks that lined the well and the clear water pulsing lazily past, gaping at the sheer quantity of the precious ore.  She latched onto the rock face and pulled her body all the way in, this chamber was not that big but Pet could stand up.  Her memory of that first cave in Sonoma rushed back to Pet, she remembered circling around slowly then just as she was doing now, but these walls were not as bare as the walls of the Sonoma cave.

That cave had only the one lonely rune, one first crumb of bread; but this cave was the entire loaf.  It was a feast of gold and ancient history for which Petra had no words, no sounds to offer in praise of such wonder.  The entire chamber seemed to be one tremendous vein of gold, it was the grandmother lode but that was not the treasure.

All of the gold in this cave had been worked, the walls smoothed down so that the carvings could be wrought in the precious metal.  The rune was here, all three versions of the rune Pet had found plus one more were inscribed around the chamber like points on a compass.  The glyph of circles was here too, beautifully etched but different from the other circles because this one had intricate carvings that seemed somehow familiar to Pet filling the interior.

But it was the bear rune that was most prominent, it had been carved to be practically life sized with the angular lines around the body.  Pet dropped to her knees beneath the bear to the familiar pile of stones right beneath it, these were not ordinary rocks though.  Every single one was gold, from the flatter pieces at the bottom, to the oval pieces of the second layer, to the carefully arranged tiny nuggets at the top.

It was a pyramid of gold inside a room of gold that gushed out gold laden water.

The Gravity of Zen

Don't you just love that title?  I do, it has nothing whatsoever to do with today's post and I have no clue what it even means.  However, I couldn't come up with something good for this header, so I decided to get all pretentious and oogly about things.

Let's call it a writer's prompt, 200 words on the gravity of zen.  For you, not me; I already have something to write about :)

So, how are all my glorious Travellers today?  I hope this missive finds you all well and reasonably happy; because, despite my seeming setback of last week, my spirits are very high.  Obstacles are just gifts with ugly wrapping paper, and once the crying is past and the ugly paper shuffled off to the recycle bin, you can really appreciate what was inside.

This publishing hiatus has not filled me with the expected angst, recrimination and anxiety; I'm actually quite calm about it all.  Many lessons have been learned in the last few months; lessons not just about book publishing/marketing, but life lessons as well.  Now is the time to assimilate all that's been learned, take a fresh critical look at the manuscript and devise a new plan.

And now is also the time to say thank you; it is the time to acknowledge all the fine and generous people I have met recently.  It is high time that I was nice about something.  My tempers are fleeting, but they are too often represented in this blog and not an accurate portrayal of its author.  I'm not saying I don't get pissy, clearly I do, but I'm not an angry person going off on the general population at the drop of a hat either.

Despite my rantings about internet groups, a very gracious one has allowed me to hang around and pester them.  BBT Cafe is a great resource for indie authors and full of veterans with actual printed books that have sold more than 10 copies.  I found them during that first week of that blogging challenge thingy that I bowed out of, and my fumbling questions to the group have yielded good answers.

The woman who extended the invitation has become a good friend, we hit it off immediately and she has become a bit of a mentor.  Since Star Wars is something I like rather than love, I can't call Holly my Yoda.  I prefer to think of her as the Captain Picard to my Ensign Ro.  But most of the best recent lessons were learned because of her, both directly and indirectly, and I respect her opinions.

Because of her, I have (or am actively trying to) released my childish fears and prejudices about online communities and social medias.  I Twitter much more now but I still wish there was less talking at me and more talking to me.  If any of you have Twitter accounts, find me @CairnRodrigues and let's start a conversation because you know I would love to hear from you.  Yesterday I created my first board on Pinterest because I realized that it is a wonderful place to stash my gardening obsession.  That one is all for me though, not the Prospector, so I can show off the flowers, birds and thrifty creations in my yard.

I haven't found a use for Tumbl'r yet, but maybe one will reveal itself, maybe not.  I did put the first chapter of The Last Prospector up on GoodReads today, this was another site that I had been avoiding, so at least internal progress has been made.

There is another big project in the works that you will know about soon enough, it's taking much of my concentration but I am making sure not to rush things.  Patience is a life lesson that I have to keep re-learning.

Wanderer is almost done, no one has commented one way or the other about it, but I quite like it.  It was only supposed to be 28 parts long, but the story demanded an extra day, so there will be an epilogue on March 1.  It all started with Petra and it just doesn't seem right to not end with Petra, if you will so kindly indulge me.

There is one more big thank you that will not be forgotten, the most important one of all.  This one is for you, all of the Travellers who started this journey with me and all of the new ones.  Thank you for reading, thank you for sharing your comments and telling your friends about me.  It is a kindness that I won't ever forget.

WANDERER Part 26

The Claim

The Wanderers had been searching for the Well of Provenance for over a thousand years and Zurak remembered all of the stories told to her as a child.  Every Wanderer knew it was their duty to claim the Well for Elune, but since no one had ever even come close, there had been no stories about how to actually claim something.

Zurak assumed that her carvings into the rock around the Well were her claim and the tribe had been creating the claim for almost a year.  Churashom’s family had never done any carving, but many had taken it up after Zurak joined the family.  One of the uncles had crafted a much better stone chisel than the one Zurak had been using since the beach and her carvings had become much more refined.

At first, her new family was reluctant to mar the walls of the cave with their marks, thinking that the crude figures would be an affront to Elune.  But Zurak assured them that the moon goddess cared only for their intentions and actions, not artistry at all and told them of her first carving attempts that were less than beautiful.  Taking the time to carve into stone imbued the stone with your essence and the essence was left for the moon goddess, as proof of your devotion.

The Well chamber of the cave was not very big, only four of them could fit inside at one time and it could get stuffy when they were all working.  There would be another baby for Churashom in a few months and Zurak had been miserable for weeks now, her stomach was not happy to accept food and she kept feeling dizzy.  These things were perfectly normal, so Zurak was not worried, but she couldn’t get much work done.

Another wave of light-headedness washed over Zurak; she swayed slowly and closed her eyes to try and will her stomach not to retch up its meager contents.  She felt stiflingly hot and freezing cold at the same time; Zurak carefully set down her tools and told the others she was going back to camp.  She just wanted to lie down in the shade with some herbal tea and Oshi, perhaps even take a little nap.

She made her way slowly through the cavern of stars and slid into the cold water of the tunnel.  A ladder had been built inside the cave at the opening, Zurak paused to let the dizziness pass before climbing up and realized that soon she would not fit through the opening at all.  The sweet, fresh air outside immediately eased Zurak’s discomfort, but only a little and she made her way slowly down the rocks to the path.

Camp was now much closer to the cave, but they would be moving back to the hot springs when the seasons changed.  It was about a mile from the cave and worn path had been created already, Zurak did not rush because her feet were swollen and achy.  Feeling swoony again as she passed between the two big boulders near the stream, she decided to move off the path for a drink.  Zurak eased her body down next to the water and splashed some on her hot skin before cupping her hand to trap a drink.

The growl came from upstream, Zurak felt the low rumbling rather than heard it and her head snapped up to see a large grey wolf staring back.  Harshly silencing her panic, Zurak got back up to her feet; her eyes not leaving the wolf’s and her hands fumbling for a weapon.  She rarely walked with her staff these days, there was usually someone with her anymore and her arms were always full when they went into the cave.

But there were rocks lining the stream and Zurak’s hand grasped a heavy one as her own growl bubbled up from deep within.  Running was the worst thing you could do, there was only one wolf and camp was not far, so if she could scare the wolf off with a few rocks then she could easily get to safety.  She heaved the rock in the direction of the wolf with a furious howl, but it fell well short of the mark and the wolf barely even flinched.

Zurak saw the second wolf as she was reaching down for another rock; this one was on her side of the stream and moving in quietly.  The fear coursing through Zurak’s blood was threatening to spill out of her churning stomach as her brain rushed madly to plot an escape.  A third wolf was watching her now and Zurak knew there was little hope of getting away, the three wolves had encircled her, cutting off her path to both the cave and camp.

Zurak had little recourse, she had to fight for herself and the baby inside her; all she had were rocks and she began to fling them madly at the wolves.  The Wanderer screamed at the top of her lungs while hurling rocks, hoping against hope that one of the rocks would find a target and that her screams would bring help.  The wolves ducked each rock and steadily advanced towards Zurak, baring grisly fangs and snarling until they were close enough for her to feel their hot pants on her skin.

Zurak screamed Churashom’s name over and over as the wolves backed her up against a boulder; the first wolf sprang at her and Zurak kicked at it ferociously, feeling the rough fur against her bare foot.  The first bite pierced her leg right above the knee, blood gushed like a river as the wolf tore away Zurak’s flesh, she crumpled to her knees at the base of the rock, trying to hide behind her arms.

The wolves moved in as Zurak beseeched the moon goddess for help, for forgiveness about not completing her mission and to give her unborn child a special place among the gods.  Another angry growl cut through the wolf pack, Zurak opened her eyes to see the wolves turning to attack the bear.  Taeyo’s golden brown pelt shimmered in the sunshine as Zurak watched him take an angry swipe at the largest wolf. 

She was frozen by the rock as she watched her bear, realizing that Taeyo had never left her, never forgotten about Zurak even though they had parted so long ago.  He had followed her all this time and the Wanderer’s heart surged with love despite her fear.  Taeyo had drawn the wolves away from Zurak, back across the stream into the clearing, but now it was three against one.

Zurak began screaming afresh for Churashom, for anyone to come and help her.  The wolves would kill Taeyo and Zurak could not help him fight, she was weak and wounded, she did not even have the strength to hurl rocks that distance.  The wolves were winning the fight; Taeyo’s pained growls filled Zurak’s miserable ears as she watched her brother bear take bite after bite.  Tears flowed down Zurak’s face as she watched Taeyo, she hated the wolves, hated them for hurting Taeyo and she forgot her fear and her wounds.

Zurak began to charge across the stream, she could not bear to see Taeyo hurt anymore, but strong arms grabbed her from behind.  She screamed no, but Churashom held tightly, dragging his grief-stricken wife away from the danger as the wolves continued to attack Taeyo.  The largest wolf had his fangs dug in to Taeyo’s neck, the shaggy golden brown bear was keening in pain and defeat as Zurak watched the life slowly leave his body.

Wolves are formidable enemies and Zurak knew that any attempt to save Taeyo could cost the lives of her family members.  All she could think of was that day she had found the cub, mournfully pawing at his mother’s brutally savaged corpse.  Taeyo deserved so much more than this ugly end, especially since he had given up his life to save hers.

With sickening certainty, Zurak began to understand why Elune had brought them together in the first place.  In order to stake her claim on the Well of Provenance, the moon goddess would require more than mere carvings, the ground would need to be consecrated somehow.  Elune would require a sacrifice, a sacrifice of love.

WANDERER Part 25

Cave Woman Style

The sexy beast called fame had a ravenous appetite; it was a Kraken that Pet had unleashed on the State of California and not even she could call it back.  That beast had a life of its own now, a will of its own and a powerful hunger for justice.  No media outlet stone had been left unturned by the CaveWomen; they had been everywhere, told their story to all who would listen.

Support had come pouring in from all sides; many established academics had come over to Pet’s cause as well as her regular readers and every crackpot that had a grudge against ‘the man’.  Pet liked the crackpots the best, just because one was crazy did not mean that one did not have a valid point of view; those points of view were often overlooked by mainstream people.

Pet and Tass were grateful for them all, especially the academics who were arguing that the women had not once in all this time actually despoiled a site.  It was a growing trend among archaeologists to acknowledge that they didn’t know everything and that physically excavating a site was worse than not knowing.  With the advent of modern technologies, many new excavations were conducted without even digging up a shovel full of dirt.

Whatever monies that CaveWomen, Inc. had amassed had been spent on attorneys and legal fees, the expedition fund had been changed to the defense fund for the duration and Pet even considered selling the apartment building.  It hadn’t come to that, but it had come close and there would be just enough to cover the billable hours for this hearing.

Pet could barely breathe, her entire life hinged on the judgment of this court and she hardly even heard the testimony from a long string of witnesses.  Plenty of people had volunteered to stand up for the CaveWomen, people with pedigrees and regular degrees, people with credibility that did not like seeing the American Dream squashed by governmental greed.

Chuy Romero had needed to be restrained from taking the cave by force, taking a stand Bear Flag style and declaring actual war on the State.  While Pet and Tass did both love the idea, Araceli had practically smacked them all for even discussing that approach.  They would do this right or not at all, that was the judgment from the Court of Mom and there was no chance for appeal.

However, Chuy’s idea had given them the perfect symbol for their struggle, the Bear Flag.  California had been claimed by thirty three men in a bloodless coup one summer day in 1846 and the flag they created and raised had become the enduring symbol of California.  The CaveWomen had wrapped themselves up in the Bear Flag of the California Republic, they were trying to live the California Dream and Bear Flag T shirts were selling like hotcakes.

Both Pet and Tass wore those T shirts for the hearing, in fact there was a sea of grizzly bears inside the courtroom that was unusually jammed for a common hearing.  But Tass had been true to her word, she fought the State with every tool in her arsenal and then some.  Tass had made sure to bring her gang to this fight, it was a rumble in the judiciary jungle, bare knuckles and winner take all.  The gang members that could fit inside the stuffy hearing room were just a fraction of the gangstas outside, carrying signs and shouting at the news cameras for justice.

Pet knew that her time to speak was coming; the attorney was giving her a questioning look to make sure she was ready.  All those lectures and personal appearances had given Petra the tools she needed to stand in front of all these people and say her part.  She was still not comfortable in the spotlight, but she was the best spokesperson for CaveWomen in this matter.  Pet had practiced this speech for weeks, refining it and trying out variations on Araceli until she was sure it was perfect.

The courtroom quieted around Pet as the judge asked the attorney if there were any more witnesses.  The lawyer looked at Pet again; she gave him a slight nod and began to rise from her chair.  She couldn’t stop thinking about her parents, her father’s face rose up behind her eyes and that strengthened her resolve to win this fight.  She wanted this for her father as much as herself, this was Ray Brazil’s legacy that Pet was fighting for.

The bailiff swore Pet in and she took her seat, the attorney asked Petra if she had any statement to make about the case.  Pet closed her eyes for one last look at her father and took a deep breath.

“Ten years ago I fell down a hole,” Pet started, “and I found something.  I found a message written thousands of years ago and I have spent the last decade looking for more.  We do not want to own Amos Brandecker’s cave, we just want to look at it.  It is what we have done for the entirety of our search, we have looked but not disturbed.  Amos and his heirs want us to see the inside of that cave, the local tribes want us to see inside that cave.  Right now,” Pet paused to search out eyes in the room, “it seems that all of the world wants us to see inside that cave.  And all we want to know is why can’t we look?  What is the harm of eyes seeing the truth?”

A murmur of agreement broke out among the people, but not all of them were supporters of the CaveWomen cause.  A harsh male voice burst out of the audience, “What about the gold you greedy bitch?”

Greedy bitch?  Pet reeled on the inside as the judge banged her gavel and gave the order for quiet.  Petra did not have to be quiet, in fact she had the floor at that moment and she rose to her feet involuntarily.  She found the owner of that harsh voice and leveled her furious brown eyes on him.

“I don’t care about the gold,” she spat out, “when are you fools going to understand that the real gold of California is not in the metal or the movie stars?  The real gold of California is California itself, we live inside a treasure box and yet you demand more.”

The banging of the gavel tried to drown out the roar of voices inside the courtroom without much success.  This hearing was over, now came the truly hard part; the waiting.  The attorney said it could possibly take days or even weeks for the judge to decide, but it was only two days until they were all back in the courtroom.

The honorable Angela Dyson had made her judgment, “It is the opinion of this court that the State of California has no legal right to block access to the disputed cave.  The injunction is lifted with the caution that no one removes or disturbs the contents of the cave until such time as the legal owners of those contents are resolved.”

WANDERER Part 24

Tunnel of Love

Zurak had been forced to wait all winter to see the cave; once it had been found the entire tribe decided it would be safer to explore after the spring thaw.  Even though she knew they were right, the waiting had been anguish so Zurak was being impatient with her family.  After being on her own for so long, the Wanderer still found it difficult sometimes to allow for the needs of other people.

But she needed to see the cave with her own eyes; Zurak had to find the Well of Provenance so that she could claim it for Elune and finish her quest.  Now her whole family was on the same quest, they had joined their lot to Zurak’s and embraced the moon goddess as she did.  Zurak had told her new family every Wanderer story she could remember since she had joined them, she told them over and over so that the stories would not be lost after she was gone.

Zurak did not fool herself though, she knew that the Wanderers were not meant to continue; it was not the will of the Goddess.  Her family’s blood would get lost in time, buried deeply in the bloodlines of the monkey people and few would remember the White Wanderers.

But Elune would remember, the moon goddess would never forget the people that she made.  Elune had given the Wanderers life and purpose and Zurak wanted to give her the Golden Land in return, as thanks for the gift of breath.  But it was more than that, once the Well was claimed and Zurak’s obligation to Elune satisfied, the Wanderer wanted nothing more than just to be.  She wanted to give her husband more children and travel with her family across the Golden Land.

The entrance to the cave was very small, just a passage between large boulders that didn’t look like much from the outside.  Churashom found it because he had been looking for the source of a large stream that seemed to spring out of nowhere.  But the source of the stream was buried behind the rocks and Zurak’s brave husband had figured that out, had gone looking and found the cave.

Caves called out to Wanderers like kinfolk, Zurak’s people were never afraid of the darkness of stone vaults even though caves held many dangers.  But Wanderers went into every cave they could find, leaving their messages for the other Wanderers and imprinting the Earth with their essence.

Churashom went through the small opening first to help the others in; Zurak practically pushed her husband down in her rush to get inside.  Fortunately, Churashom was an even tempered man, carefully helping his wife and chuckling at her eagerness.  They were a group of six for this outing, the three men who regularly explored plus Zurak and two of the slimmer tribe members.  Cave passages could be tight and Churashom’s young cousins were excited to help with this important mission.

The lit torches were being passed through the opening and orange-tinged shadows flowed on the walls around Zurak.  The echoing sounds of the explorers told Zurak that the chamber was quite big; she felt around in the dim to put her hands on the stone surface, as though she could not believe it until she felt the rock herself.  She heard Churashom and Nohalik; the younger brother was staying outside the cave in case of trouble, as they transferred the rest of the ropes and torches.

This first large chamber was the only part Churashom had seen when he found the cave, Zurak could hear the water running but none of it was in the first chamber.  She kept leaning farther and farther away from the group, anxious to go in deeper, even as Churashom grasped her arm gently to make her wait.  Finally, her husband was satisfied with his safety precautions and smiled lovingly at Zurak.

“Let us look Pretty Milk,” he said with a smile, using his favorite name for Zurak.

She did not need to be told twice and the exploration officially started.  Even though she wanted to run towards the sound of the water, Zurak forced her feet to go slowly and with care.  She had not seen the Well of Provenance in her vision, just the three chambers, but wells were full of water, so it was the sound of water that she followed. 

Soon the sound of rushing water was all they could hear as they made their way towards the back of the chamber.  The party was forced to stop at the back wall where the water was flowing from a small tunnel down through the rocks and beneath the chamber.  They all stood around it with their torches trying to peer into the blackness of the tunnel, but it was impossible to tell how far back it went.

“I am sorry Pretty Milk,” Churashom said softly, “we can go no further.”

Zurak’s head whipped around of its own volition, she rarely argued with Churashom, rarely had reason to be angry with him.  But he was willing to give up and she was not.  He and his family did not know how to swim; it was not their custom to invade the watery provinces of churlish gods.  Wanderers were practically born on the water and were taught how to flee from Tidalus’ wrath as babies; Zurak was not going to let Tidalus stop her now.

“I’m going,” Zurak snapped as she pulled off her clothes, “tie the rope around me.  I’m going,” she said once more with a firm look at Churashom.

Her husband sighed heavily and began to remove his clothes too, “We are going Pretty Milk, you do not wander alone anymore.”

WANDERER Part 23

Injunction Junction

“But we have never harmed or stolen anything!”  Pet was furious, absolutely furious and not even Tass had ever seen Pet this worked up.  “In all this time, we have left everything as we found it, only taking pictures, rubbings and tiny little samples.  Where do they get off trying to stop us from looking?”

She was demanding answers of people who did not have them, but that did not stop Petra from glaring at them each in turn.  Araceli looked back with the knowing eyes of someone who had spent a lifetime working for the State from her chair next to Tass.  Pet was incensed with the State of California and even more enraged with herself, Pet cursed her decisions to publicize her expeditions because they had led to this.

The drawback to having a whole bunch of eyes looking at you was that a whole bunch of eyes were looking at you.  Fame is a sword with two sides and CaveWomen had courted that sexy beast.  They had brought this on themselves, but Pet still did not feel like they had earned this court order prohibiting them from visiting Amos’ cave.  The powers that be got wind of the alleged new find; they did not want the CaveWomen getting there first and this injunction was more permanent than the first temporary injunction.

But the cave was not on State owned land, it was privately held by the heir to Amos Brandecker’s estate.  Walker Keel’s ex-wife now owned that property but she was not the problem, Rita Brandecker wanted Pet to see the cave.  Pet had met her boyfriend’s former spouse on several occasions, the divorce had been very civil and there were three kids shared by them.  But since there was a very real possibility that indigenous carvings were in that cave too, the State was trying to usurp the site.

It wasn’t just the carvings and everyone in the room knew it, there was gold in that cave and that’s what the State really wanted.  Gold was what drove Amos Brandecker’s meticulous search of Central California, although it was not the value of the precious metal that interested him.  Amos was convinced that there was a mother lode, an undiscovered source for much of the placer gold that kept washing up in the rivers of the Gold Country.

Amos had not been an idiot though, and Pet wished she had followed his shining example, he had not broadcast his obsession past his own circle of family and friends.  Gold made everyone interested and Amos had no desire to start a second rush, he just wanted to find the lode, to see it with his eyes and be able to say he was right.  No one could say for sure yet what exactly Amos found, but he had taken photos and left a map. Amos had even composed a lengthy email to Pet, asking the CaveWomen to go on an expedition with him.

That was the email that Walker found, it was that email that sent him to the lecture and none of it would have happened without the fame of CaveWomen.  The sword sliced through Pet’s soul again and all the will to stand left her bones.  She sat down heavily next to Walker on the sofa and put her head on his shoulder, asking with tones of defeat, “What are we gonna do?”

It was so quiet in the living room that Pet could hear the faint ticking of Nana Bert’s old clock in the bedroom; it was a sound Pet could not sleep easily without and it seemed to thud right off of the walls.  No one said anything for a long time until Tass drew an impatient breath.

“We do what we ducking have to do,” Tass said, getting up from her chair.  “We put out the word, we get support, we gather evidence and affadavids and whatever other stuff lawyers love.  This is our cave,” she said heatedly to Pet while she poked her chest with a finger, “our cave.  No one is going to take this away from us, not without a fight.”

Pet stared long and hard at her best friend, Tass had been an appealing girl in high school, but she had grown into a lovely women.  All kinds of people were attracted to Tass, but it wasn’t because of her looks; those people were drawn to the fire.  Tass did not let her pretty face temper her, she refused to be put in that category of style rather than substance and she would fight with the fury of a dervish when unleashed.

Pet watched the anger building in Tass’ eyes and realized that the State of California had picked the wrong two girls to fight with.