"Nearly everyone else wants to see a change," S'Armuna said.
"But who will help?" Ayla said.
"I think we can count on Cavoa, my acolyte."
"But she's pregnant," Jondalar said.
"All the more reason," the woman said. "All the signs indicate that she will have a boy. She will fight for the life of her baby, as well as her own. Even if she has a girl, the chances are Attaroa won't let her live long once the baby is weaned, and Cavoa knows it."
"What about the woman who spoke out today?" Ayla said.
"That was Esadoa, Cavoa's mother. I'm sure you can count on her, but she blames me as much as Attaroa for the death of her son."
"I remember her at the funeral," Jondalar said. "She threw something in the grave that made Attaroa angry."
"Yes, some tools for the next world. Attaroa had forbidden anyone to give them anything that might help them in the world of the spirits."
"I think you stood up to her."
S'Armuna shrugged as if to pass it off. "I told her once the tools were given, they could not be taken back. Not even she dared to retrieve them."
Jondalar nodded. "I'm sure all the men in the Holding would help," he said.
"Of course, but first we have to get them out," S'Armuna said. "The guards are being especially watchful. I don't think anyone could even sneak in right now. In a few days, perhaps. That will give us time to talk to the women quietly. When we know how many we can count on, then we can work out a plan to overpower Attaroa and the Wolf Women. We're going to have to fight them, I'm afraid. That's the only way we'll get the men out of the Holding."
"I think you're right," Jondalar said, looking grim.
Ayla shook her head in sorrow at the thought. There had been so much pain in this Camp already that the idea of fighting, of causing more trouble and pain, was distressing. She wished there was some other way.
"You said you gave Attaroa something to make the men sleep. Couldn't you give something to Attaroa and her Wolf Women to make them sleep?" Ayla asked.
"Attaroa is wary. She will not eat or drink anything that isn't first tasted by someone else. That was what Doban did once. Now, I think she'll just pick out one of the other children," S'Armuna said, glancing outside. "It's almost dark. If you are ready, I think it's time for the feast to begin."
Ayla and Jondalar each picked up one of the baskets from the inner chamber; then the One Who Served closed it up again. Once outside, they could see that a big bonfire had been started in front of Attaroa's earthlodge.
"I wondered if she was going to invite you in, but it appears the feast is going to be eaten outside, in spite of the cold," S'Armuna said.
As they approached, bearing their baskets, Attaroa turned to face them. "Since you wanted to share this feast with the men, it seemed right to eat out here, so you can watch them," she said. S'Armuna translated, although Ayla understood the woman perfectly, and even Jondalar knew enough of their language to get the meaning of her words.
"But it is hard to see them in the dark. It would help if you built another fire on their side," Ayla said.
Attaroa paused a moment, then laughed, but she made no move to comply with the request.
The feast seemed to be an extravagant affair with many dishes, but the food was primarily lean meat with hardly any fat, very few vegetables or grains or filling starchy roots, and no dried fruit or hint of sweetness, not even from the inner bark of a tree. There was some of the lightly fermented brew made from birch sap, but Ayla decided she would not drink it, and she was pleased to see a woman coming around and pouring hot herb tea into cups for those who wanted it. She'd had experience with Talut's brew and knew it could cloud her judgment; tonight she wanted all her wits about her.
All in all, it was a rather meager feast, Ayla thought, although the people of the Camp would not have agreed. The food was more like the kind that might be left at the end of the season, not what should have been available in the middle of winter. A few furs had been scattered around Attaroa's raised platform near the large fire for the guests. The rest of the people were bringing their own to sit upon while they ate.
S'Armuna led Ayla and Jondalar toward Attaroa's fur-covered platform, and they stood waiting until the headwoman swaggered to her place. She was dressed in all her wolf-fur finery and necklaces of teeth, bone, ivory, and shell, decorated with bits of fur and feathers. Most interesting to Ayla was the staff she held, which was made from a straightened mammoth tusk.
Attaroa commanded that the food be served and, with a pointed look at Ayla, ordered that the share set aside for the men be taken into the Holding, including the bowl Ayla and Jondalar had provided. Then she sat down on her platform. Everyone else took it as a signal to sit down on their furs. Ayla noticed that the raised seat put the head-woman in an interesting position. She was above everyone else, which enabled her to see over the heads of the others and also to look down on them. Ayla recalled that there had been times when people had stood on logs or rocks when they had something to say to a group that they wanted everyone to hear, but it had always been a temporary position.
It was a powerful placement Attaroa had created, Ayla realized, as she observed the unconscious postures and gestures of the people around. Everyone seemed to express toward Attaroa the attitude of deference that the women of the Clan did when they sat in silence in front of a man, waiting for the tap on the shoulder that gave them the right to make their thoughts known. But there was a difference that was hard to characterize. In the Clan, she never sensed resentment from the women, which she felt here, or lack of respect from the men. It was just the way things were done, inherent behavior, not forced or coerced, and it served to make sure that both parties were paying close attention to the communication between them, which was expressed primarily with signs and gestures.
While they were waiting to be served, Ayla tried to get a better look at the headwoman's staff. It was similar to the Speaking Staff used by Talut and the Lion Camp, except the carvings were very unusual, not at all like Talut's staff, yet they seemed so familiar. Ayla recalled that Talut brought out the Speaking Staff for various occasions including ceremonies, but particularly during meetings or arguments.
The Speaking Staff invested the one who held it with the right to speak, and allowed each person to make a statement, or express a point of view without interruption. The next person with something to say then asked for the staff. In principle, only the one holding the Speaking Staff was supposed to talk, although at Lion Camp, especially in the midst of a heated discussion or argument, people didn't always wait their turn. But with some reminding, Talut was usually able to get the people to abide by the principle, so that everyone who wanted to was given a chance to have a say.
"That is a most unusual and beautifully carved Speaking Staff," Ayla said. "May I see it?"
Attaroa smiled when she heard S'Armuna's translation. She moved it toward Ayla and closer to the firelight, but she did not give it up. It was soon obvious that she had no intention of letting it go at all, and Ayla sensed that the headwoman was using the Speaking Staff to invest herself with its power. As long as Attaroa held it, anyone who wanted to speak had to request permission from her, and by extension, other actions – when to serve the food, or when to begin eating, for example – waited on her permission. Like her raised platform, Ayla realized, it was a means of affecting, and controlling, the way people behaved toward her. It gave the younger woman much to think about.
The staff itself was quite unusual. It was not newly carved, that much was obvious. The color of the mammoth ivory had begun to turn creamy, and the area where it was usually held was gray and shiny, caused by the accumulated dirt and oils of the many hands that had held it. It had been used by many generations.