The Index -|-

When Kpleeb reached the top of the canyon wall and approached the foot prints he had previously made in the snow, he paused and erected another stone-on-stone to mark the location. His foot prints led away from the edge of the canyon toward the vast mountain in the distance and the tree where he had left Thoka. The sun was across the canyon and very low in the sky. Its rays shone brightly, but there were long shadows that broadcast at angles where the light intersected with some distant tree-top.

[I made it just in time. He looked down at the tiny stone tower and nodded. Never know when the snow will melt and I will need to find my way.]

He turned and walked into the wooded area that spread across the entire distance between the canyon and the mountain. When he reached the end of his foot prints, he pulled the branch that was blocking the snow-tunnel and crawled in. Thoka rested there with a knife in her hand made of yellow stone. She smiled when she saw his head poke into the small space.

“Welcome back. You were gone long enough for me to begin worrying.”

Kpleeb turned and pulled the branch into the tunnel behind him. The twigs beneath his knees crunched under his weight.

“No need to worry, Thoka. The river is cold, but the water tasted normal to me, so I got a good drink. There are some fine places to live there, but we must scout more.”

“Why?”

“The canyon depth will prevent the sun from reaching us for much of the day, so we need to find a spot that has more sun. The land next to the river is covered with trees, bushes, and other vegetation.” He paused and spoke his chief concern. “What if this place is cold all the time? It may never warm up.”

Thoka nodded thoughtfully. “I see. I am sure we can find a spot that is close to the water and yet still in the sun. How long did it take you to get to the bottom from the top edge?”

“I walked for only a little time. It is not far from here.”

“There is no way for us to know what kind of weather exists in this place. It will warm up, of course. In time we may even be able to find a path to the wet mountains or back to your home at the river. Even if we cannot find our homes, I am very pleased to be out of the caves.”

“Me too…” Kpleeb trailed off thoughtfully. His mind spun with the many possibilities.

[Would the wet mountain tribe accept me? Can we even find them? Or the canyon… it will be awkward to see them again. I wonder how Pfftul is doing. It would be amazing to be there with Thoka though.]

Thoka broke through his reverie. “I have made some other tools for us. Here is a knife for you,” she said handing him a knife as long as his hand. The blade was wickedly curved and the handle was wrapped in bark-cord.

“Thank you. That is very nice work.” He turned the knife over in his hand and felt the balance. “This is probably the best knife I have ever had. Wow!”

“I will make a belt for you to strap it on your waist. It is getting dark though, and we need some more wood for tonight.” Thoka pointed at the coal bed. “Maybe tomorrow we can find a better spot closer to the river.”

Kpleeb shifted to his haunches and pushed the branch out of the hole again. “Okay, I’ll get some wood.” He crawled out and stood, stretching. The sun was now out of sight beyond the trees, but the glow lit the woods with a dim, dusk light.

To his left, in the direction away from the canyon, there was a rustle and he turned quickly to see a grey blur flee into the brush. He grasped his knife tightly and carefully tiptoed through the snow in that direction. The tracks looked to him like rabbit, and he knew that there was no way to catch it without a snare. He sighed.

[We will need food very soon. Tomorrow.]

He began gathering sticks, and soon the darkness prevented any further activity. Kpleeb crawled back inside with an armload of twigs.

“There is a bit more outside near the entrance,” he said as he began to rebuild the fire. “I’m hungry. Tomorrow we will need to find food.”

“I will have a snare or two ready by tomorrow evening. If we get lucky maybe the next day will give us a rabbit.”

“I just saw one outside, so at least we know they exist. I can most likely catch fish when we get to the river.” Kpleeb rubbed his hands over the small flames.

“Now that we have a fire, I can test the stone’s strength,” Thoka’s said. She picked up a thin, stone rod and held the end of it in the flame. The stone tip shrunk in size where the fire touched it. After a few more seconds the shrinking stopped and the stone began to blacken. She pulled the tip from the fire and thrust into the snow back next to her. There was a hiss as the snow melted.

“That was unexpected,” said Kpleeb holding out his hand to take the rod. He touched the black tip with his finger. “It’s still warm.”

“Stone, grow back to the size from before.”

The rod he held grew in diameter, but the burnt end did not expand.

“Grow a little longer.”

The stone grew a few inches from the non-burnt end and stopped growing on its own.

“Give me that,” said Thoka holding out her hand. She took the rod and looked at it closely. She grasped it between her fingers and tried to break it. After a few seconds of increased pressure, the stone broke. “Look, Kpleeb,” she said. “It broke on the yellow part and not the black part.”

Kpleeb nodded solemnly and wondered what she was getting at. Not wanting to look foolish, he yawned. “I’m hungry.”

“I know. We should sleep so that tomorrow we can find a spot for a shelter, prepare snares, catch fish, and everything else. We can make the shelter from the stone, which will be very nice.” She patted the next she had made. “Come lie down, Kpleeb.”

He did, and his sleep was very fitful.

In the morning Kpleeb rose early, crawled outside and urinated two trees away from their shelter in the direction of the rising sun. The shards of snow that had crystalized overnight hurt his feet, but his soles were tough. The sun was a mere distant glow that spread into the atmosphere in an orange and pink arc. The trees around him stood dark and still.

[There is no point in waiting for the full light. We must be ready to move as soon as we can see the trail.] 

His stomach grumbled sullenly at being overlooked after such a long period of regular meals. Kpleeb tromped through the snow back to the cave, pulled the branch, and crawled inside.

“We should go,” he said to Thoka.

She shivered and nodded. “Without your body heat and the fire, I am very cold anyway. The sooner we get settled the better I will feel.”

Within minutes they were walking toward the canyon. Thoka held several lengths of bark-cord in her hands as she followed Kpleeb sleepily.

“I put these stone markers here and another one at the top of the canyon where I went down yesterday,” Kpleeb explained. “Maybe it will be useful to find our way back, especially if the snow melts.

Thoka did not reply, and they continued walking the rest of the way in silence.

The sun was barely visible above the treetops when they reached his second marker. “The way here is steep and slippery sometimes,” Kpleeb said. “You should walk behind me and be careful.”

“I was traipsing the wet mountain trails all my life, Kpleeb.”

He grimaced.

“But– thank you for your concern. I will be careful.”

“Good,” Kpleeb said quietly. He began walking slowly down the trail which was much darker compared to the canyon’s edge.

Thoka did trip once, over a hidden root, and Kpleeb’s hairy shoulders provided a foundation to break her fall.

Kpleeb did not speak of it. He just walked slower. In a few short minutes they reached the tree on the jutting land that overlooked the river below. Kpleeb stopped there and spoke.

“This is a good place to make a temporary home, I think. The river is there, but not too closed.” He pointed with his knuckle at the edge, and Thoka walked to look.

“We would have to climb this slope each time we returned home?”

“Yes, but it will be away from the animals and whatever else may visit the river. It’s flat too.” He pointed at where the trail came from the hillside and split to go around the outcropping. “We may have more sun here than near the bottom. We will not know until we scout some more. Do you want to make a stone shelter now?”

Thoka shook her head. “No, I will wait to find a good spot. I do need water and to find a place for snares. Let’s go to the river.”

After a short walk and a long drink, Thoka rested on a rock near the river. “Go ahead and fish, Kpleeb. I’ll just rest here and work on a new stone rod.”

Kpleeb nodded and muttered, “Gotta find a good spear stick.”

“What happened to the one I made for you from stone?”

“Urh… well, I threw it at a deer when I was here yesterday. It went into the river, and I could not find it.”

“What?! You lost the stone? How could you be so careless?”

“I totally missed the deer too,” Kpleeb said shrugging. “We could be eating a nice roast haunch right now instead of you yelling at me.”

“It’s… uh. I… look Kpleeb. Sorry, but if someone else finds that spear and learns its secrets.” Thoka looked around and sighed. “I mean, there is nobody here. I get that, but we need to be careful. Sorry for yelling.”

Kpleeb felt pleased that Thoka had apologized. She was smart and fairly headstrong, and he was in the wrong. Nevertheless, it felt good to be on the receiving end for a change. “It’s okay. I don’t know where we are, but it really does seem secluded. We could be the only cavepeople in the whole world. I will go fish and look for the spear again.” He pointed upward with his knuckle. “The sun seems to be coming through finally. Maybe while I am gone you can find a spot to make a shelter.”

Thoka nodded.

Kpleeb walked toward where he had thrown his spear at the deer the day before.

[You got lucky there, Kpleeb. Very lucky.]

The Index -|-

“How many marks did we have on the cave wall yesterday?” Kpleeb said as he peeled bark off of a long, green branch. The strip that came away was longer than his arm and he began to rub it rapidly between his hands. The cold, wet strands heated with the friction from his palms and their edges rounded nicely just as Thoka had told him they would.

Thoka continue working feverishly, but took time to think about the answer. After a few moments she spoke hesitantly. “I believe it was over two hundred, but you know that we did not properly count the beginning. It is impossible to be accurate.”

Kpleeb nodded. “We didn’t know any better, but we do now. We need to make a new place to put our day-marks.”

“It has to be portable,” said Thoka.

“Hmm, yes.” Kpleeb looked around. The branches and the snow bank he had made prevented him from seeing anything past the immediate arm’s length. “We could make notches on a stick and carry that with us until we find a more permanent place.” He tapped his finger on a branch of middling thickness. “It could be lost or stolen though.”

“Anything can be lost or stolen except a permanent cave wall with markings in it,” said Thoka. “There was an elder in the wet mountains that made reeds pounded flat. He would then mark on them using charcoal, water, and the juice of oofanberry.” She shook her head. “But that can be lost and stolen, and they were very fragile.”

Kpleeb continued working on his bark-thread in silence as he pondered the questions. After a few moments he spoke. “It’s a shame that we don’t have any of the cave stone that obeys commands.”

Thoka grunted her agreement, but after a moment her face lit up, and she dropped the bark-thread she was working on. “Wait!” She pulled a stone loop out of her hair. “I have this, and it’s made from the same stone.” She held out her hand.

The stone loop was a large, oblong ring that easily fit in the palm of her hand. One end of the loop was as thick as Thoka’s pointing finger. It was made out of the yellowish stone that had covered all surfaces in the caves of the gods.

“Will it still obey your command?” asked Kpleeb.

“Stone, make a rod the size of my finger from this end.” Thoka tapped the thinner end of the ring.

The stone began to form a rod almost immediately, and in just a few seconds Thoka held up the ring on the end of the rod that now protruded from its side.

“I think that answers our question.” Thoka smiled broadly. “We can do so much with this. My bracelets are gone, and I assumed that the gods took them to prevent us from using the stone.”

“Why would they then leave this?”

“Maybe they missed it since it was in my hair,” Thoka said with a shrug. “This is a special loop at well because I put a hidden chamber in the thick end.”

Kpleeb did a double-take. “A chamber? For what?”

“Nothing special, just some of that green goo from the defecation pit. I thought that it was a very powerful dissolver. There are only a few large, drops in there, but I know that it will grow in size.”

“Hmm. I didn’t realize that was the case.”

“Yes, when the green goo eats something, its own bulk increases slightly. All we need is a pit for it to grow in.” Thoka looked around. “I imagine that we could feed it branches… or anything really. But that is for another time. We can’t let the green goo get away from us or grow too large.”

“So…” Kpleeb stopped working on his bark strip. “Can we make material for snares with the stone instead of bark?”

Thoka shook her head. “I don’t think so. I could never figure out how to make a pliable substance with it. I think we can build a very nice shelter though.”

“Yes, I agree, but we do not want it in this location. Near the river would be better.” Kpleeb held out his hand. “Can I have a piece of stone? I will make a spear.”

“Stone, grow a rod half the diameter of my small finger.” She held up her pinkie finger. “Make it as long as my hand.”

The stone grew, and when it was complete, Thoka snapped the rod off at the base and handed it to Kpleeb.

“We need to be careful that this stone does not become stolen from us. There might be people here that would use it against us.”

Kpleeb nodded gravely. “I agree. I was thinking earlier that there might be a village near the river. I must scout before we go there. Can you manage here alone?”

Thoka laughed. “Manage? I am pregnant, Kpleeb, not an invalid. In the wet mountains, the women are very strong. My ma once killed and dragged a wooly ram home in the snow while she was pregnant. I can manage.”

“Urh. Sorry, Thoka. I just want to make sure you are safe.”

Thoka patted Kpleeb’s arm. “I know, and I do not hold it against you. Thank you for being so caring. Please go scout. I know you don’t like this cord making.”

Kpleeb sputtered. “It’s not that! I just… urh, the stone changes everything and we can make a nice home here.”

Thoka winked at him. “Uh huh. Well, you go scout. Bring me back something to eat if you find anything.”

Kpleeb’s face was red from embarrassment, but he leaned over and quickly pressed his lips on Thoka’s forehead. Then he turned and pushed the thick branches out of the tunnel and crawled out into the snow. When he had replaced the branches, he turned to look about him.

The trees were beautiful here. They were unlike any he had known as a cavechild. The river canyon back home had contained some trees, especially near the river, but they were smooth barked and twisted from the wind. Trees on the upper tundra were few and far between, and they were always angled and stunted from the sun and wind. The snow was also more plentiful than he had ever known. His feet hurt from the chill, and he quickly hopped onto a nearby boulder. It was still cold, but the stone radiated some heat from the sun.

He looked up and saw that the sun was directly above, but the hazy sky significantly diffused its rays. Behind the tree beneath which Thoka rested was a long tree covered slope that ended at the base of a distant peak. The view was mostly blocked by the nearby trees, but he saw rocks jutting upward, and further away a snow-covered peak disappeared into the clouds. Before him, the foot prints from his previous jaunt led to the edge of the canyon. He followed them and then then veered right as he came near the edge.

[I hope I can find a decent trail down.]

“Stone, grow your length to be as tall as I am.”

The stone grew into a full-sized spear.

[Now I’m ready for anything.]

He walked for quite some time before he saw what looked like a game path that led over the edge. There was more dirt here, and some of it was scuffed and worn just on the canyon precipice. Carefully he hefted his stone spear and peered over the edge. The ground there was steep, but he could see that the path continued downward, ever winding. There were a few small broken branches, and even a tuft of hair stuck into the tree bark a few dozen feet down.

Kpleeb looked all around, and then decided to leave a guidepost. He set his spear down, grabbed a large rock, and placed the rock directly onto another flat stone nearby. [That ought to do.] He looked around again. [I need to get to the river and back before it is dark.]

He ducked into the brush at the edge of the canyon and carefully followed the game trail downward. He used his long fingers to latch onto small tree trunks and bushes. As a cavechild, he would have barreled his way down the trail, but he had known the land there. Here, an animal could lurk behind any random bush. A startled bear or cougar would not be a pleasant surprise. His tough and hairy-topped feet made little noise as he padded downward in what seemed like an endless drop. The sound of the river did grow stronger as time went by.

Eventually he came to a large swale in the ground. The dark, brown dirt leveled off and created a small place where he could overlook the river below. With the tree cover, the sticks and leaves breached the surface of the thin snow in all directions. He walked to the tip of this new edge and stood next to the small tree that stood rooted there. There were a number of trees in the way, but he could clearly see the river glistening. It was only ten tree lengths off he guessed. There were boulders in the water to his right, and the river was somewhat calm directly in front and upstream to his left. Ice formed on the banks.

[On the tundra I could run that distance in a minute. Getting thirsty.]

He looked behind him and saw that the trail split and led both ways, to the right and to the left, around the raised knoll he stood on. He took the left branch, and as he followed it, he saw what created the outcropping. A humongous boulder was stuck there, and the dirt had covered the back and top. Trees and grass and other various plants had made their lives on the boulder’s broad back. It did not look perturbed at the weight it carried. In fact, he thought it looked quite comfortable.

He continued his trek, and in a few short minutes, he reached the river. The water gurgled and rushed loudly here. In a way it reminded him of home at the river canyon, but he also felt deprived of his hearing, and that heightened his sense of awareness. He cautiously looked for movement in all directions for a few, long moments before kneeling on a stone and reaching to the water. He carefully splashed a small amount into his mouth. There was no point being careless, even if running water was always known to be clean. The water tasted normal to him, and it was absolutely freezing. He drank his fill and straightened.

He walked along the river bank to the right. The water sound grew to a loud roar as it crested stones and then plunged a few feet into a pool. He saw a trail lead from the trees to the water and went to it. There were plenty of animal prints. Some were cloven hooved, but he also saw what appeared to be large cat or dog prints as well as the occasional print of three-toed birds.

[There is food here… but it will be loud and there will be no sun.] He looked up at the tree canopy. [I wonder if this place is always so cold.] He imagined living next to this river without ever having a summer, and shivered involuntarily.

There was a slight movement at the corner of his eye and he turned quickly. A doe had stopped just under a tree a dozen paces off and was staring at him. He froze and moved his eyes to look just to the side.

[Don’t stare, just wait. This is my chance to get meat for Thoka. Hopefully, I can remember what to do.]

The doe sniffed the breeze and paused, motionless. She waited for him to make a move, but after a few moments, she dipped her head slightly and took a tentative step.

Kpleeb remained still.

The doe decided that it was safe and continued to the river’s edge to drink.

As she bowed her light-brown neck, Kpleeb slowly raised his spear and then threw it with all of his strength. Though the doe was standing broadside to him, the spear spiraled over and into the river.

The doe instantly leapt straight up and bounded into the brush. There were a few rattles and shakes as she careened through the branches, but Kpleeb knew that he had blown his chance. He walked to where he had seen the spear disappear into the water and stood on the bank. There was no indication that it had ever existed. He proceeded up and down the side of the river in both directions and searched for many moments before becoming disgusted with the whole situation.

[Thoka is going to be angry at me, but we can get another spear. It is cold, I am tired, and the sun will be behind the canyon ledge soon enough.]

He knelt and took another drink before turning to slowly climb the trail to the top of the canyon.