The Plains of Passage - Jean M. Auel [40]
“I’m just worried about how long this Journey will take. We need to reach that glacier before the end of winter,” he said.
“You told me that before,” she said. “But why? What will happen if we don’t reach it by then?” she asked.
“The ice starts to melt in spring and it becomes too dangerous to attempt a crossing.”
“Well, if it’s too dangerous, then we won’t attempt it. But if we can’t cross it, what do we do then?” she asked, pushing him to think about alternatives he had avoided thinking about. “Is there any other way to go?”
“I’m not sure. The ice we have to cross is just a small plateau glacier that’s on a highland north of the great mountains. There is land to the north of it, but no one ever goes that way. It would take us even more out of our way, and it’s cold. They say the northern ice is closer there, it dips south in that region. The land between the high mountains of the south and the great ice of the north is the coldest anywhere. It never gets warm, not even in summer,” Jondalar said.
“But isn’t it cold on that glacier you want to cross?”
“Of course, it’s cold on the glacier, too, but it’s a shorter way, and on the other side it’s only a few days to Dalanar’s Cave.” Jondalar put down the map to take the cup of hot tea Ayla was handing him, and he stared into the steaming contents for a while. “I suppose we could try a northern route around the highland glacier, if we had to, but I would not want to. That’s flathead country, anyway,” Jondalar tried to explain.
“You mean people of the Clan live north of that glacier we’re supposed to cross?” Ayla asked, stopping just as she was taking the tea holder out of her cup. She was feeling a strange mixture of dread and excitement.
“I’m sorry. I guess I should call them Clan people, but they are not the same as the ones you knew. They live very far from here, you would not believe how far. They are not the same at all.”
“But they are, Jondalar,” Ayla said, then took a sip of the hot, flavorful liquid. “Maybe their everyday language and ways might be a little different, but all Clan people have the same memories, at least the older memories. Even at the Clan Gathering, everyone knew the ancient sign language that is used to address the spirit world, and spoke to each other with it,” Ayla said.
“But they don’t want us in their territory,” Jondalar said. “They already let us know that when Thonolan and I happened to be on the wrong side of the river.”
“I’m sure that’s true. People of the Clan don’t like to be around the Others. So, if we can’t cross the glacier when we get there, and we can’t go around it, then what do we do?” Ayla asked, going back to the original problem. “Can’t we wait until the glacier is safe to cross again?”
“Yes. I supose we’d have to, but it might be almost a year until the next winter.”
“But if we waited a year, then we could make it? Is there a place we could wait?”
“Well, yes, there are people we could stay with. The Losadunai have always been friendly. But I want to get home, Ayla,” he said, with a tone of such anguish that it made her realize just how important it was to him. “I want us to get settled.”
“I want to get settled, too, Jondalar, and I think we should do everything we can to try to get there while it’s still safe to cross the glacier. But if it’s too late, it doesn’t mean we won’t get back to your home. It only means a longer wait. And we would still be together.”
“That’s true,” Jondalar said, acquiescing but not happy. “I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if we did get there late, but I don’t want to wait around for a whole year,