Quest for Clan of the Cave Bear's Fire

Fighting at every meal to see if you are going to eat or be eaten is fun and while out having fun the rest of the tribe was killed or taken by slavers.

You kinda feel bad about not being there when the tribe needed you, but not really and that makes you feel bad too, but only kinda sorta...

Your head hurts from all this thinking, you should go fight a sabre-tooth reindeer or something.

The adventure begins with a raid by human slavers on the Neanderthal tribe, who possess fire in the form of a carefully guarded small flame which they use to start larger bonfires. Obtained from a natural source, it must be fed constantly to keep it alive, for the Ulam (neanderthal tribe's name) do not know how to make their own fire. Driven out of their home after a bloody battle with the human slavers, the surviving Ulam escape but are chased into a marsh by a pack of wolves.

The Ulam fire tender escapes with the tribe's remaining fire, however after crossing a marsh, the moisture and wind douse the embers, leaving the tribe doomed to die from exposure and starvation. The Ulams refuse to resort to cannibalism and the elder decides to send three men, Naoh (Wes's dude), Amoukar (Oleg's character) and Gaw (Scott's character), out on a dangerous quest for fire. After a frightening encounter with a pair of saber-toothed tigers, the Ulam scouting trio enters territory of the Kzamm, a Neanderthals' tribe who have resorted to cannibalism, and capture members of the cro-magnon Ivaka tribe as victims.

When Gaw and Amoukar pretend to be berserker madmen, creating a ruse that causes the Kzamm tribe to scatter, Naoh manages to steal some fire, but not without being injured in a fight with two of them. One of his injuries is a bite to the genitals, and he spends a fair amount of time in visible agony from this. After killing his opponents (smashing a rock over the head of the Kzamm tribesman who bit his genitals) and disposing of the Kzamm's remaining fire in contempt, Naoh rejoins Gaw and Amoukar.

A young woman named Ika, an Ivaka prisoner who escapes with Naoh, follows them in gratitude, seeking protection. Despite attempts by Amoukar to drive her off, she follows, eventually taking advantage of a food-gather by Amoukar and Gaw to approach Naoh. She makes a primitive poultice (she is the only one with the heal skill), helping him recover from his injury. The four begin their trek towards the Ulam, followed by the Kzamm. Attacked by the hostile tribe, the group takes advantage of a wandering herd of wooly mammoths to make good their escape.

One day, Ika recognizes that she is near her home. She tries to persuade the Ulam trio to go with her, but either the men's sense of purpose or the lack of a common language with the woman (or perhaps both) keeps them together on their way back to the Ulam. However, when Ika leaves them the next morning, Naoh is upset; at first he continues without her, but finds he cannot stop thinking about her. He turns around, followed by the reluctant Gaw and Amoukar. After Naoh leaves the others to scout a village, he is trapped in a marsh, nearly sinking to his death, but is discovered and captured by the Ivaka.

At first, Naoh is teased and subjected to several forms of humiliation by the Ivaka, but eventually they accept him and show him their ways, initiating him into the tribe. Impressed by his physical features, they arrange for him to service all the high status women of the tribe who are large and big-breasted. The petite Ika is excluded from the services of Naoh by her tribe, and when she attempts to lay near him later that night, she is chased away by the other members of her tribe. They have atlatls (spear throwers), arts (body painting, huts, ornaments, primitive pottery), and most importantly, the ability to make fire. When Naoh is taught by Ika how to make fire, he is overwhelmed and his life is changed forever.

Growing impatient, Gaw and Amoukar go to find Naoh and are also captured by the Ivaka. During their ordeal, they are disturbed to realize that one of the teasers laughing at them is Naoh, initially unrecognizable as he now wears the full body-paint of the Ivaka. When Gaw and Amoukar begin their escape during the night, Amoukar tries to inform Naoh of their plan but Naoh is affected by a crude fermented drink that he had been given by the Ivaka, and is unresponsive to Amourkar. Frustrated from the day's events, Amoukar 'persuades' Naoh to come along by knocking him unconscious. Ika follows the trio and helps them escape.  

On their way back home, the four run into a trio of Ulam hunters, led by Aghoo, Naoh's rival as dominant male of the tribe. Left by Naoh and Amoukar to guard the fire with Ika, Gaw is severely wounded in a fight with a mother cave bear, barely managing to escape. The other three members of the group find Gaw, and Amoukar carries him over his shoulder. When attacked by the Ulam rivals, the group uses several atlatls stolen from the Ivaka to dispatch their enemies. Thus the group demonstrates the advantages of embracing new technologies. Finally rejoining the Ulam tribe, the group present the fire to the delight of all. Creb, the fire tender, having been given the flame, prompts the tribesfolk into an outburst of joy. Due to the ensuing euphoria, the fire tender ends up falling in the water, extinguishing the fire.

The enraged tribe nearly kills the fire tender, until Naoh, Gaw and Amoukar restrain them and scold the group. Naoh then tries to create a new fire the way he'd been taught, by using some sticks, dung and dry grasses. After several failed attempts, the more experienced Ika takes over, carefully rubbing the dry sticks together. Once the spark is lit, the tribe is overjoyed, cheering and overwhelmed again.

Naoh discovers that Ika is pregnant with their child. Naoh caresses Ika while they both gaze at the brightly lit moon.

A month later an earthquake destroys their cave leaving them searching for a new home. Now the medicine woman of the group, Ika, discovers a cro-magnon orphan girl and asks permission from Naoh, to help the ailing child, despite the child being clearly a member of "the Others". The child is adopted by Ika and Naoh. The clan call her Ayla, because they can't pronounce her name. Immediately after Ika begins to help her, the clan discovers a huge, beautiful cave; many of the people begin to regard Ayla as lucky, especially since good fortune continues to come their way as she lives among them.

Ayla's is self-willed and spirited and leads her to break important Clan customs, particularly the taboo against females handling weapons, but tries hard to fit in with the Neanderthals, although she has to learn everything first-hand; she does not possess the ancestral memories of the Clan which enable them to do certain tasks after being shown only once.

Her main antagonist is Broud, son of the leader Naoh, who feels that she takes credit and attention away from him. As the two mature, the hatred between them festers. When they are young adults, Broud rapes Ayla, but she becomes pregnant, and rejoices in the birth of a son.

The adventure ends with Naoh's death, Broud's succession to the leadership, and his banishment of Ayla, who sets off to find other people of her own kind. She is not allowed to take her son with her. The separation haunts her with guilt and grief for the rest of her days.

Ok, not really, that's the plots of Quest for Fire and Clan of the Cave Bear.