As they approached the town, Ethan reached back and took her hand. "Stay close to me," he said.

They entered Tanasi on a road that became a bridge on the edge of town. The bridge was no more than a bump in the cobblestone road that reached over a foot-wide irrigation canal. Tali tried not to stare. But her eyes were wide as they made their way through the street, past little one-level houses with bridges instead of front porches. The miniature canal crisscrossed the entire town in a grid, requiring a bump of a bridge every couple hundred feet. The buildings were all a curious mixture of wood and mud bricks, with the bridges being the focal point of each building's facade.

They passed several people in the street, many of them with lightly tanned features and dark hair and eyes, reminding Tali of Pabi--and strangely enough, of Ben. Did that mean Ben was from Karagan then? No, he said he learned about the bridge from his grandfather. Tali suddenly realized that she had roots in Karagan if Pabi was born here. It was strange to think about.

Within a few minutes, they came to a square in the middle of the town that was surrounded on every side by eight bridges. Vendors with wooden stalls lined the edges of the square and the entire place was bustling with people and livestock. Ethan steered Tali toward the nearest stall. The vendor was selling woven bracelets and tiny carvings hung by loops of string. Many of the carvings depicted people crossing different types of bridges. Tali wondered whether they considered bridges sacred to their culture.

The vendor was an older man in his late forties with a greasy scarf tied around his hair and large double-hoop earrings dangling from his ears. He gave Ethan a toothy grin, revealing two blackened teeth. "Bagaimana saya boleh membantu anda sebagai pelanggan penting?" he asked.

"Bolehkah anda memberi arahan kepada pembuat ubat?" Ethan asked, stumbling over the pronunciation.

The vendor's face fell in disappointment. He sighed and pointed across the square. "Dia adalah pada yang akhir dataran. Gerai dengan langsir merah. Anda tidak boleh ketinggalan," he said. 

"Terima kasih. Saya ingin anda banyak jualan," Ethan said graciously.

"Saya akan mempunyai lebih banyak jualan jika anda membeli sesuatu," the vendor grumbled.

Ethan didn't answer him but smiled and tilted his head. "This way," he said, leading Tali across the square.

"You speak the language?"Tali asked in amazement.

"Only a little," Ethan said. "Pabi taught me every summer, just in case."

"What did you say?" Tali asked as they weaved around a young boy and his two cows.

"I just asked for directions, that's all." They stopped in front of a stall covered in a dark red curtain.

Tali chuckled. "No wonder he was so put out. He was hoping you would buy something."

Ethan pulled aside the red curtain and stepped into the covered stall. The stall was no larger than a walk-in closet and the heavy curtain blocked out the light. Tali's eyes gradually adjusted and she saw that there was a woman about her age sitting cross-legged in the corner. The woman had dark, wavy hair that was covered by a lightweight, decorative blue shawl. The woman, who must have been the vendor, wore cheap-looking jade drop earrings and an assortment of woven and metal bracelets on both wrists that jangled as she reached up to brush back a stray hair.

"Bagaimana saya boleh membantu anda sebagai pelanggan penting?" she asked, her voice rougher than Tali expected.

"Saya memerlukan dua ramuan untuk bercakap, sila," Ethan said, holding up his pinky and ring finger with his palm turned inward.

"Yang akan dikenakan bayaran tiga puluh kara," the woman replied. She held up a hand and Tali figured she was asking for money.

Ethan shook his head. "Saya tidak mempunyai apa-apa wang." He held up Tali's pea coat and scarf. "Anda akan menerima perdagangan?"

The vendor's eyes lit up. "Yang akan melakukan dengan baik," she said, taking the coat and scarf. She set them on the ground next to her. 

"Wait," Tali whispered fervently. "Did you just give away my coat and scarf?" The woman began gathering various herbs and powders and tossing them into the stone mortar sitting in front of her, humming and chanting as she worked.

"I'll buy you another coat when we get back," Ethan whispered back. "But I don't have any Karagan money and it was the most valuable thing we've got."

"You could have asked me first," Tali said. The vendor began grinding up the ingredients with a pestle, mumbling a steady chant.

"Sorry, but I am in a bit of a hurry," Ethan said.

The vendor finished crushing the herbs and poured them into two small wooden cups the size of shot glasses. She poured a small amount of water into each cup, then stirred them carefully and skillfully. After finishing each cup, she tapped the stirring stick on the edge to get the excess off.

Finished, she held the two cups up toward Ethan. "Mereka sudah bersedia," she said.

Ethan took the cups, handing one of them to Tali. "Drink up."

Tali took a tentative sniff. It had a distinctly pungent smell from all the different herbs and it looked like a thick smoothie that wasn't blended properly. "You traded my coat and scarf for this?"

"Just drink it." Ethan tilted his head back and downed it all in one go. He shuddered and coughed. "It's not that bad," he said with a wheeze.

"Convincing," Tali commented. She sighed, took a deep breath, and drank the concoction. She had to do her best not to gag. It was like drinking soggy oregano. But she managed to get the lumpy, thick mixture down, barely preventing her gag reflex.

"What is that?" she asked between coughs.

"Ia akan mengambil masa beberapa minit untuk itu akan berkuat kuasa," the vendor said.

"She said it will take a few minutes to take effect," Ethan said, his eyes watering.

"A few minutes for what to take effect?" Tali asked, fighting the urge to spit.

"Ia kelihatan seperti ia sudah mula to work," the vendor said.

"Wait, what did you say?" Tali asked.

"Do you understand me now? I said it looks like it is starting to work," the vendor repeated.

Tali stared, not sure she had heard her correctly. "Wait, you can speak English?" she asked.

The vendor shook her head, her earrings swinging from side to side. "No. I am speaking Karagan. You are speaking your own language. With the potion, you hear your language and I hear mine."

"So I just drank a potion?" Tali glared at Ethan. "Why didn't you warn me?"

He wiped his mouth and shrugged. "Would you have taken it if I did?"

She sighed. "No."

Ethan handed his cup back to the woman. "Thank you."

After taking back both cups, the woman picked up Tali's coat and ran her fingers across it. "What material is this made out of?"

"Wool," Tali said.

"I see," the woman said. "I suppose I should be honest with you. You gave me this coat for two potions valued at 15 kara each, but this coat is easily worth 70 kara. I will give you the difference in change."

"Good. I'd feel better with a bit of money in my pocket," Ethan said.

The woman pulled out a small wooden box full of coins. She counted out forty coins, placing each one into Ethan's outstretched palm. "There," she said. "40 kara."

"Thanks." Ethan slipped half the coins into one jeans pocket and half into the other.

"Wait a minute," Tali cut in. "What about the scarf?"

The vendor looked crestfallen at being caught. "I apologize. The scarf is probably worth 10 kara."

Tali held out her hand. "Either give me back the scarf or pay me the money."

The woman sighed and counted out ten coins into Tali's outstretched hand. 

"Thank you." Tali slipped the heavy coins into her purse.

"Don't mention it," the vendor said with a hint of irritation.

"Thank you," Ethan said, bowing his head slightly. "I wish you many sales."

The potion vendor gave them a small wave as Ethan and Tali stepped back out into the square. The bright sunlight made Tali squint and she raised her hand to block out the sun.

"She seemed pretty miffed that I called her out on the scarf."

Ethan shrugged. "Don't worry about it. She'll probably turn around and sell the coat for 100 kara and the scarf for 30. She is a businesswoman, after all."

"Figures." Then Tali had a thought. "Why did you drink the potion? You already know the language."

Ethan shaded his eyes, scanning the various people milling about the square. "Believe me, trying to speak an obscure language all the time sounds exhausting. I need to focus all my energy on finding that fake fiancé of yours."

Tali sighed. She had almost forgotten about Ben. "So what now?"

"Now we ask around, see if anybody has seen him."

"What, we just ask if anybody's seen a millionaire wandering around?" Tali asked.

"Even simpler," Ethan said. "Just ask if they've seen somebody wearing clothes like ours."

He had a point. Everybody else in the square was wearing various wraps and robes, many of them dyed dark colors like burgundy, maroon, burnt orange, Prussian blue, and dark olive green. Ben had been wearing a light blue t-shirt underneath a white blazer, which he most likely had taken off. He would stand out just from the color of his shirt, let alone the type of clothing he was wearing. Hopefully, somebody here would have seen him.