Tali moaned and opened her eyes;  Kareb's face was only six inches from hers. She yelped and jerked her head back, whacking it against the wooden fence. She winced. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Is it really that fascinating to watch me sleep?"

"Your hair is red." Kareb reached for a lock of her hair.

"It's auburn, actually, but thanks for asking." Tali tried pulling away, but couldn't do much with her hands tied.

The sarcasm was completely lost on Kareb. He turned so he could look at her hair better in the sunlight. "It's like spun copper," he said in a voice quiet with awe.

"Seriously, keep your hands to yourself." Tali gently pushed her foot against his legs, trying to knock him off balance, but to no avail.

Their talking woke Ethan, who stretched his back and neck as best he could with his arms tied square behind his back. "Come on, kid, leave her alone," he said. "She doesn't like you playing with her hair."

"But it's red," Kareb said as if that were reason enough.

Tali sighed. "It's auburn. It's not nearly as red as my mom's."

Kareb finally let go. "Chief has got to see this." He stood up and jogged over to one of the tents, ducking inside.

Tali leaned back and groaned. "Great. What a fabulous way to start the day."

Ethan gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Good morning to you, too."

She sighed. "And here I was hoping everything had just been one strangely specific nightmare." She closed her eyes. "So much for that."

"Yeah." They both fell silent. They sat next to each other in the dirt, watching the traders' camp come to life.  It was just after sunrise but several people were already up and about. Both fires were going with a large copper kettle hung over each. It looked like one was being used to make breakfast while the other was being used for laundry.

"Do you think Diane is freaking out right now about where we are?" Tali asked.

Ethan looked away. "Probably not, at least not yet," he said, his voice quiet. "She was getting ready to head back to Nashville when I went after you. So I doubt she's noticed anything's wrong."

"Oh." Tali didn't know what else to say.

The Chief strode out of his tent followed closely by Kareb. The Chief walked directly over to Ethan and Tali. He loomed over her, taking a large clump of her hair into his hand. Tali's ponytail had come loose, making it easy for him to grab it without yanking her head around.

He brought her hair closer to his face, rubbing it between his thumb and palm. "Amazing," he said. "Red hair. I didn't even notice the color last night."

"It's actually auburn." Tali was getting tired of correcting people. "Evidence of my Irish lineage." She grunted as Ethan knocked his shoulder into hers.

"Irish? What's that?" the Chief asked with interest.

Tali realized she shouldn't have said that. Ethan must have been trying to elbow her. She licked her lips. "It's, uh, my mother's maiden name," she lied.

"Is it now." The Chief raised an eyebrow but didn't press the issue. He turned Tali's hair this way and that to observe how it glinted in the sunlight. "Just beautiful," he remarked. "I can probably get three or four times more money off you."

She slumped. "I was afraid of that."

"Make sure they both get some breakfast and a chance to relieve themselves," the Chief said to Kareb, dropping Tali's hair so that it was half in her face. "Get Toran or Gayalo to help guard them," he said, then strutted across the camp to the carts.

Tali shook her head and blew at the hair, trying to get it out of her face. "As long as it's not Honar."

"Who?" Ethan asked.

"That gorilla who couldn't keep his paws off me."

"Ah, I see. How did you learn his name?"

"Kareb mentioned it last night."

"Oh." Ethan shrugged. "I was really out of it last night. I must have missed it."

Ethan and Tali were untied and given their breakfast one at a time. Kareb asked Toran to help guard them, which wasn't surprising considering how close they seemed the night before. Tali was untied first and Toran led her just outside the camp to relieve herself in the privacy of the trees.  She begged him to at least turn around but he refused.

"I can always ask Honar to come and help you," Toran said with a shrug. 

Tali shut up and did it as quickly as she could. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment while he watched with general disinterest.

When they got back, Kareb handed her a wooden bowl and spoon. Tali sat down cross-legged and examined the contents. It was some sort of rice porridge that smelled faintly of nutmeg. Tali was famished, so she took a spoonful, blew on it, and took a tentative bite. It was made of rice and potato, was slightly sweet, and had chunks of a sweet fruit similar to a mango. Tali downed the bowl within a few minutes. Once she had finished, Kareb tied her back up and it was Ethan's turn.

By the time they had finished the sun had risen halfway up the sky. Ethan and Tali were left to sit with the livestock while the traders worked on packing up and breaking camp. Kareb kept watch, sitting atop the rock and whittling away at a piece of wood.

After sitting in the same uncomfortable position for half an hour, Tali stretched, then turned to Ethan. "How long does that potion last?"

He shrugged. "It depends on the person. Anywhere between one to five days."

"So anytime in the next few days I won't be able to understand anybody but you again." Tali looked up at a brightly-colored bird that was flying overhead.

"Basically," he admitted.

"What do we do then?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I doubt they'd give us any even if we ask."

Tali was quiet for a moment. "So this place we're going... Jambaba?"

Ethan chuckled and shook his head. "Jambaban. It's the capital city of Karagan."

"Oh." Tali watched an older man covered in piercings as he laid out his collection of knives and tools on a large tarp. He set them out carefully, picking up each piece and tenderly cleaning it before replacing it and moving on to the next one. "How far is it?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know." Ethan looked at something off in the distance. "According to Pabi, it's at least a day's journey, maybe farther."

"Did you know about the slavery?"

Ethan sighed. "Not really. I mean, Pabi didn't really talk about it much. He made it sound like it was only in Atoyot."

"Atoyot?" Tali frowned at the unfamiliar flavor the name had on her tongue.

"It's the country north of Karagan," Ethan explained. "It's on the Main Continent."

"Main Continent?" Tali asked. "They really call it that? That's lame."

"Hey, it's just about as lame as Salt Lake or Little Rock," Ethan said.

"Okay, that's fair."

"What are you talking about?" Kareb interrupted. "Are you foreigners?"

"Oops," Tali whispered to Ethan. "Now what?"

"Oops is right," he whispered back. "We need to be more careful."

"Quit whispering." Kareb flicked some wood shavings from his knife at them. "It's annoying."

"What's a boy like you doing with traveling merchants?" Ethan asked.

Kareb eyed Ethan suspiciously, then shrugged and resumed carving. "My parents died from the Blue Fever when I was seven. I lived with my Pabi until he died last year. The Chief was in town and asked if I wanted to travel with him. Been with him ever since."

Tali started as she realized that "Pabi" was the Karagan term for "grandfather." Suddenly things made a lot of sense.

Ethan smiled. "That's good that you found a place to belong."

Kareb shrugged. "I am an adult, after all."

Tali frowned. "An adult? You're barely a teenager."

Kareb glared at her. "Of course I'm an adult. I'm sixteen. I had my bridge-crossing ceremony two years ago."

"Bridge-crossing ceremony?" Tali looked at Ethan.

"It's their coming-of-age ceremony," he explained.

"Oh." Tali turned back to Kareb. "Sorry, I didn't know."

He stared at her. "You really aren't from here, are you?"

She sighed. After all that, they were back where they started. She gave up. "Is it that obvious?"

"Tali," Ethan hissed.

Just then, Toran called for Kareb and he had to step away. Ethan and Tali were left alone, still tied up to the fence post.

Tali sighed. "If I have to sit here any longer, I'm going to go crazy."

"Yeah," Ethan said absently.

Tali nudged him. "Hey, you okay?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just... I must be the worst Bridge Guardian ever."

"Ethan, you can't compare yourself to Pabi. You've only been at it for what, three years?"

"Yeah, sure, it only took me three years to completely mess things up."

"Ethan, you're not Pabi. And you're not going to encounter the same problems he did, either."

He sighed. "You're right. I guess I expected it to be a quiet job forever. I haven't had any problems before now because the people of Tanasi have mostly forgotten about the bridge."

"Forgotten?" Tali asked. "You mean there's been a bridge there all this time and they never thought to cross it?"

"What about you?" Ethan countered. "You hung out by the bridge every day for an entire summer. Why didn't you cross it?"

Tali's mouth fell open. "You're right. I just never felt the need to cross over."

"Pabi told me it's a protective spell on the bridge that causes the casual observer to lose interest in crossing it," Ethan explained.

Tali frowned. "Why didn't that work on Ben?"

"Shh," Ethan cut her off. "Kareb's coming back."

Tali sighed and shut up. Kareb resumed his perch on the rock and they sat there in the growing heat as the rest of the camp prepared for departure.