Within a half hour it was impossible to see more than a half dozen meters in front of us. Thankfully, whoever had installed the stone markers had realized that it was even easier to get lost in the fog. The markers in this area were more frequent, taller, and topped with black stones. It almost looked like the black stones were hovering in mid-air.
The fog seemed to deaden all sound—not that there was a lot of sound to begin with, other than the rattling of the sled, the occasional screech of a winged creature far overhead, and the distant roar of the river.
TenSix had scooted up to the bow of the sled, and he was using his short-range scanners to help navigate.
“Almost there,” Kira said.
As we crawled along at half our normal speed, I felt my heart pounding. My eyes darted around, trying to detect movement in the fog. The shadows and shapes began to play tricks on my eyes, as I imagined the Naba-Sa’im marauders charging in from the mist to attack us without warning.
“Is that the bridge?” TenSix asked.
A few seconds later, I saw it too. A roadway—not much wider than our sled, but perfectly straight—rose up out of the fog directly in front of us. Square posts made of stacked stone were joined by ancient-looking metal beams that served as guard rails on either side of the bridge’s entrance.
Kira stopped the sled. “Hello?” she called into the mist.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“This is weird,” she said. “Very weird. This bridge should be guarded—swarming with Naba-Sa’im.”
13
Kira called again and again, but there was no response.
“Maybe they’re on lunch break,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Quiet,” she whispered.
“I am not detecting any sign of life,” TenSix said. “At least nothing within twenty-five meters of us.”
“How long is the bridge?” I asked. “Maybe they are waiting on the other side.”
“Or maybe the bridge is damaged,” TenSix said.
“You might be on to something, Short Stuff,” Kira said. “And if that’s the case, we’re really fucked.”
“Jannigan Beck, would you mind assisting me?” TenSix hopped to the edge of the sled.
“Sure. What do you need?”
“Some help exiting the vehicle. Normally, I’d jump, but the precipitation might affect my stability.”
I slid off the sled and eased TenSix to the ground.
“Thank you.” He ambled over to the bridge and took a few tentative steps onto its deck.
“What do you think you are doing?” Kira asked as she climbed out.
“Checking the structural integrity of the bridge,” TenSix replied. “In a very limited fashion, of course. My EMR is not really designed for such a task, but I believe I’ll be able to detect any significant damage, albeit twenty-five meters at a time.”
“That’s dangerous!” I said.
“Less dangerous than taking the sled on it,” Kira said. “Let him go.”
We watched as the little bot continued over the bridge, narrating his every move with a string of measurements spoken aloud. He got dimmer and dimmer until he was fully enveloped by the fog.
“He’s a brave little guy,” Kira said.
“Yeah, he didn’t have to do that.”
We stood in silence for a few minutes, expecting the worst. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, “You okay, buddy?”
A faint response echoed back, but I couldn’t make it out.
We continued to wait, but this seemed to be taking far too long.
“He should be back by now, right?” I asked.
“Not really sure.”
“What if he ran into the Nabas on the other side? You said they’re not big fans of bots.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be good.”
“Maybe I should go check,” I said.
“If you’re going, I’m going with you. I won’t—”
Kira was interrupted by the sound of TenSix’s audio projector. “The bridge is intact!” he announced, emerging from the fog.
“Are you sure?” Kira asked.
“Positive. I traversed its entire length.”
“Any sign of the Naba-Sa’im?” I asked.
“None. And no life forms within twenty-five meters of the far terminus of the bridge, either.”
“So weird,” Kira said.
“But good in a way,” I said.
“No, I don’t think there’s anything good about it. Let’s move on.”
Despite TenSix’s assurances about the bridge’s structural integrity, Kira wanted to take the crossing slow. And I agreed with her. It was a long way down. We opted for walking alongside the sled instead of riding and inched our way across. Finally we made it on to solid ground on the other side.
“That was fun.”
“Not as fun as being escorted by two columns of Naba-Sa’im,” Kira said. “C’mon, help me get this stuff unloaded.”
“What?”
“The tribute. We’ll leave it here.”
“You sure? What if someone steals it?”
She gave me a sharp look. “Eventually, the Naba will make their way back to guarding the bridge and they’ll find the supplements. They need this stuff.”
I nodded and grabbed one of the crates off of the sled.
“Besides, I still want the Naba to be friendly—for the next time I come back here,” she said.
I didn’t say anything, but I really doubted that Kira would be back on Safadin any time soon.
After we had unloaded the sled, we all took a walk around the area, looking for any signs of our missing welcoming committee. The mist was less dense on this side of the chasm, probably because of the wind patterns, but we still didn’t see any signs of the Naba-Sa’im.
“I’m kind of disappointed,” I said. “I was looking forward to meeting some goat people.”
“You still may get your chance,” Kira said. “We’ve got seven more hours until we arrive at Ganga Kos. Plenty of opportunity to run into a Naba war party.”
But we didn’t. What we ran into was a bunch of Naba-Sa’im corpses.
Twenty kilometers away from the bridge, TenSix alerted us to the presence of a group of very large birds ahead. As we drew closer, I could see them lazily circling over an area not far off the path.
“What are those things?”
“Jottha,” Kira said. “Carrion rippers. There’s something dead over there. Something big from
