Her name was Nita.

She worked leather and beadwork.

"Would you protect someone if doing so cost you your reputation?"

Caleb smiled faintly.

"I don't have much of a reputation."

A few people laughed.

Nita did not.

"Answer."

Caleb became serious.

"Yes."

"Even if your own people condemned you?"

"If they were wrong."

"And if they were your friends?"

"Then I'd tell them they were wrong."

Nita stepped back.

The questions continued.

One woman asked about loyalty.

Another asked about forgiveness.

Another asked whether a man should obey his leader when the leader was wrong.

Caleb answered plainly.

"No."

A murmur passed through the crowd.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because a man's conscience belongs to him."

Another asked:

"What makes a strong man?"

Caleb thought for a long moment.

"Knowing when not to use strength."

Another:

"What makes a coward?"

"Someone who lets fear make his decisions."

Another:

"Have you ever been afraid?"

Caleb almost laughed.

"Every day."

This answer surprised them.

He continued.

"Courage isn't not being afraid. It's doing what needs doing while you're afraid."

The questions became more personal.

"What is your greatest regret?"

Caleb's expression changed.

He thought of his sister.

"I left someone behind once."

"Why?"

"I thought I would have time to return."

"Did you?"

"No."

Silence followed.

Mara lowered her eyes.

Another woman asked:

"Do you believe people can change?"

Caleb answered immediately.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I have."

"Into what?"

Caleb looked at his hands.

"I don't know yet."

The final question came near sunset.

The woman who asked it was the youngest.

She looked barely twenty.

"What do you want?"

Caleb stared at her.

No one had asked him that question in years.

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came.

She waited.

Finally, Caleb answered.

"I don't know."

The young woman smiled gently.

"That is an honest answer."

The twenty-two women stepped back.

Chief Hosa approached.

Caleb expected a verdict.

Instead, Hosa said:

"You passed."

Caleb frowned.

"Passed what?"

"The test."

"I didn't know I was being tested."

"That was the point."

Caleb looked around.

"What happens now?"

Hosa smiled.

"Tomorrow, I will tell you."

Caleb didn't sleep much that night.

He kept thinking about the questions.

Especially the last one.

What did he want?

He had always thought he wanted freedom.

But freedom had brought him to an empty saddle beside an empty fire.

Perhaps what he wanted had nothing to do with leaving.

Perhaps it had something to do with finally staying.

The next morning, Hosa led Caleb away from the camp.

They climbed a ridge overlooking the valley.

Below them, the twenty-two families were preparing to travel.

The desert stretched endlessly beyond them.

Hosa stood silently for a long time.

Then he said:

"Our people have been losing more than water."

Caleb waited.

"We have lost warriors."

Hosa's voice remained steady.

"Leaders. Children. Homes. Hunting grounds."

He pointed east.

"There are men who want this land."

Caleb knew what he meant.

Settlers had been moving west for years.

Some came peacefully.

Others came with rifles.

Some wanted cattle.

Others wanted silver.

And some simply believed anyone living on land they desired had no right to remain there.

Hosa continued.

"We have enemies among rival bands. We have enemies among settlers. We have enemies who do not understand us and do not want to."

Caleb nodded.

"What do you need from me?"