(Ereshgal POV)
I never expected to return like this.
The cart shook beneath me, and a few strands of straw fell across my face. I brushed them away with two fingers and forced myself to stay still. Around me, freshly harvested barley shifted with every movement of the wheels. The others were hidden the same way, each in a different cart.
Outside, the line advanced slowly. Guards stood on both sides of the road, stopping people every few steps.
"Where are you coming from?"
"What are you carrying?"
"Open it."
Some answered quickly. Others lowered their voices, as if speaking louder might make them look guilty.
With nothing else to do, I listened.
Reins creaked as hands tightened around them. Sandals scraped the dirt without moving forward. Somewhere nearby, a child let out a small cry before being pulled close. Even the donkeys sounded uneasy, stamping their hooves against the ground.
The gate was close.
Soon, it was our turn. The cart stopped with a soft groan. Kelzar shifted at the front, and the wood creaked beneath him.
"I didn't expect to see you working at this hour, Mesan" he said.
Someone laughed as he approached.
"It's good to see someone I know" a man replied. Mesan, probably. "Unfortunately, Balih got sick, so I had to cover for him."
His footsteps stopped beside the cart. "Can you step down? We need to inspect the carts."
Kelzar let out a tired breath "Don't tell me you're going to search all four carts. I've worked here my whole life, Mesan."
"I know" the guard replied. "But strict orders came down from above a few days ago. Everyone has to be inspected."
We had not expected that. Still, we had filled the carts as much as possible, just in case. Even if they searched them, finding us would take time.
I focused on the others. One heartbeat was moving too fast. It had to be Lureh. The rest remained calm. I was not surprised Zabar was among them. He probably would not care much if a spear pierced through the sacks and killed him right there.
While Kelzar and Mesan kept talking, the other guards began searching the carts. They moved along the line with practiced impatience, shoving aside bundles of barley, pressing their hands into the straw, even jabbing down with their spears.
Each dull impact made the wood tremble.
The straw above me shifted. Light slipped through in thin, broken lines. Dust fell across my face and into my hair. I kept my body loose, listening to every step around the cart.
One guard climbed onto the back. He began pushing the barley aside.
Not enough to see me yet. But soon, he would.
Kelzar must have noticed it too, because the next moment he was already stepping closer to Mesan, lowering his voice.
"Mesan, I won't lie to you. I'm in a hurry. I was supposed to deliver this to the temple of Anu hours ago."
There was no answer right away. For a moment, all I heard was the shifting of grain, the creak of wood, and Lureh's heart hammering somewhere in the next cart.
Then Mesan sighed.
"Clean!" he shouted. "They're clean. Let them through."
The guards put everything back in place almost immediately and returned to their posts. A moment later, the cart began to move again.
"Thank you, Mesan" Kelzar said.
The wheels rolled forward, and soon the shadow of the wall passed over us.
Beyond it, Uruk sounded different from how I remembered.
The merchants were still calling from their stalls, but their voices lacked strength. Clay jars clinked together somewhere nearby. Goats bleated. Feet moved quickly through the streets. Farther away, guards kept shouting questions.
Uruk was not the same. People could feel it. They did not know what was coming, but fear had already reached them.
The cart continued toward the temple of Anu.
Kelzar had not lied to the guard. The barley really was meant for the temple, or more precisely, for one of the storehouses nearby. Eventually, just as I was starting to grow tired of the jolts and the weight above me, the cart slowed.
Not long after, I heard doors closing behind us. Kelzar's voice came from outside.
"We're here. You can come out."
Barley rustled as we pushed our way free. Kisaya, Zabar, and I remained silent. Lureh, however, stepped out of the cart and immediately began brushing herself off, shaking straw from her clothes and muttering under her breath about the dust and how dirty she felt.
Kelzar glanced at me. I only shrugged.
He stared for a moment longer, then turned away and ordered the other drivers to begin unloading the barley into the storehouse. The men obeyed without asking questions.
Once they were busy, Kelzar came closer.
"You stay hidden here," he said quietly. "Do not use spiritual energy at any point. I will return at night and guide you to the workshop."
That meant they had some way to detect it. With everything happening around the illegal ceremonies, it made sense.
"Do not worry" I answered. "We will cover our faces before you arrive."
Kelzar looked at me for a breath, then nodded. "You are smarter than I thought. Your brother underestimates you."
I let out a quiet laugh. "Who knows?"
Then he stepped away and returned to the workers. The storehouse was large, filled with rows of barley stacked in bundles. Once Kelzar and the drivers left, we moved toward the far corner and settled behind several of them. From the entrance, no one would see us unless they walked deep inside and searched on purpose.
Lureh pulled the cloth away from her face and kept shifting beside me, scratching at her sleeve, then her neck, then the side of her face.
"This was a terrible way to enter a city" she whispered.
"It worked" Kisaya said.
"That does not make it less terrible."
Zabar leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Kisaya stood near him, alert and ready to react. I sat with my back against a stack of barley and waited. Fortunately, no one entered the storehouse after us.
The hours passed slowly. At first, there were voices outside, workers finishing their tasks, guards speaking in the distance, carts being moved away. Then the sounds grew thinner. The city settled into a tense kind of silence.
When the night was already deep, I took several pieces of cloth from the spatial ring and handed one to each of them.
"Cover your faces" I said.
We wrapped the cloth around our mouths and noses, leaving only our eyes exposed.
Some time later, Kelzar returned. He opened the storehouse door just enough to slip inside, then motioned for us to follow.
We left crouched low, one after another.
Most of the city torches had already burned out. Only a few weak lights remained near the larger streets, flickering against the walls and closed doors.
We moved from building to building, keeping close to the walls. Kelzar led us with practiced confidence, choosing narrow paths between storehouses, stacked jars, and abandoned carts. So far, there were no guards along the route he had chosen.
It did not take long to reach the edge of the temple storehouse district.
One of Uruk's main canals lay ahead of us, its water reflecting almost nothing under the night sky. On the other side was the workshop district.
Just as we were about to cross, I stopped. Almost immediately, I moved ahead of the group and raised a hand in front of Kelzar, forcing everyone to halt.
"What do you think you are doing?" he whispered, his voice tight with irritation
"We need to go back" I said. "Guards are coming."
His eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"
"I can hear them."
Kelzar did not answer at first. He only stood there, listening. Then he grabbed the front of my tunic and pulled me close with surprising strength.
Kisaya almost stepped forward, but I held her back.
"Listen to me carefully" Kelzar hissed. "I know every patrol route. If we stop now, we will be in trouble. We keep moving."
He released me. The moment he did, I turned toward the others.
"We go back."
Kelzar let out a frustrated breath. "I take back what I said about your brother underestimating you."
Even so, he followed. We slipped back into the shadows between two nearby buildings and waited.
Nothing happened.
A few minutes passed in silence. To them, the only sound was the canal water flowing nearby. Kelzar leaned closer, speaking through clenched teeth.
"Now that we know you were wrong, can we please go back to the plan?"
"No" I said flatly.
Kelzar inhaled slowly and closed his eyes, as if trying to keep himself from shouting.
"If we do not move now, this route will become usele…"
He stopped.
This time, he heard it too.
Several footsteps approached. We all turned toward the bridge we had been about to cross. At first, only distant torchlight moved through the dark. Then the lights sharpened into a group of guards, walking the same path we would have taken.