Itani's heart hammered against her ribs as Shikku's words sank in. He wanted a favor in exchange for tickets.

  She'd been here before.

  That memory just wouldn't leave her mind. How she stood in a dark street corner at midnight, clutching a crate Shikku had assured her contained just various potions. Simple delivery work, he'd said. And that it would be easy money.

  She'd believed him.

  The man she'd met with in that first alley had seemed ordinary enough. A little nervous, but polite. He'd directed her deeper into the city, to a part of Lagash where nobody ended up by accident.

  The second man had been different. He had greasy hair, yellowed teeth, and expensive silks draped over his body that badly covered a strong smell of sweat. His fingers trembled as he'd reached for the crate, and then he'd opened it right there to check the contents, which turned out to be dozens of small vials filled with a dark amber liquid.

  It was poppy extract potions.

  And she'd seen the addicts before that, who, like shadows, shuffled through the streets, somehow absent from their own minds. They'd do anything for another vial.

  And she'd just delivered a crate full of the stuff to a man who preyed on desperation.

  That night, she'd promised herself that she would never do that again.

  Shikku watched her outburst with the same infuriating smile across his face and drummed his fingers lightly on the desk's polished surface. He radiated an odd satisfaction, as though her anger amused him.

  Itani forced herself to breathe, to stop the words spilling out before she ruined their only chance at fast travel.

  Shikku tilted his head.

  "Ah, but Itani, this is no potion business I'm offering you this time. It's a very simple thing."

  She looked up and sighed.

  "So, no potions then?"

  "No. None whatsoever."

  Anzu shifted beside her, but said nothing.

  "Alright, so what is this favor you need then?"

  Shikku leaned forward with his elbows resting on the desk. And still the bastard smiled.

  "It's actually related to the horse business itself. You see, the animals I get from the horse people up north are not always broken in, or trained, as they say."

  He picked up a tacky yellow figurine from his desk, turning it over in his hands.

  "So, to get them into the city, I need a Sage to calm them down with a spell. Otherwise, the guards would be all over us in an instant. The animals, you see, make dreadful noise."

  The figurine clicked back onto the desk.

  "I have a Sage on the payroll, but he's terribly unreliable. Gets drunk all the time, you see."

  Itani's thoughts turned to the duel-obsessed mage downstairs, who was maybe still unconscious on the tavern floor, as a courtesy of Anzu's intervention.

  Shikku's gaze shifted to Anzu.

  "This is where you come in, my friend."

  He pointed directly at him.

  "You in particular. You're a Sage, aren't you?"

  Anzu gave a single nod.

  "Well then, it's all very simple. About half a mile outside the western gates, you'll meet a man. He'll look like a farmer, and he will give you the horses. Then you subdue them and take them to the corner of Stonemason and Akkad avenues. There you'll meet another man who'll take the horses from you and give you two tickets for the caravan. Easy peasy."

  Itani's jaw tightened. Smuggling horses into the city, dealing with guards, and Shikku's network of shady contacts. It was exactly what she wanted to avoid. But no poppy extract was involved this time, and no drug dealers, either. No lives would be destroyed because she needed fast travel.

  She glanced at Anzu, searching his face for any sign of refusal.

  Itani sighed, even louder this time, as the weight of the decision settled over her shoulders.

  "Okay, Shikku, we can do that."

  The words left her mouth before she'd fully processed them, and she caught herself. Anzu needed to have a say in this, as she'd need him to cast the spell on the horses. She turned to him.

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  "Right?"

  Anzu met her gaze, steady and calm despite everything they'd been through tonight.

  "Yeah, we can."

  Relief washed through her. But when she faced Shikku again, she made sure to assume a face of annoyance again.

  "But we just bring the horses, take the tickets, and that's it. No funny business."

  Shikku laughed, producing bursts of nasal high-pitch sounds, as though he hadn't just recruited them into his smuggling operation.

  "Of course not, my girl. Who do you take me for?"

  Itani grunted and rose from her seat. Anzu followed, adjusting his robes.

  "Oh, and the password for both the men you need to meet is Beasts of burden and so much more."

  "Got it."

  Itani paused mid-turn, remembering the rotating locations Shikku used to avoid patrol patterns.

  "And where does the caravan leave Lagash this time?"

  "At the west gate, too. Further down the road, and then you take the first turn left."

  Itani nodded, already mapping the route in her mind. She turned toward the door.

  "Bye, Shikku."

  Anzu pulled his hood lower over his eyes, shadowing his face, and gave a curt nod.

  They made their way through the tables and the haze of pipe smoke. Itani's gaze caught on the duel-obsessed Sage who'd pestered Anzu earlier. He sat hunched at a corner table. There was a fresh pint of ale in front of him, but it seemed he was no longer in a mood for posturing. His expression had soured into something bitter and chastened.

  Hopefully, this one had learned a lesson.

  The dark engulfed her face as they stepped outside. The air was cool and damp, but the rain was finally stopping, though very gradually. It was an atypical Sumerian night all in all. The street stretched before them, where slick cobblestones reflected the few torches that had been re-lit.

  "What was that potion business about, Itani?"

  Anzu's voice broke the silence, quiet but curious.

  Her stomach tightened, since he initiated a theme she was hoping he wouldn't.

  "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

  Itani sighed very quietly.

  "Ah, yeah. That was a few years ago. The bastard had me smuggle some potions for him into the city. It turned out they were poppy extract potions."

  Anzu's face hardened as the easy calm he otherwise emanated got replaced by something grimmer.

  "I see. I understand your reaction, then."

  She swallowed and forced herself to continue.

  "You need to realize what position I was in back then. I was brand new to the city, had only been in Eridu, really. And after I'd left my family, I had no one to turn to. But I swore to myself I'd never do anything for Shikku ever again."

  Anzu's expression shifted from grim to curious.

  "Ah, you'd left your family?"

  The noise of the Elven Caboose was finally fading behind them as they turned onto a quieter street. Shadows deepened between the buildings, and Itani's ranger instincts kicked in. They moved more carefully now and had to keep the footsteps light, while still hugging the darkest parts of the way. There was no time for a proper talk.

  "Let's save that for a later time."

  She would need to tell him if they were traveling together. It felt only right. And the quest Priscilla had given her would take her back to Eridu. But she wasn't quite ready for that conversation. Not yet.

  She needed to relax a little first.

  They moved through the rain-slicked streets slowly. Anzu kept his head low, watching the scattered puddles reflect the occasional torchlight from the windows above. The drizzle continued, and it was getting colder, driving what few people remained indoors. That was convenient for them.

  The west gate emerged ahead. This was a modest arch in the city wall, nothing like the grand fortified entries they'd passed earlier. Anzu scanned the structure, expecting a bored guard huddled beneath an overhang.

  But the post was empty. There was no spear leaning against the wall, not even a stool. The rain had chased them off, perhaps. Or this Shikku character had planned it that way. He probably knew the shifts, the weather, and had calculated exactly when to move contraband through an understaffed gate. A smart bastard.

  They passed beneath the arch without slowing, leaving Lagash's walls behind. The road stretched ahead into darkness, and Anzu felt the tension in his shoulders ease. Out here, the risk of patrol dropped to nearly nothing. What guard would trudge through mud and rain to watch empty fields?

  Itani straightened, too, and picked up the pace.

  "Shikku said the man with the horses is about half a mile from the city. We should be there soon."

  She glanced at him as rain dripped from the edge of her hood onto her leather armor.

  'You'll be able to calm the horses down without a problem, I imagine?'

  Anzu nodded.

  "Oh, sure. Don't worry about that."

  He had already given it some thought. [Pacify mind] would do the trick nicely. It was a simple psionic spell that manipulated the mind of the target. He'd used it on mobs in-game more times than he could count, and horses couldn't be much different.

  Itani's expression remained guarded, and her voice dropped.

  "You've probably realized Shikku can't be trusted by now. He said there would be no complications. But there may well be. He's a right bastard."

  "Noted."

  They walked in silence, while their boots squelched in the mud. The city walls faded behind them, lost in the rain and night.

  Then came the sound. It was high-pitched and agitated, following a rhythmic stamping pattern. It was neighing.

  Anzu recognized it instantly. But Itani tilted her head, listening, then quickened her pace. She probably hadn't had much interaction with horses at that point.

  They rounded a bend in the road, and the scene came into view: a man stood beside the muddy track, looking drenched and miserable, and with one hand he clutched a rope that served as a kind of tether. Four horses stood behind him in a line, tied one to the next with their heads tossing and ears pinned back. The man ran his free hand down the nearest animal's neck, murmuring something low, but the horse shied away, pulling on the tether.

  It wasn't working. At least not well enough to enter the city.

  Itani approached, raising her voice over the rain.

  "Beasts of burden and so much more."

  The man's face lit up. He lifted a hand in greeting and seemed positively relieved to see them.

  "Thank the gods you've come. I can't bear standing in this rain for much longer. And the horses are getting real antsy."

  Itani stepped forward very professionally.

  "We'll take over from here. Thanks."

  She reached for the rope, but the man jerked it back with narrowing eyes.

  "Hold on. What about my fee?"

  Itani froze.

  "What fee?"

  "The fee for getting the horses here all the way from the north. We agreed on this with Shikku. You owe me a hundred silver."

  The feeling was familiar to Anzu. They were being taken advantage of. The businessman had swindled them. Why? Likely because he knew full well that the caravan was their only option.

  Itani sighed, leaning close to him, her voice dropping to a bitter mutter.

  "Here we go. What did I tell you? That bastard Shikku..."

  She closed her eyes for a moment, shook her head, and then pulled her coin pouch from her belt. The leather looked thin and well-worn.

  "I can pay you fifty, but no more."

  The man flailed his hand, completely ruling out that solution.

  "That's not what we agreed! I can't give you the horses then!"