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.He first had to walk by his father’s house, and see if he could tell anything of the state of affairs.He dared not try to visit inside, even in his disguise, for there was probably a hunt on for him, and no doubt it was being watched.Then more, he had to be careful of his disguise.He might be dressed like a nomad, and though he’d seen them walk and noticed their manners, he had doubts as whether he could really move enough like one of them to convince someone who knew.And he hoped very much not to have to interact with an actual nomad.His gear, including unhappily, his sword, amulet, and ring, were stored in the surprisingly large hidden alcove in his room.He dared not bring them.The sword was hard to conceal, and finding any of those objects on him would guarantee discovery of his identity.Arjun made his way through the busy streets to his own neighborhood, and the Street of Flame.He thought uncomfortably that directly beneath his feet were the sewers, the blackness, and the ghouls.His heart chilled, but he warmed it again with anger towards the men who’d brought all this about.He thought of poor, quiet, loyal Naram-Enki dying in a pool of his own blood, and the smirk on Bal-Shim’s face.He imagined wiping off that smirk, violently.As he walked east along the Street of Flames, he could see his house ahead on the left.Something was very definitely wrong.There were unfamiliar men loitering around, while others hauled chests and furniture out to waiting wagons.Their kilts were filthy and they sweated in the afternoon sun.Several servants of his own household, wretched expressions on their faces, carried smaller items under the close watch of a pair of city guardsmen.One of the serving girls, short sturdy little Maiat, placed an amphora into a wagon, then was stopped by one of the guards and by a tall fat, stringy-bearded man that Arjun recognized.He was one of Bal-Shim’s hired overseers.“You there!” the man snarled, “run this to the House of Scribes and deliver it to the warden of the front door.He’ll know what to do with it from there.Don’t think about delaying or going anywhere else! Those are now official city documents and if they go missing, I’ll make sure you wish you were never born.”The man handed her a small box of the kind used to store clay tablets.As soon as he’d done so, he opened another box at his side with fresh blank tablets, and set to work writing.Maiat gulped, “Yes… sir.”She set off at a trot.Arjun knew there were only one or two practical ways she could get to the citadel from here, so he ducked down a side street and ran to head her off.Passersby watched the strange sight of a Harayah nomad with flowing clothes and covered face running down the street.He realized it was a bad idea to attract that much attention, and slowed down to a brisk walk.He hoped he’d gained enough time.He reached the next main intersection, and to his relief, there was Maiat.She’d grown up in the household, and so far as he knew, he could trust her.If he was wrong, things were going to get difficult.Arjun moved to intercept her, and a look of fear crossed her round face.Of course! How else might she react, seeing a nomad with concealed face walking straight her way! He spoke to her in a hissing voice he hoped didn’t sound like his own to passersby.“Maiat!”She looked startled, and came to a complete stop, hesitating.He walked to her, and spoke in his own voice, but low and quiet.“Maiat, it is me, Arjun.Please walk with me.”She shook with fear, then mastered herself, and did so.Her eyes turned to him, and tears welled in them.“Master Arjun! We thought you were captured, or dead!”“I am as well as can be, for now.What of my father and the others?”She hung her head.“Some of the others woke up faster than I, and were there near the end.They said that when your father sent you away, he tried to talk to the guardsmen, but they would have none of it.Eb-Sim tried to block their way, and their captain walked up without a word and plunged his sword into Eb-Sim’s chest.”Inside his concealing head cover, Arjun’s face was bleak.Maiat continued, “Then your father and Madu fought them.They killed Madu, and gravely wounded your father.Someone knocked Keda over the head with a club and they dragged her and your father out into the street.I heard other guards ran up the stairs after you and ransacked the rooms up there.”“That was about when I ran into the main area.They rounded the rest of us servants up and told us we were now serving Bal-Shim! As if we were slaves! Geb and Tishat refused, and they beat them with clubs, then dragged them out with your father and Keda! After that the rest of us didn’t have the courage to argue.I’m so sorry master Arjun!”He felt misery wash over him, and then a fresh wave of anger.With effort, he mastered himself, and spoke again.“Maiat, what were they doing with all the household goods, and do you think these tablets are a manifest of what they’ve taken?”“They are taking them to a warehouse belonging to Bal-Shim.I don’t know more, master.As for the tablets, I don’t know, but this is actually the second box, Dur-Sim carried the other earlier [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]