The Sighs of the Priestess Ch. 04

"Find out what she wants!" the old man called out again.

"Are you in command of this place?" she yelled up to him.

"I am one of the council," he stood up a little straighter.

"That is no answer and you are a coward," she said, her face losing much of its friendliness.

"The council sits and governs here," he yelled, "who are you to -" the priestess raised her hand and her voice lost its friendliness altogether as she spoke between her teeth.

"Come down here," she said and the man fell from the roof. The others ran for their lives.

She looked at the young man before her and shrugged, "I hope the council meetings will take a little less time now." She waited as the councilman before her tried to ask and failed to find much of his voice.

"Wh-what do y-you, ..."

She smiled as she leaned down from the saddle and gave him about the worst answer that he could imagine.

"We want the city," she said quietly.

"You have until the middle of the day to show that you surrender it and no one will come to any harm. The people are to stay in their homes and they will not be harmed at all. The fighters that you have here must stand down, come out and place their arms down here on the grass in piles to show us that you surrender. All of the city seals from the council member's necks such as you wear will be placed in another pile. Any who think to keep their seals will be hunted."

She looked up and made a subtle motion with her hand.

An archer fell from a rooftop with a cry.

"The timing leaves your mighty council much time to debate and swat at flies if you begin now. If you show no sign by the time that the sun is higest in the sky, these here -- " she indicated the riders, "will pass into the town and trust me young brother, you do not want for that to happen. We have more archers and while the people suffer as the city burns, they can think on how well-served they are by their council."

"After that," she shrugged, "five thousand more will come. Imagine what would be left. If you surrender, the people will be safe, rest assured, but the fighters must disarm and stand down. If we see any treachery, all will die." She sat back up. "Can you remember this?"

He nodded, his throat as dry from fear as his feet were wet with it.

"Good," she smiled once more, "then I shall hope to see you alive and unhurt on the morrow. Sleep well, if you can."

She turned her horse, and the group thundered off. He looked around himself and saw that the dead ones stood there still. The three that blocked the gateway sidled off to the side to allow him passage.

He ran inside.

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Four days later, Enmerkar sat riding in his royal litter and eating figs at the head of his army when a pair of his outriding scouts pulled up and bowed from their saddles. "Uruk has fallen, great king. Those you sent stand before it waiting for you. We are to say that the city is yours as was promised."

He asked them to repeat themselves, not believing it. He called for his horse and yelled for his servants to bring his armor to him.

An hour later he stood with Lugalbanda. "How did you manage it?" he asked, incredulous. "I would have been pleased to find that any gates had been broken or that the army here fought amongst themselves or something that you might have caused to make my task easier. I did not expect this."

"I told you that I would see what I might do, my king. Much of the doing of it lay in how I opened up the negotiations, and when it was time to talk, I sent in the one that you hate so much. You really have her to thank as much as me."

He looked to see her walking over to them. She must have sprung out of the burnt grass here, he thought, to appear like this inside the line of his guards. She looked very different now, standing in leather armor, tugging at one of her bracers. When she reached them, he saw that their armor matched perfectly.

"I did not give leave for you to change the style of your armor," the king rasped.

"Well, my lord king," Lugalbanda smiled, "She and the ones who fight for me are not part of your army, and I care not. I like this better. It is not so cheap."

He stepped closer so that only the king could hear him, "If your nose has not grown too long now that you wear the crown, you ought to think a moment here. I have given you a city. The streets are patrolled by ones which you have no wish to meet. Other than the dead picked over by the crows around us here, it has cost no lives and the city surrendered peacefully. You have not lost one fighter to this conquest."

He pointed, "And all of this was done by one Sumerian and many Amorites. Other than me and the ones pissing themselves inside the city, there was no Sumerian here at all, so this one conquest of a Sumerian city cannot be laid at the feet of a Sumerian king in blame. All that waits to be done here is for you to assert order and tell them all that you are here to protect them."

The king thought about it and grinned finally, "There is the matter of you becoming a general, Lugalbanda. For what was done here, I make you a general, and one of my war chiefs. Go now and return to Eridu. I must settle in here, but in three months, after the coldest part of the year, I will send for you. We must plan the next conquest and expand what we have here. I see trouble coming to us from Attra."

"If I might ask you, my king, I wish to travel a little in this time and be married. If you have need of me, have a message left at the caves near to Eridu. It will be seen and brought to me and I will come. Do you know the place?"

"The Dead Caves?" the king asked , a little shocked, "why there?"

"No one will want to disturb the message, sire. The place will be watched, have faith."

The king nodded and fighter bowed to his king, but the priestess didn't. She only smiled and held up the knot of hair, and the king's hand found its way to his chest at the twinge that he felt. They walked away together and no one tried to stop them. A minute later, a strong wind blew out of the city gates for a moment and then all was still.

Another general walked up and gave his report that no members of the council could be found and that the army had disbanded itself. He was very surprised at the king's next words to him. "Much of this was done by Amorites under the direction of Lugalbanda. Amorites, general -- and AFTER I crushed their land."

"Why would they do this for us, then?" the general asked.

The king snorted, "I know not, my friend, but I know one thing. I see no pounded-down grass around here, and yet the city gave itself up to Amorites and a Sumerian fighter. Find me some who know what happened here, and one thing more, general."

He looked over, "It gives me no comfort to come here to this place to make it the seat of my kingdom and find that it can fall so easily. As fast as you can manage it, build me a wall around this city. All of my troops here will be the first garrison."

The general stared, "Five thousand as garrison for this place?"

The king nodded and rubbed his chest.