Everyone still had to wait. Gemama had his own needs to satisfy before he bothered with seeing anyone who might wish to do business with him. Naturally, Tammuz and En-hedu had to sit patiently until the others had been taken, one by one, to conduct their affairs with the merchant.
When Tammuz and En-hedu were led inside the garden, they found Gemama sitting at a wide table not far from the entrance to his house. The merchant yawned, clearly looking forward to his supper. Two nakhla trees — as the date palms were called in Sumeria — provided a canopy to block the sun from their owner. A frowning clerk sat at the far end of the table, wet clay and wooden chisel in hand, ready to record anything of interest. A small wooden box rested before him, no doubt filled with a handful of coins received or dispensed at the merchant’s pleasure.
“What do you want?” Gemama began, not wishing to waste any time.
“Please, Noble,” En-hedu began, bowing low before raising her eyes. “We wish to purchase a tavern in Sumer. My Uncle Yavtar said we should speak with you if we needed any assistance in buying an inn. We are willing to pay you a small fee each month, if you can help arrange the purchase. My uncle said he has traded with you before. We come from the village of Ubaid. He has a farm there.”
En-hedu watched Gemama’s eyes at the mention of Yavtar’s name, but the merchant didn’t react. No one became a master trader who let his thoughts cross his face. Besides, while Yavtar’s name wasn’t a common one, neither was it unique enough to stand out.
“I don’t remember anyone from Ubaid,” Gemama said. He lifted his ornately carved wine cup, inhaled the aroma for a long moment, then drained it. “Bring me another,” he said to his clerk, pushing the cup toward him. He drummed his fingers on the table. “You wish to purchase a tavern, you say?”
“Yes, Noble. We’ve found one — ”
By then the clerk was across the garden. “First refresh my memory of your Uncle Yavtar.”
En-hedu, whose mind excelled at matching faces and names, gave a good description of the Akkadian trader.
Gemama nodded. “Yes, I remember your uncle.”
“We have the silver to buy the tavern, and we can pay you something for your help, Noble,” she added. “My uncle said to tell you he would again be in your debt.”
The clerk returned, carefully carrying the wine cup in both hands, so as not to spill any. A clumsy servant who drank part of it himself, or claimed to have spilled it, would find the price of the drink taken from his meager earnings. A slave would simply be beaten. The clerk set it down on the table close to his master’s hand.
“Well, if you can pay, then I suppose I must honor an old friendship,” Gemama said, frowning in his reluctance. “You will pay me one silver coin now, in addition to what the seller asks for his tavern, and the fee that must be paid to King Eridu. Then you will pay me one silver coin each month for a year. You have enough for all that?”
“Yes, Noble,” En-hedu said, forcing a smile despite the steep prices. “We have just enough, Noble.” With the clerk there, it wouldn’t do to admit to have more coins. He might have friends of his own who would be interested in relieving two strangers of their wealth.
Gemama rose. “Return here in the morning. Ask for Melchior,” he nodded to his assistant. “My clerk will take care of everything.”
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed them. En-hedu and Tammuz both bowed several times before walking quickly from the garden.
Once in the lane outside, Tammuz led the way. “He suspects us already.”
“More than suspects. He knows,” En-hedu agreed. “Yavtar said Gemama knew war was coming. But he’s earned even more of Yavtar’s favor for this, and at very little risk. If the war goes badly for Sumer, Yavtar will protect him. If Sumer wins, then we can be denounced or killed at any time.”
Tammuz spat on the ground. “Sumer will never beat Akkad. Look at the people’s faces. They’ve been defeated once. They’ve had a bellyful of fighting.”
“For now,” En-hedu said. “But in six months, even a year, things may change.”
“Only the gods know for sure.” Tammuz put his arm around Enhedu’s waist and gave her a squeeze. “Only one more night at that wretched inn. With luck, tomorrow evening we’ll sleep in a place of our own once again.”
“Then tomorrow night, I promise to pleasure you with my new skills.”
“Then whatever we pay for the tavern, it will be well worth the cost.”
16
King Eridu pounded his fist on the table so hard the heavy wood shook under the impact. “What do you mean, they cannot come? How dare they refuse my summons!” A fleck of spittle driven by the force of his words hung unnoticed at the corner of his mouth.
Five men sat at Eridu’s council table, and not one of them lifted his eyes to meet the enraged king of Sumer. Razrek, in charge of the king’s soldiers, sat at Eridu’s left. Shulgi, Eridu’s son and second in command under Razrek, sat at his father’s right. The three remaining men represented cities in Sumeria: Hammurat, from Larsa; Kuara from Isin; and Emenne, from Lagash. The representatives from Nippur and Uruk had failed to arrive. Each sent a messenger pleading urgent business that kept them at home.
The sound of birds chirping came from the garden below, their cheerful notes enhanced by the silence that followed King Eridu’s rage. At last Kuara, chief advisor to Naxos, the king of Isin, lifted his eyes. “They did not come, King Eridu, because they will not support a second attack on Akkad’s border. They know the time is not yet right to start another war. As does my own King Naxos of Isin. Everyone knows the barbarian Eskkar keeps his promises. One more raid on his lands, and the war will come south. It will be the cities and villages and farmlands of Sumeria that will face devastation and destruction.”
“So Isin is afraid to fight,” sneered Eridu.
Kuara reached out with his right hand to lift his wine cup. He took a small sip before setting it back on the table. He possessed only a thumb and forefinger on that hand. The subtle gesture sent a message to Eridu. Kuara had once fought as a soldier for King Naxos, until an enemy sword stroke cut off his fingers. As men told the story, Kuara still managed to kill his opponent, despite the severity of his wound.
“Isin will fight when the time is suitable, when what we expect to gain outweighs the risks.”
Eridu snorted. “Now your warrior king is a merchant, weighing profit and loss?”
Kuara shook his head in resignation. “The land Akkad holds is needed by Isin even more than Sumer. We will fight to take that land, take what is ours. Many men in Isin are eager to wage war against Eskkar, and King Naxos will supply more than his share of fighting men when the time is right. But now is not that time.”
“That is the same concern of King Naran, which he wished to convey to you.” Hammurat of Larsa spoke with a hint of passion in his voice. Tall and spare, he had advised the king of Larsa for many years. “Larsa needs time to strengthen its walls and build up its defenses. If the barbarian comes south, Larsa will be the first to feel his fury.”
“Your King Naran was eager enough to cross the Sippar and seize the farmlands,” Eridu said. “And to take the largest share of what we captured. Now you want to hold back? While the Akkadians increase their strength?”
“Larsa took the larger share because we took the greatest risk, and many of our men died in the fighting.” Hammurat shook his head. “We will send our soldiers across the border when a victory can be assured. Perhaps in a year or two — ”
“King Naran and the others will send more men at once!” Eridu’s hand shook with anger. “The sooner we attack, the faster Akkad will be destroyed!”
“Neither Larsa, nor Isin will send more soldiers at this time,” Kuara said. “Nor will the other cities. This is the message King Naxos of Isin told me to bring to you. Eskkar’s forces are too strong to challenge again.”
Mentioning the name of Akkad’s ruler brought even more fury to Eridu’s already red face. Veins bulged on his forehead. “The other cities will obey me! They will provide me with men and gold, or I’ll have Razrek level their cities to the ground!”
