When they were gone, Ismenne would begin a new sketch, matching what she’d learned against her previous attempts. Slowly the long table underwent a change, turning into a map that illustrated every major feature of the countryside between Akkad and the cities of the south. Every bend in the river, every stream that fed into the Tigris, every hill and valley, took its place on the map. Eventually the table ceased to exist, giving birth to the map that would guide Eskkar and his senior men through the coming war.
By the end of the first year, the map stretched from Bisitun to the great sea beyond Sumer. But the work never ended. Trella continued to gather new information from her spies, and she relayed it to Ismenne. Traders, travelers, even explorers, Trella spoke with them all, gathering information as innocently as possible.
In that same year, Ismenne passed from child to woman, her body filling out. She stood a hand taller than Trella now, with hair as dark as her mistress. Strangers often assumed Ismenne to be Trella’s younger sister.
Fortunately, for Trella at least, Ismenne’s change into womanhood bonded her even closer to her queen. Ismenne felt no urge to marry, no awkward feelings toward the boys and young men around her, no rush to experience the pleasure of the gods. She understood the importance of her work, and was determined to see it to completion.
I n their workroom, Trella faced Eskkar across the table. After being gone for almost forty days visiting the horse camps in the north, Eskkar had worked up quite an appetite, and he consumed almost all the sausage, cheese, and bread the servants carried up to their chamber. Trella ate her fill, too. Like most people in Akkad, she preferred to eat only twice each day, in the mid-morning and at the day’s end. At last Eskkar pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
“Are you ready to meet with your men?”
He nodded. “Yes, now I can face a long day of talking. I’m not sure why, but the food here at the house always tastes better than anywhere else.” He reached across the table and touched her hand. “Perhaps our lovemaking improves the flavor.”
She clasped his hand. He had practically dragged her into bed as soon as he arrived, pausing only long enough to wash up at the well. Before their passion subsided, the evening supper had come and gone, and they had dined on cold chicken and bread before he fell asleep.
“Your commanders should be arriving now.” She could already hear Gatus shouting about something or other in the courtyard below. He and the others had been summoned by Eskkar to discuss what progress they had made, and to hear about his inspection of the northern camps. “I have a surprise for all of you this morning. The Map Room is ready for use.”
Eskkar lifted his eyes to the door. When he had left for the north, two planks nailed across the entrance sealed the room shut. Now all traces of the planks had vanished, and the door stood ajar. “Let me see.” He started to rise.
“Let it be a surprise, Eskkar. None of your men have visited it either, so you might as well see it all together.”
Heavy steps sounded on the stairs. “Eskkar! We’re coming up!” Gatus had a powerful voice that penetrated throughout the house.
Trella stood by Eskkar’s side as Gatus pushed the door open and the commanders filed into the workroom. “Good morning,” she said, nodding in turn to Bantor, Hathor, Alexar, Mitrac, Klexor, Drakis, and Yavtar, who, like Eskkar, had returned yesterday from another voyage to the south. “Today you will have your first meeting in the Map Room. I think you will find it quite a surprise.”
“The gods know you’ve been building it long enough,” Gatus said, but he softened his voice as he always did when speaking to Trella. “I hope it’s worth the wait.”
“Follow me, then.” She led the way, pushing the door open.
One by one, they stepped across the threshold, and every one sounded a gasp or uttered words of astonishment. Eskkar, the last to enter, found his men gathering about a long table that stretched nearly the length of the room.
Trella had moved to the far end. Standing beside her was another woman. “This is Corio’s daughter, Ismenne. She has done most of the work on the map, and is the best person to answer your questions.”
Trella could have explained it just as well, but wanted the soldiers to know how she felt about Ismenne. Trella wanted Ismenne to have their trust, and that would be best accomplished by keeping her not only in the room, but privy to all the questions and information the commanders possessed.
“You’ve grown into a woman, Ismenne,” Eskkar said as he approached the head of the table. He, too, gazed down at the map in wonderment. “And this is all your work…”
“Yes, Lord Eskkar.”
Now every man in the room stared at the map. They could see the miniature city of Akkad marked out by the curve in the river. The village of Bisitun, the gold camp at Nuzi, the horse and training camps to the north. Eskkar moved down the table, his fingers trailing along the edge of the table, following the river, until he stood beside the city of Larsa, the first of the Sumerian cities. The city’s outline looked different from what he remembered from years ago. He extended his finger to touch the map, then hesitated, and glanced at Trella. Eskkar knew a map sketched on papyrus required a pointing stick, to avoid damaging the material or smudging the image.
Ismenne understood the unasked question. “You may touch the map, Lord Eskkar. These colors will not smear unless you rub them too hard, and any marks can be easily removed or repaired.”
“She has painted and repainted every spot on the map dozens of times,” Trella added.
“What are these lines?” Hathor had leaned over the table and pointed at the model of Akkad. A series of short strokes radiated out from the city in several directions.
“The black lines show how many days’ march any place on the map is from Akkad. The red lines,” Trella extended her slim arm and pointed to another group of lines, “indicate a day’s ride for a company of horsemen. As you can see, there are five black lines leading from Akkad to Bisitun, but only three red lines. Now you can understand why I have had so many questions about men and horses for Gatus and Hathor. And Yavtar, too, for traveling times up and down the rivers. Those are the white lines marking the downstream water routes, and the blue lines upstream.”
“So it’s three days march to the gold mine at Nuzi,” Eskkar said, letting his own fingers step over the lines as he counted.
“As Gatus explained to me,” Trella said, “that assumes the men are carrying their shields, spears, swords, some food and their water skins. And assuming there is one pack horse for every forty men. If the soldiers have to carry more, then each day’s journey will take longer.”
The pack horse carried the men’s cooking pots, a shovel, and other odds and ends needed by the men. Hathor and Eskkar had argued over the cavalry’s number of pack animals, before finally settling on one pack animal for every thirty men. A large train of animals would slow a fast-moving force. Both men had agreed that the cavalry should move at least three times faster than a company of men on foot.
“So it is five days’ march to Kanesh,” Gatus said, his eyes blinking as he strained to see the markings. “And from there, another
… four days’ march to Larsa.”
Gatus, Trella knew, could see things at a distance without difficulty, but lately had trouble seeing things close up. Another problem of those who lived to old age.
“Yes. Our walkers have estimated these distances, and made adjustments for the terrain. So if the land is hilly or ground soft, it will take longer to cover the same distance.”
“I can see where we’ll need Yavtar’s boats to bring supplies,” Eskkar said, his finger brushing several places on the map. “And other sites where we should store food and weapons. Supplies, too, should be prepared in advance, perhaps hidden, or buried in the earth. Your boats are going to make the difference in the coming war, Yavtar.”
Trella nodded. Her husband never failed to impress her by his knowledge of such things. As Gatus had once told her, Eskkar could take in a battleground at a glance and come up with the best plan of action. He did it without thinking, the natural skill of a man who had fought many engagements.
“I’m building three kinds of boats, Lady Trella,” Yavtar said, lifting his eyes from the map for the first time. “You might want to add more lines for the different types of vessels.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Trella turned to Ismenne. “We’ll work with Yavtar tomorrow, to get estimates of his fighting ships as well as his messenger craft.”
