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It was eight days after the invasion of Arge, and the convoy finally passed the edge of the forest after walking along the river for days. They were very close to Uruk. The exhausted captives looked rundown with their torn clothes, the males with long whiskers. As they reached the top of the last hill before Uruk, the captives saw a settlement on a large plain. Since they had only known Arge, they thought their destination was going to be similar. However, on the plain stood a huge fortress with many buildings behind its walls. The river ran through the middle of the settlement area, houses spreading over both sides of the river.

Their astonishment increased the closer they got to the settlement. The walls of the fortress were so high. People capable of building such things must be very powerful. Behind the walls, they could see a monumental temple built with steps like a pyramid. If there were any correlation between the power of their magic and the size of this temple, the resident deity must be much stronger than Ninhursag. They kept talking about these astonishing new sights:

"I didn't know there were such big temples and crowded villages besides Arge."

They saw a crowd waiting for them just inside the settlement walls, which appeared to have thousands of inhabitants. The soldiers beamed with pride before the admiring crowd. Some of the townsfolk had the same kind of long swords. In Arge, such gatherings only took place after a big hunt.

The town's children threw stones at the captives who shielded their faces with their hands and gathered closer to each other for protection. Some of the children kicked and pushed, anything to make the captives understand their subservience.

Mad was so exhausted and ill that he could hardly walk, so Dawi and another young captive helped him.

The captives finally reached the gates of the fortress after being humiliated and tormented by the residents, but once inside they couldn't believe what they saw.

The tall walls of the castle had been reinforced by a second row of walls, meaning that the high, outer walls were obviously not enough. On the contrary, Arge had never needed walls. With all its greatness and enormity, this place wasn't as safe as Arge.

The fortress inside was much different from the outside. Roads paved with cobblestones ran in front of stone houses that were built close to each other.

The prisoners were forced deeper into the city as the residents stayed behind or walked down another tree-lined road.

There stood the temple with its front wall looming as high as the fortress wall. A huge, terraced building stood behind the steps of the temple, extending its full height. This temple, which was at least seven times larger than the one at Arge, was fearfully impressive.

The captives walking toward the big temple hoped for better treatment there. Maybe they would be shown mercy, after the cruelty of the crowd they had earlier encountered. At least the priest might be nice to the people.

When they got to the temple, they were stopped. A bearded, old man wearing a crown appeared at the door with similarly dressed men standing behind him. They all wore long ceremonial garments of linen. The crowned elder and his associates looked down with scorn on the captives rather than showing mercy. Perhaps the gods weren't pleased with their rundown condition.

After checking each captive, the crowned elder told Zarat, "You have done a good job. Tammuz will reward you."

Zarat bowed before the priest and said, "Your Excellency Priest Khotar! I only wish for you to pray for my long life. The longer I live the more I'll serve the temple, find slaves and iron ore for him. Tell Tammuz that we discovered large iron ore deposits where we captured these slaves. Now he can reward us as he will for the iron and slaves we have brought him."

"I'll tell Tammuz," said Khotar. "Don't worry about your reward! Tell your soldiers to go home and rest. They look tired."

After Zarat's orders, many soldiers left, but a few stayed with the captives. Khotar examined the captives more closely. He noticed Mad's condition and said, "This man can hardly stand; he must be sick. Why did you bring him? You should have killed him."

Zarat explained, "Your Excellency Khotar. Don't see him as a sick man. He is a very brave man. He saved a captive in the river. He got sick in the swamp and he had been on the road for eight days. Look at him once he recovers."

"You know what will happen to him if no one buys him!"

"Don't worry, your Excellency."

"Take them to the market and sell them. Bring the silver you earn to the temple. And I'll talk to Tammuz about your reward."

"Certainly, your Excellency!"

The soldiers took the captives to a square in the middle of some houses. The people used silver coins to buy things in the market. The vendors collected the silver in little leather bags. The silver coins were constantly moving from one man's bag to another's. They were going to sell the captives for silver. People were sitting on small stools drinking something from metal bowls. In a workshop, some men worked on iron. Some wore garments with small metal plates sewn onto them, like those worn by the soldiers who destroyed Arge.

When they got to the town square, there were half-naked male servants fitting customers with fancy garments. A few women in the crowed were making fun of the captives. After the horsemen gathered the captives into a close group, Zarat addressed the crowd:

"You, noble people! Look at the healthy slaves Zarat has brought for you. We're selling the best slaves cheaply. Let female slaves entertain you in bed, and help your wives with chores. And let male slaves shepherd your herds and work in your fields. For the lowest price, have the best blessings and entertainment!"

The men in the crowd held up their fingers to signify their bids. Zarat who understood this sign language responded quickly. The female slaves were sold off at once. The big bargaining took place when young male slaves were sold. The men who bought the slaves gave Zarat silver coins with strange stamps on them. The half-naked assistants claimed the newly bought slaves and bound their hands once again. The slaves' resistance didn't help them. The crowd roared with laughter as the slaves held onto each other, reluctant to be separated from their lifelong companions.

By the end of the day, only Mad and two older villagers hadn't been sold. Mad was young, but his tired, rundown appearance made possible buyers hesitate. On the other hand, Zarat repeated the same pitch:

"Don't mind his temporary condition. This young man was very brave. He got sick on the road. That's why he looks rundown."

A man with strange clothes said, "If he dies, will you guarantee to pay back my silver?"

"I guarantee many things but not this!" Zarat said.

"Older slaves never go for high prices, but at least they can work for a season. What if this man dies tomorrow?"

"For Tammuz's sake! No slave I sell dies before paying off his price."

The buyer looked at Zarat in disdain and left.

Zarat was unhappy about not selling Mad and the two older men. Before nightfall, he said, "Let's go to the barracks and eat."

One soldier asked, "What should we do with them?"

"Lock them in the basement. We'll try to sell them again tomorrow. If not, we'll deal with them."

The soldiers and the unsold captives went to the barracks, which was close to the town square. It was enclosed with a low wall and had hundreds of horses in an open space.

There was a two-story building around the barracks. Behind this building was another which was smaller and in better condition. This smaller building had sculptures and drawings and higher-ranking soldiers to guard it.

Ordinary soldiers lived in the bigger building. Horse carts and drinking taverns were located behind this building. Zarat separated from the soldiers when they entered the courtyard.

Mad, who was by now very ill, was carried by the older captives, Serba and Makrut. They felt Mad was lucky as he would soon be delivered from this world.

They were taken into the dark basement of the big building. They could barely see by the light of the burning walnuts the soldiers carried with long tongs. They found themselves in a large empty space in the basement. A merciful soldier gave a loaf of stale bread to Makrut as the soldiers were leaving.

Mad was losing consciousness and was unaware of his surroundings. The older captives went to sleep after they ate the stale bread and discussed their probable fates.

Zarat was with the three captives again in the morning, pessimistic about their being sold today. He shouted at the captives, "Khotar was right. We should have killed you before!"

The older captives who were holding Mad up lowered their eyes and thought it might be better to die rather than endure their fate.

Again, they didn't attract any attention when they came to the town square. A few prospective buyers looked them over, but didn't buy. Zarat, in a foul mood, told his men, "We'll wait a little longer and then drown them in the river. I don't want to waste all day with these old men."

After a short while, a woman in a beautiful dress came and looked at the captives from behind her veil.

Zarat went to Mad and took off his vest to reveal his chest. He almost begged the woman, "Noble woman, Mannu's daughter Sunak! Don't believe your eyes. He is only pretending to be sick. He saved his friend's life in the river. He is very strong and brave. You are the daughter of Mannu, you can easily recognize quality. Please, trust me!"

Sunak turned her veiled face to Mad and looked at him carefully. Zarat was pleased when she nodded that she would buy him.

"You won't be sorry! I know slaves. This slave will make you happy. I'll toss in these two old captives as a gift to you."

Sunak nodded again, and her maid paid Zarat in silver.

The two old men were happy to be saved from being drowned in the river. They owed their lives to Mad, the priest Mad who still had a hand in their welfare. Strangely, they had wished for his death just yesterday. They followed Sunak and her helper, carrying the sweaty and barely conscious Mad.

A young man with short, black hair looked at Mad as he lay on the floor and said, "Finally, you woke up."

Mad asked, "Where am I?"

"You are in the palace of noble Mannu's daughter, noble Sunak. Verily, I thought you would die. You should be thankful to the gods."

"Ninhursag saved me, not your gods!" he said angrily.

The young man's finger traced the star symbol on Mad's chest and asked, "Is that why you have this?"

Mad then discovered that his upper body was naked. He touched the symbol that was burned into the flesh over his heart. He stared at the ceiling and repeated, "Goddess Ninhursag protects me."

"You'd better not upset the gods."

"How did I get here?"

"Sunak bought you from Zarat and brought you here."

"Where are the others?"

"The two old men are in the barn taking care of the horses. They are good with horses."

"I know horses well, too."

"Good, then you work in the barn, too. What's your name?"

"Mad."

"I never heard such a name. What does it mean?"

"Free man! What about you?"

"I'm Sunak's slave."

Hearing the word "slave" brought so many things to Mad's mind. At that moment, Sunak entered the room with a veil covering her face, walking seductively over to Mad. The young man who had been talking to Mad, turned to Sunak and prostrated himself in front of her.

After looking at Mad, who watched in astonishment, Sunak left without a word.

The young slave raised his head and said, "That is Sunak."

"Why didn't she talk? Why does she have a veil?"

"Only peasants, slaves and whores go without veils here. Noble women only show their faces to noble men. They don't let slaves and ordinary men look at their faces, and they don't talk to commoners."

"What's a whore?"

The young slave found it strange that Mad didn't know the meaning of that word and asked seriously, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"And you don't know what a whore is?"

"Right."

"A whore is a woman who belongs to everyone. Noble women only belong to their men."

Mad was hearing the meaning of the word for the first time in his life. He'll surely learn many new things here. He is finally in the faraway place he yearned for. He'll learn the things he wondered about all his life.

The young slave asked, "Are you hungry?"

Mad replied, "Very much, but my stomach feels strange."

"That's normal since you were poisoned. I'll bring you some hot bone soup."

As the young slave walked to the door, Mad asked, "What's your name?"

"Danel."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen," said Danel and left the room with a smile.

Mad sat up on the floor and looked around. The room was big and the walls were high. There were human and flower figures on the walls. The door was big and engraved of wood. There was a big window on one side of the room and a fireplace on the other. It looked clean as if it hadn't been used before. The only objects in the room were a thick sheet and two pillows.

Danel came back with an iron bowl in his hands. Mad took the bowl, drank some of the soup and gave it back to Danel.

"Thank you."

"You haven't had enough. You have to drink it all to get well."

"I'll have it later. Now I have to get up."

Danel helped him stand. They walked to the big window and Mad looked outside. It was a green place, full of flowers and perfect tree-lined streets, all well taken care of.

Mad pointed at the building with steps all the way to the top and asked, "What's that building?"

"The temple," Danel answered. "The step-wise structure of it is called ziggurat."

"What does ziggurat mean?"

"It's God Tammuz's palace. Our god lives there with his women."

The name was familiar to Mad. "So Tammuz is also here," he said. "How can I go there?"

"Tammuz only meets with the priest Khotar and people he chooses. Commoners like us can only see God Tammuz in Dilmun."

"What's Dilmun?"

"It's the place where unlimited meat and date wine is provided for us. It's the place or the garden of the gods where we go when we die."

"I don't believe that!"

"Why?"

"Because we had all these things in Arge, and the soldiers burned it down. Now they dream about a place like that. Ram always told me, 'Everything a man thinks he needs is also a trap for him'."

"Who is Ram?"

"The priestess who served the temple in Arge."

"Was the temple servant in Arge a woman?"

"Yes, why not?"

"Don't tell anyone this. Here only men may be priests to serve in the temples."

"Why can't it be a woman?"

"Because women must obey men, or they will upset the gods and never go to Dilmun."

"I don't believe this."

"Why?"

"Because my Goddess Ninhursag is a woman. She accepted our dead regardless of their sex. We believe that men who don't treat women right can't go to Ninhursag."

"This is not Arge, but Uruk. The god here is Tammuz, and the priest is Khotar. Don't you ever contradict 'Me,' or the gods will punish you in the worst way."

"What's 'Me'?"

" 'Me' is the system of laws set by the gods and priests."

"So you have rules here, too."

"What did you think? How can one attain peace and order in Uruk, amidst thirty thousand residents?"

"What are laws and orders good for besides enslaving people?"

"Don't let the gods hear you talk that way."

"I'm not scared of the gods. I don't care about their 'Me'!"

"If you knew them, I bet you wouldn't talk that way. You would be more afraid than anyone else. Let's go. I'll show you a place where you can take a bath and shave. Since you feel better, you'll stay in the barn tomorrow night with the horses, so enjoy your last comfortable day in here."

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