The Pursuit of
Shugat-Nergal
A story about Ancient Sumer
by James W. Bell © 2002 - 2003
10
Stopping in a narrow lane in the most disreputable quarter of Kullab, Nanay studied the cracked clay tile above the door, an embossed picture of a charging bull. “This must be Shugat-Nergal’s place,” she told Denisha.
Denisha pulled back her cowl to better examine the plaque. The wall of crumbling mud brick was featureless except for the square address plate set above an old door of weather-beaten wood planks with a pullcord hanging out the hole beside it. “Here?”
The love goddess nodded. “No decent man would live in this warren. But the Rat told me Shugat did. On the Lane of Adventurers at the sign of the Charging Bull, he said.”
“The door’s unsealed,” Denisha noted. “Somebody must be inside. I’ll ring.” She pulled up her hood, then reached out and gave the pullcord a tug. A bell clanged inside.
Footsteps approached. The door opened and Denisha’s heart leapt as Shugat-Nergal’s handsome face peered out. But his eyes were dark and suspicious. “Yes?”
The goddess spoke for them. “Just arrived from the desert we are. Interesting items to show we have. Bright -”
Shugat shook his head. “Sorry, you have the wrong address. Not interested.”
“But –” Nanay reached out to touch Shugat’s hand.
He slammed the door shut. Sounds of it being bolted came from inside.
“By Nin!” Nanay fumed. “Never have I had a door slammed in my face! And by a mortal! I’ll teach him.” The goddess turned, stepped back into the middle of the narrow road and stretched her hands up to the blue Sumerian sky. “Ishkur, come flying to my aid. Bring your lightning bolts. Hurry,” she intoned as a breeze arose and stirred dust in the street.
Little boys came to see what the lady was shouting about.
“My lady,” Denisha asked, “what are you doing?”
“Getting help. Ishkur, God of Storms. I’ll teach that Shugat-Nergal a thing or two. Slam the door in my face, will he?” She looked up again as did Denisha.
A small, low-flying cloud appeared overhead and the little boys pointed at it. A figure sat on the lead edge, his sandaled feet dangling. To Denisha, he looked like an old man with a long, white beard dressed in a woolen shift and horned cap. He peered down and waved.
“Ishkur,” the goddess called up to him.
“Nanay, I brought the lightning bolts. Who do you wish me to smite?”
The Goddess of Love was about to reply when Denisha grabbed her arm. “My lady, let’s don’t do anything hasty.”
“What is this, Denisha? Are you about to tell a goddess what to do?”
“My lady, our goal is to bring Shugat-Nergal to justice. Let us reflect before we command a god to smite him.”
“My dear girl, I’m not about to ask Ishkur to smite Shugat. No, I plan to have him smite Shugat’s bolted door. With a single bolt of lightning, Ishkur can reduce it to splinters.”
Denisha shook her head. “And have the neighbors think we’re breaking in? They’ll hear the commotion and start calling for watchers.”
“Aren’t you a watcher?”
“In the marketplace. Out here, I’m off the job. I left my staff of office at the market. And, knowing Shugat, the question would arise, who would pay for his destroyed door?”
“Oh.” Nanay looked at the old wood plank door with disgust. “Then, pray tell, what would you suggest?”
“My lady, before you smite, let me try the pullcord once more. If we wait a bit, Shugat might cool off. He’s feral, like a wild animal, excited by contact with others.”
“I find him more resembling an unmannered beast. But I will contain my wrath till the call of the afternoon watch. Ishkur will remain overhead. If the door hasn’t been opened by then, I’ll command him to smite it with a bolt of lightning.”
11
At the call of the afternoon watch, Denisha gave the pullcord another tug. As before, the bell clanged inside and footsteps approached the door. It opened and Shugat-Nergal looked out. “It’s you two again!” he exclaimed and moved to slam the door shut.
Denisha stuck her foot between the door and jamb. “Not so fast.”
“He was going to do it to me again!” the love goddess shrieked. “He was going to slam the door in my face!” She looked up at the cloud overhead. “Ishkur!” she hollered.
“My lady!”
Shugat pulled the door open and stuck his head out. “What’s going on out here?”
“She’s calling on the Storm God to smite your door with a bolt of lightning.”
The youngsters still hanging around started shouting, “Strike! Strike!”
“What did you say?” Ishkur called down from the cloud.
“Why choose my door?” Shugat asked Denisha. “And who is the woman?”
“Smite that door!” Nanay shouted.
“Smash it, do it in!” the boys chanted.
“She’s Nanay,” Denisha said, “the Goddess of Love!”
“I can’t hear you!” Ishkur called down.
“My lady!” Denisha implored.
“Hey!” Shugat shouted.
“Ishkur, I command you –”
The shouting and cajoling drowned her words.
Shugat-Nergal stepped out from the doorway and grabbed Nanay’s arm. “Things have gone far enough. This is my house and my door!”
The goddess focused angry eyes on the handsome criminal. “Let go of me!”
“Not till you tell me why you want to break down my door.”
“You should know better than to slam it in the face of a goddess.”
“A goddess?”
Again, the voice came from above. “Nanay, what was it you said?”
“Smite!” the boys shouted.
The goddess glanced up at the cloud. “For the moment, Ishkur, be quiet.”
“Nanay?” Shugat asked. “Did I hear him call you Nanay … the Goddess of Love?”
Nanay faced Shugat-Nergal squarely. “Why should I tell you now? You wouldn’t listen to me the first time. No. You slammed the door in my face. You … you beast.”
Shugat-Nergal bowed his head humbly. “My lady, a thousand pardons.”
The boys quieted.
The Goddess of Love threw back her cowl and Shugat saw her rich, lustrous black curls and kohl-lined eyes. He gazed at her beautiful face with lips tinted pomegranate red.
He went down on one knee, his head bowed. “My lady,” he acknowledged her.
“What do you want me to do with the lightning bolt?” Ishkur’s voice came from above.
Shugat looked up at the goddess with awe-struck eyes. “My lady, give him leave to strike.” He pounded his chest. “I have proven myself unworthy, deserving of punishment.”
Nanay stared at the handsome man in sandals and kilt, on his knee before her. “I thought you were a beast,” she whispered.
Denisha sidled up. “My lady, don’t start empathizing with him. He is.”
Shugat scowled in her direction.
Again the voice from above. “Nanay, this lightning bolt is getting heavy.”
Shugat pointed to the cowled figure behind Nanay. “And who is she?”
The Goddess of Love called up to the cloud. “Put it down a while, Ishkur.”
The cowled figure behind the goddess chided Shugat. “Lucky you.”
Shugat pointed again at the hooded figure of Denisha. “My lady, I demand to know who that is mocking me.”
Nanay turned to her companion. “Show yourself, my dear.”
Denisha threw back her cowl, exposing her plain face and straight black hair.
“Denisha, it’s you!”
“Hello, Shugat.”
“Denisha, what are you doing here?”
Nanay answered. “It was Denisha who informed me about you. It was she who told me what you had done to her in the marketplace. She asked me to help her find you.”
“In the marketplace?” Shugat asked wide eyed.
“When the necklaces fell out of your sleeve,” Denisha said. “Remember?”
Shugat-Nergal slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Of course! How could I have ever forgotten? Oh, Denisha! I am so glad you came. I owe you an apology. I have to admit … the last time … in the marketplace, I treated you most abominably.”
“What’s this?” Nanay asked. “You are apologizing to a watcher?”
“Indeed, my lady. This poor woman works in the Uruk Marketplace as a watcher for the Karum. A misunderstanding occurred between us that led to a confrontation and … But why do we stand out here in the street conversing? May I invite you both into my most humble abode? Perhaps to share a pot of beer?”
Denisha turned to Nanay with narrowed eyes. “My lady, beware. You can’t trust him.”
The Goddess of Love glanced upwards at the little cloud overhead. “Ishkur will be waiting up there. He’ll keep watch over us.”
“As you will, my lady.”
“Why not?” the goddess said and turned to Shugat. “A pot of beer would be welcomed on a hot day like this.”
Shugat nodded. “Ladies, I’m a bachelor, you know.” He smiled. “Please – you must give me a minute or two to get the place tidied up before you come in.”
“My lady, you see?” Denisha asked. “With Shugat, nothing is ever simple. Everything he does has a catch.”
Shugat rolled his eyes.
“Really, Denisha,” the goddess said and then turned to Shugat. “Go ahead, Shugat, and tidy up. We’ll wait out here till you’re ready.”
Shugat smiled again and gently closed the door. Immediately, loud noises came from inside. They continued for some minutes before fading away.
12
“At first appearance,” Nanay told Denisha, “Shugat-Nergal seems nice enough. He’s certainly shown himself to be considerate of you and your feelings.”
“Hah! My lady, that’s what he pretends. Watch what he does.”
“You seem to have little faith in him.”
“I have none left. He shredded it … tore it to ribbons … destroyed it. Utterly. As you’ll learn, my lady, Shugat does things only for his own benefit.”
Nanay smiled. “Well, since I am a goddess, it would benefit him greatly to make friends with me.”
Denisha shrugged. “My lady, it might seem that way to you now.”
“I wonder what he’s doing.”
“There’s no telling. Probably looking for a way of escape.”
“Nonsense. He knows we’re all out here waiting.” Nanay fidgeted. “But I don’t understand why he keeps a goddess waiting. Denisha, give that cord another pull.”
Denisha tugged on it again. The clang of a bell sounded inside but this time there was no sound of footsteps. Silence. “You see?”
“Open the door, my dear.”
Denisha put her hand on the door and pushed. It didn’t budge. She put her shoulder to it. It refused to move. “My lady, the door feels like it’s bolted inside.”
“I can’t believe it.” The goddess came to the door and put her ear against it. “I don’t hear anything.”
Denisha’s face had a knowing smile. “There may not be anything in there.”
“Don’t smirk, Denisha,” the goddess said and gave the pullcord a jerk herself. The bell inside clanged loudly but still nothing happened. She put her shoulder to the door and pushed—hard. Again, it refused to budge. “Open!” the goddess shouted. Silence. Then she sighed. “All right,” she declared, “you asked for it, Shugat-Nergal. We’ll blast our way in!”
She stepped back out into the middle of the narrow lane where she could see the cloud overhead. “Ishkur!” she called up.
The old god leaned over the edge and peered down. “Yes, Nanay?”
The goddess pointed at the door. “Pick up that lightning bolt again and hurl it at this door. Strike with all your force. Destroy it.”
“As you wish,” the old god said and went to retrieve the lightning bolt.
He came back holding it in his hand. It was scintillating and brilliant, making even the Sumerian sky appear dark.
“My lady,” Denisha said, “Shugat may still be inside.”
“If he is, he’d better damn well let me know.”
Ishkur hefted the lightning bolt and the air crackled.
“My lady –”
“Strike, Ishkur,” the goddess called. “Strike!”
Ishkur hurled the lightning bolt at the door. SssssssssssssssSTRACK, WHAM! A crack of thunder shook the Earth, rattling the brickwork. The door burst apart. Loose bricks and chunks of rotted mortar thudded into the narrow lane.
Denisha peered through the haze of dust to see what had happened. The door had vanished. In its place, the wall had a gaping hole twice the size of the door. Rubble was strewn everywhere and what she could see of the room inside was littered with debris.
Nanay bit her lip. “Perhaps, Denisha, I was a bit hasty. Go inside. See if Shugat-Nergal’s in there. Find out if he’s hurt. Hurry.”
Denisha clambered across the debris into the room. Furnishings and whatnots were scattered wildly over the floor. In the far back corner, a flickering flame still burned in a small copper sesame oil lamp set in a niche. Beneath it, there was a hole in the wall.
She made her way across the wreckage to the opening. It was barely big enough for a man’s body. Putting her head through it, she leaned out. There was only a dead-end alley with no one in sight. She pulled in and made her way back across the room to go out the opening that had once been the front door.
“Well?” asked Nanay. “Tell me, is he hurt?”
“My Lady, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I didn’t find Shugat-Nergal. He’s not in there.”
“Not inside? Impossible! With my own eyes, I saw him go in.”
“My Lady, there’s a hole in the rear wall. It leads into an alley out back.”
“I can’t believe it!” Nanay charged into the room and hurried to the hole in the back wall. Like Denisha, she stuck her head through it and peered out. She sighed. “Bless Bess, you’re right! There’s nothing back here but an alley. No sign of that criminal.”
“My lady, he’s managed to give us the slip. He’s likely far away by now.”
“He invited us in and then asked us to wait a minute,” Nanay fumed. “Had to tidy up, he claimed. Left us waiting in the street outside. He would have left me – a goddess - standing out there till the end of time. That irreverent, lying bastard! I’ll get him if it’s the last thing I do!”
Denisha managed to pull up her cowl before the smirk appeared on her face.
To Chapter 13
Go Back to the Fiction Menu
| |
