The three cats spend parts of the first part of the day (after a morning nap) talking about Ärrnos, Skarpöra and Tofsöra and what they were or are after. What's the point with the strange dominance game they've been playing and what was the point with Skarpöra's manoeuvres that seemed to stretch out out of the area made up out of the the cats' territories and the area in between? They decide to go on a scouting tour following an imaginary line from Skarpöra's territory to their territories and onwards.
They follow that line until the border of their region which is to the corner of and including Ara Pacis - The altar of Augustan peace, a strange monument over one of the humans' leaders, not a god or godess as one would expect. Speaking out half loud and frustrated Svansglidaren wonders why the humans all the time have to clean away his sacrifices when they so obviously understands this with sacrifices and the importance of places for sacrifices. "Well" a cat says "they even clean away in the temples." One of the temple cats have appeared and answers Svansglidaren's unintended question. The cat goes on and tells them about how humans don't really know so much about sacrifices anyway. For one thing they brun their sacrifices because they don't think the gods and goddesses can utilise the sacrifice otherwise, unless the sacrifice raises up to the skies where they're supposed to live. Svansglidaren withdraw his statement about humans understanding, it just looked like that. Svansglidaren steers the discussion to Skarpöra and whether she were hanging around there or tried to sway cats around here. The temple cat says that he did recognise Skarpöra when she appeared in court so probably she has been around here but both she and the other two cats are, according to the temple cat, cats you don't really notice or care about so he doesn't really remember. Another temple cat, out of three, also appears and joins the company. In the end it seems like they just did it to be cool and because they could do it and to be cool.
Suddenly the temple cats look at each other and explains that the humans are about to sacrifice, they smile and they say that they need to watch the humans so that they don't burn themselves on the fire. Svansglidaren asks if they could join them and watch the humans. The temple cats are happy for the attention and even invites them upp on the upper roof where the view is good both over the sacrificing humans and the park that's included in the temple area. The humans are always sacrificing outdoors since they believe that the sacrifice has to raise up through the air up to the gods and goddess. They all gather up on the roof and look at the humans below.
As they watch they realise that they donät recognise the god the humans are dedicating the sacrifice to although cats have a good knowledge about the gods. On the other hand; since the humans have misunderstood so many other things, like how to sacrifice, why shouldn't they misunderstand the looks of the gods and goddesses? One of the temple cats notice their surprise and says that it is a little funny, it's not one of the gods or goddesses they're sacrifising to. "Ah, it's their forefathers?" Svansglidaren says and thinks he has gotten why they didn't recognise the god from the statue. The temple cat looks at him and smiles "Nope...". "Ooookey, then who is it?" Svansglidaren asks perplexed. "It's their Great Leader." the temple cat says, still smiling. Svansglidaren, Tryggtass and Grå looks down at the humans baffled. Apparently they have just one "consul" who makes all the calls all the time, weird. Then the temple cat tells them that he doesn't even come here and eat the grilled sacrifise to get it's power or something. Other people come there and eat the meat from the sacrifices. Apparently the gods and goddesses get the less tasty parts of the sacrifice. "If they get any power from that at all it must be a pity thing from the gods and goddesses" Tryggtass concludes. "They look down at them and goes 'Aw, cute humans, here, have some prosperity." According to the temple cats they have repeatedly tried to sense magic at these sacrifices and never managed so they have concluded that the sacrifises doesnät work. At other temples where the humans actually sacrifce to gods and goddess it seems to work although very inefficient when taking the size of the sacrifices into account.
As the humans go about with their rituals they discuss what's beyond The Peace Altar and the border of the region. According to the temple cats it's the humans central square (named after the humans living here in the city, The Roman Square) and the main temple area beyond there.
Svansglidaren, Tryggtass and Grå thanks the temple cats and walks away to the main square which is quite small for being a main square. There's no commerce going on but it's still packed with people, lot of people ooooh:ing and aaaah:ing when they men at a large podium states things. It seems slightly wild and disorganised evenf or cat standards though. They sneak around the crowd (which feels slightly uncomfortable and untrustworthy for the cats) and take a look at the temples beyond. Among one they find Merkurius' temple, a little like if the humans had misinterpreted a ferret god maybe - a trickster and thief and lover of shiny objects. They don't understand what Skarpöra was after and give up on trying to understand, maybe they did it just because they could. They do notice that there are a lot of corveids in the area though which seems reasonable if there's actually some sort of communication going on between the humans and the gods and goddesses. There is a rumour that there's actually an Egyptian temple in Rome but it's not Bastet - Sekhmet as one could have expected but some other Egyptian gods or goddesses. humans, you never understand them. The humans are getting more and more agitated over at the square and are sounding more and more like dogs gathering in flocks and barking at something and running after something wildly barking. It makes the cats uneasy and they decide to walk around the area and return home. As Tryggtass concludes; she will soon be very busy taking a nap in the sun so she doesn't really have time to watch dog-like humans. They return to the street roof.
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