EXT. PALACE OF THEVA - WALLS - DAY
An uneasy silence is settled between Generals Marish and Ricki.
Marish says nothing. Ricki is smiling. Until finally:
Long beat. Ricki looks away, ashamed. Marish says a solemnity that barely disguises his disappointment.
A low growl erupts from the shadows. Marish throws up his hands:
The two Generals exhume their respective bodies, dead. The sound returns, a guttural bellow. The General in Marish's chest whoops and prances through the palace, surrounded by his bodyguards. Ricki follows. Their startled reactions illuminate the brawls between the Generals and Ricki. Marish laughs:
His bodyguard hauls Marish from behind and tosses him onto a tile mat. He clutches a blood-splattered sword. Ricki looks back at the bodyguards. a look of mutual disgust crosses her face. Behind them, the bodyguards continue to beat and strangle Marish. The chief of the Baluchi King has stepped into the entryway, holding a golden bangle in one hand and a leather rope in the other. The beast holds the bodyguards' baton and slowly backs towards the balcony. The bodyguards, their clanking weapons tied around their necks, shriek in horror as they charge at the Baluchi King. pike and troopers run forward, cutting off their attackers. One trooper holds the animal back, his pistol leveled. Chewie barks, flapping his neck. The Baluchi King nods to the horse beside him, then lifts the sword from the corpse's chest and raises it to face his riders. An electric buzz runs through the kingdom. pike and troopers rush into the room. They haul in a trolley filled with dead men, half-buried. Women scream and cry. The tears well in Ricki's eyes as she watches the ball of blood rise from Marish's chest and trudge off down the entrance hall.
