"Our long wait is over," a voice wrapped in old age spoke. In the shadows of Uruk lies the dark intentions of those that reside deep beneath the glory of the kingdom. "Is the temple all ready?"
"Yes, the old torches have been lit, and the walls wiped clean," a strong and authoritative voice, younger by years, answered.
"Excellent!" A woman of old age exclaimed, followed by a fit of cough from the over-excitement that hasn't occurred for years uncountable.
"How sure are you that this is going to work..." A voice of an annoyed young woman echoed through the dark chamber. "...that the goddess will accept a host of foreign race?"
"It takes one to know one," the strong voice answered firmly. "We have confirmed the divine lineage of the queen, all tracing back to her origin: Al-Simr."
"To add to that, the queen is pregnant!" The old woman said. "It raises the chances of summoning the goddess."
"Finish all the preparations by noon. Make sure that the route from the ziggurat to the mountain would be clear. See to it that the cart and boat would also be ready. And you..." the authoritative figure turned to the young woman. "Make sure you mastered the spell to nullify the bounded field. For you, it's a one-time spell. Use it precisely."
The young woman looked down for a second, internalizing the fact that if she failed on this one, there may be no other chance ever. Enkidu would quickly notice the decline of magical energy around the queen's chamber and would surely rush there to interfere.
The cult has waited for so long for an opportunity like this. She can't risk everyone's efforts going down the drain with just a single misstep. And so she stood firmly, eyes fiercely looking ahead of her. "Understood, father," she said.
***
It wasn't long until nightfall and the preparations were already set in place. "Here, wear this," the young woman said as she handed a pair of black clothes to her accomplice, a man she had never once seen before. Although cloth covered his entire head except for his eyes, she knew he was someone new. She hasn't seen those pair of eyes in the capital before.
"And who are you supposed to be?" She asked, placing a hand on her hips.
"You need not know," the man answered. "After all, I'm only here for the money. I have no interest in joining a cult who are die-hard fans of Ina—"
Before he could finish his statement, he was pushed against the wall and the next thing he felt was cold metal pressed against his throat. "You better be careful with your words here, boy," the woman said. "The elders might've taken you down this instance had they heard that."
Seeing as there is no intent in the man to fight back, the woman withdrew her blade. "Hurry up and get dressed already!" She said, getting annoyed by every second that this conversation dragged on.
"What is this anyway?" The man asked as he struggled to wear the black clothes.
"It's clothes sealed in magecraft. I infused my presence concealment with one of the elder's spells so that anyone who wears those clothes gets concealed as well."
"Wow cool," the man replied as he smoothed the clothes over his body upon wearing it. "What are you, some kind of professional assassin?"
"Ugh just shut up already!" The woman replied. Their conversation has been taking too long. In this mission, every second counts and she couldn't waste any more time in this idle conversation. For all she knows, this guy might even be a spy. She has to be extra cautious.
Soon after, the two of them lurked in the shadows as they waited for the streets to calm down. Only a few people were outside. Sooner or later, all would be in their lovely little homes. And by then, the queen is probably in a deep sleep.
"Tell me about the plan," the man said. Furiously and filled with shock, the woman turned his way. "What do you mean tell you about the plan?!" She asked. "Were you not informed?!"
"I was only told I needed to be strong and fast enough to carry a pregnant woman—the queen."
"Are you?"
"'Course I am."
The woman took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She couldn't believe the cult got a musclebrain for this mission. "The queen's chamber is protected by a bounded field. I'm not going to explain how all of that works but long story short..." she started. "I could only temporarily dissipate that field for a few seconds. I need you to be fast enough to get in and get her."
The woman turned sideways to take out a flower from beneath the layers of her clothes. "Whoa, where'd you get that?" The man asked, seemingly surprised at how she kept the flower within her clothes without ruining it.
Ignoring the question, the woman spoke. "This is a sleep-inducing flower," she said. "It's pollen, once inhaled, would keep the queen asleep."
The man was about to reach for the flower when the woman pulled it away. "I'll give this to you later," she said. "You would need to sprinkle the pollen on the queen's nose. To ensure she'll inhale it and that she'll sleep for as long as we need."
The woman placed the flower back beneath the layers of fabric that clung to her body. "Do you understand?" She asked. The man only nodded in response, causing her to frown. "Do you understand?" She repeated her question. "Y-yes," he answered.
"Good," the woman replied. She looked away from him and into the surrounding area of the house that they stood in the shadows of. She wondered how long that conversation went that the streets were all empty by now.
Her mood quickly changed to dead seriousness. "It's time," she said before dashing off, not caring to look back if her accomplice has followed.
In no time, the two of them arrived at the base of the ziggurat. In awe, the man spoke, "It's bigger up close than how I see it from outside the capital" The woman quickly shushed the man for there is no time to pay attention to details she never asked.
As expected, security within the ziggurat is tripled. There were several men by the base entrance of the ziggurat. "What about the guards?" The man asked.
"I'll take them down quickly," the woman answered. "But before their spears fall, be quick enough to catch those before they thud on the floor."
The man nodded in response. She gave a nod in return before dashing inside. A hard blow to the vital parts of the body can quickly kill those guards. And so she made sure to hit them as hard and quickly as she can on the back of their heads near the nape before the other guards could react.
Once finished, she looked back to see that the man successfully caught the guards' spears before they hit the floor. For the first time tonight, she was thankful. The man carefully placed the spears down as quietly as he can before they proceeded to the higher floors, repeating the same actions until they reached the floor on which the queen's chamber is located.
They were as cautious as they can be. For a quick while, the woman scanned the entire floor for any signs of Enkidu. Luck must be on their side tonight for she hasn't seen him at all.
She gestured for the man to follow her toward the queen's chamber. Upon reaching it, she pressed her back to the wall beside its entrance to sense any movements from the inside. She sensed nothing but the presence of the queen who is deep asleep.
"On my signal, get in as fast as you can," she told the man, reaching beneath her clothes for the flower. He nodded in response as he took the flower and readied himself in a stance.
She placed her hand on the wall that she was leaning on earlier. She knew that the field's sigil is engraved there because that is where she senses the most magical energy. She chanted a few words under her breath before light emitted from her hand on the wall and the next thing they knew, the field dissipated.
"Now!" She said. On her signal, the man rushed in. As he did so, she casts another spell taught to her by the elders which fills in the magical energy from the barrier that was temporarily removed so that Enkidu would not notice the decline in magical energy.
Upon reaching the queen's bed, the man saw the queen slowly getting conscious because she sensed the changes that happened to her bounded field. Quickly, he plucked off the pollen from the flower's stamen and sprinkled it on her nose.
Without waiting for another second, he lifted the queen off the bed and ran out. Once he got out, the woman took her hand off the wall. The moment she did so, the bounded field appeared once again.