The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

Isis' Plot

Isis and Ragash had made camp a day's march away from Thebes. The Babylonian king wanted his soldiers to rest after racing them all the way to Egypt. He wanted them to have as much energy as possible for the first battle. He knew the Egyptians would attack them as soon as they came within sight of Thebes. But there was also another purpose for stopping where they did. Isis and Ragash were meeting one of Isis' old allies, General Nakuto. For the sake of secrecy, the general had only brought an escort of two men with him.

"My queen! It is so good to see you back in Egypt!" Nakuto said, bowing and kneeling before Isis. He kissed the hem of her dress. His escort bowed and kneeled to her, too. "I've received your message. We should be able to get into Thebes without a problem. I can say I came to aid in the battle against Babylon. Then my men can attack the troops within the city and open the gates to let the Babylonians in, if they can get past the troops positioned around the city."

"That shouldn't be a problem, since we've learned where they all are," Ragash said. "We will go sneak past them during the night and storm Thebes with all of our might just as dawn breaks."

"In the meantime, my men will protect Queen Isis and help her take the palace from the inside," Nakuto said. "We will sneak her inside and help her take that loathsome daughter of the Nile and Imhotep hostage. The other Egyptian soldiers won't be able to fight after that. They'll surrender quickly."

"Yes, very good," Ragash said, smirking deviously. "We shall have Thebes by the end of the day!"

—∞—

That night, Ragash and Isis marched their troops stealthily toward Thebes, careful not to encounter any Egyptian troops. They ran into a few Egyptians scouts, but those men were quickly killed before they could leave to warn the troops. They became visible from the city at mid-morning.

The Egyptian lookouts shouted when they saw the Babylonian troops, raising the alarm. The city gates were locked. The troops stationed in the city rushed to get ready to meet the enemy in the event that they broke through the gates. The archers on the walls prepared to shoot.

The Babylonians didn't hesitate. They marched right up to the city walls. The archers fired, and the Babylonians shielded themselves.

Inside the city, Nakuto and his men revealed themselves as traitors. They started slaying their fellow Egyptian soldiers, starting with their leaders, while a small group of his men rushed the gate and opened it for the Babylonians.

The Babylonians poured into Thebes as a crashing wave.

The shocked Egyptian soldiers didn't know what to do. Half of their leaders had been killed before they even knew what was happening, and they could not hear the scattered commands being shouted at them over the noise of the Babylonians roaring and shouting as they advanced.

In this bloody chaos, Isis was met by a small group of Nakuto's men.

"We are here to take you to the palace, Queen Isis!" they said, giving her a disguise so they could sneak her in.

Meanwhile, something Ragash did not expect was happening. Memphis, Minue, Ruka, and their escort were arriving just outside of Thebes.

"Your Majesty! We're being attacked!" Minue said anxiously when he saw what was happening.

"We must rally the troops!" Memphis said, glad that they had switched to horseback, so the arrival of their grand ship hadn't drawn the enemy's attention. "Sneak in using the chaos and take control of the scattered soldiers!" he ordered Minue and the soldiers with him. "Ruka, you go to the palace! I'm worried about Carol!'

"Yes!" Ruka said. They split up as they entered the city, and Ruka rode toward the palace with as much speed as he could muster.

—∞—