Bystanders in a story of lots

Royal guard of the doorway

It was a cold winter night, one of those bone-clenching nights when the south wind brings a moist, cool breeze up from the Gulf. And so, it was a quiet night with few wanderers stumbling through the empty, damp alleyways of Susa. Or rather a quiet morning, Teresh thought, for sunrise was closer than sunset by the time Bigthan returned from his patrol. It felt even quieter than it was after a week of uninterrupted banquets, this time made for the coronation of the new queen. Esther, he reminded himself. Not that Ahasuerus seemed to need an excuse for a wasteful banquet.

Teresh: Peace upon you brother, may the gods bless your souls.

Bigthan: May the gods bless your souls, brother.

Teresh: What news does the Barn-Owl bring tonight?

Bigthan: The rebellion to the northeast has ended, thank the gods. With the bulk of the armies in Greece...

Teresh: Hush! Do not use names or Persian words! Only a handful in the empire speak our tongue, but we must be careful of someone catching on to anything we say.

Bigthan: I am sorry brother; I will be more careful. As I was saying, with the armies in the west losing battle after battle to the hill tribes, and a – how long has it been?

Teresh: Four years since the late queen's execution

Bigthan: ...and a four-year rebellion in the empire's heartlands, the imperial coffers are all but empty.

Teresh: The Barn-Owl has access to the imperial coffers?

Bigthan: The master sending the owl must have.

Teresh: The Owl is code for the master, brother! I did not think the avian messenger with a brain the size of a toad's had access to the palace treasure rooms! But even that might be larger than the olive in your skull!

Bigthan: Of course not, brother; forgive me, for it is really quite late...

Teresh: If you cannot hold your wits even at this hour, I will have no choice but to request a different brother for our delicate tasks.

Bigthan: Of course, brother, I will do better.

Teresh: As I was saying, it seems our owl, whoever he may be, has access to the king's coffers. We must have friends close to the king.

Bigthan: Someone other than the Lady Af... um, the lady...

Teresh: the Silkworm.

Bigthan: Silkworm?! Alright, someone other than the Silkworm. The Owl mentioned she was falling out of grace, with the new queen chosen.

Teresh: if that is the case, the Barn-Owl is likely to dispose of her. He does not appreciate loose threads. What else did the Owl speak tonight – yes, brother, I was personifying... what else did the message say? It is unlike the Owl to send arbitrary updates on royal affairs with no mission.

Bigthan: keep a straight face – no, brother, these were his instructions. I do not doubt you, but the Owl might. Anyway, Since the king is running the empire to financial ruin, the Owl believes it is for the good of the realm that he... is disposed of. 'The king is a fool and has to go', were the Owl's precise words.

Teresh: And it is up to us to devise a plan and complete this disposal?

Bigthan: There was nothing more in the message, brother.

Teresh: That bodes well for the level of the Barn-Owl's trust in us, I believe. In our abilities, at least, if not our loyalty. I will need to think about this. Regicide is not easily done.

Bigthan: I'm afraid the Owl wants it done within the week. With the tax exemptions during the queen's banquet, the royal treasury is as empty as an otter's burrow in the summer.

Teresh: a week?! Surely the Barn-Owl would devise a plan and provide means for a ludicrous request such as that!

Bigthan: I'm afraid not, brother. The owl – the messenger barn-owl, not the master – had only the message and the vile. Ouch! No need to hit me!

Teresh: I have plenty of need, brother! A vile?! Why haven't you mentioned this already? A physical object should have been the first thing to mention!

Bigthan: You asked about the message, brother.

Teresh: If I had more than this week, I'd turn you in for a bounty and request a new brother from the Owl! Maybe the extra money and lack of dimwits would allow me to devise a workable plan! Now, where is this vial?!

Bigthan: here, here, under my cloak.

Teresh: Don't pull that out here, fool! Pass it to me under the cloak. There! As I suspected, the Barn-Owl provides. See the engraved glyph on the top? This here, brother, is a poison from an Indian shrub, potent enough to fell three elephants! All we have left to do is slip this into the king's wine – gods know there is plenty of that to choose from – and let the fool drink his own doom! Now shoo, brother! Return to your post before someone notices!

As Bigthan returned to patrolling the quiet walls, leaving his co-conspirator at his own post at the palace gates, a smile crossed Teresh's face. His friend might be in this line of work out of patriotic duty – the fool! – but Teresh sought more personal goals. The Owl was a powerful individual, he must be, and Teresh had no doubt he was an honorable individual. Surely, once Ahasuerus was dead and a puppet king loyal to the Owl was on the throne, those who supported the coup would be rewarded. With poisoned wine, it was even likely they would complete their task uncaught! Assuming Bigthan wouldn't ruin it all with a tiered, thoughtless word, that was.

It is unclear whether the confident royal guard noticed the shriveled Judean man strolling the vacant streets. He might not have, too preoccupied in the many expected perils of an assassin's life to notice a silent shadow in the night. Or he might have, though being so sure in his position, his lofty friends, and his exotic, enigmatic language that he shrugged the unrecognized man away unbothered as a common beggar.

Whatever the case, Teresh did not stop him.

The shriveled man – Mordecai, as he chose to be called in this land so far from the graves of his forefathers – knew this to be a fatal mistake.