The halls were illuminated as the moon shone brightly from the eastern sky. No one was up, save for the few unlucky souls who were picked to form the night watch. Each one taking his post from the previous, they rotated through the grounds, watching for any forms of life. Usually, they found none.
This night was no different. If those who were up wanted to be found, they would be found. However, tonight was not a night for leisurely walks or lighthearted talks before bed.
The first man slipped noiselessly behind the South guard, followed by three others from the East and North entrances.
The last man came from the West, and startled a guard before reaching his destination. Before the guard could question him, he pulled a cloth from the folds of his covering and pressed it firmly against the guard's mouth. The guard fell with a quiet thump against the marble, and the man quickly moved inside the temple proper.
He faced the other four assembled and pulled a scroll from his covering. "Forgive my tardiness. I was detained before entering."
"Will he remember?"
"No."
The four nodded, moving to get a glimpse at the scroll the man was opening across a small table. "Brothers," the man began, "the time has come for us to set aside petty squabbles and to move forward with what we know must happen."
The four men looked and the scroll, catching only sideways glances at each other and willing another to speak first. After what seemed like hours, the man who entered from the south slowly cleared his throat. "What you are asking us to do… it is utter madness."
"Really?" asked the man who had opened the scroll. "It has been done before. It has been done in more difficult circumstances. It has been done by less capable than us. I don't see what would be holding us back."
"It would mean death for us all!" exclaimed a man who entered from the East before being quieted by the others. He scowled and leaned forward against the table. "If this was not to succeed, then it would mean certain and painful deaths for us all," he continued in a more hushed tone than before.
"But if it was to succeed," the man with the scroll continued, "we would be the most powerful men in Egypt."
The four pulled back, slightly nodding and considering the possibility. "Do you have any idea how we are to go about this?" the man from the north asked.
The man smiled. "Yes. I have thought many nights on this, and I think in that scroll you will find exactly what we need to go about this." He leaned closer to the four men. "You will be richly rewarded beyond your wildest imagination. Nothing short of the stars will be yours for the taking."
The man from the north nodded slowly. "I shall agree."
The pair from the east sighed. "We will trust you on this. The opportunity is too much to pass by."
The man from the south stood over the scroll, running his finger down the lines of meticulous writing. "Are you in?" the man from the west asked.
"Yes," the man from the south replied quietly. "May the gods have mercy on my soul."
"This calls for a celebration!" The man from the west waved his hands over the table, and on top of the scroll appeared five copper goblets of wine. He raised his and smiled while the other four reached tentatively for their own. "To our agreement, my brothers. To the death of the pharaoh!"
"To the death of the pharaoh!"