When word of Zal and Rudabeh's passionate affection spread throughout the realm of Kabul, tranquility vanished from the palace of King Mehrab. Terrified of King Manuchehr’s imperial wrath and knowing that his lineage traced back to Zahhak, Mehrab knew his kingdom could never withstand the thunderous blow of Sam's one-strike mace. Overwhelmed by fear and rage, Mehrab summoned his queen, Sindokht, laying the entire blame upon her and swearing that the only way to appease the monarch of Iran was to put both Sindokht and her disgraced daughter, Rudabeh, to death in public, sacrificing them to save Kabul from annihilation.
Sindokht listened silently, bowing low while her sharp, diplomatic mind sought a resolution. Rising with graceful dignity and folding her arms in reverence, she addressed the agitated king: 'If wealth exists to safeguard life, then squander it without regret. Though a night be long and cloaked in deepest gloom, darkness cannot endure forever; dawn inevitably breaks, transforming the world into a radiant ruby.' Mehrab retorted in fury, demanding that she drop philosophical allegiances and offer a concrete solution or prepare her body for a shroud of blood.
Unmoved by his threats, Sindokht declared that her blood would not be shed. She volunteered to embark on a perilous mission to Sam's camp, wielding her eloquence like a drawn sword to soften the world-champion's heart. Her sole conditions were complete access to the royal treasury and a binding, solemn oath from Mehrab that he would inflict no harm upon Rudabeh during her absence. Struck by her courage, Mehrab surrendered the keys to the vaults and swore the oath.
Sindokht then assembled an extraordinary diplomatic caravan: thirty thousand pure gold dinars; thirty Arabian and Persian steeds caparisoned in solid gold; sixty attendants wearing golden collars and holding goblets brimful of musk, camphor, turquoise, and precious jewels; forty imperial brocade robes glittering with gems; two hundred and thirty tempered Indian blades, thirty of which were steeped in poison; a hundred red-haired she-camels; a hundred pack mules; a magnificent jeweled crown with matching armlets; and a majestic golden throne loaded upon four massive Indian war elephants. Thus arrayed, the resolute queen set forth into the lion's den, armed with wisdom and boundless treasure to shield her daughter and city from the fires of war.