Marching from the lands of Arman with vengeful hearts, the forces of Turan turned their war banners toward Zabulistan. Shamasas, advancing swiftly from beyond the Jayhun river, joined Khazarvan and thirty thousand formidable, blade-wielding Turanian chieftains. Vigilant and unyielding, they swept to the banks of the Hirmand River. At that very hour, Zal Zal-e Zar was enveloped in sorrow at Gurab, attending to the tomb of his illustrious father, Sam the Knight.
Within the city stood Mehrab, ruler of Kabul—a prince of luminous mind and vigilant spirit. Learning of the hostile host, Mehrab dispatched an envoy straight to Shamasas. The herald alighted before the grand pavilion and delivered Mehrab's solemn greetings, conveying his clever message: that his bloodline hailed from Zahhak the Arab, and he held no genuine love for the Iranian realm, having bound his house to Zal merely to safeguard his realm's survival. He claimed that now, with Zal away mourning at Sam's tomb, his heart was glad at Zal's distress, praying he might never see the white-haired champion's face again.
Mehrab requested a truce to dispatch a swift messenger to Afrasiab, to reveal his true allegiance, silence detractors, and send tribute fitting for a great king. Should Afrasiab summon him, Mehrab pledged to bow before the Turanian throne and surrender all his realm willingly.
With these deceitful assurances, Mehrab lulled the Turanian commander's suspicions. But even as he wove this diplomatic net, he secretly sent a courier riding like a falcon to Zal, warning him: 'Unfurl your wings like a bird of prey and hasten back! Two warlords with a leopard-like host have camped at the Hirmand. I have bound their feet only with gold and promises; if you delay even for a moment, the malicious intent of the enemy shall prevail, and Zabulistan will fall!'