“I am sorry to report this, your Majesty, but the first shipment has been stopped.” Yuni was shocked. “What do you mean, stopped, Nizer?” she yelled. “The dye was stolen somewhere between Kadesh and Qatna.” Nizer held his ground as he was very familiar with his queen's quick temper. “Then move more troops into Qatna!” Yuni demanded. “What is Akizzi doing about this?” She asked. Akizzi was another relative and the ruler of Qatna. “Akizzi has Qatna well-fortified. The problem is the lawless region between Baalbek and Qatna.” “Have Kikkuli position more troops in Qatna,” Yuni replied. Kikkuli, the famous horse trainer was Yuni’s ace-in-the-hole. “He cannot leave Nuzi because of the Assyrians,” Nizer explained. “Shit! Is that all, Nizer?” She asked. She was weary of hearing bad news whenever the scribe reported to her. “No,” Nizer replied.” “The Ištar issue is resurfacing.” “I thought we were done with Ištar; I sent her statue to Egypt to get her out of here. Is Nineveh becoming restless? What do the priests say?” “The problem is in Lalish, at the temple of Ištar north of Nineveh,” Nizer explained. “I’ve heard from others about this,” Tušratta added. “There was an appearance in Ištar’s Lalish temple. It is making quite a stir inside the religious community.” “What appearance? Is it a person? Where does this person come from? Who sent him? What does he want?” “She, it is a she, Yuni.” “Well, Tush, is she a vagrant? What is the big deal? Why not just feed her and send her away? Most importantly, why is this your problem?” “There are things about the woman that cannot be explained. She just appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, at the end of the Sacrifice of the Bull. And she is different.” “Different? How? In what way, Tush?” “As you know, the people of Lalish are light skinned, like the Hittites; they have blue eyes and light hair. This woman is dark like us, more like you.” Being of Mediterranean descent, Tušratta’s skin was olive colored while Yuni’s copper color was from her Eastern origins.