Kanakhala smiled and nodded. Her emperor truly understood human emotions.

CHAPTER 10

The Hooded Figure Returns

As the caravan emerged from the carefully chiselled passage leading out from the depths of Mount Mandar, Veerini requested that the carriage be stopped for a minute. Veerini, Sati, Shiva and Nandi went down on their knees and offered a short prayer to the mountain for its continued benefaction. Watching over them on high alert was the Arishtanemi Bhabravya, a strapping man of sixty years with an intimidating moustache and beard.

After a short while, Bhabravya came up to Veerini and said with barely concealed impatience: ‘Your Highness, perhaps it’s time to get back into the carriage.’

Veerini looked up at the captain and with a quick nod got up. Sati, Shiva and Nandi followed.

‘It’s her,’ said Vishwadyumna putting down the scope and turning towards his Lord.

The platoon was at a safe distance, concealed from the caravan. The dense and impenetrable foliage was an effective shield.

‘Yes’, said the hooded figure and let his eyes linger on Shiva’s muscular body. Even without using the scope he was in no doubt that this was the same man who had fought him at the Brahma temple some weeks ago. ‘Who is that man?’

‘I don’t know my Lord.’

‘Keep your eye on him. He was the one who foiled the last attack.’

Vishwadyumna wanted to say that the previous attempt failed because it was unplanned. The presence of the caste-unmarked man had litde role to play. Vishwadyumna could not understand the recent irrational decisions of his Lord. It was unlike him. Perhaps it was the closeness of the ultimate objective that was clouding his judgement. Vishwadyumna was, however, wise enough to keep his thoughts to himself. ‘Perhaps we could track them for around an hour before we attack, my Lord. It will be a safe distance from the Arishtanemi back-up. We can get this over with quickly and report back to the Queen that the informer was correct’

‘No, we’ll wait for a few hours more when they are at least a half day’s distance from Mount Mandar. Their new carriages have systems that can send an emergency signal immediately. We need to ensure our task is done before back-up arrives.’

‘Yes, my Lord,’ said Vishwadyumna, happy to see that his Lord’s famed tactical brilliance had not diminished.

‘And, remember, I want it done quickly,’ added the hooded figure. ‘The more time we take, the more people get hurt.’

‘Yes, my Lord.’

It was the beginning of the third prahar when the caravan stopped at the half-way clearing for lunch. Here the forest had been cut back to a distance that made a surprise attack impossible. The Queen’s maids quickly unpacked the food and started heating it in the centre of the clearing. The royal party and Shiva were sitting closer to the head of the caravan, in the direction towards Devagiri. Bhabravya stood on the higher ground in the rear, keeping an eagle eye on the surroundings. Apart from the royal party, half the Arishtanemi soldiers had also sat down to eat while the others kept watch.

Shiva was about take a second helping of rice when he heard the crack of a twig down the road. Stopping mid-way, he listened intently for another sound. There was none. His instincts told him this was a predator, who realising he had made a mistake, was now keeping still. Shiva looked over at Sati to see if she had heard the sound. She too was staring intently down the road. There was a soft crunch as the foot on the broken twig eased its pressure slightly. It would have been missed by most, except a focussed listener.

Shiva immediately put his plate down, pulled out his sword and fixed his shield on his back. Bhabravya saw Shiva across the caravan and drew his sword as well, giving quick, silent signals to his men to do the same. The Arishtanemi were battle ready in a matter of seconds. Sati and Nandi too pulled out their swords and got into traditional fighter positions.

Sati whispered to Veerini without turning, ‘Mother, please sit in the carriage and lock it. Take the maids in too. But get them to disconnect the horses from the carriage first We are not retreating and we don’t want the enemy kidnapping you either.’

‘Come with me Sati,’ pleaded Veerini as her maids rushed to pull out the holds on the carriage.

‘No, I’m staying here. Please hurry. We may not have much time.’

Veerini rushed into the carriage followed by the maids who quickly locked it from the inside.

At a distance, Bhabravya whispered to his aide. ‘I know their tactics. I have seen these cowards on the southern border. They will send an advance suicide party, pretend to retreat and draw us into a stronghold. I don’t care about the losses. We will chase those bastards and destroy every single one of them. They have run into the Arishtanemi. They will pay for this mistake.’

Shiva, meanwhile, turned to Sati and whispered carefully, ‘I think they must be aiming for a high profile target. Nothing would be more significant than the royal family. Do you think that you too should wait in the carriage?’

Sati’s eyes darted up at Shiva in surprise. A pained look crossed her face before being replaced by a defiant glare. ‘I am going to fight...’

What’s wrong with her?! What I said is completely logical. Make the main objective of the enemy difficult to get at and they will lose the will to fight.

Shiva pushed these thoughts out of his mind to focus on the road. The rest of the caravan strained every nerve to Esten intentiy for any movement from the enemy. They were prepared for the ambush. It was the enemy’s turn to make a move. Just as they thought that it may have been a false alarm, the sound of a conch shell reverberated from down the road — from the direction of Mount Mandar. Shiva turned around but did not move. Whatever was making the noise was moving rapidly towards them.

Shiva could not recognise the cacophonic sound. However, the Arishtanemi from the southern border knew exactly what it was. That was the sound of a Nagadhvani conch. It was blown to announce the launch of a Naga attack!

Though impatient to fight, Bhabravya did not forget the standard operating procedures. He ordered an aide, who rushed to the carriage and pulled out a red box fixed at the bottom. Kicking it open, the aide pressed a button on the side. A tubular chimney-like structure extended straight up from the box for nearly twenty-five feet. The chimney ensured that the smoke signal was not lost in the dense forest and could be seen by the scouts at both Devagiri and Mount Mandar. The soldier picked a branch from the fire and pushed it into the last of the four slots on the right side of the box. Red smoke fumed out of the chimney, signifying the presence of the highest level of danger. Help was six hours away. Four, if the back-up rode hard. Bhabravya did not intend the battle to last that long. He intended to kill each of the Nagas and the Chandravanshis long before that.

Then the attack began, from the side of the road leading to Mount Mandar. A small band of ten Chandravanshi soldiers charged at the Arishtanemi. One soldier was holding the Naga conch shell and blowing hard. Another amongst them had covered his entire face and head with a cloth, except for small slits for his eyes. The Naga himself!

Shiva did not move. He could see the battle raging at the far end of the caravan. There were only ten Chandravanshis. The Arishtanemi did not need any support. He signalled to

Sati and Nandi to stay where they were. Sati agreed for she too expected this attack to be a ruse.