‘Help the woman first,’ replied the hooded figure.

The soldiers pulled the unconscious woman on to the coracle. The hooded figure then carefully climbed aboard and rowed towards the shore. By the time the hooded figure reached the river bank, the other woman had been revived by Vishwadyumna. She sat disoriented at the rapid chain of events.

‘Are you alright?’ Vishwadyumna asked the woman.

In answer, the woman looked beyond Vishwadyumna and screamed. Vishwadyumna turned around. On the river bank, the hooded figure was coming ashore carrying the other woman’s limp body. His clothes were glued to his massive body. To the disoriented woman, the crocodile’s blood all over his clothes, seemed like that of her friend.

‘What have you done, you beast?’ shrieked the woman.

The Naga looked up abruptly. His eyes showed mild surprise. He, however, refrained from saying anything. He gently laid the unconscious woman on the ground. As he did so, the mask on his face came undone. The woman next to Vishwadyumna stared at him with horror.

‘Naga!’ she screeched.

Before Vishwadyumna could react, she leapt to her feet and fled screaming, ‘Help! Help! A Naga is eating my friend!’

The Naga looked at the fleeing woman with melancholic eyes. He shut the windows to his tormented soul and shook his head slightly. Vishwadyumna meanwhile turned to see his Lord’s face for the first time in years. He immediately lowered his gaze, but not before he had seen the rare emotion of intense pain and sorrow in his Lord’s normally expressionless eyes. Seething in anger, Vishwadyumna drew his sword, swearing to slay the ungrateful wench he had just saved.

‘No, Vishwadyumna,’ ordered the Naga. Pulling his mask back on, he turned to his other soldiers. ‘Revive her.’

‘My Lord,’ argued Vishwadyumna. ‘Her friend will bring others here. Let’s leave this woman to her fate and go.’

‘No.’

‘But my Lord, someone may come soon. We must escape.’

‘Not till we’ve saved her,’ said the Naga, in his usual calm voice.

The royal party, including Nandi and Veerbhadra, were sitting together enjoying their lunch in the courtyard of the rest-house they had stopped at. Half the brigade too was eating their meal. They needed all the energy they could gather to march in this scorching heat. Parvateshwar had come in to check on the food arrangements. He was especially concerned about Sati’s comfort. However, he had refused to join them. He was going to eat later with his soldiers.

A loud commotion from the area of one of the perimeter guards disturbed Shiva. He got up to investigate, motioning to Brahaspati, Nandi and Veerbhadra to remain seated. Parvateshwar too had heard the racket and was moving towards the uproar.

‘Please save her!’ cried the woman. ‘A Naga is eating her alive!’

‘I am sorry,’ answered the captain. ‘But we have strict orders. We are not to leave the vicinity of this rest-house under any circumstances.’

‘What is the matter?’ asked Parvateshwar.

Turning in surprise, the captain saluted and bowed low.

‘My Lord,’ said the captain. ‘This woman alleges that a Naga has attacked her friend. She’s asking us to help her.’

Parvateshwar looked at the woman intensely. He would have liked nothing more than to chase the Naga party and destroy them. But his orders were crystal clear. He was not to leave the Neelkanth and Sati. Their protection was the only objective of the brigade. But he was a Kshatriya. What kind of Kshatriya would he be if he didn’t fight to protect the weak? Seething at the restrictions forced upon him, Parvateshwar was about to say something when Shiva appeared.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Shiva.

‘My Lord,’ said the captain in awe. He could not believe that he was actually getting a chance to converse with the Neelkanth. This woman claims that her friend has been attacked by Nagas. We are concerned that it may be a trap. We have heard about the Chandravanshi duplicity on the Mount Mandar road.’

Shiva heard his inner voice cry. ‘Go backl Help her!’

Drawing his sword in one smooth motion he told the woman, ‘Take me to your friend.’

Parvateshwar looked at Shiva with respect. It was mild, but it was respect all the same. He immediately drew his own sword and turned to the captain, ‘Follow us with your platoon. Brigadier Vraka, put the entire brigade on alert for any surprise attack. The princess must be kept safe at all costs!’

Shiva and Parvateshwar ran behind the woman who seemed to lead them with ease. She was obviously a local. The captain trailed them with his platoon of thirty soldiers. After sprinting for the larger part of half an hour, they finally reached the riverside to find a dazed woman sitting on the ground. With heavy breaths, she was staring in shock at an imaginary vision in the distance. There was blood all over her clothes, but strangely, no injury to her. There were many footsteps that appeared to be coming out of the river and going back in.

The captain looked at the woman who had led them here with suspicious eyes. Turning to his soldiers, he ordered, ‘Form a perimeter around the General and the Neelkanth. It could be a trap.’

‘She was being eaten alive, I tell you,’ screeched the woman, absolutely stunned to see her friend alive and unharmed.

‘No she wasn’t,’ said Shiva calmly. He pointed at the corpse of the crocodile floating in the river. A large flock of crows had settled on the carcass, fighting viciously over its entrails. ‘Somebody just saved her from that crocodile.’

‘Whoever it was has rowed across the river, my Lord,’ said the captain, pointing towards the heavy footmarks close to the river.

‘Why would a Naga risk his own life to save this woman?’ asked Shiva.

Parvateshwar seemed as surprised. This was completely unlike the usual blood thirsty Nagas they had dealt with till now.

‘My Lords,’ said the captain, addressing both Shiva and Parvateshwar. ‘The women appear safe. Perhaps it is not wise for everybody to stay here. If I have your permission, I will escort these women back to their village and rejoin the caravan at Kotdwaar. You could retire to the rest-house.’

‘All right,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘Take four soldiers with you just in case.’

Both Shiva and Parvateshwar walked back, baffled by this bizarre event.

It was late in the evening. Shiva, Brahaspati, Nandi and Veerbhadra sat quietly around the camp fire. Shiva turned to see Sad sitting at a distance, on the rest-house veranda, along with Ayurvati and Krittika, having a serious conversation. Parvateshwar as usual, moved among his soldiers, personally supervising the security arrangements of the camp and the comfort of his boys.

‘It’s ready, Shiva,’ said Veerbhadra, handing over the chillum to the Neelkanth.

Shiva brought the pipe up to his lips and pulled hard. He relaxed visibly. Feeling the need for respite, he smoked some more before passing it back to his friend. Veerbhadra offered it to Brahaspati and Nandi, who both declined. Brahaspati stared at Shiva who kept stealing glances at Sati. He smiled and shook his head.

‘What?’ asked Shiva who had noticed Brahaspati’s gesture.

‘I understand your longing, my friend,’ whispered Brahaspati. ‘But what you are hoping for is quite difficult. Almost impossible.’