Chapter 14

The Friend of My Enemy

The city of Gangasagar stood like a monument in front of him. The king with his hunters had come from the sea and entered the city through the delta, silently in the night, using a small boat; their main ship was still anchored in the sea.

The city was an architectural marvel. It was built by the second king of the eastern empire, who had shifted his capital from Patali. That was the only good thing the man had achieved in his lifetime. But after this, his sons and grandsons could not hold the city. Three generations later, the city was overrun by pirates from the south.

The once beautiful city, built with stones cut from the Himalayas, had now become a centre for piracy and slavery. Filled with treacherous vile men and thieves and the filth of a civilised society, the once proud capital city of the eastern kingdom was now a heaven for the kind of men who were not fit to live with good, hardworking and honest men.

The king saw, through his window, the buildings that stood by the canals connecting the rivers. The canals were generally filled with very little water. But during the rains, they were almost overflowing, helping people to travel by boats. The rains had not arrived yet. So, there were not many canals filled with enough water for boat travel. But the king’s hideout had been well chosen by Andhak, and they had entered the city without being detected.

The king was in deep thought about something, which was interrupted by a voice.

“My Lord!”

He turned. The man who had arrived was kneeling in the middle of the room. Surrounding him were the ten most elite members of the king’s personal body guards. They were dressed in pitch-black metal armour with a golden sun engraved on their chest. Their metallic helmet covered the entire face, except the eyes. It had horns like that of a bull. They had curved swords in their sheaths, which were hanging at the waist. There were bows, arrows and spears at the back. Together, they created a sight that would give nightmares to any man. Maybe that was the reason why the newcomer was not looking up or maybe he was just afraid and overwhelmed to be in the presence of his king. Along with the king were Andhak and Nakshatra. They were by their Lord’s side, looking equally formidable.

The king’s attire had changed from what he had worn in the palace. His frail body had now healed and he could now wear his regular battle attire. He was wearing a golden body armour with a golden cape and a golden hood that covered his face. Interestingly, he had no weapon on him.

The Lord spoke in a cold voice, which was now surprisingly strong. “Rise! Tell me. What news do you have?”

The man stood up, but he did not look up. He said, “My Lord, the man who I was supposed to follow has been settled in a shack on the upper reaches of the Ganga.”

Andhak asked, before the man could speak further, “How far is it from here? How long will it take to go there from here?”

“My Lord! I have already scouted a way. It will take two peher to reach there if we go by boat. If we leave after nightfall, we can reach at a time when they will least expect us. This is the best way. But that is not the problem.”

“Guards?” Andhak enquired.

“Yes, My Lord! The place is heavily protected. Our man is a guest of the most powerful pirate lord of Gangasagar. Naturally, he has been given every protection he can.”

The king spoke calmly. “Naturally, you have found out everything we need to know about this pirate lord.”

The man nodded and said, “Yes, My Lord.”

The king turned to Andhak. “Ask him everything about this mysterious pirate lord who has decided to act against me. Then I would like to talk to you alone.”

Saying so, he rose from his chair and left the room. He was closely followed by Nakshatra, who motioned to the standing guard with an open palm. Then five men came out of the line and followed him out of the room, leaving five inside the room with Andhak and the informer.

***

The sun was almost up. The bodies had been lying there since morning. The flies had started their work. The stench was growing. The combined heat and smell started taking effect. Among the dead, someone was coming alive. His breath had become shallow after he had become unconscious. But now he was feeling another body lying on top of him. The weight was not allowing him to breathe. He took a deep breath. With all the effort he could muster, Vidyut pushed the dead man off his body. He then tried to pull himself up but the pain in the chest was too much to use his arms again. So, he lay there breathing fast, trying to gather his strength. His head was aching. The area of the face where he had been hit by the shield was sore. As he lay there in the sun among the dead, he tried to remember what he had last seen. He remembered getting numb after the vicious blow. And then there were fleeting memories of a few men and a few names, but he couldn’t remember much.

Before Vidyut could think anymore with an aching head, some movement towards the forest caught his eye. He slowly turned his head to see two wild dogs trying to pull a dead man inside the forest. They were a little distance away. Even in his weakened state, he could see the face of the man. He was the same soldier who had told him just last evening how good he was at throwing swords.

His pain was replaced with anger, not for the two dogs but the men who had done this massacre. He tried to pull himself up but he could not muster enough strength. So, he started shouting. He had observed that noise sometimes scared wild animals away. But not today, when they were getting food so easily. The dogs looked towards him on hearing the noise. Then they returned to pulling the dead soldier inside the tree line.

Vidyut was getting frustrated with his inability to protect the dead man. He had failed them in life and now he was failing them in death too, he thought. In frustration, he started hitting his head on the ground. Just then, he heard neighing. It was definitely a horse. Now he could hear the hooves’ sound coming closer. He turned his head towards the same road from where he had come not long ago. And he saw a white steed coming towards him, with a tall figure dressed in white. Vidyut closed his eyes in relief as he raised his hand as much as he could. He shouted once again and then fell back unconscious.

***

“So, how long does it take?” Jayant enquired again. They had been riding all morning. Rakt Guru had said that they would stop at the village.

“This is my first time too, you know,” Devdhar replied.

Chandra said, “We will reach there by evening.”

“How do you know?” asked Jayant, raising an eyebrow.

“You asked how long and I told you. Why does it matter how I know?” Chandra said playfully.

“Because I don’t trust you. What if you are lying to make me happy?” Jayant answered coolly. He then looked suspicious. “Or maybe you are just lying to make me stop asking questions.”

Devdhar and the others within earshot laughed. Then one of the others asked. “So, why are the two of you coming with us? Is it because of your exceptional skills with weapons or do you bore your enemies to death with your talking?”

The Raktsena soldiers laughed again. Before Jayant could say anything, another man said, “Rakt Guru was saying we needed someone to cook food and clean the garbage.” They laughed again.

“I for one can say,” Devdhar said, “that I would rather drink water and eat fruits than eat the food that Chandra makes.”

“We will have to listen to this man. They are gurubhai, aren’t they?” another one chipped in.

“Yes, they are.” Jayant scowled. “I for one can say that I will not be the only one to cook food.”

“We will see about that, young man,” a heavy voice said, as a horse passed Jayant and went ahead. The man sitting on it was heavily built; his red robe was tight, showing his bulging muscles. His hair was greying and trimmed very short. His skin was of dark colour. By the horse’s side hung a long bow and a quiver full of arrows, all with red feathers indicating his allegiance to the Raktsena. As the man went ahead, the others dispersed slowly in all directions. When only Chandra, Devdhar and Jayant remained, Jayant asked, “Who is he?”

Devdhar answered quietly. “He is Commander Ravindran. He is one of the second-in-commands to Rakt Guru.”

“So, he is a bow-and-arrows man,” Jayant stated.

“Not just any. He was taught by Guru Anand himself. He is one of the last remaining men in Elders’ army from the south. They say he was trained during the same time as Guru Mohak and Rakt Guru. He was one of Guru Anand’s best students. He is the only one in the Elders’ land who can shoot five arrows at the same time.”

“Devdhar!” A voice called from somewhere ahead and Devdhar excused himself. He took his horse towards the man who had called him.

“He is not the only one,” Jayant said as Devdhar moved out of earshot.

“What?” Chandra enquired.

“He is not the only one who can shoot five arrows,” Jayant said proudly.

“What do you mean?” Chandra was puzzled.

“My sister, Aditi, can shoot five arrows at the same time. She has been practising since the age of five.”

Chandra could detect pride in his voice. Well, he too was amazed by the feat achieved by Aditi. He was thinking of her as just Aditi. Something had struck in him and he did not want to call her Jayant’s sister. Of course, when he had first seen her, he had not known she was Jayant’s sister and he could not have predicted that he would become good friends with Jayant. Every now and then, the thought of Aditi came back to him. He did not know why but he was not disliking it. He was so deep in thoughts of her that he had to be jolted back to reality.

“What happened to you?” asked Devdhar. He was back and he was looking at Chandra with a strange expression.

“Nothing.” Chandra changed the topic at once, as Jayant looked suspicious. “What was that about?” He pointed towards the man who had called him.

“Rakt Guru has ordered everyone to stay focussed and get a little pace. We are entering the forests known to be the hunting grounds of Mrityusena,” said Devdhar, looking grim. He went towards the back of the group to convey the message to the remaining men.

“They won’t be here,” Chandra said, shaking his head.

Jayant looked surprised. “Why do you say so?” he asked.

Chandra looked at his best friend. “If you were the leader of Mrityusena and if you attacked a village this close to the Elders’ land, would you move closer to the Elders’ land or away from it?”

Chandra’s logic was solid. He said, “My guess is he and his men are moving as far away from us as possible. And we will find them in these vast forests only if we are lucky.”

“Or unlucky?” Jayant said gloomily, looking at the sky where the autumn sun was shining high.

The sun’s brutal rays had started to burn the very ground on which they were standing. It was going to be a long and tough summer.

***

As he had been ordered, he had stayed in the shadows but Prastar had seen everything. At first, he had been confused as to why Kaalkesh had attacked the village and captured the tribesmen. Later, he began to admire how easily he had infiltrated the ashram and taken the people prisoners, as he had been asked to do. Everything had gone according to the plan until he had decided to change everything.

Kaalkesh had killed Sriyash and his men and taken the prisoners too. One thing was certain—Kaalkesh had turned against the king and he was not going to take the prisoners back to Suryagarh. The question was—what was he supposed to do? He had heard Kaalkesh and he knew where they were going. He had a decision to make quickly. He weighed his options for some time and made up his mind.

Rambh had been suspicious of that one man. He had known all his men but he could not place the face of that one man who he had seen very often since they had left Ashtaal. So, when that man’s horse started moving slower than the others in the company, Rambh noticed him again. He kept looking backward. And surely enough, soon he could not find the man. He ran up and down the whole garrison but the man had vanished. Rambh called four of his men to one side. “There was a man among our ranks. A new face. Have you seen him?” Rambh asked them silently.

The men looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Imbeciles, the whole lot of you! Someone came inside our garrison and disappeared silently and you did not even notice,” he shouted. “Looks like the alcohol that we loot has completely rotten your mind! Send ten men back and tell them to find that man and bring him back alive or I will hang your corpse by the city walls myself,” Rambh ordered the men and took his horse towards Kaalkesh’s to tell him of this development. He knew his Lord, Kaalkesh, would not be pleased but he had to tell him, come what may.

***

The Temple of the Cursed

The old man stood in front of the temple. He had not envisioned coming to this place again, but his life had been long and a long life could take any turn. One such turn had happened a few days ago, when he had been attacked on his way back home from a sermon. And now, this new turn was going to complete the circle for him. But before that, he needed something from the temple that he knew would be there.

Entering the temple was bringing back age-old memories of something that had been started for a good reason but had turned into a nightmare. A nightmare that kept repeating itself over and over. He took a deep breath and entered the cursed place, hoping this would be the last time.

***

Shwet Guru looked at the dead body on the floor. He knelt down and saw the lifeless face of the man he had tried to bring from Suryagarh alive. After months of planning and reconnaissance, all of them were lying dead in front of him.

The guru examined the body. There was no sign of any wound. No blade had pierced his heart or slit his throat. But his neck was broken. Someone had killed him with his bare hands. His eyes were still open. So, Shwet Guru closed the eyes with his fingers, stood up and left the room. He then went outside the ashram. He had already seen the carnage outside.

The men who had vowed to follow him lay dead all around the ashram. Shwet Guru had picked up their bodies and put them in one place at the back. The next thing to do was to burn them. He went inside the forest with his horse. It took him a lot of time. By the time he had collected enough wood, the sun had started to set. He went back with as much dried wood as he could gather.

Shwet Guru started making a pier at the back of the ashram. Amidst the crunching sound of the dried wood and leaves, he did not hear Vidyut coming. He noticed him standing near the dead bodies, his head hung in despair. Shwet Guru walked up to him and placed a hand on his bare shoulder. Vidyut turned.

“I tried my best, you know. But they were more than we could handle,” said Vidyut.

Earlier, Shwet Guru had applied some paste he had made from the herbs he had and placed a bandage on the wound on Vidyut’s chest. The bleeding had stopped but the pain was still present, which was evident on his face.

“It is not your fault. You were against impossible odds,” said Shwet Guru sympathetically. He was right. But Vidyut was not a man for sympathies. He had never lost a battle. This was a new experience for him. He was more troubled about the fact that good men had lost their lives.

“I told Pancham that it might be a trap. But he did not listen,” said Vidyut, stamping his foot on the ground with anger. “No one listened to me.”

“Don’t exert yourself. The wound will start bleeding again,” said Shwet Guru, pointing to a stone lying there. “Sit. Anger is not going to help.” He picked up a branch as Vidyut sat on the stone. “We have to plan our next move. But before that, we have to respect the dead.”

The pier was high enough for the bodies. One by one, Shwet Guru picked the dead bodies on his shoulders and put them on the pier. In the corner, he had already got the fire going. He picked up a dried burning branch from the fire and put the dried leaves in the pier with the branch. Without any delay, the pier was on fire and the men who had vowed to fight till the end with Shwet Guru were on their way to be put to rest. As the fire burnt high, Shwet Guru turned to Vidyut, helped him up and led him to the ashram. He had already cleaned Acharya’s room and thrown all the other dead bodies in the forest. He had prepared the room for two men, one bed on each side, by the wall. He made Vidyut sit on the bed.

Shwet Guru said, “Stay put. I will get some food for both of us. You eat fruits, don’t you?”

“Yes, if needed. I won’t die,” said Vidyut.

In spite of himself, Shwet Guru smiled. Here was a man who had almost died and not a day had passed since the carnage, and he was trying to show that he was not affected. Shwet Guru left the room and closed the door behind him. The man was strong, there was no doubt about it. Pradyuman had chosen well. He would prove a valuable ally. In fact, he already had. Any lesser man might not have survived this much. But there was more to come.

Shwet Guru picked up a torch from the wall and stepped into the dark forest to pick up some food. They would discuss their options after dinner. Both of them had not eaten since last night, and without a full stomach, their minds were getting numb.

***

The king heard everything that Andhak had to say about this pirate lord. The man was one of the three biggest pirates who operated out of Gangasagar. Why he was helping the king’s target? This was still a mystery. But one thing was certain. The man was powerful. He commanded fear and respect among the people of Gangasagar.

“So, where is this Lord’s lair?” the king asked.

“Not very far from here,” said Andhak. “According to our man, we are currently staying in the free zone. The whole city is divided among the three lords. The area where we are now doesn’t fall under any of them. This area, which consists of two small rivers and its canals, is infested with the small pirates who distribute the loot of the three main lords in the main land. If we take the canal in front of our shack and go upriver, we will find the small river with its canal systems that form the Lord’s territory. He lives away from the river. The other two lords have tried to kill him many times. So, he stays away from the river.”

“He seems a wise man,” the king said.

“Not wise enough to stand against you,” Andhak stated.

“Hmm. So, how about we make him understand what the right side is?”

The king was not smiling. But Andhak could feel his thoughts in his tone. His king was returning to his normal self. The loss of his powers had made him insane. But now, with what he had got back, he was beginning to feel alive again. Power made him happy. And his happiness was more dangerous than his anger. He thought of all the torture that the king could be planning for the poor pirate who had unknowingly decided to enrage him.

The king’s next command interrupted his thoughts.

“Send an emissary to the other two pirate lords. Tell them that the King of Suryagarh wants their audience.”

***

The stench of death met their nostrils before its sight. They followed the stench as it grew stronger. Many soldiers, including Jayant, vomited as they reached the village outskirts. Lesser men would have stayed outside rather than enter this graveyard at night. But the men of the Elders’ army, the Raktsena, were men of iron hearts. They were not easily perturbed by the sight that would give most men a lifetime of nightmares. They stopped in the forest. As everyone settled, after tying their horses, Rakt Guru came up to them.

“I will go inside the village for inspection along with a few men. The men who are not feeling well will stay behind and prepare the meal. Tonight, we will camp here. We have to wait for the soldiers from Anandmath.”

“How long will we have to wait?” a soldier asked. Everyone turned to see who he was. Chandra observed that it was the same man who had been teasing Jayant earlier.

It was Ravindran who answered instead of Rakt Guru. “As long as we tell you to. Now that it is clear that you look more eager than anyone else, pick up a torch and lead the way into the village. The others will follow you.”

Regretting his slip of tongue, the soldier picked up a torch and walked slowly, but as he reached Ravindran, he held him by the scruff of his neck and said, “And mind you, a single vomit by you and you will regret it for the rest of your life.” Ravindran then let him go. The soldier quickly ran towards the others waiting.

Rakt Guru followed but Ravindran lingered for a moment to see the ones who had stayed back. “A weak stomach represents weaker men. If the smell of death does this to you, what will be your condition when you see death upfront? From tomorrow, I will ensure that all of you learn to live with death, be a part of it, and when the time comes, embrace death with honour.” Saying so, he turned and walked away.

Chandra looked around at the men standing. Some of them looked angry, some were afraid.

“What was that? Something about death and honour?” Jayant asked, coming out from behind a tree.

“Where were you?” Chandra looked astonished.

The others had already started working. Some started collecting wood, while some opened the bags to get food items to be cooked.

“I was vomiting behind those trees, what else? This smell is nauseous. I think I lost my stomach in that last bout,” said Jayant, shaking his head in despair.

“You two recruits!” someone called.

“Yes sir,” said Chandra and raised his hand.

“Come here. We have got lots of food to prepare.”

Both the recruits reached the place where all the vegetables were spread out. “All right, which one of you is Jayant?”

“I am,” said Jayant, looking towards Chandra with a suspicious look.

“We have heard a lot about your cooking. Chandra will help you prepare it,” he said with a smile. “But first cut the vegetables. As soon as the fire is ready, you will shift to cooking.” The man thumped Jayant’s back and said, “We are looking forward to it. I am really hungry after all the vomiting.”

Chandra laughed aloud as he left and received a well-aimed kick from Jayant.

“It’s all your gurubhai’s fault. Now everyone will pay for his mistake. I have never cooked in my life,” said Jayant, scowling.

Chandra laughed again. “Don’t worry, my brother. I will do the cooking. You just stay by my side.”

“You know how to cook?” asked Jayant, looking surprised.

“A bit, yes,” said Chandra and sat down. He picked up a knife and started peeling a potato. Jayant sat by his side. “So, what was that thing about death and honour?” he asked again.

Chandra thought it was better to save his friend from the horrifying thoughts that would occur to him after hearing what Commander Ravindran had said. He would find out in the morning anyway.

He said, “It was nothing. He said it was an important mission and we should accept death with honour, if the time comes.”

Jayant rolled his eyes. “Why is there talk of death?” He threw the potato that he had picked. “Is it not possible to come out of a battle without dying?”

Before Chandra could reply, a voice shouted, “Hey boys, enough with the chit chat. Get on with it.”

Chandra smiled at his friend and said, “We will find a way to live through the battles, my brother. With or without honour, I have no intentions of dying. Period. Now, let us get on with the cooking or we will be first ones to be killed by the hungry mates.”

Jayant laughed and together their fight with the potatoes began.