Immortals of Meluha

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.