The boats had been hidden in a thick grove of palm trees near the bay. The sacks of provisions had been unloaded.

"Apply this paste. Get your skin tone one shade darker. Work for a sunburned and tanned look", Mrithyunjay said. "We have all been here. Nobody should recognize us."

The men passed over the beards, mustaches and strands of white hair to each other. They laughed and joked with each other, "Look at me. This mustache literally covers half of my face. My own wife will not make out who I am."

Mrithyunjay stared hard at his men like a strict schoolmaster. But they were not taken in by his mock seriousness. They fell silent for a moment before they burst out laughing once again. Shaking his fists, he went ahead and waited up for them. Among themselves, getting Mrithyunjay all worked up was funny and entertaining.

After their disguises were finished, Mrithyunjay and his group proceeded towards the secret lair from where their spies in Mahishmati operated. To divert the wrong kind of attention, it was ironically situated in one of the most bustling thoroughfares of Mahishmati.

The vendors were hawking their wares, "Come here, Sir. The best carpets you will ever see." The customers were bargaining with the shopkeepers. The page boys were running to and fro. Horses and bullock carts passed by from both sides of the road. Traffic occasionally got obstructed in bottlenecks. Everyone was too busy paying attention to their own business and errands to pay attention to a third person.

Mrithyunjay and his group stopped before the stall of a nondescript oil vendor. His round and burly face was half-hidden behind the huge barrels and jars of various kinds of oils.

Mrithyunjay casually tapped the table three times and then two times before he made enquiries about the oils and their quality, "Good oils have become as rare these days as golden-feathered peacocks. Are your oils any good man?"

Instead of being offended by such a remark, the man calmly looked up from his work and assured him, "You and your companions may come within and check their quality yourself."

The man led Mrithyunjay and his companions within. The man shut down his shop and closed all the doors and windows behind him.

"Vinayak said he was going to the palace to gather more information. We haven't seen or heard from him after that", the man said.

Mrithyunjay gravely nodded his head. He knew what not hearing from a spy who had gone out on a mission actually implied. He said, "Keep me posted. Is there a place where I and my companions may safely halt?"

"The inns and public houses are no longer safe these days. The soldiers have been watching them with hawk eyes. We have rented a house ", the man replied.

He escorted the group to the house. An old lady served food and drinks to them. The man left for the shop once again, "Please stay and refresh yourselves. If I receive any information, I will immediately pass it on."

Mrithyunjay and his group had finished eating and were relaxing in the house. All the shops in the thoroughfare had already been closed. The oil merchant was also moving his barrels and wares within when a tiny, measly rat ran into his shop. He picked up and petted the rat in his hands.

He untied the black cloth tied to its foot, "Well done, Mooshak. Let's see what you have here."

He held the cloth against the light and read. He quickly gathered his stuff in his hands and hurried back to the house where he had left Mrithyunjay and his group.

"Our mission is to rescue the Prince and Vinayak without rousing any suspicion. They are in the dungeon three thousand feet south of the North East Dome. So it approximately falls somewhere here", said Mrithyunjay outlining the rescue mission. He marked the spot where they had to reach. "The prison break has to be executed during the midnight or early hours of the dawn."

"Mrithyunjay, it means two things. All of us have to get into the fortress under one pretext or the other. Two, we have to congregate somewhere near the dungeon", one of Mrithyunjay's companions said. "After the prison break, we have to keep a getaway waiting for us. The least amount of fighting and bloodshed, the better for us.

The oil merchant joined in the discussions, "We supply oil in bulk to the fortress. I could get you and your companions an entry into the fortress. But the godown where we deliver is very far from the dungeon. You'll have to navigate and manage on your own after that."

"That will be enough", said Mrithyunjay. "After the rescue, we will swim across the moat and climb the fortress wall here. Just have some horses waiting on the other side for us. Close your shop and vacate this house. Leave this place that very same night. Your obligations to us will be over. Your remuneration will reach you."

The oil vendor nodded his head in acknowledgement. Mrithyunjay tied a dark green piece of cloth to Mooshak's feet. He said, "Scamper away, little boy. It will be tomorrow night."
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In the prison cell,
Vinayak tapped the loose brick on the wall. Narasimha placed his ear to the wall, "Mooshak has returned. Help is coming tomorrow night. Be alert."

Narasimha let his taut muscles relax for the first time since his imprisonment. All his senses had been schooled to the highest level of alertness. The recent developments and revelations had come in a torrent leaving him very little time to think or introspect. He had only been reacting till now.

"I have an elder sister", Narasimha said to himself. "I am not an only child. I have somebody whom I can look up to, somebody who will twist my ears when I am up to mischief."

He chuckled to himself at the thought. He recollected Bhagiradhi's face, her expressive eyes, the soft smile that reached up to her eyes, "She is my family now. Soon I will have a little nephew or niece whom I can pamper and spoil."

Narasimha loosened the folds of his dress. He carefully took out the manuscript of Bhagavad Gita Bhagiradhi had given him before the battle. He always carried it with him. He had never parted with it. He wept seeing it in his palms, "I will make up for everything. I am really sorry."
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Near a beach in Mahishmati,
Subahu reached the spot near the rocky cliffs on the shore. The note had warned him to come all alone and unarmed. He had been about to dismiss it when something in its tone got him to take notice of it. He had lost everything. He would lose nothing further by complying with the conditions of the note.

Subahu got down from the horse and looked around. Two masked men emerged from a tree hollow. They led him down to the beach. They untied a boat and began rowing along with Subahu to a small islet a few kilometers away from the shore.

The sea pirates, Simhamukha and Shatadru were sitting underneath a shady tree. They had been animatedly discussing something. Local arrack had been brewing in a huge earthen pot on a nearby hearth.

Simhamukha and Shatadru were both wasted. They set the big wooden tumblers in their hands down.

Simhamukha slurred disjointedly, "Welcome, Subahu. Join the party."

Subahu refused the arrack. He pushed the tumbler aside. He spat out, "I thought it was something. But I should have known better than to trust such double-timing sea pirates like you. You were Athikay's associates. What better can I expect from you?"

"You will indeed thank your stars that you came to see such double-timing pirates like us", Shatadru mumbled as he flopped down on his stomach emptying all its contents on the ground. Subahu shook him hard to wake him up and make him complete his statement.

"The Malava islands!" Simhamukha revealed. There was an evil glint in his eyes. "There are these huge, extremely fortified settlements. They have big and vast plantations of spices. Those beaches around abound in pearls and crystals. For a moment, we felt we were just imagining things. But I assure you. They are real."

Subahu's eyes narrowed down at the revelation, "Your demands?

"Gold, women, wine, a free pardon and unrestricted passage through these waters. What else?"

Subahu relaxed and extended his hand towards Simhamuhka who grabbed it hungrily. They jointly raised a closed fist towards the heavens.
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In Vijayapuri,
Shodasi Devi composed the letter and sealed it. She looked towards Bhagiradhi for reassurance. She touched her foster parent's hand and comforted it. Shodasi Devi asked the attendants to summon Aslam Khan.

She gave him the letter and said, "Please inform Emperor Sharyar that we are withdrawing from the trade and military alliance. We will pay our dues along with interest in five equal, yearly installments. After the current wars we have waged, we are in no position to spare him the seven thousand infantry soldiers he asks. Please apologize to him on our behalf."

Aslam Khan's face registered surprise and shock when he heard about what the Emperor had sought from Shodasi Devi and Bhagiradhi. He apologized on Sharyar's behalf, "I truly thought he sympathized with your cause. I assumed it was his generosity of heart."

Shodasi Devi replied, "Please do not apologize, Aslam Khan. You have helped us when nobody else did. Politics and statecraft are like that, born out of need and greed.  There are no permanent friends or enemies here. Please convey our message in the best way possible."

With a low bow, Aslam Khan departed from the court of Vijayapuri. Shodasi Devi sadly remarked, "There might be a war with Persia now that we have reneged from the alliance." After a pause, she said, "Even if there isn't, these yearly installments will hit our coffers badly."

Bhagiradhi picked up a slate and wrote with chalk, "We'll be prepared. We have faced much worse. We do have the revenues from the Malava islands to tide over."

Shodasi Devi glanced at the words and said, "I almost forgot in my worries. When are Mrithyunjay and General Samarth arriving?"