At Kanchu Kota,
Night had fallen. Mrithyunjay had failed in finding a way to penetrate into that impregnable fortress of copper. A mood of despondence had set in. There were many times in the past when he had felt lonely and isolated; many times when he had felt that he was fighting a lone battle on a one-man island.

There was this vision of him fighting formless and shapeless opponents that often intruded his consciousness. It was his own existential crisis. Many times, he would be hurtling down this labyrinthine abyss. Many times, when he felt he would be lost forever, it was Aparaajitha and her thoughts that pulled him out of this emotional rut. Aparaajitha's revenge was more simpler. She knew whom she was fighting and for what. He knew not. Today even she wasn't here with him. She had battles of her own to fight.

The mountain breeze had picked up. It was a barren landscape for miles and miles. There wasn't a single tree, bird or animal in sight. His thoughts started wandering towards the mad man he had encountered on the moor. He laid back on the bare ground. Suddenly , an odd stench seemed to emanate from somewhere nearby. It was too overpowering that he had to close his nose and hold his breath. After a moment, the stench still remained but its effect wasn't so potent as it was initially.

"Waste from the Vaithrani being expelled outside the fortress. That is the only way you can enter into the Kanchu Kota without attracting attention towards yourself."

It was the same mad man. His eyes still looked half-crazed, his clothes in tatters, his hair as matted and unruly as before. But the limp and the humpback were strangely missing. He spoke with a crystal-clear clarity that seemed to belie his external appearance.

"You aren't mad?" Mrithyunjay cautiously asked.

"I am not, but I see that you are", the man calmly replied. He threw a glance at the scroll tucked into the folds of Mrithyunjay's dress before facing him. "I do not understand your motivation in coming so far."

"I don't see yours either for remaining here and pretending to be mad", Mrithyunjay quickly retorted.

"I managed to escape but I had to leave all the rest behind me. I was free but I found that I was no longer free. I carried a burden; an immense burden, my duty towards my fellow companions and prisoners of war", the man smiled poignantly. But his tone carried an underlying hint of sadness. " I bided my time and pretended to be a madman in the hope that one day that opportunity where I could free all of them would come."

"Then you must help me", Mrithyunjay instantly warming up to the man in front of him. "I've come from very far. Do you by any chance happen to know a Bhairava Varma?"

The man's eyes flickered and softened momentarily. His hands reached up to hold Mrithyunjay's sinewy arm before he left it fall suddenly, "No!"

Mrithyunjay's eyes fell. He had been hoping that the man might have known his father. But nevertheless, he wasn't here to give up on his quest, "For someone who has suffered so much, you are terribly optimistic."

"When you have nothing left to take comfort in, hope and optimism are the only things left", the man said shrugging his shoulders.

"You seem to know quite a lot about this place", Mrithyunjay trying to elicit more information from the stranger.

"Yes, I do", the man said casually.

"In that case, I should benefit from your knowledge. Tell me about this place", Mrithyunjay asked.

"Goddess Gauri was born on this very mountain as the daughter of a sage. She took the form of a live volcano to destroy an evil demon. This mountain houses one of her most sacred shrines on this subcontinent", the man began.

"All that is the past, the ancient lore. What I want to know about is the present, the current reality", Mrithyunjay said.

"Years ago, when Mahishmati was conquered by Subahu, mining for Gauri Kanth recommenced on this mountain. Prisoners of war were sent here to work in these mines and die. It started making the mountain unstable. The walls of the mountain often cracked and crumbled, crushing many to death and destroying the tunnels dug for the mines. Subahu found a way of holding up the crumbling walls by reinforcing them with walls of copper. That in reality is the Kanchu Kota, an impenetrable fortress fashioned to hold the crumbling walls of a mountain in place", the man explained.

Mrithyunjay listened to the entire narrative spell bound. He began to join the disjointed pieces of the puzzle. The Gauri Kanth was mined using the prisoners of war and carted away to the Kalakeyan heartland where the all weapons to arm Subahu's mammoth army were manufactured. That caravan near Peepli was actually carrying ores of Gauri Kanth, "To destroy the mines in Kanchu Kota would mean knocking down one major pillar of Subahu's strength. Am I right?"

"If you put it like that- yes. Though the mines are yielding only a one-tenth of what they originally used to do, still it would affect Subahu's strength significantly if the mines are completely destroyed. However, there are hundreds of prisoners of war who have to be evacuated before attempting anything of that sort", the man agreed.

"My name is Mrithyunjay Varma. Will you join me?" Mrithyunjay asked eagerly holding up his hand.

The man smiled and joined hands with the young man in front of him, "We must make use of this cover of darkness to get into the fortress. Har Har Mahadev!"

Mrithyunjay raised his hands up softly repeating the battle cry, "Har Har Mahadev!"
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Inside the temple of Goddess Gauri at the Kanchu Kota,
Subahu and Vijayamarthanda were restlessly pacing up and down outside the sacred crucible where Trinethrini was performing the fire sacrifice offering homage to Goddess Jwalamukhi. Subahu sneered, "I just hope the Rajamata's confidence in this quack isn't misplaced."

"I know you don't believe in these things. But we do. Trinethrini is gifted. Just believe for this once", Vijayamathanda trying to curb Subahu's atheistic bent of mind. "Once our problems are solved, you can go back to your non-believing ways."

Eiravati was chanting the mantras she had been taught by Trinethrini. Complex geometric designs and patterns were drawn all around the place of worship. Trinethrini offered ghee, turmeric, kumkum and flowers as oblation.

She turned to Eiravati and said, "Listen carefully, Eira. I will be going into my trance now. You can call both of them inside. You can ask me five questions and the Goddess herself will answer through my medium. You shouldn't touch me while asking your questions or my trance will be broken. I won't remember anything I have said here; good or bad. And everything the Goddess has proclaimed through me will eventually come to pass."

Eiravati beckoned her brother and husband to quietly step in while Trinethrini entered into her trance. Trinethrini's body suddenly shook and jerked becoming supercharged with divine energy. Eiravati bowed to Trinethrini before she sat in front of her taking care not to touch her, "How is Narasimha?"

"Safe!"

Subahu tugged Eiravati's arm, "Ask what he is doing?"

"What is Narasimha doing now?" Eiravati asked on Subahu's prompting.

"He is trying to avert a massive impending calamity that is going befall you and your family."

Vijayamarthanda blanched at the mention of a calamity to the entire family. He whispered to Eira, "Ask her if I will also be in danger."

Subahu glared at Vijaya for his apparent cowardice while Eiravati asked, "Will my brother also be in danger?"

"He will die."

Eiravati started sobbing uncontrollably. Subahu held her close to him, "We still have two more questions. Ask what the calamity is?"

"Your husband's citadels of power will collapse one after the other. His famed empire will break into tiny, tiny pieces. He will be left with only one-fourths of what he originally had."

Subahu's seemingly strong front started cracking up under the weight of what the future held in store for him. Lines of worry were writ on his brow.

"When will Narasimha come back?" Eiravati asking her final question.

"Despite anything you might hear to the contrary, he will come back on Rama Navami to save all of you."

Subahu consoled Eiravati, "See, at least your son is coming back.

Trinethrini collapsed where she was, completely exhausted by the ordeal. The entire effort had left all of them with more questions than answers.

Just then, a messenger hastily entered, "The Rajamata has sent an urgent message, "Kunthala has risen up in revolt. They have deposed the subordinate king placed on the throne. We await your further orders."

"What?" Subahu sounding extremely shocked.
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