Mrithyunjay's head and hands were bleeding and there were scratches and cuts at several places. After he managed to sit up with some initial difficulty, Aparaajitha dabbed and wiped the wounds and the accumulated soot from his face, body and limbs with the hem of her half-saree.

Though Mrithyunjay was fidgeting and seemed distinctly uncomfortable and embarrassed at his physical proximity with her, she did not pay much attention to that. He had never been this close to her physically. He was also finally human and fallible. Her presence, so close to him and so caring for his needs, roused tumultuous feelings and emotions which he found difficult to battle and keep under check. It seemed very easy and natural to just drift away in the sway of flooded emotions.

Both of them resumed their journey across the tunnel after Mrithyunjay had somewhat recovered from the mishap. After five or ten minutes had elapsed, they managed to navigate to the other end of this tunnel. It led them to a huge chamber that had been cut out of cliff rock. It was the last sight they were ever expecting to see. It looked like a big state armory. A huge arsenal of weapons of all kinds and sizes were stashed away. It must have been many years since these weapons were left here. All these weapons looked strong, shining and highly malleable despite the fact that they hadn't been polished for many years.

Any of the ordinary weapons would have rusted and damaged in the existing conditions of neglect and unpolish. But these weapons seemed to have survived the test of time. Apart from that, there were several locked chests stashed away in the chamber. Aparaajitha broke one of the chests open with the help of her knife.

Mrithyunjay picked up the contents of the chest and remarked, "They look like red shinning stones of some sort. But they aren't precious gems. Why would somebody preserve them so carefully? And why didn't they come back for it if they were important?"

Aparaajitha gasped, "Do you realize Mrithyunjay? We might not have sufficient man power at the present moment. But we have all the weapons necessary to arm a mighty army sufficient to take on Subahu and his army."

"But how do we transport all these weapons and chests from this chamber? The tunnel we used to get here seems hardly feasible", Mrithyunjay asked.

"Do you hear that, Mrithyunjay? I hear the roar of the sea dashing against the rocks of this cliff. I know exactly where we are. You remember the place where I spend most of my afternoons and evenings", continued Aparaajitha excitedly as realization dawned in Mrithyunjay.

"You mean we are now at the cliff side of the very same rocks and boulders on which you make marks with your knife?" An astonished Mrithyunjay asked.

"Yes, we are. See the passage to this chamber has been sealed in an airtight and waterproof manner with stone cut boulders. If anybody would try to shift or open from the other side, the sea water would rush in submerging everything inside this chamber", replied Aparaajitha.

"But that will happen only during high tide. The sea recedes back considerably during the low tide making it possible for us to transport and shift all these weapons and chests elsewhere during the four hour time span when it is low tide", Mrithyunjay suggested. "Let's go back through the tunnel and inform everyone about our findings. It will be low tide in a couple of hours."
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At the Kanchu Kota in Mahishmati,
It was a dark and moonless evening when Maharaj Subahu had arrived at the Kanchu Kota that was built girdling the Gauri Parvat in an inexorable clasp of copper and iron. When Subahu came to power, this entire area was cordoned off and kept off the limits from the common populace of Mahishmati who were evicted from there. In its place, a war concentration camp was erected. Ever since he came to power, Gauri Kant had been extracted indiscriminately. Now all the ores were depleting. The Agni Prastham when the Gauri Kant would come up naturally in the overflowing magma was still many years away. It was to this place Subahu came as a last ditch effort to unearth information about the secret weapons arsenal that had been hidden away somewhere in Mahishmati during the reign of Maharaj Mahadeva.

This exploitation in which Subahu had indulged in for thirteen long years had rendered  vast stretches of land surrounding the Sapthagiris turning into arid wastelands. But Subahu was least bothered about these consequences. His ally, Vijayamarthanda had assumed joint rule over Ashwakootam and Vijayapuri and he too took a sadistic delight in squeezing dry the people of both kingdoms to fill his own privy coffers.

Prices of essential commodities rocketed sky high. Corruption became very rampant and the officials became too powerful in many places and ruled the lands under their jurisdiction like mini dictators. The general dissatisfaction kept growing not just among the original inhabitants of Mahishmati who were treated like second class citizens but even among the Kalakeyan population too.

Whenever people were becoming too dissatisfied with him, Subahu sought to divert their attention from it by invading yet another neighboring kingdom and bringing more and more lands under Mahishmati. But things had not been so easy of late. All the kings who used to be scared of him were now raising their heads. They were all consolidating their powers, especially the King of Gandhar, Maharaj Trivikram who had played a vital role in reuniting all the neighboring kings under his banner.

Initially when he came to power, Subahu thought he would eventually uncover the place where the arsenal and all the existing stones of the ore were kept. All parts of Mahishmati, except a few pockets like Malava and the Udayagiri Mountain Range, were under his sole monopoly. But as time passed, the hope that he would uncover the arsenal started growing less and less. These were the only two locations that weren't searched properly. All the other locations in the kingdom had been throughly scoured in these thirteen years.

Subahu had sent several expeditions to Udayagiri to flush out the rebels under Aditya but in vain. Since all the people of that region were secretly supporting the rebels and their fight, he wasn't able to accomplish this mission with success. Similarly, the Malava islands were literally inaccessible. Most of the naval vessels he sent to explore drowned midway after a certain point. None of them returned with any success. There must have been a way of accessing and navigating to these islands if they were technically a part of Mahishmati. There must have been routes and maps but without vital information and details all his missions and expeditions were encountering grand failures.

Moreover, it didn't help his cause that all the principals in this story who knew the exact details were long gone from this world resulting in a break in the chain of communication. It was rumored that except Mahadeva, Sivagami, and Kattappa, nobody had an exact idea about it. Their own children, grandchildren or even Bijjaladeva had no clue about these matters. It was such a closely kept and guarded royal secret.

The one person whom Subahu doubted about having an inkling about this information was Bhairava Varma, the former Keeper of Secrets of Mahishmati. It was a hereditary post that had been given to the same family for generations together. So it was possible that this man had access to several secrets which others belonging to even the royal family did not possess. But the man was so rigid and patriotic that he wouldn't open his mouth even after all these long years of suffering torture in the war concentration camp.

"Usher him to my presence", ordered Subahu to his soldiers.

They produced the weak, emaciated and now ailing former Senapathi of Mahishmati, Bhairava Varma before his presence. He was fettered and encumbered all over in chains. But the spirit of the man was not yet broken. As both men stared defiantly at each other not willing to give way, Subahu made the first sneering opening remark, "Senapathi, I hope I find you in good health just as I did the previous time. Or....has you health been even better?"

"I am as fine as I can be in under your generous reign, your majesty", retorted the proud Captain in a highly sarcastic tone.

"I hope my men are taking good care of you and your men!"

"Yes, very much. They try all night and day to make life good and comfortable for us. But majesty, we are all soldiers and I find that a good and comfortable life hardly suits or agrees any of us", said Bhairava Varma in a highly taunting voice.

Subahu smirked as he continued in an icy cold and grating voice that would numb anybody's soul, "I see the same pride and foolishness intact! If only, you had fallen in line...."

"I beg your pardon majesty, what can a poor prisoner of war like me do that will help a 'great' king like you! You are wasting your time....", Bhairava Varma replied.

"The more you try to evade me, the more I am convinced that you know quite a lot about what I want to know", reasoned Subahu with a frightening and ominous laugh. He spoke aloud in the interrogative mode while his companion maintained a tight-lipped silence, "Is there a route and navigation chart for the Malava islands? Where was the secret arsenal of weapons stashed away during Mahadeva's reign? And where did your fellow comrade who managed to escape from the Kanchu Kota go? Did you send him to Aditya and the rebels fighting at Udayagiri? If you did this, which is the silliest thing to do, because he will never get through to them alive and in person......What could a few rebels who are merely a nuisance and source of irritation do against me? You could have shared the same information with me and all of you would have been free. Even if you do that now, I promise..."

The captain knew within himself that Subahu was proceeding along the right line of reasoning and was very close to unearthing the truth. It was only a matter of time. But he would never help Subahu to that information even for the life of him. "Your majesty, you haven't lived up to the promise of your own people, leave alone living up to our rights and promises", replied the proud captain.

"I see.....So you will not cooperate with me....", Subahu reiterated. He threatened, "You'd better or else you will lose your life."

The captain defiantly said, "You can kill all of us. That is the maximum you can do. No soldier of Mahishmati is scared of death."

"Take him away", raged Subahu, thrashing his arms in impotent fury. He instructed his soldiers, "Flog this man within an inch of his life and rub salt on his wounds......But....But.... keep him alive...."

The soldiers dragged away the captain from Subahu's presence to execute his commands as Bhairava Varma wore a look of perfect resignation. He had steeled his body and soul for all possible eventualities. But he would not give up in the face of tyranny and fear.
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At the Malava Islands,
All the weapons and chests of Gauri Kant had been carefully shifted to another safe and accessible location on the Kaumodi island by the inhabitants. Addressing everyone on the islands, Annapoorna spoke at last, "That moment for which we were waiting for thirteen years is now upon us. We will wage the war for freedom. This is the first real and major breakthrough we have had. What Subahu had all along and what we didn't have till the present moment- the Gauri Kant. We now have the weapons, arsenal and funds to wage a long drawn out war and withstand it. But we do not still have the necessary manpower. I order Mrithyunjay and General Samarth to set out to Mahishmati and Vijayapuri to enlist and recruit supporters and soldiers for our cause. The Persian contingents will also arrive in three months from now. It is now or never."
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Author's Note: The clarion call for the war of independence has at last been sounded at Malava. How will it affect the lives of all the inhabitants of the islands and our lead protagonists, Aparaajitha and Mrithyunjay? What would be Mrithyunjay's reaction on discovering the pathetic and pitiable condition of his father and the other prisoners of war at Kanchu Kota? Are you excited about what is going to happen next? If you like what you have read, please vote, comment and support this story.