Supratik, the Chief of Police and Internal Security at Ujjain, walked hurriedly up to the riverside, just as the body was being fished out. The officer supervising the operation turned around and saluted his commander smartly. Supratik nodded, his mind preoccupied, struggling to make sense of the fast-paced happenings since yesterday evening. The pale body being carried up the riverbank to where he stood, legs slightly apart, was of a yavan (foreigner). The body’s tall, muscular frame was evident despite the slight bloating. It was laid to rest on a white sheet as he intently looked on. There were no visible injury marks; rigor mortis had set in about an hour back. He kneeled beside the body, and with some effort turned it over. No injury marks on the backside either; nothing striking. Then, Supratik noticed that the left fist was clenched hard. He pried it open with difficulty, finger-by-finger, and a large ring rolled on to the grass. It was an unusual ring depicting the head of a Cobra.

Just then the Royal Vaidya Shastriji walked over. After examining the body for a few minutes, he stood up gingerly and turning to Supratik declared that the cause of death appeared to be drowning though he would need more time to confirm.

Something was terribly wrong. Only yesterday, he had seen the four tall, strapping foreigners staying in merchant Mahipal’s guesthouse on the outskirts of the city effortlessly swim in the Kshipra river. They could have crossed the river ten times at a stretch. A few days back, he had seen them moving around in the bazaar. They were conspicuous because of their light skin colour and athletic built. And, now, three of the four were dead. Two killed and one injured in a fierce skirmish in the Royal Courtyard at the break of dawn today and the fourth lay dead before him. He instructed the officer that the search for the injured yavan must continue. It also struck him that the protective ring around the palace needed to be further strengthened.

Supratik’s mind was racing trying to cut through the entangled tendrils of thought and detect a clear pattern in the events that had a direct bearing on the nation’s security. Was the victim trying to escape into the jungles of Malwa that began a kos beyond the other bank after the failed attempt? Was he then dragged underneath the water by someone while swimming across so as to eliminate an evidence? The attacker would have to be someone very strong and skilful. He knew of only one such person in Ujjain who could hold his breath for very long and was built like a rock. Or it could be three-four persons acting in unison. Or, was the yavan discretely administered a poison that caused temporary paralysis when the body exerted? Such plant extracts were known to exist.

This chain of events had started at dusk yesterday. He was chatting with his wife Malavika and playing with his daughter when a guard from the palace had knocked on the door and announced that the king had summoned him to the palace urgently. With a rueful smile and a pat on his daughter’s head, Supratik had picked up his scabbard and left with the guard. Surprisingly, he was ushered into the innermost chamber where the king was waiting for him. Supratik had never before set foot in the sleeping quarters of the palace.

The king looked agitated and uncertain continuously fiddling with a bracelet on his wrist. Listening with growing alarm to the information the king had received from a spy on a special assignment abroad and partly corroborated by another source in the city, Supratik decided to spend the night at the palace. The king seemed relieved at his decision and summoned an attendant to make arrangements for the Police Chief’s stay. He further instructed that the arrangements be made for Supratik’s stay in one of the guest rooms that overlooked the courtyard. 

As he emerged from the inner chamber, Supratik instructed one of his officers to call Yagnavalika and tell her that she should come prepared. Yagnavalika was a fearless warrior and the finest archer in the land. She was also a skilled spear fighter with a tactically sharp mind. He was fortunate to have her by his side. Supratik asked another officer to inform Malavika that he would be spending the night at the palace as something urgent had come up. He thought the location of his room was ideal as the door leading to the king’s chamber was also in sight.

In his mind, Supratik kept mulling over the information the king had disclosed. Going over it again and again trying to connect the bits and pieces to form a picture. The information was startling even though he had an inkling that something was afoot. Who could be the members of a powerful group of persons with strong links abroad who wanted the king out of their way? Who was their leader? Were they part of the administration or outside or both? Likely they were both – part of the government, and rich merchants with links in other countries. The king had not taken any names but had indicated that someone very powerful and close to him was involved. Supratik too had his doubts based on the information gathered earlier by his officers and his own observations, but could not be certain.

As Yagnavalika walked in, looking at her assured gait and the ease with which she carried her bow and quiver full of arrows, Supratik felt assured. Asking her to sit, he quickly narrated what the king had said leaving out parts, which he thought were the king’s assumptions and predilections. The king had come to know from an old reliable source under deep cover overseas that a small but powerful group in Ujjain was secretly, but actively involved in a plot to assassinate the king. This group’s activities had increased markedly after the king took the decision to increase the levy on trade a few months back, which was adversely impacting both the local and foreign merchants. The king had ostensibly taken the step to generate revenue for public welfare.

This group was spreading misinformation about the king both within the empire and outside describing him as weak-willed and only interested in literature and playing Chaupad ignoring the affairs of the state. It had also sought help from powerful merchant guilds in foreign lands. Another report from the same source received today said that the danger to the monarch was imminent and the attack could occur anytime. Separately, a local source had conveyed that the attackers were present in the city roaming around openly and biding their time. To this, the king had added his foreboding that the attack on him could take place anytime, it could even be tonight. The queen also looked nervous.

After attentively hearing out Supratik, Yagnavalika took his permission and went around the palace marking suitable positions in her mind that may prove useful in a fight. She then chose a vantage point on the terrace in front of the guestrooms where she would stand guard. From there she could cover the inner royal chamber door, the palace courtyard and part of the approach from the outer door beyond which a pathway led to the Darbar.

The attack came just before the break of dawn. It was stealthy, fierce and short-lived. Supratik, who had dozed off after the rich palace food and a glass of wine, was woken up by Yagnavalika’s shout. By the time he rushed out to where she crouched numerous palace guards lay either dead or injured in the passageway and the courtyard and two Yavan attackers were advancing towards the king’s chamber.

The reverberating thwak of the bow string was followed by a momentary silence as Yagnavalika’s arrow pierced right through the neck of the yavan closest to the king’s chamber. He fell to the ground blood gushing from the wound. His partner was disconcerted for a split second but then immediately recommenced fighting waving a shield in the direction of Yagnavalika to prevent her from taking aim. Supratik rushed down the stairs even as Yagnavalika swiftly shifted her position to check if a third attacker was present. As he engaged the second yavan who appeared to be the most skilful spear fighter he had ever seen, Supratik was alarmed to see the door to the inner chamber open and the king step out sword in hand.

This was extremely foolhardy! The king should have known better. The attacker sensing the panic in his opponent’s eye turned around to face the young king but before he could raise his spear, Supratik threw himself at him driving his sword through his back. The attack had been foiled as dawn broke and an orange glow started spreading in the sky.

He sat dazed on the ground for some time reconciling with the sudden ferocity of the attack and the abrupt manner in which it had ended. Ten soldiers and the two attackers lay dead while five soldiers were injured, two of them grievously. The king urgently summoned Shastriji to treat the injured. Later, Yagnavalika would tell him that there was a third yavan stationed outside the outer palace door to block reinforcement. She had put an arrow through his thigh in an attempt to catch him alive, but he had managed to escape on horseback riding southward. She suspected some others had helped him get away. She had ordered a lookout alert.  

Reining in his mind with some effort to focus on the present, Supratik rose from the riverbank sliding the serpent ring in his pocket. There was no time to waste. The chances of catching the main conspirators, who were also probably behind the death of this yavan, would diminish sharply as the day wore on. He had to first confirm if the dead man was prone to instinctively using his left hand, and if the ring belonged to him or someone else. He rode straight to Mahipal’s guesthouse with a small posse of policemen. The guesthouse was locked as if no one had lived there for long. On making inquiries around, they were able to track down the cook and the caretaker of the guesthouse, who lived in the poorer quarters of the city.

The two readily confirmed that one of the four foreign guests, who also seemed to be their leader, often used his left hand first. They also claimed that they had never seen such a ring, or rather any ring, on the guests. This implied that the serpent ring belonged to someone else with whom the yavan had come in contact, probably at the time of his death. The tightly clenched fist possibly indicating a struggle. The two also divulged that occasionally meetings were held in the guesthouse prior to which Mahipal would ask them to prepare food and leave early. They, however, didn’t have a clue as to who came for these meetings.

Mahipal was not at his city home. His wife said that he had left in a great hurry today early morning saying he was going to the guesthouse though it was likely that he had gone to his favourite courtesan in the city. As Supratik turned to leave, he caught sight of a portrait of Mahipal in the inner room. It was a large, newly painted portrait and the colours were garish. There was something odd about it. The look on his face was that of a triumphalist but there was something else he couldn’t place his hands on. Maybe the mind was too exhausted because of a lack of sleep and the continuous stress to be able to think clearly. Then it struck. Mahipal wore a serpent ring, similar to the one in his pocket. An involuntary shudder ran down Supratik’s spine.

Mahipal’s wife’s conjecture was correct. An hour later, Mahipal was found hiding in the inner-most room of the beautiful Vasavdatta. He was trembling like a leaf and there was not a trace of triumphalism on his face.

In a secluded safe house on the outskirts of Ujjain overlooking the Kshipra, he blurted out the details of the conspiracy without much prodding, veiling and underplaying his own complicity. Supratik let him ramble, quietly picking out facts and piecing them together to form a story in his mind. According to Mahipal, Maha Senapati General Brahmdutt aspired to be the king and had secretly formed a group fiercely loyal to him. They had then co-opted rich merchants like Mahipal threatening coercive action if they did not fall in line and through them had reached out to powerful elements abroad for support. The outside forces had an interest in having a king who would be obliged to them as he would take care of their trading interests. So, a powerful group in Persia, which included rich merchants and some of the best fighters, had started supporting the Brahmdutt-led group in Ujjain.

In his mind, Supratik knew that Brahmdutt held the young king in contempt, unworthy of heading a great empire. He also sensed that after his recent successful march to Banavasi in the south, Brahmdutt had started to think of himself as preordained by a higher force to lead the empire to greater glory and its proper place in the world. He also recalled how at a celebration a few weeks back Brahmdutt, after a few glasses of wine, had mentioned the assassination of the last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha by his General Pushyamitra Shunga and then had abruptly fallen silent.

His reverie was broken by Mahipal’s remark. The remark was striking and added an altogether new dimension to the investigation. Mahipal said, “As far as I know, there was no plan to attack the king yesterday or for that matter this week. The plan was to be executed next year preferably during a public event, and the four guests were supposed to be on a recce- cum-business trip to Ujjain.” Adding, in an attempt to cover himself, “otherwise, I would have certainly informed you about it”. Supratik sensed that Mahipal was telling the truth. The utter bewilderment in his voice indicated that the recent turn of events had totally surprised him. But then, the king had mentioned about two recent reports that said, “the danger to the monarch was imminent and the attack could occur anytime”. And, “the attackers were present in the city… biding their time”.  Unless those reports were incorrect, or sent by over cautious spies, or …?

Supratik waited for Mahipal to complete his version and then showed him the ring. Mahipal was left speechless, but Supratik noticed that he didn’t instinctively glance at his hand. Instead, he kept looking out of the open window at the river flowing by. The ring had totally shaken his confidence and rendered him vulnerable. It took a while for Mahipal to gather himself and ask, “how did you get hold of this ring”? Getting no reply, he explained, “I had given it to Brahmdutt a few months back as he had shown an interest in it.” Then giving in, “is he already under arrest?”

Instructing the Safe House In-charge to be extra vigilant and leaving behind the posse to guard the place, Supratik hurried to the palace. The pieces of the puzzle were falling in place, but it was critical that he act quickly, especially given the resources that could be commandeered by the enemy. Dusk was falling. To apprehend Brahmdutt and question him, he would first need the king’s seal of approval. The only thing that rankled was Mahipal’s remark – the plot was meant to be executed next year. Then how come the attack had taken place yesterday, at least a few months in advance of the plan.

The king was waiting for him. It seemed so. This time not in the confines of the inner chamber, but more confidently in the Darbar pavilion. With him was his most trusted Minister Udayan who looked after land revenue and records. Both of them didn’t seem to be shocked listening to the chain of events since the attack was foiled. It appeared they had an inkling about at least some of the conspirators. The king readily accorded permission for Brahmdutt’s arrest and interrogation advising in a very matter-of-fact manner, “it would be prudent to take a force of at least a hundred good men to apprehend the Maha Senapati.”

The young monarch sensed that Supratik was perturbed and had a reasonable idea what was bothering the Police Chief. It made him smile wryly. He said, “you have got all the facts right Supratik, and I fully believe you have zeroed in on the real culprits. Please carry on with your work.” Then, he added, “You and Yagnavalika saved my life. So, I think it is time for me to admit, “I had to lure them to attack earlier than planned so that they were less prepared and we well prepared when it came. How did I manage to prepone the attack is a question I am confident you will find out in due course?”

Brahmdutt had been caught totally off-guard by the turn of events since dawn. When he saw Supratik approach, he quietly bid farewell to his wife and came out in the open. As they rode side-by-side to the prison, he accepted his central role in the conspiracy that had been planned for more than a year proudly narrating how he had killed the leader of the yavans with his bare hands under water. The fourth yavan was never caught. It seemed he had managed to escape. Brahmdutt was executed a week after his arrest. And, Supratik found out later that it was Brahmdutt’s most trusted courier – the link between the Maha Senapati and the yavans, equally trusted by both – who was used to throw the bait that led to the attack that night. The king had simply subverted a pawn across the board to check-mate his opponent.

(had written for the Times contest, prompt by Amish Tripathi)

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