As they neared Sailem, Arul’s eyes constantly looked for signs of his wolf in the dense scrub under the jackfruit trees. He had a feeling that Jaya was out there following them. He knew that Jaya would track him across the whole continent if need be. It was a comforting thought.
Jaya, are you there? Can you hear me?
There was no reply. Arul flexed his bound wrists and breathed the familiar smell of jackfruit, now stronger than ever deep in the plantation. His stomach ached with hunger, but their captors showed no interest in feeding them. The guards discovered an overripe jackfruit lying in the grass, arguing as they sliced into it with their aruvals. They feasted greedily, chattering like myna-birds while Kapilan sat apart from his men, refusing offers of the fruit. He looked to be thinking hard. Calculating.
That afternoon they exited the plantation not far from Arul’s house, rasping cicadas falling silent in their hidden places as the teens passed. After the forced march and lack of food, Keeran was half-asleep on his feet, swaying unsteadily until a guard cuffed him on the ear.
As Arul passed his home, he frowned at a jumble of broken pots lying outside the front door. Keeran and Navira came to a stop, staring at the water trough where Ori’s bow lay half submerged, cleanly snapped in two. Arul’s stomach tightened as he realized something was very wrong. He turned to Kapilan. ‘Where’s my Appa?’ The elder smiled, his eyes full of malice. A rough word from one of the guards forced the teens on, and they crossed the empty pasture, entering the village gardens in single file.
Where is everyone?
Kapilan led them over the swiftly flowing stream on the village outskirts, silver fish darting away like arrows as he crossed. Trying to balance himself with bound wrists, Arul heard voices coming from the village square. Heated arguments.
They walked between rows of huts and entered the square, finding themselves in the midst of a large crowd. The entire village had turned out to witness their disgraced return. Teenagers whispered to each other, while old men shouted at small children scampering through the crowd. Off to one side, the village women whispered to each other, studying the teens with accusing eyes. Keeran looked to be on the verge of tears, his fingers twisted into knots, the anxious faces of his parents floating amongst the villagers.
Arul searched the mass of faces for his father, only to meet Chozan’s sneer, his thick arms crossed triumphantly. The villagers fixed the teens with curious eyes as they were herded in front of the pañcāyattu hall. Kapilan wiped his hands nervously and disappeared inside.
Arul waited in silence for what seemed an eternity, his eyes downcast to avoid contact with the villagers. The nervous muttering of the crowd rose and fell like waves, falling silent when Kapilan emerged with Viyan the Headman. They stood on top of the stairs and faced the expectant crowd, Viyan’s face looking drawn and rather ill. He fidgeted while he studied Arul and his friends for a long moment. ‘I have just been informed by the Royal Scouts that Master Kapilan is our new Village Headman.’ Viyan stepped to one side with his head bowed, a murmur rippling through the crowd. Then there was a movement behind Viyan and Kapilan.
Three robed figures stepped out.
The Royal Scouts.
They wore robes of yellow and red, marking them out as royal ambassadors under the King’s protection. Each wore tall red hats woven with elaborate designs, their bearded faces stern and commanding, clearly expecting complete obedience. The villagers shrank back, bowing their heads. Some did it from fear and others out of respect. Many bowed just because they were following everyone else.
Still smirking at Arul, Chozan let out a snorting laugh. His father, a mean-faced blacksmith, cuffed his son hard. Chozan cringed and gripped his head, glaring at Arul with a feral expression, lips raised in a snarl. Then something unexpected rose in Arul’s mind and unfurled. An understanding that cruelty and violence must be nurtured to grow. The hate he felt towards Chozan died in that very moment, an immense weight lifting from his heart.
The middle scout, an older man with a short goatee and a downturned mouth stared down at Arul, speaking in an emotionless voice. ‘Master Kapilan, are these the ones who ran away with the assistance of the Elder, Pari?’
Kapilan bowed and nodded, reminding Arul of the bobbing head of a chicken. He pointed a thin finger at the teens. ‘Yes, yes! It’s them! Just like I told you.’ He made a little hop, his face delighted.
Arul had heard enough. Fighting back tears, he squared his shoulders and screamed, ‘I did not run away! I tried to help the village by finding out what’s causing the attacks. We tried to help all of you! None of you have a clue what’s going on up there in the mountains. There’s an entire invading army out there, but you don’t even want to know!’ Just in time, he stopped himself from mentioning the towers or the cavern. They would think he was quite mad.
There was complete silence, even from Kapilan. The villagers began shaking their heads disbelievingly. Then Kapilan eventually found his voice. ‘These are the rantings of a foolish boy out to save his own neck!’ He smiled when a majority of the villagers nodded their heads in agreement.
Navira spoke, fighting back tears. ‘No! He’s right! I’ve seen the army myself! We all have!’
The scouts displayed no emotion, perhaps bored by petty village politics. Arul watched their faces, trying to figure out what the they really wanted.
The wellbeing of Sailem is not their concern. They wouldn’t particularly care if the whole village starved in winter. Or burnt to the ground by Korkai’s soldiers.
‘I don’t know about invaders, but where is their leader, the one called Pari?’ Inquired the youngest of the three scouts, a round-faced man with a stubby nose.
Kapilan licked his lips nervously. ‘Um…ah…you see…he ran away into the forest after we captured him.’ He backed away from the Royal Scouts. ‘It’s not my fault!’
The tallest Scout ignored Kapilan’s excuses. ‘Keep them under guard until morning. Your village council can judge them. When captured, Master Pari and Ori the Forester will stand trial in Ailas. Interfering with our mission is a serious charge.’ He turned to Kapilan with a thin smile. ‘Try to ensure these three don’t escape like their Guru.’
‘No! My father can’t be tried! He didn’t do anything wrong!’ Arul yelled. Then he lowered his voice. ‘Is this the King’s justice?’ More than a few villagers nodded, whispering to each other.
The Royal Scouts wore shocked expressions, unused to being yelled at by anyone, particularly a village boy. Kapilan bowed to them apologetically before slapping Arul on his head. The guards pushed the teens away from the village square. Kapilan seemed rather nervous, tripping over his own cloak at one point.
Suddenly one of the scouts called out. ‘You two boys! Come here!’
Keeran’s eyes flicked towards Arul nervously. ‘Don’t say anything about me!’ Arul whispered as Kapilan pushed them back to the pañcāyattu hall. The tall scout gestured for Kapilan and his guards to stand well back. He called Arul and Keeran over. ‘Did you really see an invading army up there?’ Arul nodded.
The round-faced Scout stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. ‘Strange that our guard posts have not mentioned anything on our journey here…’
‘Maybe that’s what the invaders wanted,’ said Keeran. ‘To keep it secret.’
‘Do either one of you have parents that were born in Ailas?’ The head scout inquired, taking off his hat and stroking his grey hair. Both boys shook their heads from side to side. ‘Do you know of anyone like that in your village?’
Again, they shook their heads.
The Royal Scout looked disappointed, his frown deepening. ‘You may go now.’
Is that what Guru Pari meant when he said they’re looking for me? But why?
Kapilan took them into his house, one of the grandest in the village, carved wooden panels and brightly painted doors indicating the new Headman’s considerable wealth. They entered through a side door and were marched to the rear of the house, the guards shoving them into a large storeroom. The door squeaked shut, a metal bolt rasping on the outside. Arul looked at the piles of bulging grain sacks piled up against the walls. Kapilan had obviously been stockpiling grain in secret.
At least Kapilan won’t go hungry this winter. He’ll just watch everyone else starve.
Arul sat down on a sack, looking about with a glum face. A barred window sat high in the back wall, the afternoon sun spilling through in yellow beams. When his eyes adjusted to the dark interior, Arul noticed a sleeping figure huddled in a corner. ‘Psst! There’s someone here!’ He whispered to his friends.
Keeran hurriedly stepped behind Navira and peered over her head. ‘Maybe they’ve locked us in with a murderer so he can kill us!’
‘That’s the dumbest thing you’ve said in your entire life,’ Navira replied, shaking her head.
Arul gradually inched towards the stranger in order to get a better look, kneeling on a sack of rice to get close. The stranger suddenly looked up, the light catching his face. Arul broke into a smile, his first in days. But his smile soon turned to dismay when he saw his Appa’s bruised face. ‘Who did this to you?’ He said through gritted teeth.
Ori looked up through one eye, his other one blackened and swollen shut. ‘Take a guess.’
Arul’s anger rose swiftly, his hand resting on his amulet. Ori reached out and held his son’s hand. ‘Don’t do anything without thinking. Don’t let your anger control you.’ Arul stared at him blankly, his mind filled with thoughts of revenge. ‘You definitely didn’t think when you stole my map and dragged Keeran and Navira off into the wilds,’ his father added.
‘I’m sorry,’ Arul muttered.
‘Arul, I understand why you wanted to help the village when no-one was doing anything. It’s in your blood to lead. You get that from your Amma.’
‘I do?’
His father nodded. ‘Your mind is far more powerful than your body. Use it instead of fighting your way through things.’ Ori squeezed Arul’s arm, his rough hands warm and comforting.
Keeran put his hand on Arul’s shoulder. ‘He’s right, you know. That sneak, Kapilan has the upper hand here. What can we do?’
Arul sighed. ‘I’m not sure. But I need to tell Appa about everything that happened to us.’
It was very late at night by the time Arul finished his story with the help of Keeran and Navira, who added little bits here and there. Ori shook his head in amazement. ‘Guru Pari knew about all of that? Underground energy and ancient towers?’ He lay back down with a painful groan. ‘I’ve never seen any of that in all my wanderings. You must have visited some pretty remote spots up there.’
Navira sat down hard on a bulging sack of paruppu grain, a cloud of dust puffing out. ‘I just hope Guru Pari’s safe. If he gets to Ailas first, he’ll tell the King the truth about all of this nonsense. The lies.’
‘In any case, we all need to get some sleep now,’ Ori said. ‘We’ll need our wits in the days to come.’ Arul gently hugged his father before collapsing onto a pile of empty sacking, thinking long and hard about their situation, trying to conjure up some kind of escape plan. At some point he fell into an exhausted sleep without realising it, strange images flickering through his mind almost immediately.
Jaya was howling at a blood red moon, hanging bloated above jagged grey mountains. Then Arul became Jaya, now howling at the sea. The sea roared back and began to rise up like a dark mountain, full of vengeance, sounding as if the world was shattering into dust.
Covered in sweat, Arul woke up with a cry, looking around in a panic, breathing hard. Navira leant over him. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’
Arul took a few minutes to calm himself, smiling weakly at Navira. ‘It’s okay. Bad dreams, that’s all.’ No hint of moonlight was visible through the window and not a sound could be heard from the guards. Somewhere an owl hooted.
Being locked up with piles of smelly sacks is beginning to get to me.
Arul rose and stood restlessly under the high window, noticing it was quite old, the cement cracked and weak. Then his father groaned fitfully in his sleep. Arul searched for a discarded sack to use as a blanket, gently laying it over Ori before lying down again, listening to an army of crickets filling the night with their chirping. He thought about Guru Pari, wondering if he was alone in some stinking swamp or being chased by the enemy. Then he had an idea that would either free them or get them killed.