Chapter 13 The King’s Pathway
Veer and Chandra turned a bend and found the rest of their party, waiting for them at a stone door that marked the end of the passage. Veer was relieved to find none of his troops had disappeared down a hole.
Thankfully, the others had been able to open the door already without breaking it down.
They went in together and found themselves in another long tunnel, roughly perpendicular to the current one.
A river explained the mysterious rushing sound from earlier. It flowed swiftly in a smooth channel, forming the floor of the tunnel. Long columns supported a wide arched ceiling, barely visible in the darkness. Two sharp cliff-like banks made of river sediment were on either side of the tunnel.
Girish was already knee-deep in the river. He cupped his hands in the water and took a sip.
“Fresh water,” he pronounced happily.
Shota waded in after him. “You’re right.
This must be the River Saraswathi. It isn’t lost or dried up.
It must’ve changed its course at the upper cave levels, tunneling new passages through the rock.
No wonder everyone thought it had dried.
Finding it in the miles of rock would have been impossible. ”
“Except here, apparently,” said Veer, gazing at the masonry of the tunnel. Yali pillars of mystical half-bird, half-horse creatures lined the straight walls at intervals, interrupted by the occasional smooth, cylindrical pillar supporting what must be tons of rock above the tunnel.
This was the most extensively carved thing they had come across so far.
In the upper chambers, whatever carving was made, was done gently, with an aim at preserving the natural outlook of the caves.
But here, the tunnel was too ordered and artificial.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Veer wouldn’t have believed it was possible to build something like this marvel under the giant rock.
It must have taken years—no, decades—to finish.
Billadev, who had ventured farther beyond a bend, returned with more exciting news. A short distance ahead, there were several boats floating.
They had a brief discussion about whether to use the boats to traverse the river. For one thing, they didn’t seem to have oars.
Chandra ran her hand expertly over the hull. “Ironwood,” she said in awe. “I haven’t seen a boat made of this wood before. It’s quite strong and water resistant, but it’s rigid to work with. How on earth did anyone make this?”
Veer tilted his head at her, a question in his eyes.
She caught his look and smiled as if in nostalgia.
“I know about boats. I spent practically all my childhood in them,” she said, leaving him puzzled.
Where exactly had she learned about them?
Amaravathi, despite having a seacoast, didn’t have a coastline that was accessible to ships.
The boats were simple in their design, with enough capacity to carry their entire party. At the front end, the bow was shaped into a bird. Its eyes gave off a metallic sheen.
Veer brought out the lotus key and held it against the eyes. It had the same onyx hue.
“What do you think it means?” asked Chandra, who came to stand beside him.
“I’m willing to wager that these boats were probably built by King Amarendra, or at least during his time,” said Shota.
“Should we take them?” Billadev asked the most crucial question of all. Could they trust the boats, which had been there for hundreds of years?
In the end, they had no choice. The river was too swift and deep for them to swim. People climbed into the boats, and they set off.
* * *
Chandra stood at the bow, watching the yali pillars speed past, her eyes on the dark ceiling, deep in thought.
The boats required no direction from them.
As soon as the last person boarded them, the boats set off sure and straight, traversing the waters with ease.
Their troops had made a token attempt at steering with their makeshift oars, which were shields tied to spears with ropes.
But it quickly became apparent that they weren’t necessary.
The river twisted and turned, and so did the tunnel along with it. It was hard to say if the tunnel was built around the natural watercourse or if the river had been diverted to flow along the tunnel. Slats of sunlight shone through well-placed holes built for illumination and ventilation.
None of the meager light penetrated the darkness of the ceiling, leaving it pitch black and formless. A cold breeze blew strands of hair into Chandra’s face as the boat picked up speed.
She blinked. Something moved up there. She strained her eyes, trying to peer into the dark, but it remained opaque. But before she could call attention to it, she was distracted by a tap on her shoulder.
It was Veer. He carried a lantern in his hand and beckoned her to accompany him to the stern of the boat.
“Do you see it?” he asked once they reached the back end of the boat. They were crouched down to peer over the edge.
She didn’t understand. “See what?”
“There,” he said, pointing at the river.
Chandra dutifully looked, wondering what on earth he was going on about. She saw the ripples made by the boat as it cut through the river, the increasing choppiness as the river rushed toward its end into the sea, the slight increase in murkiness as tide water pushed back.
And then she saw a flash. She gasped and hastily covered her mouth.
The flash had come from the riverbed.
Veer lowered the lantern as close above the water level without extinguishing it.
The yellow light from the lantern cut through the clear depths all the way to the bottom.
Gems!
Embedded into the riverbed. Rubies large as her fist, emeralds in shades ranging from the deepest green to the brightest yellow, sapphires dark as the night, diamonds brilliant as the sun, precious stones of every hue imaginable. A treasure incomparable!
“Your guess was right, Princess. You found it,” said Veer quietly. “The King’s Pathway, the jeweled path of enlightenment.” His mouth curved in a genuine smile for the first time since she met him. “Congratulations.”
An incredulous grin crept over her face slowly as she realized the significance of their discovery. “I can’t believe it.” Her words came out in hushed awe. “This is amazing! Praise the goddess, I should let my father know. Oh, my brother would be so jealous that he missed this…”
Her excitement dimmed at the thought of her brother. But she shook herself out of it.
“So, the entire bed is embedded with gems?” she asked again, needing that assurance that this wasn’t all a figment of fevered imagination brought on by the possibility of the King’s Pathway. “That’s a few miles’ worth of treasure at the very least.”
Her smile faded again as she realized the ramifications of this discovery. She was in the company of a man who wasn’t exactly Amaravathi’s friend. The worth of these gemstones had to be massive. And greed brought out the worst qualities in any man.
Veer seemed to interpret her thoughts correctly. “Would it ease your heart, Princess, if I promise not to touch a single part of this treasure? Amaravathi’s treasures shall belong to it.”
Veer was a man of many complexities, but she knew that his word at least was inviolate. But she just had to know. “Why would you promise that?”
“Because I’m not so greedy that I’d steal treasures that legitimately belong to others.” He paused and contemplated her with an enigmatic expression. “And I already have what I wanted from Amaravathi.”
She felt confused for a moment, then her brow cleared.
“Ah. Of course, Kalpeet. You weren’t willing to give it up at any cost,” she said, nodding.
Veer gazed at her so strangely that Chandra began to wonder if she had gotten it wrong.
“Right,” he said and shook his head as if clearing it.
Someone called his name, and he moved away.
“What is it?” he asked, pushing his way to the front. Chandra followed him.
“Look,” said Shota.
The river course had straightened out from its loops and turns, allowing them to see what was ahead.
A massive stone wall stood right in the path of the river. At its base, water foamed and gurgled, fighting to find a way out.
The boat showed no signs of slowing down as they sped on, carried inexorably by the current.
“Get the oars, slow the boats or we’re going to crash,” he said, throwing out instructions.
Makeshift oars had already dropped hastily into the waters. Men strained, trying to slow down the boats. It didn’t make any difference; they still were being carried along.
“What do we do?” asked Chandra, alarmed.
Veer gave her a somber glance. “Princess, we may have to jump. When I give the word, aim for the banks. I shall be right behind you.”
“But so close, with the river speeding like that, we will be dashed against the wall regardless,” she said, anxiety making her voice high-pitched. She was a good swimmer but it was more than likely the chaotic waters would overwhelm her.
“We don’t have a choice. We must try,” he said grimly before speaking to his men.
The boats passed along a patch of light caused by a row of circular openings cut into the top part of the wall. The eyes of the birds on the prow flashed in the light.
An answering spark flared in the darkness near the ceiling of the wall.
Veer, about to give the word, halted.
It was fortunate he did because a minute later, a vertical line of light bisected the wall. The two halves swung outward, revealing the wall to be a massive arched door.
The birds at the front soundlessly raised their wings up and out. They acted as brakes and the boats finally seemed to slow down as they passed through the arches of the door.
They were gently swept into what appeared to be a wide, exposed cave on the seaward cliff. They rolled to a stop on the edge of a small rocky hillock.