An Inquisition

The moment Vandhiyathevan caught sight of Chinna Pazhuvettarayar, he let his fists drop and simply began walking towards the older man. His three burly assailants, panting heavily in the warm afternoon air, scrambled forward and hung on to his arms in a desperate bid to stop his progress. But the young man brushed them off like bothersome flies, caring not a whit, and took four deliberate steps forward.

“Ah, Commander, your timing is impeccable,” he called out, dusting off his clothes. “These thieving scoundrels of yours not only stole my garments, but they tried to murder me in the bargain. Tell me, is this how you treat your guests? Am I to believe that this is the finest example of Thanjavur’s manners and morals?” He paused to catch his breath, his dark eyes flashing. “I am, if you please, no random wanderer off the streets, but an honoured guest of the Emperor. You heard His Majesty’s own words, didn’t you? And I am no nobody, as you are well aware—I am an emissary of the Crown Prince himself. If your wretched men can treat a royal messenger in this fashion, what on earth must be the fate of ordinary mortals? Frankly, my lord, I am astonished you keep such rascals in your service. Back in Thondai Nadu, we wouldn’t even let such men cross our thresholds. We would have them sentenced to a sharp kazhumaram (the impalement stake reserved for the worst of criminals) without a second thought!”

Vandhiyathevan finally paused for breath after his rapid exposition. As for Chinna Pazhuvettarayar, he was still quietly recovering from the sight of Vallavarayan’s almost effortless handling of the three stocky guards who had just tried to strangle him. Visions of the boy’s quick, fluid martial prowess still danced in his memory. Ah, a warrior such as this would be a shining ornament to my own regiment, he thought to himself. He must find a way to get this young man into his ranks, somehow.

“Patience, Thambi,” he soothed, his heavy voice suddenly dripping with an excess of tranquillity and goodwill. “Patience. I find it rather difficult to believe my men could have been quite so stupid. Let me make enquiries, shall I?”

“That is precisely my desire as well, Commander,” shot back Vallavarayan, smoothing his dishevelled hair. “Interrogate them thoroughly, my lord, and deliver me some justice. Not to mention my clothes and my valuables.”

Chinna Pazhuvettarayar turned to his guards. “Adei, you idiots—leave the lad alone for a moment. What were my instructions to you, and what in heaven’s name have you accomplished here? Why on earth did you lay hands on him?”

“We carried out every word of your command, Yejamaan (master),” whined one of the men, rubbing a bruised shoulder. “We escorted this young man here. We treated him to a luxurious oil-bath, gave him soft new clothes, dazzling ornaments, and a meal fit for a king. Then, we brought him to the chithira mandapam. He spent a pleasant time gazing at the portraits. And then, out of nowhere, he came to us demanding his old clothes.” He pointed an accusing, trembling finger at Vandhiyathevan. “And then he practically pounced on us!”

“But you—three bulky men—could not handle a single boy’s blows, could you?” Chinna Pazhuvettarayar’s hard eyes glowed a dull, blood-red with rage and mortification.

“If we hesitated, Master, it was only because he was a royal guest. Give us leave now, and we’ll tear him into pieces—”

“Enough of these tall tales, you idiots! Well, Thambi? What do you have to say?”

“I say, give them the leave they ask for,” Vandhiyathevan grinned, rolling his shoulders in the warm sunlight. “And give me leave as well, Commander. It has been quite a while since I grappled with real Chozha foes, and my shoulders practically ache for the exercise. I would be absolutely delighted to teach them a lesson on the proper behaviour towards royal guests!”

“Admirable, my boy,” Chinna Pazhuvettarayar smiled, a faint, cold curving of the lips. “But you would do well to reserve your teaching instincts for genuine Chozha traitors. The Chakravarthy is ill, after all, and my strict orders are to allow no disputes or altercations of any kind within the fort, so that his peace might remain undisturbed.”

“In that case, kindly ask these men to return my garments and belongings at once.”

“Where are they, you three?” asked the Commander.

“Master, we have kept them safe, just as per your orders.”

“Ah! Listen to how they lie, these immoral idiots, Commander—and right to your face as well!” declared Vandhiyathevan, his temper flaring again. “A few moments ago, they swore that my clothes had been sent away to the washermen, and now they declare they are ‘kept safe’ by your instructions. Beware, my lord, or they will brand you a thief in a little while!”

“Why, you dimwitted nincompoops,” glared Chinna Pazhuvettarayar at his hapless men. “All I said was to dress this young man in fresh attire. I never mentioned a single thing about his old clothes, did I? Be that as it may, do ignore them, Thambi. They blabber uselessly at the best of times. But tell me, why do you care so deeply about those ancient, dusty garments? Did you, perhaps, store valuables in them?”

“A few gold coins for my journey, yes—”

Before Vandhiyathevan could finish, Chinna Pazhuvettarayar cut in smoothly. “Those would be of no account, Thambi. I shall gladly supply you with all the gold you might need.”

“I am Crown Prince Aditha Karikalar’s envoy, Commander. I am not in the habit of receiving money from outsiders.”

“In that case, I shall make arrangements to deliver your own clothes and your own money back to you. Never fear. But—you had nothing else in your possession, did you?”

Vandhiyathevan spent a moment in quiet thought. Chinna Pazhuvettarayar, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s, was very quick to notice the pause.

“I did carry something else,” Vandhiyathevan said slowly. “Something that was very important, indeed. I only hope your men haven’t laid a dirty finger on it. Because if they did, they are thoroughly done for!”

“Such fury in one so young!” murmured the Commander. “Perhaps that is why you forget where you are, and to whom you address these fiery words. I shall ignore your heated retorts for the sake of your youth. But what was this precious article?”

“I am afraid I cannot reveal that, Commander. It is rather confidential.”

“Indeed? Thanjavur can harbour no secrets that I cannot know of, Thambi.”

“This, however, is a secret Aditha Karikalar entrusted to me.”

“The Crown Prince is the Vadathisai Maathanda Naayakar. His authority may be strictly enforced north of the river Paalaaru. Here, however, it is the Chakravarthy who rules supreme.”

“The Chakravarthy’s authority extends to wherever the Tiger-flag flies high, Commander. Surely there can be no two ways about that?”

“For that very reason, there can be nothing that I may not know of. There are no secrets within the high walls of this fort. The Emperor’s well-being and security depend entirely upon it, you see.”

“Commander, the whole of Chozha Nadu owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to you and to Periya Pazhuvettarayar for guarding the Emperor’s sacred person so jealously,” Vandhiyathevan said, slipping easily into an agreeable flattery. “I heard the Chakravarthy himself praise you today in the audience chamber, my lord. He mentioned that even Yama, the dark God of Death, feared to set foot in Thanjavur, bowing to your rule here. Rare words of praise, don’t you think?”

“Certainly I do,” agreed the Commander. “Who knows what terrible fate might have befallen the Emperor, had we not brought him from Pazhaiyarai to Thanjavur? Those Pandiya traitors might have even carried out their perfidious plans.”

“Ah, so you say the same thing! Everything I have heard so far must certainly be true, I suppose.”

“And what is it that you have heard?”

“That there is a heinous conspiracy being woven against the Emperor. And that there is another, just as dark, being spun against his beloved sons as well.”

Chinna Pazhuvettarayar ground his teeth, hard as vajram (the hardest of diamonds), and bit his lip. All these passing moments of conversation with this boy, and only now did the realisation dawn on him, very slowly, that the defeat in this cunning war of words was entirely his own. He had traded barbs with the lad, hoping to catch him out in a careless lie—but all that had happened was that the great Commander of Thanjavur had been forced to pacify Vandhiyathevan, supplying halting explanations to assuage the boy’s own suspicions!

Well, that would not serve anymore. Enough was enough. This little chat would end now.

“You need not worry your young head about such things, Thambi. I and my brother are more than capable of destroying every conspiracy against any member of the royal family,” he said, his voice suddenly curt and dry. “All you have to do is submit your request. You wish your old clothes back. That is all, is it not?”

“My old garments—and whatever I carried within them.”

“Which you have not exactly revealed to me, so far.”

“I shall, since you insist. But I may as well tell you that the consequences must devolve upon you. Prince Aditha Karikalar presented me with an olai for the Chakravarthy, yes. But he asked me to deliver another one, as well.”

“Did he, now? To whom? You never dropped a hint as to this until this very moment.”

“As I mentioned before, it was supposed to be strictly confidential, Commander. I am revealing it now only because you insisted on knowing. The other olai was meant for Ilaiya Piratti Kundhavai Devi, in Pazhaiyarai.”

“Oh? In that case, you certainly cannot leave for Kanchi right away, even if you do receive the Emperor’s thirumugam (his royal reply) tomorrow. I wonder what exactly prompted the Crown Prince to send an olai post-haste to the Princess?”

“I am afraid I am not in the habit of reading confidential missives, Commander. I didn’t, however, have any objection to your reading the olai meant for the Chakravarthy, so I shall not have any objection to your reading this one, either. That responsibility, as I mentioned earlier, rests heavily upon you. What I do want are my old clothes and belongings, as soon as possible.”

“Rest assured that you will certainly receive them. I shall ensure it myself,” snapped the Commander, and he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

Vandhiyathevan took a step to follow him. Chinna Pazhuvettarayar, who had noted the movement, communicated a silent message to his men with a mere look. Instantly, five or six armed warriors stepped in front of Vallavarayan, the sharp tips of their spears barring his way. There was no point in picking a quarrel with cold steel, felt the young man, and he gave in, resigning himself to a quiet wait in the dusty courtyard.

Thanjavur’s Commander returned in a little while, and behind him came a man carrying Vandhiyathevan’s old, travel-stained clothes on an elaborately decorated silver platter, for all the world as though they were precious jewels parading in a grand wedding procession.

“Here are your clothes, Thambi,” waved Chinna Pazhuvettarayar. “Do inspect them to see if everything is as it should be.”

Vandhiyathevan took the Commander at his word and duly carried out a thorough, unhurried scrutiny. He unravelled the folds of his waistband, only to find that it felt rather heavy. It contained a great many more gold coins than before. And tucked safely inside, the olai meant for Kundhavai was there as well.

But how on earth did so much extra gold find its way in here? And how had the olai, which was missing the first time he had checked his things, suddenly reappeared?

Well, there was only one logical explanation. It must have fallen into the eager clutches of Chinna Pazhuvettarayar, who had stuffed it back in just now, right after Vandhiyathevan’s persistent questioning. I wonder why, mused the young man, a faint smile touching his lips. And why is there so much more gold than I need? Ah, he is a wily one, this Commander of Thanjavur.

There was clearly more to this little drama than met the eye, and Vandhiyathevan wondered just how much more Chinna Pazhuvettarayar would put him through before he was finally done. There was no doubt that he would have to be very careful indeed, and never let his guard down for a single, solitary moment.

“Everything is to your satisfaction, Thambi?” enquired the Commander, his voice solicitous and smooth once again. “Gold and precious belongings included?”

“In a moment, my lord,” Vandhiyathevan replied. He began counting the gold coins, one by one, the metal clinking softly in the quiet air. He piled the excess number in a neat little heap, and firmly pushed them away. “Commander, I am a scion of the Vaanar dynasty; a messenger of the peerless warrior Aditha Karikalar. I neither crave nor need anything that isn’t mine.”

“Your honesty is to be commended, but I rather think you may need this for your long journey. Now, when exactly do you wish to leave? Today? Or will you take your ease and wait until tonight, to meet the Elder Pazhuvettarayar?”

“Certainly I shall stay tonight. I have no desire to leave until after I have had an audience with Periya Pazhuvettarayar, my lord. Meanwhile—you had better command your men never to lay a hand on my belongings again,” warned Vandhiyathevan, raking in his own portion of the gold coins and binding them up carefully in his waistband.

“Delighted, I am sure. I can assure you that you will meet with no further iniquity from my men. You may ask, and receive whatever you wish.”

“Well, I do cherish one great desire—to sightsee this beautiful city of Thanjavur. I may do that, mayn’t I?”

“Certainly you may. Two of my men here shall be more than happy to show you around. A word of warning, though: do not venture outside the fort, for the great iron gates will be closed at sunset, and you will not be able to return, no matter how hard you try. You are free, however, to wander wherever you will within the city.”

And Chinna Pazhuvettarayar called forward two of his burly henchmen, murmuring something softly into their ears. Vandhiyathevan, watching him with bright, observant eyes, did not find it very difficult to guess what the whispered message might have been.