The Epic of Kautilya : Born To Be King

by Deepak Thomas

  Kautilya realised if she pushed Nina over the edge then she could kill her. Yet if she did not stand her ground then the squad would not respect her authority.

  “Are you my commander?” Nina asked again.

  Kautilya breathed in and replied, “Yes.”

  “What about the rest of you?” Nina asked, “is she your commander.”

  Their silence was answer enough.

  Nina flew into a rage. “Then both of you are kicked out of my squad. Go make your own squad with the princess.”

  She turned to Barong. “Come on, boy, let’s go.”

  Barong stood up. He began to walk towards Nina. He then turned to look at Kautilya – and halted between them.

  “Barong?” Nina was shocked.

  Barong put his head low and turned around and walked towards Kautilya.

  “Barong, you too?” Nina pleaded. Kautilya could see tears welling up in the yakshi’s eyes.

  Kautilya heard Saira begin to sniffle.

  “Join us,” Saira said. “You just have to cede command.”

  Nina screamed. “You are traitors. All of you betrayed me. I will never join this squad.”

  Nina turned around and stormed off.

  Kautilya did not want to lose Nina, who was the smartest in the squad.

  Suddenly Ādi whispered to her, “Take charge, Kautilya.”

  Kautilya breathed in. “Retire for the night. Tomorrow morning I will explain our new strategy and tactics for fighting the humans.”

  She raised her fist. “Minds without fear...”

  The squad raised their own fists, “Heads held high!”

  CHAPTER 38

  Need an Ally?

  The tree-lined trail leading to the city of Rishyamukh was empty except for a single bullock cart that trundled slowly up the mountain.

  Kautilya spotted the cart coming closer and gestured to Saira who was waiting opposite her. She was preening herself and she did not notice Kautilya’s frenzied waving.

  Kautilya tried to whistle but to no avail.

  “Saira!” she finally shouted, scaring some birds off their perches. Saira was shocked out of her reverie and turned around.

  “Is anyone following the cart?” Kautilya asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Can you tell Ādi to get ready?” Kautilya asked. “We jump them as soon as they’re among these trees.”

  Saira nodded. She turned towards the bushes where Kautilya knew Ādi was hidden. She made a few signals that the squad evidently recognised. Kautilya made a mental note to learn them.

  She turned to look at the clump of bushes where Ādi was crouched, waiting to pounce.

  Slowly the cart pulled into the middle of the hidden squad. Kautilya put on her rakshasa mask.

  She yelled. “Now!”

  Kautilya and Saira leapt to the ground. Kautilya stumbled and fell but she quickly lifted herself up.

  Inside the cart were six soldiers, looking straight at Kautilya and Saira. A few moments passed and the soldiers continued staring intently but the cart did not stop.

  “What’s happening?” Kautilya asked Saira. “Why isn’t Ādi stopping the cart?”

  “We didn’t ask him to,” Saira said.

  The cart suddenly halted and the soldiers jumped out. They held out their spears at Kautilya and Saira.

  “Who are you?” one of the soldiers demanded.

  Kautilya shrugged. “We’re just walking in the forest.”

  “Why are you wearing a mask?” another soldier said.

  Kautilya had to think quickly.

  “Hail the Ape God!” Ādi screamed and jumped onto the cart, smashing its roof into pieces.

  The soldiers turned, eyes wide with shock.

  “Run, Saira!” Kautilya screamed.

  Saira nodded and scrambled into the forest with two soldiers on her tail.

  The remaining four turned to Kautilya and Ādi.

  “Rebel scum,” the first soldier spat. “You’re part of Yama the Warlord’s forces. You two are coming with us.”

  The soldiers began closing in on the pair. With a roar, Ādi took down all four of them.

  “Give us all your documents and money,” Kautilya said.

  The soldiers looked at each other and then straight at Ādi.

  Saira stepped out of the bushes dragging the two, now unconscious, soldiers with her.

  “I said give us the documents,” Kautilya repeated.

  The soldiers pointed to the cart – which Kautilya realised was now speeding off into the distance. They had not been able to achieve their objective.

  “What do we do now?” Saira asked.

  Kautilya looked at the shivering soldiers. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  At the base, Kautilya was debriefed by Yama.

  “So what did you do to the soldiers?” Yama asked.

  “I let them go,” Kautilya said.

  “Not a sound strategy, is it?” Yama asked. “We could have got intelligence from them.”

  “They would also know the location of Rishyamukh,” Kautilya said. “Our location would be compromised.”

  “There are ways to prevent that,” Druma said as he sharpened his claws

  Kautilya gulped.

  “Stop frightening her ... and me,” Yama said. “Why did you not capture the cart itself?”

  “There was miscommunication of my command,” Kautilya said. “A few of my troops attacked later than they were instructed. I take full responsibility.”

  Yama shook his head. “I need another view on this. Summon your second-in-command.”

  Kautilya looked at Yama puzzled. “Second-in-command?”

  “Surely, you have a second-in-command? You cannot single-handedly command a squad, especially when you have such complex missions. And what if we lose you in a battle?”

  Kautilya remembered Akrama’s teachings: Every army needs a commander who gives the strategy and a second-in-command who makes sure that the strategy is executed.

  Kautilya nodded. “Understood, Yama. I will fix this right away.” She raised her fist in salute and turned to leave.

  Behind her back, she heard Yama ask Druma apprehensively. “What is she talking about?”

  Kautilya smiled when she heard it. Now she had to choose.

  CHAPTER 39

  Search

  “Who volunteers to be second-in-command?” Kautilya asked as soon as she was back.

  Ādi stared back at Kautilya blankly. “What does that mean?”

  “A second-in-command is the right hand of the commander,” Kautilya said. “She makes sure that the commander’s vision is implemented, and takes care of the day-to-day affairs of the team.”

  Saira and Ādi looked at each other.

  Saira looked away nervously.

  Ādi shrugged. “I could do it. What do you want me to do?”

  “Be my right hand,” Kautilya said.

  “That’s not physically possible, is it?” Ādi said.

  Kautilya shook her head. “Let me explain. A commander is the architect of a strategy and the second-in-command is its engineer. The commander decides what needs to be done and a second-in-command makes sure it’s done the right way.”

  “That sounds like a lot of work,” Ādi said.

  “It is, kind of,” Kautilya said, “but it’s very important as well. No commander can function without her second-in-command.”

  Ādi squinted at Kautilya for some time as the gears in his head turned. Then he shrugged. “All right, I will be your second-in-command. What should I do?”

  Kautilya smiled in gratitude. “Let’s try this drill. I will explain it to you once again.”

  Ādi raised his hand. “I understood it well enough the first time around, princess. S
aira, you come with me and follow my instructions.”

  Kautilya smiled. Ādi was perfect.

  ***

  Kautilya was very pleased with herself as she made her way to the training grounds. She had found herself a very competent second-in-command the previous day.

  Saira and Barong were already waiting for her but Ādi was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where has Ādi gone to?” Kautilya asked.

  “He’s still sleeping,” Saira said.

  Kautilya slapped her forehead. She went to their quarters.

  “Hey, Ādi,” Kautilya shouted from the outside.

  “Hey, princess,” Ādi said.

  “Why are you not at the training?” Kautilya asked.

  “Tired,” Ādi said. “Haven’t we trained enough already?”

  “But today we were going to train in a new tactic,” Kautilya said.

  “Sounds boring,” Ādi said. “Let’s take a break today.”

  “Ādi, this is important,” Kautilya said through clenched teeth. “There are people counting on us to make these raids work.”

  Ādi grumbled. “All right, I’ll come.”

  Kautilya shook her head and went back.

  She waited a while longer until her patience ran out. “Where is he?” she shouted, and stamped.

  Saira looked at Kautilya concerned. “Are you all right?”

  “He doesn’t care at all about this. What is he even doing here?” Kautilya asked.

  “He was forced into it,” Saira shrugged. “He doesn’t really want to be here fighting humans.”

  Kautilya breathed in. “So has he always been like this?”

  “No...” Saira replied. “Not when Nina was around. Everyone listened to Nina.”

  Kautilya gave up inside.

  ***

  “The Lord Chief is asking questions now,” Yama said to Kautilya when she went to visit him. “How are things progressing on the raids front?”

  “I don’t think I can do this,” Kautilya said. “You should reinstate Nina. She was a better leader.”

  Yama laughed. “You gave up so easily? I would expect more fight from the daughter of Chandragupta Shveta. How did your search for a second-in-command go?”

  “I tried Ādi. But he just doesn’t care. Saira refuses to do it.”

  “What about Barong?” Yama asked.

  “Barong?” Kautilya asked. She had thought he was just a mindless beast. Was he actually intelligent?

  “I’m joking, Kautilya,” Yama said. “You should have seen your face.”

  Kautilya pursed her lips. She was not in the mood for jokes.

  Yama sighed. “What do you want me to do? Reinstate Nina? You do know that once she takes over that’s the end of your influence on the squad. You will probably have to join a new squad, but I don’t think you’ll be accepted as easily among the apes.”

  “So what should I do?” Kautilya asked.

  “You know,” Yama said, “for a long time I used to think that Druma would make a better leader than me. He can bring soldiers to their knees just by his roar. I thought I would become his second-in-command. He would be the general and I would be the strategist.

  “But Druma wouldn’t have it. He insisted that I be the general and the strategist and he would be my executioner.”

  Kautilya tried to work out what Yama meant.

  “Can you guess why Druma wanted me to be the leader?” Yama asked.

  Kautilya shook her head.

  “I’m not so sure either,” Yama said. “Maybe you should ask him.”

  Kautilya shook her head and left. Yama was such a pain. He never gave a straightforward answer.

  She found Druma outside the tent giving instructions to a squad of ape warriors. Kautilya stood politely and observed as he explained what was expected of them. Kautilya saw he was direct and clear, contrary to Yama’s enigmatic and vague style of communication. Maybe Druma was a better choice for general.

  Once he was done, Druma turned to Kautilya.

  “Minds without fear,” Kautilya said with her fist up.

  “Heads held high,” Druma said. “How can I help you, Kautilya?”

  Kautilya was tempted to ask him what to do about the question of her squad’s leadership but she stopped herself.

  “Druma,” Kautilya said, “Yama told me that he wanted you to be the leader of the Free Army but you decided that he should be the leader. Why was that?”

  “Because he has the ability to make people believe in him,” Druma replied.

  Suddenly it dawned on Kautilya what Yama wanted her to do.

  “Thank you, Druma.” Kautilya smiled and hurried away. Now she just needed to work out how to get Nina to join the squad again.

  CHAPTER 40

  Recruitment

  Nina had joined Angad’s squad, and when Kautilya went over, she found that Nina had already become good friends with them. The squad was rolling around in laughter as she related one story after the other.

  As Kautilya neared the squad, Nina’s smile was replaced by a scowl. She stood up to confront Kautilya.

  “What do you want?” she demanded.

  Kautilya scratched the back of her head. “I’m sorry for what happened, Nina. The squad is yours, in the end, and they miss you. They want you to come back.”

  “Yeah, right,” Nina said. “If they wanted me back they’d come and ask me themselves. They know I would never listen to a worm like you.”

  “They do want you,” Kautilya said. “They just don’t know how to approach you.”

  Nina shook her head. “Listen, princess,” she said, “I am going to wait a few seconds. You’d better have disappeared after that.”

  Kautilya breathed out. She looked at the rest of Nina’s new squad. They were all carrying weapons: mostly blowguns and spears.

  “Minds without fear,” Kautilya tried.

  They stared back at her silently.

  “Hey, Kautilya,” Angad said as he arrived. “How are you?”

  “Are you all heading off on a mission?” Kautilya asked.

  “Yeah,” he replied.

  “Can I join you?” Kautilya asked.

  Angad turned to Nina.

  Nina sighed. “Do what you want. Just keep her out of my sight.”

  Kautilya smiled. Step one of the plan was complete.

  Soon the squad was perched up in some trees spying on a town.

  “This is Vivila,” Angad said. “The apes who lived here were sent off to various labour camps in the area and the houses were converted to prisons. It’s the most secure town in the hills.

  “Most of the prisoners here were arrested for resisting humans. Yama has a plan to attack the town and recruit the prisoners to our cause. Our mission is to gather information on the number of soldiers posted here, what are the best routes of attack, what kind of siege equipment we would require and so forth.”

  Kautilya nodded. It sounded like a good plan: to attack the prison town and create chaos in the hills.

  “Gather round,” Angad told the rest of the squad. “Nina and Pomo, go to the east side of the town. I have intelligence that is where the stables are and you can do a count of the horses these humans have. Loka and Laka can go to the west side of the village and make a quick estimate of the number of soldiers in the barracks. Kautilya and I will go to the northern side near the entrance and do reconnaissance there.”

  The squad nodded.

  “In all cases,” Angad said, “make sure that you take a note of the walls, the entrances, the number of sentries and any other useful information. It’s important that we have enough intelligence to be able to attack the town with minimum casualties and effort from our side. Once you’ve gathered information we meet back here. Is everyone clear?”

  The squad nodded. Ang
ad breathed in and raised his fist. “Minds without fear.”

  Kautilya and the rest of the squad raised their fists and replied, “Heads held high.”

  After that, the squad leapt through the trees, off onto their respective targets. But Kautilya could not leap the way the apes could.

  Suddenly Angad put his arm around her waist.

  “Hold on tight,” he said and began leaping through the trees towards the front of the prison. Soon they were hidden in a tree at the entrance.

  Kautilya scanned the entrance. The gates were the usual metal bars that slid up and down with chains and sprockets. Lines of prisoners were brought in tied to each other and with bags on their heads, one human guard in front and one behind the line. The guard would flash a gold pendant to the sentries who then opened the gates. As soon as the prisoners had entered, the gates were closed behind them.

  Kautilya realised that this was the most fortified part of the town wall. On either side of the gates were archers and scouts. She could see barrels of oil being readied to pour on anyone who tried to climb the walls.

  “So what’s your assessment?” Angad asked.

  Kautilya related her conclusions.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought as well,” Angad said. “Not the best place to launch an attack, is it?”

  “No,” Kautilya said. “The plains in the front of the town make any incoming army visible and once the gates are shut the prison is impregnable.”

  Angad nodded. “But on the other hand, there are hills all around the town that make it even more difficult to get a large army in.”

  Kautilya nodded.

  “In any case,” Angad said, “we just need to gather intelligence and share it with Yama. I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to work out how to do this.”

  Kautilya shrugged. Yama was the general after all. But maybe she could crack this if she thought about it.

  “Let’s go back,” Angad suggested. Kautilya nodded.

  When they returned, Nina and Pomo had already arrived.

  “Seventy horses,” Nina said. “There are no entrances on the east. There’s a cliff sloping outwards but climbing down that would make us visible long before we can reach the walls. Plus they have sentries and archers on a watchtower next to the wall.”