by Krutant Iyer
Murari avoided the attack by stepping to the side. Before the Nisachara could pull back his spear, he used the fallen Nisachara’s shoulder as footing and jumped over the other Nisachara, swinging his sword down as he did so. The sword met its mark; the tip of the blade slashed the skin off the side of the guard’s neck. Murari landed on his feet and turned to face the Nisachara again. The first guard had recovered by then and was seething with anger as he charged at Murari barehanded. Murari lifted his sword to attack the Nisachara, but the guard quickly covered the distance, leaving no room for him to swing his sword and caught hold of Murari’s arms using both his hands. He lifted Murari like a toy and hurled him to the ground.
The sword fell out of Murari’s grip as he tumbled head over heels.
“I am going to kill you!” The Nisachara yelled as he advanced menacingly towards Murari.
Given his huge frame, the Nisachara’s movement was not as sharp as Murari. As soon as the Nisachara bent to grapple Murari, he dived and rolled out of the Nisachara’s reach, and got behind him. Before the guard could turn around, Murari took the chance to jump on his back and grabbed his neck using his arms. The Nisachara struggled to breathe. He shook aggressively trying to make Murari fall off his back, but his grip only tightened over the guard’s neck. Murari noticed the other guard advancing towards him from behind, and quickly freed one hand and closing his hand into a fist, rammed his knuckles hard on the Nisacharas throat, before loosening his grip around his neck.
The guard clutched his throat, unable to scream, as he went down in pain.
Seeing this, the other guard picked up his spear and thrust it at Murari in rage. Murari once again sidestepped, deflected the spear with one hand and pushed it to the ground. Then using the wooden shaft of the spear as a foothold, he jumped up with both hands clenched together in a fist and brought it smashing down on the Nisachara’s exposed head. The guard reeled under the impact of the hit and fell on his back. Murari quickly grabbed his sword from the ground and prepared to face the Nisacharas again. But they did not get up. The first guard had passed out, while the second guard was still lying on the ground, screaming in pain as he held his head in his hands.
“Bravo Kid! I haven’t had so much fun in ages.” The prisoner from the unlit solitary cell spoke.
“Now how do you plan to get out of here?” he asked.
Murari did not respond as he stood up, breathing heavily. He realized that the prisoner spoke the truth, he didn’t have a concrete plan to get his friends out of the prison.
“Kid – come here.” The prisoner called out to Murari.
Murari wondered why the prisoner was so interested in him.
He hesitated for a moment but was equally intrigued by this prisoner. Why was he put up in a solitary cell?
He walked over to the door.
Murari heard the prisoner behind the closed door struggling to get up. He heard the sound of footsteps accompanied by the sound clinking of a metallic chain being dragged along the floor.
“You are quite an interesting lad.” The prisoner chuckled from behind the closed door.
From his voice, Murari could tell the prisoner was an old man.
“Who are you?” Murari asked.
“I am just another prisoner.” The old man responded.
“And you want me to break you out of the prison?” Murari asked.
“Kid, if I wished to break out of the prison, I would have done so a long time back.” The old man chuckled.
Murari couldn’t decide if the old man was senile or just taking the chance.
“What do you want from me then?” Murari asked.
“Can you answer something for me?” The old man asked.
“What’s that?”
“What made you come down to this hellhole, even though you are clearly not strong enough to take on the King’s forces by yourself?” The old man asked.
Murari hesitated briefly before answering.
“I have come to free my friends.” He said.
“And how do you plan to get out of here once you have freed them?” the old man asked.
“I will find a way.”
The old man remained silent.
“You are quite fearless.” He chuckled. “I once followed someone as fearless as you. He inspired me and many others to follow him. But fate dealt a different hand…” The old man did not finish his sentence.
“Kid, your brashness reminds me of him. Say – do you mind telling me something?”
“What’s that?”
“As things stand now, do you not regret coming down here knowing it is next to impossible for you to break your friends out of the prison?”
“I would have regretted not coming here,” Murari answered. “My friends ended up here because of me. I don’t care what happens to me from here on out, I am going to ensure my friends get out of here safely.” Murari said resolutely as he clenched his fist.
The old man burst out laughing on hearing Murari’s words.
Murari frowned at the old man’s reaction.
“What’s so funny?” He scowled.
“Kid, I am intrigued by your way of life.” The old man said. “It’s been quite a while since I met a person with such a strong will and a brave heart.”
“Huh!” Murari was baffled by the old man’s words.
“When I was imprisoned here, I did not resist as I believed there was nothing out there for me. But you have sparked my curiosity, Kid. I wish to see your way of life. Even though it sounds naïve, it’s full of hope.” The old man said.
Murari scratched his head trying to understand the old man’s words.
“Hey Kid, how about you let me tag along with you on your journey. I can protect you from your enemies.” The old man proposed.
Murari’s eyes widened at the old man’s unexpected, generous offer.
“No.” He said, after recovering from the shock. “I do not want anyone protecting me.”
“But, I wouldn’t mind accepting your friendship if that’s what you desire.” He added after a moment.
“Friend, huh?” the old man chuckled.
“Yeah – I have come to realise the bond of friendship is much stronger than any other. Friends always have each other’s back. So, what do you say?”
“Then that’s what you will get, my friend.” The old man said.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Kid.” The old man responded.
“How did you know I had taken down the guards? You cannot even see through this door.” Murari asked.
“I am yet to come across a door that can obstruct the power of my eyes.”
Power of eyes? Does he mean…
“Old man – you have the power of Indriya?” Murari asked.
“Oh – you know about Indriya?” The old man sounded genuinely surprised.
Murari chose not to respond, wondering if he had made a mistake by divulging too much.
“I have aged and become weaker than I was. I have not cultivated my Siddhi in quite a while, but I can still manage to activate my Eye of Indriya; although my range of vision is limited.”
Murari’s eyebrows twitched as he gaped at the revelation. This old man had the same ocular power as he did.
Just then Murari heard a scuffle from the ground level. The commotion from the prisoners on the second level had ended up drawing the warden’s attention. Murari walked over to the railing and leaned carefully to peer down. He saw a huge figure leading some guards up the stairways from the ground level.
He knew he did not stand a chance against all of them on his own. He looked at the solitary cell and walked up to it. He did not have a choice.
“Old man – we need to hurry. The warden is here. Stand back, I will open the door for you” he said.
The warden and his guards were already on the first level and quickly making their way up.
He soon found a bunch of keys tied around one of the fallen Nisachara’s waist. He quickly removed it and
tried opening the solitary cell’s lock with one of the keys. It didn’t fit in. One after the other he tried the rest of the keys, but none of them fit. The warden and his guards were now making their way through the second level. Seeing them, the prisoners had fallen back and stopped shouting. They did not wish to irk the warden.
Murari’s frustrated efforts to find the right key to the door was proving futile. Just then, he came upon a key that seemed smaller, and rounder than the rest. He pushed it into the lever and it fit. He turned the key to the right and heard a loud clank of the lever unlocking, he turned it two more times and pulled the key back from the lock.
The warden heard the clang of the lever just as he stepped onto the third level. A scowl formed upon his face as he saw Murari and his fallen guards near him. When he saw what Murari had done, his expression changed to one of horror.
He immediately pulled out his Parashu and dashed towards Murari.
Seeing this, Murari pushed the door wide open. He peered inside, but couldn’t see the old man in the darkness of the cell. The warden and his guards were now almost upon him. Just as Murari turned to face them, he felt a pair of rough gigantic hands grab him by the shoulders and pull him inside the cell.
No sooner was he dragged in, Murari saw a spear fly in and hit the open door of the cell with such a force that it broke the spearhead from the shaft on impact.
The prisoner had saved him from getting impaled.
Murari had been pushed far back into the cell by the old man. He looked up to see the prisoner’s back, as the old man stood facing the door.
Even though it was completely dark, Murari could see enough to make out the old man’s features. He was shorter than the average height of the inhabitants of Narakaloka but easily towered over him by at least two feet.
The prisoner wore a black coloured scarf over his head, which was knotted tightly at the back. His broad shoulder and the long scar running down his back showed that he had seen a fair share of battle in his life. The only feature betraying his age was his wrinkled skin. One of his feet was shackled to a bolt in the floor. The long-chain allowed him to move about freely within the room. Murari heard shouts from outside the door and the next moment he saw the warden and a handful of guards standing in front of the door.
“Move aside and I will spare you.” The old prisoner said.
The warden was quite tall, and though signs of ageing had started showing on his face, Murari could tell that he could easily beat the old prisoner without even batting an eyelid.
Instead, he saw the warden cowering in fear upon seeing the old man.
“Sir, you know I cannot let you out without the King’s orders.” The warden chose his words very carefully.
“The King – hah!” The old man glowered. “Don’t make me laugh.”
The warden tightened his grip on his Parashu in response. Seeing this, the old man bent down and picked up the chain that shackled his foot and yanked at it with such a strength that it dislodged a huge chunk of rock from the floor on which the bolt had been twisted.
The warden lunged at the old man, but the old man nonchalantly sidestepped to avoid the attack. Holding the chain in both his hands, the old man got behind the warden and noosed the chain around his neck. The Parashu fell from the warden’s hand as he grabbed the chain with his hands in a desperate attempt to free it from around his neck. The old man yanked the chain harder, as he turned back quickly to avoid baring his unguarded back to the rest of the Nisacharas.
Just when the warden was on the verge of passing out, the old man loosened his grip but maintained a firm hold over the chain. He glanced sideways to look at Murari.
“Let’s get going, Kid.” He said.
When the old man was attacking the warden, Murari had managed to catch a glimpse of his face and the two fangs jutting out from the top of his mouth.
He was a Nisachara.
✽✽✽
Shodasha
Turn of the Tide
The rest of the guards backed off as soon as the old man emerged from the cell holding their warden captive. Though they did not lower their weapons, they kept a safe distance from him and Murari.
Murari was still holding the keys to the prison cells.
“Get inside the cell.” The old man ordered the guards.
The guards didn’t move. They weren’t ready to take orders from a prisoner.
“NOW.” The old man shouted as he tightened his grip over the chain around the warden’s neck.
The guards lost their will to resist and did as they were told. The old man made them leave their weapons out of the passage as Murari locked the cell again.
“Now let’s go and release your friends.” The old man said, dragging the warden with him.
Murari rushed over to the cell. Without wasting time, he bent down and started trying key after key.
“Murari!” The captain of the pirates said weakly, as his eyes widened with disbelief.
“Sit tightly, I am getting you out of here.” Murari looked up and smiled weakly.
Finally, one of the keys fit in and Murari threw open the iron-barred door and rushed in. The captain hugged him tightly as he broke into tears.
The rest of the pirates also woke up by then. On seeing Murari a sense of hope rekindled within their hearts as they sprang to their feet and surrounded him.
The clamour woke up Ballu, Raaka, and Mitra. Even though their bodies had sustained heavy injuries and they looked severely dehydrated, their eyes sparkled with joy upon seeing their friend. Seeing them struggling to stand, Murari rushed to their side and helped them get up.
“We thought you were dead?” Ballu said as he squinted to see Murari.
His eyebrows were swollen to the extent that they were preventing his eyelids from opening completely.
“Don’t talk now. Let’s get out of here first.” Murari said.
He saw Raaka staring at him oddly. Murari looked at him and gave a nervous chuckle. Tears welled up in Raaka’s eyes, as he fell on his knees and asked Murari to forgive him for having forgotten him behind. Murari immediately rushed to his side and helped him up by the hand.
Before Murari could ay anything, the old man appeared outside the cell’s door.
“We must hurry. There could be others.” The old man said.
Murari nodded.
“I am glad to see you are okay, Murari,” Mitra said weakly.
Murari’s gaze fell on his bandaged hand. Going to his side, he undid the bandage even as Mitra tried to pull back his hand, but Murari held fast and pulled the poorly tied dirty cloth off his hand. Mitra’s right hand was missing his little finger.
Mitra was an archer, and for an archer to lose one of his fingers…
Murari winced with anger, as he clenched his fists tight.
Those bastards are going to pay for this.
Following Murari’s instructions, everyone got out of the prison cell.
The old man pushed the warden into the empty cell, and Murari locked the door behind him. The warden had lost conscious by then, so there was no fear of him raising an alarm.
The old man walked several paces ahead of the rest of the group. As they neared the stairway, the old man suddenly stopped.
“Kid, please free the prisoners from these two cells.” The old man requested Murari.
“Why? They could be dangerous.” Murari protested.
Now that he had freed his friends, he only wanted to get them to safety as soon as possible.
“They are my comrades. I cannot leave them behind.” The old man said as he turned his weary eyes towards the cell.
Murari didn’t say anything. He quietly walked over and unlocked the door to the second cell, releasing the middle-aged Nisacharas he had seen earlier.
Then he approached the door to the first cell. Murari peered through the darkness but couldn’t see anything. He unlocked the door and stepped back. A large hand flung open the door, and a giant Nisachara emerged from the cell. Murari coul
dn’t believe his eyes. The giant was so tall that he had to crouch a little to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling of the underground prison.
The giant saw Murari holding the keys. He brought his right hand over his chest and pounded his fist twice on it while smiling funnily.
“Muka says thank you.” The old man said from behind, smiling as he did. “He was born without the ability to speak. That’s how we came to call him Muka. But he is a fierce warrior.”
Meanwhile, all the middle-aged Nisacharas from the second cell had come out. Looking at the old man, their impassive faces lit up like the dying flames of a bonfire had been rekindled with some freshly cut firewood.
Similar to the giant, the group of middle-aged Nisacharas thumped their chest twice with their fist, as they bowed their head in gratitude.
Murari gave a sheepish smile as he waved his hands awkwardly, not knowing how to react.
The odd group of misfits quickly made their way through the levels of the prison. Seeing the escapees, the rest of the prisoners once again started banging their cell bars and screaming to free them. The old man asked Murari to ignore them and continued moving forward until all of them had reached the ground level.
Ballu, Raaka, and Mitra were finding it difficult to keep up with the pace of rest of the group. Seeing this the Nisacharas lifted them onto their shoulders. Even though the boys protested for a while, they ultimately let the Nisacharas carry them, having no strength to walk.
The group headed towards the corridor at the other end of the prison.
The old man kept ahead of the group all the while, leading the way. The pirates had picked up several Mashaals from the wall along the way. As they exited the corridor, the group arrived at a small clearing with five heavy iron doors lined up on the wall in front of them. All of them looked similar and had no distinguishing mark. But the old man entered the second door on the left without hesitating, signalling everyone behind him to follow closely. They ran into several such doors, some led them straight ahead, while others opened onto a long, winding staircase, leading up. Finally, they came out of the maze of corridors from a giant door that opened up in a beautiful garden.