'We have no complaints. I will take you to the palace, but whether Rajaraja will see you, I cannot say.' The captain smiled again. 'I am only a poor soldier. The ways of rajas and maharajas are well beyond my ken.'
'Beyond mine, too,' Melcorka assured him.
The captain laughed. 'Rajaraja does his best. We are having some local difficulty on the western frontier at present, but nothing that can't be resolved.'
'The slavers and pirates of Thiruzha,' Melcorka said.
'That's the ones,' the captain said. 'Here's the royal palace now. I'll leave you at the gate and after that, it's up to you.' He dismounted, shaking the dust of the journey from him. 'May Shiva go with you.'
'Thank you, Captain.' Melcorka looked up at the palace. 'I hope that Shiva also blesses you.'
The gate was open, with an impressively ornate guard stationed on either side of the wide doorway. The palace walls extended around what seemed to be a single, brightly painted building decorated with carved stone figures.
'We seek an audience with the Emperor,' Melcorka said.
The guards spoke in unison. 'The public Durbar chamber is open for two hours every day and two hours every evening. The Emperor will listen to requests and pleas then and will give judgement.' Their mouths shut as one. Both men stared resolutely ahead as if their duty had been done.
'Thank you.' Melcorka gave a little curtsey, then a salaam. 'Could you direct us to the public Durbar chamber, please?'
The guards spoke again. 'The public Durbar chamber is on the left side of the main corridor, three doors along. The guard at the door will care for any weapons. If you do not hand him your weapon, he will have you arrested and tried.'
'Thank you.' Melcorka salaamed again. 'Where can we leave our horses?'
'The stable lads will look after them.' The guards whistled in unison, summoning two eager youths who prepared to lead away the horses. 'Rajaraja will supply free food, water and shelter for the animals of genuine travellers.'
Melcorka fondled her mount for what she imagined would be the last time. 'May we enter?'
Again, the guards spoke as one man. 'You may enter.' They stiffened to attention.
The interior of the palace was even more lavish than Dhraji's in Kollchi, with beautiful carpets on the ground and tapestries enlivening the walls. Ornate carvings filled every possible niche, while incense drifted from an unknown source.
'We have entered paradise.' Bradan tapped his staff on the ground. 'It's a long way from Dunedin.'
'It's a different world,' Melcorka said. 'I don't like the idea of parting with Defender so soon after getting her back.'
'There is no choice,' Bradan said. 'Anyway, if this Rajaraja fellow made a habit of stealing the weapon of every guest in his palace, he would soon have a foul reputation. I imagine Defender will be safe enough.'
'That may be true,' Melcorka said, reluctantly. 'You like this place, don't you?'
'After Kollchi and Thiruzha, anywhere would be welcoming,' Bradan said.
'Oh?' Melcorka widened her eyes. 'I heard that Dhraji made herself very welcoming to you.'
Bradan grunted. 'You heard more than is good for you, Melcorka nic Bearnas.'
The guard at the Durbar room overtopped both Melcorka and Bradan by a head, while his shoulders nearly filled the doorway. 'I will take your weapons,' he said, in a deep but not unfriendly tone.
Bradan handed over his staff. 'When will we get them back?'
'When you leave the royal palace,' the giant growled.
'Will they be safe?' Melcorka unbuckled her sword belt, holding Defender in both hands.
'I will look after them.' The giant's eyes were soft as they regarded Melcorka. 'Only one man has the key to the armoury.'
'Who is that man?' Melcorka already guessed the answer.
'Me!' The giant dived inside his baggy blue clothes and produced an iron chain with a brass key half the length of a man's arm. 'Your sword will be safe with me, Lady.'
'I believe you.' Melcorka handed over Defender, feeling as if she was parting with one of her limbs.
'You may enter.' The giant stepped aside to allow unobstructed passage.
Melcorka did not know what to expect when she entered the public Durbar room. It was more significant than the doorway suggested, with the last of the daylight easing in through three pointed windows. A plethora of carved sculptures provided decoration, with a massive statue of Shiva dominating everything.
A score of people were already seated on the Bokhara carpets that covered the ground, while a group of musicians played soft music in the corner. A graceful young woman danced on a raised platform to entertain the waiting supplicants.
'This is very civilized.' Melcorka remembered the roaring, ranting, drunken mobs that filled the halls of Alban and Norse nobility. 'We have come up in the world, Bradan.'
'I feel as if I am a barbarian in a much more advanced culture.' Bradan watched the dancer, thought of Dhraji and quickly looked away.
'We are barbarians compared to these people.' Melcorka settled down on the carpet. 'We are travelling to gain knowledge and learn about new places. Well, Bradan, here is an Empire that can teach us much, as long as it does not succumb to Dhraji and the rakshasas.'
Bradan stretched out on the carpet. 'We have seen no sign of any rakshasa since we entered Chola lands. I am beginning to wonder if the Siddhars were correct. They could well have been exaggerating, or perhaps the rakshasas have already returned to their own domain.'
'I hope they have.' Melcorka admired the fluidity and grace of the dancer. 'If so, we can spend a pleasant few weeks in this Empire and then continue our journeying.'
'You are forgetting Dhraji,' Bradan said. 'We still have to deal with Dhraji and Bhim.'
'I'm not forgetting Dhraji,' Melcorka said. 'I have things to settle with that woman. I have a message for her, written in red ink with a very sharp pen.'
Keeping in perfect time to the music, the dancer,
