Chapter 15: Capturing of the first fort

Prashant snuck into a prominent fort by disguising himself among the sheep-herders. Nope, not among the herders, but the sheep. They did make comments that this silly human reeks of laziness. But both sides reached a negotiation with a promise of better living conditions for sheep under Prashant's future rule.

"Thankfully, no one will know how I managed to infiltrate. I'll have stories of myself jumping the wall in a single leap. Well, I did a jump, it was cross-species delegation, first time in a while." Prashant, now slightly smelly, made a white lie. 

With tiptoeing around the guards, he spotted his main goal. One well and a bucket full of water. Yes, our desi ninja is dying to take a bath. That, too, from water stolen from someone else's hard work. What a dharmic guy!

[M: What happened to rapid conquest, maximising Karma points?]

"Well, this can't be helped, sister. I feel prickly when around woollen clothes. I prefer soft cotton or silk. They feel like the air is caressing the skin, swaying with each movement. Even scent them a bit with mild flavours like jasmine, sandalwood,..."

[M: Focus Malika-e-husn (pageant queen)! I bet you can't even differentiate between the scents. I was once fooled by your Chanakya music boasting.]

"You're deceptively smart. As expected of a ghost who can hack cheater-baba. Well, this was what a salesman pitched to a girl at a shopping mall. To impress everyone, I bought a traditional attire worth Rs 20,000. 

As it turned out, it was the kind that needed washing with warm water, consistent pH and a specific hardness limit. This means that apart from the shopping mall, I never wore it again. Hidden deep in the closet just like my shame." Prashant told the truth without any burden. Anyway, it's just two of them.

He poured the water in a quick action. He was worried about the smell, the guards and whoever the bucket belonged to. M graciously dried the soaked, but now fresh-feeling idiot with a handwave. Prashant was wearing intricately designed attire to impress the audience during his temple visit earlier this morning. 

"Thanks, sister"

[Current mana:0]

"Well, I haven't even discovered a way to use it. It comes back anyway. It must be unimportant. Like the income tax department notices! I get those every year. God knows why those guys are joking around rather than doing an actual job." And the certified nation-builder starts sneaking around to find the largest group of defenders.

"Have you heard? A madman is going around the area with a strong army." Said one younger soldier.

"Yeah, I know the story. A Prince from outside came to town. Some say he is a fool. But it is whispered that the goddess brought him here personally. He wanders around leisurely, but never forgets her." One senior officer said in a hushed voice. 

"Well, it doesn't matter. Once our Hujur (master) carves out his domain, surely all kinds of gods will bless him. Be it the one or the many." The younger tried to flatter. 

"The future is always uncertain. Anyways, it doesn't matter to runts like us. Better carry on your duties, the prince is with a large Rajput contingent. We should pretend to be ready for a stubborn defence." Senior remained unmoved by the flattery and maintained a strict working attitude.

Prashant overheard the chatter and was impressed that he managed to fool the people. Now, he is going to wait for the fort commander to pass by. Yup, same plan, rousing speech, enemy gathered in one place and villainous plot to catch them off-guard.

[M: Why?]

"Well, pretending to be a villain is deeply satisfying. Especially when the public is on your side."

[M: You just stole someone's bucket.]

"They don't know it was me, plus I've confidence in my men mixed in among the crowd."

[M: So your PR work is now handled by a group of sheep, suits you.]

"Shushh, now here he comes."

The fort commander looked like a strong man, built like a bull. He looked like a Turk, but he could very well be an Arab or a local. Prashant is not the brightest when it comes to... well, anything. 

The commander came along with his retinue, and the whole street was filled with more than a thousand guards.

"Wasteful, why bring so many bodyguards along while walking around your fort? Look at me, I only kept 500. And was ambushed. Well, it seems that bringing many armed men has its benefits.

The great Emperor Akbar instituted the Mansab system in Mughal territory. Rajputs and other local elites were granted high positions. All ranked according to their post called Mansab. A nobleman with a 3000 mansab meant he was paid by the Mughal empire with a salary for 3000 soldiers. 

This might seem a bit pathetic. The wealthiest empire in the world is handing out so meagre posts? Well, the 3000 soldiers were, in fact, personal bodyguards. Mughals would assign armies based on the mission. So a 3000 mansab holder would march with an army of 1,00,000 under his command on a campaign. 

The overall logistics were taken care of by the empire, while his 'smaller' retinue of bodyguards was equipped by him with money given by the very state. One could understand why a 'foreign' emperor is called great in so many different contexts. He was the half-blooded CEO of a desi company with extremely generous salary packages."

[M: Idiot.]

"Sister, do you have some wisdom to share? I am ready to have a comparative analysis of feudal polities. Of course, I won't dare to contradict you. But our Indian tradition of not sticking to absolutes has to be carried out...." 

Prashant stopped mid-sentence as he realised the commander standing before him. All bodyguards have circled him. It seems they were aware of his presence and precisely brought everyone to capture the fool.

"You give me too much honour. Did you bring so many defenders to surrender? I never sent a visiting card, yet you prepared so much?" Prashant made a forced-out quip. 

"Well, shepherds told us about some weirdo talking to their sheep. They thought someone was doing black magic in Fort. So here we are. Prince, I suppose?" The commander said in a dry voice. 

"No need for formalities, now hand over the fort and go somewhere else." 

"They were correct! You do have delusions of sparing the enemy. Haven't you read history? That stopped working since northern India changed its master." 

"It doesn't matter, the coin will always show heads on a toss. Just because it failed before doesn't mean it will fail now. Now, be a good leader and surrender. You don't want something bad to happen to your followers, right? Hahaha hahaha (villainous laughter)... cough cough... Pretend to be afraid." Anti-hero Prashant online.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I'm always serious."

"No, I mean don't you know a toss is always up to the chance, and the heads simply means one face of the coin. You know, which can fall flat on its face?"

"Really? Well, it doesn't matter either, my coin has both sides with faces." 

"Well, enough of tomfoolery, kill him and hang his body outside." The commander gestured to his men and was ready to walk away. 

But just at the moment, someone stabbed him.

'Treachery?' was the thought in his mind. But soon he found more than 100 masked men among his guards. Most importantly, his people were not ready for the ambush. So they were at a disadvantage. He, too, is in mortal danger. 

"I did tell you to surrender. You thought this was your trap? No, everything was my plan. I wrote the story, you were nothing but a side character."

"The bucket part was a plan, too?"

"Of course, how could I, a dignified prince, stoop so low? Now, this castle belongs to me. Take away your family and men. This is my bid in your power game. Soon, the region will belong to me. Hahaha hahaha (more sinister laughter).. cough cough..." Prashant succeeded in his gambit. 

[M: You should be careful next time.]

"Yes, bathing with cold water in monsoon? Anyone can tell that this will cause coughs."

[M: Hopeless. Why masks?]

"I don't want to reveal their true existence to the world. Let them be my shadows. Plus, revealing that they, too, have joined the game of power will cause more harm at this point. Their society is still a century away from reaching its evolution into martial culture.

I have to consider the wider implications behind all my actions." Prashant said in a sagely posture. 

[M: Maybe next time have them not greet you with 'raam raam'. That way they remain a mystery.]

So Prashant managed to reclaim a fort that had been in foreign hands for centuries. It needs a lot of work to make it return to the proper path. He decided to do the dirty work himself.

Prashant clenched his fists, steeled his nerves and went forward to do an uncomfortable ordeal. Massacre? Demolitions? Exile? 

Nope, he is going to climb the flag pole atop the central keep. It's nearly 7 stories high above the ground. He bravely climbed up and took down the old flag. 

Slight problem, he didn't bring one of his. Shaking his head, he untied his feta (ceremonial headgear) and used it as a flag. By coincidence, it was saffron coloured. 

"Raam raam uncle." Prashant came to one of the masked men.

"Raam, raam Prince."

"Spread the news that I've captured the fort by infiltrating alone. And don't use this greeting. It is iconic to your culture in this region." With that, men spread among the shadows. 

----At night, in a tent hastily made in the forest.----

Blood everywhere, many dead, others shocked witless with brutality.

M: "Two-faced."

Chandramukhi, who usually had a beautiful face and an air of elegance, stood among the dead bodies. Both hands held swords, still dripping with evidence of slaughter. Her face was completely black, and her eyes were spitting with anger. Almost as if embodying the primal fury of Mother Nature. 

"The boy is too lenient. Being kind to the unjust is the same as being unjust to the kind."

M: "His role is to be the voice of leniency. A silly voice."

"You keep calling me two-faced, but you are a thousand armed. You keep manipulating fate to orchestrate stories."

M: "Thanks for the compliment. When chaos reigns for long, all the land needs is comic relief from the bloodshed.] She chuckled, and all the blood and dead bodies vanished. The survivors, too, fell asleep under a spell."

"Aren't you worried that this will be noticed?"

M: "Haven't you heard? Bade bade shaharon mein choti choti bate hoti rahti hei.

(such small things are common in large places)."