The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter XXVI: Towards the Hills

“Think Raza think, I can’t let them get away, they have to get to the river somehow, they gave me ten pieces of gold, wonder how much more they have in their bags! My men are waiting for the signal, if only I could get them a little close to the riverside, everything will fall into place,” the slimy bag of tricks called Raza was biting his nails, trying to hatch up a plan to trap the others. It would not be long before they leave on their journey but suddenly it hit him- a marvellous idea!

“Why be content with just one piece of valuable artefact when their journey is not yet over, maybe they are going for a bigger treasure hunt next, I must tag along somehow and beg them to make me a part of their team, I shall have to instruct my men to follow me secretly from a distance, yes, this way I’ll be richer, he he!” he began scheming.

“Eh! Your highness, this humble servant of yours has a proposition to make, eh! I think yours truly will be of great service to you if you let me come along, eh, I now a lot of things about a lot of places, I know where to get food, shelter, even horses, yes, anything you need,” he said to the Princess.

“Enough! It seems that you have grown greedy. If you wish to come with us, be prepared to do so at your own risk, if you die, we won’t bury a filthy pirate like you, instead we will let your body to rot and eaten by vultures and if you try to deceive us, or even think of something funny, I’ll let that Thug behead you!” she warned him.

Raza took a huge gulp down his throat but bowed down humbly to show his agreement.

“But your highness, where are we going?” he asked.

“Kathmandu, we shall take the train from Raxaul!” she replied and walked on.

Raza thought of an excuse to leave the party for a while so that he might get his belongings from his ship. He would meet them at the train junction in exactly 90 minutes from now. Nobody cared if he returned or not but they thought it would be better if an experienced local would come along to show them the way, they needed all the help they could get. They got out of the jungle and went towards the city to hire a carriage. The charm of the princess was enough to persuade the drivers and each of them offered a better deal to take them to the station. Carey had the sacred piece carefully wrapped in a piece of cloth in his pocket but he took it out and put it in his backpack. As soon as he did so, he felt a terrible pain in his nose- it started to bleed. Ram Babu tended to him immediately and managed to make it stop.

“Oh, look, the foreigner is sick! Huh, such a weak man,” Kali questioned his manhood and watched from a distance, chewing a leaf of grass.

They managed to get him up on the carriage and began their journey to the train station. But it would seem that anywhere they went, there was trouble waiting for them. The Governor had previously installed spies all throughout the country and one of them got lucky and noticed Carey with the Princess, getting on the car. It would not be long before the governor was informed about this. The Thugs had not forgotten Kali’s betrayal and insult, they too were looking for him and waiting to ambush him. On the other hand the biggest danger was the Dutchman, he had landed in Champaran an hour ago and was looking for Carey. He would make sure that Carey was on the right path and was planning on following him secretly. It would not be long before he caught his scent. There was dangers surrounding them from all sides but the team of explorers were unaware of anything.

“So, Mr. Carey, are you all right?” asked the Princess as the carriage moved ahead.

“Yes, of course, what makes you think otherwise?” replied Carey.

“Oh, nothing, it’s just that within a span of few hours, you have been made aware of something called reincarnation, things that you as a scholar wouldn’t believe!” replied the Princess.

“You are right, but it doesn’t mean that whatever we don’t see or comprehend, can’t exist? There are things that are beyond human understanding, which is all, my eyes have been opened- I can see much more,” he replied.

“Yeah, whatever, I just wish to restore my kingdom from the evil Governor,” she replied.

They kept arguing about their motives but something bigger was afoot. What they thought was a simple expedition to the lost kingdom was about to change into a survival mission.

Raza joined the party as promised but nobody knew what he had secretly planned for them. His ragtag army of pirates were following his lead, hoping for a large sum of treasure.

It would not be long before they would board the train to Kathmandu, each in a different disguise so as to avoid detection from the officials. The government had placed its troops everywhere, and any indication of a revolt would be reported within an hour. Carey changed his appearance as a local Indian man and covered his face. All of them got tickets to Kathmandu and with the gold coins they had, they were able to bargain for a first class compartment.

It would seem to be a comfortable journey, with all the food and drinks that were offered. Carey and the Princess were treated a s royalty, Ram Babu sat on the other seat as their valet, while Kali stood on the doorway as their guard- such was their disguise. Carey and the Princess treated themselves to the finest Scotch and the spiciest meat available.