The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter III : A Lucrative Offer

The middle-aged man, who was the minister, standing besides the king, slowly excused himself from the conversation and went out of the room.

“Please join us Mr. Carey- I have asked them to prepare the most delicious meal you’ve ever had- come-“said the king as he went towards the dining table with his daughter.

Carey went along nervously, he was tired and worn out from the journey and he hadn’t cleaned himself since yesterday and now here he was dining with the Nawab. He sat down feverishly on the comfy chair and looked at the dish served in front of him. The Nawab’s daughter uncovered the lid and the most delicious scent of spices hit his nostrils- he was completely mesmerised by the food, which seemed like some kind of aromatic rice decorated with some kind of gravy on the side with two pieces of some kind of bird which he hoped were chicken. It was warm, like it had just been cooked a minute ago, then the princess offered him a drink that looked like a lovely glass of wine. Being a Brit, he never had a plateful of rice with red wine but he couldn’t refuse the Nawab. He looked at the princess and smiled nervously as she served him the food.

“Enjoy Mr. Carey-“said the Nawab as the three of them quietly had their dinner. Carey felt bad for Ram Babu- he must be hungry too- he wondered if it would be rude to ask the Nawab that his valet should also have something to eat.

“Your Majesty-“said Carey “If I may be so bold, may I know the reason that I was brought here in this manner and how did you come to know about me? “ he asked.

“Well, Mr. Carey,” replied the Nawab putting down his spoon, ” I know why you’re here and it is not because you are interested in learning our culture, which is fine by me- you and your people want to rule this nation, go ahead- all I ask is that they return my kingdom back to me,”

“You are on a mission to seek the most powerful place on earth, I know this because I had my spies find out about you, you were in Awadh before and because of the revolution you escaped to Calcutta and yes, I know that you are looking for the Kalachakra map!”

Carey almost choked as he heard these words. How did he come to know so much about him? Spies? Impossible! He had only written about it on his journal and he always kept it locked in his room back in Awadh.

“My spies are like shadows in the night Mr. Carey, you would never see them coming. I know everything that you have accomplished until now in your quest and that is a big nothing!”

“Forgive me your majesty but I find it a bit intrusive on your part-“Carey replied boldly.

The Nawab laughed at this and Carey felt a little insulted.

“Ah! You foreigners- you forget that you are in our country,” said the Nawab reminding him of his place.

Carey thought it wouldn’t be wise to poke the bear, he was completely in his mercy after all, he could have him beheaded and no one would know.

“I have a proposition to make Mr. Carey,” said the Nawab putting down his cutlery.

“I want you to go find the map and get to the location you are seeking and find me the secret to immortality,”

Carey’s eyes opened wide upon hearing this words. He didn’t know what to say, it was a ridiculous theory that the Nawab had in his mind. The secret to immortality? Does he mean the fountain of youth? He thought that the old man had lost it completely.

“But Sire, I do not understand. You are correct to assume that I’m after this map and also looking for the place but what’s this secret are you talking about?” said Carey.

“Ah, you do not know the complete truth-“he replied as his minister came in silently holding a giant gold plate in his hands with a piece of cloth covering the contents of the plate.

“Here, take a look at this Mr. Carey,” said the Nawab uncovering the plate and placing him a piece of rolled parchment.

The Princess passed him the parchment and Carey opened it- what he saw in it completely blew his mind. It was some kind of poem written in old Prakrit language, the language that gave birth to Sanskrit and other languages in the country. It was only a ten line poem but from what he understood, it tells about a place, far beyond the Northern mountains, where immortals live along with many mysterious objects and creatures, it said that the immortals were a superior race of beings and have been on this earth from the very beginning, their weapons and technology helped them to remain hidden from the rest of the world.

Carey read through the parchment curiously- it looked genuine- but it was only a poem and it would be foolish to base one’s assumption on a metaphorical piece of literature.

“Your highness, this is something I have never seen before. I admit that I am humbled by your knowledge. My job here in this country is that of an explorer. I have been sponsored by some very powerful people in Britain to find this place but I don’t think there’s any secret to immortality in there. From what I’ve researched, the place that I am looking for, the one which is described in this poem, could be a lost kingdom of the old and there could be nothing but ruins left-“said Carey.

“That may be the case but still I am asking you to find this place on my behalf and bring me what I am looking for,” said the Nawab nonchalantly.

“But I am already being employed,” remarked Carey.

“I’ll pay you double, here!” said the Nawab unveiling the rest of the golden plate.

Carey was dumbfounded at the sight of a huge bundle of gold coins that glittered in the candle light.

“This is just your advanced payment, once you bring me that which I ask of you, you can go back to your country a rich man and I will give you the hand of my beautiful daughter,” continued the Nawab.

Carey blushed at the mention of the princess.

“Ah, that’s really not necessary Sire, you see I’m married to my work-“ he replied.

“Do you realise what’s at stake here? I am at the end of my life and my enemies are everywhere,” said the Nawab interrupting him, “once I die, my kingdom will go to the hands of scoundrels and fools, they will rip apart everything that I’ve built, the governor of Calcutta will seize my land and my beautiful daughter will have nothing left for her. Please Mr. Carey, do this for me, you’re the only one who can, have mercy on a dying old man and his helpless daughter,”

Carey drew a long breath and rubbed his temples. He thought that there’s nothing wrong in accepting the Nawab’s offer, he wasn’t breaking any rules here. He was being employed by the League to locate the place and the Nawab wants whatever secret the place holds which he sincerely doubted. No harm no foul!

“All right your majesty, I accept your offer but I do not require anything more than what you’re offering me right now but I ask that you facilitate my journey and give me some time to research,” he said.

“It’s a deal!” remarked the Nawab smiling.

“Indeed! Now I think we should be getting back to the governor’s bungalow as quickly as possible, I shall keep you posted with any further developments and let you know what I need and when,” he replied.

Minutes later, Carey and his valet were driven back on the same carriage that they came in. He was given an entire bag full of gold coins by the Nawab and was asked to discreetly stay in contact with His Highness and he was also asked not to talk about the meeting with anyone. He looked at his pocket watch, it was already too late. The governor’s men must have been looking for him, what was he supposed to say? He thought of an excuse while the carriage tumbled down the broken village roads.