Balram nodded, and continued. ‘As for the Greeks, we are doing all we can to frustrate them, but with half our fighting strength, we do not have enough soldiers to man the Walls for so long, even with rotation and rationing.’

‘So, how many days?’ Ugrasen asked.

‘They may well scale the Second Sister within the fortnight,’ Krishna replied. Shocked gasps came from around the table. ‘But do not worry. We may not have soldiers to defend the entire city, but we have enough to defend the Second District if required.’

‘We have a few regiments of the Republican Army,’ Balram added, ‘all of them stationed in the Second District. The Silver Wolves are assisting the City Watch with the defence of the Iron Curfew. Their strength has been bolstered by some civilian volunteers, though I fear it is still not enough.’

‘Volunteers?’

‘Cooks, smiths, farmers, grooms…anyone who is able bodied and can wield a weapon is being recruited.’

‘What of the Tunnels?’ Kritavarman asked.

‘The entrance to one of the tunnels in the Market Square is closed off,’ Krishna said, ‘for the Third District is prowling with Greeks. The other is inside the Curfew.’

‘We should start the evacuation process,’ Ugrasen said. ‘Women and children first.’

‘Honourable, My Lord,’ Krishna said, ‘but my spies report that a reserve force of Greeks is still encamped at the place where the tunnel exits. Fortunately, they do no suspect there is a trap door under the very ground on which they sit. But escape that way is not a viable option at the moment. I reckon it may open up in a day or two, for the Greeks are marching into Mathura in strength.’

‘Can we not start sending them out in small batches?’

Krishna shook his head. ‘Not yet. Yami forbid, should the Greeks smell that we are trying to escape, it won’t take ‘em long to block the tunnel and choke us all in there. It has to be a measure of last resort.’

‘What of our boats in the Yamuna?’ Akrur asked Kritavarman quietly, afraid of the answer.

‘Due to the storm last night, the river is in flood, and the current too strong for the smaller boats. The rope-house in the Third District was completely burned down. Without the ropes, the bigger boats cannot be floated into the river.’

‘Any support from allies?’ Ugrasen asked.

‘We have none... perhaps Hastina.’ It was Krishna who spoke. ‘And that is because, most fortunately, we have Draupadi. We have sent more than twenty ravens to Hastina. Perhaps half of them won through arrow and storm and hawks to make it to our friends there. I imagine they will need a few days to march, but I am confident they will get here in seven days, well before the Greeks scale the Second Sister. Mathura will hold out till then.’

‘What of Panchal?’ Kritavarman asked.