‘You have to understand that this is with good reason. They assumed that no enemy ships could enter the Saraswati. No enemy-controlled rivers flow into it and the Saraswati does not open to the sea.’

‘But isn’t that just the problem?’ asked a confused Athithigva. ‘How will we get ships into the Saraswati?’

‘We won’t,’ said Shiva. ‘We will capture the Meluhan ships stationed in the Saraswati instead.’

Kali nodded. ‘That is the last thing they would expect, which is the reason why it will work.’

‘Yes,’ said Sati. ‘All we have to do is capture Mrittikavati, which is where most of the Saraswati command of the Meluhan navy is stationed. Once we’re in possession of those ships, we will control the Saraswati. We can quickly sail up, unchallenged, even as we continue our search for the Somras manufacturing facility.’

‘That’s correct,’ said Brahaspati. ‘The manufacturing facility can only be on the banks of the Saraswati. It cannot possibly be anywhere else.’

‘This sounds like a good plan,’ said Gopal. ‘But how do we capture their ships? Where do we enter their territory from? Mrittikavati is not a border town. We will have to march in with an army. And we will obviously face resistance from the border town that falls on the way – Lothal.’

‘Lothal?’ asked Kartik.

‘Lothal is the port of Maika,’ said Gopal. ‘They are practically twin cities. Maika is where all the Meluhan children are born and raised, while Lothal is the local army base.’

‘Don’t worry about Maika or Lothal,’ said Kali. ‘They will be on our side.’

Gopal, Shiva and Sati seemed genuinely surprised.

‘If there are any Meluhans who will have sympathy for us, it will be the people of Maika,’ continued Kali. ‘They have seen the Naga children suffer. They have tried to help us on many occasions, even breaking their own laws in the process. The present Governor of Maika, Chenardhwaj, is also the administrator of Lothal. He was transferred from Kashmir a few years back. He is loyal to the institution of the Neelkanth. Furthermore, I have saved his life once. Trust me, both Maika and Lothal will be with us when hostilities break out.’

‘I remember Chenardhwaj,’ said Shiva. ‘All right then, we will utilise the support of Lothal to conquer Mrittikavati. Then we’ll use their ships to search the towns on the Saraswati. But remember, we must try and avoid a direct clash.’

Chapter 14: The Reader of Minds

Chapter 14

The Reader of Minds

‘Do you believe we can convince him?’ asked Shiva.

The Vasudev chief, Gopal, had just walked into Shiva’s chamber. Sati and the Neelkanth were preparing to leave for Magadh with him. Ganesh and Kartik had come to say goodbye to their parents.

‘I would have been worried had we been meeting Lord Bhrigu,’ said Gopal. ‘But it’s only Surapadman.’