3 CHAPTER 3- Nadhipalle-1

1538, Nadhipalle village, Golkonda Sultanate/ Dharanikota kingdom border.

Satthi was always an inquisitive child. But being only 11 years old, most of his free time is spent roaming around the streets of their small village, with his entourage, looking for anything that will catch his eye. 

He couldn't wait for the day his father and brother would take him along when they would go fishing every morning. It was a family tradition after all. What else was he supposed to do? There were no Gurukuls (Indian Schools) in the area, and he doubted they would admit him anyway.

"Do you know who the stranger is?" one of his friends asked him. A young man, who didn't belong to their village, arrived at the village entrance half an hour ago. After talking to the guards at the wooden fence, the stranger was then led by one of the guards, to the village chief. And for the last few minutes, he was inside the building, talking to the village chief.

"Just because my grandpa is the chief doesn't mean I know every other nobody he is meeting with," Satthi replied to his friend in an almost annoyed tone. His grandpa was one of the elders of the village and was elected to be the chief. "Do you want to go in and find out?"

"What? No!! I don't want to risk getting caught sneaking by your grandpa. He is scary!" replied a kid who was barely 10 years old. The last time Satthi's grandpa caught them sneaking around his office, he gave them a lecture that lasted hours.

"Whatever. I am going in by myself!" said Satthi, as he left the group of kids he hangs around with and entered the biggest building in the village, built for the use of the village chief. The guards there know him well and would allow him in without any commotion.

As he approached the office of his grandpa, Ramaiah, he began overhearing the conversation that was going on inside, through the curtained door. He stood on the other side of the door so that he could listen in properly. His grandpa's deep voice was very distinct and easy to identify when compared to the younger voice of the stranger.

"The boats are out in the river now. We do have some small fishing boats left on the shores. We can lend it to you for the right price." Satthi heard his grandfather say calmly to the stranger.

"No. I have no experience rowing a boat. Besides it will be far faster if one of your fishermen rows the boat. I was serious when I said that I needed to reach the town as soon as possible." replied the voice of the stranger.

"The Fishermen will return before the sunset. Tomorrow we will be sending the last batch of cotton cloth, dyes, and some goats to the town's market for the upcoming Holi festival. If you want, I can arrange for a boat to leave earlier than usual, but it will cost you." his grandpa said. 

Following a shuffling sound, something was placed on the table.

"How about this? Some jewelry and a steel dagger. Something of this quality would cost a typical farm laborer a year's salary." the man propositioned sounding confident in his offer.

"Jewelry, I can agree, but a dagger? What should I do with it? Shave my armpits? Besides, I have no way of verifying the dagger's quality. It could have been made of lead, for all I know." Ramaiah replied to the man's offer.

Then for a few seconds, all Satthi could hear was silence.

SWOOSH.

A cotton curtain, the only thing that stood between the waiting room and his grandpa's office, was cut open and fell on top of Satthi's head. He scrambled to remove the obstruction from his face, only to meet the glint of the cold steel of a dagger pointed directly at him.

"I can't do much to prove the quality of the blade, I'm afraid." The stranger said to his shocked grandpa. Then those cold eyes turned to meet his. "I don't like people eavesdropping."

This time was enough for a guard, who was standing by the side of his grandpa, to react and point his spear at the stranger. "REINFORCEMENTS!!!" he screamed, for the other guards to enter.

Within a few seconds, the two guards at the village hall entry door had entered the waiting room and pointed their spears at the stranger in front of him. Satthi who was standing near the doorway, was now struck between the guards and the stranger.

"How DARE you! Drawing a weapon in my office! And you are even threatening my grandkid, a child with it!" Sathhi's grandpa, who just recovered from the sudden turn of events, screamed.

By this time, an assistant to the village chief had gotten up from his seat in the waiting room and dragged the kid behind him to act as a cover if the situation escalated further. The stranger lowered the dagger but remained in place.

"Alright, alright. I was just jumpy from the time in the forest. I don't want any trouble." said the stranger, his voice calm and collected, as if nothing had happened.

For several moments, silence filled the air. The guards were still pointing their spears at the stranger. His grandpa was staring at the stranger with a complicated look.

"Spears down." Chief Ramaiah ordered the guards, which they reluctantly did. 

"Rudra was it? I don't know if anybody has taught you this but, what you did was grounds for heavy punishment around these parts. Make sure you don't repeat it." his grandpa grumbled to the stranger, Rudra, who looked like he was barely 16.

"Thank you. As I said, I barely had any rest the past few days. I saw a shadow and instinct took over. Besides I have now shown you the blade's quality. I can only hope it satisfies you. Not all blades can cut a heavy cloth that smoothly." Rudra replied, now looking back at Satthi who was peaking his head from behind the guard's back.

"Leaving aside the curtain's cost, don't you think it's too much of a cost to pay for an expedited boat ride?" the chief enquired, still cautious from the situation a few moments ago.

"Think of it as collateral. You give me some money and arrange that boat ride. I will send someone to collect the items back and give you back the money. I would not have asked for the money had I not lost all of it that I was carrying, Besides, I have a better quality dagger with me and jewelry is of no particular importance. Not to mention the sword." noted Rudra, while patting the sheathed Talwar, hanging on his waist. This caused the guards to tense again, one of them shuffling inside the office room, to have a better tactical position.

"You have yourself a deal. My son will return in the next few hours after the day's fishing. I'll talk to him and you can leave for Macherla by nightfall. Now please, wait for a few moments outside. I need to have a few words with my grandson. I will send someone to escort you to have a meal and have some shuteye for a few hours. You look like you need it." Sathhi's grandfather said to the stranger, Rudra, who was then escorted outside by two of the guards.

'Uh-oh!' Satthi thought as his grandfather's gaze turned to him. This was not the first time the chief asked him to not interfere in these matters. But, the eleven-year-old's curiosity had always gotten the better of him.

"Sathhi, How many times have I told you to not interfere in the matters of adults? This time the man only drew a blade. If someone from the Golkonda Sultanate were here, they would have killed you. Even If I had done everything in my power, I couldn't stop them in that scenario." Ramaiah questioned, his tone perfectly conveying the anger, simmering within him.

"I… uh. I'm Sorry! I swear I won't do that again!" Satthi blurted out, his eyes quickly clouding up from tears. 

"Chief, I still don't understand why you let him go. He drew a blade here in this hall. With your temper, I thought that Rudra fellow would die today. Yet you let him go with a simple apology?" Ramaiah's guard asked the question that was also in the mind of every person in the room.

"Don't tell me you haven't seen it yourself. The Kid looked barely sixteen, yet he carried himself like a statesman, though he didn't speak like one. He didn't even flinch when three spears were pointed at him. The dagger does look like a quality piece. That is not something everyone around here can afford. Rudra is either from Hampi or Dharanikota. Either way, our village cannot afford to offend him." the chief surmised, " and he has those 'crazy' eyes." he added.

Ramaiah then turned to look at the assistant and ordered, " Go and escort the guest to the village guest room, and arrange some food and a bed for him.".

"Call your father in here as soon as he comes back." the chief instructed Sathhi, who took it as queue to run out of his grandpa's sight.