After the Kuravai Koothu, a big feast was held. Vallavareyan didn't enjoy it all that much. He was dead tired. But still he didn't say anything when his friend sat along with him telling him who was who.
Apart from Pazhuvetar of course, Mazhavereyar, Mazhapadi Thanavan, Kunrathur Perunilakezhar, Mammudi Pallavareyar, Thenthongi Kalingarayer, Vanangamudi Munnaireyar, Devasenathipati Puvareyar were some of the prominent figures in Sambuvereyar's guest list.
Vandiya Devan knew that these noblemen were the most important officials of the Chola court. Each one of them could also be described as petty kings. In those days one could not be a king just by birth. Only those who stood by the emperor with loyalty and bravery during a war would be recognized and given lands and property and established as a petty king.
Vandiya Devan realized that unless it was something very important all these noblemen and petty kings would not have come together in one place.
Many questions kept cropping up in his mind, "Why have they all come here…? What is happening here today?"
With this confusion at the back of his mind, he went with Kandanmaran to the terrace where he had a bed at the far end.
"You look very tired, Vallava. Get some sleep. I will just attend to the other guests and come soon to sleep here," said Kandanmaran.
As soon as he hit the bed, Vandiya Devan fell asleep but only to awaken in his dream world. He dreamt of a wolf howling somewhere; suddenly in a second the one wolf became a hundred and they all came charging towards him. Vandiya Devan started running.
In front of him another hundred dogs came towards him barking. Terrified Vandiya Devan looked around and spotted a temple. He immediately ran towards it. It was a Kali temple. In the entrance he saw the sacrificial stone. A pujari suddenly appeared from behind the statue.
"So… you come at last! What is the history of your royal race? How long did your clan rule?" asked the pujari.
"The Vanar clan ruled for almost 300 years. During my father's time we lost our kingdom to Vaithumbarayer," Vandiya Devan answered.
"In that case you are not the perfect sacrifice for Kali. Go away!"
Suddenly the statue of Kali vanished and Lord Krishna appeared instead. And two beautiful women start singing the Aandal pasuram as they garlanded the deity.
Vallavareyan was mesmerised by the sight. Behind him he heard a familiar voice singing. He turned -- it was Azhvarkadiyan. No, it was Azhvarkadiyan's head that was singing! It was kept on the sacrificial stone!
Unable to stand the gory sight any longer, Vandiya Devan turned in his sleep and hit his head on a pillar. The dream ended and he woke up. But he saw something that had appeared in his dreams just now. It was Azhvarkadiyan's head!
In the terrace where Vandiya Devan slept, the high walls of the palace could be seen -- this was where he saw Azhvarkadiyan's head. Vandiya Devan blinked his eyes but the head didn't vanish. Azhvarkadiyan had climbed on the walls and was looking at something that was happening on the other side of the wall within the palace.
"This is fishy. Azhvarkadiyan has not come here with any good intention," thought Vandiya Devan. "He is spying on somebody… if he intends any harm to my friend's family it is my duty to warn and protect them."
He immediately got up and walked towards the place where Azhvarkadiyan's head was seen. Since he was sleeping at the far end of the terrace, it was some time before he reached across. As he neared, he heard the sound of voices from below. He got behind a huge pillar and cautiously looked down. There were very dim lights, but still he could make out that all the guests, Kandanmaran and his father were sitting there.
Azhvarkadiyan was spying on them! Vandiya Devan noted that he had cleverly selected a spot from where he could see and listen to what was happening, but no one could see from below because of the dark shadows from the trees around.
Vandiya Devan was determined to warn the people below about this. But there was no way he could do this without attracting attention to himself. And by the time he explained things, Azhvarkadiyan would probably disappear. And in the end he would have to bear the brunt of his host's suspicion.
If they asked him to explain why he was roaming around in the terrace, what answer could he possibly give? He also remembered how Kandanmaran's father had given him a half-hearted welcome. Given that he didn't want to embarrass Kandanmaran who had welcomed him despite his father's disapproval.
Thinking thus, Vandiya Devan looked down and spotted a veiled palanquin in a corner. Could this be the same palanquin that carried Pazhuvetar's wife? He wondered where that fair complexioned woman was. The old man didn't even send her to the anthapuram.
People who are that old should never get married. Look at the fate of this great warrior, he is so enslaved by the beauty of the woman that he didn't allow her out of his sight for even a minute. May be she was still in the palanquin. What did he see in her anyway? She was not that beautiful. He could still remember the disgust he felt when he had got a glimpse of her.
Was Azhvarkadiyan hanging around because of her? Maybe he was related to her and wanted to send her a message. May be she was his sister or lover, who was to know? Pazhuvetar could have kidnapped her and married her forcibly. Vandiya Devan was certain that he was quite capable of such an act. That was why Azhvarkadiyan was looking out for an opportunity to meet her.
"It would be better if I didn't get involved in such affairs. I guess I should go back to my bed," thought Vandiya Devan.
At this point Vandiya Devan heard his name being mentioned in the conference below.
"What about that boy, your son's friend who has come here? Where is he sleeping? Are you sure he is not spying on us? Don't forget that he works under Crown Prince Aditya Karikalan. We must not let even one word of our plan leak out until we see signs of it being fulfilled. If at all you suspect that he knows something, he must be killed immediately!" Pazhuvetar was saying.
You can imagine how Vandiya Devan would have felt on hearing this. In that instant he came to the decision that he would hear out every single word of the conference. What objection did Pazhuvetar have if he worked for the Crown Prince? What would they be discussing that Prince Aditya shouldn't know?
The next second he heard his friend defending him, "Vandiya Devan is fast asleep at the far end of the terrace. He cannot hear a word of what's happening here. And he does not poke his nose into things that do not concern him. Even if he does get to know something, it won't affect our plans in any way. I guarantee that."
"I am glad that you trust your friend so much, but we don't know anything about him, that's why I warned you. We are about to discuss the future of the Chola kingdom's throne and we cannot afford to be careless," said Pazhuvetar.
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