Anahilapataka, 1180 CE
The inspectors returned to Anahilapataka six days after leaving the western district. They had examined the old shelter, questioned the surviving residents of nearby villages, and compared the narrow track with the routes recorded in the military accounts of the Kasahrada campaign. Their findings were useful, though not enough to identify the missing guide.
Devapala had been sent ahead of a military detachment to inspect a western route. The road was suitable for men travelling on foot but difficult for carts, and the detachment's records did not establish whether he had returned. His household had been abandoned sometime after the campaign, and a local account mentioned a traveller who had visited the village years later to ask about him.
Nothing connected the guide directly to the wounded man who had given Naikidevi the metal object.
Bhima finished reading the report and passed it to Arnoraja, who had been waiting beside the window.
