"The southern king has crossed the ford of the river," the scout announced urgently as soon as he entered the tent. Ghatotkacha was playing pachisi with three other men of the ranks and was on the verge of winning. Rana was a silent observer, focusing on learning the game. Now, all their attention was upon the scout who had brought in the unexpected news. "He and his troops are less than an hour away from our squad, north of the river."
The lanky, young man had not even finished speaking when Knight Officer Bhoori burst into the tent, breathing as if he had run ten miles in five minutes. "Let us ride out, immediately!" he shrieked with excitement, "I heard he has two hundred men with him, the chance we were waiting for. Our forces are twice in size. We will have that traitor in shackles before the sun sets."
