Nandini turned away, closed the main door to her chamber, and locked it from within. Then, holding a lamp in her hand, she opened the secret door to the hunting pavilion and entered.

The sorcerer Ravidasan already had a fearsome face. The fresh wounds upon his face and head made his appearance even more terrifying. Seeing him thus, Nandini asked, “Sorcerer, what is this? Your body is covered in new wounds?”

“Queen! What is there for you to be surprised about? Do you think that, like you, we spend our days savoring six kinds of delicacies, drinking fine wine, and reclining in luxury upon silken beds? For Parameswaran and me, it is a miracle that we are alive today. It was the spirit of the late Pandya Emperor that saved us from death today…”

“No, Ravidasan! No! His spirit is always with me, at all times and in all places. Not even an hour ago, it appeared before me and asked, ‘Are you going to fulfill the vow, or not?’”

“Queen! What answer did you give?”

“I said, ‘I will fulfill the vow today; if not, I will end my own life.’”

“In that case, it is good that we came running. After all this time, what use is there in you ending your life? Shouldn’t the task we undertook reach its conclusion? If you cannot do it…”

“Who said I cannot? I will fulfill the vow. After that, I will end my life…”

“No, no. After you fulfill the vow, there are still many things you can do. In Madurai, we must crown Veerapandiyan’s holy son before the world…”

“You can see to all that yourselves. Tonight, my work will be finished. My life will be finished as well…”

"Queen! All the treasures in the possession of the Pazhuvettaraiyar must be sent to the hill country. For that, your assistance is necessary!"

"Even after the vow has been fulfilled, do you ask me to betray my husband and continue to live, you sorcerer?"

"Lady! Who is your husband?"

"The nobleman who married me, disregarding the ridicule of the people in every city and town, and who has fulfilled every vow I have taken—he is the one I speak of."

"Queen! The Pazhuvettaraiyar is not your husband. Every night, Veerapandiyan appears in my dreams and commands me to treat you as his royal consort..."

"Sorcerer! Enough of your talk. You have not yet told me how you received all these wounds?"

"Last night, in the forest by the banks of the Kollidam, an old tiger attacked us. Though it was aged, its teeth and claws were still sharp..."

"How did you escape, brother?"

"Did we not conduct the coronation for the Pandya prince? In the temple tower, we pushed the part that had collapsed onto the tiger and escaped..."

"Alas! Poor thing! Even you could not stand face to face and defeat an old tiger..."

"Yes, Queen! I admit it. If that is so, how can we confront the young tiger, Aditya Karikalan, directly? That is why we must employ cunning and sorcery. Devi! If we do not escape tonight, we will not get another chance. If news reaches Sundara Cholan and Arulmozhi Varman, then Aditya Karikalan will never fall into our hands again..." said Ravidasan.

"Sorcerer! What about them? Do you know anything for certain?" asked Nandini.

"By now, their lives must have ended—there is no doubt..."

"When you and Devaralan went to Eezham, you said the same thing before you left."

"That mute lunatic kept following us without rest and troubled us there. That is why we could not succeed..."

“You said that the brave scion of the Vanar clan had drowned and died in the sea. But he too has escaped and returned…”

“In the forest of the Pallipadai, I had the chance to finish him off. But you prevented it.”

“I told you there was an important reason for that…”

“I do not know what that important reason is. He has come here and is now guarding Aditya Karikalan like an iron shield.”

“You need not worry about that in the least.”

“I must worry. If not today, then never. Devi! What arrangements have you made? What are we to do?”

“At this moment, it would be a great help to me if none of you came here at all…”

“That is something that can never happen.”

“You do not have that much trust in me…”

“It is precisely because we trust you that we have come. We are here to take you away safely after the vow is fulfilled. If any unexpected obstacle arises, we are prepared for that too. At any moment, you may call upon us for help.”

“There will be no obstacle to the plan I have set in motion. After the vow is fulfilled, I do not wish to remain alive.”

“That must not be! You must come with us. Otherwise…”

“Sorcerer! After the vow is fulfilled, I will not stay even a minute in the house of Periya Pazhuvetarayar…”

“In that case, come with us at once!”

“How will you take me away?”

“At the end of this underground passage stands the Ayyanar temple. In the forest nearby, the palanquin of the Queen of Pazhuvoor is kept ready. Idumbankari has already taken it out under the pretext of having it repaired. We ourselves will carry in the palanquin the Devi who avenged the slayer of Veera Pandiyan. Before dawn breaks, we shall reach Kollimalai.”

“How many of you are here in this place?”

“There are four of us here!” replied Ravidasan, and then he slowly clapped his hands.

From behind the terrifying, stuffed beasts that stood in the hall, those who had been hiding revealed themselves a little and showed their faces.

“Where is Parameswaran?” Nandini asked.

“I have kept him outside. At the Ayyanar temple, a Kalamukan was performing his rites. It became quite a trouble to make him leave that place. I have stationed Devaralan at the temple