Chapter 4. The Redeemer

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At the end, forgiveness will come.

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After spending half an hour with the good Maharani, a werewolf came to take Indumala to the court. Said the men were going to leave the palace, and Aryamna suggested she showed the culprits her victorious presence.

While passing through the same place, crossing the portrait of Hamal the First on the wall, Indumala heard somebody crying. At first she shoved away the thoughts, regarding them as her imagination. However, they didn't cease, and the more she ignored, the worse they turned. The sobs became a sharp plea of help, tugging at her motherly heart for comfort.

This could be another plot. Indumala was reluctant to follow the noise. But pushing them down only aggravated her sour mood.

"Can you please come with me?" she asked the werewolf.

"Where?"

"I think there was another passage. I wish to go there."

"But why?"

"I... I want to. Please come with me."

The werewolf shook his head. "The Rajan instructed me to not take you anywhere else. He will punish me."

"I will look after it. I am here to take the blame."

"He won't scold you, never. You are his Luna."

She rolled her eyes. "You are getting on my nerves. If you don't come with me, I will go on my own, and then you will be in deeper trouble. At least accompany me."

The werewolf sighed. "Alright, but only for sometime."

They went back and entered the dimly lit passage, meeting with a room at the dead end. It was bolted and secured with chains. The metals had begun to corrode. Indumala concluded this room was left locked for years. The cries came from inside it.

"Kick the door open," she ordered the werewolf.

He hesitated. "Can't you?"

"I don't want to use magic or strain my muscles. I am healing from the wounds of war."

"Do we really need to do this?"

"Can't you hear–" Oh, so it's only me who is able to hear the cries? "We need to do this."

The werewolf banged on the door and broke the locks. The door had got jammed, and it took enormous strength to push it open. A vortex of dust smacked their faces. Indumala coughed and waved her hands. Entering the room after the werewolf, she noticed it to be devoid of furniture, except a big pool of water and decaying plants. The water was infected with insects and had changed its colour to a slimy green. The werewolf peeked at the surface of the body, jolting back with a gasp immediately after.

"What happened?" Indu asked. "Is something scary in there?"

The cries, which had quietened after they opened the door, increased tenfold. This time the werewolf was able to hear them too. He blocked his ears and ducked down, rolling on the floor as if being whipped by the slash of air. Indumala didn't feel so crushed by the cries.

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