The Haveli was unusually quiet, the Elders having retreated to the mountain pass for a final deliberation. Arjun had left early for a meeting at the village site, leaving the Great Hall bathed in a heavy, golden silence.

Nandini found herself in Arjun’s private study. She was looking for a specific set of keys for the grain stores, but as she opened the bottom drawer of his heavy mahogany desk, her hand brushed against a false panel. With a soft click, it slid back, revealing an object wrapped in a familiar, faded silk cloth.