The convoy finally began to move.
The sound of hooves, wooden wheels, and harnesses filled the road as the expedition slowly left the outskirts of Haridwar behind.
Far ahead of the main road, several mounted riders moved through the distance.
They were spread apart from one another, constantly watching the road, the surrounding fields, and the distant paths leading toward the mountains.
Satyadhara rode beside the carriage, speaking to Aryav, Kavya, and the other officers nearby.
Satyadhara: "Those are the first scouts."
Aryav looked toward the distant riders.
Satyadhara: "They are positioned far ahead of the decoy formation. Their task is to observe the road before the decoy reaches it."
The view followed the scouts for a moment.
They continued forward, disappearing behind a bend before appearing again in the distance.
Satyadhara: "If they notice anything unusual, they send word back."
The view slowly shifted farther behind them.
The decoy formation came into view.
At its center was a large royal carriage, deliberately built and dressed to resemble the carriage used by Tara.
Several mounted guards surrounded it.
Behind it traveled a few other official carriages and wagons, carrying the markings and appearance of ministerial vehicles.
Satyadhara: "The carriage in the center is the primary decoy. The other official vehicles around it are there to make the formation appear genuine."
Kavya watched the formation.
Satyadhara: "Behind them are the supply wagons."
Several heavy-looking wagons rolled along the road.
From the outside, they appeared to be filled with provisions and equipment.
But they carried no actual supplies.
Satyadhara: "The wagons are empty. The only people occupying this formation are the soldiers assigned to it."
Aryav looked at the guards surrounding the decoy carriage.
Satyadhara: "Their orders are not to win a fight."
The guards continued riding alongside the decoy.
Satyadhara: "If danger appears, they retreat."
The camera followed one of the mounted guards as he looked toward the surrounding countryside.
Satyadhara: "They are to delay an attacker only if necessary, then withdraw and carry the warning back. There is no reason for them to throw their lives away protecting an empty carriage."
The view slowly pulled farther back.
Behind the decoy formation, several riders could now be seen maintaining a large gap.
They were the messengers and communication scouts.
They kept themselves far enough from the decoy that they would not immediately appear to be part of the same formation.
Satyadhara: "Those riders are the link between the decoy and the real convoy."
Aryav watched them.
Satyadhara: "If the decoy is attacked, the message reaches the main convoy through them."
The camera continued moving backward.
Farther.
And farther.
The road seemed almost empty between the two formations.
Then, beyond the distant stretch of road, another group began to emerge.
At first, only a few riders could be seen.
Then came more.
Then carriages.
Then wagons.
Then entire lines of mounted guards.
The real convoy slowly came into view.
It was enormous compared to the decoy.
Actual ministerial carriages traveled within it.
The real supply wagons followed behind.
Servants, officials, attendants, craftsmen, soldiers, and other members of the expedition filled the formation.
This was where the actual people were.
This was where the real provisions were.
And somewhere within the long formation traveled Tara herself.
Satyadhara: "And that…"
He looked toward the distant mass of riders and wagons.
Satyadhara: "…is the real convoy."
The view continued to pull back.
The decoy moved along the road ahead.
The communication riders remained between the two formations.
And far behind them, the true expedition followed.
Three separate parts.
One road.
One journey.
But only one of them carried the people and supplies that truly mattered.
Tara sat inside her carriage, watching the road ahead through the opening.
She had planned the arrangement herself.
The distance between the formations had been deliberate.
The empty wagons had been deliberate.
The decoy carriage had been deliberate.
Every part had a purpose.
The convoy continued north.
Far ahead, the scouts disappeared beyond the next bend.
The decoy followed.
The communication riders maintained their distance.
And the real expedition continued steadily behind them.
The convoy continued along the road.
Slowly, the plains disappeared behind them.
The road had begun to rise and narrow as the expedition moved farther into the mountains. The horses no longer moved with the same easy pace they had maintained across the open plains, and the wheels of the heavier carriages rolled more carefully over the uneven ground.
The convoy stretched along the mountain road.
Then the view slowly pulled away from it.
Farther.
And farther.
The massive line of carriages, wagons, horses, and soldiers gradually became smaller against the landscape.
The road twisted between the hills.
The convoy disappeared briefly behind one bend before emerging again.
The view continued upward.
Until it reached the top of a nearby hill.
Behind a group of trees stood several men.
Their faces were covered.
They remained completely still as they watched the convoy below.
One of them narrowed his eyes.
"So they are still moving…"
He watched the long line of soldiers and carriages.
"Looks like they didn't care about our warnings at all."
Another man stood beside him.
"They are trying to challenge us."
His eyes remained fixed on the convoy.
"Let's see how long it goes well for them."
Neither man moved.
For a few moments, they simply watched the expedition pass beneath them.
Then they disappeared between the trees.
The hill was empty again.
The convoy continued deeper into the mountains.
The pace had slowed considerably compared to the plains. The road was narrower now, winding between steep slopes and uneven stretches of ground. The carriages moved carefully, their wheels occasionally jolting over stones embedded in the road.
The further they traveled, the more the landscape changed.
Small patches of farmland appeared along the mountain slopes, carved into the land wherever the terrain allowed it. Farmers worked between them, tending to their crops with simple tools.
Elsewhere, shepherds guided sheep and goats across the open grazing ground.
Then the convoy came into view.
One farmer stopped working.
Then another.
A shepherd standing beside his flock turned toward the road.
Soon, almost everyone within sight had stopped whatever they were doing.
They simply watched.
The procession stretched far along the mountain road — armoured soldiers on horseback, carriages carrying officials, supply wagons, servants, and horses moving in a seemingly endless line.
Tara noticed them through the window of her carriage.
She opened it slightly.
The cool mountain air entered the carriage.
Her eyes moved from one group of locals to another.
They're all staring.
She couldn't blame them.
Even in the plains, an imperial expedition of this size would attract attention.
Here, among scattered mountain settlements and narrow roads, the sight must have been almost absurd.
Tara watched a shepherd pull a few of his goats away from the road as the soldiers passed.
Do they think we're here for war?
Her gaze shifted toward the armoured guards.
She considered the thought for a moment.
We certainly look like one.
A faint smile touched her lips.
Malini, sitting beside her, noticed.
Malini: "They're staring."
Tara glanced at her.
Malini looked through the open window.
Malini: "Of course they are. Even in the densely populated plains, seeing a convoy this large would be unusual."
Tara looked back outside.
She said nothing.
Instead, she watched the mountains ahead.
The air felt different here.
Cooler.
The breeze carried none of the heavy warmth of the plains, and the higher they climbed, the more noticeable it became.
We're going to need warmer clothing soon.
Her eyes moved toward the soldiers riding outside.
And the animals will need more attention too.
The thought passed through her mind almost immediately.
She closed the window slightly, leaving it open enough for the cool air to continue entering.
A short distance ahead, Satyadhara and Yash rode beside Tara's carriage.
Yash kept shifting his position.
He moved slightly to the left.
Then back toward the center.
He looked behind him.
Then forward.
He tried once more to move around the formation to check the positions of the other riders.
A horse passed close beside him.
Yash immediately pulled his reins back.
The road simply didn't give him enough room.
Satyadhara noticed his repeated movements.
Satyadhara: "Calm down, young man. At this rate, you will surely bump your horse into someone."
Yash steadied his horse.
Yash: "I'm trying to make sure everyone is still in formation."
Satyadhara looked ahead.
The convoy was packed far more tightly than it had been on the plains.
The narrow mountain road left little room between the carriages.
Yash: "The road here in the mountains is a lot thinner than before."
He glanced toward the line of wagons behind them.
Yash: "The convoy is much more tightly packed than before."
Satyadhara nodded.
Satyadhara: "Then you won't be able to move around as freely as you did on the plains."
Yash looked ahead again.
Yash: "Yes."
Satyadhara: "Keep your position. Watch the section assigned to you. The rest of the convoy has its own eyes."
Yash nodded.
Yash: "Understood."
He finally stopped shifting around and settled his horse into formation.
The convoy continued forward.
Behind them, the farmers slowly returned to their work.
The shepherds began moving their animals again.
And inside the carriage, Tara remained by the window, quietly watching the unfamiliar mountains ahead.
We're getting closer.
She wasn't sure whether that thought excited her or worried her.
Two days passed.
The expedition continued deeper into the mountains.
The landscape around them changed with every passing hour. Waterfalls poured down the sides of green mountains, their streams joining the rivers below. Narrow roads wound through valleys and around steep slopes.
Small villages appeared from time to time.
Farmers stopped their work as the enormous convoy passed.
Shepherds paused while guiding their sheep and goats across the grassy slopes.
Children stood beside their homes and watched the soldiers, horses, carriages, and supply wagons slowly pass through their villages.
The locals returned to their work only after the convoy had disappeared farther down the road.
The expedition continued.
But the pace remained slow.
By the evening of the third day, the convoy stopped beside a river.
The soldiers began establishing a temporary settlement for the night.
Tents were raised across the riverbank.
Horses were led toward grazing areas.
Servants unloaded supplies while guards organized the perimeter around the camp.
The sound of the river filled the evening air.
Yash sat alone on a large stone beside the water.
He watched the current flow past him.
Yash (in his mind/Thinking): "Our speed through the mountains is too slow."
He looked toward the distant camp.
Yash (in his mind/Thinking): "It's already been two or three days since we left Haridwar, and we still haven't reached the capital."
He picked up a small stone and threw it into the river.
Yash (in his mind/Thinking): "I knew the mountains would slow us down... but this much?"
The stone disappeared beneath the water.
Yash looked toward the mountain road.
Yash (in his mind/Thinking): "If the roads become even narrower, we'll lose even more time."
He sighed.
Inside the largest officials' tent, a massive map covered most of the table.
Routes, settlements, rivers, and mountain passes were marked across it.
Several ministers and officials were supposed to be gathered around it to discuss the expedition's progress.
Tara sat in her chair.
She looked toward the two older ministers sitting on opposite sides of the tent.
One of them was happily eating grapes.
The other was sitting with a small mirror in his hand, occasionally adjusting his clothes and admiring himself.
Neither of them had even looked at the map.
Tara stared at them for several seconds.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "These two obese chunks of meat are completely careless."
The minister eating grapes calmly reached for another bunch.
Tara's eye twitched.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "They've left all of this to me while they sit around doing absolutely nothing."
She looked at the enormous map in front of her.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "I bet there is nothing going on inside their heads."
She glanced at the minister with the mirror.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "Completely empty."
She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "And somehow I'm the one who has to make sure this entire expedition actually reaches the capital."
The minister eating grapes looked perfectly comfortable.
Tara stared at him.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "If he eats one more grape, I'm throwing that entire bowl into the river."
She looked toward the entrance.
They were still waiting for several other planners and officials.
Tara remained silent.
She had no intention of starting the discussion until everyone responsible for the journey was actually present.
A few minutes later, the entrance opened.
Yash entered alongside several other officials.
They stopped briefly after seeing the ministers.
The two older ministers were sitting far away from each other, each doing something completely unrelated to the map.
Tara sat on the opposite side of the table, clearly frustrated.
Yash looked at the enormous map.
Then at the ministers.
Then back at the map.
One of the officials who had entered with him leaned toward another and quietly muttered:
Official: "No wonder we're going so slowly..."
Yash heard him.
Tara heard him too.
She slowly turned her eyes toward the official.
He immediately straightened.
Tara said nothing.
Instead, she looked back at the map.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "Finally."
She placed both hands on the table.
Tara (in her mind/Thinking): "Let's see if we can actually get something done tonight."