Much time has passed and still the second Rajput emissary avoids the first. The men do not eat together and the second will not sit anywhere near the first. The situation has begun to border on the absurd, and this is not lost on the first diplomat. While the slave is reading the second diplomat pays careful attention, turning his back on his predecessor completely, who sneaks up on him from behind.

After the document is read the second man turns around to find himself nose to nose with the first. He jumps as though someone pinched him and claps his right hand over the left side of his chest, holding his rough shirt tight against himself. The first diplomat is no less startled by this response, and jerks back himself, but on seeing the gesture from the second his eyes widen.

The second man recovers and says something low and fast in a native Indian tongue to the first, then shoves him with brute force, tumbling him hard away to the ground.

For a few instants the silence holds, then the first man, still with a look of shock in his eyes, leaps to his feet and begins to shout,

"Guards! Guards! This man is no diplomat! Though he was once of my people he bears the mark of a Muslim slave. He must have been a turncoat in service to the Ghors! I demand that you check his credentials, he does not belong here. My name is Siyaka Devapala and I am the sole true representative of the Rajput people!"

The second man sneers at the first and does not answer, simply watching for the Mongol response in silence.