Birbal and Akbar had just taken out their swords. Birbal was holding his high in the air. Ash and Tara stopped and stared at each other, awful realization in their eyes. ‘The sword!’ said Ash. ‘Its tip is poisoned!’ said Tara. The Palace of Silence looms eerily over the town of Rajaraman in Rajasthan. Once the bustling abode of King Rajendra and his large family, it is now enveloped in deafening silence. The king and the royal family are never to be seen; and a shadowy stranger has got the town under his control. Meanwhile in Agra, celebrations are afoot. A group of travelling performers is visiting from south India and Akbar wants to turn the occasion into a grand event rounded off with an elephant race. He decides to send Ash and his friends to his old ally King Rajendra’s kingdom on an important errand. Making their way on the dangerous highways of medieval India, the boys reach Rajasthan. But they are greeted by an eerie, empty palace inhabited only by a sinister servant and a cruel prince. Is this their journey’s end, or just the beginning, as they gradually uncover a plot being hatched that is as chilling as it is cunning …
