the other in Cannanore - were vulnerable to her revenge. And revenge was not long in coming. In March, 1503, as soon as Gama's fleet had gone, the Zamorin of Calicut led a powerful army of some 50,000 armed troops overland against Cochin. Cochin was notionally a vassal of Calicut. More precisely, at least according to some authors, Cochin was a junior family appanage of the mainland kingdom of Edapalli (Repelim); the Trimumphara Raja of Cochin was not a ruler in his own right, but a prince, somewhere down the line (probably second heir) to the ruling throne of Edapalli. It seems the Portuguese had come at a moment when the Trimumpara Raja was in midst of a quarrel with the elder members of his family. Edapalli had, indeed, been a long-time vassal of the Zamorin of Calicut and owed him some sort of obedience. The Zamorin certainly seemed to avail himself of that same family quarrel to secure Edapalli's cooperation in reducing the rebel prince of Cochin. The Zamorin seemed to have no trouble marching his massive army across that territory, and it was from Edapalli that Zamorin dispatched a message to the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin, ordering him to hand over the Portuguese traders in the city. When this request was refused, the Zamorin ordered an assault on the city. The small Cochinese army stood little chance against Calicut's much larger army (probably bolstered by auxiliaries supplied by Edapalli). Nonetheless, Trimumpara's son, Narayan, is said to have rallied the Cochinese and valiantly held his position on the Vembanad shores, repelling two massive assaults, before being finally overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers. Narayan's brave stand gave his father and his Portuguese guests (the factor Diogo Fernandes Correia and a handful of assistants) enough time to evacuate Cochin city and flee across the outlet to Vypin island with the core of the Nair guard. Vypin's position at the mouth of the Vembanad lagoon, with its natural defenses, proved a daunting prospect for the besiegers. But weather also played its part - the worsening Spring monsoon winds and heavy rains severely complicated the operations of the besieging Calicut army. The launching of assault boats against Vypin was almost impossible in these conditions. Frustrated, the Zamorin ordered his army to lift the siege - but not before burning down Cochin city to the ground, and vowing to come back in August,