The office of Ristina had documents and books stacked. Sidling to one of the stools, leaning on the desk, Gabrio watched her pull a bottle of wine from one of her cabinets.

  "You have it good."

  "Good," she giggled, "if you mean, being treated lesser than your peers is 'good' then I guess it is."

  "That bad?"

  "Don't get in their way, and you'll be fine."

  "I can't imagine someone like you not getting in someone's way."

  "I am not that annoying unless I see people lesser than me."

  Gabrio took the wine from her. "Well, forgive me, Miss Ristina, for being lesser than you."

  "Don't say that it makes me feel bad about my taste."

  "This Ark is ridiculous, you know?"

  "I know. I live here now. I do wish we can work together. I enjoyed some of your theories. The time we spent in that boarding house was interesting."

  "Bah," he took a sip of his wine, "you just want your errand boy, back."

  "I do. You cook good, almost out of this world, for a man."

  "Thank you for the compliment."

  "I don't say that very often. I do feel bad that you almost did nothing with the research."

  "Cooking food instead of making sense of your research was a pleasure."

  "Most of my work was supplemented by your remarks. Please stop pretending that wasn't intentional in your part."

  "I don't know what you are even talking about."

  "So, what do you think about our situation?" She smiled knowingly.

  "You said it yourself that we won't get anything from staying on this island. Not to mention that they seem to be the combination of a fish and a reptile, their reproduction cycle should be high. It should take them a week to produce another thousand. I don't know we will blow their kingdom up when we can't even breathe underwater.

  "Hmm," she took a sip, tracing the mouth of her glass, "they must number millions down there. The Admiral does not back out from a fight, but even he could tell that there is something wrong with the waters around here."

  "It's like trying to attack the water itself. The surgeon you are with, didn't she trek deeper inside the island?"

  "She did."

  "With Caldor Ando nonetheless."

  "I see."

  "Oh please, Gab, don't make that face. I am not talking about anything that might lure you into some trouble. But Caldor Ando and that group of his is dangerous. I pray that you don't get tangled with them."

  "I will not. I am a Doctor, nothing more, nothing less."

  "How long do you think you could sit in the middle, Gab?"

  "As long as I can," he placed the wine on the table. "So, are we going to sit around and drink all day?"

  "Why not?" she played with the glass. "I've not seen you, and I do miss you, truthfully."

  "Is that so?"

  "Hey, we are friends, right?"

  "I do consider you a friend, Ristina," he folded his arms. "But a workaholic genius like you wouldn't waste her time on this socializing."

  She wiped her face, "Are you doing this intentionally? Being a rude person?"

  "I just want to go back to work."

  "You can do that, but I ask you this. What do you think we'd be doing with the skin we harvested from the monsters we killed."

  "Clothing? Wait? Really?"

  "We are making use of their skin."

  "This Ark works fast. It has been like, what? A day or two?"

  "Lost track of time?"

  "Could you blame me? I am used to the rolling now, and the treating of wounded now, not to mention the anxiety. There could be a dread-kin below us and wipe out the fleet."

  "Do you have no trust in the Lady?"

  He shook his head, "Oh, I have. It's just that I can't help it. Not when I am not a person who enjoys battle."

  "Yet, you still came to serve the people."

  "I am A Doctor," he smiled, "that why I became one. To help people as long as I can."

  "They don't think seriously of internal medicine, but at least we have people dedicated like you. I still wear the Surgeon title despite what I usually do. It's hard to be taken seriously in the world of men who think lesser of you. Do you know how much an ass they are because I am a female doctor? Thank the Creator for the Chancellor, through merit, and hardship, that should be the only way."

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  Gabrio nodded.

  When the war ended, a Doctor named Lady Amarilla tended to soldiers. Was celebrated by the soldiers who fought for the Chancellor. An Iron Lady who saved the Chancellor from harm, and a legend in her own right. She was a self-taught practitioner who had been tending to the Chancellor when he was in the war. She became a woman who had raised the title of a Doctor. Instead of 'Quack,' that is leeching on the good people of Aon.

  She was one of the keys that had allowed the people to open their minds on the merits of internal medicine. Of course, internal medicine had been part of Aon's culture. Internal medicine and herbal treatment have a long history. It's only when a King died that the title became condemned.

  But the Lady had given the title another chance. It was only because of her that people can wear the title of the Doctor. A name that did not kill a King, but a title that saved the man who would, later on, unite an entire continent.

  "Bless the Chancellor and the Iron Lady!" Gabrio raised the glass.

  "Bless them!"

  The two finished their drink, settled their minds first before going back to discussing the events that happened in the past hours. After their minds rested, and the wine that had induced them with dizziness vanished, the two entered the workshops of the Ark.

  The workshop was full of Craftsmen working on new items. Items that came from the monsters that the fleet had slaughtered.

  "This is something," Gabrio said.

  "The finest craftsmen to create new supplies that we can use."

  They moved into a new room that smelled of blood, and newly butchered flesh ran with water. Displayed on the counter, hung on hooks, and pinned on stakes on the wall.

  "Your eating the flesh of monsters?"

  "We have to keep the supply of meat up. Besides, we had opened these fishes up, and their flesh tasted of fish."

  "Are you sure?" Gabrio said, staring at the butchered flesh. "The meat could cause illness. What they eat might not be compatible with us. They could have built resistance, and we would be dead."

  Ristina led Gabrio deep inside this butcher's room. Inside were cells composed of bunked prisoners. Looking at the prisoners, Gabrio froze, then continued.

  "Hey, that you, laddie?"

  "Old Ernest," Gabrio stared. "Why are you here?"

  "Got told that I had to journey. Not that I mind. Old and being told that I only need to eat is nice."

  "Can't believe you are here," Gabrio put his hands on the bars.

  "You know him?"

  "I hope I didn't," Gabrio said. "Old Ernest, you should have pulled a goddamn raid instead of this."

  "They let me out, lad. I choose this. Besides, they are feeding us that meat for a while now."

  Gabrio inspected Ernest's skin, "You look fine, no allergies either. And you're getting fatter."

  "GAHAHAHAHAHAH," he threw his head back, "better than starving, lad."

  He turns to Ristina, "Are they set here to die?"

  "They were not dragged like dogs here, Doctor. They volunteered to be here, for they have no place."

  "They are in cells, Risti."

  "I know," she shrugged her shoulders. "They seem fond of the cells, and this way, the guards won't have to trouble them."

  Gabrio took a step back. He saw prisoners who he didn't recognize but noticed their knowing stare. Palming his forehead, he lifted his chin and squared his shoulders, back straightening.

  "Miss Ristina is a friend, and if you know me, then you know who taught me."

  When one of them winced, the other guffawed while holding his belly.

  "One day, you'll tell me what you did in Fort Rava, Gabrio."

  "You have to be my wife for that."

  "Oh, is that so?"

  She grinned slightly before walking out of the room. Gabrio followed her deep into the Ark, witnessing the workshops and witnessing the village inside the Ark.

  "How big is this Ark?"

  "Big enough to fit an entire city."

  "How?"

  "The Artes of the Elven is beyond our comprehension. Their technology and the way they make their ships are beyond our own. Laughable, we used to call them primitives, but they can build ships, and command forces that we have no connection to."

  "The spirts might be using their blood as a sign to 'listen' to. I cannot explain it to you. But what if the spirits are recognizing the pattern of voice they are singing? Like how their blood is a two-way connection that allows them to it?"

  "They are separate from our beliefs and cultures. We do not know anything about them, and it was only because of their technology that this ship can float."

  "How?"

  "I asked the same, our people have tried creating giant ships, but we fail, and we don't know why."

  "I," Gabrio stammered, he held his hand and gritted his teeth.

  "Are you okay? Is the wine getting you?"

  "No," he raised a hand at her, "I think that my head is churning. And the Ark is probably displacing water, causing the displaced weight of water to push the Ark up. I could be wrong, but that's what I think."

  She widened her eyes, "That is something to ponder. But I think you are exhausted. You should head back to your Galleon."

  "Yeah," Gabrio squared his shoulders, "I should."

  "A shame, I wanted to spend a night with you."

  "We can do that when we have time, friend."

  She nodded. She walked with Gabrio until he reached the stern of the Ark, the Longships docked on the back of the Ark. Above, the starry skies had returned, the clouds that blocked the sky seemingly gone. The acrid and fishy stench of the sea made Gabrio almost want to throw up.

  He took out a pipe from his medicinal bag. He took a flint and steel, lighting the smoking pipe. He saw Ristina watching him from a corner, eyes narrowed.

  "I thought you didn't smoke."

  "I don't, not as much. But there are days where I should."

  "You don't sympathize with the monsters now, don't you?"

  "I have my loyalties, Risti," he took a puff of his pipe, "I just don't like the damn smell of this sea. It stinks of monster blood. I have no love for those who do not have humanoid skin. I thought that the people of Aon had rid of these monsters. It seems that even outside of the mainland, they still live."

  "It's a big world," her shoulder met Gabrio's. "That's why we're traveling in the first place. To make sure that we can see the world and use the forces to cleanse this world."

  "You believe that?"

  "I do," she smiled wearily, "But we have to win. Their talk of seeking new lands, bah we're just looking for foes to fight. Imagine that, we got sick of fighting each other, and now we're looking new land to fight on."

  "What did you expect from a giant fleet like this? Just look at what we had done to monsters. Imagine what we could to humans with this kind of firepower."

  Maybe he wanted to find hope that there was peace coming, but yet the results of what they had done to these monsters was a testament to what would be coming to the Thousand Islands.

  "I am here to heal. That's what I am here for."

  There were enough people who knew killing. He was here to do some healing.