Gabrio was on the deck to welcome the delegates from the other Galleons. Doctors who were older than him greeted Gabrio. They came to the Galleon to inspect the patients and recorded their wounds on their charts. Gabrio was sure of his work and had no complaints from the Doctors.

  "Good," Inquisitor Cooper Ackie thumped Gabrio on the shoulder as the inspection finished. "You may think of this as an insult, but I am a careful man, Doctor. I do not like pretenders on this Galleon."

  He went away after saying that to him. Gabrio stayed on the top of the deck, basking under the sun. His eyes were on the Bay of Marcan. Boats were coming in and out. But what caught his eyes was the Ark that had to arrive on the Bay of Marcan. A large and wide ship with a slanted roof composed of wooden slates. He found no sails on the Ark. It was moving on its own when it came to the Bay of Marcan. It was as if the waves itself were pushing the Ark to the Union Merchant's Man-o-war.

  "What the hell is that," Gabrio said.

  "That is what you call the Elven way of sailing."

  Gabrio turned. It was the older man called Caldor Ando. He ambled next to Gabrio.

  "I see."

  "May I have a moment of your time, Doctor?"

  "You can, what is it?"

  "I need your services."

  "Then lead the way."

  Caldor Ando nodded. Gabrio followed him to the cabins located under the Captain's cabin.

  It was a cabin that has five beds. There was a hammock hanging on the side. Gabrio noted that Caldor Ando's cape was on that hammock. On one of the beds was the red-haired young man. His serpentine sword on the side of his bed.

  Sauntering to the young man, Gabrio touched Terin's forehead. He was burning, his teeth were chattering, and eyes rolled upwards. His teeth clenched and were gasping for air in every chatter.

  "What happened?"

  "Can you ease his pain, Doctor?" Caldor said.

"This does not look like a seizure. Again, what happened to this young man? Does this happen to time all the time?"

  "It does not," Rosalve said. "He needed calming. Do you have any medicine that could help him?"

  Gabrio stood and folded his arms. He beamed the woman's eyes. "Tell me what's wrong with him?"

  "He only needs to be calm down, Doctor," Caldor said.

  "Not good enough. I want you to tell me what is happening to him. You want me to help but you don't bother saying what help he needs. I need details to work on."

  "You are the Doctor, are you not?" Felecia said.

  "I am. I need details."

  "How about treat him first, then ask questions later?" Mardon said. The black-haired young man sneered.

  Gabrio squared his shoulders and raised his chin. He folded his arms and stared them down. They did not move. They did not look away. The stubbornness in the eyes of these people did not falter. Terin Gaspar's voice shuddered.

  Gabrio turned to the door where Caldor Ando blocked the door. Gabrio dared Caldor Ando to prevent him from grabbing the handle of the door.

  "Help him," Caldor Ando said.

  Gabrio placed his hand on the handle. "Then tell me what is wrong with him."

  Caldor Ando grabbed hold of Gabrio's wrist, tightening his hold. Gabrio felt a coldness from the eyes of Caldor Ando. He would have stood down if he wasn't used to these kinds of eyes. The eyes that only killers would have.

  "Help him, Doctor."

  "I am trying, but you people are not cooperating."

  "We only want you to calm him down," Caldor Ando said.

  Gabrio felt nothing. There was a cold void that smothered the emotions inside his head. His pride as a doctor didn't let him budge. He couldn't care about who they are. If they were not cooperating then what can he do? He could only leave.

  "Let him go, Caldor," Rosalve said. "Please, Doctor, his circumstances are different and it would best if you do not learn it. Would you kindly help him?"

  Caldor Ando's hand loosened from Gabrio's wrist. Gabrio took his hand from Caldor. He stared at Lady Rosalve with a stolid look on his face.

  "At least tell me how long he has been like this.”

  "Five minutes ago."

  "Five minutes, so he's been like this for five minutes and you didn't call for a physician? A seizure should have stopped on its own."

  “You were busy, Doctor,” Rosalve replied. “We had tried our methods first, but it seems that this time it was not enough.”

  Gabrio eyed Terin. Terin's muscles were stiff. His biceps were bruising and was starting to grow cold. Gabrio took a leather band from his satchel and tied it on Terin's arms. He flicked his sturdy arm until he saw a vein popped on his arm. Then he gestured for Caldor to hold him down while he injected the drug on his body.

  "What is that?" Caldor Ando asked.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Sedative, it can knock out a stallion."

  "You gave him something like that? This could kill him."

  "If I overdose him with it? No, he'll lose control over his limbs for two seconds, which would allow his muscles to relax."

  Gabrio lifted the syringe's needle off the vein of Terin's arm. He then took the needle, dipped it in an a flask, and put it away. Gabrio placed his fingers on the side of Terin's neck, listening for a pulse.

  "Three beats," Gabrio snorted. "He'll be fine. He's heartbeat is calming now. Whatever was happening to him, it triggered a response to his adrenal glands.

  Terin's breathing calmed. His clenched fist loosened. Caldor Ando placed his ear on Terin's chest and nodded at Rosalve. Gabrio stretched his legs away from the young man and checked his medical kit.

  "I thank you, Doctor," Rosalve said. "I hope that you can excuse our behavior."

  "I understand that you are keeping secrets, Milady. I won't pry. I do not need your secrets. I am only here to heal and tend to who needed it."

  Walking out of their cabin, Gabrio returned to the clinic. Inside, he saw Wiles and Millie moping the bed with seawater. Zyra was smoking her pipe while reading her chart. She stabbed her writing stick on the table. Sauntering near the table, Gabrio seated himself to one of the stools, drinking on his flask of burnt wine.

  "Being a Physician must be tiring, Gabrio."

  "I am starting to think that a Surgeon's life might be easier."

  "Not when you know what is it like to cut up bodies."

  "What did they call you for, anyway?"

  "The Doctors?"

  "No. Wiles there said that you were following a passenger to one of their cabins."

  "I calmed a boy having a seizure. That's all that I did."

  "Did they pay you?"

  "Why would they? They're entitled to my services. It is my duty. Besides, we don't get wages, only rations."

  Zyra snorted. " Bah, I do wonder how we’re going to manage out in the open seas. We need wages here.”

  "Our wages come from in the form of the food we eat.”

  “Tell that to the bar that we have on this ship. We’ll run out of rum and drinks before we can get far from the homeland.”

  “The Constables regulate it, right?”

  "They do," she blew a smoke. "They are using rations to motivate our sailors. It's idiotic how they think this could control them. They'll make a currency out of food and coins if they continue this."

  "Good luck with them," Gabrio said. "You heard of the Ark?"

  "Someone here mentioned the Ark," she wiped the tobacco ash that landed on her floral pattered robe. "You saw how it moved?"

  "Elven Artes," Gabrio said.

  “Hmm,” she nodded. “I how they command the spirits to do such things. I heard they can manipulate the elements, but to move a ship that kind of big?”

  "We should ask the Lady," Gabrio said.

  Her nostrils flared. "What do you think they are carrying?"

  "It was nearing the Merchant Ship. Must be goods then? And here I thought Lady Eletha was the Elven in this fleet."

  "Indeed," Zyra said. "That Ark must be Elder Trees as well. No way that an Ark that big could float without Elven Engineering applied."

  "Who knows?" Gabrio said. "But if they want to protect that Ark then the best way was to create an Ark made from Elder Trees. We already know how strong the elder trees are. And only the Merchants could afford something like that."

  "True," Zyra leaned an arm on the table. "Not that it's going to be our business."

  "Did you even went out today?"

  "Why would I do that?" Zyra grinned. "Millie's here to do that for me now."

  "You've taken a liking to her?"

  Gabrio looked at Millie who was cleaning the beds.

  "She's hardworking and diligent. What's not to like?"

  "That's good then."

  "To be honest, I don't want to get caught by that impulse again. Do you know that banner? It scares me."

  "You think they are telling everything about this voyage?"

  "Are you an idiot?"

  "No?"

  "Then stop asking idiotic questions. Hopes and dreams aside, we all know that they form this fleet, armed to teeth with the latest armaments of our nation. To massacre any sea creatures and natives who stand in our way."

  "I know that."

  "Is that so? Because if you are expecting handshakes, trade of goods, and peaceful exchanges. I should throw you overboard, Gabrio. Do you think that foreigners would accept a group of people into their lands? Hell, it hasn't even been a decade since our homeland stopped killing each other."

  "Can I at least hope?"

  "We can hope by scouting the most armed tribes and get a good grasp of the islands. Once we know of the island and if people are living in those islands. We turned them against each other and divide them."

  Gabrio nodded. "But who knows? There might be people on those thousand islands that speak our language. I mean there must people who had been able to cross our part of the ocean and landed on the Thousand Islands."

  "Sounds hopeful again," Zyra mocked. "Not that I don't want peace, but to keep your hopes up would only lead to disappointment, Gabrio. Besides, we should worry first if we would reach a thousand islands in the first place. The world seemed like it is changing."

  "Yeah, I know. The simultaneous destruction means that there is something wrong. We only know of our continent and are ignorant of other lands. This event that turned the bay of old Carthan was not the only thing to happen in this world."

  "That's right," Zyra said. "This is a dangerous time to sail. But if we don't keep on moving forward, then we will have no choice but to go back to the mainland and deal with the failure."

  "We're not going to get hit by those explosions and implosions right?"

  "Hey now, don't scare me like that. The Galleons are from the Elder Trees, but that doesn't mean that it will attract those events. I hope it doesn't."

  Zyra shuddered. Gabrio saw Wiles placed a rag inside a bucket. Millie twisted the rag and then handed it back to Wiles. Wiles started scrubbing again while Millie worked on the floor.

  After a time, a Constable came running inside the clinic. He carried a rifle with him. He seemed to be running around the Galleon.

  "What's wrong, Constable?"

  "The Fleet is going to head to the thousand islands now, Doctor."

  "So soon?"

  "Captain's orders, Sir. The Admiral had received a message from the Chancellor. The expedition must still happen."

  "I see," Gabrio nodded. He turned to the people inside the clinic. There was only Zyra, Wiles, and Millie inside.

  "We are departing for the thousand islands. We need to finish cleaning the beds, and Zyra, would you kindly put your ashes away? Where's your bow anyway?"

  Zyra pinched smoke pipe's bowl. "I'll find it."

  Wiles continued cleaning. Millie carried the bucket around the clinic. While Gabrio and Zyra double-checked the shelves and cabinets of the clinic.