Zyra stared at the back of the good doctor.

Every morning he would get out of his cabin to start his rotation. Carrying a chart, and a bundle of writing stick alongside that pack of candy he had made himself.

He would start his rotation on the third and fourth deck. The scholars who were used to his meddling didn’t have any complaints as he asked questions and write them in that chart of his. He also keeps that notebook where he would take notes of what they do.

She had been following him. Observing his actions, realizing that among the passengers of the fleet. He was the greatest liar of them all.

“How are you, Madam?” he asked.

“Good, good, if not for you then I’d be much worser Doctor.”

“That’s good to hear,” he smiled amiably. “I hope you do not drown yourself in apple cider too much again.”

The madam laughed with her smiles almost reaching her ears. Her children that were playing with wooden blocks and toys looked at their dear mother with curiosity. Eyes filled with interest on which light up upon seeing who she was talking to. Her children ran up to the Doctor with their limbs coiled around his leg.

“Healthy, aren’t you?” he took out candy. Not the same candy he usually feeds his patients. The children took the candies as if they were precious gems and ran back to their toys. The Madam gave a gentle look and placed her hand in front of her mouth.

“Doctor, thank you for caring so much about us commoners.”

“Nonsense, this is merely my duties, Madam.” He looked at the kids. “How is the Husband? He doing fine?”

The woman looked down. She kept the smile on her face, however. “He would not have survived if not for your continuous support.”

“I am glad that you are doing well, Madam,” Gabrio pulled a parcel from his bag. “I’ve made it so you won’t have to worry about your wages, Madam. But I expect you to work for it by copying ledgers from the Inquisitor himself. That is if you want this.”

“How could I not? They were already threatening us to throw us out if my husband won’t still work. With this I can explain to them I have work to do and they won’t dare to find faults with the Inquisitor.”

“Good.”

He left the woman and went to one of his patients. This time it was a rather sultry woman with her well-endowed peaking out of her clothes. She stared at the good doctor kindly. “Doctor, have you come to visit again?”

Gabrio took the medicine from his satchel “Take this two times a day.” She took the medicine from the doctor with a calm smile. She was definitely a woman who danced in the bar. “Thank you, this medicine helps the sore on my leg,” she moved closer. “If you would like to change my mind about that private dance, I wouldn’t mind, Doctor.”

“I’d be lying if I said that I am not interested, but as you know I have people to treat. Inquisitor Cooper is rather fickle these days, so I rather not fool around.”

She leaned in for a kiss. Her lips touching the Doctor’s cheek. “Thank you, kindly.”

“No problem, Madam,” Gabrio nodded. The woman wave the doctor goodbye and returned to her room. Zyra followed Gabrio around. No matter which part where he would go, there were always people who would give him a greeting. This was a routine for Gabrio. Every person he stopped to needed his help. He would take out a medicine from his satchel or listen to them for a moment, noting their illness and their pains. As time passes, Zyra noticed that they were already on the second to the top decks. The nobles spent more time dealing with the good doctor. Though she remembered the nobles as uppity men and women of class. In front of Gabrio they were amiable, listing their concerns, telling him what they feel about their bodies.

Not all of them were welcoming to the good doctor. There were people who still kept the belief that Doctors are quacks and that he was no true physician. Insisting that a doctor from Fort Rava is the same breed as the prisoners inside that fort. Especially knowing that Gabrio did not deny that he came from Fort Rava, and if he was a Doctor inside Fort Rava, then it only meant that he was a student of the Butcher of Fort Rava. The Mad Surgeon that had written volumes upon volumes of books detailing precise surgery that being treated as a gospel inside the Academy of Accad. If he was one of the direct students of the butcher. Then it was hard to trust him so easily. Zyra had these thoughts too as well, and as weeks passed in this voyage, he had become one of the very people she could trust.

“Are you done?” said the man disdainfully. Though he said it with that tone of voice. The man seems to understand that he could not burn the bridges between him and the good doctor. Even with his identity as a student of the butcher of fort Rava. It would be idiotic of this man to refuse the free service of the doctor of the ship. Not only that, it would take long for him to reach the other Grand-Galleon. The doctors and surgeons of the Galleons were busy, and the health of the passengers are something they carry on their shoulders. It had become an iron rule of the fleet to keep their doctors in their ship. The still seas brought danger to the rest of the fleet. In the most placid of seas there are creatures hidden below the ocean surface.

Zyra believed that if Madam Rosalve was right in her prediction, then eventually the fleet would meet another obstacle. A creature that does not fear the shadow that the whole fleet cast on the deep waters.

Gabrio finished his talk with the patient. He bid the noble goodbye and climbed up to the deck. Instead of following im, Zyra turned to the cabin where the Caldor Ando’s group lived. Entering the cabin, she spotted the brat she punched so hard that her cheeks still have signs of swelling.

The brat kept her focus on her meditation. Her lips chanting the rhythm that they used to call the spirits. A strange technique that she had no idea on how they could even speak. When she tried speaking the chant, her tongue twisted, and she knew that they could not get the proper rhythm. It was nonsense to Zyra.

“I am glad that you are not bleeding, Zyra,” Madam Rosalve spoke with softness. Her voice was pleasant to the ears and her aged eyes had this deep wisdom that made Zyra unable to speak so casually. She sat gracefully on the bed, her smile was serene.

“I have tried telling the doctor about the situation. He refused to know about your situation.”

Caldor Ando, who was on the side of the room, nodded. “I told you he would be too busy.”

Zyra glared at Caldor. “I thought you hated him.”

“I don’t. I know a professional when I see one. The state of this fleet alone is a mess. If it wasn’t for the suggestions of the good doctor, I believe that we would have an entire depress galleon. He knows how people think and work. Something that you should expect from someone who lived in that place.”

It might be a coincidence, but seeing that the Inquisitor relied on the Doctor and listened to his advice. Zyra was sure that Inquisitor Cooper knew what it takes for someone to live in one of the dangerous place in the world. If the good doctor could handle a prison filled with hardened criminals, then a ship like this would be like heaven.

“Anyway, we cannot rely on him. DId he say anything about this?”

“He wanted to know if something was coming.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No, but Gabrio is not an idiot. He could tell that there is something coming even without me telling it to him.”

Anyone who would gaze their eyes to the monsters being pulled out from the deep water can tell. To the utter silence of the sea and how larger the creatures are becoming as they move forward. The fleet was on the calm waters where most of the sea creatures live. Zyra concluded that it was the same as fishes trying to jump over a gap of water, far from the raging current.

There was a reason that the entire fleet is staying together.

They need to look big enough to intimidate whatever it was behind that water.

“Where is Terin?” Zyra noticed.

“He’s collecting all the light he could get. If we intend to survive the omens, then we would need the one blessed with the light of the world to protect this fleet. We are still far from the thousand islands and if we intend to reach the heart of the world. We would need the fleet to protect us. We cannot win with us alone.”

Zyra nodded. Terin was their hope on this journey. It pains her to become a blade in the shadows, but it was her duty to see that one who brings light to the heart of the world would reach the heart of the world. After all, it was only Terin who could become the catalyst for the very light that shines on the world.