Gabrio patted a boy on the head. The boy went out of the clinic, leaving Gabrio to shake his head and write on his clipboard. He wondered if there was no one going to come next. That would be good, Gabrio thought. The journey to the thousand islands has been rough. He didn't want anyone to be in this clinic.

Nothing new has happened, and although Gabrio preferred it that way. The fleet did not think like him. The boredom that people felt were increasing day by day. They stare at an empty horizon, doing nothing other than wondering when they will see the land again. Some have resulted in doing their duties to give them purpose. Others became despondent, not knowing what to do on a long trip like this. Gabrio had thought that months had passed, and within those months, he was alone with the patients of his clinic. On some days, he would stay inside his cabin doing his studies. There were days where Zyra would come and visit his room to smell the plants.

They would start with chitchat, and then she would leave without making any nuisance regarding being polite. Wiles, Robert, and Millie would come in and take some notes from Zyra. It was helpful to know more, and throughout these studies that they all improved.

Gabrio had started teaching the kids in the area where some of the soldiers would spar and train. They ask Gabrio to trained the young ones to perform simple healing when there are no Doctors around. It was a simple duty that would take some time for Gabrio to adjust.

After teaching the younger ones, he would take some time to climb up the deck to smell the fresh air. The ship's deck had bored sailors drowning in card games, and some would take the chance to watch the fleet.

Being a Doctor, some people would try to gain favor from him. The passengers were eccentrics that would try to play games. Some of these passengers started working under the Inquisitor in hopes that they may curb their boredom. What else was there to do other than busy one's self?

The scholars of the ship had opened a library. The literate would come to the fourth deck, making the clinic less quiet than usual. The scholars had guards watching the library in hopes that the books inside the library are kept safe. In the hallways of the fourth deck, the readers would gather to understand the writings. Their quite murmurs would leave the guards bored to their deaths to the point that some had started teaching them how to write and read the letters and symbols.

Once in a while, some would come and teach the younglings on the writings, hoping that the ship's inhabitants would become wiser. Gabrio would spend some time in the library as well, reading on the effects of poison and review on some of his knowledge to familiarize himself further with knowledge of treatment.

Every seven days, the fleet would halt their sails to visit the Ark. A market was inside the Ark and among the sea vessels of the fleet. The Ark was safest, for it had the elven folks guarding it.

He would come to the Ark to visit Ristina, who continued her experiments regarding the creatures they fought in that Coral Atoll. The most notable thing about her laboratory was the map she got from the elven-kin. Who used their powers to mapped out the Atoll. With the help of Caldor Ando and his group, they were able to manifest a map of the Atoll and pointed out points of interest.

Gabrio's history as a former apprentice of the Fort Rava had helped Ristina in her duties. Gabrio would help her cut up the rest of the beasts and assist her in checking out their organs. Old Ernest, who had gain pounds from the experiments, had been freed from his cell to become one of the assistants of Ristina. He was a towering man worthy of wielding a butcher's knife.

Gabrio knew Old Ernest well that there was no need for concern. And knowing where he was, he did not believe that Old Ernest would have the guts to touch Risti in the Ark. He would spend hours inside her laboratory and end the day with a quick drink. Robert would come for Gabrio and bring him back to the Grand-Galleon without an accident.

Such days were becoming daily for the inhabitants of the ship. But some could not stand the loneliness of the seas. These men and women lose sight of what they were in the fleet. In those times, they would come and seek Gabrio as if he was the only one that could soothe them, asking if they were ill.

Gabrio had no words to give these people. So he directed them into the Church located in the Galleon for guidance. Gabrio knew ways to mend the flesh and the insides, but he had no talent for the wounds of the soul.

The words of others could change the heart of men and charm women. He had no talent to persuade people of their woes. He could offer words of comfort, and yet the person would need to do what the person can. Words without actions are hollow, and people rarely change unless they have no choice but to change.

The vilest and the sickest of men live in Fort Rava. He had learned how a person could not easily change just because of someone's words. He could not force them to speak his words. None of it mattered until the person is willing to change one's perspective.

He was not a Doctor of the mind. He would leave the talking to those who are capable of doing so. Gabrio did not like to pretend that he could persuade people to change their minds. He would help those who need it and recommend them to those who can help them. One must prescribe the right medicine to avoid complicating the problem.

When night comes in the Galleon, he spends time in his cabin tinkering with the potatoes he found sweet. Their white flowers, coupled with the moon's shaft of light, gave a strange scenery he could not help appreciate.

Opening the book of surgery that was written by the Surgeon of Rava, he reread the part of the book that records what the Surgeon of Fort Rava did.

"I had open the stomach of the patient. He had a strong constitution, and yet his liver had become damaged, to which I suspect is due to the substance he takes in, " the book reads. "Small bumps clumped together, forming a malformed shape. I had to remove the liver with a small incision, using a drug from the Valley of Tres, allowing the patient to continue living. However, the results did not matter when the patient died under five hours after transplanting the liver."

He flipped the book's next page, "The organ is attached to the human body properly, but the patient died nonetheless. I hypothesize that it must have been the incompatibility of the liver. Alas, I had again realized how archaic our technology. We treat patients like pigs, and though these are people who are the vilest of them all. I hesitate to cut up their limbs to record their reaction."

"The prisoners of Fort Rava are the toughest of the bunch. But internally, they are as soft as newborns. Any misfunction of the heart and blockage of the lungs causes death with the ten-minute limit. I had sent a message to the head of the Accad. She had sent me a ball of power that allowed me to neuter some of the prisoners. I despised working with people's reproduction organs, but castration had to happen to prevent any further complications."

Gabrio turned a page. "This Fort Rava is a cesspool of sickness and disease. They place the uncared and those who had afflictions to my laboratory in hopes they can contribute to the good of humanity. Their physiques, their mental fortitude, and their beliefs are tested here in this laboratory where their iron wills are smashed and torn to pieces."

"The condition of the patient relies on their mental stability and will to forge on. Surgery is heinous. It requires the mutilation of the body to save one's life. I had to progress the medical arts. I had done the work in hopes that there would be none of it. I had sent my records to Accad in hopes they can ponder on my work. There is merit in studying the internal body, and though it is a vile act that could get the attention of the Church."

"Regarding the church," the book stated. "I had secured permission to dissect the heinous criminals that had gone against the teachings of God. I had thought they would benefit me, the practitioners who held the same interest, but after months, their interest in dissection was gone. They could not stomach the methods that I had gone through. They think as if they are no different from butchers, pretending to be other than monsters. Of course, those who had an interest in the internal body had become my disciples, and they shall continue our practices to further progress. Nonetheless, the prisoners of Fort Rava were the perfect specimen for our trials. They have amended our practices, and through their sacrifice that they shall serve a greater purpose."

Gabrio placed a hand on the book. He leaned his forehead on his palm and flipped another page. His face was cold. "The guards of Fort Rava are to be commended for their watch. I have started to train them in the arts of mending wounds of arrows and gunshots. Through their marksmanship in projectile weapons that we can estimate how long does it take for a prisoner to die from their injuries. I had a guard who had been in charge of testing weaponry on the prisoners. They are recorded and archived in hopes that we can have further study in the arts of treating wounds from all kinds of weaponry."

"I admit that the time of sword and spears are starting to fade with the invention of the shooters. I had the honor of seeing them in action and take a chunk of a person. Not only that a man, who suffers a gunshot would suffer from bleeding. He would suffer burning and the slow poisoning of gunpowder. The fort has the field to test the matters of weaponry. Inventors from the known lands would come and use their weapons on live targets. Of course, the testing follows the Amendments of the Church. I had seen weaponry that burns a prisoner alive. And weaponry that is devastating if they meet flesh. As the Head Surgeon of Fort Rava, it was my duty to record the results of these tests, and I have archived them in the books that I have written."

The books were more of a journal than medical practice. Gabrio closed the book and placed it aside. He thought that reading them would make him understand his Mentor. Gabrio rubbed his eyes. The writings here were not as detailed as he thought it would be. They were mostly in line with the direct thoughts of his Mentor. He had always suspected that his Mentor had started to loosen his writings as time passes by. His thoughts jumbled. His reasoning became looser as he writes more that it was through the agreements of the Church and the Academia of Accad. The journals summarize the thoughts of his Mentor. The other books he carried had details on the surgery of the prisoners, but he was fascinated with these books more than the books about his surgery. Though they are minimal in regards to the description, he felt that it was better than the coldly written books of his Mentor's elderly days.