Southeast of Arkshelled Island, the Shoulder called Lundy was being built by the carpenters. Although Gabrio suspected that the carpenters would rather build the usual prefabricated houses in either log or timbered style.

The Elven-Kin however implored and insisted that every house in the Shoulders are close to what they desired. These houses are wrapped around the bottom with roots that seems to have clung to the lumber that they were using. Most of the lumbers came from the strange trees that have been growing on the back of the island.

Instead of throwing them away they decided to make houses of them. Other materials that the houses were are from the very bones that they have passed. Most of the bones were scavenged from the rotting sea, becoming columns after being cleansed from all the filth it was dipped in. Of course, they didn’t want to rely solely on these bones so they attached wood around these bones to make a sturdy structure.

The once muddy ground had dried up after a few weeks of the Island bathing under the shine of the sun. The dried mud became hard enough for most of the fleet-kin to march on them.

Some of the crew had decided to roll lumber on the ground to flatten and smooth out uneven roads.

People were busy finding places where their houses were. And Gabrio imagined already that some might even started building their own shops and buildings with second floor. There were a lot of families that went with their loved ones in the fleet. The Reconnoiter Company had allowed them and because of this that Gabrio was stuck in Tailbone Ports located just southeast of Lundy to take a census of anyone who will be living on the back of the Arkshelled Island. Gabrio looked around the line and thought to himself how horrible understaffed most of the fleet was despite some of the Scholars leaving their work to help the people settle.

Gabrio estimated that among the 150 ships there were about 30 thousand people. Which was just the estimate of the soldiers and the seamen operating the ships. He had stopped paying attention on how many ships the United Aon has gathered and how many they lost during the months that have passed. There were at least a hundred thousand fleet-kins of the fleet. Most of the non-personnel would come and cultivate this Island.

It was around late afternoon that he was allowed to leave and let a scholar takeover his post. Gabrio didn’t leave the Island and traveled to Perlshaw, the new name of the fort constructed by the Elven-kin for the Grand Admiral. To reach Perlshaw he had to cross the stone bridge molded by the Elven-Kin which allows people to cross the Elder Tree spring and arrive on Swindmore where the farms and cattle pens were.

Northwest of Swindmore was Perlshaw. Gabrio noted that the closer he got, the cleaner the place was. Most of Arkshelled Island was bald because of the recent harvest of the logs and the craters formed because of the capture of it.

The fleet-kin were not the only ones who decided to make communities for themselves. Even the Elven-kin have started making their own houses around the fort. Most of the houses were grown with tower-like trees that have become intertwined with the treehouses. Gabrio thought of their houses as if it was alive. It didn’t help that their Warrior’s Protectors, those giant humanoid trees they wore like armor are attached to their treehouses while still holding that tree log sized rifle of theirs.

The fort was made of raised stones and coiled roots that was intertwined with the treehouses. As Gabrio passed by he saw one of the guards eyeing him and then nodding. He had been passing by this area and although he was not the only who have business in this part of the Island. He had been making acquaintances to anyone who he meets

The stern of the Ark was opened and held down by the same roots that bound itself on the neck of the best. It was almost as if there was a fair happening in the back of the Ark as officers and scholars meet.

Ristina, who was copiously smoking her pipe stood listless near the entrance of the Ark. Gabrio approached her, took the pipe off her mouth, and shook his head.

Ristina frowned, fished the pipe out of his hands and tapped it on the side. She then removed the ashes before pocketing it back to his jacket’s pocket.

“Damn, can you not do that?”

“The rotting sea must have made you addicted to this stuff again.”

“Most of the stench didn’t reach the Ark, but the smell of those rotting corpses were just bad. The interesting thing about the parasites are what is inside of their rotting corpses were the maggots and worms. Do you believe me when I say that they have poison sacs?”

The two walked inside the Ark, passing through crowds.

“Sacs, so they are poisonous?”

“They use the poison to chew through the meat and bones. I’ve tested it on some of the lab rats and hear this. These poison could not harm us at all.”

“That’s unlikely.”

“Oh, I thought so too. But you see they are poison sacs that are meant to dig through the corpses so they can chew. It’s not even acid that they can use to melt through thick part of the rotten meat. It’s strange how the substance they excrete are harmless to us.”

“I hope you’re not jumping to conclusions now.”

“I am not,” she took a left turn. Gabrio followed her and excused himself as he passed by a Warrior who was carrying tree bark scrolls inside a crate. “I am simply telling you latest observation.”

The two arrived in the laboratory. Ristina hung her coat in a rack and hurried to her workstation where she placed her samples. There were about four glass vessels containing the maggots and most of them were infesting the slab of meat she placed inside

“The infestation rate is quite intriguing.”

“Yes, I believe that if we spent more time in that sea. The hulls of our ships would have been infested by these creatures.”

“Do you know what time is it by the way?”

“We should be in the seventh cycle of the year now. Hard to take note of the actual time. Five months until the year ends.”

“Ah, I don’t think I have been resting.”

“You are a busybody, many Doctors think you’re insane for having so much time treating your patients. But you know how they think of you Ravaians.”

“True, anyway, what did you think of the substance that I gave you?”

“Oh,” she took a vial filled with liquid from one of her holders. “This is rather interesting. I believe that the use of mold had been one of the ancestral treatments. Did you get the idea from that?”

“You could say that. But I thought of extracting liquid substance from the mold and further culture it.”

She nodded. “Still, what is the use of this for? I get it that there are history of making mold as medicine, but what is it for specifically?”

“My teacher,” Gabrio said with a pause. “Kept a record on how he had been testing such substance to treat infections inside the human body.”

“The Butcher of Fort Rava was the one who have started this?”

“He was the pioneer, you could say that I am continuing this research since it might help us.”

“Are you the only one who knows this?”

“I gave it to my seniors, but I doubt they would like to do with anything regarding him.”

Gabrio looked down in thought.

“I think he was hoping that he could develop medicine. He was coughing blood, and when I opened him up. His lungs, kidney, spine, and brain had strange black spots. I was sure that it was an infection that he got.”

“You were not infected, right?”

“I was not. I made sure that I wasn’t. Besides, he kept his face covered with that mask of his. It was hard to be infected when he always clothed in thick clothing all the time. Despite how much of a garbage he was, he was still a healer. But I think he just doesn’t want to kill his Doctor.”

“I think we can concoct something out of these. I get that it might help with infection, but to produce these kind of drug or drinkable medicine would take time, even for me. Do you have his notes?”

Gabrio pulled the notes out of his bag. Ristina took the notes and studied it with a single-minded focus.

“Interesting, he was trying to figure out something that he thinks something exist, but have no idea if it does exist as well. His hand writing is a mess.”

“His hands were shaky. He couldn’t continue his experiments so I have to do his job with his guidance sometimes.”

“No wonder you’re good with your hands despite being a man of internal medicine. Personal lessons from the Surgeon of Fort Rava, how many would envy you,” Ristina flipped through the notes.

“Don’t kid yourself, if they wanted lessons from him, they would have come. Maybe if the Teacher stayed in Accad, they would have come to ask him for lessons.”

“True, to come to Fort Rava for lessons would be troublesome.”

“Ris, what do you think of the Blinder?”

“He’s good enough. I don’t wish to be him at least. All that expectation and blames will be on him from now on. I don’t see him leaving a life of ease with his appearance. Sadly, despite the ‘unity’ of our beloved fleet, we still have groups. You and me. We are in the middle of the fence, and this allows to get our work done. But these people will do anything to get another pawn for them. Even now they are probably discussing if they could a part of the island for themselves. You know what I like about our Elven-kin brethren? They know how to deal with them so well. I don’t know how do they it, but they can make them shut their mouths.”

Gabrio nodded. He looked around with his arms crossed. “Your laboratory seems like it’s still the same. And here I thought it would be bent all over with all the transformation the Ark has been doing.”

“Who knows how the Ark works? I have been pondering about it every night, but how they manage to control each root so precisely is beyond me. Every movement, every change of shape, it baffles me how they can use the Ark to turn this beast into a puppet. Sometimes, I think that the rooms and walls would suddenly spring into action and kill me.”

“Is that why I smell plaster?”

“Yes, though I think that the chambers and rooms are isolated by a layer, but if you’ve seen how their wood can seemingly melt into another wood, it doesn’t give any comfort at all.”

“At least you’re in the safest place in the whole fleet.”

“True, I have it good. Still, it is rather lonely without anyone to talk to.”

“Are your volunteers still alive?”

“They are, but some of them were sickened by some of the meat we offered. But thanks to them, we should be able to make use of the younglings we found inside the Island, turn them into domesticated cattle for a new source of food. The best part about these new ‘cattle’ is that they grow fast and large as a pig, and they taste quite good for sea creatures.”

“We’re eating monsters now, eh?”

“What did you expect? We’re in a new biome, a different environment, and we must adapt. It is to be expected that we must also find new resources. The trip is too volatile and even if we do yield crops and produce cattle. Do you really expect a single island to yield enough food for thousands of people?”

“I am not particularly against it. I just find it strange.”

“Better get used to it,” Ristina said. “We’re too far from home now.”