It was the third time. He came out of the bathroom feeling terrible. He had thrown up three times in just an hour.
"Juan told me you had quite a strong body, but I guess he was wrong," Herman said. He was lying on the bed with a newspaper in his hand. While talking to Arsh, he didn't even bother to look at him.
"It… it was just my first time. I didn't know it would be this horrible. I'd rather be in the desert than at sea."
"Once a person gets used to the sea, they fall in love with it. Some sailors prefer spending their whole lives sailing in the sea rather than living on land. Don't worry, you'll come to love it too. We still have three more days ahead of us."
Even the thought of the three-day journey ahead was enough to turn Arsh's stomach.
"I'm not so sure about that… ugh" he muttered before rushing back to the bathroom.
When he came back, Bera was also in the room. He handed Arsh a cup with steam rising from it.
"Drink it."
"What is it?" Arsh asked, taking the cup and sniffing the scent of the liquid inside.
"Something good for motion sickness."
Hearing that, Arsh gulped down the hot liquid without questioning it. It tasted like a spicy soup, and he felt it soothe his stomach almost immediately.
Soon he felt sleepy and lay down on the bed.
"What did you give him?" asked Herman curiously.
"Soup. I added sleeping pills inside it."
…
When the weather got dark Herman woke him up.
"Wake up. You should eat something after throwing up everything. Let's go."
"How long did I sleep?"
"Whole day! Now let's go. Bera take the guard."
Arsh's eyes shifted to the man tied to a chair in the corner of the room, staring blankly at the wall.
Getting Paul Smith onto the ship hadn't been difficult. Herman's siuni was just as terrifying as Juan's. In less than a minute, he had taken full control of Paul Smith's body and moved him like a puppet. Since Juan locked him in the pantry, his beard had grown out. Afterward, they shaved off his long mustache, threw away his glasses, and dressed him in new clothes, thus turning him into an entirely different man. That way, they managed to get him aboard without drawing anyone's attention.
"Why is he staring like that? He looks… out of his mind."
"Taking control of someone's body leaves them a bit dazed afterward. And it seems he wasn't very strong mentally to begin with. It's nothing serious. He'll be fine by tomorrow."
They came to a dining area and sat on a table.
"What do you want to eat?"
Arsh looked at the paper with food names on it. But he had no idea what most of them were, none of the dishes were Kurshan food.
"Hmm… whatever you eat, same for me?"
"Okay then let's go for something simple for your stomach."
Waiters soon brought their food.
"Arsh, I am not sure what Juan told you, but let me explain the process for you from now on. You will go under of education, history, physical training and other staff for you to adapt life in Symran. But I see that you can speak Symranese very well. After you complete your education we gave you a couple of choices. You will have the right to choose what you want. But Juan told me something about revenge. He didn't explain. He said it is your choice to tell or not. But I think it will be better for you to trust us and explain so we can help you. Tomorrow after we arrive first we will hand Paul Smith to officials from our side. After that I will take you to our organization head."
Juan had already explained the basics to him. The previous night, when they were alone, He said that if Arsh wanted revenge, this was the best way he could help and that he could trust these men.
"What organization are you and Juan working for? He told me it's a government agency… but also not a government agency? It sounds a bit vague."
"The situation is complicated. Yes we are working for the government but not openly. You already saw that Juan didn't go officially when the children were kidnapped… You will learn everything when you start education"
"Then the name of the organization. At least you can tell this, right?"
Herman coughed lightly and cleared his throat.
"FFSD"
"What does it even mean?"
Herman didn't answer and kept eating.
…
Their journey was mostly quiet and uneventful. Bera rarely spoke. As for Herman—although Arsh initially thought he was cold—he wasn't actually distant.
Although the first night had been difficult because of the seasickness, the following two nights passed quite comfortably. And Herman had been right: once you got used to it, the sea was truly beautiful. During the day, the deep blue sea and sky were calming, and at night the endless darkness was frightening yet still beautiful.
On the last day of their journey, Arsh woke up early and went up to the deck to watch the sunrise. As the first rays of the sun finally appeared, the silhouette of a distant city began to emerge on the horizon.
He wasn't sure what awaited him in Symran.
It wasn't difficult for him to find Professor Millway, Will, or the other people who killed the villagers. But what would he do when he found them? How was he going to take his revenge?
"Should I kill them all?" He felt like this wasn't the answer, but also had a feeling that it would be the inevitable end. He would be the one to kill these people.
There was also another question in his mind. He was trying not to focus on it — the girl in the sarcophagus. 'Maybe she wasn't a goddess but merely a ghost, or an evil soul.'
Somehow, while following Professor Millway, he would also continue his research about the sarcophagus. He didn't know where to start yet, but he was sure he would eventually find a clue.
While he was thinking about this, they were getting closer to the city. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It is time to go, pack your things." said Bera.
Arsh didn't have much to pack. He just brought the new clothes he bought. He kept the dagger and the small notebook on him all the time.
When the ship approached the port Herman took Paul Smiths's body under his control. He was stuffing the ropes that tied the man into his suitcase. They were ready.
Arsh looked at the mirror and saw himself in trousers and a white shirt, holding a suitcase. He still couldn't get used to his new looks. The only thing similar to what he used to wear was the earring dangling from his ear.
He touched it while looking in the mirror. Bera saw him.
"It would be better if you don't wear it, to avoid attracting attention. Generally, men don't wear earrings here."
Arsh nodded and took out the two earrings and put them in his suitcase. They were the last thing he had left that reminded him of his origin.
They heard the voice of the sailors: "We've reached the port! We've reached the port!"
…
The process after that was smooth. Two police officers in uniform were waiting for them at the port. They came to a carriage waiting for them. Herman stopped his control over Paul Smith. He was already semi-conscious. One of the police officers went into the carriage with him.
The other man took some documents from the briefcase he was holding and handed them to Herman.
"Thank you. After that, I will leave the job to you."
They didn't talk much and left the place.
Arsh followed Herman and Bera without saying anything. They soon left the port area and took another carriage. While the carriage was moving, he looked at the city with curious eyes.
It wasn't as chaotic as Thage. It was crowded, but unlike Thage, all the people looked like each other. They walked at the same pace, wearing the same clothes. But everything in the city looked orderly. The buildings were big and magnificent. There were a lot of trees in the park areas. He had never seen this many trees together before. It was just like the pictures of Tirsit he had seen in books and newspapers.
But the people, the buildings, the streets, even the sky—all seemed gray and lifeless. Arsh felt a darkness settle in his chest.
Soon they arrived at a more quiet area. There were hardly any people on the streets. The houses in this neighbourhood were spaced far apart, each with large gardens. It was greener here compared to the city center. Yet that strange lifelessness seemed to hang over the entire city.
The carriage stopped in front of an iron gate. The area was surrounded by large walls. He couldn't see anything inside.
When they got off the carriage, the two guards waiting at the gate opened it without asking any questions.
The garden was enormous, and a mansion stood in the middle of it. As they walked toward the mansion, a young man noticed them and quickly came up to them.
"Professor Reiner is waiting for you in the glasshouse. Please come this way."
They turned to the left side of the mansion and came into another magnificent place. Arsh had read about glasshouses before. People could grow vegetables and fruits here in every season. Also, rich people in the cities liked to have places where they could produce different kinds of flowers.
Mes opened the door of the glasshouse for them. The place was more humid than outside and there was an incredible fragrance of flowers.
Arsh saw a man trimming the branches of a sapling. He was a tall man, not as much as Juan, but he was still tall. He had wavy hair. Its color was both brownish in some parts and blond in others. He had his hair tied back. He had silver-rimmed glasses on his eyes, wearing a white shirt and a black necktie.
He was a man he thought was exactly how a professor should look like.
When they got close, the man stopped what he was doing.
"Did you arrive? How was your travel?"
When he saw Arsh behind Herman and Bera, he smiled.
"You must be the desert treasure."