Chapter 49. Ship Doctor
"I agree to the deal," Charles said to Laesto who was riveting his flesh back together.
Laesto's hands halted its movement as the corners of his scar-riddled lips curved up into a terrifying smile. "Really? Excellent. I'll definitely give you the best medicine to cure your brain to full health."
"However, I need to change one of the terms. I can give you the smart...black mirror, but you need to become my ship's doctor."
If Charles had to answer that had he learned from his previous battles, that would be the importance of having a doctor onboard. If they had one skilled medic during their last fight, then they would have had less casualties.
Laesto lowered his head and his hands continued moving. "You are not the first to request for me to be a ship doctor. The others have larger vessels and their crew are also more powerful. Why should I board your ship?"
"Because I have what you want. Since you value the black mirror so much, you probably not only want it but also find out about its origins, am I right? It so happens that I know of its origins. If you become my ship's doctor, I can tell you everything you want to know about the 'black mirror'. Assuming that you will trust what I say."
After riveting the flesh back together, Laesto took a step back and stared at Charles' visage as though trying to glean the latter's intentions.
"Let me have a look at the black mirror again."
Charles tossed the smartphone over. Laesto tenderly caressed the black screen. A look of gentleness that was starkly out of place appeared on his harsh features.
Watching the doctor, Charles was burning with curiosity.
Could he have had a smartphone before as well?
Bang!
Laesto slammed his metal hand on the bedside table.
"Two years! I'll stay on for two years. Tell me everything you know."
"Deal! That thing is yours now. Once you are on board, you can ask me anything about it anytime."
With Laesto onboard as the Narwhale's doctor, Charles was assured that the smartphone would not end up in the hands of others. Also, two years was more than enough time for him to understand the man better and plan his next steps.
nglui mglw...nafh...
The murmurs in Charles' ear sounded again. The doctor before him rapidly distorted into a grotesque creature. Charles' hallucinations seemed to have become more severe this time. He felt as though his consciousness had been thrown into a washing machine, tumbling ceaselessly and threatening to tear apart at any moment.
With trembling hands, Charles reached to his clothes pocket for the gooey jelly. The moment he fished it out, the grotesque monster immediately used its tentacle to swat the jelly out of his hand. The tentacle then coiled around a cup filled with some concoction and offered it to him.
Staring at the creature before him then continued morphing, Charles was still clear that it was Laesto. His hands shaking, he received the cup and gulped its contents.
The monster then left the room, but it soon returned with more potions, pills, and poultices.
The array of peculiar flavors washed over Charles' tastebuds again and again. It was to the extent that he felt he was losing his sense of taste.
"Doctor! How much longer is it going to take?" Charles roared in pain and clutched his throbbing head. The remedies showed no immediate effect.
The six mouths that resembled that of a lamprey fish on the creature's belly moved to reply. However, the chanting in Charles' ears drowned out any other sounds.
Just then, the area of effect of the twisted reality Charles was experiencing started to shrink. Laesto Hermman's scarred face appeared before him once more.
"Is it over?"
Laesto's countenance was filled with anxiety. Scratching his head of half-white hair with his metal hand, dandruff flakes were sent flying. "Impossible! How could Silence Salt not work!!"
Looking at Laesto, Charles was clear about one thing—there wouldn't be an easy cure for his auditory hallucinations.
Laesto suddenly charged toward Charles in a maniac manner and stared into the latter's eyes. Charles instinctively tried to avoid his gaze, but the doctor held his head firmly in place.
"Don't move!" Laesto instructed.
After a few seconds, Laesto finally put down his hands and fired away in a rapid breath that sounded a little crazed.
"Have you seen something extraordinary at sea?"
"The Divinity? Twice. Eight years ago and again recently."
Charles' reply seemed to have triggered Laesto as his body trembled, and he stamped his metallic leg on the ground in agitation. "I knew it! I should've guessed it! There's nothing wrong with my medicine. Nothing wrong at all!"
"Is my condition related to the Divinity?"
"Divinity?"
Laesto let out a scoff and continued. "I don't know what kind of damn divinity that thing might be. I only know that those who cross paths with it have a pretty miserable fate."
"Can you cure this illness?"
"It's not an illness, do you get it? It's a curse! That damn thing! Just a single glance at it could cost you your life! Divinity my ass! Hmph!"
Laesto's monstrous face leaned in again with his trembling eyes fixated on Charles.
"I can suppress the symptoms you are experiencing. However, that's only temporary. If you wish to live, you need to figure out a way to lift the curse. That's not my area of expertise."
Recalling the auction that would take place a fortnight later, Charles made a decision in his heart.
"Help me suppress it for now. I need to attend to some personal matters first."
He had reached a critical juncture in his search for the way back to the surface. He didn't want to be distracted by anything else at this point. As long as he could get back to the surface, everything was a done deal.
Laesto retrieved a bottle from under the bed and seized a fist-sized sea spider from within. He then walked to the table and started to prepare a concoction.
"Just so we're clear, Captain. If you die before the end of our two year deal, that still counts as me fulfilling my end of the deal."
"Of course. As long as you don't try to poison me just to end the deal earlier."
"Poison!? That's an insult to me as a medical professional!"
Over the next ten days or so, Charles continued to take all sorts of weird remedies concocted by the old man.
Despite their abysmal taste, Charles could feel that his condition got slightly better. Even when those murmurs sounded, they were just like the buzzing of the mosquitoes in summer. Also, he didn't experience another episode of visual hallucinations.
Moreover, with the augmenting power of the Black Dagger, Charles' wound had also rapidly healed, and his physical condition was back at its peak.
***
"Captain, are you sure about having him as our ship's doctor? That day, I saw him adding gunpowder to the pills you are taking," Second Mate Conor asked with a worrisome expression.
Charles halted his writing in his diary for a moment before he continued journaling. "Just focus on your own duties. How's the crew doing?"
"They're fine. Knowing the notoriety of this place, they knew better than to roam around. Captain, how long do we have to stick around here?"
"Not much longer." As soon as Charles' words fell, a bat burst through the door and shapeshifted into Audric.
"Captain, the auction is starting soon!" Audric reported.
Charles donned his captain's coat and strode toward the exit of the captain's cabin.
With Audric guiding the way, Charles soon arrived before a sprawling wooden ship. The ship was laid horizontally, and what should have been its keel had been hollowed out to serve as an entrance. This was the auction venue in Sottom.
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