10th February 1659


    Indian Ocean, the ind of Malé, Maldives


    A raging storm was seen ravaging the coastline of Malé Ind, located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. In such stormy weather,rge warships of more than 1,000 tons could be seen swinging on the water in the harbour like helpless little wooden toys. These formidable war machines, held to be capable of conquering the seas, now nged and creaked when facing the wrath of Mother Nature.


    The town of Malé was only a kilometre away.


    Malé was previously considered by the inhabitants of the Maldives as the king''s city, but after the Bharatiya Empire conquered the Maldives and abolished its monarchy, Malé lost its status as the king''s city. Its evaluation was subjected to the rules of the Bharatiya Empire. By calcting the poption density, technological advancement, andnd area ording to the regtions of the Bharatiya Empire, Malé turned out to be arge town, not a city.


    However, this did not sadden the local inhabitants or make them angry, because in theing years, they witnessed the development that took ce in Malé. After the Bharatiya Empire conquered the kingdom, the port of Malé was greatly extended, and the town of Malé essentially became the springboard for European merchants entering the Bharatiya Empire. Due to this, an atmosphere ofmerce was formed, and the amount of trade greatly increased in the ind chain of the Maldives.


    As a result of the town bing a springboard, European goods were avable to them at cheaper pricespared to those in Bharat. More importantly, they did not lose out on the benefits of staying in the maind either, as industrial goods from the maind were also rtively inexpensive. This was because merchants from the maind frequently travelled to the archipgo since the fishing resources from the Maldives were a high-quality delicacy for the coastal cities'' food industry.


    And most importantly, they didn''t have to worry about the security of their people. With a major first-tier naval base of the Bharatiya Empire, where two thousand tonne warships are docked, no enemy would dare toe even close to the ind chain of the Maldives with improper intentions.


    Many years have passed since the Maldives was conquered, and in this span, due to subtle propaganda and unconscious guidance, a lot of people in the Maldives have reverted to the faith of Buddhism, while the remaining majority of Imic believers have turned themselves into Dharmic Im believers. Currently, if a religious census is conducted, around 28% will show up as Buddhists, while 58% will show up as Dharmic Imists. There are still 10% staunch traditional Imists remaining, and 4% areposed of a mix of Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. So, with all things considered, the integration of the Maldives into the Bharatiya Empire can be said to be pretty sessful.


    ---


    State Guest Hotel, Malé


    Moshe Goldstein is rubbing his hands vigorously to warm himself up. Even though he is currently covered in a warm nket and staying inside afortable hotel room with a campfire, he still couldn''t help but feel the chills every time he looked outside.


    Whenever he saw the raging waves at the coastline that threatened to eat him whole, Moshe Goldstein couldn''t help but shiver all over.


    "Mr. Moshe, it looks like you have a fever. Should I call the doctor?"


    Suddenly, out of nowhere, a German voice was heard.


    Moshe was startled, and he immediately looked to his side, where he felt a vague touch on his forehead.


    "Ah!" he screamed, startled. There was a man standing right next to him, which made him shiver unconsciously.


    "Oh, it''s you…"


    Fortunately, he was soon relieved as he recognized who the man was.


    "Can''t you knock on the door when you enter, Mr. Rajko Durril? You startled me."


    Rajko Durril frowned. "I did knock on the door, but when I received no response, I got curious and came in anyway."


    "Put that aside for now, Mr. Moshe. Can''t you feel that you''re burning? Do you need me to call you a medic?"


    "Or should I get you a concoction?"


    Moshe Goldstein could feel his head buzzing a little. It was only now that he realized he was sweating a ton. Moshe immediately felt a chill run down his spine. He knew how dangerous it was for him to get sick on a journey at sea. The impending feeling of doom hit him hard, and he began to regret why he had listened to the bewitching words of Joseph Oppenheimer and chose to immigrate to Bharat. At least if he were back in Europe, even if he lost everything, he could at least stay alive. But now, in his current state and with his sick body, he was very sure he could not survive thest stretch of the journey.


    Looking at Moshe Goldstein''s expression, Rajko Durril knew that his question was not heard once again. So, although a little rude, he shook Moshe Goldstein''s shoulders to wake him up.


    "Ah ha, what!" Moshe Goldstein was immediately woken up. "What happened again..?"


    He asked with an usatory expression on his face as if annoyed that someone wouldn''t even leave him to die peacefully.


    Rajko Durril immediately rolled his eyes in exasperation and repeated the question once again.


    This time, Moshe Goldstein clearly heard the question, but his brain was a little numb. "I can''t afford a doctor, Rajko, or else why would Ie to the Bharatiya Empire? And this concoction you are talking about—is it some sort of gypsy witchcraft from your tribe?" His expression was veryplex; at first, he showed some wariness, then a brief moment of struggle, and soon it turned into determination.


    In his heart, he went on to hypnotize himself, ''My Lord will curse my soul if I ept your witchcraft, but oh well, I''m on my deathbed. I would even ept help from Satan if I can stay alive.''


    "Go on then, Mr. Gypsy," he said.


    Rajko Durril had a frown on his forehead, not because he felt racially discriminated against or anything, as terms like racial discrimination hadn''t even been invented yet, but his frown was for the worsening condition of his travel mate, who had travelled with him from Europe.


    Rajko Durril quickly went downstairs to the Bharatiya Empire''s herbal pharmacy and asked, "My friend has a high fever, and his body is very weak. Is there any concoction for that?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The herbalist within the pharmacy quickly went through the shelf and took out two ss bottles. "Wipe down all the sweat off your friend and make him drink this bottle three times a day," the herbalist instructed, pushing forward a bottle. Then, showing another, she added, "As for this, take a bucket of hot water and pour one-third of its content into the bucket. With the help of a rug, make him breathe in the fumes from the medicine concoction."


    "They should cure his illness in the fastest possible time. But if he is not yet feeling better by the same time tomorrow, then you will have to request a doctor."


    Rajko Durril immediately memorized all the instructions, took the two ss bottles, thanked the herbalist profusely, and left after paying for them himself.


    ''The medicine is quite cheap,'' he remembered thinking as he returned to the room.


    Moshe Goldstein was sprawling on the floor unconscious. Rajko Durril let out an exasperated groan.


    "Goddammit," he muttered.


    Rajko Durril was left with no choice. He had to manually remove all the upper wear from Goldstein and wipe down all the sweat himself. Then he took out a clean pair of clothes and dressed him. After which he took a clean cup, emptied one-third of the bottle''s contents, and forcefully poured it down Goldstein''s throat. Moshe Goldstein was still unconscious, but his muscle memory immediately reacted, and he fully drank the concoction.


    Rajko Durril then went to the kitchen of the hotel and requested a bucket of hot water. A few minutester, the hot water was given to him without any charge, for which he was very happy. He quickly went back to the room, poured the contents of the second bottle into the hot water, and had Goldstein breathe in all the herbal essences from the concoction.


    Even through the thick rug, Rajko Durril could smell the various herbs like ginger, garlic, and other things.


    He waited for 30 minutes until the smell stopped emanating. Then he made the Jewish many down on his bed, and eventually, he went to sleep in his own room.


    ---


    Moshe Goldstein woke up drowsily the next morning. Although he didn''t feelpletely well yet, he could at least stay conscious and walk a little.


    "Oh God, thank you for saving me," he prayed profusely, his heart full of gratitude. But suddenly, he realized that he was not wearing the same clothes as yesterday and, for some reason, smelled of herbs.


    Then he remembered his gypsy roommate asking him whether he wanted a concoction. ''Did the gypsy give me the concoction? Is that why I''m better right now?'' he thought with aplicated emotion on his face. He was both happy that he was still alive but also sad that his soul was now damned to eternal sin. ''Sigh!''


    However, the circumstances had not given him any other choice. ''But why have my clothes been changed?'' he suddenly thought.


    This question left him restless because, logically speaking, there was only one answer, and it was that one answer that truly scared him. Goldstein knew there were some who actually liked men and not women, and he was scared now, thinking that his gypsy roommate might be one of those men.


    A few hours passed in this fear until eventually, Rajko Durril woke up and came to check on Moshe Goldstein. He was pleased that the Jew was alright but was taken aback when he asked the question:


    "Hey, Rajko, why are my clothes changed?"


    Surprisingly, unlike what Goldstein had expected, Rajko Durril did not have any intense reaction. Instead, he went on to exin what happenedst night.


    Goldstein''s face immediately turned red with embarrassment. He should have guessed from the smell of the herbs all around him, but unfortunately, his general distrust of the Gypsies had made him think of the worst possible situation.


    He was ashamed of himself but, at the same time, relieved. ''At least my soul won''t have to be thrown into eternal damnation,'' he thought.


    "Thanks a lot, Rajko. I owe you my life this time," he said with a sincere expression on his face.


    Rajko was immediately stunned, as this was the first time any European had ever looked at him with such respect.


    Initially, Rajko wanted to ask the Jewish man to pay back his medical expenses, but looking at the sincere expression on his face, as if he were looking at some sort of divine being, Rajko immediately became embarrassed to ask. ''Forget it, it''s only a few ducats anyway,'' he thought to himself, not even bringing up the matter in the end.


    Travel between the Maldives and the Bharatiya maind was pretty convenient since they were right next to each other. So even though Rajko and Goldstein missed their transport back to the maind on the warship they had arrived in, it didn''t cause any worries. Any random merchant ship leaving the Maldives would only go to the Bharatiya Empire.


    After spending a whole day in the Maldives waiting for Goldstein to recover, the Jew and the Romani left on a small merchant ship bound for Thiruvananthapuram.


    P.S. Had a lot of work today so sorry only 1