The Night Rose

^In the next morning^

When Timothy woke up, he immediately ate breakfast before heading towards the doctor's clinic. When he stepped inside, he saw Mark cleaning the office like usual. On the clinic bed, Arwin was still peacefully sleeping.

"Hello, Mark, is the old man awake yet?" Timothy asked.

Before the other man could answer, the doctor shouted out. "Yes, I'm in the kitchen. Come and join me for a cup of tea."

Timothy went to the kitchen, and he saw the doctor eating a simple porridge with some fruits beside him. There was a steaming cup of tea in front of him and a vacant quest chair.

"I was expecting you, my friend. Now that Arwin is here, a skilled mechanic, and a ship captain at that, I can finally say yes to you!" The doctor immediately blurted out happily after seeing him.

"Finally, what?" Timothy was confused by the doctor's actions.

"Don't you think that I don't know what you have planned out?" The doctor asked from Timothy.

"Planned out what?" Timothy got more confused.

"Your master plan. I have already packed up most of my things, and Mark is almost ready to leave. Well, I guess we aren't in a hurry yet as Arwin hasn't woken up. Also, the airship isn't fixed yet, after all." The doctor let out a cheeky smile at Timothy.

Timothy had to sit down, and he sipped the tea before asking, "How did you know? I don't remember saying anything to you before. So how did you possibly know before me even telling you?"

"Oh, don't worry, I haven't spied on you or anything. You know how fed up I am with Silas since he is good at making promises of paying me without doing so until now. I also remember you talking about your friend from the natives a couple of times. I know how you would want to go and live there with Rosa."

"But we also know that the outside world is like a scene from the best horror book that someone could have invented with their spare time. So it isn't that safe to move there if not in a larger group of experienced people."

"Technically, the safest place from that horror-filled world is within this city that has a guardian totem that we managed to stol… I mean, we borrowed from the natives before. Another option of safe haven is the native villages with their protection totems. So last night I remembered you mentioning that Silas has an old airship that works with steam and surprise surprise we are part of the largest company that provides steam to the city. "

"With that being said, Silas must have a lot of trees as well at his warehouse that he can burn anytime. We both know that even when you cut a tree out from the outside world, immediately in another place, a new tree will grow. Because of this, we cannot cut the forest down here and try to drive those nightmare creatures away to expand the city."

"Considering all this, I can easily put together that if Arwin repairs the ship, it would be your best way to travel to your friend's native village. I want to come with you as only you have been kind to Mark and me here, and you actually pay us." The doctor said while smiling more at Timothy, who had the most puzzled face on now.

The doctor just drank his tea and then asked, "Are we not invited at all? You know I was planning to leave Silas anyways to get better payment. I was wondering if I can join you, I may discover new forms of medication in the forest or from the natives.

I don't even know anything else, and my thirst for medical knowledge is far more than compared with money." The doctor added.

"No, of course, you are welcomed. I just didn't know that you wanted this and knew my plans all along to this extent. Of course, I will happily accept you and Mark among the small group. However, don't expect my plan will work if Arwin doesn't want to work with us." Timothy said while smiling at the doctor, knowingly.

"My friend, why won't she accept? If we tell her about Silas or the profits and we are honest with her, it should be easy for her to agree. You even saved her life, so she owes you greatly. I think she will be happy because I feel she's previously been a pirate as you saw the tattoo on her arm. She wouldn't like her freedom being restricted like Silas does to his employees." The doctor said.

Suddenly they heard Mark speak, "The patient who you did bring here is awake now. She fell on the floor from the bed, but luckily, it was a small drop." Before he went out of the kitchen to go back to cleaning.

Timothy was not sure when Mark got in the kitchen, but he had already left just like that.

"Okay, Timothy, now it looks like a good time to talk with her. Let me do the checkup first, and then tell her about our plans or about this place." The doctor said before finishing his food and tea, then get up to go to the infirmary.