10th February 1659
Indian Ocean, the island of Malé, Maldives
A raging storm was seen ravaging the coastline of Malé Island, located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. In such stormy weather, large 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 clanged and creaked when facing the wrath of Mother Nature.
The town of Malé was only a kilotre 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 calculating the population density, technological advancent, and land area according to the regulations of the Bharatiya Empire, Malé turned out to be a large town, not a city.
However, this did not sadden the local inhabitants or make them angry, because in the coming years, they witnessed the developnt that took place in Malé. After the Bharatiya Empire conquered the kingdom, the port of Malé was greatly extended, and the town of Malé essentially beca the springboard for European rchants entering the Bharatiya Empire. Due to this, an atmosphere of comrce was ford, and the amount of trade greatly increased in the island chain of the Maldives.
As a result of the town becoming a springboard, European goods were available to them at cheaper prices compared to those in Bharat. More importantly, they did not lose out on the benefits of staying in the mainland either, as industrial goods from the mainland were also relatively inexpensive. This was because rchants from the mainland frequently travelled to the archipelago 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 to co even close to the island 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 Islamic believers have turned themselves into Dharmic Islam believers. Currently, if a religious census is conducted, around 28% will show up as Buddhists, while 58% will show up as Dharmic Islamists. There are still 10% staunch traditional Islamists remaining, and 4% are composed 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 successful.
---
State Guest Hotel, Malé
Moshe Goldstein is rubbing his hands vigorously to warm himself up. Even though he is currently covered in a warm blanket and staying inside a comfortable hotel room with a campfire, he still couldn't help but feel the chills every ti 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 imdiately looked to his side, where he felt a vague touch on his forehead.
"Ah!" he scread, 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 ."
Rajko Durril frowned. "I did knock on the door, but when I received no response, I got curious and ca in anyway."
"Put that aside for now, Mr. Moshe. Can't you feel that you're burning? Do you need to call you a dic?"
"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 imdiately 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 Oppenheir 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 the last 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 imdiately woken up. "What happened again..?"
He asked with an accusatory expression on his face as if annoyed that soone wouldn't even leave him to die peacefully.
Rajko Durril imdiately rolled his eyes in exasperation and repeated the question once again.
This ti, Moshe Goldstein clearly heard the question, but his brain was a little numb. "I can't afford a doctor, Rajko, or else why would I co to the Bharatiya Empire? And this concoction you are talking about—is it so sort of gypsy witchcraft from your tribe?" His expression was very complex; at first, he showed so wariness, then a brief mont 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 accept your witchcraft, but oh well, I'm on my deathbed. I would even accept 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?"
The herbalist within the pharmacy quickly went through the shelf and took out two glass bottles. "Wipe down all the sweat off your friend and make him drink this bottle three tis 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 fus from the dicine concoction."
"They should cure his illness in the fastest possible ti. But if he is not yet feeling better by the sa ti tomorrow, then you will have to request a doctor."
Rajko Durril imdiately morized all the instructions, took the two glass bottles, thanked the herbalist profusely, and left after paying for them himself.
'The dicine is quite cheap,' he rembered 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 mory imdiately 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 minutes later, 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 sll the various herbs like ginger, garlic, and other things.
He waited for 30 minutes until the sll stopped emanating. Then he made the Jewish man lay 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 feel completely well yet, he could at least stay conscious and walk a little.
"Oh God, thank you for saving ," he prayed profusely, his heart full of gratitude. But suddenly, he realized that he was not wearing the sa clothes as yesterday and, for so reason, slled of herbs.
Then he rembered his gypsy roommate asking him whether he wanted a concoction. 'Did the gypsy give the concoction? Is that why I'm better right now?' he thought with a complicated 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 so who actually liked n and not won, and he was scared now, thinking that his gypsy roommate might be one of those n.
A few hours passed in this fear until eventually, Rajko Durril woke up and ca 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 explain what happened last night.
Goldstein's face imdiately turned red with embarrassnt. He should have guessed from the sll 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 ashad of himself but, at the sa ti, 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 ti," he said with a sincere expression on his face.
Rajko was imdiately stunned, as this was the first ti any European had ever looked at him with such respect.
Initially, Rajko wanted to ask the Jewish man to pay back his dical expenses, but looking at the sincere expression on his face, as if he were looking at so sort of divine being, Rajko imdiately beca 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 mainland was pretty convenient since they were right next to each other. So even though Rajko and Goldstein missed their transport back to the mainland on the warship they had arrived in, it didn't cause any worries. Any random rchant 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 rchant ship bound for Thiruvananthapuram.
P.S. Had a lot of work today so sorry only 1
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