“We come from the northern ship of Avij. My name is Dalia and this is my mother Asin… She doesn’t speak our language,” she says in a soft voice. But Lealy and Tirad are not satisfied with the explanation.

“My mother is not from Oxan. My father is a diver. He went on a diving trip six months ago and hasn’t returned… We were told to look for him here…” Dalia continues.

“Are you followers of the Saviour?” Farnab asks.

“We are… I am… My mother doesn’t know much about Saviour Rules,” she replies after a short pause.

“You don’t have Saviour tattoos?” Lealy points to Dalia’s hand.

“Saviour Missioners haven’t been to our ship for a long time… Some people say that after the war with pre-rain religion believers, the Saviour Missioners are not keen to be sent to the northern ships on the border. Anything is possible at the sea… That’s why we don’t have a tattoo…” she answers. Hurmaz approaches them and everyone stops talking, as he gets closer. Lealy explains the situation to Hurmaz; the only things she leaves out are the nail-less fingers of Dalia and the incision marks of Asin’s hands. Hurmaz looks at the naked woman and turns to Tirad.

“You are in command here. What should be done?” he asks from Tirad. He doesn’t know what to say. He is searching his mind for a right verdict, a smart answer from a third-tier disciple who is on the verge of becoming a second tier and join the Circle. He feels Farnab’s stare at himself. He needs to come up with a righteous ruling desirable both to his student and his master. Hurmaz is anxious as if he needs to be somewhere. He looks at Tirad like old times when he knew the answer to a question and impatiently waits for him to say it loud. Dalia is begging him for mercy. He avoids Farnab’s glance. He is surely more eager than others to hear Tirad’s ruling, perhaps to learn from him and also to excitedly spread the afternoon’s happenings throughout the Saviour Ship, word by word. Dalia turns to Hurmaz with fear.

“My mother did not want to offend or insult you; neither did she want to disobey the Saviour Rules. She had no idea what she did was wrong… Forgive her please… Forgive us…” Dalia begs. Hurmaz says it’s all in the hands of Tirad now. He seems bored and waves his hands anxiously in the air. Tirad starts to speak with a shaky voice. He orders that the two women should be taken inside until the mother awakes and tells them where her baby is buried. The baby is to be dug out and burnt. He gives his command and takes a deep breath, waiting for Hurmaz’s reaction. He finally looks at Farnab and sees him smile with praise. Hurmaz shakes his head agreeing with Tirad.

“What is to be done with the women?” Lealy asks. Tirad says he will investigate them further to see how they got in the Island. And that he will take them with him to Oxan and send them off to Avij Ship from there. Hurmaz doesn’t say anything or reply to Dalia who is gratefully thanking him. He walks quickly to the other side of the deck and enters the ship. Tirad orders Lealy to take the women inside, this time with a solid voice. He tells her to take them to her own cabin and take care of them for now. Dalia wants to thank Tirad, but he refuses to reply – like a child imitating his father – he turns his head and walks towards the outer staircase. Farnab follows him again like a shadow.