Mart’s second escape was after his full puberty. He was fourteen and all he wanted was to go to Oxan and give himself into the arms of the whores. At the time, he saw all the women and the maids of the Ship as being desirable and beautiful. It was the rain season, and the sweet scent of the women’s bodies roamed around the corridors as they passed along in the humid weather. He could smell them everywhere as if their scent had sunk through all the wooden walls and floors of the Ship. He couldn’t help himself and had caught a teenage maid at the end of a corridor. Mart had peeked at her all morning, watching her bend down, walk and sit; he had stared at how she ate, taking the food into her lush lips. He had seen how her long, black hair covered her bare, tan shoulders, swinging around the nipples of her newly blossomed breasts – visible from under her thin ragged loincloth. He had not thought it through. He just desired her with all his heart and body. He didn’t know where and how to get her and had gone on with the moment. All he wanted was to hold her close and take in the scent of her newly flourished womanhood. But the moment had passed so quickly. He had covered her mouth with one hand to stop her from screaming and had touched her body with his other hand. He had bended his knees so his erect member would touch her inner thighs, but before he had a chance to open his waistcloth, he had ejaculated, sighing deeply.

His second attempt was planned. He didn’t want to hide in a boat’s supply cabin. He wanted to pay the boatman for the trip and also to keep him silent. But getting coins was not easy. The students and the disciples of the Ship were not allowed to work and get money. The students who sometimes wanted to work in their free time and save up some coins were told not to; they were too respected to work for money since they were the future disciples of the Saviour. Working in food stalls, running errands in the harbour or cleaning the guesthouses of pilgrims for a little coin was considered disrespectful and thus forbidden. Even the healer-maids were not allowed to get anything in return for their medical services; their wages were to be paid straight to the Saviour Ship treasury. The treasury was always full. The Saviour Ship received taxes from Oxan Island and other ships and always received payments from the pilgrims. All Mart needed was to get to the treasury and take enough coins to pay for his trip to Oxan and live the rest of his life in peace. Akhgar was in charge of the treasury and his cabin where the coin safes were kept in, was impregnable. His cabin was at the end of the lowest floor next to the libraries and Hurmaz’s cabin and was always guarded by two armed men, who stayed inside protecting the safe. Mart had never stepped foot on that floor and had never seen the inside of the library and his presence there was suspicious. His plan was not too simple and he needed help to carry it out. He had to go down to the lowest floor and send Akhgar and the guards out, break into the safes and take the coins, all without being spotted by anyone.