Shiori pushed her bike onto the stern of her Nordhaven N41. After securing the bike into the custom airtight box, she jumped off and began unfastening the boat rope.


    After doing it for almost every day of his entire twenty plus years of living, the work was like breathing to her. In a short while, she was already in the middle of the ocean.


    “Hehe, all these years. Still not a boring view to look at.”


    Shiori loved it here. The stars and the moon illuminating the dark sky, the sound of waves gently slapping against her boat, the salty smell of the water…it was very relaxing.


    She took a deep breath…


    “Time to work!”


    She sat down on the cushioned lounge chair at the bow, and took out her Asus X Flow 13. This thirteen inch laptop was her most loyal companion. Sticking through her ever since she was doing her PhD.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    “Hahaha! It''s really here!”


    Shiori plugged in the thumb drive, and clicked on the first JPG file on the folder. It was the front cover of the book. It is written in Old English. Shiori, proficient in most of the tongues of old, recognized the words instantly.


    “Wiccan’s Codex of Life!”


    Her finger began to get busy. Gliding on the track pad, clicking one after another of the scanned pictures. And she was pleasantly surprised.


    “HAHAHAHA! I DID IT! I FINALLY DID IT!”


    Shiori''s lifelong goal was to decipher the Voynich Manuscript. Yet it still eluded her. Most of the writings and the words are a bunch of gibberish.


    And now she understood why.


    “It seems like the Voynich Manuscript was just scribbles. An early draft. Pfft, it''s not even that.” She stopped a bit to think. “The Voynich must have been just a bunch of notes or drafts. This is the completed one.”


    Lindsay knew that Shiori lived on a boat. She had long been telling her to find an apartment. She even offered Shiori a room in her house, free of charge.


    Well, thank god she lived far away from people. Or her maniacal laughter alone would cause her to be institutionalized.


    A short while later, she frowned upon realizing something.


    “Damn! Those witches-wiccans or whatever. Poor them. To be framed like that. And for what?”


    Shiori looked at the images of the book. “Could they all be wanting this?”


    It is a logical assumption. The Dark Ages was a lawless era. Saying that it''s a tough time is an understatement. Plagues, starvation, wars. As someone had eloquently mentioned, anything that is not you will be trying to kill you.


    So, having life saving knowledge like this one would be highly sought after. Particularly for those with power like the king.


    Suddenly…


    BUKK!!!


    “Arghhh! What the hell…”


    Shiori was startled. Something just fell on the bow. A few feet in front of her.


    She slowly looked, and was surprised.


    A rat covered in red fur was standing on its two feet.


    Staring intently at her.