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All expeditions into the New World were in search of riches and bounty, but this one was different, a quest for the greatest treasure of all. The legend had found its way back to our settlement in Puerto Rica, and that’s where my singular destiny was born.
Ponce de Leon looked like a gaunt scarecrow with a tangled mane of black hair, but he was a skilled fighter and fearless leader. I’d joined him like most of the others, an aging conquistador lured in by his messianic zeal for what we’d find. The challenge of exploration had marked all our lives and he’d stoked it again, spinning tales of a glorious adventure and a reward beyond our wildest dreams.
We were three ships strong, venturing out with battle scarred soldiers, cavalry horses, and armored war dogs. The roiling
