Caravel

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

''All aboard ?"shouted a man from the ship . The docks were filled with people. It looked like all of Portugal came to watch the Caravel sail away.

''Alright men, set sail! We are moving out" Fernando ordered

The sails were set loose and the winds pushed the ship out into the sea.The air was filled with screams of excitement and cheering as the ship headed out into the open seas.It was a beautiful day, the skies above were clear and the sun shone brightly over the horizon . All the men on deck were spell bound by the beauty of the ship.Waving hands of children grew smaller as the ship gained speed.

''Everyone had someone on the docks who came to bid them farewell, everyone at least but me" Diego thought

Diego looked around the entire deck, the men were waving to the distant figures of loved ones.His eyes rested on Pedro who almost instinctively turned around and caught his gaze, Diego turned away sharply,he watched the sea for a moment and then walked away from the deck. The only person he has had for a long time now was Pedro, his only family.

Pedro’s eyes never left Diego, he knew something was wrong with him but he could not place exactly what it was.Diego had merely escaped the penalty for his actions, Pedro had pleaded for Diego in a meeting that dragged on for hours. Gomez was out to get his pound of flesh and there was nothing anyone could do about it.In a surprising turn of events, Prince Henry decided to delay Diego's punishment till after the voyage, he had said it was far more important than any personal issue any one might have.

Gomez was furious, Pedro could not decide if it was because Diego had not been punished or his son was not going to replace Diego as he had thought and even boasted to some people.In all Pedro was happy that Diego was given the chance to go on this voyage. Diego had always been a fighter even from the first day they met.

Pedro remembered riding into town in a carriage,he was a just young boy then, his parents had sent him to see his grandparents and he was returning from the visit. Suddenly the carriage stopped, he called to the rider to know what had happened

''I'm sorry young master but there is a fight up the road"he replied

Pedro got down from the carriage and walked up the road to see what exactly was happening. A line of carriages had formed and people had gathered at the scene.He pushed his way through the crowd and got to the front. It was a slave, it seemed he was trying to escape his masters.He was a really young boy just as himself yet he got on his feet after each lash had knocked him to the ground.Pedro begged under his breath for the boy to stay down but he did not,each time he got up and made to run away . Something moved inside of him, something he could not control

''I'll buy him"Pedro shouted and everyone went silent

''Whatever he is worth.I'll double"he continued

''And who are you?" The man with the whip asked

''I am pedro fidalgo and I order you to stop" pedro commanded

The silence in the crowd gave way to echoing whispers

''I am sorry my lord but he would not be of good use to you as he is hard headed, I have many other fine slaves that will serve you better"

''I insist ,I want him. Get him cleaned up and have him brought to my carriage and I will pay you double"pedro replied and walked back to his carriage.

The boy was led up to the carriage and surprisingly he followed without struggle.Once on the carriage, they rode away.

''What is your name?"pedro asked

The boy looked up with soulful blue eyes

''Diego"he replied weakly

From that day onwards, Diego lived with pedro not as a slave but as a friend, a place Pedro paid dearly to get him. Just as the very first day, he had always look after Diego who was only two years younger because he knew he was all Diego had.

**************************************************

The deep blue sea was all that met the eyes for miles,as the caravel broke through the waves making it's way across the sea.Months had passed on sea and the crew were hard at work every man at his post.The crew was made up of 20 men;4 members of cape sagres and the rest were ordinary men chosen to play other roles around the ship , there was a chef, servants and men skilled in fighting.Time at sea created a strong bond between these men, their tales told by the fire during the night's watch were the cords woven intricately around them.There was something magical about the gleaming night sky hovering over the sea, like in a dream, secrets were laid bare as the men watch the darkness gave way to the light.

The night watch was an important duty for the crew, once every four nights each man on the crew had to keep watch all night long in groups of five while the rest were asleep .Thick black skies and glorious tales told around glowing lanterns was something to look forward to. Most nights passed on uneventfully except for the night long singing and loud screams heralding the break of dawn and the end of the watch which usually woke the entire ship.

Tonight was different, the skies were not thick black, it glittered with twinkling stars and the moon peeping behind the skies.Diego stood apart from the rest of the men, all was quiet except the occasional laughter that erupted among the men.

''Here you should at least eat something if you are not going to join us"said the chef smiling down at Diego as he sat beside him holding a plate of hot soup and a cup of wine which he handed over to Diego.

''What best describes an extraordinarily beautiful woman with crooked legs?"he asked

''I do not know"said Diego smiling

With a roaring laughter ''well i'll tell you,it is Diego's face on this beautiful night" "chef replied

Diego laughed ''you know how to give me a good laugh" patting his back.

'' is there something wrong Diego?"

Diego straightened himself on the seat

''There's nothing wrong chef, nothing at all" Diego replied looking down at the plate in his hands he picked up the spoon and lifted it up to his mouth

''The soup is delicious"

Chef smiled it was no news to him he already had a reputation.He took a quick at Diego's face, he wanted to press him some more for answers but decided otherwise

'' I hear we are now beyond the maps so how does it feel to be in the middle of nowhere"chef asked smiling

''The feeling is grande, speaking of which I need to make some new drawing showing our current location but I have a feeling we are very close" Diego repiled while handing the empty plate to chef. He stood up and in one gulp emptied the cup as well making chef grin in happy delight.

''Thank you chef, you always know what to say"

Diego headed down below deck.He was not going to make any new drawing it was something else.The reason he sat alone all night and the beautiful skies felt like weights on his chest. Shuffling, he walked down the corridor to it's end where his cabin was and unlocked the door.

It was a small room fitting only a little bed and table.He picked up the pillow and reached into it, taking out a his hand clenched tightly and placed it in his pocket.He was motionless he closed his eyes and slowly his fingers lost grip of the pillow

Thud!!!!

''Fire!! Fire!! Fire!!!!!!!!! "Several voices rang

There were sound of numerous footsteps as the men batteled to put out the fire, the crackling of burning wood and light from a thousand embers tore through the quiet night sky.

''Move it! even if we have to get the entire sea onto this ship to stop that fire do it!!"Captain Fernando barked

Below the deck the fire raged on furiously threatening to sink the ship

''Pedro !! Make sure everyone is on deck" came another thunderous order from Captain Fernando

''Yes sir"

Pedro turned sharply taking a look for the first time across the deck, the men formed two separate lines each transportating buckets of water along the chain.It dawned on him almost immediately,

''Diego? Where is Diego?" He thought

In helpless panic he scanned the entire deck two more times

''Has anyone seen Diego!!" He shouted

Almost immediately his voice was drowned by a loud voice from behind

''Land!!! I see land" came the voice, his hand pointing to a dark image rising lazily on the horizon.

Captain Fernando knew the only way to save the crew and the ship was to get to the land quickly and he knew exactly what to do

'"Anything that is not food, water, for the voyage or can be used to fix this ship goes over board now!! Make this ship light and we'll get to land."

Splashs!!!! sounds from various items hitting the water rose as some of the men lightened the ship.A strong wind caught the sails and the ship gained speed.

''Captain! Diego is not on deck! I fear he might be stuck in the fire!"Pedro reported

''I cannot let you go down there pedro, I have to keep everyone else safe .."

Pedro dashed below deck amid captain Fernando words.The thick smoke make it difficult to see the path ahead, breathlessly he called out to Diego.The narrow corridor was littered with burning wood,parts of the ship destroyed by the fire, and water sipping into the ship.He knew it was only a matter of time before the ship was lost and yet there was no sign of Diego but he was determined to find him.He kicked open the next door along his path and a massive explosion coinciding with the ship colliding with something hard knocked him off his feet up into the air and crashing down to the ground.

''Pedro!! Pedro !where are you?"

''Over here"he struggled to answer coughing as he tried to catch his breath.

''I need to get you out of here,don't worry we'll find him" chef said

He helped Pedro up on his feet back to the deck. The men finding new courage raced below deck to put out the fire.Pedro noticed that the sea was behind them and somehow they were on land.

''We found him captain!"

Silence filled the deck as Diego was carried onto the deck covered entirely in the black residue of burning wood. The captain drew closer, stealing a gazed at pedro who was petrified and did not move, he bent over Diego.

''He is still breathing, he's alive , you get him cleaned up"he pointed to the man on his right and then walked over to Pedro

''he is in your care" he said

Looking over the deck ''the rest of you set up camp" he ordered.

Suddenly the frightening silence gave way to burstling sounds of relief as the men set out to make camp.An order that no one board the ship until the reason for the fire was determined was given by the captain. The tents were up before nightfall surrounding the blazing fire lit in the middle of the camp. It was as though nothing had happened, the men seemed oblivious of the fact that they were stranded on a strange land with a damaged ship and blick hope of getting back home . Singing and tales of the adventure so far rang heartily up to the clouds, everyone but the captain and pedro sat by the fire.

Along the shore he walked watching the waves rise and crash into the ground, Pedro was lost in thought, still shaken by the knowledge that he almost lost Diego.The sight of Diego being carried onto the deck was all he could see whenever he closed his eyes.

Inside one of the tents Captain Fernando was pacing, the fire was all he could think about.He played back all he knew so far about it and still nothing made any sense, no one saw anything unusual or knew what had caused the fire but whatever it was, he had a feeling that the answer laid with Diego.

*********************************

Joham was an extraordinary man, admitted into cape sarges at a young age he rose in a short while to the position of master of crafts .Captain Fernando who was master of seas, had always been intrigued by Joham's wisdom, he often imagined that if Joham's mind were one of his many inventions, it would be the most intricate work of science ever fashioned.Joham's ability to see the unseen, unravel mysteries and solve problems made him an important piece Captain Fernando needed to make his perfect crew but the only thing that stood between Captain Fernando and his desire to have Joham on his crew was Joham's fear of adventure.Joham had created his own little world and was comfortable in it,the ticking sounds of moving part and clicking from tiny pieces of metals that could be found in every corner of his home was music to his ears and nothing was going to drag him away from it all, nothing that is except Fernando.

''May I come in?"

Turning around a tall lanky figure peered through the tent door.Fernando motioned to him to have a seat.Fernando walked to the table picked up a bottle of wine and poured into a cup watching quietly as it filled up to the brim before handing it over to him.

''Tell me, have you found anything ?" Fernando asked

Looking at Joham's face for any expression that could give away the answer to the questions that puzzled him these few days.Joham took a gulp of the wine, licked his lips before placing the cup back on the table

''At least we still have good wine"Joham smiled weakly

He could feel the weight of Fernando's eyes bearing heavily on him, he shrugged his shoulders to ease himself.

''It was no accident" Joham finally said

Fernando closed his eyes at those word as if to wish it all away

''And how do you know this?"

Reaching into his pocket, Joham took out a paper rolled up into a ball and handed it over to Fernando. Fernando unwrapped it to see what it was, a black powder, it's smell filled the entire room, a smell that was familiar to Fernando, so much so he was immediately convinced that the fire was no accident. Someone had started the fire, someone wanted them dead.

''Where did you find this?"he asked

''Stuffed into a pillow and bed"Joham repiled

''And whose pillow was it?"

''It is only mere speculation at this point so I cannot say for sure"

''Joham!"

''The pillow was found in Diego's room captain"

Fernando rose slowly from the chair he had been sitting on, staring blankly as once again it seemed to elude him, the reason it was all happening.

''Thank you Joham, find Pedro and have him bring Diego to me"

Joham left and Fernando was alone with his thoughts once more . Fernando picked up the bottle and made to pour himself some more wine when he heard noises outside his tent.He placed the bottle back on the table and headed to the door.

''What is going on?"he asked

The men were in a search, each holding a flaming torch looking for something and Fernando had no idea what it was.

''Captain!"Joham called out running towards him

''Joham what's going on?"

''Diego is gone"

''What?"

''Pedro was out getting him dinner but when Pedro got back to the tent he was gone and he took a bag with him"

Fernando was furious

''Bring pedro to me!" he said and headed back to his tent.

Pedro had a distant look on his face and his eyes was fixed to the ground

''You let him get away did you not?"

''I do not understand" Pedro answered having no idea what Captain Fernando meant

''Diego came on board my ship with gunpowder hidden in his pillow and bed, on the night he was on the watch, he set the ship ablaze, did you not know of his plans?"

''Captain Fernando, Diego would never!!"

''Then where is he, how is it that the moment his treacherous acts were discovered he disappears"

''I do not know but I assure you Diego would do nothing of the sort"

Fernando was pacing across the tent he stopped for a moment and turned to pedro

''It would be a shame if your family's name were to be disgraced, i wonder what your father would think.oh i am sure you would want your sons to call the fidalgo name with pride or would you not?. Find Diego ,the men are at your disposal or I will make sure that slaves are of more worth than your sons"

Pedro set out to find Diego, he took four other men with him following a trail of footprints they had found leading away from the camp into the woods.The hooting sounds of night owls and whistling sounds of the wind in the trees was all that was to be heard as the men walked under the night sky following attentively behind the trail.

''We've lost the trail"Goncallo announced

His well built hands wrapped around the blade with which he cleared the branches along their path

''We need to pick up the trail tomorrow"he continued

''We'll do no such thing we find Diego tonight" Pedro cut in furiously

''My lord he couldn't have gotten far, we can caught up with him"

Pedro knew he was right

''We leave at first light, it's going to be a long night so try to get some sleep" Pedro ordered

Goncallo started a fire, he knew no would get any sleep and the night would passed slowly. Pedro stood apart looking distraught his glowing smile was replaced by emotionless face and bloodshot eyes.Nothing made any sense to him the more he tried to convince himself that Diego could not be responsible for the fire his disappearance was the blick shadow cast over his mind.All he wanted was answers to the questions that trobuled his mind.He returned to lie with the rest of the men but sleep was far from him, lying still he stared into the darkness anxious of what the rising sun would bring.The rustling sounds from the grasses near by distracted his thoughts, he looked closely and noticed a rabbit munching on a tail of grass, it's tiny hands held over it's mouth .Something about the sight was calming to pedro's mind, he laid his head on the ground and fell asleep.