Red City on the Ocean

Chapter 12. The Caravel

Coatl strode along the deck of the floating city, followed by Nuno, Anacaona, and Duke Fernando de Braganza. Ocotlan and a couple of his warriors brought up the rear. Ocotlan did not like de Braganza from the very beginning, and he did not take his eyes off the duke. The duke and Nuno hardly had time to turn their heads; there was so much to take in. The duke realized that no matter how stable this bamboo ship was, any military carrack could smash it into splinters with a couple of cannon volleys. It was not difficult to imagine what would become of its inhabitants after that, but still, the duke looked at them with interest. All the people looked like Anacaona, which did not surprise him. They were all clean and neatly dressed, and many wore jewelry made of gold, silver, and precious stones. The duke could not help but admit that even people without jewelry looked much better than Portuguese sailors and peasants.

At the same time, the duke, no matter how little experience he had in crafts and agriculture, noticed the tools and techniques of the ship's inhabitants were quite primitive. It was also difficult for him to understand why the ship supported such a large farm that included a large herd of cattle. After all, wouldn't it be much easier to simply load the necessary supplies onto the ship? He also noticed how both working and living quarters were kept perfectly clean here.

The bamboo forest also stunned the ship's guests. Anacaona had difficulty explaining to them why growing a forest was better than a supply of cut bamboo. The well-groomed, neat paths in the forest made a particularly strong impression on them.

The contentment of these people was reflected in their faces. They were swarthy and not always beautiful, but always friendly. Nuno and the duke saw them greeting each other this morning, holding hands, and sometimes even sitting down together in a convenient place. At the sight of the duke in his black armor, they were frightened, but promptly a smile stretched across their lips again.

Nuno noted how much better the local girls looked than their peers from Portuguese villages who, by the age of fifteen, were already beginning to fade, the stamp of worry and eternal fatigue appearing on their faces. These same dark-skinned beauties with unique tattoos on their faces were always neat, smiling, and glowing. They were dressed quite lightly, but Nuno never perceived any lustful glances from men aimed in their direction. They themselves wore only loincloths, and Nuno surreptitiously envied their attire; he would not mind walking like this most of the year.

After looking at all these curiosities, the duke assumed that the inhabitants of the ship had sailed here from Africa, from places that Portuguese sailors had not yet reached. He remembered how he had said in the Cortes in his own city of Evora that spending money on sea voyages meant throwing it away. The duke had assumed that the civilized Portuguese would need little from India or any other, what he considered savage, countries. Their spices were too far away and unnecessary, whether it was essential to sail after them or wander across dry lands. However, those same savages would need a lot from Portugal, so let them come themselves. Most likely, the duke guessed, this is exactly what had happened.

When the Europeans were approaching the house of Coatl, the duke managed to whisper, "Nuno, you will be my interpreter. You will translate everything I tell him, and you will not ask me questions, no questions at all, Nuno! Even if I have to deceive this person, you are only to translate, and in no case dispute my statements. If you want to keep your noble rank and estate, you will do just that."

The more Nuno got to know the duke, the less he liked him, and yet the young man decided that it was better to accept his situation. He decided to comply with the duke's demand but did not answer him. The duke was enraged by Nuno's silence, but he understood that he was in a very precarious situation, and he did not have command now. Until the king was deposed, Duke Fernando de Braganza could only ask, and it wasn't worth putting pressure on Nuno either. The young man had just lost his family and was unlikely to recover quickly from such a blow of fate.