The Fortuitous Meeting Read online

  “However, I have no desire to spend the rest of my life in the Brazilian wilderness. I must return to my people and start a family, for a man without children lives a sad life in the afterworld. If you agree to release me from service in five years’ time—and see me safely back to Africa—I will accompany you.”

  “Agreed,” said Gerard. “Just one question, though, what about the others?”

  “Which others?”

  “The other slaves from Africa. Are any your kin?”

  “No. None are of my tribe.”

  “You were the only one taken?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “I alone held off thirty rival warriors for three days so my people could escape. They came raiding for slaves to sell to the Portuguese.”

  “How did you hold them off for so long?”

  “Traps, misdirection. If we travel together, you will find I have many tricks at my disposal.”

  “I look forward to seeing them,” said Gerard. “Although we still face an important dilemma. Thanks to my indiscretion yesterday, Pero is asking forty thousand réis for you, almost double the price of most slaves. I don’t have nearly that much money.”

  “Sacy-Perey.”

  “What?”

  “A voice which reminded me of my father spoke to me in a dream last night. It whispered that to be freed, I need find one known as Sacy-Perey. I can say no more.”

  #

  As he descended the hundreds of steps to the docks, Gerard admired the crystal-blue expanse before him. Salvador’s immense Bay of All Saints was one of finest ports in the world, capable of harboring every ship in every fleet in Europe, many times over.

  When Gerard finished his long descent, his mind returned to his task. He had roamed the merchant’s street and the plaza, and was running out of people to ask about Sacy-Perey. Not a single person recognized the name.

  He found a group of sailors resting under a tree. A native stood nearby, staring up curiously at a ship. The native wore no clothes, just some intricate designs painted on his body in black dye. The nakedness of the natives still shocked Gerard, even though he had seen hundreds of them since arriving in Salvador.

  “Excuse me,” Gerard asked the sailors, “but do any of you men know a Sacy-Perey?”

  The sailors grunted and shook their heads. Gerard scanned the docks for others.

  “I can tell you about Sacy-Perey.”

  Gerard jumped in surprise at hearing Spanish-accented Portuguese from the native. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the man’s features were not native, but European. He appeared to be around sixty years old, with skin tanned dark by the sun.

  “Pardon my surprise, I thought you were a native come to trade in the city.”

  “Many make that mistake,” the man replied with a smile. “I suppose it might have something to do with my choice of attire. Or lack of it.”

  “I have little doubt.” Gerard held out a hand. “I am Gerard van Oost.”

  The unusual man shook his hand firmly. “I am called Piraju, but long ago I was known as Miguel.”

  “I assume I’m not the first to ask, but how did you come to take up the customs of the natives?”

  “You have heard of the legendary Caramuru?”

  “The shipwrecked Portuguese who became a native chief?”

  “Exactly. His story and mine are intertwined. I was a sailor on the Spanish carrack Madre de Dios, which shipwrecked here some forty years past. A tribe of Tupinambá killed most of the survivors, and took the rest of us prisoner, to be devoured in one of their cannibalistic feasts. Just as they prepared to cook us, however, Caramuru arrived and convinced them to set us free. Most of my shipmates returned to Spain, but the daughters of Caramuru and his wife, the Tupinambá princess Paraguassu, were the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on. So I joined the tribe and, after some time, convinced one of them to marry me.”

  “Amazing. So you never returned to Europe?”

  “No,” replied Piraju, staring at the dozens of ships docked in the bay, “but it looks like Europe is coming to us. I visit Salvador from time to time, to hear the latest news, and the city never stops growing. Now, weren’t you asking about Sacy-Perey?”

  “Yes, I need to find him.”

  “Find Sacy-Perey? Intelligent people find a way to avoid him! And even if you do want to meet him, it doesn’t matter. No one finds Sacy-Perey, he finds you.”

  “I don’t have time to wait around. I must find him within three days.”

  “Be careful. Dom Sebastian of Portugal may be king of this colony, but Sacy-Perey and his cousin Curooper are the lords of the wilderness. They protect the forest and don’t take kindly to strangers.”

  “But a friend of mine heard in a dream that I must find him.”

  “A dream?” Piraju studied him. “Yes, in that case, you must seek him out. Visions cannot be ignored.”

  “How will I know him?”

  “Recognizing him is the least of your worries; he looks like none other. His appearance is that of a young black boy with a pointy red cap, and he has but one leg. Don’t be fooled though: it’s not a handicap. He can hop faster on that leg than most men can run.”

  “And how will I find him?”

  “Like I said, you don’t find him, he finds you. But it is said he has a penchant for tobacco. You might attract him if you can find some quality herb.”

  “Tobacco? I’ll try it.”

  “But beware, he is mischievous. If little things go wrong, if you lose that which could not possibly be lost, it is because Sacy is near.”

  “And how might I obtain a favor?”

  “Sacy-Perey does favors for no one. The best favor you could ask for is him to leave you alone. Although it is rumored his power lies in his red hat. That might be the key.”

  “Thank you, uh, sir,” replied Gerard, forgetting Piraju’s native name. “I must be off immediately. I hope our paths cross again.”

  “If Sacy allows it, I’m sure they will.”

  #

  Gerard, a heavy pack on his back, was crossing the plaza toward the North Gate when a voice shouted his name. He turned to see Antonio waving at him. Gerard, in a hurry, considered ignoring the unwanted distraction altogether, but courtesy demanded he at least trade pleasantries.

  A crowd of onlookers surrounded Antonio, who stood next to a cart. A canvas draped over the cart formed a small mountain, hiding something enormous within.

  “Gerard, what luck!” called Antonio. “Just the man I was looking for. I received great news today and wanted to tell you myself.”

  “What news?”

  “The governor accepted my request to try you for vagrancy. It appears you spent the last of your coin on tobacco and don’t have enough left for the passage home.”

  Gerard fought to control his temper. “Word travels fast in Salvador,” he replied.

  “Even faster when such news is propitious. I myself advised Governor Almeida of your predicament. Vices can so easily push a weak man over the edge, such a pity.” Antonio shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, playing to the crowd around him. “With the evidence at hand, a conviction is assured. If you’re still in Brazil by noon Thursday, you must present yourself before the governor.”

  “The same day Oludara will be sent to Porto Seguro,” whispered Gerard under his breath.

  “What was that?” asked Antonio, squinting.

  “None of your concern. Is that all you have to tell me, Antonio? I have important business to conduct outside the city and your prating is causing me delay.”

  Antonio glared at him. “Don’t try me, Gerard. If you’re leaving Salvador, I suggest you don’t return. None here dare to cross me, because this is what I do to my enemies.”

  With a flourish, Antonio whipped the canvas from the cart. The crowd gasped and shrieked as Antonio unveiled the cart’s macabre contents. Gerard stood face to face with an enormous serpent’s head, taller than a man. Black, empty sockets s
tared at him from where hot fires had once burned within. Even in death, the Botat remained a frightful sight.

  Gerard turned away from the terrible trophy and resumed his march toward the North Gate, while Antonio’s laughter bellowed behind him.

  #

  Gerard sat against a fallen tree and pulled out a pipe and tobacco pouch for the twentieth time that day. He had roamed deep within the forest, stopping randomly to smoke. Just looking at tobacco was starting to make him ill. The unusual plant had become the latest fashion in Europe, Gerard had seen people snuffing and smoking the stuff everywhere, but he could barely stand it. His only consolation was that traveling in the woods allowed him to leave his formal clothes back in the city and wear a cotton shirt and breeches more suited to the tropical climate.

  He fumbled at the knot on the pouch for almost a minute, unable to open it.

  “I don’t remember tying the pouch with this knot,” he said to himself. “I don’t even recognize it.”

  He shrugged and reached into a pocket for his knife. He felt around, unable to find it. After searching for several minutes, he finally discovered it deep within his pack.

  “I don’t remember putting that there.”

  He removed the knife from the sheath and began cutting the knot. The knife passed harmlessly over the cord. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the knife’s blade was completely dull.

  “I just sharpened this today!”

  Then came the realization.

  “Sacy-Perey!” he said.

  “Correct,” came a high-pitched voice from beside him, “but don’t bother calling me by my full name, it’s much too formal. Just call me Sacy.”

  Gerard spun to see an individual exactly as Piraju had described: a young black boy with one leg and a red cap. He wore short red leggings but no shirt, his chest uncovered and hairless. His musculature was undeveloped, like that of a prepubescent boy. When he smiled, it reminded Gerard of a guilty child feigning innocence.

  Sacy hopped to the log and dropped down beside Gerard.

  “That smells like a good smoke. You wouldn’t happen to have a bit for me there, would you?”

  Gerard held out the pouch. “If you can untie the knot, you can take as much as you like. I have plenty more.”

  Sacy grabbed the pouch and untied the knot so quickly that Gerard couldn’t follow the movement of his fingers. He then lifted his red hat, shook it three times, and a wooden pipe fell from it. Intricate carved symbols covered the pipe, and Gerard didn’t recognize a single one. After filling the pipe, Sacy took a puff and the tobacco lit without fire.

  “Now that is a good smoke,” he said, leaning back and blowing smoke rings. “So tell me why you’ve entered my forest.”

  “I came seeking you.”

  “Then you must want my permission to travel the wilderness. Most don’t have the courtesy to ask, and they soon regret their lack of manners.”

  “I do indeed plan on traveling these wild lands.”

  “You seem like a nice gentleman, so I’ll allow you passage, on the condition you always have a pouch of tobacco ready in case we should ever meet again.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “And you must do as little damage to the forest as possible; use only what you need.”

  “When you say ‘do little damage’, does that include the monsters?”

  “Monsters? I know not how you separate man from monster, to me they are much the same. If you mean the perilous creatures which crowd this wilderness from one end to the other, do with them what you will—for they would do the same to you.”

  Sacy’s speech had caught Gerard off-guard. Sacy looked and acted like a child, and spoke with a voice so high it almost hurt the ears, but his words were those of someone much older. Gerard knew not to underestimate the strange being.

  “I thank you for your permission,” said Gerard, “because I plan to confront those creatures. In fact, it is the entire reason I came to this land. But, in truth, I have come here to ask something else of you.”

  “Sorry,” said Sacy, annoyance in his voice, “but I grant no other favors. I have offered to leave you be, and that is much.”

  “I appreciate that, but I was told to visit you and request something which only you can give.”

  “Then whoever sent you is a fool.”

  Sacy laughed at an even higher pitch than his speaking voice. Then he disappeared, leaving only a puff of smoke from his pipe to show he had ever been there.

  #

  A rustling sound came from Gerard’s left and he turned to see a wave of movement charging at him through the brush. He jumped and grabbed a nearby tree branch, scrambling up the trunk with his legs just as seven boars burst into the clearing. The boars paused at the bottom of the tree and sniffed. Gerard could hear a high-pitched laughing in the distance. He found a nook in which to sit and waited several minutes for the animals to leave.

  Ever since his encounter with Sacy the day before, such torments had become commonplace. A hole had mysteriously formed in his pack, forcing him to backtrack and find everything which had fallen out. Hot peppers had been mixed into his water. A few drops of honey hidden in his breeches had led to a nasty surprise from some ants. Also, every knot tied was soon untied, and vice-versa.

  After climbing down from the tree he yelled out, “Sacy-Perey, stop tormenting me! I must speak with you.”

  Out of thin air, Sacy appeared several paces in front of him.

  “Well then, go ahead and speak.”

  “I need a favor which only you can provide.”

  “Tell you what, if you can catch me, I’ll grant your wish.”

  “All right!”

  Without thinking, Gerard ran forward. His first step, however, brought him face-first with the ground. With another high-pitched laugh, Sacy vanished from sight.

  Gerard looked down to find that a rope bound his boots together with an incredibly complex knot.

  “So, he likes knots, does he?” he mused as he reached down to remove the boots.

  #

  It was Thursday, the day of reckoning for both himself and Oludara, so Gerard prayed for one final appearance of Sacy. If the imp did appear, Gerard knew he would have to make the most important shot of his life.

  “No harder than shooting a fly off an apple at twenty paces,” he joked to himself.

  To relieve the cramping, he shifted his body within the blind he had built. Even with the harquebus resting in the crook of a branch, it was painful to spend so much time in firing position.

  Thirty feet before him lay a path, and upon that path lay the most complex knot he could ever have imagined. He had used twenty cords of varying sizes, and spent no less than four hours tying them together as intricately as possible. In the end, the knot attained a diameter of three feet. Visions of Alexander and the Gordian knot flashed through Gerard’s head and he chuckled, wondering how that ancient knot compared to his own masterpiece.

  A movement caught his eye, and he froze. Sacy came hopping along the path and stopped just before the massive knot. He bent down to examine it, then righted himself and looked around carefully. Gerard held his breath as Sacy’s gaze passed by him.

  After several visual sweeps, Sacy bent down and began untying the knot with blinding speed. Gerard knew he had only seconds to act. He held his breath and fired the harquebus. He waved his hand to clear the smoke and saw Sacy frantically patting his bald head with both hands, searching for the cap which Gerard’s perfect shot had sent flying.

  Gerard loosed a rope beside him, releasing a heavy net hidden in the canopy. He ran to the path and scooped up the red hat. To his surprise, the hat showed not a trace of the shot which had struck it.

  Sacy lay sobbing beneath the net. “Please, free me, I will die without my hat. I did you no harm.”

  “I wouldn’t say the prank with the ants was exactly harmless, but don’t try to fool me, Sacy, I know you’re a trickster. You won’t get your hat back until you grant my favor.”
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  Sacy stopped his pouting and sighed. “Very well, tell me your wish.”

  “My heart’s greatest desire is one-hundred gold cruzados.”

  “Is that all? Most men would ask for an entire gold mine.”

  “I want to make my own way in this world, earn my own fortune.”

  “Then why are you so concerned with a hundred cruzados?”

  “Because today I must pay the price of a slave.”

  Sacy turned away. “Then you might as well strike me down. I would never help a man acquire a slave.” Sacy’s voice lowered, for the first time serious. “I was once a slave, a boy on the first black ship ever to arrive from Africa, until a treacherous death and magic made me Sacy-Perey.”

  “You don’t understand,” replied Gerard, “I don’t wish to buy him, I wish to buy his freedom. In return, he has agreed to aid me for five years. He will accompany me through the wilderness, braving the mysteries here.”

  “Is all you say true?”

  “Yes.”

  Sacy paused. “In that case I will give you what you need, and allow both of you to travel my lands. But I’ll keep an eye on you. If you don’t hold your part of the bargain, I’ll torment you for the rest of your life.”

  “I’m a man of my word.”

  “All right, give me the hat.”

  “First,” said Gerard, “make an oath.”

  “I swear I will give you your one hundred cruzados.”

  “Swear it on the forest.”

  “I swear upon my realm, the forest.”

  “Very well.”

  Gerard hoisted a corner of the net and Sacy crawled out. Gerard tossed him the hat. Sacy shook the hat four times and a golden nugget fell into his palm. He placed the hat back on his head and proceeded to rub the nugget between his hands. As he did so, golden coins appeared, clinking together as they fell to the ground.

  After a pile had formed, Sacy shoved the nugget back under his hat and said, “That should cover the price. I could give you a golden nugget in its place, but people might think you found it in the wilderness and come in hordes, looking for more.”

  “I think you’re right about that, Sacy,” agreed Gerard. “If gold is ever found in Brazil, the invasion will be so great that not even you could hold it back.”