The Fortuitous Meeting Read online

  Sacy blinked out of sight without warning. His voice came from the woods, “Don’t forget, I’ll be watching you!”

  Gerard began gathering the coins.

  #

  Gerard, panting, burst into the governor’s office. Governor Almeida sat behind an exquisite mahogany desk. He wore a black, flat cap with a puffy white feather and a burgundy shoulder cape clasped at the neck by a gold chain. Antonio, also formally dressed, leaned by the governor’s side, apparently in the middle of some conversation.

  The governor frowned and said, “Gerard van Oost, you’re late.”

  “Sorry, Governor,” he replied, “I came running with a sack of gold weighing me down.”

  “Gold?” replied the governor, raising an eyebrow.

  Antonio squinted menacingly at Gerard.

  “Yes,” said Gerard, “one hundred cruzados. Gold enough to buy the freedom of a slave. His name is Oludara.”

  “What is this?” shouted Antonio. “Where did you acquire such a fortune?”

  Governor Almeida raised a hand to quiet him. “One hundred cruzados, did you say? That’s forty thousand réis! Quite an extravagant price for a slave.”

  “I don’t consider it right to put a price on any man,” replied Gerard, “but by any measure, this one is extraordinary.”

  “I expect the usual tax will be paid?”

  “Pero de Belem will pay what is owed.”

  Governor Almeida studied Gerard for a few moments before speaking. “Antonio has charged you with vagrancy and practicing the Protestant religion. Protestantism isn’t a crime under the laws of Brazil, and I can’t see how a man of your means could be called a vagrant. Thus, I am forced to dismiss the case.”

  “But, Governor,” started Antonio.

  “I’m sorry, Antonio, but I must uphold the law.”

  “Governor,” said Gerard, “if I may, I would ask a boon.”

  The Governor raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. “What is it?”

  “I wish to form a troop under my own banner, to explore the wilderness at will.”

  Antonio choked back a sound.

  “And who will serve under your standard?” asked the governor.

  “Myself and Oludara, the man I’m to free. That is, if he chooses to accompany me.”

  “You mean to form a banner of yourself and a slave? Just the two of you?”

  “You’re not the first person to ask me that question this week.”

  Governor Almeida held his sides and laughed. “Antonio,” he said, “why are you spending so much effort to lock this man away when he’s practically offering to kill himself? I can’t arrest him, but I can do you this favor.” He looked at Gerard and said, “Gerard, your request is granted.”

  Antonio glowered silently.

  “Now will that be all?” asked the governor. “I’m busy preparing an expedition against the French raiders in Paraiba.”

  “Governor,” said Gerard, “today I have gained all that my heart desires. I’ll take no more of your time, as I also have an expedition to plan.”

  He bowed and left the office.

  As Gerard passed through the main hall of the Governor’s Palace, he heard quick footsteps behind him. He turned just as Antonio grabbed his sleeve.

  “Play the hero as long as you can, Gerard,” he said, “but the wilderness is my domain. Pray we don’t cross paths.”

  “Even after all your treachery,” replied Gerard, “I hold you no grudge. And there are greater dangers than you in the Brazilian wilderness.”

  “So you think,” replied Antonio. He turned his back and stomped from the hall.

  #

  Oludara, wearing a brand new cotton outfit Gerard had purchased for him, stepped through the door into Pero’s office. Even in a rotting tunic, Oludara had impressed, but in his new clothes, he was imposing.

  “So, do you like the clothes?” asked Gerard.

  “They are suitable. Although it might be more advantageous to travel naked, as the natives do.”

  Gerard, his Protestant mind jarred by the suggestion, couldn’t help but blush. “I don’t think we’ll be doing that, the clothes are fine. By the way, I bought something today from Martim, one of Pero’s crew. He said it gave him the chills every time he touched it, but perhaps you might like it.”

  Gerard placed a cloth bundle on the table and unwrapped it to reveal Oludara’s ivory dagger. Oludara picked it up and passed his fingers slowly across the carvings. A single tear slid down his face.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “I have but one sword, but I do have a spare harquebus you can use.”

  “I won’t use the gun; their accuracy is not to be trusted. The long bows the natives carry suit me better.”

  “My harquebuses are nothing like those clumsy sticks the soldiers use. A master smith grooved the barrels and their accuracy is unmatched.”

  “However fine they may be,” said Oludara, “guns are not my weapon.”

  Gerard shrugged and handed Oludara a backpack. “I’ve obtained food and equipment, everything I could think of, including some local remedies. It appears that Sacy even added a few herbs of his own when I wasn’t looking.”

  “Really? I thought Sacy did favors for no man.”

  “It appears he’s taken an interest in our journey.”

  “That could be very good, or very bad.”

  “Most likely both,” said Gerard. “But I still have one question: do you go willingly on this dangerous journey?”

  “You would offer me the chance to refuse?” asked Oludara.

  “I didn’t pay to buy you,” said Gerard, “I paid to free you. To go or not is your choice. I would not face the dangers out there with a man who does not go of his own free will.”

  Oludara smiled. “You have proven yourself quite a man this week, Gerard van Oost. Catching Sacy shows that you are more resourceful than you believe. And you could have asked him for anything, but you chose to free me. I do not choose companions lightly, but I can see already that you will be a worthy one. I would serve you for five years to pay my debt, but since you would have it so, I will accompany you as a friend.”

  At that, they shook hands.

  “Then I suppose that makes it official,” said Gerard, “now we’re a band. Look at what I made.”

  He unfurled a linen standard. Upon it, sketched roughly in black dye, appeared an elephant and a macaw.

  Gerard noticed Oludara cringe at the poor drawings and added, “It’s just a rough idea for now; we can improve it later.”

  “I speak truthfully when I say that what you have there is the ugliest, yet at the same time most inspiring standard I have ever seen.”

  “Then we are in full agreement,” said Gerard, “and since we have our standard, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t leave immediately.”

  “Indeed, the dawn does not come twice to wake a man. Many adventures lie before us; let us not make them wait!”

  #

  High atop the Church of the Immaculate Conception, a scarlet macaw cocked its head and watched two men, one white and one black, as they crossed Salvador’s central plaza and left the city through the North Gate.

  END

  Gentle Reader,

  Thank you for taking the time to read “The Fortuitous Meeting”, the first novelette in The Elephant and Macaw Banner series, where a chance meeting between two men, far from their homelands, ignites an unlikely friendship that will change the course of history.

  Please consider leaving a review of this book on Amazon, just one or two lines is enough. I publish these books myself, with no big publishing company to help, meaning that my only marketing department is you, my readers. Please help spread the word.

  You can keep up with the series at EAMB.org, through The Elephant and Macaw Banner accounts on Facebook and Twitter, or by signing up for the newsletter. Feel free to post your thoughts to any of those places and I’ll be sure to get back to you!

  Regards,

>   Christopher

  Interested in further tales of Gerard and Oludara? There are several other titles available in this series, action-packed fantasy adventures that can be read in one sitting. Just $0.99 each or FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

  Acknowledgements:

  I have many people to thank, too many to list all at once, so I’d like to use the space in this first book to thank those who helped make the original novelette, published back in 2010, a success.

  First and foremost, I need to thank Douglas Cohen, who pulled “The Fortuitous Meeting of Gerard van Oost and Oludara” from the Realms of Fantasy slush pile back in 2008. Before the story ever went to print, Doug wrote: “I expect Christopher Kastensmidt’s dynamic duo of Gerard Van Oost and Oludara to do wonderful things in the future.” Little did he or I know that the story would one day be selected as a Nebula Award Finalist and winner of the Realms of Fantasy Reader’s Choice Award. For those who don’t know, having a story go from the slush pile to the Nebula Award ballot is almost on par with winning the lottery. Much of the success I’ve had to date, I owe to Doug.

  Shawna McCarthy, founder and editor of Realms of Fantasy, approved the story and Warren Lapine published it. Other editors who have published that first novelette include Roberto de Sousa Causo (Brazil), Martin Šust (Czech Republic), Cristian Tamas (Romania), and Tony C. Smith (Inglaterra). I would also like to mention the late Lawrence Santoro for his thoughtful recommendation.

  Before I sent out this story, I received enormous amounts of advice from my writing groups. People from Critters, Zoetrope, and Viable Paradise all offered me critiques of this story, and I’d like to single out Debra Doyle, Benjamin Hall, and Daniel Barrett, whose kind words inspired me greatly, as did those of my proof reader, Trent Zelazny. Cory Doctorow deserves a special mention for his critique, recommendation, and continued support.

  I’d like to thank all the people who reviewed that first story: Pam Wallace, Maggie Jamison, Lois Tilton, and Rich Horton. Dave Truesdale, Catherine Schaff-Stump, and Rachel Swirsky all put the story on their recommended reading lists—kind deeds which have not been forgotten.

  Jeremy Tolbert has been a long-time supporter and collaborator, creating the website in 2009 and running it ever since.

  Douglas Cohen, Ana Cristina Rodrigues, Terra LeMay, and Victor Vargas all deserve thanks for the feedback they gave me on this edition, and T. L. Morganfield, Jake Kerr, and John Brown for their excellent advice on self-publishing.

  There are many left to thank, but luckily, I still have plenty of stories left to tell, so I’ll leave those for later.

  It takes one person to create a book, but thousands to create the writer. Thank you all.

  About the author: Longing for the old days of discovery but lacking new places to find, Christopher Kastensmidt decided to explore the frontiers of the global economy by moving from a high-paying job at Intel California to a penniless start-up in southern Brazil. Ten years and many adventures later, he sold the company to entertainment giant Ubisoft, where he served as Creative Director. He later left the company to pursue a career as a writer.

  During his career, Christopher has produced games that sold millions of copies and written stories published in over a dozen countries. He has been a finalist for many awards, including the Nebula Award and the Argos Award, Brazil’s highest prize for speculative fiction. His stories and graphic novels from The Elephant and Macaw Banner series have been adopted in hundreds of classrooms around Brazil.

  Christopher currently teaches scriptwriting and game design at UniRitter University in Porto Alegre. He is one of the organizers of the Fantastic Literature Odyssey, Brazil’s largest speculative fiction convention.