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-INTERLUDE: DEPARTURE

  "Fired by thy fame, and with his King in ire

  To match thy deed, shall Magalhaes aspire.

  "Along the regions of the burning zone,

  To deepest South he dares the course unknown.

  "A land of giants shall his eyes behold,

  Of camel strength, surpassing human mould.

  "Beneath the Southern star's gold gleam he braves

  And stems the whirl of land-surrounded waves.

  "Forever moved to the hero's fame,

  Those foaming straits shall bear his deathless name."

  -by Camo?ns.

  This morning, I woke up with fright and went above the deck to clear my mind. And there, I saw the Captain General. He asked me why I was on deck and I lied. It was the nightmares that woke me up. They've been coming to me every night since Homonhon. The same bad dreams, again and again, like a never ending theater play. And what a tragedy it is...

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  I tried drowning it in rum but I still can't sleep straight. I tried to tell the captain about the dreams. But I was too ashamed. Will I tell him about the island, about the graves, about the scorched earth and the clawed beasts that lay upon it? Will he think that I'm losing my mind? Perhaps, it's best to be silent about it.

  Today we arrived near the island which the giant freak called Sebu or was it Zubu? The Captain General and most of the crew decided to explore the island for any native. And maybe find enough food and supplies so we could continue to Mollocu, the Spice Island. Mortez, the walking barrel, tried to get under my nerves today, telling everyone I was scared to go with them. A petty act for a petty man. The truth was that I was about to prepare to disembark with them but instead opted to follow the captain's advice and stayed to supervise Trinidad's repairs. It looks very bad. But Miguel and the other crewmen tasked to repair it assured me that it could be fixed. I trust that they will have the answer and fix the ship.

  The giant freak we met when we arrived in this archipelago also went his separate way. My guess is that he's out there looking for something to smash and bludgeon using that damned flail of his. He'd been incessantly telling the crew about his destiny; He believes his father's murderer is out here. He believes he'll have the murderer's head this time. It was truly irritating to hear it again and again. The truth is I'm glad he's gone– one less thing to worry and fear about in this ship, I guess.

  On a positive note, I have overcome the flux but it took so much from me. I still feel weak and light-headed sometimes. Maybe a good night's sleep would cure it. Hopefully the bad dreams will stop if I drown it in wine this time around. Hopefully.

  ---from Antonio Pigafetta's Personal Journal.

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