Lisbon, Portugal. December 10, 1522.

I can hardly believe my eyes! Before me, as I write these lines, I can see the coast of Europe. Despite all the dangers and trials, I have returned home. The niño is still with me, though he will not be for much longer. Somehow in the remaining pages I must give an account of the voyage of the Estrela and the strange people that helped me return home after three long years.

Captain Camões, despite the misfortune of the storm and his lost crewmen, proved an excellent captain and a good navigator. I could not help but take an interest in navigating through this strange ocean. Anda continued to take care of the niño although she would not associate much with the new crewmen.

After several weeks, we reached Calicut where we would take on fresh supplies before continuing on to Africa. Normally, this would have been routine, but I have begun to expect the unexpected in any situation. My life thus far has taught me that much...and I was not disappointed.

Like Malacca, Calicut was an important port in this part of the world long before the Portuguese arrived. And, like Malacca, the city still bore the scars of the battle. The "Franks", as the Portuguese are called here, had taken over and forced most of the locals to give up the sea. As a result, the Portuguese army that was stationed there was kept very busy keeping the local population in line. Many of the out of work native sailors had turned to piracy and bandit gangs. The streets of Calicut were far from safe, but few of us realized this.

Captain Camões decided to allow the crew to have shore leave before setting out for Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. We went ashore in shifts but when my turn came, I had unexpected company. Anda Camões had insisted on coming with me and even brought the niño.

Past experiences had taught me to not rely entirely on ship's store to provide steady meals, especially with a young child to care for. With this in mind I went into the city in search of provisions. In spite of the Portuguese occupation, the market of Calicut was still operated by the natives and was filled with exotic foods and merchandise from across the eastern world.

"Stay close, Anda," I said as the girl stopped to look at a vender's wears. She gave me a rather irritated look, but took the niño more firmly by the hand and we wandered deeper into the selling stalls. Rice, salted meat, and fruit were what I needed to find and I finally found a vendor who would sell me what I required. After haggling for some time over a price, which was very difficult as the woman only knew about ten words of Portuguese, we settled with my giving her one of the pearls the Rajah Halmabea had presented me with.

"Here Anda," I said as I turned to the two children, "I need you to carry..." and stopped when I realized I was talking to myself. Anda and the niño were gone.

I hurried back through the crowded market, looking for the two children. Asking the sellers when possible, I found myself in searching the back streets of Calicut. And I found them in the worst possible place...in a trash filled back alley, facing a group of five bandits.

Anda stood with her back to the wall with the niño behind her, both very afraid. I cursed both the situation and myself for not bringing my pistol or at least my sword. Without arms, I had little chance of saving the children, but there was no other choice.

Just then, Anda's frightened eyes met mine, but the girl had enough sense not to give me away. Instead she gave me the opening I needed. Grabbing the niño up, the cabin 'boy' ran down the alley, away from me. The assailants shouted angrily and three went after the fleeing children, leaving two behind with their backs to me.

Moving carefully from my place of concealment and I crept up behind the two bandits. One I dispatched quickly with a rock, but the other sounded the alarm before I could silence him as well. He quickly rounded on me and pulled a dagger he was carrying from its sheath. I dodged the lunges of the knife-wielding assailant and desperately grabbed his arm knowing I only had moments to finish this fight before his companions joined in. Giving the captured limb a quick, hard twist, I forced the man to drop his weapon and kicked it out of reach into some rubbish. I slammed his body against one of the walls of the alley and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. But that still left three to deal with. Not the best odds.

One of the bandits yelled something that sounded like a curse and rushed to attack me. Before he could close the distance, the man seemed to trip and a reddish liquid ran down the back of his head into his shirt. He stopped in confusion and touched the strange substance, then tasted it. Surprised he turned to look behind him and I could see the remains of a very ripe piece of fruit clinging to his hair. A piece of fruit that had been thrown by Anda. The bandit, who seemed to be the leader of the group, shouted something angrily and the other two went after the troublesome girl.

"Get out of here!" I shouted as my attacker lunged at me again. From the other end of the alley, I heard the girl scream and the niño wail. There was little I could do to help either as I faced my new opponent. This fight would be hand-to-hand.

Exchanging a few blows, we circled each other watching for an opportunity. His fighting style was unlike anything that I had even before and there was little I knew to counter it. He attacked with both fists and feet and still managed to block my punches with ease it seemed. I was going to lose this battle if I didn't do something quickly. Managing to avoid a series of attacks, I dived into the pile of garbage where the other bandit's dagger had disappeared, slicing my hand against its blade. Ignoring the pain, I whirled and brought the weapon up to ward off the attack I knew was coming...and watched as the shaft buried itself in his chest. He stumbled back in surprise, pulling the dagger free of his body as he did so. He fell backwards onto the street, dead before he hit the ground.

I moved quickly to where the children had been, fearing the worst. There was no way for a twelve-year-old girl and a baby to defend themselves against two bandits. But when I reached the other end of the alley, another surprise awaited me there.

Anda stood holding the niño, both very much alive and staring wide eyed at the three men before them. Two lay on the ground, either dead or stunned while a third looked down at them. But this man I knew. It was one of the foreign seamen who had joined the Estrela's crew at Malacca.

"Where on earth did you come from?" I heard myself say.

Hurrying back to our ship, our new companion surprised us by revealing that he spoke Portuguese very well and he said that his name was Hisoka. Up until now, he had always been silent aboard the Estrela, but now he spoke freely. "I noticed you searching for the children in the market and followed in case you needed help."

"It was amazing," Anda said staring at the strange sailor. "If he hadn't stepped in when he did, those bandits would have killed us."

"That reminds me…" I threw the young girl an irritated look. "I thought I told you to stay close to me."

Anda actually looked a little sheepish. "It was an accident! We were walking through a crowd and I lost my hold on little Blas (it was strange hearing her use my name when speaking of the niño). I stopped to find him and lost sight of you. It was just after I found the boy again that those bandits started chasing us."

"They weren't bandits, they were slave traders," Hisoka calmly put in. "Had they captured you, death would have seemed a reward in the life you would have led." Anda paled and even I felt a little sick.

Changing the subject, the girl asked, "Where did you learn to fight as you do, Hisoka? I have never seen anything like it."

He shrugged. "I have learned what I could while I traveled across the eastern world, from country to country, until I found myself in Malacca. I began to learn your language there and decided I wished to see your Europe. When the Estrela docked in Malacca's port, I signed on board and the rest you know." He turned his gaze from the girl to me. "You did very well yourself. Even I couldn't have defeated all five of the slavers."

"I was only just able to beat the three I faced one at a time while it seems you easily dispatched two at once." I looked at the traveler. "Could you teach me to fight as you do?"

Hisoka smiled slightly. "If you can teach me European combat and weapons in return." I nodded in acceptance and we continued on to the Estrela in silence.

After all the adventures and surprises that had confronted us that day, one would have thought that was enough. But fate had one more trick for me.

Anda rushed up the gangplank of the Estrela and into her father's cabin, anxious to tell our tale. "FatherwegotlostandwereattackedbyslaversbutMendozaandHisokaarrived
justintimeandsavedourlives!" Apparently her father was used to this type of talk although it took the rest of us a while to figure out what the girl had said.

Captain Camões swept his daughter up in a tight hug, saying softly, "Can't you go anywhere without finding trouble? I'm going to have to start confining you to the ship." The girl merely laughed and her father set her down. He then bowed to both Hisoka and myself. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving Anda. I am in your debt." He glanced back at the girl and said, "You had better go find some food for yourselves and rest." We all began to leave but the Captain called me back saying, "I would like another word with you, Mendoza. Please close the door." I did as he asked, wondering what this was all about. We stood there for some time, neither speaking. Finally the Captain began, "I have had disturbing news, Mendoza."

Apprehensively I asked, "Is there something I can do, Captain?"

"Yes," he said as he turned to look at me. "You can tell me the truth."

"I don't unders..."

"I know you have lied to me, Señor," he interrupted. "Your story never seemed quite right and now I know you did not come to these lands aboard a Portuguese vessel. The shipping records here in Calicut have told me that much. And now I believe I have the missing piece of the puzzle. I have learned that a Spanish ship was recently captured trespassing in our territory. A ship from a fleet sent by your king under the command of a countryman of mine, Ferdinand Magellan."

He knew and I could not deny it. "What are you going to do, Captain?" I asked carefully.

He turned his back to me and walked to the other end of the cabin. "Before today," he said sternly, "I might have turned you over to officials here in Calicut." He looked back to me and his gaze softened. "But now I owe you a debt. Honor demands that I save you as you saved my daughter. But if I am to protect you, I must know the whole truth."

It was late in the evening before I finished my tale but the Captain's attention never wavered.

"Extraordinary!" he said in awe as I finished. "What a seaman Magellan was! Truly Portuguese in action if not in loyalty."

"Captain," I asked hesitantly finally able to ask the question that had been plaguing my mind for hours, "you said that one of Magellan's ships has been taken by your government." Camões focused his attention on me again. "What was the name of that ship?"

He looked at me sympathetically and answered, "The Trinidad. Apparently her crew was near starvation when our ships captured them."

I suddenly felt very weary. "Espinosa," I said softly, "I knew trying to recross the Pacific could only lead to disaster." I looked up at the Captain and asked, "What will become of the crew?"

"They have been imprisoned and probably brought back to Calicut eventually. I doubt the viceroy here, Vasco da Gama, will show them any consideration. The lucky ones may survive to eventually be returned to Portugal as prisoners. If you want to avoid a similar fate, we will have to leave port very soon. Any Spaniard will be under suspicion. In the meantime, do not leave the Estrela."

"Yes, Captain," I acknowledged, rising to leave. I wanted nothing more than to rest.

"One more thing, Mendoza," he stopped me. I paused and looked back. "Perhaps you can assist me with the navigation from here to Lisbon. Continue your studies."

I nodded. "I would appreciate that Captain." With that I left, closing the cabin door behind me. Thoughts of my former ships and those who sailed them filled my thoughts that night. I could not help but wonder what had become of the Victoria. May her voyage end better than the Trinidad.

We left Calicut six days later and sailed on for Africa. After many adventures, which I can't relate here in my log for lack of blank pages, we finally rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed into the Atlantic. I never thought that the deep blue waters of that ocean could be so welcoming. But I had little time to think of such things for I was kept busy by my many obligations.

In addition to my regular duties, everyday I spent time with Hisoka learning all I could of his strange fighting style. The rest of the crew found it quite amusing to watch us especially in the first few weeks when Hisoka could easily counter every punch I tried and send me to the deck. But they haven't been laughing lately. While I may never be able to adopt it entirely, by blending it with what I have learned in the army and my many adventures, I have created a style that is all my own and very effective. The Captain has made good on his promise to continue my studies of navigation and I have learned much of this sea. Anda spends most of her time taking care of the niño and following Hisoka and I around the ship (which has proved another source of laughter for the Estrela's crew).

Finally the day before yesterday, the watch called out the words I had been longing to hear. "Land ho!" We all rushed to the rails. Europe. It has been over three years since I have seen this shore and yet my journey isn't over yet.

This morning Captain Camões called me into his cabin and presented me with a choice. "Mendoza," he began, "I have decided not to sell our cargo in Lisbon but...I believe you should remain here in Portugal."

I was confused to say the least. "What do you mean, Captain?"

"You have a great gift, Mendoza, a natural talent for navigation, but you could be better." He stood and took a letter from a nearby table. "This is a letter recommending you to the school our Prince Henry founded to study navigation at Sagres. I have friends there who will see to it that you learn from the very best."

I didn't know what to say. It was an offer I couldn't refuse, but there was a problem. What could I do with the niño? Then I had an idea. "Captain, I accept your offer with gratitude and I have a suggestion for you. Sell your cargo in Barcelona."

"Why Barcelona?"

"You will get a good price but I admit, I have another reason to suggest this particular port. The niño." I explained to him that Maria was undoubtedly still living in the city and I could be assured of the boy's safety.

"There is sense in this plan," the Captain said after considering for a moment. "Very well, once you have disembarked, we will sail for Barcelona."

And so I have come to the end of my account. I have filled the logbook as Magellan ordered and I am ready for my next adventure. When I finish writing this, I will give the book to Captain Camões who has promised to entrust it to you, Maria. Now you know all that has occurred and know that I am safe. I hope that my time in Portugal will be relatively short and that I may soon return to Spain and to you. I know that you will take care of the niño for me and will see to it that he is given a name. I think that he has been called 'the niño' for far too long.

Farewell for now, Madre.

Blas de Mendoza