On the second day in the island of Zubu, Magalhaes sent one of his men to get the chronicler and their tribute to the rajah. Delcano, Barboza's pilot and second in command, went with them to natives' village. After a short trek, they arrived and gathered inside an open hut near a narrow river just at the edge of the village.

  "So, this is Zubu," Delcano said as he sat on the bamboo floor. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sit in but the ventilation made things bearable.

  "Yes, master," Mallaca replied, passing the tray of 'basi' wine.

  "What was the village's name again?"

  "Singhapala Mavolo, master Delcano. It means the lion city of Mavolo."

  "Ah, yes..." Delcano drank the cup in his hand in one gulp and made a face. "These people know how to make a drink." He raised the empty cup and smiled.

  "You... you better try their palm wine then, master." Mallaca offered the clay jug to Delcano with a smile. "Master Barboza and other men drank this yesterday and they're still reeling with their hangovers." Both men laughed.

  "Sure," Delcano said as he poured himself a cup from the jug. "So what did we miss? Anything interesting happening here?"

  "Well, nothing much. The... the man talking to master Pigafetta is Datu Zullah." Mallaca pointed to the hooked nosed man next to the chronicler. "He is one of the chief of Opon Matan, the island we passed going here. A very hospitable fellow...much like the rajah himself. Good-natured, all of them."

  "Opon? Is that the little island where Giant Siagu went?" He drank the cup of palm wine and gave a grimace.

  "Yes, master."

  "So, there's other savage tribes there?"

  Mallaca nodded. "Four chiefs and ten or so tribes."

  Delacano offered his cup to Mallaca to be refilled. "And who's that?" He indicated the man sitting on the velvet cushions on a bamboo dais with the Captain General. The fat man with Magalhaes was very animated, pointing at the countless carved idols beside them, knocking one or two in the process.

  Magalhaes turned at their direction and waved at Mallaca.

  "He is Rajah Humabara, the regent of this island," he said to Delcano. He stood up. "Master, may I excuse myself? The Captain General beckons me."

  "Go, go I can handle myself," replied the thick-browed sailor as he poured himself another drink from the jug.

  Mallaca went to Magalhaes, who walked side by side with the corpulent regent a dozen yards away from the enticing water of the river. He stopped and bowed down to show respect to both men. Magalhaes replied with a smile.

  "Mallaca, do translate what I say to the honorable Rajah," Magalhaes said.

  "Yes, lord."

  Magalhaes cleared his throat and started. "We give our offerings to you great king of Zubu not for fear, but because of great affection. And because we are true Christian knights." He pointed to four chest filled with assorted things, glinting and glimmering in the sun. "We wish to be the instruments of great Spain's benevolence. We wish to be your allies. Your friends." Mallaca translated it all with ease.

  Rajah Humabara nodded and gave a curt smile. "I wholeheartedly accept it," he said.

  After hearing the translation from Mallaca, Fernao de Magalhaes smiled .

  Humabara turned and signaled the two men to follow him as he walked on. "I have enjoyed you fantastic tales, captain. And I would also like to return the favor myself. So, I and my queen would like to become the great Christians that you often speak of. It would truly be an honor if you let us join you. And as a gesture of peace, I have ordered my men to get you the supplies you asked yesterday. Three days from now my men will have gathered enough goods to fill one of your ship with the victuals you need."

  "Wait, did I hear that right, Mallaca?" He turned to Humabara. "You want to be a christian?"

  Humabara nodded.

  Magalhaes looked at Mallaca and smiled. "Oh, great regent of Zubu, you honor me." He bowed in reverence to the rajah.

  "Yes, I do. I would like the ceremony done, how about tomorrow?"

  They all stood at the end of the river bank for a short moment, trying to see if the other party would take things further. Magalhaes could not believe his luck. Finding an ally in this remote region of the world was what he needed. And someone who wanted to be one with his god?

  Magalhaes, suffice to say was glad. He was the first to break the silence. And fail to see the trap laid in front of him.

  "Tomorrow?" he said. "Would it be good if you think this through great regent of Zubu?"

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  "Do you doubt me? Do you doubt the rajah? Are you questioning my decisions?"

  "Apologies to you, but no." Magalhaes said after hearing Mallaca's translations. "How could I do so?"

  Magalhaes waited for Mallaca to finish the translation to avoid any misunderstanding. Then, the Captain General continued, "What I'm saying great King is that being a christian is both a commitment and a responsibility."

  "I will do what it takes Captain General," Rajah Humabara said, his chin raised high.

  Magalhaes spoke to Mallaca to carefully translate his words to the rajah. "Don't become a Christian from fear of us, or to please us. You must do it willingly and for the love of God." He loosened the collar of his shirt. "If you want to be a good christian you must burn all the idols of your country and replace them with the cross."

  Humabara's stoic face couldn't contain the absurdity of the pale man's words. Burning the icons of his devatas was not so simple. He might quell the anger of his tribe. He might distract them for a little while. But a sudden change of gods might not be welcomed by the other tribes.

  "What?" he said. "That would be ridiculous." But before the translator could finish the wise rajah already knew what to do next.

  "Exactly," Magalhaes said. "But it would be the right thing to do."

  "I want to be a good christian but burning all the idols is another matter my Christian knight." Humabara stooped to pick a pebble in the ground. "Others will cling to their idols, others will fight and even kill for them."

  He threw the pebble on the middle of the river. It just sank there, not even bothering to skip in the pristine surface of the water.

  "Then, they will die wanting," Magalhaes said. "We will show not an ounce of mercy to those who will oppose Christianity."

  "Then, you will help me, Christian knight? Help me fight them off?" Humabara said.

  Framing the right words to form the right question was difficult. Good thing Zullah was there to help him come up with the right ones last night.

  Magalhaes placed his hand on the Rajah's shoulder. "Yes, I will."

  The rajah smiled. "Then, tomorrow I shall be a christian."

  Joyous and contended, Magalhaes asked the rajah's permission to leave so he can prepare for tomorrow.

  When the Captain General left, the rajah stayed near the lake water. He smiled looking at the other end of the waters. But he was not admiring the natural beauty in front of him. He smiled because his plans were going smoothly. And he smiled at how good he was at playing this little game. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow we will see if Zullah can do his part.

  ***

  Magalhaes returned to their ship that night, leaving Pigafetta and Barboza's men in the village. When the next day arrived the Captain general with the rest of his men and the ship's chaplain returned to the village armor-less. Only a handful of men carried their muskets and swords with them.

  The Captain General and Humabara embraced one another and sat on a raised dais as the mass began. While Barboza, with a native girl under his arm sat on the mat strewn ground with the other principal crewmen. The girl's eyes narrowed as Barboza kept her from moving away from him. This went on until the ceremony's end.

  The itself baptism turned out to be a success. After the ceremony Magalhaes ushered the people to the shore, all the while, Mallaca tailed him like a leashed dog.

  "Look my brother." He stood beside the Rajah and pointed at the ship, Victoria. The Spanish ship was anchored far enough from shore to avoid the corals and underwater rocks.

  "What is it?" Humabara said more on Mallaca than to Magalhaes.

  "Our answer to your problem."

  "What do you mean, Captain General?"

  "Those pagan whom you fear and oppose your baptism shall face those first." Without due warning, the musketeers on the ship fired simultaneously.

  The natives had to cover their ears as the combined explosion fell like thunder on the island's shore. Some of them thought an earthquake had struck the island and began to ran away but pale strangers kept them in place, their faces full of amusement.

  Humabara knelt on the sand, tears streaming down his face. And in that exact moment no truer lie began between the two leaders.

  "Surely the god of Christianity is with you, Magalhaes. And no man or god of mine can stand against him. To do so would only be foolish. From this day on, I, Sri Humabara the son of the late Sri Bantug, swear my fealty to the kingdom of Spain." He bowed down.

  Mallaca translated it as Humabara kissed Magalhaes' ringed finger.

  Magalhaes helped the Rajah stand up. "And I swear by the image of our own lady the Virgin, by the love of the King of Spain, and by the insignia on my heart, I will be a faithful ally to you, O Rajah Humabara."

  The two men embraced each other. But out of the crowd, Datu Zullah approached them with a sullen face.

  "My brothers, I have news for you," the hook-nose datu said.

  "What is it?" Humabara closed the distance between them.

  "One of my men just informed me-," Zullah glanced away in disappointment as the foreigner's slave translated his words, "that the supplies for Lord Magalhaes fleet were seized by Kalipulako's men."

  "Kalipulako?" Magalhaes asked Zullah after hearing Mallaca's words.

  "Yes, Kalipulako," Datu Zullah said. "He is one of the chief of my island, Opon Matan. I and the Rajah's men fought with him when the Moorish Sultans attacked our land. He is quite crafty in battle, a proper warlord, if I may say so. But lately, he has degenerated into a greedy pirate."

  Humabara's thick eyebrows furrowed. "And what did you do Zullah?"

  "My men fought his Daragangan with bravery but failed." Zullah closed his hands into a fist. "His men fought like rabid dogs. Using guile instead of courage. He does not fear nor respect anyone. And I believe they will never bow down to your rule Rajah Humabara."

  "I have heard of his travesties for too long." Humabara placed a hand on Zullah's shoulder. "This has to end. Someone has to stop him. Someone has to end this foolishness."

  "I could!" Zullah answered. "But Kalipulako is a ruthless bagani datu. He will continue his evil for the devatas, our gods, blessed his dark deeds."

  Magalhaes nodded. "Evil indeed." He shook his head thinking of the wasted supplies.

  Humabara turned to him and said, "And this Kalipulako is one of those who'll surely oppose your Christianity. We need to stop him. Together!"

  "If only I have your men, Lord Magalhaes." Zullah sighed. "I would've defeated those devils years ago."

  Magalhaes shook his head. "I can't let you lead my men to peril or war." He looked Zullah in the eye and then Humabara.

  Both men were caught off guard by the pale man's words. All their planning was going down the bin. A knot formed inside Humabara's throat. This should not be. He did not thought that a leader like Magalhaes was a coward.

  Zullah, on the other hand, whispered his curses far from the ears of the translator.

  Magalhaes smiled after a while. "I will lead them myself."

  Humabara gave a nervous laugh as he flattered Magalhaes even more. "Fantastic my Christian knight."

  Datu Zullah bowed his head down. "You are truly a man of honor."

  His lips parted to show a full set of teeth as the Captain General talked to Humabara about replenishing the stolen provisions that Kalipulako allegedly stolen. The two walked on leaving him behind.

  "Ah...the quagmire we call honor," Zullah whispered. "And slowly we sink beneath. So, pitiful. Aren't we all?"