Hey, what’s up everyone! I’m writing this on a train right now, heading to the coast, and since it’s a 2-hour journey, I decided to update you on the diary (in case you haven’t read Part 1, I think it’s necessary to understand well ). First of all, I read the other entry that Baltazar wrote, and his account is quite peculiar, this one in particular has shakier handwriting, I suppose out of fear.
August 22nd, the year 1610 of Our Lord Jesus Christ
I woke up this morning without even remembering at what moment I fell asleep. The tension of last night must have knocked me out. Peri was already up, outside, roasting two fish over the fire and handed one to me as I approached.
“And the expeditionaries, in the forest?” I asked pessimistically.
“They returned,” he replied, not showing much expression.
“Praise be to God! And where are they?” My sudden excitement improved.
“Sickbay.” Before he finished, I headed there, ready to learn more about what had happened that night. Upon entering, I found the Colonel sitting on a stretcher, a long strip of cloth being unwound from his arm, and a new, clean one being put in its place.
“Colonel sir, what happened, is the wound serious?”
“Don’t worry, Balta, it takes much more to hurt old Dantas here,” he laughed. “And what about the others?”
“Manoel is over there,” he pointed to one of the beds where the man waved, a bandage wrapped around his head. “Judas is unconscious.” I looked to see the scoundrel lying on the bed, a wound on the side of his body being treated with ointment.
“If you permit me, what happened to you all?”
Their eyes roamed around the nurses in the room who, though doing their work, seemed to be attentive to our conversation.
“We encountered that famous creature, the Îaguara. Gave us quite a bit of trouble and then fled,” he looked at me, signaling to disregard the truth of this account.
I approached him as the nurse moved away.
“I also saw something in the forest.”
He stopped, staring at me.
“So, that time, you and Peri…”
“Yes, we saw it.”
His eyes scanned the room.
“Manoel, get up, urgent expedition meeting! Let’s go to the chapel to meet Friar Antonio!”
Manoel got up, staggering a bit, but quickly regaining his balance. We walked to the small wooden building to discuss the previous night.
“What you gentlemen saw, according to Peri, is an Anhangá, a creature,” I began, but was interrupted.
“Creature? No, no, that’s not it,” the Colonel said.
“How so? I heard the scream yesterday.”
“We did too, in fact, we were returning here when we were intercepted by a group of men,” Manoel spoke. “They had white hair, all of them, but not like old men. Their skins were lighter than the natives, almost yellow, and they seemed to glow. We tried to talk to them, but before we could finish speaking, they attacked us, with spears, arrows, and a violence I had never seen before.”
“By God, what did you do?” I asked them, frightened.
“We were scared, we fired our guns, and when our ammunition ran out, they attacked. If it hadn’t been for Friar Antonio arriving with reinforcements, I don’t know if we would be here.”
“Are they from some nearby tribe? Enemies of the natives who are with us?”
“We don’t know their name, unfortunately,” the friar said. “I tried to approach the places where they were sighted, but with no results.”
“They are known to us as “Tatus brancos (White Armadillos),” Peri stood at the door, motionless for I don’t know how long. “They are an ancient legend, but they usually aren’t around here, at least not at this time of year.”
Friar Antonio seemed worried, his serious and pensive face reflecting the gravity of the situation.
“Peri, do you know anything else about these White Armadillos? Any stories, any customs that might give us a clue as to who they are and what they want?” I asked the indigenous man, hoping he could provide us with some valuable information.
Peri frowned, thoughtful, before responding, “The White Armadillos are secretive, difficult to see unless they want to be seen. We always avoid the areas that belong to them, but I’ve never seen them with my own eyes, until now.”
The conversation was interrupted by the distant sound of a scream in the forest, a woman’s scream. The scream echoed through the forest, cutting through the air and causing everyone in the chapel to instinctively shrink back. Friar Antonio crossed himself, murmuring a brief prayer, while the others looked at each other with expressions of concern.
“What was that?” asked Manoel, his eyes wide with apprehension.
Peri was tense, his senses sharpened like those of an animal on the verge of danger. “We need to go check,” he said, already heading for the door.
Without hesitation, we followed Peri out of the chapel, each step heavy with the uncertainty of what we might find in the forest. The sun beat down on our heads in the midday heat, causing the buildings to cast no shadow in an uncomfortable manner.
As we approached the area where the scream had come from, the silence of the forest became almost deafening. Every snap of a twig under our feet felt like an imminent threat, and the air was thick with palpable tension.
Suddenly, we spotted a flickering figure in the distance, moving among the trees. It was a woman, her dark hair billowing in the wind, and her eyes wide with terror. She was running desperately, as if being pursued by something or someone.
“There!” exclaimed Manoel, pointing in the direction of the woman. “We need to help her!”
Without hesitation, we ran towards the woman, our hearts pounding in our chests. When we finally reached her, she was almost collapsing from exhaustion and fear. The woman, trembling and gasping for breath, introduced herself as Maria de Assunção, a native of the village of São Paulo de Piratininga, and after a few sips of brandy, she told us her terrible experience. According to her, she had gone out to gather fruits in the forest and collect firewood when she was startled by something sinister.
“Believe me, gentlemen, when I say I saw it with my own eyes,” began Maria, her trembling voice echoing through the clearing where we were gathered. “I was removing a stone that blocked my path when I came across a hole. Inside it, an eye was staring at me, an eye that belonged to no human or animal I’ve ever seen.”
A feeling of horror ran through all of us as we listened to her account. Friar Antonio made the sign of the cross and murmured a brief prayer in Latin, while the others leaned in to listen more.
“And then, Maria?” asked Colonel Dantas, his voice heavy with concern. “What happened next?”
Maria de Assunção took a deep breath before continuing. “A pale hand emerged from the hole, grabbing the stone and pulling it back inside. That’s when fear took hold of me, and I ran as fast as I could until I found you.”
Her eyes reflected the terror that still haunted her, and her fingers trembled as she narrated her experience. We could tell she was telling the truth, as the fear in her voice was palpable.
“Gentlemen, what is this?” asked Manoel, looking around as if expecting the creature to appear at any moment.
Friar Antonio stood up, his face serious and determined. “This, my friends, is a sign that something evil dwells in these lands. We need to prepare ourselves and protect our camp. I will pray for divine guidance and investigate the sacred texts for any explanation of this phenomenon.”
We agreed with the gravity of the situation, and as Friar Antonio withdrew to pray, the others followed the woman to the said hole.
With caution, we followed Maria de Assunção towards the place where she found the hole. The path through the dense vegetation of the forest was difficult, but the urgency of the moment drove us forward.
Finally, we reached the spot indicated by her. The hole was a dark opening in the ground, large enough to allow a person to crawl inside, dragging themselves along the ground. Looking down, we could only see darkness, and a sense of dread enveloped us as we approached.
“My God, what could have created this?” murmured Colonel Dantas, his voice tense.
Peri, with his familiarity with the forest, watched the surroundings carefully, as if expecting some imminent danger.
“We must explore this,” declared Manoel. “If there’s something down there, we need to know what it is.”
Reluctantly, we agreed to the suggestion. With a branch soaked in strong liquor, set ablaze like a torch, and hearts full of apprehension, we prepared to descend into the hole
With great care, we began to descend one by one. Darkness enveloped our senses, and the damp, musty air made breathing difficult. As we progressed, we could hear the echo of our footsteps against the rocky walls of the tunnel. Finally, after a slow and tense descent, we reached a point where the tunnel widened and branched off in several directions. We were at an underground crossroads, and a sense of helplessness washed over us as we looked at the options before us.
“May God help us,” murmured Colonel Dantas, his voice echoing in the tunnel.
Peri, with his cunning, suggested that we continue exploring, following a path that seemed broader and more promising. With torch held high, we advanced cautiously, our hearts pounding rapidly in our chests as we approached whatever might await us in the dark depths of the earth. As we progressed, we could hear the distant sound of running water, and a sense of hope enveloped us. Finally, after what seemed like hours of exploration, we reached an opening in the tunnel that revealed a glimpse of light.
With a mixture of relief and apprehension, we moved towards the light, and then, we emerged from the dark depths of the tunnel, now outdoors and within the dense forest, to find ourselves facing a surprising landscape:
Before us stretched a waterfall, roaring with force, its crystal-clear waters cascading into a deep pool below. And in front of us, a trail wound its way up to a huge cavern, a vast cavern, illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the trees.
We were awestruck by the beauty and grandeur of the place, but also aware that we were in unknown and potentially dangerous territory. We were about to take the path towards the cavern and enter it when my heart faltered. A spear whizzed past, narrowly missing my face.
With a start, I stepped back, my eyes widening in terror as I saw the pale figures emerging from the shadows of the cave. The White Armadillos were as terrifying as they had been described: their almost translucent skins gleamed in the cave’s darkness, and their lifeless eyes seemed to pierce my soul with a chilling intensity.
“My God…” I whispered, barely able to find words to express the horror gripping me.
The others also recoiled, their pale faces reflecting the fear they felt. Colonel Dantas gripped his shotgun, his expression tense, while Manoel and Peri were alert, ready for any sudden movement from the White Armadillos. Maria retreated behind us.
The sinister figures did not move, but I could feel their oppressive presence looming over us, like an imminent threat waiting only for the right moment to strike. The sound of the waterfall in the background echoed like a mournful drum, adding a sense of inevitability to our fate.
“What are we going to do?” asked Manoel, his voice trembling with apprehension. His eyes were fixed on the pale figures before us, his expression a mixture of courage and fear.
“Only option is to flee!” exclaimed Peri.
With the White Armadillos blocking our only way out, panic began to set in among us. Colonel Dantas fired his shotgun towards the creatures, but the range was not enough, and it only seemed to enrage them further. Their shiny skins reflected the gunshots in a disturbing manner, giving them a supernatural appearance.
Realizing that violence would only put us in greater danger, Peri urged us to retreat. “We need to find another escape route,” he shouted above the sound of the waterfall and Maria de Assunção’s screams, which echoed through the forest.
Amidst the chaos, we tried to orient ourselves in the opposite direction of the cave, but the White Armadillos began to approach, pressed against the wall, and passing under the waterfall, their sharp spears scraping against the rocky surface. One of them swiftly threw his weapon towards Manoel, who barely had time to defend himself before being struck by a spear in his thigh, his cry of pain echoing through the air.
With the shock of the attack, we could hardly process the scene before us. Fear pumped through our veins as we desperately tried to find a way out. Maria ran over to Manoel, trying to help him, while Peri led the way through the dense vegetation, searching for an escape route back through the hole.
We ran as fast as we could, the sound of the White Armadillos’ footsteps echoing behind us. Every time we looked back, we saw the pale figures drawing closer, their sinister expressions foretelling a grim fate. The tunnel had become a labyrinth of stone, where danger seemed to lurk around every corner.
The throbbing pain in Manoel’s side and Maria de Assunção’s cries echoed in our ears, fueling our desperation. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows over us, making this escape even more challenging. Finally, after an exhausting run, we found a clearing where we could regroup and assess our options. Manoel was pale and weak, his breath labored as he held onto his wound.
“We can’t stay here,” Peri said, his voice grave with determination. “The White Armadillos are behind us, and we can’t afford to waste any more time.”
We helped Manoel to his feet and continued our journey through the dark forest. Every sound, every shadow, made us tremble with fear. But then, everything quieted down. We looked back, we tried to listen, but it seemed that the danger had passed.
Manoel grew weaker with every step, his pale, sweaty face betraying his agony. Maria de Assunção supported him, her words of encouragement lost in the twilight’s clamor. We arrived at the village along with the last rays of sunlight, where we immediately laid Manoel down on a stretcher, while the doctors rushed to attend to him.
The tension in the village was palpable after our account. We informed the leaders, and they gathered armed men for an urgent council, discussing strategies to deal with the imminent threat. Peri, Manoel, and I stayed in the village, tending to the wounded and exchanging information with Maria de Assunção, who revealed more details about her journey to that point.
As night fell, an atmosphere of suspense over the planned attack hung over the village. In the middle of the night, screams of despair echoed through the darkness, tearing through the nocturnal silence. My blood ran cold as ice, and I trembled, clutching my pillow like a child, muffling the screams into the blanket. Not only was I suffering from panic, but no one in the village dared to venture out to investigate, fearing what they might encounter in the shadows of the night. The screams continued for almost an hour, until they finally subsided.
When the sun rose the next day, a warm silence enveloped us. We prayed in the morning, all together, guided by the Friar. Around 11 o’clock, we heard footsteps coming from the woods. We aimed our weapons in that direction, but what we saw was a battered and shaken figure, with sunken eyes. It was one of the sentinels, visibly shaken, he approached us, trembling, and collapsed on the ground in tears, only regaining composure when the Friar approached, spoke to him, and offered him some wine. He begged us to follow him to the site of the attack.
Reluctantly, we agreed. Now, we are getting ready to go there. We asked questions, but the man refuses to answer them, and says we need to see for ourselves. The chill from before returned to me, and I don’t know what could be so bad. A bitter taste fills my mouth, I can only hope for the best to happen.
Apprehensively,
Baltazar P.
This was the second entry in the diary. To conclude, I would like to thank some messages of concern. I am fine, and the region where Baltazar went through these dangers is not the same as where I am, in fact, I am on my way there. At the moment, the train is blowing its whistle to signal that we are approaching. I can already see through the window on the right side the coastline, and waves hitting the sand, with the surreal beauty of nature. Meanwhile, on the other side, what passes by us rapidly are the forests, trees, and other denser vegetation, sometimes adorned with fruits, flowers, or some bird or monkey. I don’t want to sound crazy, but I could swear I saw someone staring at us from the middle of the forest a few kilometers back, maybe I shouldn’t read these things so often.
I hope to bring more things here for you later on, I plan to photograph the original locations of the story to give more life to the imagination while you read. Wish me luck.