Spanish, written by Gaspar Figueroa, 1543, on vellum.
This rambling manuscript was written on vellum pages in faded ink. The handwriting was erratic and hard to read, filled with crossings out, corrections, and marginal notes. The content was similarly difficult to follow, having been written by a half-crazed man dying from a fever. The text tells of an ancient horror imprisoned in a pyramid in the Andean Highlands and the secrets it shared with those who came under its thrall. The author, Gaspar Figueroa, remained free of its control, and his writings were filled with terror and loathing for the secrets he had learned.
According to the text, Figueroa set out to seek his own fortune following Pizarro’s assassination in 1541. He was accompanied by Hernando Ruiz, Diego Garrido, Luis de Mendoza, and Pedro de Velasco—fellow conquistadors who had served with Pizarro. They traveled into the southern highlands of the Andes, looking for treasure and hoping to make their fortunes before heading back to Spain and retiring in luxury.
Hearing rumors of an ancient temple filled with gold, the men set off into the mountains southwest of Lake Titicaca. There they found a pyramid surrounded by a maze-like structure of underground tunnels. The walls of the tunnels were inlaid with intricate gold carvings. The men pried out a large section of the gold, exhausting themselves in the attempt. That night, as they rested, an evil sickness befell Figueroa’s companions; in the morning light, they looked gaunt and deathlike. Complaining of agonizing hunger, they pursued Figueroa; de Mendoza caught up with him and started to devour him like a human leech. Figueroa shot his friend in the head and fled, pausing only to snatch up as much of the gold as he could carry.
Figueroa eventually arrived back in Lima, hoping to get passage home, but he was too weakened by his ordeal. Figueroa describes himself as wasted, little more than a walking corpse.
This document seemed to be Figueroa’s attempt to lift the guilt that his avarice had placed upon him. He believed that his fate and that of his companions were brought about by their desecration of a holy place, and his most fervent wish was that he could undo the damage he had inflicted. He described how he can still hear his friends’ voices, crying out with inhuman hunger, and how, in the dark of the night, he could hear another voice, ancient and seductive, promising him eternal life if he returned to the temple. The voice told Figueroa how to contact it, but it seemed Figueroa was too afraid to ever attempt this.
A postscript written by the priest, who performed the last rites, stated that Figueroa died a day after completing his final confessions. His last words were an entreaty to whatever gods were listening to forgive him his blasphemies.
The Friends of Prospero
Peru: Episode VIII • Peru: Episode VII • Peru: Episode VI • Peru: Episode V • Peru: Episode IV • Peru: Episode III • Peru: Episode II • Peru: Episode I
The Two-Headed Serpent
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