Carlos was making the most of his one day off that week to talk with Tassi and gather more information about this world. The air inside the slave quarters was heavy, laden with the smell of sweaty bodies and the residual smoke from the wood-fired stove. Faint light streamed through the cracks in the walls, illuminating fine motes of dust dancing in the air.

  "Tell me," he began, breaking the silence, "is being able to use magic gems a rare thing?"

  Tassi let out a deep sigh, and Carlos could almost hear her thoughts: First he tells me that imbecilic plan, and now he asks an obvious question like that?

  "From what I've heard, you understand a lot about those 'devil artifacts'," she replied, her tone dripping with irony. "I thought you were a knowledgeable person. You should know something as simple as that."

  "Let's just say I come from very, very far away. A place so distant that magic gems don't even exist."

  "That story again? You don't need to lie to me. How about this: I tell you my story, and you tell me yours?"

  I have to lie because if I told you the truth, you'd never believe me!

  "I'll think about your proposal, but first, tell me about the magic gems."

  "Fine," she conceded, shifting on the rough, earthen floor. "Being an adept isn't rare; in fact, it's quite common."

  "How common? Let's say, out of every 100 people born, how many can use magic gems? And out of those 100 adepts, how many can use more than one type of gem? Is there anyone who can use more than two types?"

  "It depends," Tassi answered, crossing her arms. "Are we considering the useless magic gems or not?"

  "What do you mean? There are useless magic gems?"

  She rolled her eyes, an expression of exasperation on her face.

  "You really don't know anything, do you?"

  Of course I don't! I'm from another world! You were a lot cooler when you couldn't talk!

  "Yes, actually, most of them are like that," she explained, her voice losing some of its edge. "Even though we call them 'useless,' the truth is, for many of them, we simply haven't discovered how to use them. Every useful gem we have today was once considered useless. And of course, there are also those whose uses we know, but they aren't really very practical. For example, the fire gem is very useful for attacking, while the metal gem can only make metal rotate and control hot metals, which isn't very helpful, except for some carpenters and blacksmiths."

  Huh, that seems pretty useful to me. Besides, couldn't you create something like a chainsaw and go around attacking enemies?

  "Are you sure it can't be used as a weapon? I imagine a sharp saw spinning rapidly could be pretty lethal."

  "Ha ha ha," she laughed, a dry, humorless sound. "You really aren't from around here. The problem with the metal gem is that you need to touch an area very close to it to activate its power. Unlike most gems, where you can touch any part of the magical artifact to activate it, and with some, like the fire gem, it's even possible to delay the activation to happen after a set time. That's why the fire gem is considered the most versatile and, even better, among the useful gems, it's the most common one to find an adept for."

  "But of course," she added, "maybe one day it will be possible to do the same with the metal gem. We just haven't figured out how yet."

  "Huh? Can't you apply the same principle used for fire gems to metal gems?"

  Tassi shook her head, her curls swaying gently. "Unfortunately, no. Each gem has different methods of activation and use. Because of this, when someone discovers how to use a magic gem, they guard the secret closely. For instance, the Spanish royal family discovered how to use wind gems to accelerate their ships on the high seas, which makes the Spanish navy the fastest in the world."

  So it's not universal. How complicated.

  "Answering your initial question," Tassi resumed, "about 10 to 20 out of every 100 people can use some kind of magic gem. Maybe even more, since we don't test for adepts of useless gems. As for useful gems... it's about 2 in every 100. No, one would be too few... 3 in every 100? I think that might be too many."

  "I see. So, on average, 2.5 out of every 100 people can use useful magic gems."

  "What do you mean?" she frowned, confused. "You can't have half a person! Are you going to cut her in half?"

  "Ha ha ha, it's not that!" Carlos laughed. "It's like you said: 2 is too few and 3 is too many. So, on average, sometimes you find one person, sometimes two... hence, 2.5."

  "I think I understand..." said Tassi, still looking a bit skeptical. "And regarding your question about how many people can use more than one gem... I'd say half of the people who can use magic gems can use more than one. And half of those can use three gems or more."

  She paused, took a deep breath, and continued: "So, out of 100 adepts, 50 can use two gems or more. Out of those 50, about 25 can use three gems or more, and so on."

  When Tassi finished speaking, she rubbed her temples as if smoke were coming out of her head from all the calculating.

  I see. She knows a lot. So there are truly powerful people who can use multiple gems. I remember the bounty hunters: one shot fire arrows and the other controlled vines. Now imagine someone who could use both. Wait... if a person had both powers, could they create flaming vines? Just thinking about it gives me chills.

  "Is it possible to combine the powers?"

  "Of course," Tassi confirmed, "but it's difficult. The magical artisan needs to deeply understand both gems. You saw me using the staff to make plants grow, right? Well, that artifact combines the earth gem and the grass gem to make the sugarcane grow and remain good for processing."

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  "But when we were attacked by the bounty hunters, they also made plants grow, and it seemed like each of them only used one gem."

  "Well noted," she praised. "The grass gem alone can make plants grow, but they don't last long and their fruits have no taste and don't satisfy hunger; it's like drinking seawater to quench your thirst. If I used only the grass gem on the cane, it would be impossible to produce sugar. That's where the earth gem comes in: with its power, it's possible to control the soil and make it more fertile. But know that with that staff, I can only speed up growth and provide nutrients. I can't do more than that."

  "Wow, that's ‘OP’! Imagine someone who could use five magic gems and combine them."

  "I don't know what ‘OP’ is," Tassi replied, "but it's not that simple. For each gem a person uses, they need a magical artifact. Someone might be adept with 5 gems, but it's not easy to carry 5 weapons. Sure, there are artifacts, like my staff, that combine gems, but that's rare, because merging powers is complex. And the quality of the gems a person can use is more important than the quantity."

  "For example," she continued, her eyes losing focus as if reliving a memory, "I've faced opponents who used up to 5 gems and were easier to deal with than another who used just 3: the gems of earth, fire, and strength. Those are formidable."

  "He wore an anklet with the earth gem, which allowed him to raise earthen walls for defense, create pits to attack, and even launch dust clouds to blind his enemies. He also attacked us with fire arrows that he shot through the dust. And as if that weren't enough, he was faster and stronger because of the strength gem he carried on a necklace. An opponent with just that gem is formidable already; combined with the others, he became a monster. And to top it off, he possessed a colossal mana reserve."

  It seems she fought a lot before becoming a slave. That explains her resilience in front of the plantation master.

  "Now that's what I call OP! And how did you beat him?"

  "It wasn't easy," she admitted, her tone turning somber. "I kept raising earthen walls to defend myself and opening pits under his feet, but since he also used the earth gem, he understood my tactics. I only managed to restrain him with the vines I controlled with my grass staff, but his strength allowed him to tear them free easily."

  Wow, this is like 'Avatar', that's amazing. I wish I had a power like that. Tassi is truly impressive. But from what she's saying, this didn't happen here in Brazil.

  "It was just one man, and there were five of us warriors... and we were still losing. Two of us died. One fell into a pit he created, and he collapsed it instantly, crushing her. The other was trapped in the dust, trying to dodge the fire arrows, when he emerged through the dust and cut her in half with his sword, such was the power of the strength gem. It was a brutal fight, but in the end we captured him, only because we outnumbered him and managed to completely exhaust his mana."

  Wow, I think I'm dreaming. This isn't a cartoon. People really die in these fights. But I wonder what she was before she came here.

  "What were you, exactly, before you became a slave?"

  "I figured you'd ask that," Tassi said, a bitter smile touching her lips. "I might even answer, but in return, you'll have to tell me where you're from."

  "Alright," Carlos agreed, feeling the trade was fair. "You win."

  With a sad smile, she began: "Well, I was part of an army of women from the Kingdom of Dahomey. We were known as the Mino Warriors, and we were considered as strong as any man."

  "But I'm not proud of my past, because we only did what the king ordered. We fought neighboring kingdoms, captured the defeated, and sometimes kidnapped civilians. We sold them all as slaves to the Europeans. The king used the money to buy European magical weapons, which are the best. With these new weapons, we could attack more kingdoms, get more slaves, to sell and buy more weapons... and so the vicious cycle continued."

  "At the time, I justified our atrocities by thinking that if our kingdom didn't do it, other kingdoms would, they would become more powerful, and we would end up enslaved. I don't believe that anymore. While we sold ourselves out and killed each other, the Europeans grew richer, stronger, and more skilled at manufacturing weapons. And us? Weaker, with fewer people, and poorer. One day, the European kingdoms will realize they don't need a middleman; they can use their wealth and power to enslave an entire kingdom directly."

  That's exactly what happened in my world... To be honest, it's easy to judge those kingdoms for their actions, but if I were a king in that situation, what would I do differently? If I refused to participate, how would I get weapons to defend myself?

  Carlos remained silent, observing the regret and deep sadness in her eyes.

  "In the end, I didn't realize our fights were futile. Instead of enjoying my freedom, I spent my life destroying the freedom of others. Until it was my turn to lose it. We were ambushed while returning with a group of captives. They were more numerous and defeated us. So, it was I who was sold as a slave. I spent months in a port, waiting for my turn to be sent to the 'land of no return.' Luckily, during the ambush, I was neutralized quickly. It was for the best, as I wasn't identified as a slave with magical aptitude—those are always worth more. I was sold as a common slave, and I wasn't going to correct them so they could profit more at my expense. Unfortunately, I arrived here and was forced to take the aptitude test by the master."

  "It's ironic," she whispered, her gaze fixed on the dirt floor. "I spent my life capturing people and enslaving them, only to become a slave myself. What did I fight for so hard? Why did my comrades lose their lives? Fate can be very cruel."

  "But I was still lucky compared to others, because I knew what awaited me. Since we sold slaves to the Portuguese, we learned a bit of the language and heard stories about what they did to us. So, I knew. In fact, one of the Portuguese men I used to deal with recognized me when he saw me at the auction."

  "And what did he do?" Carlos asked, almost breathless.

  "Nothing. He just looked away."

  "Anyway," she said, lifting her head with renewed determination. "Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Tassi Hangbé. That is the name my mother gave me. Not that I'm proud of her, since she sold me to become a warrior or a king's concubine. When I arrived here, the plantation master 'baptized' me as Catarina de Oliveira. I may have been made a slave, but I will not lose my identity. So, call me Tassi, just like everyone here calls me."

  "Jorge has taken many things from me, but not my name. In the beginning, he whipped anyone who called me Tassi. But I have something the master wants: my power to make the cane grow and the soil fertile. Unfortunately for him, I'm difficult to control, so he wanted someone more... malleable. Because of that, I was forced to bear a child who would have my gifts."

  She paused, and Carlos could see the raw pain in her eyes. The air around them seemed to grow colder.

  "I had to lie with many men, but I didn't want to bring a child into this hell. And I know... methods, learned from my sisters-in-arms, to prevent the pregnancy from continuing."

  Wow, that's heavy. What a horrible thing...

  "In the end, the master found out. But he couldn't make me have a child, no matter how much he tortured me. So, I made a deal: my name, in exchange for a child."

  "I really didn't want to," her voice nearly disappeared into a whisper. "But even I have a limit to how much torture I can endure. I had to give in. At least, I kept my name."

  I don't even know what I would do in her place. I remember reading that slaves sometimes ate dirt to commit suicide... now I understand perfectly why... Wait, she said something very important. So the aptitude for gems is hereditary? And who is her child? I can only think of one child...

  "Anyway," Tassi said, shaking her head as if to dispel the ghosts. "That is my story. And I would very much like to hear yours now, and how you managed to escape before. But..." her gaze fixed on something behind Carlos, and her expression hardened. "Unfortunately, the 'snitch' is coming this way."

  She subtly nodded her chin toward Pedro, who was approaching them with determined steps.