Hernán

House of the Governor of Cuba, 1519

How many ships does he have?

Eleven, and about 500 men. He also has all the Indians

and the Negro slaves of his lands.

How is he going to feed them?

- I am in. - I raise my bet.

He has bought a colossal amount of food.

There is no pig or cow in Cuba that is not in his cellars.

He has even sent a ship to Jamaica to get more supplies.

And when I ask him, he assures me every time

that it is an exploratory mission.

Fortunately, you are my ears and eyes.

I knew it from the beginning.

He has a plan.

That Cortes was born and he will die a cheater.

Point.

You have to watch him and be close to him

in case you have to arrest him.

Cristobal...

I am a soldier of the King...

not a guardian of Captains.

I will not do a thing...

unless he breaks the law.

Then it is sure you will have to capture him.

Hernan always has an ace up his sleeve.

Point.

Tenace!

And you, you will need to learn how to cheat,

if you want to infiltrate Cortes' troops.

How wonderful...

to be here with you.

What is going to happen? Are we going to be safe?

- You should not have come. - Do not say that again.

It is done.

This is not a good place for you.

It would be safer to stay with your father, rather than here.

My father wanted me to marry an old and filthy master.

That is why I ran away from him.

He would do anything to get me away from you.

Cannot you understand that he hates you?

He thinks...

He thinks you infected me your longing for adventures.

Is that not true?

I have always felt like this. Since I was a child.

An adventurer and a warrior.

Willing to do anything.

We will leave this place.

We will have an hacienda.

And a new life. I promise.

But all in good time.

I do not know what has happened to you...

but now you are a man of Cortes.

You will not leave him, will you?

Are you sure that he deserves your loyalty?

What is that about?

He told us Tenochtitlan was full of gold and that Indians respected him.

He promised us a paradise.

But look at us, we are besieged and starving to death.

It is not the Captain's fault.

Alvarado is responsible for this situation.

Veracruz, one year earlier

Alvarado, Sandoval and Olid...

come with me.

Choose the men you think you are going to need.

- Where are we going, Captain? - I want to go into the jungle.

I want to see Tenochtitlan. We are wasting our time here.

What about me?

I mean... I would like to join you, Captain.

Impossible. I need you here.

Bernal and Rangel could be in charge. Men are calm,

we have enough supplies, there will not be any problem.

Alonso! You are my right-hand man.

I need you to cover the rearguard. Understood?

What about Marina?

Marina is coming with me, just like Jeronimo de Aguilar,

I cannot communicate with the Indians without them.

As you say, Captain.

- Did you say something? - Me?

Gentlemen...

Enough.

Alvarado!

Stop!

Be on your guard...

Stop right here! Stop!

- Do not take one step further, Indian. - Stop right there.

Do not move.

It is fine.

It is fine. They seem harmless.

Put your weapons down. Down!

Go tell the Captain.

Captain!

Calm down!

We, friends! We, friends!

- Marina, Jeronimo! - They are unarmed, Captain.

We bring a message from our lord Xicomecoatl.

Speak.

Our great lord Xicomecoatl has sent us to tell you

he will welcome you with great joy.

We will bring you to him.

Our great lord Xicomecoatl has sent us to tell you

he will welcome you with great joy.

We will bring you to him.

Captain, their lord Xicomecoatl said he will welcome you with pleasure.

Our town of Cempoala is still far away. Please, eat.

Our town of Cempoala is still far away. Please, eat.

He said his city is still far away. And they brought us food.

The lord of Cempoala wants to meet you.

He offers you this food to recover strength, because the road is long.

They will guide us, Captain.

Are they Mexica?

No, we are not Mexica! Mexica are our enemies.

We are Totonacs.

No, we are not...

You do not have to translate. I understood that perfectly.

We are going with them.

This is a real city.

And this is a real palace.

It is in the same level than Merida.

Only your lord can enter.

Marina...

The Captain, you and me.

Only you, Marina and me... No one else can come in.

- What? - Refuse, Captain.

It could be a trap. Do not get inside.

Only your lord.

What does he say?

My lord must not go alone.

Please, let one of his Captains go with him. That is our request.

Him.

Olid, come with us.

You stay here.

They are a tribute to be sacrificed.

They are going to be sacrificed. They will tear their hearts out, Captain.

What is he doing?

Smoke wards off the bad spirits, Captain.

Also, the good spirits, I am afraid.

The Mexica oppress us. Before, there was joy in our hearts,

our people had peace and tranquility. But the Mexica came,

and they brought us misfortune.

Now we are waiting for their tax collectors.

They will be here soon to collect their tribute.

Everything you saw is for them

The Mexica have them oppressed. Before, they were happy,

their people were peace and quiet, but the Mexica came,

and they brought them misfortune. They cannot do anything.

They are their taxpayers.

You can fight against them, defend yourselves, put an end to this.

You do not know their lord Moctezuma.

He said we do not know their lord Moctezuma, nor the Mexica.

Tenochtitlan is a great fortress.

It was made over the water and you only reach it through bridges.

This is the realm of Moctezuma.

He is a tyrant and a dictator.

He is an ally of Texcoco and Tlacopan.

The other tribes are subjected to them.

The Huejotzinga and Xochimilca.

Only Tlaxcala refuses to pay.

Tlaxcala.

Tlaxcala, Captain.

They are Moctezuma's mortal enemies.

Tlaxcalteca and Mexica hate each other to death.

Do you realize that, Olid?

The Mexica are surrounded by enemies.

Captain...

If we decide to go to Tenochtitlan...

would you join us?

Tell him.

If we decide to wage war on Tenochtitlan, would you join us?

We are not warriors.

If you want warrior men, you must go to Tlaxcala.

They are not warriors, Captain.

If we want warriors, we must go to Tlaxcala.

What if we...

What if the people of "Taxcala"...

- Tlaxcala, Captain... - Tlaxcala...

their warriors, joined us?

What if the Tlaxcalteca joined us?

If I could get an alliance with all the enemies of Moctezuma...

to attack Tenochtitlan...

Would you join us, then?

You and us...

and Tlaxcala.

Forming an alliance with the Indians to fight?

Gentlemen, we came here on an exploratory mission, not war.

We must go back to inform Velazquez.

Has anyone seen him around here?

Do you not feel it?

The hatred against the Mexica surpasses these walls.

If other peoples hate them like this,

I can convince them to join us.

With their help...

we can go fearlessly to Tenochtitlan.

- I am in, Captain. - The more we are,

- the more gold we will get. - We are not plunderers.

There is more at stake than gold.

We can get these lands to our King.

Olid, I know many of our men are loyal to the governor of Cuba.

Your support will be essential.

I repeat, you do not have permission to advance inland.

If we follow you, you will turn us all into traitors.