A Fitting Punishment

The Heretic was the one who suggested the execution, I'm sure of it. Perhaps he suggested it so that the Captain would not waste gunpowder, but no, I think the reason darker than that. The “mutineers” were brought forth. LaCuran was praying, Montes was apologizing to the Captain, begging for forgiveness. The others, including Álvaro, seemed resolved. Among the crew, we were silent, none of us wanted to join the men on their walk. When he realized his fate, Montes broke into tears. By now, we'd known the rumor of the isle's power. Whether it was due to the Azoth or something else we did not know, but any who died on Aeternum seemed to have some divine chance to return, reborn upon the morrow (perhaps sooner). The ghosts of the bay were proof, we had seen it with our own eyes. As ghastly as the scene was, it made me wonder if the execution was perhaps some sort of test of the isle's properties, not merely an execution. I thought again of what the madman had said to Álvaro… and I saw Álvaro realized the same. R. Velazquez