This conversation, at the frugal repast spread by Balboa for his guests, will show the trend of occurrences at and during the first week after the arrival of Pedrarias. He landed at Darien already prejudiced against its original settlers, and especially their leader, whom he was not satisfied to have superseded, but determined to degrade, bring to ruin, and if possible to an ignominious ending. The plot of this story will henceforth contain five principal characters: Pedrarias, Balboa, Bishop Quevedo, Espinosa the lawyer, and Doña Isabel. The governor and Balboa were soon at open enmity, the former persistently seeking to circumvent the latter, assisted by the lawyer, and sometimes opposed by the bishop, but frequently foiled by Doña Isabel, who was at heart the persecuted victim's only friend. XVI IN THE DOMAIN OF THE DRAGONS 1515 Balboa faithfully complied with his promise to render the governor an accurate account of the land's resources, giving him, within a few days' time, a list of the mountains, rivers, and ravines where he had found gold in the virgin state; a statement of the colony as he had governed it; his discovery of the South Sea and the route thither; a description of the pearl islands and their wealth; and, finally, the names of the caciques, more than twenty in number, with whom, through force of arms or diplomacy, he had made treaties of peace. Having obtained this invaluable information from his rival, Pedrarias threw off the mask of friendship which he had assumed for the purpose, and immediately ordered a judicial investigation into his conduct as the self-elected governor of Darien without sanction of royal authority. This scrutiny was conducted by Espinosa, as the only lawyer in the colony, and as he was completely dominated by Pedrarias, his findings were exactly in accordance with his desires. Very soon the unfortunate Balboa was involved in a legal net from which he could not extricate himself until he had parted with more than ten thousand ounces of gold--the greater part of his fortune. Much of his wealth, however, was absorbed by the wily Quevedo, who, as bishop, exerted his influence in favor of the accused, after having received from him a share in his enterprises, considerable gold, and a drove of Indian slaves.