Dominic Sandbrook

So he's starting to wake up to that possibility then.

And Ando says, I'm sure they won't kill you.

No, I've promised you they won't kill you.

But once he's gone, Atahualpa gets very miserable.

He supposedly sees this comet, which foreshadows his death.

I think that probably didn't happen.

But what did happen, he is extremely concerned about Almagro, because Almagro didn't capture him, has not spent time with him.

It's just impatient to push on to Cuzco and get his own share of the gold.

Now, what happens next is a very murky story, so we'll try to find our way through it.

One of the murkiest stories of the whole conquest.

What happened to Attawelpa?

Atahualpa said to Pizarro around this point, you know, you've pretty much got what you came for.

Most of the ransom has arrived now.

I think you can set me free a little bit, give me a bit more freedom to kind of walk around and stuff.

Now, there are stories in some sources that one of the interpreters, called Felipillo,

had fallen in love with one of Atahualpa's mistresses and basically wanted Atahualpa out of the way.

So he starts telling the Spanish, oh, Atahualpa is betraying you.

Atahualpa is planning to escape.

He's planning to team up with Ruminyawi, who's his commander in Quito, who's the guy in the north.

It's possible this is just a kind of literary device.