Elena, Elena, Elena... A certainly charming name, worthy of a maiden equally charming as the woman in front of me. Even if the slight tremor in my right arm reminded me of the danger she represented not long ago. The thought of facing her directly was intimidating and equal parts exciting, but I'd honestly rather see that strength used in other ways.

"So now we know our names, Elena, I would like to know if you know these lands, or of any settlement where I can resupply my resources. I have traveled for quite some time in the wasteland and would really love some good company. Other than you, obviously."

"...I guess, I know of a place."

Perfect.

"Excellent! And where would this place be?"

"..."

Come on, just a little more. Even if it's not the site I'm looking for it could be a good place to regain my strength to continue my search, plus it's information I could sell to suitable individuals.

"...It's not an easy place to get to."

"Maiden Elena, I have traveled for so many years in the cursed wastelands of our land. I do not think there is any need to worry about me, although the gesture is appreciated."

"Alright."

"On the other hand, are you thinking of recovering your clothes, maiden Elena? Bare skin does not receive good treatment under the cursed sun"

She kept her expression flat, but seeing her face move down to meet her naked body was enough to tell me that she hadn't noticed the absence of her clothes. His eyes widening a little in surprise before he turned around and walked towards the remains of the camp. Pulling out a long dark cloth, and quickly wrapping her body in it.

I have no idea how she did it, but the fabric hugs her body and only her face is barely visible through a hood.

"I don't think those are normal clothes, do you, maiden?"

"..."

She said nothing, knowing as well as I do that her little demonstration has given me a small clue into her situation. She was a witch.

Like a bucket of cold water that freezes any intention I had with that woman, my thoughts are organized. It made a lot of sense the more I thought about it, her calmness in the situation, her silent walk, her almost abnormal strength, her extraordinary beauty. Small details that could be explained in one way or another but once put together they all paint a fairly clear image of the reality of the woman I have called a maiden.

And a witch is a sign of a coven, which is not good knowing my history with those groups of followers, faithful servants of the worst kind of calamity that haunts the cursed land. A servitude that offers them supernatural powers that go against the fragile order that still persists in the world, imposing a twisted logic to make reality act as they wish.

For a moment I considered separating her head from her body, but I have been bitterly surprised in the past where a witch could live without having their head. A surprise that ended with me almost losing my arm.

The tension in the air barely lasts, maybe because I was the only one who was really tense but the imperturbable gaze she kept made me uncomfortable.

"It's mostly custom, but I prefer to walk around naked."

¿Ah?

Dazed with confusion, she took my silence as an invitation to further elaboration of her thoughts.

"Normal clothes are uncomfortable, but I can't go without clothes outside my home, for various reasons, so I use this as an alternative."

Now I wonder if she really recognized the accusation in my words and is playing with me by acting stupid or if her twisted mind didn't catch it and responded with the first thing that came to mind. In any case I'm more than happy to play along and not have to deal with an unnecessary confrontation against a member of a coven with the potential to put all the members in my way.

"It's okay? I don't really care, but if you feel comfortable that way I won't judge. So please guide me towards the settlement, I'm looking forward to resting with a roof over my head."

She nodded slightly and walked to my side. Looking at me from the shadow of her cloak with that face that seemed to struggle to gain expression, failing miserably and ending in a flat expression.

"And... Thank you for your help, Knight Gregorio. Your interference has kept my holiness safe, and for that you have my favor."

I was grateful again for my helmet that covers my face, because hiding emotions was never a particular strength of mine.

I didn't want her to see the frown that marks my face.

"You're welcome, maiden Elena."

I wish I could just leave this path, get away from her and continue my mission alone. But it seems that I am still cursed.

And she turned away, walking in a direction, the same one I had come from, I doubted it was some kind of secret message but I wouldn't rule it out as something a witch would do. Anyway, I had no choice but to follow her from behind while in the back of my head I thought about how things were going to get complicated.

The sword in the sheath attached to my hip trembled slightly. Jealous.

I see her move without her turning around to see if I was following her, I sigh and imitate her step. At least the views were good.

...

At some point a fog began to hide the horizon, it would be worrying if it weren't for my guide who maintains her pace without a doubt. For a second I wondered if this was her doing, but my right hand still rests peacefully, so I decided to ignore the slight feeling of discomfort.

"Maiden Elena" I called, seeking her attention. Using the proper title, even if in the back of my head I knew she didn't deserve it. "Are you sure you're heading in the right direction?"

Fenómenos inexplicables son ocurrencia cotidiana en los yermos malditos. No los hacia menos letales incluso si uno era atento a sus alrededores. Fácil era morir y aun mas sufrir antes de morir. Explorar las tierras y buscar asentamientos aislados era un proceso complicado, sea por decisión de los propios habitantes de esconderse o por la gran variedad de anomalías ambientales. Aunque tener a un guía competente reducía bastante las posibilidades de morir, eso si el guía era confiable y no te estaba llevando hacia una trampa de algún tipo. Ocurrencia que aunque poco común tampoco era una imposibilidad, la reputación lo era todo para un guía y arruinarla era la forma mas rápida de ser asesinado mientras duermes.

Unexplained phenomena are a daily occurrence in the cursed wastes. It didn't make them any less lethal even if one was attentive to their surroundings. It was easy to die and even more to suffer before dying. Exploring the lands and searching for isolated settlements was a complicated process, whether due to the inhabitants' own decision to hide or due to the great variety of environmental anomalies. Although having a competent guide greatly reduced the chances of dying, that was if the guide was trustworthy and wasn't leading you into a trap of some kind. An occurrence that, although uncommon, was not an impossibility either, reputation was everything for a guide and ruining it was the quickest way to be killed while you sleep.

And I had a witch acting as a guide, the kind of person who doesn't care how others observe them.

Her company did not bring me confidence or comfort, but if I wanted to maintain this façade of cordiality I needed to put aside my discomfort with her presence if I wanted to follow the trail of what I was looking for. Trust is something that is in short supply and maintaining it is even more difficult, so compromises are made. The basis of any community, promises and commitments.

That phrase is too good, I will remember it.

"..."

"Maiden Elena?"

"The path is correct, but the protection against the divine curse that corrodes the earth also works to ward off outsiders. As long as you don't lose sight of me, the path will be straight to the heart of the settlement"

And now the witch speaks in riddles. Although I think I understand the meaning of his words. A protection against the gaze of the sun? Those kinds of protections are usually subject to powerful covens that still have their... Oh shit.

It looks like I'm going to bite off more than I can chew, trying not to attract the attention of the coven will have to be my priority while I focus my search for... What was it I was looking for?

For a moment my feet stop. Stunned. Trying to remember what I had forgotten, but similar to the fog that now surrounds me, a haze permeates my thoughts. I put a hand on the front of my head, bumping it against my helmet. With a slight pain in my brain, everything around me faded into the whitish color of fog, and a painful screech echoes in my ears.

Something is wrong, terribly wrong.

And in the thicket, something is hidden from my eyes, but what I couldn't see I could hear clearly.

Find Her.

"Knight Gregorio? Are you okay?"

The witch was in front of me, looking at me with that dead expression. I wonder if she has genuine concern for me or is just curious about my condition. Like an infant watching an insect squirm without knowing exactly why. That beautiful face that looks at me indifferently, with unknown thoughts sailing through that head stained with the filth of the coven.

"It is nothing, maiden."

She held her gaze and walked back through the mist, my right hand tickling as the sword on my hip screamed for me to let it out. I would have if my hand hadn't been calm around the witch.

It was close, I was getting closer and they tried to hide her from me.

But my beloved angel calls me. No matter what they do, they won't be able to hide her from me forever.

And in front of me the witch walks without stopping even when I am having this revelation. Damn legs longer than mine that make me speed up my pace.

"Just remembering something I haven't remembered in a long time. Has anything similar ever happened to you?"

She turns her head in my direction. "I guess, the world is full of so many things that it's hard not to pay attention to them. But the more I pay attention to them, the more I forget what's in front of me."

"...Did you read that from somewhere?"

"Not really." She shook her head gently. "My family loved that kind of literature, I heard so many of the stories they told out loud that I could almost recite them by heart, but I won't."

For a moment a dangerous curiosity arose in my head, begging me to continue asking and find out more about the witch, but I decided to let those ideas rest. I had a more important mission than satisfying my curiosity in a strange mind. Investigating the mysteries of those who are part of the covens is one of the main reasons why they end up looking for my head on a pike.

But how difficult it is to resist a good mystery, it is so good that it makes me forget the danger that lies behind their masks.

Returning my attention to the front of our path, I come across a peculiar sight.

"This definitely wasn't here before."

In front of my eyes, buildings with careful and beautiful architecture expanded until they were hidden by other buildings, like a dark jungle of black cement, covered in shadows due to the absence of the sun in the sky, hidden among the thick clouds. And hanging from windows were flags and banners marked with strange symbols, the one that had the greatest presence being one in particular, a diamond inside a larger one and a blue pillar falling from the largest to the base of the banner, alluding to a crying eye.

And the mist that previously seemed impenetrable now barely covered the ground, leaving paths paved with dark and impeccably cut stones visible. Without even any crack or break.

But what caught my attention the most was a tower. Protruding from among the buildings was a tower. Not just any one, because the tower shone with a brilliance similar to pure steel and at the highest point a light illuminated the world like a star, just as they were said to do in barely remembered times. My right hand clenched into a fist as I saw that light.

There was the heart of the coven. The calamity that has taken root in this plump community of luxuries that are only possible with the support of an aberration like the one that lives in that tower.

"It seems they are still upset."

The witch spoke out of nowhere, looking at the tower. And moving my eyes in the same direction I think I understand what she means.

"What a way to send a message."

I smiled to myself as I said those words. Several figures attached to the walls of the tower were burning, and it was not difficult to know exactly what they were burning. Savages regardless of the brilliance of their creations.

Executed and hung for all to see.

"Did you know them?" I asked the witch.

She shook her head. "I don't know, I can't see their faces from here."

Strange response, but it was expected from the witch at this point. Those who live with the greatest calamities in the world tend to adopt a bit of their twisted reasoning, things like the expression of feelings and the like tend to seem atrophied, when in reality they are functioning in a way other than human, distorted and stained by the colors of those abominations.

Even when she seems calm at the sight of those bodies, there may be anger behind that indifferent mask, or there may be nothing at all, like a black hole hiding incomprehensible thoughts.

Maybe that was the part that disturbed me the most about the covens, that ease of appearing human even when inside they are anything but human. It is the only way they have found to not only survive, but to thrive in the midst of the chaotic world.

It doesn't take away from how disgusting the methods with which they decided to do it were...

And I really should stop thinking about these things, they never do me any good and they are a waste of time that I could use thinking about how to find my angel.

Shaking my head to get rid of those thoughts, I looked at the witch still frozen, eyes focused completely on those burning figures, almost as if she was trying to recognize the bodies even from the distance.

"What are you thinking, maiden?"

"I wonder if they suffered while they were hanged, or if they did it with a smile while thinking about my family's name."

She didn't even look at me, and her words worried me a little, even if they were expected. Twisted to the bone. I thought I saw a spark of humanity in those eyes but in the end it was just an illusion of light, the distorted mentality of the calamity has taken deep root in her mind, I could hardly call her human now.

More incentive to get away from her now that I'm on the right path.

"Well maiden, here is my departure from your company, it was a pleasure to travel by your side."

Her eyes watch me for a moment before returning to the fiery figures.

"Take care, knight Gregorio, this city has lost much of its splendor. And keep your distance from the guards."

"I don't think that's a big problem, but the gesture is appreciated."

"...Say hello to the guardian for me."

She let out a soft sigh and then said nothing more. I took this moment as the ideal opportunity to get out of its proximity, but a slight movement in my hip warned me of something that should not have gotten as close as it had.

I jumped from where I was standing, now replaced by a shiny metal stake. I would have been impaled if I had not moved the moment I noticed the danger, and between the closed windows of the buildings that surround me a figure moves with agility while bright flashes fly in my direction at high speed.

Apenas puedo esquivarlos antes de sujetar mi hacha y detener una estaca en el aire de un solo golpe. Se mueven rápido pero son predecibles una vez que veo el destello, y eventualmente las estacas dejan de venir.

I barely dodge them before I grab my ax and stop a stake in mid-air with a single blow. They move fast but are predictable once I see the flash, and eventually the stakes stop coming.

My lungs burn and the world moves slightly slower. Enough warming.

And falling in front of me, a segmented creature of metal and leather appeared, four arms in the air pointing a shining dagger in each hand while something that looked like a tail held a crossbow. On its face a white plate with two holes for eyes seemed to be watching me, and a black tear was painted under each eye.

This was not a typical welcome.