Tasha scaled a small hill, from which he could faintly see the outline of the Border Town lord's castle.
"Finally back," he thought. The outbound journey had taken nearly a month and a half, while the return took only seven days, with most of the time spent on the road from Silver City to Redwater City. Although Ashes herself didn't seem to mind, he still chose less-traveled paths to reduce the chance of being spotted by the Church.
Ashes was the witch known as the Pathfinder, and Tasha wasn't sure if that name was real or not. She always wore a black robe while traveling, with a cloth-wrapped greatsword on her back. Her long black hair was simply tied into a ponytail, swaying at her waist. Whether riding or sailing, she rarely focused on herself, instead walking ahead alone, looking around at the scenery. It seemed to him that this trip to Border Town was nothing more than a relaxing sightseeing tour.
Sometimes Tasha also doubted his own judgment. Was she really a warrior? A loose robe could easily trip someone, and long hair was an obvious weakness. Moreover, Ashes didn't seem to fear him attacking her from behind at all. Lately, all he had seen was her back. He didn't think witches were naturally trusting, so he could only guess that she possessed enough self-defense capabilities that even God's Punishment Stone couldn't threaten her.
Tasha circled the hillside, quickly finding his target – a flagpole with a red cloth strip hanging from it. He dug out a bundle from the mud beside the flagpole, replacing the previous red flag with the folded blue one. Then, he clapped his hands and sat down on the ground.
"Is that all?" Ashes asked.
"That's what they said," Tasha wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Go to the foot of the mountain northeast of the town, follow a small stone path uphill, find the flagpole on the summit, and replace the flag with a blue one. Our people will notice. The Common Aid Society only operates at night, so let's wait here."
Ashes nodded, found a relatively clean spot to sit down, and held out her hand. "Food."
"Uh... wait," he unfastened his backpack, took out a piece of jerky, tore off half and put it in his mouth, then tossed the rest to her.
Seeing the witch chewing on the jerky in small bites, Tasha sighed. Besides a greatsword, she didn't even have a single copper coin. Daring to travel to Border Town with him penniless, he had to pay for all the accommodation and meals along the way. The room had to be a high-class single bedroom, the food had to be meat, and he had to taste half of any portable food like jerky first.
Perhaps she was still cautious in areas where her abilities couldn't reach. But wasn't the most cautious thing to do to prepare your own food?
"The place we're going is across the strait," Ashes swallowed the jerky and suddenly said. "I don't know if you've heard the rumors of the fjord. There are countless islands, some with very harsh environments and few inhabitants. We're going to build a home for witches there."
"..." Tasha was stunned. No matter how he had tried to pry information from her before, she had always remained silent. Why was she suddenly bringing it up now?
"Are you wondering why I didn't reveal any information to you before?" she explained seriously. "Because if you were a liar, and you ran to inform the Church while I was asleep, those girls might be intercepted halfway and suffer a terrible fate. But now, they should already be on a merchant ship heading to the fjord, and even the Church can't stop them. Besides, I'm here to take away the witches of the Common Aid Society. They'll find out about this sooner or later, so there's not much point in continuing to hide it."
"But even if you bring me here, you can't rule out the possibility that I'm a liar."
"That's right, that's true," Ashes said, word by word. "If witches don't ultimately come, then you will die here, along with those who try to harm witches."
"Okay," Tasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Can I ask other questions?"
She thought for a moment. "If I can answer them."
"Are you a Graycastle native? I've never seen eyes like that." Tasha decided to start by asking about her origins, as this information was neither sensitive nor likely to cause her to feel defensive.
"I was born in the Eternal Winter Kingdom, but that has nothing to do with eye color. My eyes have been like this ever since I became a witch."
"Eternal Winter? That's very far from Graycastle, with two great kingdoms in between. How did you get to Silver City?"
"I was sold to the Church, and later..." she paused. "I drifted from the Old Holy City Monastery all the way to the Graycastle royal capital, until I met her, and my wandering life came to an end."
"Her?" Tasha asked curiously.
"Tilly Wimbledon," a warm look appeared in Ashes' eyes. "She took me in."
The guard's heart leaped. When he first heard this name, he thought it was just a coincidence, but with the Wimbledon surname added, the meaning was completely different. The person leading the witches to the fjord, could it be Roland Wimbledon's sister, the kingdom's Fifth Princess? His voice was a little stuttering. "She, is she your leader?"
"Leader? You could say that," she nodded. "But to me, she is the most important person... the kind that no one can replace."
Night fell, and the two lit a bonfire on the hillside.
Ashes took down the greatsword and slowly unwrapped the cloth strips – the blade of this fearsome weapon was nearly as wide as a waist, and covered with marks left by collisions. The dark gray blade was not sharpened, apparently relying solely on the weight of the swing to take lives. Most people would have difficulty even lifting this weapon, but in her hands, it was as light as a one-handed sword.
"How many blacksmith shops would you have to rob to gather the materials needed to forge a greatsword like this?" Tasha thought. "If the Prince's witch doesn't arrive soon, I might become a sacrifice under the sword."
"I heard that the lord of Border Town is also... Wimbledon," he decided to say something to make the waiting time less agonizing.
"Roland Wimbledon, the Fourth Prince of Graycastle," she said calmly. "I have met him."
"What?" Tasha opened his mouth wide.
"After Tilly took me in, I served as her guard in the palace, so I naturally had the opportunity to meet some of her siblings." Ashes seemed to know the Fourth Prince well. "Incompetent, arrogant, and unlearned. It's hard to believe that he's Tilly's own brother. And... he's quite daring in some ways."
Her tone gradually turned cold as she spoke.
Tasha couldn't help but shiver. He had heard many rumors about the Prince when he worked in the palace, such as his outspokenness, his flirtatious nature, and his fondness for teasing other people's maids. Although he didn't go so far as to use power or violence to threaten them, it was inevitable that he would take advantage of them. Could it be...
Just then, Ashes suddenly stood up, staring in the direction of the path. "Someone is coming, and it's more than one person."
Tasha followed her gaze, and a group of figures gradually appeared in the darkness. The witch leading the way was the Prince's personal guard, Nightingale.