Although Orga was blind, the way she had stared at Wynblow, and the tone she had used when she had made this observation had more than sown doubt in the dragoness' mind.
The old woman was far too sure of herself, both in her words and in her attitude.
"Two... Curses?" Wynblow finally asked, after a few seconds.
Meanwhile, Orga had walked towards her, still seeming to observe something that was invisible to Wynblow's eyes.
"Curses are unnatural, and as such, they leave a different mark than other types of magic," Orga explained. "And your body currently contains two different curses. That's why I strongly advise against traveling north."
"Why is that?" Wynblow asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what kinds of curses?"
The old woman shook her head then, before retrieving her basket and putting it on her back.
"I don't know exactly what curses they are, only a wizard would know how to answer that question," she explained.
"In that case, I'll have to go north, if there is a realm created by wizards," Wynblow replied.
Orga frowned, as if she didn't like the dragoness' answer and didn't approve of it.
"Young lady, don't you know what happens to curse bearers like you?" Orga asked calmly.
Wynblow was unable to answer. Was there anything she didn't know about it?
Even when she tried to jog her memory, nothing came to mind, unlike her previous conversation with Ewan.
Either the information was lost forever, or it had never been there to begin with.
The old woman also understood that Wynblow was a bit lost and didn't know what it was all about, given her heavy silence.
She then placed her hand on Wynblow's front paw, which surprised the dragoness and made her flinch.
"For casting spells and curses, a medium is highly valued for strengthening the magic and making it more powerful," Orga explained. "And in some cases, the most powerful medium that can exist is a living being, either one carrying a large amount of mana or one imbued with a curse."
Wynblow took a moment before she realized the nature of the information the old woman had delivered to her.
Then, after the initial shock wore off, she grunted slightly.
"They use... Sacrifices?" She asked in a shaky voice.
She was not frightened or horrified by this information. Oddly enough, she was rather angry. It was as if her whole body was telling her that the culprits should be cruelly punished.
But under what law?
The way Orga was talking about it, it seemed to be happening without the proper authorities acting to stop the cause of it all.
However, despite the old woman's warnings, she still had to go north, no matter what.
If she had been cursed, then maybe her memory loss wasn't a fluke or an accident. Maybe it was directly related to something that had happened to her in the past that she couldn't remember.
"You're telling me that the mages in the north might be looking to use me as a medium? Said Wynblow.
It wasn't really a question, because she already knew the answer.
To tell the truth, what interested her more was why the old woman was warning her so much.
"I don't say this lightly, young lady, but you could really die, going north," said Orga. "Yet you seem to want to go there very badly. Is there a reason for that?"
The other woman was equally curious as to the dragoness' reasons for braving the danger.
Wynblow's muscles tensed and relaxed under the human hand still touching her paw.
A gurgle rose in her throat as an uncomfortable sensation took hold of her mouth.
"I want... to know what happened to me," she said. "No, more than that, I want to know who I am..."
Then the old woman began to smile, and suddenly raised her face to Wynblow's much taller head.
For a moment, this caught the young dragoness off guard.
"I hope you'll succeed, then," she said with a wistful tone and a kind smile. "And the key to all of this may well be to find out what curses plague you."
The old woman's more than sympathetic attitude reassured Wynblow a little, and the latter was about to answer her, when she heard several footsteps coming closer.
Alerted by the sound of several people approaching, she craned her neck fully up to get a more distant view of the surroundings, and saw further down the path silver flashes reflecting the glint of sunlight.
The noise became more distinct - metallic clanking and hoofbeats - and she finally understood what was approaching their position: an armed unit of knights was coming right at them.
Then she felt the pressure the old woman was exerting with her hand on her body disappear, and looking down, saw that Orga had already moved a good meter away from her.
"You should leave now," she said gravely.
Wynblow nodded, before remembering that the old woman couldn't see her, and replied verbally.
"What did you mean by knowing my curses?" Wynblow hastily asked.
"Knowing the type of curse you have might help you take advantage of it." Orga replied hastily. "The master of the Tower might be able to help you."
"Take advantage of it?" Wynblow replied, intrigued.
But already, the old woman slapped her hand on Wynblow's body, a light sound resulting from the contact between human skin and reptilian scales.
"What are you waiting for?" Said Orga firmly. "It's time for you to get out of here!"
The old woman had been rather stern, which had somewhat unnerved Wynblow. But quickly, the dragoness had made up her mind: it was time for her to leave.
Looking around, she saw that the slope to their left opened up to a slightly more open mountainside, from which she could take flight.
With a leap, she left the tree-lined path and dashed toward the small clearing; her heavy footsteps echoing on the dry, dusty ground.
Her two large wings opened fully, silver blades reflecting the daylight in turn, and flapped downward with force. She then pushed with all her might on her two hind legs, and soon the ground was rapidly fading away.
She left behind the old blind woman and the long column of humans armed as if to wage a small war that snaked through the trees. She would have to find another place to meet the young hunter, and avoid the other humans who seemed to swarm the mountain range.
As for Orga, she heard the armed group approaching her position, but did not take her eyes off the strange ball of energy that was moving away in the sky, and that her clairvoyant eyes could still make out.
She had hoped that this encounter would not take place.
However, it seemed that things were proceeding as they should, and that nothing could interfere with the destiny that was already taking shape.
Wynblow had shown up, carrying two curses inside her, and still as stubborn about going north.
The strange vision finally disappeared, and the old woman focused on the voices of the approaching knights. They had obviously seen the monster running away, but hadn't had time to get there fast enough to confront it.
It wasn't bad that things turned out this way, and Orga sighed as she put her hand in her right pocket to feel for a small object with her hand. She had given all the necessary information, despite the lack of time.
Still, she wondered if it would really make a difference.
"I did what you expected me to do, so I hope things will really change..." She muttered to herself.