The Red Rose

Chapter III

I arrived on the shores of Puerto Montt and called my father, telling him there was work to be done. Carrying the sword and a few additional items, I ran and ventured into the dense forest of southern Chile.

I ran for kilometers and kilometers, feeling like I was being followed. I stopped for a few seconds to listen. I could smell the humidity, hear the distant roar of a puma, and the flapping of nearby birds. I felt the wind coming down from the rivers, but I couldn't hear anything suspicious, so I continued on my way.

Deeper into the forest, I began to hear drums in my mind and feel the weak magnetic pulse of a creature. Due to its low and weak tone, I knew it had to be a humanoid creature, like Carmilla. The Trauco was nearby.

When the pulse was strong, I heard leaves rustling and saw shadows moving. I unsheathed my sword as a well-aimed blow from a staff hit me on the head, sending me tumbling between the trees. I quickly got up and saw the Peuchen; I swung the sword, decapitating it.

The Peuchen vanished. "What?" I thought.

A sturdy man appeared in front of me, delivering hard blows to my face. I swung a lateral cut, and he split in two, vanishing again.

"Illusions, I'm seeing illusions... This isn't real."

I tried to calm down and sharpen my senses to the maximum. I swung at a puma, and it vanished. In a split second, I managed to see something that looked like a gnome with a strange cup, dressed in loincloth with a somewhat disfigured face.

I quickly kicked it, and it let out a groan.

"Agggg," it cried, disappearing again.

I could recognize it and chased it at full speed through the forest, delivering several cuts. When it was a few centimeters away, it spun like lightning, and I couldn't hit it with the sword.

"Fu..!" I yelled. Then, I received another blow, which I could feel was from a staff. The sword fell to the side, but I managed to get up, picking up the sword again.

"There goes the bastard..." I thought as I continued to pursue.

It seemed to be able to teleport, was fast, and could transform. That's when I realized it could be hidden anywhere or take any form. Its size and agility made it difficult for me to predict.

I continued through the day and into the night. I received blow after blow, slowly driving me insane. If Carmilla could take the form of a feline, the Trauco could take the form of anything, and I wouldn't know until I received the blow.

I felt another hit with the staff on my face and moved my sword, seemingly poking it.

"Agggg!" it screamed.

After flying several meters, its aura disappeared from my radar. The Trauco had been toying with me, and I didn't know how to stop it. It was too fast. Resigned and with wounded pride, I headed back to Puerto Montt; we had been fighting for two whole days.

Dirty and with torn clothes, I returned to the Machi to deliver the bad news and seek advice. I saw Millaray in a state of shock.

"What happened? Are you okay?" she asked as she let me in. The lady was waiting while reading a magazine.

"Ahahahah," the lady laughed. "It wasn't so simple, pretty boy, huh? Beings like you are usually arrogant and head straight into the fight. But it's admirable that you came back and accepted your defeat; you have the cunning of Lautaro and the courage of Colo Colo."

"Thank you," I said. "But how am I going to defeat this creature if it moves so fast and transforms?"

The Machi thought for a moment, looked at Millaray, who was cleaning the dirt off my face, and said, "The boy is fine, my girl, let him be. We need to contact the Ngen."

"What is the Ngen?" I asked with curiosity.

"The spirits of nature. They maintain the order in our world, my boy. I'm sure the Trauco's actions have angered the primordial spirits, and they could give us answers."

Millaray prepared some herbs and set up a larger bowl. She offered me her hand with a smile and said, "Do you want to join?"

I took her hand and the Machi's hand; she warned me, "The spirits will show you what you need to see, not what you want to see, so you've been warned."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, and sitting under the incense and herbs, she began chanting.

It gave me the impression that both Millaray and her grandmother were of Mapuche origin, given their knowledge of the language and culture. While pondering this, I fell into a kind of alternate dimension, where I saw several people looking at me, dressed in very colorful clothes.

A man approached me, showing me a vision of a gigantic dragon devouring the world and plunging it into total darkness. I could see Laura and Carmilla standing next to the dragon; both were chained, and Laura seemed to have goat-like horns. I ran towards them to free them, but before I could do so, the dragon opened its mouth and devoured me; I finally saw blood everywhere.

Before waking up, a man with features similar to Millaray and the lady put his hand on my shoulder and calmed me, saying, "The Wekufe is approaching, but you are not alone; we are with you." He smiled, and suddenly, I woke up, with the Machi with crossed arms looking at me and me still holding Millaray's hand while she laughed.

"Everything okay?" Millaray asked while still laughing.

"I am so sorry, my bad," I said and then let go of her hand, drenched in sweat.

"The spirits have spoken, son. You have to seek the Alicanto."

"What is the Alicanto?" I asked.

"The Alicanto is a bird of great beauty that grants great treasures to those who see it. But be careful; if you go with bad intentions, greed, or a tormented mind, it will trap you in the desert forever," she explained.

"Desert? Do I have to go north?"

"Atacama," Millaray said. "We almost had to call an exorcist for you." She joked.

I smiled and said, "I'm fine. Thank you.

I'll have to go then; I'll keep you updated on how things are progressing."

I helped the Machi to her feet and approached the door with my backpack. Millaray accompanied me to the door.

Before saying goodbye, I asked her, "What is a Wekufe?"

"An evil spirit. What did you see?" she asked with curiosity as well.

"I don't know; it was confusing, something like a dragon or a serpent."

Before leaving, Millaray and her grandmother asked if I wanted to take something to eat. I couldn't resist homemade bread, so I gladly accepted.

"Thank you very much! Goodbye!" I shouted as I left.

"Thank you, call us for anything! Goodbye!" Millaray shouted.

So, I left Chiloe again and took the boat back to Puerto Montt. From there, I simply ran to my house in Llanquihue.

"How did it go, son?" my father asked.

"Good, look! They gave me homemade bread!" I replied very animated.

My father looked at me seriously and gestured to the side. I could see a bottle of mead and two women standing in the dining room—my mother and my grandmother. It seemed like there were many things to tell.