Вода в решете. Апокриф колдуньи

V derevne Chinabro pogibaet pri ochenʹ strannykh obstoi͡atelʹstvakh nedavno priekhavshiĭ inkvizitor. V ego smerti obvini͡ai͡ut zhenshchinu po prozvishchu La Vekkʹi͡a. Ee nenavidi͡at mnogie mestnye zhiteli, i, kazalosʹ by, delo prostoe, no uzh slishkom neprivychno vedet sebi͡a obvini͡aemai͡a na doprosakh, uzh slishkom neobychnui͡u istorii͡u rasskazyvaet, nesmotri͡a na pytki i doznanii͡a. I prosto tak otmakhnutʹsi͡a ot nee nelʹzi͡a, vedʹ po predanii͡am kogda-to zdesʹ zhili drakony, i oni do sikh por spi͡at pod zemleĭ, iz-za chego v mestnykh gorakh estʹ vermilion, chudesnyĭ mineral, sposobnyĭ izlechivatʹ ot vsekh bolezneĭ i darovatʹ bessmertie. Po kraĭneĭ mere, tak govori͡at li͡udi. Vot tolʹko dobyvatʹ ego mogut lishʹ zhivushchie poblizosti i͡azychniki, chto zovut sebi͡a prosvetlennymi, i gibelʹ inkvizitora kak-to svi͡azana so vsem ėtim. Mnozhatsi͡a versii, realʹnostʹ boretsi͡a s neizvestnostʹi͡u, istina uskolʹzaet. Vozmozhno, drakony uzhe probudilisʹ, i teperʹ neizvestno, komu grozit bolʹshai͡a opasnostʹ: obvini͡aemoĭ ili ee palacham.

In the village of Chinabro, a recently arrived inquisitor dies under very strange circumstances. A woman nicknamed La Vecchia is accused of his death. Many locals hate her, and it would seem that the matter is simple, but the accused behaves too unusually during interrogations, she tells too unusual a story, despite torture and inquiries. And you can't just dismiss it, because according to legend, dragons once lived here, and they still sleep underground, which is why there is vermilion in the local mountains, a wonderful mineral that can cure all diseases and grant immortality. At least that's what people say. But only pagans living nearby who call themselves enlightened can get it, and the death of the inquisitor is somehow connected with all this. Versions are multiplying, reality is struggling with the unknown, the truth is slipping away. Perhaps the dragons have already awakened, and now it is not known who is in great danger: the accused or her executioners.