![[Event] Pumpkin Patching (solo) Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
“As the darkness now draws near,
See the cycle of the year.
As the light now goes within,
Let the Hallows dance begin.”
To someone like Solmar, the time of Samhain was a fairly big deal as it was one of those times when beings escape their own worlds and manage to get into earthland. In general, these beings were spirits and fairies that mostly played tricks on people or pulled some pranks. Others had things they wanted to achieve here that were more nefarious such as stealing babies, haunting people or even tormenting people towards doing evil things or committing suicide. While there were also nature spirits and fairies that used this period where the veil between worlds was thinner as a means of coming here to repair the damage humans had done to the forests and the animals, far more evil beings also managed to get crossed over. Passing through the village, he saw how many people had placed pumpkins filled with a candle by the door as a means of decoration. Many of them probably had no idea where this tradition even came from or what it did, though it was likely good that they did it. It was widely believed that the scary faces carved out of the pumpkins and the light shining inside of them spooked the lesser spirits and fairies.
And given how lesser spirits and fairies were indeed cowards, it was something that worked, though it would not keep any of the greater threats away. As the people celebrated their own holiday during this period, they dressed up so that they could scare one another as that was their kind of fun. This in turn also helped scare off any wandering spirits and fae as they believed the town was already being besieged or protected by things far scarier than they were. That said, these greater threats did not just jump into a village head first and start trouble, they always started out small while they gathered the power they needed in order to properly manifest themselves and their powers here. Once they had what they wanted, they started going about their business in the worst of ways, which was exactly what otherworldly threats such as Cernunnos had done when he came around during the Summer Solstice. Where he had gotten human followers to add to his ability to gather up power more quickly, most fae did not stoop to doing such things, though demons just might.
One of the reasons why Solmar had come to this place was because he had picked up on talk revolving around a pumpkin patch owned by a local farmer. This farmer made a good bit of money selling his pumpkins to the villagers during this time of year so they could go and celebrate Halloween, which in turn kept a lot of spirits and fairies from venturing into the towns and villages that bought from him. For the past few days however, it seemed that the farmer had gone missing and that something was skulking around the place after dark. To this extent, his family had fled for the safety of the village, staying with family until the farmer was found and the matter regarding the farm was resolved. Having just come from the tavern to speak to the locals and hear out the family, there was talk of an unnatural amount of crows flocked around the farm and only going as far as the outskirts of town before heading back. Additionally, there was also an unnaturally cold climate around the farm that made the water in the drinking troughs freeze and made one’s breath visible. This was in itself quite odd considering how it was still warm enough in Fiore to walk around without a jacket.
As helpful as this kind of information was, it really only told him so much about what was going on, as ravens and a localized cold climate only got him so far. It was for that reason that he had gone to the farm to see what was going on, not expecting to run into anything just yet as it was still in the late afternoon. Allowing him to do some snooping without having to worry about whatever it was that came out at night, he arrived at the pumpkin patch in time to see a large flock of crows take to the sky and fly into the nearby woodlands. The pumpkins themselves had been pecked at and fed on, which seemed quite strange considering how various scarecrows were stationed in and around the field. Never having enjoyed them much due to the fact that they were always the kind of unliving host that spirits might cling to if they needed a temporary body, the fact that some of them were in possession of scythes did not make matters a whole lot better. Looking past that, it seemed that there were still a few pumpkins intact, though they would probably not make it through the week.
Through his magical senses, he could tell that there was indeed something here, but that it was making a rather serious attempt at remaining hidden. Managing to fool Solmar’s senses, he could sense every single crow, but could not pinpoint the location of the thing that was haunting this place. Because at this point, that was what he had come to believe, that the thing roaming about here had chosen this patch as a place to haunt for an undetermined amount of time. If it was haunting the place, it explained why the family had made a run for it and why the farmer had gone missing. Concentrating more on his ability to sense magical presences, it was as if the entire farmland was covered in it from the soil to the farmhouse and the crops. For the time being, there was nothing he could do as whatever was here had decided to hide and wait for nightfall. As that was something he was willing to work with, Solmar returned to the farmhouse and decided to wait it out until it got dark before venturing back out. Hoping that the situation was less bad than he had imagined it might be, two hours went by rather slowly, but night eventually came.
Setting foot outside, the first thing he saw was a large amount of crows sitting on the barnyard, the fences and the scarecrows, showing exactly how good of a job they did. Staring at him as if he were an unwanted guest, one caw turned into a cacophony as they all took to the skies and started swarming above the pumpkin patch that Solmar was slowly walking into. Unarmed, he wished to see exactly what he was dealing with, knowing already from his earlier assessment that these crows were not natural born animals but creatures made by a dark force. So when the first dashed towards him to peck out his eyes, the young mage was not exactly surprised nor impressed as he infused his fist with a white flame and smacked it across the patch in the blink of an eye, leaving but a smoldering lump of feathers. Setting the stage for what was to come, the flock of crows shifted for a bit as if surprised, but did not let up as they started diving right into him in an attempt at tearing him apart all together. While troublesome, this was exactly what Solmar wanted, for all of them to be in the same place so he could take them all out in one go. Holding out the hand surrounded by the white flame, he waited for the flock to get within range.
Believing that they had a shot at winning, an incinerating shot of fire was shot forward, followed by a loud bang as it came to a stop. When it exploded, bits and pieces were thrown across the field as the resulting heat set some of the surrounding scarecrows and partially eaten pumpkins on fire. Raining burning feathers, guts and cinders, the threat of these corrupted animals had passed, at least for now. Though only for a moment, the crows being gone allowed his magic to pinpoint the location of his target a little bit better, reducing the maximum radius of the presence from the entire farm to an area of roughly twenty meters and closing. Unfortunately, with a pulse of what he could only describe as an evil sensation of magic, the remains of the crows were being drawn from their resting places and flung towards one central location. There, they mashed together into a grotesque lump of feathers and flesh, warping and churning until all of these small, separate pieces created one whole: some sort of evil spirit taking the shape of a humanoid crow. Truth be told, with all of the things he had seen, this wasn’t even in the top ten of weirdest transformations.
“Bow down mortal, for you are in the presence of the lord of crows. Foolishly have you ventured here and angered my liege. It is too late for you to turn back, as you shall share your fate with that of the farmer. Prepare to b-“
Before it could properly finish his sentence, Solmar closed the distance between them and drove a fist enhanced with white flame through what he assumed to be the chest cavity. Soon after, the white flame spread around the inside of the crow monster, consuming him from within and showing that the difference between the two would-be-combatants was rather proportionate. As the dead flesh and feathery tissue fell away from around his arm and onto the ground like a pile of stinking, burning gloop, if that was even a word, he released his spell while shaking his arm fiercely in an attempt at getting the gory remains off of it. It was clear enough that the lord of crows as he called himself was no match for him, though he would probably have given it a chance at a proper fight had it not been running his mouth for so long while making empty threats it could clearly not live up to. Continuing with the job that he had been assigned to, he tried finding out if this had done the job, though more localized threats emerged as a dark magic rose from the patch and inhabited several scarecrows.
Great.
Coming at him while wielding scythes and a broom, he did his best to evade the attackers, though he would have no mercy for them for obvious reasons. They were animated objects that had no life of their own, so it did not matter if they were sent back to the earth. Wielding his fire magic, he evaded the strike of a scythe while thrusting his open palm towards the torso of the scarecrow, sending a crescent wave of fire towards it. Blasting it back several meters, it collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll that had been set on fire. Even though the scarecrows were made mostly of straw, wood and clothing, the magic that made them up seemed to provide at least some protection, slowing the fire down and keeping it from fully enveloping them with ease. Sighing as it meant having to try a little harder, he cracked his knuckles and let his magic power flare a bit, causing the flames around his fists to become brighter and somewhat larger as he again made his way towards the knocked down targets that slowly made their way back on their feet. Slamming his fist into the one that wielded the scythe, the initial punch was backed up by the flame which propelled it straight through the ground, leaving a crater with what could be described to be a piston-effect.
Burning a massive hole through the scarecrow, it fell apart as another tried attacking from behind with a broom. Grabbing it by the handle, Solmar put his hand into the straw-filled sack that counted as a head, infusing it with so much flame that the farmer’s hat it was wearing got shot up straight into the air as fire shot forth from the head sack, the arm holes and the leg holes, incinerating it on the spot. Reducing the flames to tiny cinders on the tips of his fingers, he saw and heard a third scarecrow mumbling and struggling as it seemed incapable of moving. Dashing over to it with some nimble steps, he put his hand on the sack, only to see skin underneath. Tugging the sack off of the man, it seemed that the farmer had been dressed up as a scarecrow and had been tied to cross to keep him from moving. Having likely passed out during the time Solmar went around the farm to go find him, he had only found him now as he had awoken due to the sound of all the fighting and the magic that was hiding him losing its grip on the pumpkin patch. Releasing the man from his bonds, Solmar told him to make a run for the village and that he would come to collect them once everything had been settled here.
Quickly nodding at him and thanking him for his hard work, the farmer started running towards the village, leaving the young mage behind as he still had work that needed to be done. When a thick fog set in our of nowhere and hid the running farmer from sight, he heard a chuckle coming from seemingly all directions at the same time. Just like before, it was as if the dark magic he sensed came from every corner of the pumpkin patch, making it incredibly hard to narrow down where his opponent was. When a bright light appeared from the fog, it seemed that his enemy no longer wished to hide behind weak minions or puppets anymore, appearing before the mage to see things through on his own. For that, Solmar was quite grateful as it saved him the time of dredging him up by himself. When it fully showed itself, it seemed to be another spirit, hovering above the ground while wearing a robe around a rotting body and possessing a pumpkin for a head. Holding a lantern with its rotting fingers, the thing smiled at Solmar, or maybe it just looked like that by default on account of his head being a pumpkin.
Regardless of what it was doing, once it set down his lantern on the floor, its claws grew to twice their size, likely being his weapon of choice. In response, Solmar held out his hands and summoned his trusty twin blades to his side, lighting them up with a white glow as he let his demon slayer magic flow into them through the handles. Bending through his knees a bit, he put his feet further apart, ready to move as soon as his opponent moved a muscle. When it did, it did so by hurling a ball of pitch black magic in his direction. Using sheer speed to move around it, he closed the distance quickly and sliced into the lower torso of the pumpkin creature, setting it on fire for a moment before the wound closed back up and the fire got put out. Releasing an angered shriek, it was clear that Solmar’s magically enhanced swords could harm it, though such surface wounds that would in most cases register as a flesh wound would not do the trick. Turning around to face the mage again, the creature held a black sphere in each arm, throwing them at him in tandem. Dodging them again, he saw how the orbs made contact with a tree and instantly withered the whole thing, draining away all life.
Reinforcing the will to not get hit by these attacks, he cut into the air in front of him with both blades, sending two crescent waves of white fire in the wake of the cut. Aiming them both for the spirit, he then dashed across the battlefield while using them as a distraction. Countering the two strikes with two more dark spheres, a third sphere was made to counter Solmar’s strike as he appeared right after the crescent waves. Cutting down upon it with Caladbolg, it released a powerful torrent of flames that overwhelmed the power of a single sphere, burning away part of the robes, blowing some chunks out of the pumpkin head and burning flesh in the process. As the strike erupted, the spirit was flung across the pumpkin patch as Solmar landed back on his feet. Taking a knee to assess the situation and be able to dash away at a moment’s notice, it seemed that all of the wounds inflicted upon it had already started regenerating again, though he felt the dark magic covering the field fluctuate for a moment. Noticing a temporary flare in the lantern, he he wasn’t given the time to look into it more as the spirit came at him with his long and sharp talons.
Luckily for the mage, the creature was not very strong physically, though he was quite fast and seemed intent on just slicing into him without really having the drive to carve out flesh. Matching the speed of the strikes with his own twin swords, it felt as if he were clashing with someone wielding swords of their own. While neither were particularly powerful in terms of physical strength, Solmar had one thing going for him, and that was by how much his magic was augmented when he used his spells through his swords. Amplifying the damage of his swords by amping up the output of fire, he slapped one wave of flame into the spirit after the other whenever sword hit claw, moving past them and burning into the creature as the damage it sustained started to regenerate the moment it hit. Then, with one powerful strike of both swords, he sent the spirit back by blasting it with a shot of pure light that seemingly blew it straight out of existence. In the aftermath, a tiny fraction of the pumpkin head fell to the floor, proving that the fight was now finally over. That was, at least, what one would imagine. When it rose into the air and rapidly started growing and expanding, Solmar’s attention was again pulled to the lantern that was flickering wildly.
Though it was a long shot, he sent a blast of fire towards it and incinerated the whole thing on the spot, causing the partially grown spirit to suddenly catch on fire and scream violently as it flailed around the single arm that had grown back. Falling to the ground, an evil eye looked at Solmar as the fire burned the whole thing down until nothing but a black puddle of gloop remained. Only once the black stuff had burned away, it had become clear that this creature might have been related to the unlife beings he had been fighting in some way. What was even more clear than that was the fact that it had been using the lantern as a phylactery, a means of storing the soul and allowing it to come back again and again after being vanquished. Feeling the dark taint withdrawing from the patch, he was certain that the only thing he would need to do now was to return to the village and tell the farmers that they could finally head back home and start rebuilding.
[End]
See the cycle of the year.
As the light now goes within,
Let the Hallows dance begin.”
To someone like Solmar, the time of Samhain was a fairly big deal as it was one of those times when beings escape their own worlds and manage to get into earthland. In general, these beings were spirits and fairies that mostly played tricks on people or pulled some pranks. Others had things they wanted to achieve here that were more nefarious such as stealing babies, haunting people or even tormenting people towards doing evil things or committing suicide. While there were also nature spirits and fairies that used this period where the veil between worlds was thinner as a means of coming here to repair the damage humans had done to the forests and the animals, far more evil beings also managed to get crossed over. Passing through the village, he saw how many people had placed pumpkins filled with a candle by the door as a means of decoration. Many of them probably had no idea where this tradition even came from or what it did, though it was likely good that they did it. It was widely believed that the scary faces carved out of the pumpkins and the light shining inside of them spooked the lesser spirits and fairies.
And given how lesser spirits and fairies were indeed cowards, it was something that worked, though it would not keep any of the greater threats away. As the people celebrated their own holiday during this period, they dressed up so that they could scare one another as that was their kind of fun. This in turn also helped scare off any wandering spirits and fae as they believed the town was already being besieged or protected by things far scarier than they were. That said, these greater threats did not just jump into a village head first and start trouble, they always started out small while they gathered the power they needed in order to properly manifest themselves and their powers here. Once they had what they wanted, they started going about their business in the worst of ways, which was exactly what otherworldly threats such as Cernunnos had done when he came around during the Summer Solstice. Where he had gotten human followers to add to his ability to gather up power more quickly, most fae did not stoop to doing such things, though demons just might.
One of the reasons why Solmar had come to this place was because he had picked up on talk revolving around a pumpkin patch owned by a local farmer. This farmer made a good bit of money selling his pumpkins to the villagers during this time of year so they could go and celebrate Halloween, which in turn kept a lot of spirits and fairies from venturing into the towns and villages that bought from him. For the past few days however, it seemed that the farmer had gone missing and that something was skulking around the place after dark. To this extent, his family had fled for the safety of the village, staying with family until the farmer was found and the matter regarding the farm was resolved. Having just come from the tavern to speak to the locals and hear out the family, there was talk of an unnatural amount of crows flocked around the farm and only going as far as the outskirts of town before heading back. Additionally, there was also an unnaturally cold climate around the farm that made the water in the drinking troughs freeze and made one’s breath visible. This was in itself quite odd considering how it was still warm enough in Fiore to walk around without a jacket.
As helpful as this kind of information was, it really only told him so much about what was going on, as ravens and a localized cold climate only got him so far. It was for that reason that he had gone to the farm to see what was going on, not expecting to run into anything just yet as it was still in the late afternoon. Allowing him to do some snooping without having to worry about whatever it was that came out at night, he arrived at the pumpkin patch in time to see a large flock of crows take to the sky and fly into the nearby woodlands. The pumpkins themselves had been pecked at and fed on, which seemed quite strange considering how various scarecrows were stationed in and around the field. Never having enjoyed them much due to the fact that they were always the kind of unliving host that spirits might cling to if they needed a temporary body, the fact that some of them were in possession of scythes did not make matters a whole lot better. Looking past that, it seemed that there were still a few pumpkins intact, though they would probably not make it through the week.
Through his magical senses, he could tell that there was indeed something here, but that it was making a rather serious attempt at remaining hidden. Managing to fool Solmar’s senses, he could sense every single crow, but could not pinpoint the location of the thing that was haunting this place. Because at this point, that was what he had come to believe, that the thing roaming about here had chosen this patch as a place to haunt for an undetermined amount of time. If it was haunting the place, it explained why the family had made a run for it and why the farmer had gone missing. Concentrating more on his ability to sense magical presences, it was as if the entire farmland was covered in it from the soil to the farmhouse and the crops. For the time being, there was nothing he could do as whatever was here had decided to hide and wait for nightfall. As that was something he was willing to work with, Solmar returned to the farmhouse and decided to wait it out until it got dark before venturing back out. Hoping that the situation was less bad than he had imagined it might be, two hours went by rather slowly, but night eventually came.
Setting foot outside, the first thing he saw was a large amount of crows sitting on the barnyard, the fences and the scarecrows, showing exactly how good of a job they did. Staring at him as if he were an unwanted guest, one caw turned into a cacophony as they all took to the skies and started swarming above the pumpkin patch that Solmar was slowly walking into. Unarmed, he wished to see exactly what he was dealing with, knowing already from his earlier assessment that these crows were not natural born animals but creatures made by a dark force. So when the first dashed towards him to peck out his eyes, the young mage was not exactly surprised nor impressed as he infused his fist with a white flame and smacked it across the patch in the blink of an eye, leaving but a smoldering lump of feathers. Setting the stage for what was to come, the flock of crows shifted for a bit as if surprised, but did not let up as they started diving right into him in an attempt at tearing him apart all together. While troublesome, this was exactly what Solmar wanted, for all of them to be in the same place so he could take them all out in one go. Holding out the hand surrounded by the white flame, he waited for the flock to get within range.
Believing that they had a shot at winning, an incinerating shot of fire was shot forward, followed by a loud bang as it came to a stop. When it exploded, bits and pieces were thrown across the field as the resulting heat set some of the surrounding scarecrows and partially eaten pumpkins on fire. Raining burning feathers, guts and cinders, the threat of these corrupted animals had passed, at least for now. Though only for a moment, the crows being gone allowed his magic to pinpoint the location of his target a little bit better, reducing the maximum radius of the presence from the entire farm to an area of roughly twenty meters and closing. Unfortunately, with a pulse of what he could only describe as an evil sensation of magic, the remains of the crows were being drawn from their resting places and flung towards one central location. There, they mashed together into a grotesque lump of feathers and flesh, warping and churning until all of these small, separate pieces created one whole: some sort of evil spirit taking the shape of a humanoid crow. Truth be told, with all of the things he had seen, this wasn’t even in the top ten of weirdest transformations.
“Bow down mortal, for you are in the presence of the lord of crows. Foolishly have you ventured here and angered my liege. It is too late for you to turn back, as you shall share your fate with that of the farmer. Prepare to b-“
Before it could properly finish his sentence, Solmar closed the distance between them and drove a fist enhanced with white flame through what he assumed to be the chest cavity. Soon after, the white flame spread around the inside of the crow monster, consuming him from within and showing that the difference between the two would-be-combatants was rather proportionate. As the dead flesh and feathery tissue fell away from around his arm and onto the ground like a pile of stinking, burning gloop, if that was even a word, he released his spell while shaking his arm fiercely in an attempt at getting the gory remains off of it. It was clear enough that the lord of crows as he called himself was no match for him, though he would probably have given it a chance at a proper fight had it not been running his mouth for so long while making empty threats it could clearly not live up to. Continuing with the job that he had been assigned to, he tried finding out if this had done the job, though more localized threats emerged as a dark magic rose from the patch and inhabited several scarecrows.
Great.
Coming at him while wielding scythes and a broom, he did his best to evade the attackers, though he would have no mercy for them for obvious reasons. They were animated objects that had no life of their own, so it did not matter if they were sent back to the earth. Wielding his fire magic, he evaded the strike of a scythe while thrusting his open palm towards the torso of the scarecrow, sending a crescent wave of fire towards it. Blasting it back several meters, it collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll that had been set on fire. Even though the scarecrows were made mostly of straw, wood and clothing, the magic that made them up seemed to provide at least some protection, slowing the fire down and keeping it from fully enveloping them with ease. Sighing as it meant having to try a little harder, he cracked his knuckles and let his magic power flare a bit, causing the flames around his fists to become brighter and somewhat larger as he again made his way towards the knocked down targets that slowly made their way back on their feet. Slamming his fist into the one that wielded the scythe, the initial punch was backed up by the flame which propelled it straight through the ground, leaving a crater with what could be described to be a piston-effect.
Burning a massive hole through the scarecrow, it fell apart as another tried attacking from behind with a broom. Grabbing it by the handle, Solmar put his hand into the straw-filled sack that counted as a head, infusing it with so much flame that the farmer’s hat it was wearing got shot up straight into the air as fire shot forth from the head sack, the arm holes and the leg holes, incinerating it on the spot. Reducing the flames to tiny cinders on the tips of his fingers, he saw and heard a third scarecrow mumbling and struggling as it seemed incapable of moving. Dashing over to it with some nimble steps, he put his hand on the sack, only to see skin underneath. Tugging the sack off of the man, it seemed that the farmer had been dressed up as a scarecrow and had been tied to cross to keep him from moving. Having likely passed out during the time Solmar went around the farm to go find him, he had only found him now as he had awoken due to the sound of all the fighting and the magic that was hiding him losing its grip on the pumpkin patch. Releasing the man from his bonds, Solmar told him to make a run for the village and that he would come to collect them once everything had been settled here.
Quickly nodding at him and thanking him for his hard work, the farmer started running towards the village, leaving the young mage behind as he still had work that needed to be done. When a thick fog set in our of nowhere and hid the running farmer from sight, he heard a chuckle coming from seemingly all directions at the same time. Just like before, it was as if the dark magic he sensed came from every corner of the pumpkin patch, making it incredibly hard to narrow down where his opponent was. When a bright light appeared from the fog, it seemed that his enemy no longer wished to hide behind weak minions or puppets anymore, appearing before the mage to see things through on his own. For that, Solmar was quite grateful as it saved him the time of dredging him up by himself. When it fully showed itself, it seemed to be another spirit, hovering above the ground while wearing a robe around a rotting body and possessing a pumpkin for a head. Holding a lantern with its rotting fingers, the thing smiled at Solmar, or maybe it just looked like that by default on account of his head being a pumpkin.
Regardless of what it was doing, once it set down his lantern on the floor, its claws grew to twice their size, likely being his weapon of choice. In response, Solmar held out his hands and summoned his trusty twin blades to his side, lighting them up with a white glow as he let his demon slayer magic flow into them through the handles. Bending through his knees a bit, he put his feet further apart, ready to move as soon as his opponent moved a muscle. When it did, it did so by hurling a ball of pitch black magic in his direction. Using sheer speed to move around it, he closed the distance quickly and sliced into the lower torso of the pumpkin creature, setting it on fire for a moment before the wound closed back up and the fire got put out. Releasing an angered shriek, it was clear that Solmar’s magically enhanced swords could harm it, though such surface wounds that would in most cases register as a flesh wound would not do the trick. Turning around to face the mage again, the creature held a black sphere in each arm, throwing them at him in tandem. Dodging them again, he saw how the orbs made contact with a tree and instantly withered the whole thing, draining away all life.
Reinforcing the will to not get hit by these attacks, he cut into the air in front of him with both blades, sending two crescent waves of white fire in the wake of the cut. Aiming them both for the spirit, he then dashed across the battlefield while using them as a distraction. Countering the two strikes with two more dark spheres, a third sphere was made to counter Solmar’s strike as he appeared right after the crescent waves. Cutting down upon it with Caladbolg, it released a powerful torrent of flames that overwhelmed the power of a single sphere, burning away part of the robes, blowing some chunks out of the pumpkin head and burning flesh in the process. As the strike erupted, the spirit was flung across the pumpkin patch as Solmar landed back on his feet. Taking a knee to assess the situation and be able to dash away at a moment’s notice, it seemed that all of the wounds inflicted upon it had already started regenerating again, though he felt the dark magic covering the field fluctuate for a moment. Noticing a temporary flare in the lantern, he he wasn’t given the time to look into it more as the spirit came at him with his long and sharp talons.
Luckily for the mage, the creature was not very strong physically, though he was quite fast and seemed intent on just slicing into him without really having the drive to carve out flesh. Matching the speed of the strikes with his own twin swords, it felt as if he were clashing with someone wielding swords of their own. While neither were particularly powerful in terms of physical strength, Solmar had one thing going for him, and that was by how much his magic was augmented when he used his spells through his swords. Amplifying the damage of his swords by amping up the output of fire, he slapped one wave of flame into the spirit after the other whenever sword hit claw, moving past them and burning into the creature as the damage it sustained started to regenerate the moment it hit. Then, with one powerful strike of both swords, he sent the spirit back by blasting it with a shot of pure light that seemingly blew it straight out of existence. In the aftermath, a tiny fraction of the pumpkin head fell to the floor, proving that the fight was now finally over. That was, at least, what one would imagine. When it rose into the air and rapidly started growing and expanding, Solmar’s attention was again pulled to the lantern that was flickering wildly.
Though it was a long shot, he sent a blast of fire towards it and incinerated the whole thing on the spot, causing the partially grown spirit to suddenly catch on fire and scream violently as it flailed around the single arm that had grown back. Falling to the ground, an evil eye looked at Solmar as the fire burned the whole thing down until nothing but a black puddle of gloop remained. Only once the black stuff had burned away, it had become clear that this creature might have been related to the unlife beings he had been fighting in some way. What was even more clear than that was the fact that it had been using the lantern as a phylactery, a means of storing the soul and allowing it to come back again and again after being vanquished. Feeling the dark taint withdrawing from the patch, he was certain that the only thing he would need to do now was to return to the village and tell the farmers that they could finally head back home and start rebuilding.
[End]
