What the hell? Are we really that cursed?

It was another festive time of year. It had gotten to the point that every time she looked at the calendar some sort of event or festival was happening somewhere. This time she had taken notice of several flyers everywhere that detailed a request for pumpkin gathering. Supposedly it was for the end goal of some grand Halloween party, but it would be an event Samira would have to pass on. She already had plans for the day so the pumpkin picking would have to be passed over. Or that had been the plan. How wonderful it was that a pumpkin patch miraculously appeared out of nowhere at the very spot she was to meet the other two mages. Coincidence? Maybe. Curse? Given the luck the trio had with their little meetups, probably. Then again Samira couldn't even have a slumber party without ending up in a battle arena. Maybe it was just her and the other two were along for the cursed ride. She'll be sure to keep that to herself.

Samira had not exactly been to that particular castle before, and certainly not for a tour. The issue of what to wear was concerning. Was it supposed to be an event that required formal attire? Was casual everyday clothes acceptable or even expected instead? It was a castle soooo.... Hm. She wasn't sure. The last few times she dressed for supposed formal events was either a waste of effort since she had to change five minutes later for a mission or was a case of her putting on a maid outfit. Huh, no wonder she was clueless. Her experience with events and social gatherings was not the best. After taking way too long trying to decipher the clothing code, the woman just decided to stick with her normal attire and the moment she saw way too many people dressed formally that didn't live or work on the castle grounds then she would change into one of many outfits that she quickly shoved into her celestial storage before leaving to meet up with the others.

Being on time and punctual was important. It was something Samira always tried to do to prevent people from waiting on her. However, she was not immune to distractions. Sometimes they could be classified as important, sometimes not. The portal of one of her spirits dropped her off at the castle grounds. Well, what should have been the castle grounds. Either the royals were being overly festive or they had a pumpkin problem. The entire grounds had become a gigantic pumpkin patch. In a way that was a good thing. Now she could participate in collecting pumpkins for that mystery party! Actually, maybe she could even keep some to carve later. That was an activity she had never done before so it'd be interesting. Was she worried that taking the pumpkins was considered stealing from the royal family? Nope. There were guards complaining nearby about all the pumpkins, and there were also others going around collecting some. Those flyers must have really gotten around. There was something else though. As Samira knelt down and picked up the nearest pumpkin she could over hear some of the others around whispering and talking amongst each other. They were worried. Something didn't feel right about the new pumpkin patch and, as if they were in some Halloween story, the surrounding area had shifted from its normal atmosphere into a more eerie version the moment those pumpkins appeared. The sky was cloudy and darkened, and the sounds of crows were all over the place. The number of birds had seemed to increase throughout the day, even in that short amount of time that Samira was there. It wasn't long before there was talk of others being attacked by the crows at various other points along the castle grounds. It was only a matter of time before the ones where she was did the same.

The pumpkin was set down, slowly. More so because she didn't want to damage the pumpkin. The slower movement to not agitate the birds was just a bonus. It was a futile effort though. Some random person ran up to some of them and screamed, intending to scare them off but it backfired severely. The birds took flight as an angry black swarm and started to descend on those in their sights. Samira herself was safe from the murder of crows. They met her natural barrier that had activated once they got close. Like a bird that hit a window, the birds that hit her invisible barrier fell to the ground. Some with broken necks and quite dead, others still alive but barely. Not for long though. The ones still alive on the ground and those still in flight that had labeled themselves as a danger were taken care of with ease. They were, after all, just simple birds with most of their danger being in the basket of quantity.

A portal that was like a celestial gate but different than normal ones appeared in the air above that particular pumpkin patch. Its multi-colored glow was a bright contrast against the darkened sky, yet it wasn't exactly the portal itself that would be doing the work of ridding the grounds of the menacing birds. Its power, at that moment, allowed all of Samira's spirits to enter the normal plane of existence for a single instant. This allowed them to strike the birds and clear the entire area before disappearing. The corpses of the fallen birds littered the ground now along with the pumpkins, making for a fitting color scheme of black and orange for the Halloween time of year. The celestial gate remained hovering in the air, however. Things still seemed a bit off, and it was doubtful that every single crow had been eliminated from the grounds. As a just in case measure, the spell would remain until she moved on. Which should have been right then, but... distractions. Samira healed a couple of people that had been injured from the attack and then went back to looking at pumpkins. Everyone else had ditched the area to escape the chaos, but not the distracted summoner that really wanted some pumpkins to carve and send off to that Halloween event that needed them.

Her original pumpkin had been lost while she healed the injured, but another one that seemed just as good had been located. She picked it up and looked it over a bit. During this time the corpses of the birds started to move towards each other and then combine to create another sort of creature. More horrifying and more dangerous than any normal crow could ever be. The newly chilled air was a give away that something was going on behind her, and the ghastly wail the creature emitted was another. It had spotted a seemingly distracted and helpless target, and with that factor going through its undead mind the creature charged with lethal intent. A few slashes of its talons and it'd all be over and it could move on to torture other innocents in the area. A good plan, but a faulty one. The moment it got too close to Samira the creature came to a stop. Not because of a barrier like its lesser forms, but because a spell had been used to make it stop. The creature flicked partially into a different reality to immobilize it, although it was still very much there and alert to everything going on in the normal one. "Do you think this is a good pumpkin for carving?" The Wizard Saint turned and asked the creature with an expression that told it she was very serious with the question. What? She had never carved a  pumpkin before much less picked one out. Was any pumpkin good for that? Or was there a trick for picking out a ripe one? Did the shape matter? It was all so confusing without having researched it beforehand, and she wanted it to be the perfect pumpkin. The creature made some sort of sound that was mixed with confusion and rage. Or she guessed. Samira didn't really know. She just knew that didn't translate to an answer she liked. The woman became disappointed and dropped the pumpkin. "No, I suppose that is not a good enough pumpkin. There has to be one here somewhere." Her emerald colored eyes glanced around the pumpkin patch, and then, a brilliant idea vanquished the disappointment and brought the gleam back into them. "Maybe Leona or Ruvel will know how to pick the perfect pumpkin!" She smiled and gave the crow creature a nod of appreciation. "You have my thanks for trying to help."

And so Samira began to walk away, leaving the monster there. More confusion was on the creature's mind, and all ways of expressing "wtf" was on the face that should have been quite expressionless for the sort of creature that it was. The spell that had kept it immobilized had even been removed! Well, it would show that lady a thing or two for...for... mocking it... or  something. It really only expected very few reactions: scream, run, or fight. Being thanked for help it didn't even give was not on that list of things that it comprehended. There had been some damage inflicted from the immobilization spell, but it wasn't done for. Not even close. That was easily shaken off. A shame the creature didn't take into account that if it could be immobilized that easily that eliminating it completely would be even easier. Predicted as a possible outcome, even. As it lunged forward with its talons ready to meet their mark, the creature was sliced repeatedly by a pair of chakrams that whirled around Samira. They had been summoned a second before, and were released to act on the attacker. There really wasn't much left after that but a feathery corpse of a monster that shouldn't have even existed. Something was very strange with those crows and it wasn't likely the end of it either. Something more powerful was the mastermind. Samira hoped her two friends were fine, but given that they too were powerful mages in their own right, she was sure her worries were misplaced. They just needed to be found first, and warned if they had not yet encountered the oddities of the royal castle pumpkin patch.

(Samira WC: 1733)

Enemy Checklist:

Weak - Crows
Normal - Lord of Crows
Strong - Mr. Scarecrow
Boss - Pumpkin Patch King

Samira stopped walking and turned, hearing her name being called for as well as Leona's. The one calling her was recognizable since it sounded a lot like Ruvel's. The problematic part of it was that it was just plain "Samira" being used, which would have been a first for the blonde headed youth. "Ruvel?" She questioningly said aloud to herself but not shouting it to the point that anyone else could hear. It could have been a trick that was being used by something else just as malevolent as the undead crow creature, but that would just be silly. No one knew that she was there to meet Ruvel and Leona, so unless something around there had the most godly mind reading abilities to get past the guardians in her head it was the real one calling out for the two women. There was only one way to be sure though, and that was to go over towards the voice to check it out and confirm. If It were a trick whatever it was, was going to be punished for mimicking a friend, and by extension possibly endangering Leona if she too were nearby and followed the voice. To make matters worse Samira had been keeping an eye on all of the pumpkins she had passed and still the perfect one had not been found. Her mood was starting to sour now. A good day was turning into quite the opposite.

A few steps had been taken in the direction of the voice, and in those few steps the air began to fog up. The more she walked the more dense the fog grew and the darker it got until she could not see much of anything. Was she even still on the castle grounds she wondered. A spark of light stood out in the dark and thick fog, and it grew brighter as it got closer. Not so much due to Samira moving towards it but because it was moving towards her. Slowly at first and then it rapidly picked up speed.

Samira braced herself. Whatever it was, was unknown and her own natural mobility was a bit slower than others without magic boosting it. The most she could do in that time frame was attack preemptively or defend. The chakrams she had been holding were dropped as she moved her hands defensively in front of her and activated a defensive shield around her. The lantern's light diminished slightly when a blast of dark energy was released from the incoming source and made its way over to the summoner. The dark magic hit the barrier, but the energy kept coming, pushing her back ever so slowly and threatening to pop her defensive spell. To prevent that outcome, or at the very least attempt to stall it, Samira used another spell in her toolkit. Her barrier had become covered in a pale blue light that strengthened and it quite a bit. Another important factor to the empowerment was that the dark energy blast that touched it made the blue overlay react offensively, and thus shockwaves of celestial energy flew from it and over in the direction of the attacker. Samira could hear the sounds of impact and could see the lantern light tumble around as whatever held it recovered from the hit. The dark blasts had also stopped momentarily, allowing the woman to catch a quick moment of relief and time to think of what to do next.

It was a moment that was wasted unfortunately. The same distraction from earlier was still on her mind, and as the enemy came closer to fully reveal itself that distraction became the primary focus. The fact she was staring at something deadly that could harm others, including herself, was an after thought. What she saw as it came closer was not some terrifying specter with a spooky pumpkin head, dark powerful magic, or long claws that dripped with deadly poison. What she saw was a pumpkin that must have been created and delivered by the truest of gods. Even the lantern's light somehow twisted into some heavenly divine aura in her imagination, and the cackling of the creature was the song of angels, singing to prove that the pumpkin was surely blessed. Very few were worthy to be in the presence of such perfection. "I found it," Samira told herself as she stared in awe of the perfect pumpkin hovering in the air. There was just one problem as reality sat back in for her, mostly because of all the yelling in her head coming from quite a few eyerolling and facepalming spirits. They were so close to having a day off. So close. Movie night was ruined. Disregarding the frustrated spirits, the problem was the perfect pumpkin was already owned and attached to a monster. Disappointing. But! There was a solution! Besides ripping it off and taking it for herself, of course. Now that was just rude. She'd ask first.

The same spell that had been used against the large crow creature was used once more as the pumpkin came in for round two, this time thinking a melee style approach with its rapid claw swipes would do the trick. It wouldn't have either way, but Samira wasn't going to comment on that. The celestial energy that banished the creature partially to immobilize it was enough. It wouldn't last for long though, unlike with the crow. The current enemy was much stronger than it.

"Excuse me," Samira politely said to get its attention through its ranting. Apparently, from what she could gather from its words, she was dealing with a Pumpkin Patch King, possibly one of many for there surely were a lot of pumpkin patches. That explained why everything was happening at the Royal Castle. He had wanted to take it over and claim it all for himself. Only the most royal of places were fit for a pumpkin patch created by royalty. "You have my apologies, your majesty, but you left me with no choice but to act in this manner. It is very difficult to ask you a question when you are attacking me."

The dark eye sockets moved quite easily like a normal face, despite them all being on an actual pumpkin. Just like with the Crow Lord, the pumpkin creature was confused. Once again in a scenario where most people would have either fled or tried to eliminate the threat, Samira was once again taking the time to ask a question. And, just like the Crow Lord, the Pumpkin Patch King was offended. He was a terrifying king! A royal among all produce farms and patches! "What?"

Samira stared up at the king, for he was taller than herself, yet the expression on her face was serious enough to say that as far as everything else went, she was the more dominant in prowess. That or she was just too stupid to be afraid or acknowledge the possible danger. The Pumpkin King couldn't really tell. "The pumpkin you use for a head. It is perfect. I desire to know how to find one for myself. I was going to ask my friends, but I found you first, and surely you must know the answer as a Pumpkin Patch King. Please tell me."

If the pumpkin king could move he might have faceplanted down onto the ground after hearing that ridiculous question. He decided. The woman was stupid. "There is only one perfect pumpkin on this entire patch!"

"Oh...." Samira was disappointed for a moment as she looked down and away, but a thought occurred to her. One that was mostly likely a negative, but she would try and ask anyway. "Can I have yours?" She asked innocently, despite knowing full well what the perfect pumpkin was currently being used for.

The eyeslots on the pumpkin widened in disbelief and then went into angry eye mode. "WHAT?! NO! It is my head!"

"I can carve you another face on one of these other pumpkins."

The king flailed, the magic keeping him in place starting to weaken during his growing agitation and anger. Now he was just being insulted. "Those are not perfect! They will even rot while I use them for my head!"

Samira gasped. The perfect pumpkin did not rot? It was even more perfect! An everlasting pumpkin to forever treasure her first pumpkin carving experiment! Well, second if she could convince the king to take one of the other pumpkins so she could have his, but it didn't seem as if he was going to be generous and accept that horrible trade. One might wonder how she intended to carve on the perfect pumpkin that already had a face on it, and the answer was simple. It had another side that was entirely blank and ready to work with! A double faced pumpkin! How spooky! Or she could just use it as a model while she worked with a practice pumpkin. It would work out somehow. "I see. Then I have to ask, if you attacked me, does this mean that you intend to do harm to anyone else here?"

"You said you were going to ask 'A' question. You are asking too many! Now release me!"

"I require an answer before I stop asking more questions. Answer it, and the conversation will end."

The Pumpkin Patch King answered, but unfortunately it was not the correct answer. Harm would come towards those that lived in the castle or came upon the grounds. In more ways than one. An army of pumpkin soldiers and other horrors would also be created if he were left alone. Chances were, the pumpkin monster was smart enough to lie to that question, but he was now frustrated by having to deal with someone like Samira. He almost wished that another had killed him before the interaction even took place. Ridiculous woman! The Pumpkin King realized his error a few moments after his rant and threats.

The woman was silent now. Her stupid questions and words really did stop. But there was something else now. A rise in magic energy that was not his own could now be felt. The magical gate above he had noticed earlier. It had not yet been dismissed, but now another portal gate was beside it. From that gate multiple bright and powerful magic particles flew through and aimed towards the Pumpkin King. One by one they hit, and even as the immobilization spell broke to allow him to flee and dodge, it was not enough for there were too many, and all of them faster than he. At the end of the assault, he was destroyed entirely, except for one thing: the pumpkin head that now lied on the ground.

The fog cleared up and for the most part the dark horrors that had invaded the castle seemed to be gone. All that was left were the numerous pumpkins. They could be collected later for the party, of course. For now, Samira walked up to her prize, picked it up, and raised it above her head as if showing it off to the world. "It is mine!" The perfect pumpkin had been acquired. May some divinity have mercy on the soul that attempted to take it from her or destroy it.

(Word Count: 1886
Samira Total Word Count: 3619
1500 Used for Event
New Samira Total: 2119)

Enemy Checklist:

Crows
Lord of Crows
Mr. Scarecrow
Pumpkin Patch King