Pumpkin Picking Gone Wrong!

Nat felt strange when he was holding Trinity's hand through the maze. And she seemed to be enjoying it judging by the happy look on her face, and Nat was more than happy... content even to just see the happy look on her face.

The maze itself was uneventful and they were able to solve it without any trouble turning it to a leisurely stroll while holding hands. Eventually they came to the end of the maze which led them to a pumpkin patch and it was a beautiful one at that, filled with rows and upon rows of massive pumpkins. And there seemed to be people, families around picking them.

He could not deny that it does indeed look like fun as he reveled in the beautiful sight. So much so that he did not even notice Trinity let go of his hand to join in on the picking snapping out of it only after she had shown her iLac one more containing a message for him to read.

His reply was a happy nod that came with a smile followed by a cheerful "Sure" and immediately he was picking pumpkins up with Trinity.

However, their picking was interrupted by crows that were frightening all the people who were enjoying themselves. Now they weren't necessarily evil so they did not deserve death like all the guilty in the world, but they are an inconvenience to the people and must be dealt with and with that being his line of thought, Nat simply reached his hand out and emitted a huge flash of light, hoping to shoo them away. It however, did not had the desired effect and instead agitated them even more, prompting them to swoop down to them with more headed towards Trinity, prompting Nat to dashes quickly in front of her and call upon his sword Ashbringer, making a sweeping strike cutting most of them in half and the rest to cease their dive.

Post WC: 327
Nat's Total: 327
@Trinity

Nathaniel saved Trinity in her frightened state from the crows that were about to go dive down towards her. He didn’t see how she looked like all hunkered down in fear because he so focused at keeping them away from her. He needed to protect her but his reasons why were unclear, even to him. Perhaps it was in his nature to defend the innocent, actually it really was his nature but if that were to be the case then why didn’t he save the other people? Just her. Ever since he stared at that smile and mismatched eyes during her brief time cheering him on and in the maze, he’s been having a strange feeling came over him. Strange because he’s never felt it before because spending time with a woman who he had no prior relationship with was something he had not done in years. Sure women come to him to talk to him and thank him for his help, but this was different.

He was pulled from his thoughts however when Trinity instantly hugged him. His eyes widened and his guard was down lowering his arms and standing up straight. He looked at her being all comfortable in the warm embrace like that, making Nat feel secured and comfortable despite the brief moment of chaos afterwards. However, he might be the only one giving any other meaning more to what is simply a gesture of gratitude, considering how she couldn’t really speak. Yes… Maybe that was it. That is all there is to it, right? However, he couldn’t help raise his free hand to reach over and hug her back. His hand slowly reaching for it while it was shaking. Was this the right thing to do? Wouldn’t she be weirded out by it? His hand was almost near her back for that hug, but with his guard down, he did not sense the new enemy that had arrived from behind him. Fortunately, Trinity saved him, shoving him aside in shock and surprise. Perhaps this girl had surprises of her own while he sat on the field from being shoved, witnessing her power.

Trinity had grown her hand at first then her entire body to pummel their new enemy. Well… Her new enemy as Nat still sat there in amazement as she finished the bird creature with ease in a marvelous fashion too and though it made her tired, Nat was able to help in that regard by restoring some of her power. He quickly stood up and walked over to her but the battle was not over yet.

Apparently, the scarecrow that Trinity rested upon transformed into another nightmare creature that quickly attacked it with its scythe, making Trinity fearful once again. So much so that she used her magic to produce several clones.There were in the thick of it now and Nat looked around assessing the situation. He had to find the real Trinity and protect her which was really if he was being honest since the scarecrow monster did most of the work for that, scything away all the clones. Now all that was left for Nat to do was cast Inner Fire on himself, and another spell called Punish the Wicked all of which resulted in him having a crown floating above his head as he rushed and leaped towards the enemy while holding an Ashbringer with a burning blade for he had channeled another spell, Guilty Word: Pain upon it and used it strike its head.

As the blade penetrated it, and with the momentum of the leap, the scarecrow fell to the ground as it burned in holy fire from the Pain spell and from the effects of Punish the Guilty whenever he used a spell. The pain was unbearable for the monster it seems as it continued to shriek in agony while Nat continued to use the swordsmanship he had learned growing up, slashing every vital point on the monster’s body while flames spread and eventually, it turned to nothing but ash.

With that, they had earned a moment of reprieve taking quick breaths while he held out his hand to help Trinity get up, making sure she was ok, the worry evident in his eyes because of some unknown reason, he can’t help but care so much for her and he was becoming curious as to why this is happening so he was willing to explore it someday. However, their peace was brief because a fog slowly rose in the field, and quickly a bright light up ahead shined in the dark, accompanied by an evil chuckle. Nat knew all too well what it meant, and it was time to get reay. And once again, in predictable fashion, a monster reared its head from the fog and it was a head made of pumpkin and Nat thought this might be what locals called the Pumpkin King. Having such title meant that this… thing was the mastermind or source of all the spooky bad things happening in this patch and Nat was more than happy to end its evil existence. Holding his blade in front in a readied form and his knees bent, he prepared for any attack the pumpkin monster might attempt.

But instead of going after the opponent in front of him, the King faded and emerged behind him, aiming a spell towards the downed Trinity. Thinking only of protecting the beautiful woman, Nat simply dashed in between the spell and her, taking it in force yet not so much as to hurl him away but simply bring him down to his knees. The King chuckled at what he had seen, snarling and growling as if boasting his intellect on how to deal with knight-in-shining-armor types like him and when he had walked over to deliver a final blow, it was stopped in his tracks when it was suddenly a blaze in holy fire.

Nat had only waited for it to get close enough so he would be in Punish the Wicked’s area of effect after which he had cast a healing spell on himself. The spell was enough to fuel him and be on his feet once more. He looked at his opponent with fierce eyes and gripped Ashbringer tighter in one hand while he readied a spell in another. A brief stare down between the two combatants took place where in Nat roared ”I won’t. LET YOU. HURT HER!” and hurled the bolt of light from his hand, a spell the King had no chance of blocking because once the spell was fired, the King once again was set ablaze, even more when the spell hit. And out of sheer desperation, the King flailed the lantern that it held in front of him which Nat dodged as he moved in on his target, except for the last one that knocked him to the ground. A slight damage was dealt, small enough for Nat to quickly recover from and send out a ripple of light that heal him, and damaged the King.

Having been outmatched and fatigued while seeing that his opponent was still almost completely healthy, the King staggered and snarled as if catching its breath while its guard was down. Seeing his opportunity, Nat quickly struck at its heart or at least where a heart was supposed to be based on human anatomy and it made it cry out in pain and defeat as darkness oozed out from its mouth while it disappeared into nothing and the fog lifting from the patch.

Knowing that this was the true moment of peace in that time, Nat sat beside Trinity while he sighed deeply before looking at her mismatched eyes once more and hugged her. He was just so happy she was safe and relatively unharmed. Then he noticed the defeated Pumpkin King’s head nearby perfectly shaped and was already carved for Halloween. Having thought of something to end this whole experience in a light tone, he pulled away from the hug and grabbed the head, offering it to her and said ”So. Pumpking picking?” deliberately making that pun and smiling at the end.

Post WC: 1,364
Nat’s Total: 1,691

All monsters defeated.