The Forgotten Tomb

Valligator looked at her party of Sylesties and wondered if they were strong enough accomplish the task that Krinadon had set forth for them. Her group of Qitari stamped and snorted with confidence. Lagani twitched her tail impatiently and Grunthor tossed his head. "Alright my friends, let's go." She turned and led them into the ancient tomb.

The floor was thick with dust, but it had been disturbed, they were not the first to venture here tonight. It seemed they were not the only ones on the hunt for the magical spell that thought it was hidden in this long forgotten tomb. For a moment Val's hear sank. Cylvana, sensing her human friend's worries nudged her in the back, as if to say "Don't worry, there's still time." Valligator smiled and picked up the pace, Cylvana was right, this tomb was vast and just because somebody else had gotten here first didn't mean they'd found the spell yet.

After several twists and turns, Val began to worry they were lost, the shadows closed in and her heart began to race. Something move further up the passage, Val stopped, but her Qitari pushed past here, eager for a fight. A Ferrikki and a Ryori charged down the ancient hallway with their teeth bared. Their eyes were glazed and lifeless, clearly they had been enslaved by The Vampire. Val took a deep breath and began shouting orders to her party, encouraging them in the battle and calling them back to receive potions when they were heavily injured.

After a fierce fight Lagani, Grunthor, and Cylvana limped back, their coats bloody and grubby. Valligator liberally applied salves and potions, all the while praising them for job well done. Once certain that the Qitari were well healed she ventured down the passage to inspect their defeated adversaries. She was pleased to find that her party had merely knocked the creatures unconscious. With care she tended their wounds before leading the Qitari further into the tomb.

Soon they reached a large room, the walls were lined with alcoves and each held a lit jack-o-lantern. Cautiously the party ventured across the room, their path lit by the flickering ghoulish faces of the carved pumpkins. Suddenly the room darkened, a mist swirled across the floor, the light from the pumpkins took on a reddish hue. The Qitari took up defensive positions around Valligator.

Out of the mist rose a figure, pale faced and wrapped in a black cloak. A crooked smile parted to reveal gleaming fangs. "The Vampire." Val whispered.

"Ah, more dinner guests I see." The Vampire chuckled, "I'm sorry to say you missed the main course. However, I think you'll make a lovely dessert, I mean, you're just in time to join me for dessert."

This vampire was ancient and clever, luckily Valligator was a vampire expert. She had prepared for this fight by watching hours of True Blood episodes. Before The Vampire could launch it's attack Val pulled out her crossbow and fired a silver tipped wooden bolt into his chest. A look of shock crossed his pale face before The Vampire burst into a bloody pile of ooze.

Quickly Val and her party searched the room and found a high shelf that held what Krinadon had sent them to find, a scroll that bore the magical spell. Hastily Val unfurled the scroll, the words written upon it began to glow, then burst into flame. Where the ash of the scroll fell a glowing portal opened. Inside were the prizes for the Fall Festival contests, hundreds of prize pouches, unhatched sylesti eggs, deeds to un-owned barns, chests full of brewing supplies and chocolate coins. All of it had been stolen by the ancient vampire and hidden away. Val loaded the loot onto Lagani, Grunthor, and Cylvana and they set out to return it to Krinadon so the Fall Festival could end as joyously as it had begun.

Once upon a time, long before Ferrikki's came into the world, there lived a great wizard named Krinadon. He would arrange a Magical Pumpkin Hunt every year for morostide. He would get creatures of all kinds visiting. One year he found a Grubby looking Ryori with Bloody Oozey discharge coming out of its eyes sitting in the Shadows near his house . "oh goodness what happened here?" Krinadon asked the ryori. "i was accosted by a Vampire blabbering on and on about making a Spell using ryori eyes and Teeth. I ran for my life and i was unsure where to go but i had heard you were an Expert on dealing with creatures, of all kinds and natures." The poor Ryori told Krinadon. Looking at the ryori, K ushered him inside and sat him on his kitchen table when he went to collect medical supplies from his bathroom Shelf. When he got back to the kitchen the ryori had started munching on piles and piles of candy he has laying everywhere in piles. "im not sure if you should be eating that" K told the ryori. Tending to the ryori's wounds he lifted the ryori to the floor and grabbed his staff off the floor. He knew that if the Vampire needed this Ryori for his spell that he may be coming for him and K may need to defend them both.

For 3 days and 3 nights nothing happened of any note. Life went on, K tended to his pumpkin patch and kept getting piles of candy left on his doorstep. As soon as night fell on that last day a shiver went down K's spine. The shadows in the pumpkin patch seemed to fill with dark figures and he heard a shout within in house. Running forward he was stopped by a wall of dark figures, they held him tight, pinned against a hard surface. K was unsure what it was till he saw that he had been lifted high above the ground and pinned to the post his scarecrow had been on top. A vampire leaned in and everything went black...

Kaita: I was just trotting past Krins door when i heard all the commotion. Using my special unicorn power i blasted those vampires back into the hell they came from and saved the day.... yall are welcome

One dark night, when the shadows were long and creeping. On a night were not even the Ryori dare to hunt. A solo figure waltzed, meandering between the pumpkins as they made there way to the hart of the wood.
Krinadon had warned of this place many eons ago, it is believed to be were Ferrikki were born, by way of magic and blood. Spells of Demons poisoned the air. As creatures to terrible to speak of stalked.
As the full moon reached its peak the cabin as old as the kingdom itself materialized in the mist, the owners eyes glowing, as he watched from the doorway. "Traveller It seems youve lost your way, no one steps this far into the woods unless they seek the dark." His smile was malicious, teeth sparkling as his grin starched to meet his eyes, his mouth looking over stuffed with the fine needle like teeth. "Step inside I dont bite." His cackle echoed out into the woods, carrying away on the heavy fog.
Inside the air was heavy, rickety planks held the roof aloft, bending with the weight of may seasons. Grubby bookcase, damaged by the damp of the mist, lined the walls. The shelfs oozing with materials of the dark arts, the skull of a Nytekrie, a horn of Qitari and the last breath of Sylvorpa were crammed alongside other offerings.
The owner, with glowing eyes of red gave a soft laugh, as he sat behind his desk, watching the traveller with hungry eyes. "Now, I doubt you came all this way to visit a lowly vampire like myself, so what brought you out hear? Perhaps the whispers of the Demon of Dealings? Or her brother may haps? Alas she has retired for this season, her dealings done, much alike her brother. The barrier between the two worlds can only remain so thin for so long, and no demon wishes to be trapped in the mortal realm, a belief I much agree with."
The traveller simply stared at him with an even glower, not buying his shtick.
He could only return a toothy smile, not many smart mortals make it this far into the forest. Leaning his elbows onto the table surface he leaned towards the mortal, his voice growing serious. "So, what do you need an expert in the magical for? Is it that oh mighty portal that your rich and royal thinks is so safe? He asked, and all-knowing eyebrow raised in cockiness."
The traveller smiled, a sharpness to there words as they final spoke. "Something like that."

On a dark and spooky night Krinadon was nestled in his chair in the corner of his home with his loyal Ferrikki and Ryori near by. His partner Faiona had stepped out to gather some candy for the kids that'd be visiting that evening yet he could still feel her presence. Looking out the window he noted all the work she'd put into the magical decorations. The spooky pumpkin sitting by the window, followed by the numerous pumpkins scattered among the yard; ooze covering the path leading up to the door way followed by grubby, bloody hand prints covering the window. She really loved to go overboard during these types of things but that was one of his favourite things about her.

The sylesti expert glanced over at the shelf which had housed some of his books containing spooky stories. Remembering one was about a vampire that was out on a hunt, only to become hunted by a pack of wolves baring their sharp teeth. Another was about a shadow witch who was banished for using a forbidden spell which endangered the world. After pondering for a moment, Krinadon carefully shifted the Ferrikki which had rolled onto his lap before approaching the shelf. Mumbling to himself "Let's re-live one of these stories shall we?" before plucking a book off the shelf and returning to his chair.

Once there was a magical ooze that had a consciousness. Her name was Shadow and she dreamed of becoming a vampire. She just loved the idea of having pointy teeth ever since a pumpkin told her all about them. The pumpkin was named Jack and he was brought to life by someone named Krinadon. Apparently the spell was supposed to turn him into a carriage but instead became a very talkative pumpkin head instead. Krinadon put him on a shelf next to the bottle the ooze lived in. Now the pumpkin would laugh and chatter nonstop on the shelf calling himself an expert on a whole range of topics even though he certainly wasn't since he could only sit and watch from that shelf, but the ooze was just happy to have a friend and listened to all of Jack's stories.

One day Krinadon came home with his face a bit grubby. Jack was shocked to see his master like this. "What happened?" asked the pumpkin.

Krinadon then explained that he had been on a hunt through the entire night for a vampire. He described the bloody horror that the vampire had visited upon the nearby townsfolk and that he had finally vanquished him as the sun rose.

Shadow made strange sounds they never had heard before from her. It took them a while to realize that it was her version of tears. Jack didn't tell her that vampires drank blood with this pointy teeth.

"I'll never want pointy teeth again!", she yelled.

Over the next few days, Jack was quiet and Shadow blew bubbles occasionally. Krinadon would glance occasionally at the sad pair. He had been reading through a large magic tome since he came up with an idea but he didn't say what it was. He then left for about a week before returning with various odds and ends. Shadow couldn't see since she didn't have eyes, but Jack told her of what Krinadon brought: acorns, strange vials of different colors, branches of some sort, and what appeared to be a tiny floating dark cloud.

Krinadon brought them outside. The moon was bright and full. The air seemed to be humming with magic from the glowing runes drawn upon the ground. There were two circles and he placed one on each.

"Jack, what's happening?" asked the ooze. A voice she had never heard before said to just wait a bit and she'd find out. Something was poured into her jar. And then some more things. She could feel them upon her but she didn't know what was happening. Then the jar was turned. She was being poured out!

"Don't worry! You'll be okay!" said Krinadon.

The mysterious voice asked "Is it working?"

"Just give it a moment" replied Krinadon.

Then she could see a glowing light. See? That had to be what it was. Suddenly she could see the world around her. She saw a strange being who walked on two legs and a small creature next to him. But where was Jack?

"Krinadon?" Krinadon nodded. "Where's Jack?"

The small creature next to Krinadon raised his paw. "Hey Shadow! Krinadon said I'm now a Ferrikki! My voice is a bit different but I have a tail and limbs and I can scurry up a tree! It's awesome! Though I got to say I'm kinda jealous that you got floating!"

Floating? She realized then that she was indeed floating up in the air at about eye level to Krinadon. Then she accidentally turned upside down. Krinadon helped right her back up.

"It might take you a while to get used to your new forms. I asked the gods to grant you forms that seemed suited to you. So Jack became a Ferrikki while you Shadow became a Ryori", explained Krinadon. "Now you can both go and see the world for yourselves!"

After that Shadow and Jack explored the world. They'd come home from time to time and took turns speaking of their adventures together.

Encoma and Encima's Little Bedtime Stories

"Encoma, have you ever been to the Haunted House?"
"Of course not dear sister, haven't you heard the rumors?"
"Rumors?"
"Yes, there are many. There are more rumors about that house than there are seeds in a pumpkin."
"Oh my!"
"Oh my indeed."
"Tell me about it Encoma, pllleeeeaaaase!"
"Ugh fine, but don't blame me when you can't fall asleep tonight."

The Haunted House has always been cloaked in a shadow. No one knows why, well perhaps Krinadon does but everyone else doesn't. Anyway, a little blue ryori decided to pay to get into the Haunted House. Bubble's was a rather shy fellow, but he wanted to test his luck! He heard of the glorious treasures that could be found in the HH and wanted to claim some for himself. He headed in, the air was musty. "Hmm, I wonder what they do to make it smell like that." He shook his head and started forward down the corridor. Bubble's examined the hall. It was dusty and long, doors and shelves lined the walls. Bubble's examined a nearby door, bloody ooze flowed from beneath it. "Oh my Stars!" He was so scared he almost lost his teeth. He took a minute to compose himself. Bubble's continued down the musty dusty hall. He noticed a unfamiliar smell. "What is that, it smell rancid ugh!" he said. "Blop!" Bubble's fur stood on end. Something had fallen on the ground, it fell from a shelf. Suddenly the HH wasn't just a unkempt house. Bubble's continued down the hall, he could feel eyes piercing through him. His heart started racing as more things fell to the floor. He picked up his pace, whatever was following him was getting closer! He peaked back in dismay. A ferriki dressed as a vampire! had jumped and was aiming to land on him. Bubble's barely missed getting tackled. The hunt was on, he ran for his life! Flying through the grubby halls, passing through cob webs he skidded through the halls. "Where is the exit in this place!", he screamed! Every hall looked the same in his racing brain. But oh no! Luck was not with him tonight. He has ran right into a wall! "Oh no, oh no...." He turned, the rikki had him cornered. Bubble's gulped and spoke,"You better stay back! I..I am an expert at using my magical spell attack!"

"Magical spell attack? What kind of phony thing is that?"
"Quiet Encoma, let me finish my story in peace."

The rikki let out a chuckle. "Hah, you think a spell can stop me? Nothing can stop me from...."
"Ahhhhhhhhh!", Bubble's screamed. He let out burst of light, blinding and knocking back the ferriki where it stood. Bubble's jumped at the opportunity, he ran passed the phased rikki. "Forget about the treasure, I'm getting out here", he said. He climbed up one of the dusty shelves and hopped out a window. He learned his lesson, he should have known it wouldn't have been that easy! Bubble's wasn't going back in there anytime soon, at least, not without a plan.

"That's it? I thought this was going to be a scary story?!"
"Oh but it was! Bubble's didn't find any treasure, so he wasted his money!"
"Ugh, I'm never asking you to tell me a story again!"

Darkness had fallen in Sweet Blossom Orchard and one Sylestian had found a large apple tree to camp out under. In seconds of drifting off to sleep, she felt a light tug and saw a nearly blinding flash of light. Rather than the cool orchard with its various shades of shadow, she was in a pure white room. Before she could analyze anything, a long, cold hand gently cupped her chin before some sort of drink was slipped down her throat. She coughed, the foul taste of the drink overwhelming. It tasted of pumpkin, peppermint and something metallic. While she was trying to process the taste, she felt a searing heat through her veins. In seconds, all of her senses faded away. She couldnt feel her body at all, couldnt even move to stop herself as she collapsed to the ground. What was going to happen to her? Was this how she would die?

Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps and then caught a glimpse of black. Soon and yet after an eternity, she was face to face with a man. He was impossibly tall and slender, dressed all in black with raven hair and pure white skin but what caught her attention the most, chilled her to the bone, were his eyes. They were crimson, the exact hue of fresh blood and holding a wickedness, an emptiness, almost like there was no soul behind them. I see that magical potion did its job. Youll be no more than just my plaything for a while. Well, he commented, voice deep and promising pain before he opened his mouth to show that his teeth were sharp fangs. This man was a vampire! To be more accurate, my dear, you are my meal. Dont worry, I wont take enough to kill you and playing here in your dreams means you will not turn. For now, though, he said before he gave another wicked smile, fangs on full display. Let the meal begin.

She closed her eyes, fully expecting the vampire to bite into her neck but he pulled away instead. He reached for a shelf just barely in the corner of her sight and grabbed a dagger.The blades lethal edge glimmered in the light, showcased by the casual flicks of the vampires wrist. She felt as emotionally numb as her body was as he stood over her. She felt an almost distant terror as she saw those flashes of light. It was like watching a horror movie but she was the lady on the floor, about to be prey to a sadist. Even if she wouldnt die, even if she wouldnt physically feel a thing, she would know. Beyond any physical markings, her soul would be damaged. There was no escape, no hope...

She was able to see glimpses of the cuts being made, of that bloody blade being plunged into her again and again. She heard everything in far too vivid detail, the sounds echoing. The man was an expert at this, she could tell that and it sent chills through her to know that there was no way that this was his first time. There had to be other victims. How many dreams had he invaded? How many people had suffered this? Should she tell Krinadon? But, really, what could he do? This was a vampire!

As she was muddling over it, anything but thinking of what was happening to her, she came to the shocking realization that it was over. The vampire licked the last of the blood from his blade before he gave her an expression almost like he felt...sorry for her? Before she could give it much thought, he moved away, coming back shortly with a jar of something. It was a minty green and, unlike that potion, this smelled pleasant. He undid the lid and turned it upside down over her torso. The substance came out in a slow ooze, moving like molasses. Once the man thought it was enough, he put the lid back on the jar and set it aside before rubbing the ointment into her skin. She was able to see his face as he did this, stunned by the care. Maybe he wasnt as soulless as she thought?

He must have noticed her shock as he chuckled, a shockingly warm sound. This ointment has a spell on it to heal any sort of damage. Youre my meal, yes, but not my prey. I dont like leaving too many marks behind. Well, theres one, he whispered before he pulled out that dagger again and carved something into her cheek. So I can easily hunt you again next time. Im a creature of habit, you see. I prefer keeping a small menu for repeat visits rather than a new meal each day. Dont you worry, youll see me again, he told her with a menacing edge to his voice. I must say, you should probably invest in somewhere better than an orchard to stay tomorrow. You look rather grubby. Til next time. He flashed her a fangy grin and her world suddenly went black.



She woke with a start, feeling a wave of relief as she noticed she was in the orchard, able to fully move. She looked herself over, happy to notice there were no injuries to herself or her clothes and she felt no pain. She was fully ready to dismiss everything as a horrible dream before she reached a hand to her cheek, finding a roman numeral, IX, carved deep into her flesh. She felt her blood run cold as she realized that was no dream. Movement caught her eye and she looked up. At first, she was relieved to see just a ryori and ferrikki playing together but then she saw it, saw him. Barely within view, she caught sight of a figure in black, a figure she knew far too well. The vampire was real and he was here.

Raindrops violently threw themselves onto the abandoned warehouse roof as Shadow squeezed her slender Ryori body through the empty frame of the window and jumped onto a pile of giant pumpkins. Why anyone would make a warehouse just to store pumpkins was beyond her, but that's not her problem. From her vantage point, Shadow could see the warm glow of candles in the far corner where someone had shoved aside enough pumpkins to make a small clearing. Two dark-furred Morkkos prowled near the door opposite where Shadow hid.
Those fools, only a moron would enter through the front door. A flash of lightning illuminated her black, white, and red fur but the guards, being fixated on their door, didn't even turn around. Satisfied that her entry went unobserved, Shadow took two bounding leaps using the pumpkins as stepping stones. She stopped just outside the circle of light coming from the clearing and peeked down. Below, a man with grey skin, long elf-like ears, and twisted ivory-colored horns paced around a large wooden table full of candles of all sizes. The candlelight reflected off his golden armor and large golden wings. Leaning against a small shelf of dusty books was a bloody red and black ax that seemed to absorb the light, creating a pocket of darkness in the otherwise well-lit clearing.

The man spun around as Shadow lept down into the clearing.
"How did you get past my guards?", the man asked, narrowing his eyes.
"You mean those blundering fools?" Shadow scoffed, "It was child's play. You called for an expert so here I am. You are Krinadon, are you not?"
Krinadon looked at Shadow skeptically, "You're not what I expected. Still, I suppose you did manage to sneak past my guards and catch me by surprise. Few can boast of that. So, you claim to be an assassin? Are you any good?"
"Only as good as the pay."
"Oh, a mouthy one. Well, you'll do." Krinadon turned to reach for a small sack hidden among the candles and added, more to himself than to Shadow, "Yes, you'll do, you'll do. I haven't got the time to find another one..."
Krinadon turned back to Shadow and smiled an oily smile, revealing a pair of sharp teeth.
Shadow took an involuntary step back. No no no, he couldn't be a vampire. "I thought your kind was supposed to be extinct," she managed to say, hoping that he couldn't hear the panic rising within her.
"Not quite, as you can see," Krinadon said casually, "The Hunt has eradicated most of my kind, but not me. No no, not me. I'm clever." A hint of madness began crawling into his voice, his oily smile, and his icy blue eyes. "I've created a magical spell, you see. With it, I can take the abilities of others, their strength, intelligence, and... lifespan"
Shadow took another step back in horror. "So I'm... and the morkkos...?" Shadow stuttered, trying to gather her thoughts.
"My my, you're quite the clever one, aren't you? Yes yes, I intend to use those dull-minded morkkos for their strength and you for your agility and any other useful skills that assassins tend to have. Now now, enough talking, I must get started." Krinadon said as he pulled out a grubby looking Ferrikki from the sack, "This one is about to expire. I do hope its intelligence level hasn't deteriorated much. I've heard they're supposed to be very intelligent though this one hasn't been too promising. Anyways, no time to worry about that. The last time I cast this spell was centuries ago and I'm afraid I won't last much longer."

With inhuman speed, Krinadon grabbed his ax and hurled it at Shadow. She managed to dodge it and it embedded itself into a nearby pumpkin.
"You missed!" Shadow taunted. Probably not the best idea, but she was quite out of those at the moment. She turned to Krinadon, but he just stood there with a mad grin on his face. An acrid odor filled the clearing as Shadow turned to see the impaled pumpkin begin to ooze a black tar-like substance. The ooze dripped onto a nearby pumpkin, melting into its skin and causing it to begin oozing as well.
"You see," Krinadon said still grinning maniacally, "That substance will melt anything in its path. Anything, except me that is. I've taken the proper precautions, but not you or those morkkos or this pathetic fluffball here. No no, not you, not you. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You'll all become part of this gloop from which I will be reborn, stronger and more immortal than ever!"
"That's not very poetic", Shadow noted still staring at the black goo inching towards her as it melted more pumpkins. "And how do you become more immortal? I'm pretty sure it's either immortal or not."
"Stop ruining my moment, little Ryori!" shouted Krinadon jumping up and down, "I am immortal! Or will be! Or whatever!" In his mad fury, Krinadon didn't seem to notice how close he had gotten to the candles and the tip of a wing dipped into a tiny flame. The flame leaped from its candle to Krinadon and in a matter of seconds, Krinadon was engulfed in flames. As Shadow watched in stunned silence, the flames disappeared as quickly it appeared leaving no trace of Krinadon to be found. Even his ax, which he hadn't been holding, had crumbled away into nothingness. With Krinadon and the ax gone, the black ooze hardened then turned into a mush of pumpkin remains.
"Well," Shadow muttered, "that's the last time I'll be accepting anonymous job offers."

The End.

Characters: (Krin and Shadow)

The Tale of Pumpkin

An elderly woman shifted in her chair, resting her old bones, as she watched the faces of all of the children in her tiny village waiting for her to begin her annual story the day before Halloween. Is everyone settled? Yes? Good...good. As you children know, I am the current magical expert and keeper of stories. She sighed as she shifted into a more comfortable position. Now, before we begin, Krinadon could you grab that spell book off of that shelf carved like a ferrikki? Thank you, thats a good lad. Now, I am going to tell you the story of a mischievous ryori named Pumpkin and the way he tricked his way out of becoming a vampires dinner and into defeating a vampire and saving a village. She chuckled before shifting again in her seat. Pumpkin was a clever sylesti and he knew it. This caused no end of grief to those who tried to put their grubby mitts on his belongings, as he liked to play tricks on those who tried. One day, he heard a chilling tale about a vampire attacking travelers along the route to a town a short way south of his village. Pumpkin knew that the vampire was not just a threat to the one village, but could soon spread his reign of terror to other villages. Pumpkin could not let this happen. He needed to protect his village and as he was a ryori, and thusly incorporeal, he would face the least danger in fighting the vampire. That very evening, he set out determined to lure the vampire into attacking so Pumpkin could finish him. As Pumpkin tread the path that carved through a thick forest the sky darkened and the forest darkened with it. Pumpkin noticed a shadow flitting between the trees stealthily creeping along behind him. The vampire was on the hunt. Now, Pumpkin wanted to draw the vampire out, so he curled up by the base of a tree in a nest of leaves and pretended to fall asleep. He only had to wait a few minutes for the vampire to try to sneak up on him. When Pumpkin heard the rustle of nearby undergrowth he leapt up and used his beam attack on the vampire, illuminating its face. The vampire had bloody fangs and the blood of his victims was ooze between his teeth. The vampire stumbled back, and then tried to attack Pumpkin, but he was waiting with another beam attack that caused the vampire to disintegrate back into the dust and amulets that it was made of. Pumpkin knew that this was the work of a powerful sorcerer and that he would have to fight the sorcerer one day, but tonight he headed back to his village with the amulets as proof that the vampire was dead. The village rejoiced that the vampire was dead and swore to tell Pumpkins story every year to honor his accomplishments, but the sorcerer is still around to this day, so be careful when you go into the woods children, for this town is the one in my tale and Pumpkin still resides here, waiting for the sorcerer to come out of hiding so that they may fight at last. The old woman smiled and released the children to go participate in the festivities held in Pumpkins honor, having done her duty to pass down the legends and warnings her grandmother had taught her.

The forest was dark and gloomy, the crescent moon only a sliver in the star-dotted sky. The lantern Squeak carried had long since run out of oil, and the shadow of every tree looked like a fierce ryori ready to pounce. Krinadon had called a hunt, and every able-bodied Sylestian was out tonight, searching for the elusive creatures. Squeak was relatively certain that this wasn't one of Drusilla's deals, but she'd already sent a number of unfortunate lupora to the... demoness? She wasn't sure anymore, what contracts she'd signed, but the temptation of loot was strong. The promises of demons were especially enticing at this magical time of year. And while Squeak was no expert trapper, she knew her master trap would serve her well this night. She was, sadly, down to her last one, so she knew she'd have to make it count.

Dry, fallen leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked, the sound seeming loud in the otherwise silent forest. Even the crickets seemed afraid to chirp. Her sylesti companion, a newly tamed frosted forest ferrikki, stuck close to her side. The creature was also silent, padding along with an alert gaze searching the dark undergrowth beneath the canopy of the looming trees. His ears swiveled this way and that, as if trying to catch a sound, but Squeak heard nothing, and hoped the ryori she was hunting wasn't scared away by her own lack of stealth. Ordinarily, she'd have a stable ready for the creature, but somehow she suspected the thing was going to end up on display on some demon's shelf, or in a stew pot. Maybe she was a little bit evil for agreeing to undertake these contracts, but gold was so hard to come by these days.

Eventually, their footsteps took the pair through the trees and into a clearing, where moss covered the ground instead of grass. It was as if even the other plants were afraid to encroach on this place, a number of rocky outcroppings the only notable features. Apart from something round and orangeish at the center. The ferrikki hesitated, but Squeak strode forward, both curious and hopeful. A lot of chests and other containers had been abandoned around the festival grounds, and those handfuls of goo were ridiculously hard to come by. To her disappointment, however, it wasn't a chest, but a very dirt-smeared pumpkin.

With a sigh, she gave it a kick, wincing as the hard exterior hurt her toes. The grubby gourd began to ooze a deep red liquid. Startled, Squeak backed up a few steps, the rikki behind her sniffing the air with some concern. Eyeing the bloody-looking pumpkin, Squeak suddenly noticed the teeth. It wasn't a carved face, but an actual mouth! Which was opening into a vicious snarl to reveal gleaming fangs. Squeak didn't know what kind of spell was on this awful vampire gourd, but she quickly decided that she didn't want to find the answer as it started to... bounce toward her. Slowly.

Nope.

Turning around, Squeak and her ferrikki fled the clearing. This was just a too spooky for her. She was going home before anything else with teeth started bouncing after her.