Sorry for the wait, guys... my computer ate what I had for this, as well as chapter 6. :'( Ate everything. I rewrote the ending for the chapter, though it is not as good as what I originally had... I could not bring myself to do so, felt bad about working so hard and not having it. So I apologize for any drop in quality in this one... still, I hope you enjoy it, again just a bit more Halloween fun and a little glimpse into the relationships between the adventurers as the story goes on. A bit of information - Vizia and Ricansea knew each other before this quest, so the friction between them is from a past event that will be explained in time.
I was absentmindedly whittling a piece of tinder with my dagger when I heard a loud crashing noise, very close by. I jumped up as I heard a high-pitched scream – upon hearing it, Arcana leapt to her feet with a snarl.“That sounded like Torin,” Sorras said, sounding unconcerned. He was still sitting and looked completely at ease. “He probably saw a Nandi or something. Don’t worry about it.”
But I stayed standing. Everything had seemed off ever since night had fallen and we’d entered the forest… there was certainly something strange going on. Though it was no secret that Torin was startled easily, I saw no reason to let down my guard until I heard Torin’s explanation for myself.
Torin burst into the camp a minute later, looking more panicked then I’d ever seen him. He immediately collapsed upon the ground, breathing heavily. Arcana examined him worriedly, but he did not seem to be hurt. I cautiously lowered my dagger and asked him urgently what happened. He panted for a few moments longer, then said, “There… There’s something possessed back there. It has to be dark magic. It has to be! I was going to pick it up and it moved… and there was a FACE on the gourd… and that moved, too! It was horrifying.” His voice got quieter and more strangled the more he talked, as though he was scared to even speak of the possessed gourd.
I sighed and flopped back down on the ground. Sorras was right – just Torin being Torin, as usual… and now we didn’t have any food. “It’s okay,” I said quietly. “We probably have enough bread to last us one more night.”
Torin stared at me blankly. “What are you talking about? We have to go and kill that thing!!”
We all stared at him again; I suppressed a shiver. Something was definitely up tonight. I stood once more. “I’ll go with you,” I said stoutly, scowling as I heard a soft laugh behind me.
“How fitting, a coward helping a coward,” Vizia said, smiling at us with malice in her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll both be back soon, wetting yourselves because of a possessed mouse – or perhaps a leaf that blows across your path! It will be entertaining to see what scares you two when you come running back.” She laughed again.
It was only Torin’s expression and the apparent importance of killing this beast that kept me from leaping at her. I set my jaw to keep from retaliating, though of course she took this as a victory. I stamped through the spell-bubble before I could hear her reply.
The forest was dark and intimidating, but I kept a tight hold on my dagger and followed Torin closely as he warily led the way. Though he told me not to bring a light, I kept my magic close at hand, just in case. I squinted, hoping to see our enemy soon. He’d said they glowed…
I knew we were close when Torin stopped dead in his tracks. I peered through the murky darkness and could just make out something faint and orange…
Determined to be braver than Vizia thought I was, I boldly approached the glow. As I stood over them I saw that they were just harmless gourds. One round orange pumpkin was sitting snugly in the middle of the pile, its glow the brightest of all. Smiling now, I reached down to pick it up. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” I said, shaking my head. I knew of no one else that could be afraid of plants. My hands were about to touch the smooth surface when Torin whispered, “Careful!”
As though signaled by his whisper, the pumpkin twitched. I jerked back as the pumpkin twitched again. Dropping my dagger, I went for my sword, ready to cleave it in two. The pumpkin slowly shook and spun, turning slowly to reveal a face, smiling at me with pointed teeth and blinking eyes.
I fell back a step, while Torin stumbled back three. I raised my sword again, but as I did, I noticed something about the grinning face. Its eyes, though unnerving and unnatural, did not seem to hold malice. I was disconcerted by how human its expression seemed. And despite the fact that it was carved on the face of a pumpkin, it looked… friendly.
I sheathed my sword and ignored Torin’s protestations as I approached once more. My hands touched on either side of the glowing, smiling face… then suddenly everything went black. The glow disappeared from the gourds, even the faint light from the stars; everything was extinguished. Leaving one hand upon the gourd, I groped behind me until my hand knocked against Torin. I linked my arm with his securely so he didn’t panic and try to bolt – or at least I’d know if he was trying.
I heard a faint rustle beside me, and there was a sudden spark of green light, throwing a truly nightmarish face into sharp relief. Though the body shape was that of a female human, the face most certainly was not. Straggly black hair fell from underneath a pointed hat, but the unruly strands only partly covered the face. Her skin was green and covered with odd lumps, almost like warts. A hooked and bulbous nose protruded out from the clumps of hair, and when she opened her mouth to speak, her teeth were nothing more than cracked yellow stubs.
“What brings you here to my garden?” The being said, the voice much gentler than I had been expecting. Behind me, Torin whimpered. Without waiting for an answer, she knelt and picked up the smiling gourd, which beamed and hopped about happily in her hands. “You should know better. Never eat anything that’s smiling at you, you silly girl.” She ran her gnarled, warted hands across the pumpkin, her sharp and cracked nails caressing the stem.
I opened my mouth to say something – or to scream, I’m not really sure which – when a new voice entered our little confrontation. “Greetings, nightsister,” A calm voice said, and I jumped as I recognized Sorras. He strode boldly up to the witch, standing between her and me.
She looked astonished. “You know me, silver hair?” She said, her voice slightly softer now. Sorras shook his head. “Not you personally – I’m sure you would remember me if we’d met. Your race just has a rather… distinctive aura, if I may be blunt. Are you enjoying this Hallow’s eve?”
I could just barely see her smile in the ghostly light. “I suppose I should not be so shocked. We are hardly a secretive race… though you humans have begun to forget us in recent years. It is nice to have a few younglings remember that witches still walk this land. ”
Sorras said nothing more, and after a moment, the nightsister turned away from him, stepping around both Sorras and me and approaching Torin. To his credit (and our surprise) he held his ground, his hand clenched around his dagger. The witch cackled. “Wonderful,” She said, setting down the still-grinning pumpkin and rifling around in the pockets of her tattered dress. Sorras and I jumped as we heard a hiss; there was a glitter of green eyes, and a black cat dropped to the ground from the witch’s pack. The witch completely ignored the interruption and continued to search about as the cat wound about her legs. I shifted uncomfortably, off-put by the turn of events. I turned to Sorras and asked in a whisper, “How did you find us? And why are you here? I thought you were staying back at camp with the cow.”
He grinned briefly at my new nickname for Vizia, then answered, “Aren’t you a suspicious little thing. I was going to stay, but I got curious about the supposed glowing possessed things - you two weren’t that hard to follow. Anything else you want to question me about, or are you satisfied?”
I scowled at him. “Not quite,” I said, still speaking in a whisper. Torin was standing awkwardly in front of the witch, who was still rifling through her pockets. The pumpkin – which apparently had no trouble moving by itself – was leaning against Torin’s leg. I could see him trying to edge away, without much success. Returning my attention to Sorras, I said, “How did you know what she was? Are you sure everything’s… okay?”
He snorted. “You would know if you paid attention in old man Belmos’s classes. Considering she hasn’t killed us yet, I doubt she will. And yes, she can hear everything we’re saying right now, and I don’t care, so don’t interrupt me to ask me that. I knew what she was because the description I read was very clear, and I’ve studied them before. They’re an old race of magic-users… a lot different than ours, and not very well-known in these days. Witches and nightsisters rely on potions more than anything else, and they can make things we can only dream of. It’s all part of a greater –“
Whatever he was going to say was lost as the witch finally pulled something with a flourish out of the depths of her cloak. “Hush, you two,” she said to us. “You can discuss my histories later. You there, blonde one. Come closer.” Torin pulled his dagger out of his sheath once he realized she was talking to him. “Put that stick away,” She said impatiently. “I shan’t harm you. Now come!”
Torin glanced desperately over at us. I nodded reassuringly. If Sorras thought she was safe enough, then so did I. He stood rooted in place a moment longer, then took a few hesitant steps forward, stopping when he was within an arm’s length of the witch. The pumpkin wiggled about on the ground until it was at the witch’s feet; with a hoarse meow, the black cat leapt atop its gnarled stem. They both watched as the witch closed the distance between Torin and herself, something clenched in her outstretched hand.
Torin flinched away, but the witch’s hand darted out and caught his arm, forcing something into his palm. She stepped back and watched him expectantly. Still eyeing her warily, he carefully opened his hand and saw…what? Though Sorras and I both craned our heads, we could see nothing there. Either she was playing a trick on us or it was seriously small.
Then, quite suddenly, a grin stretched across Torin’s face, and he carefully held up an absolutely miniscule glowing thing. We both came forward and saw that there a glowing pumpkin hanging from a thin chain. Before any of us could say anything, the witch said, “That’s something unique to the nightsisters. I doubt you’ll see any one of us again – we only appear to mortals on All Hallow’s Eve – but should you, it will be a valuable token. We nightsisters see with more than our eyes; I know how difficult it was for you to scavenge alone with no outside help. Bear this token as a reminder of your night of courage… and do try to have it surface more often, will you?” Torin tucked the glowing pumpkin beneath his shirt, where the glow immediately disappeared. He said nothing, but the witch did not seem to want a reply. I felt slightly uneasy, wondering what she meant about seeing more than she saw with her eyes… I quickly tried to force my fear down, lest she ‘see’ that too.
If she noticed anything from me, she didn’t comment. Once again rifling through her voluminous pockets, she pulled out something that couldn’t possibly have fit; a round iron cauldron with a face carved upon the front, looking eerily similar to the pumpkin at her feet. She handed it to Sorras, saying, “I won’t have you eating my gourds, but there are many spirits roaming the forest tonight that are not as benevolent as I. Take this and begone to your camp – do not stray from the path you took when coming to me.”
Torin was the first to find his voice. “Thank you, nightsister,” he said, his voice reverent. She cackled, not seeming as fierce as she had when she had first appeared. The saying ‘looks can be deceiving’ was definitely true.
“Lucky that you hadn’t tried to actually eat my gourd, or you would have very little to thank me for,” She said. She roughly shoved me and Sorras in the back, sending us toppling into Torin and out of her little glen. Torin shouted his thanks once more over his shoulder, then the green light surrounding the witch disappeared, plunging us into darkness once more.
It was quiet on the way back, all of us at the ready for the less-benevolent spirits the witch spoke of. As we neared our camp, Torin stopped in his tracks – screams could very clearly be heard, coming from directly ahead of us. Sorras ran ahead, closely followed by Torin – I followed more slowly, for those screams sounded familiar…
When I made it into the camp, I was met with an interesting sight – Vizia was screeching and running about the camp, something black tangled within her dark red hair. Hezzerak and Svarvok were watching worriedly from the side, whereas Talvi was rolling about on the ground, laughing loudly in his chirping little way. Eventually I saw wings and realized there was an enormous bat in her hair. There were burn marks on the ground where she’d clearly tried to shoot it off, and a foul-smelling bundle to the left of me made it clear she’d accidentally blasted off a lock of her own hair.
I laughed and folded myself on the ground by Talvi, enjoying myself. Sorras put the cauldron down and stood back, his expression impassive. Vizia continued to screech incoherently, but she did not ask any of us for help. She never would have asked me – she could be dying and she still wouldn’t ask me – but I was a bit surprised she hadn’t screamed Sorras’s name by now. Eventually, Torin took it upon himself to save her and ripped the bat out, releasing it immediately. It flew away without pestering any of us.
She did not thank Torin, nor did she look at any of us at first. She asked of the air whether we’d managed to find any food, then looked directly at me and asked whether we’d accomplished anything while we wasted precious time dithering about in the forest. I was about to reply with a sharp retort when Torin cut me off, saying that yes, he had food. Without saying where he got it, he swiftly took the lid off the cauldron. Immediately we were enveloped in a spicy, delicious scent – the cauldron contained a soup. Our budding argument was forgotten in the prospect of good food. It was quickly ladled out and passed around. The smell was not misleading – it was absolutely scrumptious. There was no meat – that I could recognize, at least – but the hearty nutty flavor was very filling. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it… except for Vizia. She screamed it was too hot, but even after we all had finished and were bringing out our blankets, she said the soup burned. Sorras threw an accusing look at me as he banked the fire – I quickly raised my palms up, then glared at him. It hadn’t been me! I wouldn’t have gone so far to poison her food, he should know that. She might do that to me eventually, but I certainly wasn’t going to sink to her level. He took in my infuriated expression and shrugged, mouthing ‘sorry’, and doused the fire.
I curled up by Arjeyoun, whispering the words of a few extra spells that would strengthen the screen around us. Though the witch was clearly good – to us, at least – I took her warning very seriously. I wasn’t in the mood to run into the other creatures of Hallow lore… hadn’t we been through enough? A slight glowing caught my eye as I saw Torin examining his new charm. I nestled deeper into my cloak, wondering if this would bring about a change in the always-timid Torin… and whether Vizia would blame me, as Sorras originally had, for the strange curse she had with the soup. Though it truly hadn’t been me, I smiled in vindictive pleasure, pleased that there were still a few forces out there that seemed to be on my side.
Chapter 6 will be up tomorrow... I'm doing it more slowly and telling myself not to make it shoddy just because I lost it once. X3 Sorry for the wait and thanks for your patience!
And sorry again. Please send good thoughts to my computer and cross your fingers it doesn't die. :/
I'm glad you guys liked the story so far, and thanks for joining in, Lunaheart!
It's nearly all re-written, though - expect a new chapter Nov. 1st or 2nd! 
Wishlist 
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I can't wait to read the rest of the chapters you have written and can't wait for more!!
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working on a speshul chapter for you so you know a little bit more about how magi Ricansea came across him.