The Shining Blades (D&D X-Files)

2. Sins of the Past

As the mayhem multiplied around him, Alexis strained to touch the book held safe inside his shoulder satchel. All he needed was a momentary connection with its weathered surface. But this was easier said than done, as his right hand struggled to work its way under the flap on the opposite side of his body. And his left hand...well, his left hand was already spoken for.

The pumpkin that had swallowed his fist clamped down more fiercely. The young traveler was surprised at just how strong an animated squash could be. The only other openings in the writhing Jack O'Lantern were in the face itself; Alexis tentatively explored these exits with his fingers, yanking them quickly back again when the misshapen teeth bit them.

"Had I known you would use them against me," he admitted, "I would not have given you quite so many teeth. Now where's that knife?"

That knife was in the shaking fists of the pumpkin farmer. She backed slowly away from the frightening spectacle, her blade quickly splitting the air whenever a shambling squash ventured too near. The skills she'd gained from chopping chickens and portioning produce were reaping quite the harvest today.

"Give me the..." Alexis paused, then renewed his entreaty. "May I please borrow that knife, for a moment?"

The woman's wide fearful eyes and quick shake of the head assured Alexis that she would not. The petulant pumpkin clenched tighter on his hand, and he winced. He was beginning to lose feeling in his digits.

Two of the able-bodied men had pushed their families behind them, stomping on each hissing Jack O'Lanterns that crawled towards them. Intent as they were on demolishing the vegetative vermin, they did not see the looming column of fire until it was too late, and their face and hair were swallowed by the flames. One dropped to the ground and rolled, his back and hair smoking and smoldering. The other made the questionable choice to run into the night, lighting the dark with his burning head and shoulders.

"So that's the ploy," Alexis breathed. The animated pumpkins were only the distraction. The whirling fire was the true threat.

"Hee-yah!" a feminine voice screamed. Rock-in-Water, her furry coat glowing golden by the fierce firelight, kicked an advancing pumpkin into the heat itself. There was a brief hiss and a pop.

"Come here you little cretin!" the catfolk yelled again. This time, her talons pressed into the space around a stem. With a quick yank, she ripped the squash apart into two halves, as if it were a moldy loaf of bread. "I haven't had this much fun since I found that nest of baby squirrels!"

"Keep away from the fire!" Alexis warned her. Sure enough, she darted back just as a sparking spiral lashed out in her direction. Rock hissed in anger at the trickery, but she knew enough to keep her distance. Her fur would blaze like tinder.

"First," said Alexis to the pumpkin that had claimed his left hand, "it's time to be rid of you." He curled his fingers and bashed his foe against anything solid he could find: first his other fist, then the table, then the ground.

A small bowl of flowers, candy, and a candle had fallen onto the dirt. One of Alexis's arcs brought his nemesis directly down on top of the scattered trinkets. As soon as the pumpkin's skin touched the jumble, it gave a shrill screech of agony. To Alexis's astonishment, the vegetable shriveled and rotted, its flesh soon hanging in tatters from his fingers.

He quickly brushed the remaining strands of pumpkin from his fingers, the corner of his mouth twisting in distaste. "Delightful."

Though the villagers of Bayn o'Boon had wisely retreated from the living bonfire, it seemed the inferno was not finished with them. It stretched and grew, the edges of its outline leaping towards the nearest shrubs and bushes. Should it manage to set those alight as well, Alexis guessed, its wrath would spread unimpeded, exhausting itself only when not only Bayn o'Boon, but the entire Gray Forest itself, had been reduced to a hot ashen landscape.