Memoirs of a Witch (In Bloom Book 1.5)

Beanfest Part 5

Kalim. Kalim Al-Asim was the one who thought it would be a good idea to cook in the middle of the game. And not just any food, he prepared shawarma which contained the strongest spices from the Land of Hot Sands.

When Trey, Rook, and I arrived at the botanical garden, Jamil and his team of monsters already got Kalim and the dozens of farmers gathered. We all expected to find monsters scheming, but instead there was a barbeque. The farmers and monsters spread themselves out and chatted with one another while enjoying their lunch.

I saw Scarabia's Vice-Dorm Leader was cutting meat, preparing vegetables, stuffing them into pita pockets and delivering them to hungry individuals at lightning speed.

"Hey, Jamil," I approached, trying to hold in my laughter at his frustration,"whatcha doin'?"

Keeping his eyes focused on his task, he replied in annoyance, "Clearly, I'm feeding people lunch instead of making progress like a sensible monster would."

"To be fair, the food looks wonderful."

"It would be an embarrassment to the Asim family if I offered anything less than the best."

Kalim then offered, "Would you like a shawarma, Cassie? I'm sure Jamil would make you some."

"That's enough with the hospitality, Kalim!" Jamil gave his dorm leader several more wrapped shawarmas wrapped in foil and began to clean up his station, "Here's the rest them. Off you go now."

"Actually..." I said, "May I have one...please?"

In response, Kalim handed me one of the shawarmas. He made sure Rook and Trey were properly fed as well before he and the other farmers took their leave.

After all of the farmers left, I noticed the emptiness of their garden. "Your team truly caught a large amount of farmers," I told Jamil

"We did, but Jade, Cater, and Deuce got away," he replied

Last I recalled, Deuce was part of Vil's posse with Riddle, Epel, Floyd. I guess he got separated from his group and allied himself with another, just like I did. If Cater had Jade, whom Azul was after, and Deuce, whose speed is on par with Jack's, we would have a serious problem on our hands if they weren't eliminated soon.

I pressed on my earpiece, "Azul?"

He immediately responded, "You have some news, I presume?"

"Jade has Cater and Deuce on his side. They were last seen here at the botanical gardens and they're on route to the coliseum."

"Jack and I are already stationed at the coliseum. We'll anticipate their arrival."

After I finished my conversation with Azul, another individual from the monster team walked towards us.

Lilia Vanrouge.

I asked, "How'd it go with Malleus?"

"I struck him down," he said proudly, earning gasps and exclamations from the other members of the monster team. Lilia retold his struggle with Diasomnia's Dorm Leader as if it was a grand battle, "I will say, Malleus has grown into quite the fighter. Had he not run out of beans halfway through, I would have truly been in a real pickle."

"What about Silver and Sebek?" I wondered, "Have you seen them?"

Lilia shook his head, "Despite their bold pre-battle declarations the night before, I have yet to see a hair or hide from those two."

While we all ate our shawarmas, we exchanged and updated any intel we had on the farmer team.

In summary, Cater and Deuce were headed towards the coliseum. Jade was with them, but took a detour. Vil, Riddle, Epel, and Floyd were making their way to the botanical garden in order to meet up with Cater's group.

Trey proposed an ambush on Vil's group. We had the numerical advantage and camouflage provided by the gardens. Not to mention, Rook, Jamil, and I were fully equipped with camo jackets and weapons. However, Jamil opposed the idea, saying it would be unwise to remain in one spot for too long solely to eliminate one team.

Rook considered, "Suppose that on Vil's way here, his group happened to meet up with Cater's. Now, for Jade, theoretically speaking, he could have gotten separated from the group, but it seems like he was deliberately splitting off to achieve something."

I picked up on Rook's train of thought and finished up, "If all eight of them decide to team up and make a run for the harp, Jack and Azul will be in serious trouble. We would be in serious trouble ourselves as well."

"What are you thinking about, Reine de Sorciere?"

"We need to get rid of each group before they get a chance to unite."

While the guys continued to discuss a plan, I noticed movement from outside. I looked through the glass and a smile crept up on my face at the sight of Vil, Riddle, Epel, Floyd, and Silver. Whether they knew there were monsters inside or not was uncertain, but they saved us the effort from hunting them down.

Moreover, Jade, Cater, and Deuce were nowhere to be seen. 

I called the group with a smile, "Gentlemen, I have an idea."

Trey chuckled, "I do love it whenever Cassie gets an idea."

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"So, Jamil, Trey, Rook, and Cassie are in the botanical garden," Vil said, "Do you know how long they've been there for?"

The Diasomnia student replied, "I'm not sure, but we need to come up with a plan quickly."

"Aside from Jack and Azul, Cassie and Rook are our biggest threats."

"Before I joined with Beta Fish, I saw Azul and Sea Urchin together," Floyd added, "If they aren't in there now, they musta split off somewhere."

Epel wondered, "If the monsters already came here, I wonder if Cater, Deuce, and Jade were caught along with them."

Silver shook his head, "I didn't see them among those who got captured."

"In that case, Cater, Deuce, and Jade should have already left and are bound for the coliseum," Riddle concluded.

"Oh, they have," Lilia spoke from behind, "They'd already fled by the time we got to the garden."

Vil spoke, "Is that right? In that case-wait what?!"

With the group caught off guard, it allowed Jamil to try to capture Floyd using a grabbing tool, but the Octavinelle student avoided his grip by a hair.

Quietly creeping up behind Riddle, Trey made an attempt to capture him, but Epel pulled the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader out of the way. Rook came out of hiding next, his weapon tightly grasped and his eyes locked on Vil. 

Vil instructed his group to flee, but they would have to get through me first. After I came out of my own hiding spot, I saw the hesitation on their faces. With them completely surrounded and unsure of where to go, I took aim towards the group.

"Outta the way!" Floyd shouted.

I released my net and caught Riddle and Epel.

I prepared myself for another member of the farmer team to attack, but they all split off and headed for different directions. Lilia and Jamil went after Floyd and Silver while Rook and Trey followed Vil.

With the monsters on their tails, the farmers failed to notice me slipping away from view and heading towards the coliseum.