The Carnival at Moonbright

Gisela moved her arm in her enlarged form and struck down against one of the newly reanimated hags. The hag swung her clawed fingers at her, but Gisela pushed the arm away before grappling the creature. With a sickening pop, she felt the beast fall limp as she twisted its head to the side and snapped its neck.

Across the tent, the shadows formed. Gisela watched as Ramona walked out of the shadows and finished her incantation as the sigils on the ground lit up around them. They were running out of time.

You need to distract her.

Gisela grabbed the hag’s body and threw it across the stage. It skid across the ground, stopping only a few feet away from Ramona. She turned, grabbed the other hag, and placed her sword to its throat.

“Ramona, I will kill both of your sisters in front of you if you do not stop.”

Ramona looked down at her dead sister, then up at Gisela. Her eyes seemed to spark with energy, and her smile grew wider, almost reaching back to her ears. Though the noise around them was deafening, with the magic pressure in the room humming, she could hear Ramona as if she were speaking next to Gisela’s ear.

“It's too late. I have used the reanimated energy and the apprentice’s book to create the spell. I have finally completed my life’s work. To bring forth the Dark Crow once more!”

Ramona pulled a dagger from her side and sliced it into her hands. She let the blood fall onto the sigil, and the arcane energy grew around the tent. Though Gisela knew little of magic, she could tell by the pressure that it was more potent than the spells she had known. She brought the sword down into the hag she held and felt its life force draw out of its body and into her blade.

Mr. Muffins and Leaf cast spells toward Ramona, and Gisela watched as they hit her but seemed not to be doing enough damage to stop her. Gisela took a step forward, then another. The pressure of the magical energy made it hard for her to walk as if it was repelling her from the middle of the tent. Grinding her teeth together, she screamed out and took another step.

Her foot hit the sigil, and she felt necrotic energy flash around her body. It might have killed her if she was in her original state, but she only felt anger now. She took another step, then another. Each placement of her foot caused the energy to wrap around her, tearing at her flesh searing into her muscles and tendons. One step, then another. She reached down with her greatsword and focused her energy on releasing two of the souls inside of it.

I will kill her, using the souls of her sisters. I will stop her!

Gisela, stop! It’s going to kill you too!

I don’t care! She threatened you. She threatened my friends, my family… I will kill her!

A shadowy form began to emerge from the middle of the casting circle. Gisela could feel it as the pressure grew more and more. Something was coming. Something significant and terrifying. She didn’t care, though. Ramona was first, then she would handle this creature if she had to.

She brought down her left arm and, with one last step, placed her hand around Ramona’s throat. She squeezed and heard her laughter turn to choking sounds. Ramona’s face moved from fanatical obsession and happiness to fear. Her nails stabbed into Gisela’s arm, scratching up to her hand, doing everything she could to break the hold.

Gisela’s anger rose, but she heard someone behind her shout. She turned, tears falling from her face. She couldn’t see him, but she could barely hear him.

“Gisela! Watch out, damn it!”

She let go of Ramona and felt a bolt of magical energy fly past her arm. A flash of light burst into Ramona’s chest, and for a moment, everything went white. Gisela rubbed her hand against her eyes, trying to fight the blindness, then looked around her.

On the other side of the tent, Mr. Muffins held out Jimbo, the energy still smoking from his wand. The sigil sparked once, twice, then faded. She could feel her memories moving backward. There was something once about magic needing an anchor. Ramona was the anchor for this spell.

She turned back to where Ramona had stood and saw nothing. Her eyes followed the ground to the railing. The banister had taken heavy impact from a blunt object, where the metal had caved in, almost to the point of breaking through. On the ground below it, Ramona’s crumpled body was laid. Gisela took a step back and then fell to the floor. She was tired. She was angry. She felt lost.

Leaf ran over to Ramona’s body as Myla and Lyla walked slowly back into the tent. Leaf looked through the different pouches, retrieved his spellbook, and then grabbed a few other items. He placed the items in his bag and then returned to the party.

“It’s over?” Lyla asked.

“It’s over,” Leaf replied.

They waited there for a few minutes, catching their breath. No one seemed harmed to a level that needed immediate attention. Gisela watched as the party sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, then she stood up.

“We need to check on everyone else.”

“You’re not wrong, but if something else attacks us, and I die, I swear I’ll haunt y’all forever.” Mr. Muffins said, a slight grin showing on his face.