Starting out with a bang

Rain beat the ground like a thousand little drums. Patches the spirit of autumn appeared coming out of a dark alley. Patches wore a long brim hat that covered his large pumpkin head. His eyes, mouth and nose glowed brightly from the flickering flame inside his head. The glowing eyes shone brightly in the dark and rain. A faint glow remained in the alleyway as Patches was leaving.

            The horrible reality of dark city was, that at any moment a murder could take place and that murder would never be solved, for as many criminals were put into prison, just as many escaped the long arm of the law.

            Patches was usually non violent but decided that it was time to settle a score. Glow in the dark alley was the beaten and bloodied remains of King Sun, the ruler of Summer and all that was warm. With summer in critical condition, the rulers of spring, fall and winter would get a longer season.

            King Sun had grown too powerful and covered much of the year in constant heat, and while everyone thought about doing something, it was Patches who finally did something about it.

            After the attack on the autumn forest by Ignitious and Glacious, Patches decided that a peaceful life in harmony together was not an option. The spirit of Autumn and Halloween now walked the line between defender and the aggressive monster that he fought.

Halloween and the Autumn season was both fleeting and special, so its protector needed new measures.

Joseph and Jaye save Autumn part 4 of 4

When Joseph Stephens and Jaye Williams arrived to the source of the heat they found Ignitious laying on a beach chair and a giant fire ball, which he conjured, was floating in the sky above the trees acting like a second sun. “I was expecting a forest on fire, not a flame elemental enjoying an extended summer” Jaye joked. “Both are equally bad. This isn’t the summer land, this is the Autumn land” Joseph said with a low growl. “Ok big guy, lets ease off on the demon juice. We just gotta whack this guy a couple of times with the ol’claw hammer and we can go back to drinking coffee in the cold breeze like a couple of weirdos” Jaye said as he patted Josephs arm. Joseph turned to Jaye with a sad but sincere smile “Yeah, I am just getting a little worked up. It will be ok” Joseph said, nodding several times as if to try and convince himself.

            Ignitious spotted the two friends walking up. Jaye had his pumpkin sword drawn and Joseph had his magic staff ready. The humanoid fire spirit let out a quick laugh at the sight of the two. Tiny flames spit out from his mouth when he laughed. Ignitious’ laugh caused Joseph’s anger to burn hotter. “This isn’t a laughing matter. You are about to be destroyed. We spared your brother, you wont be spared, not after we saw what you two did to Patches” Joseph shouted with his teeth gritted. Before Ignitious could reply a ten foot tall whirlwind was launched from Joseph’s staff. The whirlwind tore a path through the ground and struck the flame elemental before he could get out of his beach chair.

            The whirlwind shook in the place where Ignitious previously sat. Flames erupted from the whirlwind in every direction until the whirlwind was dispelled, leaving a very angry flame spirit in its place. Ignitious had flames raging all over his body, with his core form made from a searing magma substance. “I was just going to make this into a second summer forest because I felt bad for old Patches but since you attacked me so rudely, I am going to burn this forest down to ASH!” Ignitious shouted then shot straight at Joseph with incredible speed and force. Jaye saw Ignitious lunge across the battlefield and barely had enough time to summon his golden leaf. The leaf created a wind barrier just a split second before the giant fireball that was Ignitious hit Joseph. The flame spirit was repelled by the windshield and sent backward but the force of his attack shut down the shield and made Jaye stumble backward slightly. All of the magical items they had, took their energy to use and Jaye was already feeling tired from repelling such a large attack.

            The two friends prepared to attack but Ignitious was relentless and went into another attack. Jaye spotted a large hollowed out log, it was large, sturdy and looked like it had been there for a hundred years. “Follow me!” Jaye shouted as he ran for cover. Joseph ran right behind Jaye. Ignitious was fast and was quickly gaining on the two. The flame spirit turned into a fireball and launched himself forward. The two friends jumped into the hollow log just in time. Ignitious sped by the log and hit a tree ten feet away. “Your luck will not last!” Shouted the angry spirit. “This log is pretty great! Maybe we could just camp here until Ignitious leaves” Jaye joked. Joseph half smiled.

            Ignitious was tired of his enemy surviving his attacks and decided to go all out. “You dared to bring out my wrath, now try and survive it” Ignitious shouted. He stretched his arms up into the air and summoned flames. Fire floated in the air above Ignitious, the collection of fire was bigger than Ignitious himself. “Your father was a matchstick!” Shouted Jaye, who was poking his head out of the log. “and your mother was an easy bake oven” Joseph shouted, still in the log.

            “Enough!” Ignitious shouted as he shot all of his summoned flames at the two. The intense fire it the ancient log, fire burst out in every direction upon contact with the log. The surrounding area was burned and turned to ash but somehow the log stood, old, stubborn and sturdy. “The log protected us!” Joseph said in amazement. “The log provides!” Jaye cheered. The giant log was blackened and smoking but it protected the friends.

            Ignitious was furious but couldn’t summon another attack right away without injuring himself. “Hey, he’s outta juice!” Jaye cheered. “Right! Then lets smoke this turkey!” Joseph said with a determined expression. Jaye pulled his claw hammer from his jacket, used his magic pumpkin to cover him in armor and then charged out from the safety of the log. Joseph took a swig from the warm liquid in the water flask, because it tasted good, then charged out holding his magic staff.

            Ignitious saw the two charging and tried to throw a few flame attacks. The half hearted attacks were easily dodged and the friends were left unhindered. “I’ve been waiting for this! Clawww Hammar!” Jaye brought his hammer down and struck the fire elemental in the chest, knocking him back. Joseph followed behind then summoned earth tremors and whirlwinds from his staff. Joseph’s anger still boiled inside of him and he was determined to bring down Ignitious down, even if it meant killing him.

            The ground shook around Ignitious, the whirlwind pulled loose rocks from the ground as it went and the multiple whirlwinds filled with rocks and stones hit Ignitious. Ignitious was wounded but still standing. He charged up a fireball and threw it at Joseph.

            Joseph hadn’t let up his attack at this point and continued to charge forward casting magic. Jaye jumped and knocked Joseph out of the way of the incoming fireball. “You aren’t suddenly fire proof are you?” Jaye asked with a smile “No” Joseph replied shortly then stood up and began charging his energy into his magic staff. Joseph was determined but also blinded by his singular goal to defeat Ignitious.

            Joseph’s anger had been building for a long time, every time July the fat spirit of summer, Old Man Winter or any other troublesome spirit tried to disrupt the Fall. Joseph didn’t try to invade summer land to make the season shorter, he didn’t go out of his way to fight Winter so Autumn lasted longer. Joseph was peaceful and waited all year for his favorite season and yet someone had to try and stop him from enjoying it. He suffered through summer, getting heat stroke, heat sickness, headaches, dizziness, sweating through his shirts, and yet he suffered through it without trying to conquer anything. Ignitious treated Patches worse than anyone yet and the attack from the Fire and Ice brothers was the final straw.

            Joseph had been charging magic into his staff then unleashed it on Ignitious. A giant wall of stone rose up from the ground then rushed forward like a tidal wave, whirlwinds flew at Ignitious, each whirlwind was bigger than usual and streaked with lighting. Electricity flashed and sparked through the air. The rock tidal wave, the electrical mega whirlwinds and just pure bolts of lighting blasted forward at super speeds. Ignitious was fast but he couldn’t manage to escape this onslaught in time. All of the magic attacks struck Ignitious. The flame elemental shook and convulsed in place, the flames that made up his outer body pulsed and flared out in every direction at random intervals. When the attacks died down Ignitious was left with only his core magma form and was more vulnerable now, like Glacious in his cracked solid ice form.

            Joseph had spent most of his energy with those attacks and now gasped to catch his breath. Ignitious was defeated and fell to his knees “Alright, I give up. I won’t bother Patches or his land again” Ignitious said, his voice was weak and hollow. “No forgiveness, he wont get mercy” Joseph said between breaths. Jaye winced “We’ll spare him like we spared Glacious. Let me handle this” Jaye said to a barely standing Joseph.

            “We spared your brother and we will spare you. Whatever grudge or debt you think you have between patches, is over. Enough fighting, try to do something useful for a change” Jaye told Ignitious then shook his claw hammer menacingly at the wounded flame spirit.

            Ignitious vanished in a ball of flame leaving a small scorch mark on the grass where he knelt. Jaye turned to Joseph “Glad that is settled. Now you need to relax with all of that ‘no mercy’ crap. Lets drink some tea or something and calm down. We should probably check on Patches as well” Jaye shrugged then walked over to collect his injured friend.

            The two friends saved Autumn land and thus had saved the season itself. When they reached Patches hut they found the Autumn spirit sleeping soundly with a small sprout budding from his torso. This sprout would grow into a new pumpkin head, returning Patches to his former glory. Joseph was starting to calm down now that autumn was saved. The friends didn’t get a reward for their help but they did get to keep their new weapons, at least until Patches remembered that they were missing.

            The real reward was a new autumn day on the horizon, the exciting frights of Halloween, the chilly Fall mornings, the harvest of food and the time to reflect.

            Joseph and Jaye never made it home though, before they could reach the portal to home, they were whisked away onto another adventure. But that is another story for another time.    

Joseph and Jaye save Autumn part 3 of 4

            Night had settled over the Autumn lands and our two (sort of) heroes were resting under the stars to prepare for their battle with Ignitious. The cool air of the night blew through the forest making the grass sway and dance. Joseph and Jaye slept on their backs, wrapped in blankets as they stared up at the night sky. Their bodies left person shaped impressions in the grass.

            Joseph was slowly drifting off to sleep when he heard a soft crunching noise that resembled the sound of someone eating nuts or chips. Jaye was wrapped up tightly in blankets, he was most immobile from the blankets being wrapped so tightly but he had one free hand to sneak round candies into his mouth. The candies had a semi-hard crunch shell that tasted like a sweet biscuit or cookie and on the inside was sweet goo that tasted like maple syrup. Jaye would wiggle his arm through his blankets, grab a few candies from a pouch that he had tucked into his blankets and then slowly roll each candy into his mouth. The night was so quiet and peaceful that the muffled crunching of candies could easily be heard. Joseph grumbled to himself then slowly drifted off to sleep as he listened to the soft sound of crunching.

            Joseph dreamed of a dark battle between heroes and villains. Three people wielding weapons stood ready to fight as they stared up at the sky at an insane wizard casting spells down at the ground below. Skeletons huddled in fear around the battlefield a giant laughing pumpkin sat in the distance. The air was cold, the only light in the sky was a sliver of a moon and the twinkling stars. Pine and maple trees surrounded the group, all of the trees were devoid of life yet seemed to grow anyway. The dark gray husks of trees grew into twisted shapes to the point that they barely resembled their former selves.

            Morning arrived on the backs of a peaceful breeze, a gentle autumn mist and the sound of chirping birds. The two friends were curled up deep into their blankets and were so sound asleep that Ignitious himself could have walked up and kicked them several times without much notice. Joseph woke up first, his head groggy and stomach sour. He felt a sense of unease and as he tried to recall his half forgotten nightmare. Jaye woke up pretty easily and was eating again. He had stashed a box of donuts in his backpack and had eaten most of the donuts before offering one to Joseph.

The Jaye and Joseph packed up their little camp and set off deeper into the forest toward the little cottage they spotted when they first arrived. The two friends had been following a dirt path through the forest. Along the path the trees were sparse but if they walked off in any direction they would have quickly ended up in thick forest and been lost in minutes.

            The dirt road branched off into a split, the full sized dirt path went one way and the smaller cobblestone path led to the cabin. The friends walked along the nicer but smaller path until they reached the cottage in the woods. Wood smoke puffed from the chimney above and the smell of burning wood mixed nicely with the cool air. Joseph knocked a few times on the large wooden door, which had small, stenciled leaves painted on to give the appearance of falling leaves.

            The door slowly opened, a hunched and hobbled figure greeted the friends. “Joseph and Jaye! I knew you would make it. I am glad the wisps found you” Said the stranger. The man was tall and thin, he wore rural styled clothes, and had all of his skin covered by his warm clothing, farmer gloves and shin high boots. The strangers head was a burning flame and his face was glowing yellow energy. He was smiling ‘brightly’ at the friends. “Its me, patches!” Said Patches weakly.

            The two friends gasped. “what happened to you?” Joseph asked. Patches waved for the friends to come inside then limped to a chair and sat down. “those elemental brothers! They swear I owed them part of the autumn forest. They say I lost a bet, but I would never gamble the forest away. You both know I can fight when I need to, but they took me by surprise and they attacked me together. Then they smashed my pumpkin head and left me to watch as they carved up my forest for themselves!” Patches explained, his weak voice was stirred up with anger but he didn’t seem to have the energy to get any louder. Patches was always a lively spirit who danced and flew in with the Autumn wind at his back. Joseph didn’t know how, but the fire and ice brothers must have seriously injured him. Patches was a spirit made of straw with a pumpkin head. His soul and ‘brain’ were made of magical flames. Patches having his pumpkin head smashed would be like breaking open a human skull and leaving the brain and eyes intact. A human wouldn’t survive that but spirits were sturdier than most humans.

            “Is there anything you can do to help us fight Ignitious? We beat Glacious with the help of that warming drink, but we don’t have anything that protects us from fire” Jaye asked. “No, all the treasures I had were sent with the wisps. I am sure you will figure something out. Wind wont defeat him but it should be enough to deflect his fire attacks” Patches replied with a heavy sigh.

            Joseph was sitting across the room in a comfortable country style armchair. His face looked serious. He was normally a cheerful person but he felt that Glacious and Ignitious had gone too far. The renegade spirits not only threatened his favorite time of the year but severely injured one of Joseph’s friends. The injustice of it all boiled in his guts. Joseph realized he was grinding his teeth and was giving a lampshade the death eye. He quickly faked a smile and tried to ease his tension.

            Jaye knew something was off about Joseph and he also knew that they couldn’t stay and chat while Ignitious was out there burning down the forest “Hey buddy, you wanna get going?” Jaye used his softest voice while addressing Joseph. “Oh, yeah of course. Lets kick it” Joseph replied trying to sound cheerful but failing. His act fooled no one but the others ignored it for now. Patches smiled and waved at the two as they left “be careful! Also don’t worry about me, I will recover from this, just make sure you stop Ignitious” Patches called after them hoping to ease their worries. The truth was he would probably recover, he was a tough spirit, but he also had never been this severely injured before.

            Joseph marched ahead, his eyes set forward and his mind ready for battle. Jaye followed closely as he gripped the claw hammer that rested in his jacket. He wondered if he should be more worried about Joseph or worried about Ignitious when Joseph finds him. As the friends traveled back along the dirt path they felt warmer. The cool air turned to a warm breeze and the friends had to remove their coats and roll up their sleeves. It felt like a summer day in the autumn forest and this only added heat to the fire in Josephs guts.

The battle with Ignitious was ahead and the two were ready to end this adventure.

Joseph and Jaye save Autumn part 2 of 4

Joseph and Jaye stepped through the spirit gate that was placed before them. Both friends pushed open the little gate door and walked through only to find that they hadn’t been transported anywhere, they were still in the field. The spirit giggled in a squeaky voice. “Just a joke guys, ok ok. Here you go” said the spirit who then snapped its fingers and the two friends were whisked away to the spirit world. Joseph felt like he was riding a roller coaster through an endless number of loops. Joseph then felt like he was free falling at one point, gaining speed as he hurtled toward the ground like an meteor.

Two green streaks of light flashed across the sky over the autumn land deep in the spirit world.  The two green meteors crashed hard into the ground below, shaking the surrounding area. Joseph and Jaye shakily climbed out of the crater they created. Joseph didn’t know how he survived the fall but was glad the ride was over.

The autumn land was beautiful. Golden sunlight lit up the forest, each tree had various colors of autumn. Different shades of orange, red, and yellow, every shade from bight shining color all the way to the deep rust color the trees get at the end of Fall.

The grass that spread over the land was different shades as well, deep green, pale green and yellowish. In front of the friends was a stream that sparkled with reflective sunlight, the water looked cool and fresh. The air was chilly but not overly cold. The smell of wood smoke lingered in the air and a cute little cabin sat in the distance. 

“I thought this place was under attack?” Joseph said. “Maybe they took a break from destruction to get a coffee” Jaye suggested. “Or the spirit sent us to one of the few remaining locations in the autumn land that haven’t been destroyed yet” Joseph said. “OR! The spirit was lying about destruction and the special relics he gave us are just junk he found” Jaye said with a sly grin.

Joseph held his staff out in front of him, pointed it at the water and focused on trying to use it. A burst of wind shot from the top of the wooden staff shaking the little autumn leaves that grew from the top of it. The wind rushed forward several feet and stirred up the water before disappearing into the air. Then the staff let out a little burst of flame, small and mostly harmless. “Ok, so I have to work on this. At least we know the staff is real” Joseph said proudly.

The two friends began to talk through the autumn forest, listening and watching for any signs of fighting or destruction. Clouds began to form, blocking out the sunlight. Rain started to fall on the land transforming the bright and colorful forest into a sleepy rainy forest. The friends could hear the sound of rain hitting the trees and splashing into the river. Their hair and coats were damp from the rain. The air felt a bit chillier and Joseph wished he had brought a heavier coat.

The rain continued and the friends were getting cold. “Hey how about a swig of that flask we got?” Asked Jaye Williams. “You are always looking to eat or drink something! But yeah, it might warm us up” said Joseph. Joseph opened the leather water skin and took a small sip then handed it to Jaye who took a sip and gave it back. The liquid tasted like hot chocolate or coffee, or a mix of the two with some kind of Fall spice in it. Whatever it was, it tasted good and the two immediately felt warmer.

The air continued getting colder as the friends pressed on and soon each breath was visible. Joseph spotted frost on the tops of the trees and some of the Fall trees even looked like they were dying from sudden frost shock. “Get ready, this can’t be natural to this area” Joseph said. Jaye nodded and pulled out the pumpkin and concentrated. The hand sized pumpkin transformed into a large one-handed sword. The blade was jagged and curved like a cutlass, the handle was black with a leather grip and the hilt was made of an orange metal and had little pumpkin shapes at each end of it. The pommel of the sword was also a pumpkin shape. “Whoa! I wonder if I would offend anyone if I carved a pumpkin with a pumpkin sword” Jaye said with a quizzical look. “Focus” Joseph replied.

The air was icy cold and each breath in felt like tiny daggers in their lungs. Two trees collapsed on each other, then an icy figure approached from behind the trees. “If the Patches just came out to settle his debt, we wouldn’t have a problem!”  Yelled Glacious the ice spirit. “Hey! Stop destroying the forest! Some of us love autumn. Take your grudge somewhere else!” shouted Joseph as he aimed his staff. The rain continued but all of the rain falling in the radius around Glacious was turned to snow. Snow and rain littered the soon to be battlefield as the two friends held their weapons out, ready to fight. 

“The coward sent fighters in his place?” Glacious howled, his voice was loud and furious like a blowing winter wind that shakes the house and slams the shutters. Before another word could be exchanged Glacious put out both of his hands and launched a beam of frozen energy.

Jaye held out the golden maple leaf, which conjured a shield around the two friends. The shield was translucent and made of rushing wind. The winter blast hit the shield. Part of the blast was absorbed into the shield but the rest of it went right through and hit the two friends. “You cannot stop the fury of winter with wind. Whoever sent you, has sent you to your death” Bellowed Glacious as he marched closer to the friends.

Joseph and Jaye crumpled to the ground from the shock of the ice blast. Their skin felt like it was burning and their hearts raced. “I’m glad we took a sip of that flask before. Otherwise this might feel worse” Jaye said as he struggled to stand. “Maybe a little more will help!” Joseph added as he tried to regain his balance. Joseph pulled the flask from his bag and took a big gulp, then handed it to Jaye who also took a large gulp. 

The feeling of cold and the threat of frost melted away. The air felt like a pleasant Fall day and the snow falling around them felt no colder than tap water. “alright, now that we are warmed up, lets give Glacious a little warmth” Said Joseph as he pointed his staff at Glacious and let loose a flame blast with all of his might. A flamethrower like flame erupted from the staff scorching everything in its path and engulfing Glacious.

The flames died down and Glacious was still standing. He had an icy wind shield flowing around him but he looked injured from the fire. The ground was scorched in the wake of the flame attack.

“My turn” Jaye said as he charged forward. Glacious let loose another arctic blast. The freezing air did nothing more than make Jaye feel a little cold and the wind wasn’t enough to do anything but slow him down. Glacious gave a smug grin assuming Jaye had died in the usually fatal arctic blast. When the wind and ice died down, Glacious saw Jaye charging forward unhindered. Jaye slashed with his sword like a maniac. Each cut from the sword left these glowing blue wounds on Glacious. Since the sword was enchanted and not a physical weapon it could harm spirits. Jaye didn’t know any of this, he just wanted to slash someone with his new sword.

Glacious realized his cold powers wouldn’t be enough this time, so he formed sharp icicles all along his arms and shoulders then swung his icicle covered arm at Jaye. Jaye Williams jumped back, his sword disappeared from his hand and transformed into armor. The enchanted pumpkin could sense its owners intentions and could transform back and forth in a moments notice. Jaye was hit full force by the strength of Glacious and his dagger like icicles. The attack sent Jaye flying but the armor protected him from being impaled. The armor was orange and black with a little smiling pumpkin face on the belt buckle.

Jaye slowly got back to his feet. As Joseph charged forward with his staff he launched earth tremors under Glacious’ feet causing the spirit to stumble. Then while he was off balance Joseph launched a whirlwind from his staff then followed it up with a flame burst. The flames engulfed the whirlwind and flew straight at Glacious. The icy spirit didn’t have time to react, once the tremors died down he looked up to see a flaming whirlwind come straight at him. The wind hit Glacious and whirled around him for several seconds inflicting massive fire damage against him.

Joseph Stephens collapsed from exhaustion. The staff had drained his energy and he was out of the fight. Jaye stood between Joseph and Glacious. The ice spirit was severely injured and looked like a human ice sculpture. He was more solid than before and lost his appearance of being a being of floating ice and snow. 

“Give up! You can’t attack me without being impaled on my spikes and your friend is down” Glacious yelled, his voice strained light a dying wind. “I brought something with me. Something I keep around for when I need to wreck fools. It’s the weapon that hurt the spirit of winter itself, the kingslayer, the one and only, CLAW HAMMAH!” Jaye yelled. He pulled an ordinary looking claw hammer from the inside pocket of his jacket and lunged at Glacious. 

Glacious turned both arms into spikes and stabbed them out at Jaye. Jaye swung down at the ice spikes and shattered them with his majestic hammer that he bought on sale at Tuscany Sam’s hardware depot. The hammer shattered the spikes. Then Jaye swung again, this time the hammer striking Glacious on the head. The attack sent cracks through Glacious and caused him to fall backward. The spirit hit the ground, his blue aura began to fade and his brittle icy body looked like it was one strike away from shattering completely. “I give! I will never bother you or Patches ever again” Glacious pleaded.

Jaye’s eyes went dark as he stood ominously over the fallen ice spirit. Jaye’s shadow was cast over Glacious as Jaye spoke with a deep grumbling voice “There will be no mercy for those who oppose Autumn” Jaye said as he lifted the claw hammer above his head. Glacious prepared for oblivion but then nothing happened. “Juuuust kidding, Boyo!” Jaye said with a goofy grin. “HA! I took a picture of your stupid face with my phone. Now get outta here or I’ll show everyone how much of a big cry baby you are!” Jaye said then walked off to check on Joseph. Glacious was stunned by the turn of events. He had never met anyone like Jaye Williams before nor anyone as strong and dedicated as Joseph Stephens. Then a single frozen tear slid down Glacious’ face. “I’m not a cry baby” he said in a pouting voice.

The day one won and Glacious was defeated. As the ice spirit disappeared, escaping back to the winter lands, Joseph was slowly waking up. “I have to be more careful with this staff, it knocked me out” Joseph said. “Thaaaats what she said” Said Jaye. Joseph grimaced at Jaye before letting out a small smile. 

The air grew warmer and went from winter winds back to a pleasant Fall day. The two friends knew they had to fight Ignitious next but decided they should rest first. They set up a small camp where they could regain their strength, eat and prepare for the next fight. The day had turned to night, the rain had stopped and a cool breeze lingered in the air. The autumn trees swayed in the breeze and the falling leaves danced in the air as they drifted slowly to the ground.

Joseph Stephens and the Early Arrival

It was September and heat continued to oppress the city. Joseph Stephens was out for a stroll around town. The sun was setting and Joseph hoped that the night would bring a much needed break from the heat.

July the spirit of summer yawned as the lights grew dim. The night rolled on but she refused to go to bed. July wore out her welcome in many ways. She stayed up late some nights, keeping the heat going until the early hours of the next day and often would stick around well into September, leaving Patches the autumn spirit with a short season.

The sun finally set and Joseph looked up into the sky at the giant summer spirit. “Hey July, you going to bed?” Joseph called to her. “No, I think I will stay up! The night is still young and all of the people of the city want to enjoy the nice weather for a bit longer. Who am I to deprive them of my radiance?” July said to Joseph. Joseph sneered “yeah sure ‘nice’ weather” he muttered. While it was true many people in the city enjoyed warm weather and some even enjoyed the humid weather, it wasn’t true that the whole city enjoyed July. In face the city was pretty split up over all the seasons. Nice weather meant something completely different depending on who you asked. Joseph would suffer the summer and was rewarded with Fall and spring. Some people would wait all year for summer and hate when winter arrived. Joseph’s problem was when summer was supposed to start leaving and instead decided that everyone loved her so much that she should stay until winter arrived.

The street lights in the city turned on as the sun finally set. Building lights, street lights and car lights illuminated the city. Turning a city of concrete into something a little nicer, something a little more pleasant to look at. The air was slightly cooler without the sun hanging over the sky but until July went to bed the persistent heat would remain.

Music started to play, each note lingered in the air as it was played, like a slowly drifting leaf on the wind. The music was soft and slow but as it went on became more ominous. The slow melody was joined with quieter more rapid notes. Like someone striking the keys of a piano as someone on stage tried to play a relaxing melody on a violin. The sharp keys continued until it drowned out the soft melody all together. The street lights dimmed, the car lights went black and the city block lost power. Lights went out everywhere within that city block. A cold wind blew, it was freezing like the icy hand of death reaching out. It felt cold like the breath of old man winter. Joseph looked around in the dark. Joseph didn’t think Winter wouldn’t try to arrive this early, but he wasn’t sure.

“w-who is that?” July called out in fear. The music started to get louder and louder. A black cloaked figure soared through the air and with him he brought frigid cold air. “Halloween has come early to this town and Death has come early for YOU!” Said the cloaked figure. A skeletal hand reached out from the cloak and pointed at July. July quaked in fear “N-no! You can’t! My father is the sun! you can’t threaten me!!” July shouted back trying to calm her fear. “The sun cannot help you here. It is night and I bring the darkness on my heels” replied the cloaked figure. “You can’t! I am an immortal spirit” July protested. “Your soul will be especially delicious” Replied the figure. Red eyes glowed from under the hood as he looked up at July.

            “Why have you come? Why me? Why now?” July asked in a panic. “You have over stayed your welcome, you bully the seasons into ending early and starting late. You only obey those you fear and you only fear two things. Winter…”the cloaked figure said slowly then he pulled down his hood revealing a skeleton head with burning red eyes. “…And DEATH!”

July shrieked “No! I will leave, I will be good I swear!!!” July said and then jumped so hard that she soared straight into the air and didn’t come back down. Joseph watched Summer disappear into the sky as he smiled with a devilish grin. The cloaked figure loomed over the city, its red eyes burning so brightly it could be seen from the ground. “Happy Halloween everyone!!!!” Shouted the cloaked skeleton, then it began to cackle like a mad man. Trees twisted into black Halloween trees and Jack o lanterns sprouted from the ground, their faces already carved and their candles already lit.

Joseph began to laugh too. The madness was contagious and the heat of summer had been getting to him. The city block turned into a Halloween city, with spirits walking the streets and Jack-o-lanterns on every street corner. Thick tree roots grew over the street lamps and the light from the street lights emitted an eerie green glow. Car lights were now purple, like black light and all of the houses and buildings had a warm orange tint to their lights. Cold air rushed through the city but then calmed down. The air became breezy but not cold. It felt like late October on Halloween night.

The skeleton spotted Joseph Stephens and soared down to meet him. “You enjoyed my work mortal?” Asked the skeleton. “Haha, Yes I did sir. July had it coming and Halloween can’t come soon enough” Joseph replied. Realizing this was all harmless fun. People were scared but no one got hurt. The skeleton laughed, its laugh echoed through the air as if it had been carried on the wind. “We already have two Czars of Halloween mortal, if we didn’t I would offer you a title on the spot” Said the cloaked Skeleton. “So who are you anyway? At first I thought you were Patches in Disguise” Said Joseph. “I am a Grim Reaper, one of many, son of Death herself” The grim reaper said. “I am also friends of Pumpkin Patch, or Patches as you call him and a fan of Halloween” The Reaper added.

Joseph stood in amazement “Oh! So that wasn’t for show then? You were going to kill July? Also what about the city, will it stay like this?” Joseph asked. “No, I just wanted to scare her. Also don’t worry about the city, it will return to normal by the crack of dawn. The weather will be more of a pleasant early September as well. The heat should stay away as long as July doesn’t come back” The Grim reaper explained.

“well I have actual work to do, I can’t goof off too much, I am on the clock” The grim reaper said “Oh, do spirits have time and schedules like humans do?” asked Joseph. “No, don’t be a sucker. We live forever, why would we need time. Its just an expression that I say when I have to leave” The grim reaper laughed, then he vanished.

 Joseph felt weird about being mocked by the Grim Reaper. Maybe it was a honor? Joseph wondered if all the Grim Reapers were jerks who loved Halloween.

The night went on and Joseph Stephens stayed outside as long as he could. He went home to get a jacket, he bought a coffee from the local coffee house and strolled through the Halloween city block. He greeted the spirits, who were all very friendly, he marveled at the twisted trees and glowing Jack-o-lanterns and enjoyed the cool autumn breeze on his face. Anyone with a fireplace began to light fires and the smell of wood smoke drifted through the streets. Joseph had a feeling of bliss and wished every night could be this good.

Joseph Stephens enjoyed his autumn night and as he walked home he could faintly hear the sound of soft music playing.

Joseph Stephens and Winter's fury

            Joseph Stephens sat in his house shivering. It seemed like an eternity since his good friend Pumpkin Patches left and winter came along.

Old man winter was an unpredictable fellow, coming on strong and inviting himself in and lazily lingering into months that didn’t even belong to him. He was a jolly fellow in the holiday season but by January he was more like the drunk uncle that wont leave your house after a Christmas party. Joseph Stephens knew all too well, both the drunk uncle AND the persistence of Old man winter. “Isn’t it time for spring? It is march after all” Joseph said as he shivered. Winter was asleep in the rocking chair using his blue robe and slippers. His long white hair ran down to the floor and tangled into the rocker as it went back and forth. “Oh yes, I should be going. Just another five minutes” Said Old Winter.

            Outside of Joseph’s house was a timid little bunny. “E-excuse me. I think Easter is approaching and I-it should be nice and green for the spring.” Said the little furry brown bunny. Spring tail the rabbit was basically a talking rabbit that made flowers grow, but every time he tried to revive the flowers Old Man Winter’s cold air breath would make the flowers retreat back into the ground. As winter slept cold air would escape from his mouth as he exhaled. Spring would never arrive if the silly old king of winter stayed.

            “Ok, Winter wake up!” Joseph said jostling the old King of the snow and ice. “Who DARES?!” Shouted Old man winter. He stood up quickly and cold air blew in every direction. Cold air followed Old man Winter, when he slept it was chilly, when he was awake it snowed, when he was angry it made blizzards. Snow began falling inside and outside of Joseph’s already drafty home. “I will go where I please and when I please!” Said Winter as his voice became that of the howling wind. His appearance changed from that of a sleepy old man to an enraged Wizard who had power of the elements. Springtail the Bunny retreated into a hole under Joseph’s house. If Spring wasn’t going to stand up to winter, Joseph would have to. “That’s ENOUGH!” Joseph said and he pushed Winter with all of his might. Old man winter stumbled backward and hit his back against the wall. This jolt brought him back to his senses. “Oh…I am sorry Joey. I didn’t mean to lose my temper again. It is good of you to let me stay at your house. I-I should leave” Winter said sounding ashamed and a little dazed. “tell Spring I said goodbye and I’m sorry” Winter added as he collected his things and put on his fuzzy blue winter hat. A knitted hat that said “Winter #1” on it.

            “I will, goodbye and sorry for shoving you” Joseph said, though he wasn’t really sorry. It was just better to stay on friendly terms with the seasons because they come back every year.

            A rush of wind blew through the house and then went out the window, taking Old Man Winter and all of the snow with it. “You can come out now” Joseph said. Spring Bunny poked his head out cautiously. “R-really? Thank you Mr.Stephens” Said Springtail. “Don’t mention it. go do your thing and spread the Spring season. And maybe try to be a little braver around Winter” Joseph replied. Springtail nodded and smiled. Then hopped off. Green grass and flowers sprung up behind the magical little rabbit, then a warm breeze blew through the town. The smell of freshly grown flowers and rain floated through the air. Joseph smiled, took off his sweater and went inside. It was finally spring, he would enjoy the pleasant rain, the cool breeze and the sunshine while he waited for his chance to see Pumpkin Patch again in the Fall.

Adam and Patches

            Mist settled over a quiet little harbor town. The sound of waves mixed with the drunken laughter of the people from the Inn. in this sleepy town a small boat docked without anyone even noticing. A tall man muscular man stepped from the boat, his heavy boots making a loud thud when he stepped down on the dock. The man wore a long sleeved, baggy, gray shirt, black pants, heavy boots, thick workers gloves and a large, blue woolen scarf that covered his neck and mouth. The night air was frigid and besides the heavy scarf, the rest of the man’s clothes didn’t look like they would keep a normal person warm on such a night. Besides his clothing, the tall man wore a long chain wrapped around each arm. He was a menacing figure to see in the night, with his large frame, heavy footsteps and the sound of clanking chains as he moved. Next to step off the boat was a small, black cat with pale blue eyes. He had a tiny chain around his neck, though it was for decoration and hardly weighed anything. It seemed strange for a menacing figure to be walking around with a small cat, but no one yet had been brave enough to mention this.

            The tall man and the cat, Adam and Patches, walked along the cobblestone path, through the middle of town, they were stopped by a man holding a sword in each hand, the swords pointed outward and the swordsman stood as if waiting for the tall figure to arrive at this port. “You must be Adam the chained man. You have a hefty price on your head, not sure why. It doesn’t seem that you’re a criminal, but a bounty is a bounty” The bounty hunter said. “you know my name, but I do not know yours” Replied Adam, his voice was calm, but was distant as if his voice came from the air around them. The scarf his Adam’s mouth, but since it was just the two of them in the street, the bounty hunter knew it was Adam who asked. “My name is Syrad the bounty hunter” Replied Syrad. This bounty hunter wore a long, heavy coat to protect against the chill and rain and a regal looking hat with a small feather. His shoes and pants looked durable for travel but also fancy as if this man had royal blood. He even wore white fencing gloves. “your pretty well dressed and groomed for a bounty hunter. Whats wrong, tired of all the nobleman parties and fox hunting, so you decided to try your hand at bringing in people?” Asked Adam mockingly. His voice came from all directions, it was haunting. Syrad gritted his teeth. “I am a perfectly capable fighter, so surrender or I will kill you and drag your corpse back myself” Syrad shouted holding his swords out to fight. Then he smiled “or better yet, I will pay someone to drag your corpse back for me” He laughed, turning the joke around in his favor.

            Adam didn’t flitch or even reach for a weapon, he stood there ready for Syrad to advance. “are you ready, Patches?” Adam asked. After a moment of silence Adam replied “good, lets get this over with” Syrad rushed the tall man and swung his swords. his form was professional and his duel swords would make short work of anyone. The sword strikes were fast and to an average person the blades became blurs in the air. The swords made a sickening ‘thunk’ as they sank into flesh. Syrad smiled as he looked at now stabbed and slashed Adam. Syrad’s smile quickly faded when he realized he stabbed a post and Adam was nowhere to be found. Syrad turned around to see the large man’s chain covered fist fly toward his face. Adam’s fist connected with the force of a sledgehammer. Syrad’s head flung backward and he hit the ground. Adam stood over his downed opponent only to be struck in the back with an arrow. Adam let growl of pain and turned quickly to see Syrad had brought back up. The archer was loading another arrow when, like lighting, Adam had closed a large distance in a flash. Adam’s eyes glowed a pale blue and he wound his arm back. Before the archer could react, chains flew through the air and wrapped around the archers neck. Adam flicked his arm and shot the archer into the air like a sling firing a rock. The Archer flew over houses and landed into the ocean close to the shore. Syrad stood back up and quietly ran up behind Adam, ready to strike with his swords. but the black cat stopped him. With surprising skill and ability the cat jumped into the air and looked as if it could fly as it dashed through the air and tackled Syrad. Such a small cat wouldn’t knock over a full grown man, even if thrown, but this cat hit Syrad with such intense force it knocked the bounty hunter back down again. The cat’s eyes glowed with the same intensity as Adam’s eyes and it seemed that they were connected some how.

            “you did indeed find the Adam you were looking for, but made a few common mistakes” Said Adam as he and Patches walked toward Syrad. “First you underestimated patches, secondly, you confused me for a cat” Said Adam. Adam the black cat stepped onto Syrad’s chest. The cat’s glowing blue eyes seemed to be controlling Patches, the large man, who wasn’t actually a man, but a Golem with moderate to low intelligence. Syrad was speechless, so Adam continued. “I don’t know if you care for anything more than the money, but please know that I am only being perused because of my gifts. I am a wizard trapped in the body of a cat, but still incredibly useful to other wizards who want to learn my secrets. So that is why the gold is high, but the information is close to nothing” The cat finished talking then delicately jumped off Syrad and walked away. “Now you have two choices, surrender or die” Adam said. Patches now stood looming over Syrad, his breath escaping into the cold night air as he stared down at the bounty hunter with murderous intensity. “I Surrender…”Syrad said meekly.

            As if they had a life of their own, the chains wrapped back up onto the arms of Patches the chained man and the loyal golem turned to leave town with his master, the Magical cat Adam.