Christmas World

Snowflake City

10 Blocks away from The Santa Claus Workshop Headquarters

Damn, it was always freezing here in the Christmas World. Rolf shivered as he pulled his fur lined coat tighter around him. Closing the portal he walked out, he mentally went through the long list of fire spells he had and summoned the mana required to cast Warm Self. The air temperature inside his coat rose and he stopped shivering. He let out a sigh of relief and walked easily out of the alleyway. It was the one of the few things he didn’t miss about his old life - the lack of magic.

Of course, there was magic in forms, like science, but it wasn’t the same. The power followed through his body in the seconds just before he cast a spell - it was intoxicating. It was something he didn’t experience in his previous life.

Rolf shook his head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. That line of thinking got him into trouble more than once. He needed to focus for his meeting. He paused, reaching the edge of the sidewalk as he looked up and down the snow-covered street. A large sled pulled by those large beer commercial horses race down the road as many of the smaller sleds started downside streets or vanished into small sheds designed for housing the sleighs. The wind picked up causing the snow laying on the nearby rooftops to drift downward. The falling snowflakes came down a bit harder then before and he glanced up at the darken sky.

He waited until the large sleigh pass him before he darted across the road. His foot slid over a patch of ice causing him to wobble before he put his other foot on the ground and recovered his balance. He reached the other side of the street as another large sleigh appeared at the end of the street, pulled by another set of those beer commercial horses. He frowned. From his experience of dealing with this holiday world, majority of the folks didn’t dare go fast over the snow unless they were being told of a major blizzard moving in. He hoped that wasn’t the case. He had a meeting to attend in a couple hours.

He straightened his long coat and felt a chill swept through the once warm area of the coat before the coat closed. He would figure out the storm situation when he was in one of his favorite local cafes, ordering something hot to drink and eat.

He looked up to see one of the numerous toy stores Snowflake City held and turned to the left, moving past it with a woodcarver store, a yarn store, and some sort of fashion store before he reached the Cozy Cafe. He went to the door and pushed it open, stepping inside.

Warm air washed over him, canceling the Warm Self spell. He allowed a small grin to cross his lips as he shut the door behind him and gazed about the room. A few feet away from the door was the host stand with a cute female with pure white wings tucked close her to back, wearing a black and white uniform. Her black hair was pinned to the top of her head in a formal bun. She sent him a smile and spoke, “Good Evening, Sir. I have to inform you that we will be closing early tonight to the predicated storm moving in from the North.”

“Ah,” Well, that explains the rush on the streets. “What time will you be closing tonight?”

“7:30,” the Hostess replied.

Rolf nodded, “Alright. Table for one.”

“This way, Sir,” the Hostess turned away and walked to a table by the large window, showing the street. She turned to him, asking, “Would you like to try our Hot Coco?”

“Yes, please,” he replied with a soft smile, “I would also like a bowl of your day’s soup special.”

“As you wish, Sir,” the Snow Angel left.

He turned his gaze to the TV or what passed as a TV in the Holiday Worlds. It was a large snow globe with moving images. Currently, it was covering the movement of the Category 4 Blizzard as the weatherperson tried to crack a joke that even Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer would have trouble finding his way through the icy winds and blowing snow. It was still surprising that the legend of Rudolph, the reindeer who saved Christmas several decades ago was true. Rolf had grown up, hearing the story every Christmas season.

The Snow Angel returned with a steaming mug of Hot chocolate and a bowl of the day’s special soup. She placed the two items on the table in front of him. She glanced at him, gave him a smile, and she stated, “Please, enjoy your meal, sir.”

“Thank you,” Rolf nodded before he grabbed the hot mug of Hot Coco and inhaled, closing his eyes. The Hot Coco was the best smelling he had ever had. It topped the ones he used to have while he lived his previous life. He smiled before he took a sipped and he got a notification.

Congratulations!

You have received a buff for drinking

The Cozy Café’s Hot Chocolate!

5% to Body Temperature

5% to Hydration

1% to Caffeine

10% to Mood Improvement

Time left: 1 Hour

He smiled, wondering what kind of buff he would get if he ate the soup. Hopefully, it would be increased to body temperature. That would be nice if he got into a fight with the local Naughty or Nice Squad. He took another sip of Hot Chocolate before he pulled the bowl of soup closer to him and glanced down. It looked like roast beef. He used Analyze.

You have found a dish:

Roast Beef and Vegetable Stew

Dish Type: Stew

Dish Class: Common

Dish Quality: Excellent

Traits: This stew has been slowed cooked over an open fire

For several hours, giving it a smoky flavor

3% to Strength for 2 hours

2% to Comfort for 2 hours

90% to Fullness for 9 hours

9% to Endurance for 5 hours

Damn! He couldn’t wait to taste it. He grabbed the spoon, gathered up the chucks of roast beef, the carrots, and the potatoes before he took a bit. He hummed in pleasure as he tasted the salty broth, the bite of the pepper, the juicy roast beef that melted in his mouth, the vegetables tore apart with no resistant and there was an explosion of smoky flavor over his taste buds. A small trail of the broth trailed from the corner of his lips, slowly, running down to his chin. He grabbed a napkin from the table and whipped at his mouth as he shallowed. That was delicious. He didn’t think he had try the Roast Beef Stew here before, but he was glad he managed to try to it. In fact, he planned to get a couple more servings before leaving. He waved down the Snow Angel and did just that. She grinned brightly, nodded, and left with his new order.

Rolf turned back to the Snow globe and watched the broadcast of the approaching snowstorm. According to the Weatherman, Snowflake City was going to take a direct hit and it could be a couple weeks before the City would be back up and running normal, an early predication. Once his meeting was over, he knew it wouldn’t be a smart move to stick around. The Naughty or Nice Squad would be extremely strict on who will be allowed to move through the city over the next few hours, possible weeks if the weather prediction is right.

The Snow Angel returned with two more servings of the Stew and the bill. Rolf glanced at the bill and stuck his hand into his bag of holding, summoning the coins to cover the bill and a couple extra for the Snow Angel. He handed them over to her and grabbed her arm when she turned to leave. He reached back into his bag of holding and summoned another coin. “Could you give this,” he held a silver coin, “To the chef for the wonderful meal?”

“Of course, sir,” the Snow Angel smiled at him, “I hope you return home, safely, and have a good night.”

“Thank you,” Rolf stood up and straighten out his coat before he grabbed the Roast Beef, tucking them into his bag of holding. He grabbed the mug of hot chocolate and chugged it. He winced at the sharp bit of the chocolate and the temperature, but warmth spread from his center. He set the mug back on the table then spun on his heel, heading to the front door. He pulled his coat tight around him as he stepped back into the freezing temperatures of the Holiday World known as Christmas.

Christmas World

Snowflake City

Four blocks away from The Santa Claus Workshop Headquarters

Between two buildings, in a darken alley, a black portal swirled into existence. A dark robed figure walked out. The figure paused as the portal disappeared behind him. His black hood was pulled down low on his head, leaving his mouth visible. His lips pulled into a sneer as he turned his head back and forth, viewing the snow as it drifted over the paved streets, landed on the rooftops, and on the side streets, turning to mush. He knew from past experience that the local snow plow team worked around the clock to keep the streets clear of the snow. He lifted his right arm, summoning a strong gust of wind and directed it to the several nearby rooftop. He felt a sharp flash of amusement go through him as nearly five feet of snow fell from the nearby rooftops and landed on the street. He twisted on his heel, heading down the alley he appeared in. He heard the surprised cries of the locals who walked the streets as they were caught in the sudden snowfall from the rooftops. In the distance, a siren blared. That siren was not apart of the emergency services. It belong to the Plow Crew that stuck working the night shift. They would be working a lot of overtime in the next few days from the Weather broadcast he was able to watch earlier.

The figure knew the naughty scroll located in the Behavior Safe, located in the Big Man’s Office, lit up with his name. He smirked as he continued his walk onto a nearby street with a pep in his step. He tucked in his hands into the front pockets of his black pants as his shoulders hunched up, trying to protect his neck from the cold. He hated the cold as an icy chill breeze cut through the layers he was forced to wear while he visited this world. He couldn’t wait until his plans for this world came to be fruition. He tilted his head back, revealing several strains of black hair that curled around his neck, his green eyes glittered with a plotting gleam, as he approached the meeting point of his contacts.

The meeting point was a stuff toy store called Stuffed With Love. The store front was bright and colorful. The store named was spread out over the front door in an eye-catching font. The large window on the right side of the door revealed the season’s latest stuffed toy, a rag doll with bright short red hair dressed as a farmer. A wooden sign beneath the rag doll called it The Farmer Doll. In the opposite window, on the left side of the door, a brown bear stood on its hind legs, dressed as a fisherman with the high brown overalls that were made for water. Below the bear, the sign read “The Fishing Bear”.

Frowning, he ran his eyes over the store front and remembered he had visited the store when he first visited Christmas World, over five years ago. Back then, it was a run-down store that was lucky enough to have orders to make the ends meet. He had invested in it. Now, it was a profitable business, with the various stuffed toys from the traditional bears to animals to rag dolls. He knew the store owner had some designs she wanted to run by him while he was visiting and talk about some other business related to everyday running of the store.

He reached the store door and entered the warmth of the store. He sighed as he felt the warm air entered his hood. He slowly relaxed, his shoulders slumped, as the door shut behind him. He kept his hood up. He didn’t want to take the chance of being recognized and someone summoning the local law enforcement. The last time he had checked his wanted poster, he had a bounty amount of 54,000 Gold Pieces. That was a decent amount of money for any bounty hunter to chase after.

A ringing echoed through the store front. He strolled forward, looking at the various stuff bears sitting on the shelf. He paused as he spotted a yellow stuff bear. The stuff bear had a blue shirt. He reached out and picked the yellow bear up. He turned it over in his hands and spotted a tag. He pulled it and read it, muttering what was written there, “Hi, I’m Honey Y. Bear.” He frowned as he studied it more. He wanted to see the reports on how well this Honey Y Bear was selling. It reminded him of another yellow bear with a red shirt who lived in a forest. He had grown up watching a bear character trying to get honey from the Honey Bees. There was a piglet and a rabbit, he remembered. There was also depressed donkey who roamed the forest. He could dimly remember an owl and maybe a badger who had a speech problem.

An image tugged at his memory, but he shook his head. He couldn’t afford to think about his life before he arrived in that blast Middle Land and was promised a way home if he helped that backstabbing mayor. He snarled as a flash of rage went through him. He wanted to make sure the various worlds he was forced to travel to and completed quests pay for keeping him trap in this false reality. His hands curled into fists as he stared at the stuffed bear. He threw it back on the shelf and stormed away. He didn’t need to reminded of his past. He could never return to it or his home world. He figured that out a long time ago when that backstabbing mayor tried to have him assassinated on multiply occasions before he was able to put her out of her miserable existence. He hadn’t been back to the Middle Land since then.

He approached the counter, his black robe flowing out behind him in the wind current he created. The store clerk looked up in surprise as he reached the counter and the clerk spoke up in a cheery voice, “Merry Christmas, sir! How may I help you, today?”

“I have an appointment with your manager, Annja,” the mysterious figure spoke in a low gravely tone.

“Alright,” the clerk nodded, “What is the name to tell the Manager you are here?”

“Tell her, The Dark Investor, is here,” the figure replied.

The clerk paled. His eyes widened as he stared at the figure. The Dark Investor smirked in amusement as the clerk stumbled back and almost tripped in his haste to run to the back room, crying out, “Annja! Annja!” the clerk disappeared through the back door. The Dark Investor never got tired to the reactions to the various nicknames he went by. His lips twisted into a frown as he thought about a topic he hadn’t in a long time. His true name. He hadn’t heard it in a long, long time. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to answer to it if he heard it. It had been over 5 years since he started to go by another name he chose for himself, when he arrived in the Middle Land.

The Dark Investor blinked, coming out of his thoughts when the Manager appeared. His eyes ran over the figure of the manager. She appeared to be in good health. She wore her dark brown hair in a braid, hanging over her left shoulder. She wore a festival red sweater had the store’s famous stuffed toy with the store’s name.

“Annja,” The Dark Investor purred, “It is good to see you.”

“Likewise, Dark Investor,” Annja replied, “Now, come around back.” The Dark Investor walked to the counter door and entered the area behind the counter top. He walked to Annja who twirled on her heel and walked to the back room. He followed her. “I’m glad you were able to come by, Darkie.” The Dark Investor scrawled at the nickname as she went on, “I got some new stuffed animal designs to run by you. They were inspired from some of the stories I have read from a book called Halloween Town Horrors.”

The Dark Investor nodded, absent minded. He knew of the book. He had been to Halloween Town and witnessed its so called horrors. To him, those who would childish acts of trying to horrified and fearful. He had witnessed much better horrors from his home. Clowns that murdered children while they hid in the sewers, mass murders who hunted their victims, dolls coming to life and killed the people who were dumb enough to move into their house, and much other kinds of horrors. It was simply amazing how some people lived to be terrified while others ran from those types of horrors.

“Some of those stories are amazing,” Annja went on, “I can’t wait to see how these new stuffed animals will be received by the buyers and the wholesale representatives.” She let out a small giggle, “Once you approve the designs, of course!”

They entered the back room. The door shut with a loud bang. The Dark Investor glanced around the back room with a curious gleam. It had been a while since he had last visited and there had been some changes to the back room. The back room doubled as a storage room and a workshop, just like the last time he came by, but this time, there were shelves on the far side of room with boxes of stuff animals that were finished and obviously ready to be shipped out or delivered the Workshop up the road. He spotted several people hurrying back and forth, carrying boxes before they disappeared.

Annja waved at him, catching his attention. She smirked at him with proud before she spoke as she looked over what she managed to do and nodded toward the back, “Your contact in the back upstairs office, Darkie. I will join you, two, in a moment.”

The Dark Investor nodded, trying to ignore the god-awful nickname she gave him. He strolled through the maze of shelves, trying not to gawk at the various stuffed animals he saw. Annja had improved the store by leagues since he had invested into the store, adding more shelves and work space for the folks she hired. He spotted workers trying to keep up with a magical board sitting above a walkway going along the wall of the room. He watched the board as he moved through the maze .

Target: 45000

Made: 42160

Down Time: 5 min

Speed/Stuff Animal (Avg): 5 Min

Minutes left in the shift: 10 min Adj.

It was almost memorizing to see how these workers created a stuff animal from pieces of cloth, added the details before the animal was sew together, and finally stuffed with stuffing that Annja had chosen. He reached the metal staircase, climbing up to the back office. Annja’s voice rose above the sounds of the sewing machines. The Dark Investor paused and glanced down at her.

She stood over one of her workers who held the newest holiday toy in their hands, half finished. He didn’t need to hear the words being spoken from their body language. When the worker burst into tears, gathered their items, and ran out of the room, he knew the worker was fired. He felt a bit of sympathy for the worker. He knew how it was to be fired, but at the same time, jobs in Christmas Town were plentiful and that worker would find another one in no time at all. He turned his thoughts back to his upcoming meeting and finished climbing the stairs, assuming the worker could make it home in the category 4 Blizzard. He, personally thought the factory would have shut down already in preparation of the storm. Annja was taking a large risk by not sending her workers home early, even though the board suggested the minutes left was adjusted. Most of the town already closed up for the night, leaving very few people roaming the streets heading to the nearest shelter until the storm passed.

Watching the chaos below, he reached the platform when a loud bell sounded, reminding him of the school bell from when he was younger. He glanced back down and watched as all of the workers stopped their task and grabbed their lunch bags before they headed out to a side door, walking fast. He spotted a couple of them actually running to the door.

Annja walked toward the stairs with a thunderous expression. Apparently, she was not too pleased that her business was shutting down for the night, thanks to the powerful storm. One would think that would be apart of doing business in Christmas World - dealing with powerful blizzards and other snow related weather events.

The Dark Investor rolled his eyes before he disappeared into the office. Miss Annja needed to get over that hissy fit of hers before it got her into trouble, in more then one.

The Dark Investor entered the back office, glancing around and his eyes landed on the Christmas World Representative sitting in the chair, behind the desk, reading a book of some kind. His feet were thrown up onto the desk. The only sound in the room was the sound of a page turning. The Dark Investor studied the Representative before he took a deeper look, casting Analyze.

The Christmas World Representative (or the C.W.R.) was an Ice Elf or at least had ice elven blood in his veins from the way his ears had a slight point to them and how his skin held a light blue hue underneath the light of the lamp. His eyes were whitish blue of ice. He wore an outfit in various shades of blue and gray: a vest outlined with dark fur over a long shelve shirt with a pair of black pants.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Name: Jack Everheart

Race: Ice Elf

Level: 15

Description: Ice Elves have the ability to live in the coldest regions where most other races have trouble living there. They get each +2 to Endurance, +2 to Wind and Water Resistance, and +1 Wisdom per level.

Profession: Office Assistant

“About time you show up,” Jack said, calmly, not looking up from the book he was reading. The Dark Investor felt his right eye twitched in annoyance. “Anyway, I don’t have much time left before I need to make my reappearance at Snowflake Hall to give an update to the Big Man about the various orders from the various stores we work with and if the orders will be fulfilled by the Christmas Eve deadline. You know the deal.” Jack finally marked the page he reached and shut the book before he looked up at the Dark Investor. “So, I’m a very busy man, especially during this time of year.” The Dark Investor waited for an opening to give his pitch about his idea. “What do you want, Dark Investor?”

“I want a lot of things,” Dark Investor started, “So do you.” He paused long enough to take a breath. “I’m sure you want a change around here, especially with the higher management of this world.”

A knock cut him off before he could go on. The Dark Investor spun on his heel as the door opened and Annja stepped in with a dark smirk. It changed the soft look on her face to an evil one. The Dark Investor didn’t know if it was a welcome change or not as his gut tightened.

“You are thinking about changing who will be Santa Claus, this year,” Annja commented, crossing her arms over her chest. She popped out her left hip.

“And for the foreseeable future,” The Dark Investor went on.

“That’s dangerous thinking,” Jack commented, slowly, “You know the saying He can see you when you are awake.”

“I know how to get around that spell,” Annja said, with a snort, “After all, it was my family who created that spell.” Jack looked at her with surprise coloring his face. “Yes, I am the known heiress of the Original Claus Family Line.”

The Dark Investor knew she was apart of the disgrace family line from his previous interactions with her and how they had met, but he kept silent about that. Jack didn’t need to know those kind of details. He wasn’t for sure if he could trust Jack, after all.

Jack blinked at her and slowly pushed up from the chair, coming around the desk with narrowed eyes, “Yes, I can see the family resemblance.” The Dark Investor knew Jack worked closely to the Claus Family since he was just a young elf in the Santa Claus Workshop. That information was apart of the lovely Holly Book the Christmas Historian wrote whenever there was a change in leadership. “I do agree things need to be changed at the Santa Claus Workshop and the Claus Family Estate, but I don’t know if an entire up hovel of the current management is necessary.”

“We -” Annja motioned between the Dark Investor and herself, “Think otherwise.” She allowed silence to fall in the room as the C.W.R. thought about it. She went on, “Think back to the time when the Santa figure was beloved by all, all the children around the world -” she spun slowly in a circle, her head tilted back, a small on her lips, “- knew better then to misbehave.” She came to a stop and looked at the C.W.R., “We both know what happen to naughty little children.”

The Dark Investor smirked, “We think it is time, we go back to the old ways in Christmas World.”

Jack looked troubled, his eyes darted back and forth, as he replied, “There was a reason why the Santa Claus Figure was replaced by the current Head of the Family.”

“Yes,” Annja growled, “My great-great grandfather was overthrown by his brother and my dearest Uncle decided to change everything as a result.” A dark look spread over her face as her eyes took on an glow, sending waves of unease through the Dark Investor.

He knew some of the legends of the Great Claus Family from his previous life and became more knowledge when he started to explore the Christmas World. It was amazing how simple the legend was in his previous life compared to what he knew now. Annja was apart of the complex legend as the heiress of a disgraced line of the Claus Family. Her grandfather was the reason why some countries had a negative story of the grandfatherly figure of Santa Claus and had stories where he kidnapped children who acted badly throughout the year and used them to create the toys that the good children got on Christmas Morning. Sometimes the kidnapped children were allowed to return home to be good children, but the truly rotten children never had a chance to return home and forced to remain in the Christmas World to work at the Santa Claus Workshop.

According to his personal journey through the Holiday World, The Dark Investor found out the kidnapped children never went home. It didn’t matter if they made it onto the Nice List or not. It was apparent that once you were on the Naughty list, you weren’t getting off especially if Annja’s grandfather caught them and used them as a form of slave labor until they reached adulthood and was able to leave the Workshop, but not the world, thanks to the magical spell he had put in place.

It was until the great-grandfather of the Current Santa Claus managed to overthrow the Evil Santa Claus and took over, cleaning house. He returned all of the children that wasn’t blocked by the magical spell home and swore not to kidnapped the naughty children, again. Since then, the Workshop had hired Elves, Dwarves, Angels, and other races to work, creating the toys, and other items requested by children all world the known universe.

The Dark Investor turned his attention back to the conversation when Jack spoke, “Yes. It was for the better for the entire Christmas World, in the end. A lot of the races living here were able to get back to their feet and make a living.”

Annja snorted, “How so?” She placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t see an Ice Elf,” She sneered at Jack “Becoming the Next Santa Claus or an Dwarf.” She straightened up as she went on, “Only a human can become the Santa Claus.”

The Dark Investor resisted the urge to sigh. He didn’t like working with Annja, but it did help reach his end goals. Jack sent Annja a glare before he turned to the Dark Investor, asking, “Well, I know why she is willingly to do this. What about you, Dark Investor?”

“Revenge,” The Dark Investor shrugged, “A person who destroyed my chance to get home, I killed her of course, but its not enough, considering she is still roaming around as a ghost. It will give me great pleasure to see her grandkids to work as slaves while she watches on and can’t do anything about it.”

The C.W.R. blinked at him and Annja rested her eyes on him, in surprise before she commented, “Respect.”

“That’s evil,” Jack added.

“Anyway,” Annja turned to Jack and asked, “Why did you agree to meet with us if you are experiencing feelings of uncertainty on our task?”

“A change in how the Santa Claus Workshop is being run,” Jack stated, “I want more equality among my people. After all, my people are the ones who cast the magical spells to help the Big Man move between worlds of the Known Universe. This Known Universe is expanding. Just the other day, we got a notification on an underwater city of a primitive world gaining knowledge of the Christmas Holiday. Lucky, there is a couple Elfs who know the correct spells to transform the Big Man into a member of the underwater city to allow him to deliver presents to the various people who started to believe in him and celebrate the holiday.” Jack took his feet off the desk and stood up. “However, I think this is the beginning of more and more worlds becoming aware of the Big Man and possible the other holidays we are connected to like the New Beginnings World, The Animal Zodiac Celebrations, the Heart’s Desire World, etc.”

The Dark Investor kept his silence as Annja made a hum of agreement before she spoke, “I see what you mean. I was raised on stories of how Middle Land City was a central point in its glory days before what happen a century ago and what lead to the City being destroyed by Rolf Stormcloud and his comrades.”

The Dark Investor wondered if these two would ever know the truth about Rolf Stormcloud and his comrades. He resisted the urge to smirk. Thankfully, he had a high emotional resistance due to his self awareness skill. If he ever decided to inform Annja and Jack about Rolf Stormcloud, it will be a sweet memory to cherish.

“But I fail to see how that would mean equality for your people,” Annja went on.

Jack smirked, “My people should be have more favorable position if we are going to be the ones the Big Man or whoever in charge,” He nodded at Annja who gave him a pleased smirk, “turn to provide assist in getting to these new and interesting worlds.”

“I see,” Annja looked down at the floor before she looked up, “I do agree. I will see that your people will have a more favorable position if you help place me in the Santa Claus Role.”

Jack gave a dark smiled. The Dark Investor took notice neither held out a hand to shake or form any sort of formal agreement. They would end up betraying each other by the time this was finished. He wouldn’t be working with them long, just long enough to get the ball rolling on his master plan before he will ditch them.

An emergency light above the door flared to life, bathing the room in a red glow. The Dark Investor tensed as he turned to Annja. She paled before her face twisted in an angry expression. He glanced at Jack who straightened before he formed a symbol in the air beside him. Jack blinked in surprise before he muttered, “Coal Droppings. They put up an anti-portal spell.”

The Dark Investor sighed. The only group he knew of that could put up an anti-portal on a short notice were the Naughty Squad. He glanced to Jack and Annja.

“So,” The Dark Investor started, “What are we going to do?”

“We will have to fight our way out,” Annja growled as she hurried over to a wall and slapped her hand against a hidden plate on the wall. A section of the wall flipped over and the Dark Investor spotted an image overlooking the factory floor.

A group of dark clothed individuals moved through the workstations. A few of the members of the group held glowing swords while the Dark Investor counted five magi, from the staffs they carried. He spotted three Archers in the back of the group and a magi summoned an animal to the factory. He couldn’t see what kind of animal the magi summoned, but he knew most of the animal summoning spells where season based and guessed it could have been a winter wolf or dog of some kind or worst - a Yeti. He really hoped it wasn’t a Yeti or a dire wolf. Those were a pain to beat. However, once the summoning circle was gone, the creature darted through the workstations, heading to the office with one of the magi following.

The Dark Investor watched until the image faded away before he turned to face the door, ready to cast a protective spell.

The Dark Investor raised his arms up, casting a barrier spell. A series of interlocking octagon rose from the ground, curved to the sides, and blocked a ball of fire. Fire spread over the barrier, licking the curved, but it didn’t reach the edges. The barrier spell was the best defense the Dark Investor had, besides dodging, but he wasn’t for sure if his agility, despite his best effects to increase it, would be able to beat his enemies in this fight.

There were too many battle elements involved in these fights that weren’t covered in his previous life to take the risk of being slow. Plus, The Naughty Squad had the advantage of using Fire elemental spells. They gained a 10% advantage for using any Fire based spell in a cold climate and 25% increased damaged to any Ice based creature. So, in a way, The Dark Investor mused, he had helped protected Jack, the Ice Elf, from getting 25% increased damaged from whatever the base attack of the Fire spell dealt. Did he expect a thanks? Nope. The Dark Investor had dealt with too many Coal Dropping holes in his time in the Holiday Worlds to know he would get a simply Thank You and there was another reason behind it.

“Give up!” one member of the Naughty Squad called out in an authority tone, “You are surrounded.” They stood in a triangle formation with the Captain standing at the head of the triangle.

The Dark Investor resisted the urge to sigh. That line was old. It was a line he had heard while growing up, hearing through the square snow globes back home whenever he watched the Guardsmen movies or shows. Instead, he rolled his eyes. Of course, they would be surrounded. It was a good strategy to prevent the enemy from escaping, just like putting an anti-portal spell.

“I’m sure we are,” Annja spoke up, “It just means your Daybreak will be more shinning!” She called out an Earth element attack and the floorboards several feet in front of her, Jack, and the Dark Investor shifted, raising up like snakes before they detached themselves from the main support beams and rushed at the Naughty Squad.

The Dark Investor brought his right arm across his chest, summoned the magical words, and heat washed over his arm before it curled into balls at the tips of his fingers. He throw his arm out, unleashing the fire balls. The fire balls grew as they flew over the distance between himself and the Naughty Squad.

The Snake like floorboards reached the Naughty Squad first and one end of the boards opened, revealing large splinter like teeth before they latched onto two members of the Naughty Squad, standing on the left side of the Captain. The one squad member standing at the Captain’s right side didn’t scream, but his face screwed up in pain as he tried to remove the Wooden Snake from his left arm.

The other member didn’t stay silent when they were bit while they tried to dodge. A high-pitched scream filled the room as the wooden snake clamped onto the woman’s left leg. She hit what remain of the floorboards and the rest of the wooden snakes swarmed over her. She tried to tear the wooden snakes off of her form, but it didn’t help as the wooden snakes covered her.

Meanwhile, The Dark Investor’s fiery attack grew to the size of large dodge balls before they slammed into the Captain and the right side of the triangle. The Captain blocked the attack with a barrier spell of his own, a sheet of snowflakes. The Dark Investor grunted in annoyance as he saw the Snowflake barrier. One would think Fire would win over snowflakes, but Christmas World never did make much sense to the Dark Investor. The Snowflake barrier stood tall against the Fire spell, indicating the barrier spell was a high enough level where it was able to withstand the Fire spell. He hadn’t run into very many folks with spell levels high enough to do that. Usually, those folks were in positions of power to have the ability like that.

The Lieutenant on the Captain’s right ducked under the fire spell, allowing it soar over his head and sail out of the room, growing in size. The Dark Investor knew the fire spell would land on something and cause a major fire. He smirked, seeing the line where the fire ball would land. The container full of stuffing

The next Squad member summoned a fire spell in kind, canceling out the Dark Investor’s attack and glared at the Dark Investor.

The fourth member in line wasn’t as lucky as the first 3. It was obviously she had tried to dodge it but wasn’t fast enough and took the dodge ball size fire spell to the gut. The fire spell didn’t fizzle out upon impact, but latched onto the fabric, licking at the cloth with glee. She slapped at the fire, but it didn’t help. The fire leaped from her midsection to the arm trying to put out the fire.

The fifth member took a fireball to the face, flying out of the room and over the railing. A short scream echoed then it was cut off as a loud thud would be heard. A flashing red icon appeared on the edge of the Dark Investor’s vision, alerting him that he had a combat log to check. He smirked. It meant that he got experience points from defeating or killing that fifth member of the Naughty Squad. Depending on you look like at it.

A screamed cut through the air. The Dark Investor’s eyes darted to its origins to see the third member in line, the same one who canceled out his own fire spell, stared out in the factory before the Naughty Squad member spun to the Dark Investor with a glare on his face. A quick use of Analyze informed the Dark Investor causing the blood to drain from his face and his eyes widened with shock.

Name: Floki Goodfella

Race: Ice Elf

Level: 20

Description: Ice Elves have the ability to live in the coldest regions where most other races have trouble living there. They get each +2 to Endurance, +2 to Wind and Water Resistance, and +1 Wisdom per level.

Profession: Warrior

Sub-Class: Berserker

Relationship Status: Mated - recently deceased, killed by the Dark Investor

He was dealing with a mated Elven Berserker, and he just killed the Berserker’s mate. Oh, shit.

The Elven Berserker narrowed his eyes as a red aura seemed out of his body. The Dark Investor gulped. He didn’t think there would be a berserker on the Naughty squad, let alone a mated one. He had heard rumors of how the Berserkers fought until they dropped on the battlefield or there was no more enemies left standing. The Dark Investor took a step back. The Elven Berserker’s lips twitched into a smirk. That was only warning the Dark Investor got before he lunched across the short distance between himself and the Dark Investor.

The Elven Berserker’s right arm stretched out and grabbed the Dark Investor’s neck, lifting him off his feet. The Dark Investor silently cursed the pointy ear bastard as the grip tightened and the Dark Investor grabbed at the wrist, trying to do something to release the hand. His feet reached for the wooden floor, but he felt the tip of his boot brush against the floor.

The Elven Berserker lift the Dark Investor up before slammed the dark cloaked man down onto top of the desk. Pain erupted, rippling through the Dark Investor’s back, as the desk shook. He arched his back as a soft gasp went through the air, unnoticed. The Elven Berserker let out of the Dark Investor’s neck.

Annja exclaimed as she jumped away, “Coal Droppings!” Her eyes widen. She had no clue there was a Berserker apart of the Naughty Squad. It was bad sign. It meant the attack was planned by someone in the Main Claus Family. She had to get out of the Factory. She spotted the black smoke rolling past the open door, overlooking the Factory floor. Her heart skipped a beat. The factory was on fire. Maybe it could be used to her advantage. Her mind went through what was just out of the office walls. A idea hit her as she side stepped a physical attack from a member of the Naughty Squad. Her hand went to the pouch at her hip and disappeared inside before she pulled out a gray square box with a tiny red button on top. She glanced to the other two she had the meeting with.

Jack stumbled back, “Berserker!” his arms rose in an effect to ward off an attack that never came. His fingers went through a pattern, hoping the anti-portal spell had worn off or been disable. The spell was active. He muttered, “Fudge!” He waved another spell at one of the Naughty Squad members who engaged him in battle and there was an explosion of Icicles darting through the air.

Ignoring what was going with Jack and Annja, The Dark Investor didn’t lay there a moment longer when the Elven Berserker let go of his neck and rose his leg up, kicking the Elven Berserker in the side. The Elven Berserker stumbled to the side a step but didn’t move more than that and rose a fist. He drove it down at the Dark Investor. The Dark Investor rolled to the right, allowing the fist to hit the desk. The desk shook again, emitting a cracking sound.

The Dark Investor’s hand went through a pattern, he muttered a life spell for healing, and felt the warm life magic working as he twirled out of the striking range. He ignored how the magic felt in his veins as his mind went through what knowledge he had over the Berserker Sub-Class of the Warrior Class. He grimaced as he reached the realization, he didn’t have much information on the sub-class. He would be changing that once he got back to his lair.

He blinked and bent his knees ducking below a powerful punch the Elven Berserker tired to land. He pushed his weight up, preforming a back flip. A foot lashed out at the Elven Berserker as the enemy tried to deliver another punch, this one was a sharp left hook. Neither attack landed. The Dark Investor straightened up and took a step back, trying to keep some distance between himself and the Elven Berserker. However, the Elven Berserker kept pressing the Dark Investor.

The Dark Investor lost track of how much room he had to play with when he felt his back hit a wall. He glanced over his shoulder to see the wall of the office then he turned his attention back onto the Elven Berserker and step to the side as swiftly as his agility allowed him to, avoiding a upper hook to his midsection. The punch clipped his side. The Dark Investor winced. The punch hit the wall, hard. The entire office shook from the force of the punch then the Dark Investor’s vision whited out and his hearing rang. His eyes rolled.

Shit!

A prompt flashed in his vision with a bright red background. He shook his head.

You have been blinded.

You were standing too close to a flash bang bomb. You are blinded for 5 seconds.

The Dark Investor dismissed that prompt and another prompt appeared with the same red background.

You have been deafen.

You were standing too close to a flash bang bomb. You are deafen for 5 seconds.

Whoever did that was sent from Heaven, but at the same time, he wanted to toss them out of the nearest ten story window. The Dark Investor growled. He closed his eyes, watching the timer decrease with each heartbeat. The moment he witnessed the 2 transformed into 1, he lashed out at the last place he had seen the Elven Berserker. His fist landed against something, and it gave way. The moment his vision cleared, and his hearing returned, he saw he had landed a punch onto the Elven Berserker. His eyes darted around the room. The Elven Berserker took a couple steps back, he noticed.

The Naughty squad were spread out in the room. They still hadn’t recovered from the Flash Bang Bomb. However, the Dark Investor spotted Annja standing behind the desk. She glanced in his direction, gave him a smirk and a two finger salute, and disappeared through a trapdoor that was hidden beneath a rug when he first entered the office space.

Jack Everheart had disappeared, but he spotted Jack’s long coat tails disappeared through the office door, heading into the factory. The Dark Investor wanted to shake his head at the Christmas World Representative’s intelligence. It was too dangerous to run that gantlet.

The Dark Investor spotted a window, leading to an alley way, at the back of the room. Snow was flying in the air, thick. Maybe it would be enough to lose the Elven Berserker and the rest of the Naughty Squad.

“After him!” the Captain of the Naughty Squad shouted, “I want him alive!”

“Yes sir!” the members of the Naughty Squad still standing called out before they took off after Jack.

Meanwhile, the Dark Investor reached down into the bag at his hip and summoned his inventory. A 30x30 square screen filled his vision and he mentally filter for bombs. The square screen changed to a 5x5 square screen, and it was empty. He mentally cursed. It was to improvise. He took his hand out of his bag of holding and slipped into a defensive stance. The Dark Investor had a skill level of 20 in self-defense, giving him a +2% in agility, +1% in Endurance, and +3% in stamina. It wasn’t much, considering how the Elven Berserker had been much stronger than he.

The Dark Investor’s eyes darted back to the Elven Berserker who shook his head. The cloaked Investor jumped forward, his fist raised back, over his right shoulder before he dove it down at the Elven Berserker’s cheek. Pain exploded in the Dark Investor’s fist, but he ignored it as a satisfaction danced in his veins. He smirked in triumph. the Elven Berserker didn’t move. A pair of blazing red eyes stared at the Dark Investor, emotionless.

The Dark Investor brought down his fist and he watched in dumbfound as the Elven Berserker brought his right fist back, slowly, before the Dark Investor blinked, mouth opened as spit flew out, and pain exploded in his midsection. He coughed as the Elven Berserker’s fist drew back from his gut. He stumbled back. He raised his head, trying to keep the Elven Berserker in his field of vision. He spotted the Elven Berserker’s left arm bend and the Dark Investor leap to the right, feeling a sharp breeze brushing up against his robed arm. He rolled, hitting the floor. He glanced to the left, seeing the desk still a couple feet away.

“What you did -“ A voice called from the Dark Investor’s left, causing him to glance in that direction to see the Captain of the Naughty Squad standing on the side of the desk, “ - was a stupid thing.”

The Dark Investor didn’t reply. He was surprised the Captain stayed behind. In his experience, the Captain didn’t stay behind while their strongest fighter was facing the enemy. There was something different then about this Captain. He didn’t dare to use Analyze. He feared the moment he did, the Elven Berserker would attack from the right or the Captain would on the left. It was bad enough he was in a piecer position.

“You see, that was my sister,” The Captain stated.

Fuck. I got a pissed off brother and formerly mated Elven Berserker. Today isn’t my day.

The Dark Investor thought. His eyes glanced at the desk. There was few remaining items on it. Nothing that would deal a lot of damage, if any. The Captain rumbled on. The Dark Investor ignored him, but a spark flickered through his mind. He kicked the chair at the Captain, hard. The chair sailed, the feet leaving the floor, and slammed into the Captain. He turned his attention at the Elven Berserker who drove at him. He jumped onto the desk. The Elven Berserker sailed under him. He twisted around to face the window and grabbed a random piece off the desk and threw it at the window. It slammed against the window, causing the window to creak. The Dark Investor pushed off the edge of the desk. The desk scrapped against the rug. The Dark Investor raised his arms up to protect his head and broke thought the window.

The Dark Investor flipped in mid-air, positioning his feet under him. He landed in crunch on the fresh snow. His eyes widened as he sunk into the snow to his shoulders. He stood up, revealing the snow reached his waist. He glanced up, over his shoulder.

The Elven Berserker glared down at him from the window. The Captain of the Naughty Squad held the Berserker back, placing a hand on his shoulder, and lend over to whisper something in the Berserker’s ear.

The Dark Investor turned away and struggled his way through the snow for a few feet before he growled. A hand weaved a pattern through the air and a blast of fire expelled from his hand, blasting the waist deep snow. The fire created a path and the Dark Investor hurried along. He didn’t know how much time he had before the Naughty Squad tried to follow.

He reached the end of the path before he casted the fire spell again. He knew the alleyway was coming up and it would be best if he went left. If he went right, it would lead back to the main street and possible into the clutches of the Naughty Squad. He glanced at the factory. Flames were shooting out of the windows. He frowned. There should have been more heat from the flames, but he barely felt any. He shivered as a chilly wind blew through the alleyway. Black smoke drifted up and away from the building. Between the drifts of black smoke, the Dark Investor saw the bright full moon. He frowned. He shouldn’t see the Moon. The blizzard was a category 5.

The Dark Investor mentally summoned his spell list and darted through it to the canceling spells. He didn’t have many. The six cancel spells he did have was a god sent in time like this. He mentally prepared himself before he muttered the word of power and his hands danced through a pattern. The world in front of him cracked before it shattered. He coughed as black smoke swirled around him. He narrowed his eyes at the black smoke. He didn’t think the Naughty Squad would have an illusionist on the team. He bent his knees and lunched himself through the black smoke. He landed on the other side and rolled over his right shoulder.

Coldness came through his thick cloak. The Dark Investor shivered slightly, wishing he had the time to cast Warm Self, as he stood up, but heat washed over him. He ran his eyes over the alleyway. Snow was covered his feet, instead of being nearly waist deep. Flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the nearby buildings. Black smoke rolled from the windows. Sirens blared through the night. From what it sounded like, they were coming, but the howling of the wind distorted the noise. He glanced upward and his eyes landed up on who could the illusionist, standing on the edge of the building left of the factory. They didn’t move as they just looked down at the Dark Investor.

The Dark Investor half turned to look behind him. The alleyway was clear. He didn’t know how long. The Captain and the Berserker, he guessed, were still in the building. He didn’t know if they would try to follow him through the window or make an attempt to go through the burning factory. He had to get out of there before they reappeared. He glanced back up at the Illusionist before he spirited down the alleyway, away from the burning factory.

A loud crashing sound cut through the howling wind and a roar of “Where did he go?” echoed off of the brick walls. The Dark Investor casted Haste on himself and his movement speed picked up by 1.5x. A red prompt flashed on the right edge of his vision, but he ignored it. He rounded a corner and continued his mad dash. He glanced up at the top of the buildings to see if that Illusionist was keeping pace or not. He didn’t see them, but it didn’t mean they weren’t trying to keep up in one way or another. He heard a distinct roar, but thanks to the wind, he didn’t hear what the roar was. He did however received a flashing black dot on the edge of his vision. He chuckled. He knew what that meant. He just gained another mortal enemy.

Feeling the haste spell wear off, The Dark Investor passed through another alleyway intersection when something came barrel out of the wall of swirling snow. He gritted his teeth and bit back a curse as he flung off his feet into the sharp corner of the alleyway. The pain erupted from his side and he fell down, stun. The prompt flashed across his vision:

You are stunned for 5 seconds.

Shit! That would be enough time to be killed. He knew from experience. He usually was the dealing the final blow. The Dark Investor knew he would be able respawn, but he didn’t know where he would be spawn to. That would be a major problem. If he respawned in this area, his enemy would be able to kill him again, and again, and again until he lost all of his level progression or worst, the Dark Investor finally hit the respawn limit for his kind and his soul would drift off into the Either. He didn’t want to find out what would happen after he reached his respawn limit. A counter appeared in the center of his vision, 5.

“You should have teleported out of here, when you had the chance, Dark Investor,” a drawl of the Elven Berserker rang out. The Dark Investor’s eyes, the only thing he could move, darted up to stare at the Elven Berserker, “Now, you are stunned and I have the chance to get avenge my wife’s death.”

4.

The Dark Investor didn’t know how big the anti-teleportion spell rang was so he didn’t even take the time to try. He probably should the next time he had to face any Berserker.

3.

The Elven Berserker went down on one knee and pulled a sharp knife. He grabbed the Dark Investor’s hood in a tight grip, pulling his hair. He forced the Dark Investor’s head back, exposing his neck. “I’m going to enjoy this,” The Berserker gave a blood thirsty grin before he placed the sharp edge of the blade against the Dark Investor’s soft neck, right above one of the main blood veins. He pushed the knife into the skin, breaking it. Warm blood ran down the side of the Dark Investor’s neck.

2.

The Elven Berserker ran the blade along The Dark Investor’s neck. Blood pour out of the cut. The Dark Investor knew he would die as he watched his health bar drop from 100%, to 75%, to 50%. The Dark Investor eyed the Eleven Berserker as the other male brought his bloody knife back, elbow bent and drove the knife into the Dark Investor’s chest. The Dark Investor’s body jerked as the blade pieced his heart. His health bar dropped from 40% to 0%. The world darkened.

The Dark Investor drifted away through the folds of space until he experienced the feeling of falling, falling. He opened his eyes in time to see dirt covered ground rushing up to meet him. He flung out his hands to catch himself. He landed hard on his hands and knees. He grunted.

Rolf threw his head back, his hair falling to the sides of his face and down his shoulders. He really needed to get his hair cut one of these days. He stared out the area in respawned to. Trees in various stages of decay stood around him with very little grass in the area.

“Fuck,” he announced, “I’m in the Middle Land City Holiday Forest.”