“I am going to need access to the archives,” I told Mrs. Claus the following morning over breakfast.
“What are you looking for?” She asked, cautious but without rhyme. With the elves' help, I had been able to put some pieces in place to lessen the story’s agitation, thus lessening the pressure.
“I have managed to piece some things together, including the fact that whatever is causing this is doing so with intention. It wants something, and I think I can figure out what if you let me have access to the archives. I just need access to the upper level, and I will accept whatever manner of supervision makes you feel more comfortable with this.”
“That can be arranged, of course. The archives have their own guard, which will be sufficient, and you may take Maguire with you if you desire his assistance. If you cannot find what you are looking for there, I will see what other arrangements can be made.”
“That will be more than enough to help me figure out my next steps when it comes to stopping whatever this is before it can affect Christmas. I can do a lot with a little, but you know what they say. Knowledge is power,” I replied.
The conversation shifted as an elf entered the room.
“Pardon my interruption, but Santa requests your presence, Mrs. Claus.”
“Of course, dear. Tell him I will be right there,” she replied before turning her attention to Maguire and myself. “I will ensure you have the access you need by the time you get there. If anything else comes up, send word and I will see that it is taken care of.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Claus. I give my word, this will be taken care of one way or another before Christmas Eve. You all focus on what you need to do to prepare, and I will handle the trickster.”
“We will owe you a favor for this.”
“Just doing my job,” I protested.
“We will owe you a favor for this,” Mrs. Claus repeated. She left the room before I could reiterate my protest.
“What is your job, by the way?” Maguire asked. “In general, not just here specifically.”
“Have you heard of the Society of Jacks?” I asked in response.
“Can’t say I have.”
“Basically, it's an organization that believes it's better to know how to do a lot of things well than to be an expert in a single thing. Sure, we have specializations but those are still broad. My primary focus is on enchantments, though I also have an interest in different kinds of magic and magical creatures. I help fix problems when they happen, and I help put systems in place, so they don’t have to call me as often. Thankfully, magic is chaotic enough that even with my prevention, I still find myself with plenty of work.”
“Sounds like a very interesting career path.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Interesting is a nice word for it. It is certainly not a traditional career by any stretch of the imagination, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” I said. “That reminds me, what’s your role up here at the Pole?”
“I focus on personnel and communications, except for when I’m helping outsiders fix a situation.”
“Uh oh, we are starting to rhyme, that means we are running out of time. Let’s go to the archives, see what we can learn. We only have so much time to burn.”
Maguire nodded solemnly, worry glinting in his eyes as I flashed him what I hoped was an encouraging smile. This was not a good time to panic. That would only make the symptoms worse. He seemed to understand this as he wordlessly led me to the archives. I tried to communicate in as few words as possible what I was looking for and the archivists replied in equally poetic words, guiding me to where the books I wanted were located.
Before we started our research, I hung some of the disenchanted strands of garland and tinsel around the edges of the table and laid a few small decorations on nearby shelves.
“Okay, hopefully, this will help cut back on the rhyming,” I said, sighing in relief as I didn’t feel the pressure to continue.
“Amazing how something so simple can make such a profound impact. So, what are we looking for?”
“Records of previous incidents including tricksters and the North Pole. Any offshoots of the story that contain elements of trickery or anything that may have been of trickster make, to start with. While you look into that, I will start looking into the history of this specific location and any artifacts that may be on the premise.” I could feel the eyes of the archivists on me as I said this. “The trickster is most likely either trying to get to something or someone. If I can narrow down what, I can set up a trap for it.”
The archivists relaxed a bit as I said this, but I could feel them watching me a little more closely each time I went to pull a book off the shelf. I took care to keep my movements nice and visible so they could worry a little less.
Maguire and I spent the next few hours combing through books and trading notes, compiling a list of possible culprits or targets. I already knew some of the history surrounding the Pole, though most of that knowledge focused on specific buildings I did work in.
This time I focused on the whole area, its history, and the objects that had become artifacts. We started building a timeline of the history of the North Pole and Christmas, flagging any connections to tricksters or magic that could work in tandem with the traditional trickster magic. Some of the archivists jumped in to help clarify things or add additional notes, even going so far as to bring in a chalkboard.
We had a few possible theories going on when I stumbled upon something that made several things click into place at once.
“It’s the cowl,” I said.
“What?”
“It’s the cowl, or the hat or the hood or the scarf. There have been multiple iterations throughout history, but it has always been part of the magic, but the only time that was reflected in the story was when he wore a red cowl, rimmed in white. Some of the finer details might have varied from story to story, but the basic description remained the same.”
“And that makes it lucrative for a trickster?” Maguire asked.
“Because it is one of the few things that was magical before it was added to the story. Santa received it as a gift to keep him safe on his journeys, according to this record. Between that and the fact that it was part of the story, the magic will be stronger, and tricksters are masters of manipulating story magic on a small scale. Add to that the fact the cowl has fallen out of favor and been replaced with a few other iterations before we got to the traditional hat, it's disconnected enough for it to be accessible to them. Santa was also portrayed as being trickier during that time period.”
“So, if the right trickster managed to snag the cowl, they could potentially tap into or replicate the power of Santa Claus to some extent,” one of the archivists stated.
“Failing that, they will still find a way to cause chaos. Where is the cowl being kept?” I asked.
“The vault.”
“And the rest of the inactive artifacts?”
“Also in the vault, but there are layers to the protections…”
“My gut says that is what the trickster is going for. I need to speak to Santa.”