At dawn the workshops were all a flurry of activity with the goblins singing working songs like ‘Break the Bells’ and ‘No-No-No, Santa’s Got to Go!’ as they painted placards and built Santa-shaped effigies which were mounted on large bonfires ready for the big man’s visit.
By mid-morning they were all assembled in the snow, and when Santa’s sleigh appeared on the horizon a mighty roar went up as the fires were lit and the chanting began.
“Goblin made! Goblin paid! Goblin made! Goblin paid!”
“No-No-No, Santa’s Got to Go!”
“Break the bells! Tear the tinsel! Appreciate our potential!”
Grug, helped by several other ex-prisoners and goblins, shoveled cart-loads of contracts into the flames in the midst of the cacophony.
The Krampus headed the protest, roaring in rage as Santa stepped off his sleigh, looking out at the assembly beneath angry white eyebrows.
Bastion, Jackal and I hung back, sitting atop a black phaeton and watching the proceedings from a safe distance.
“You sure you don’t want me in there?” Jackal asked, pointing at the front lines.
“This is something they have to do for themselves,” Bastion said firmly, sharing a look with me. “They’re making a new start for themselves; they don’t need us in there doing it for them.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Santa demanded, Krampina following him out of the sleigh and looking around in shock. There seemed to be even more layers of gold chains glinting in her white fur compared to the photo I’d examined of her.
“We do not accept your authority,” roared the Krampus, stomping his feet. “We do not accept your rules. We strike!”
“Strike! Strike! Strike!”
“No-No-No, Santa’s Got to Go!”
“Goblin made! Goblin paid! Goblin made! Goblin paid!”
“You want to pay the goblins?” Krampina asked in disgust, her golden chains clinking as she threw back her mane of hair. “What utter foolishness! They’re slaves.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“The whole system is set up to ensure cheap labour,” Santa said, his tone as patronizing as though he was explaining to a toddler. “Pack up this nonsense and get back to work. You’ve wasted enough time already.”
“Break the bells! Tear the tinsel! Appreciate our potential!”
“Goblin made! Goblin paid! Goblin made! Goblin paid!”
“We will not bend!” the Krampus growled. “You have no power here.”
Santa snorted, and gestured to Krampina, who stood forwards, glaring down at the goblins.
“Get back to work!” she screamed at them, and we could feel the ripple of her Intimidation ability weakening the wills of the crowd.
“Stand firm!” the Krampus roared over her, his ability cancelling hers out.
The goblins gripped their weapons tighter and chanted even louder.
“Goblin made! Goblin paid! Goblin made! Goblin paid!”
“No-No-No, Santa’s Got to Go!”
“Break the bells! Tear the tinsel! Appreciate our potential!”
“You will regret this!” Santa snapped at the Krampus. “You’re fired! Krampina will have your job, and you can be out on the street – and if next Christmas, you don’t comply, I’ll let her beat you to death!”
“Me? Work?” Krampina turned on Santa in disgust. “I’m not going to work!”
“You’ll do as you’re told, or you’ll find yourself at my mercy as well!” Santa shouted at her.
“How dare you! I am not your underling!”
“You’re definitely not my equal!”
“You disgusting, disloyal troll!” she screamed.
Krampina pounced on him then, clawing and punching at him with her huge hands, her rings breaking his skin like knuckledusters and leaving rivulets of blood in the snow. Santa wrestled with her, trying to pound her in the head with his candy cane pimp-stick, but she grabbed his cloak and began choking him with it instead.
“Ho-Ho-Whore!” Santa croaked through the stranglehold Krampina had him in.
The Krampus stood motionless, watching them wrestle pathetically in the snow, his own club hanging uselessly at his side. While he’d been edging for a fight, he seemed to be stunned with it playing out before him, karma exacting its own revenge with or without his participation.
“Are we seriously going to get through this whole affair without a single fight?” Bastion asked, sounding a little disappointed.
“With any luck,” I said, laughing at his pouting expression. “I think they’ve got this in hand. Come on, we’ve got something else to do.”
Jackal slid off the phaeton in front of me and lifted his hands to grab me by the waist, planting me gently on the snowy ground.
“What now?” Bastion asked, landing lightly next to me with a show of his high dexterity, barely leaving a print in the snow.
“I’m going to get in contact with Jenny.”
“You figured out how?” Bastion asked in surprise. “I thought James had to apologize to her.”
I shook my head. “I realized… she never actually said that James had to write the apology. And if we left it to him, we might be waiting indefinitely anyway. This whole thing with the Krampus, it… I realized I’ve not been a particularly good friend to her either. I’ve got a lot to apologize for too.”
“Huh,” Bastion said thoughtfully. “Okay. So back to the Krampus’ office?”
