9) A Visit [ from St. Nicholas. Seriously, that’s the real name of the poem, not ‘The Night Before Christmas’ ]

  I had returned to my Domain with what may have been only a few minutes before the Tamer arrived with his Ratling in search of his book.

  Or this may have been the night before he showed up… And why the Pit didn’t I have Caesar grab that little ball of a book of Vile lore and rituals and bring it back to the Mortal world so I could just hand it to the Tamer?

  In fact, why wasn’t I doing that right now?

  I sighed inside my head because, as long as the Lexica was in the Spirit world, I was the only one who could bring it back. At least as far as I knew.

  Or at least it was the case that, as far as I knew, I was the only one who could bring anything back from the Spirit world. And as far as I knew, I could, in fact, bring things back.

  I mean, just because I could take things there didn’t necessarily mean I could bring them back here.

  However, right this very moment, I needed to check my Domain for any signs of an invading force instead of experimenting with bringing hither and yon.

  But, as it turned out, all through my Domain not a creature was stirring, not even a Fairy. As Viola was currently resting on the back of her slumbering pet, the Goat, with her legs crossed at her ankles and her hands folded behind her head, she lay there humming to herself.

  My Summons were all in place at their positions, each one placed with care… In hope of jumping any Ratling that might soon be here.

  While Viola was nestled there all snug on her pet, while visions of who know what filling her little head.

  My Core was secure and hidden away on its shelf, and I had a moment to think and plan while I had a moment to myself.

  When from the outer corridor, arose from high above such a clatter that I brought my Focus around to see what was the matter.

  The Fairy sprang from her bed and yelped, “Fell! What’s the Pit is going on?” as I turned my attention to see what was coming at us from above.

  A brightly shining moon high above shed a pale blue light directly down the shaft to the surface of the city above. As the moonlight shone down, it lit up the layers of crystalline webbing that crisscrossed the shaft. The glistening strands were a trap set by my Earth Spider to hinder and cut those who came down into my Domain from that high above.

  When, to my viewpoint suddenly did appear, a glowing circle filled with symbols all made of a red light suddenly appeared, that was spinning and turning in place as the Sigil Array slowly made its way down the shaft, I feared.

  Along with eight tiny horned animals, Deer I believed, in miniature form.

  Each of them caught on the webbing and reviving multiple cuts which scored their flesh as they fell. With some of the crystal stands severing some of their limbs, as well as a few heads. The decapitations caused those Deer that were killed to vanish in poofs of red glowing mists that dissipated into the air.

  With that, I knew these to be Summons, and that I was being attacked by someone with the boring, regular old non Core Summoner class. “Who the Pit is this prick?”

  Most of the Summoned tiny Deer managed to survive, making their way through the Crystal webbing, snapping each strand as they went, which allowed the descending array of Sigils to make its way down, unaffected by the strands. And enough of the creatures, even bleeding and torn up, had survived to make their way to where my Spider was lurking on the ceiling next to the bottom of the shaft.

  The Earth Spider, a Tier one, Level one Summoned creature, didn’t last that long.

  With the last of the Deer flew out of the bottom of the shaft… are these Air Deer? Anyhow, the Summons cleared the way to the bottom of the shaft after the brief fight to allow the red Sigil Array to drift, unhindered, down to the floor.

  When where to my despairing eyes did appear, a tall figure who rose from a hole carved from the air by some Magic I fear.

  Did he just Summon himself? Is that a thing?

  It was another Elf, but unlike the Elf woman Pierce who had come into my home before, this one was male, bearded, and fat.

  Very Fat. Fat enough, I wasn’t entirely sure if he was an Elf. He had the ears, but with the beard, and all the weight? I wasn’t sure.

  “Pit... Is that what happens to Summoners when they have their Summons do all the work?”

  Thank my nameless God I didn’t have to worry about putting on weight… I don’t, right? I mean, I am a ball of Chaos in crystallized form, so it’s not like I can get fat. But, I think I’m still absorbing Chaos…

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Could I get bigger? Not fat, just more… round?

  No. No, that wouldn’t make sense. If Cores got bigger over time, then they would get too big to be inside creatures… Unless that’s when they become Dire versions of a normal sized beasts.

  Come to think of it, how did a Core fit inside those shrunken Deer before they were turned into Totems?

  Out in the outer hall, the presumed Elf, who was dressed in some very warm looking red clothing with a white fur trim, complete with matching hat, dismissed all of his Summoned deer.

  Before abruptly Resummoning all of them. Which made sense, why keep around a bunch of wounded Summons when he can reclaim all the Magic he used to Summon them the first time, and then use it to get brand new uninjured Summons.

  “Now, Blithe Deer! Now, Blithe Deer! Now, Blithe Deer and Blithe Deer! Come, Blithe Deer! Come, Blithe Deer! Come, Blithe Deer and Blithe Deer!”

  And as he spoke, each fresh new, apparently called Blithe for tiny instead of Dire for big, Deer appeared from a Summoning circle as they were called into being… Which I thought was a rather inefficient way of doing things. Then the fat Elf started yelling, again.

  Why is he yelling like that anyways?

  “To the top of the stairs! And on down the hall! Now race away! Dash away! And clear my way to the one called Fall!”

  “It’s Fell! Fell!” And how does this Summoner know the layout of my Domain? Let alone how does he know my name, and then still get it wrong? “Viola! What is going on?”

  Instead of answering, my Fairy was simply staring through the walls with her Gaze ability to see the fat Elf despite all the stone between him and her. Shaking her head with a look of horror on her face, Viola waved her hand in front of herself. “No. No. Not now.”

  What? “Vi?”

  Backing away along the back of her now nervous looking goat, my Fairy tumbled off the back end of the beast as it rose to her feet.

  “Alright, I guess she’s not going to be of much use.” While I needed Viola’s help, rather badly in fact, I also needed to do something, anything, right now. And I now needed to do it on my own, as the herd of Blithe Deer flew through the air of my outer hall and up the stairs to storm the inner chambers of my home.

  As I heard the rattling sound of hooves and clatter of horn scraping against the stone steps, walls, and ceiling of the stairway, I brought my other defender of the outer hall into play on the Deer’s master.

  When fighting Summoners, killing the Summoned creatures does nothing for you, as the adventurers and Ratling had found with me. To beat a Summoner, you have to target the Summoner.

  “Spider.”

  As the flare of properly orange tinged red light from my Summoning circle appeared in the shaft above the fat Elf’s head, my Spider appeared above the circle, and then, even as the light of the array faded, the arachnid fell through it to drop down toward the home invader.

  With all eight of its legs and mandibles flailing in the air as it fell.

  “Take that, you-” With a flicker of Summoning Sigils, a red and white striped shepherd's crook appeared in the Elf’s hands as it swung it at the falling Spider. Sending the Summons flying into the wall in a short appearance of Spider innards and shattered carapace before my Earth Spider vanished into a puff of dissipated Magical smoke.

  Which I promptly absorbed back into my Magic pool to recover the Magic I had used to Summon the creature in the first place.

  Something I could do as a Core Summoner inside my own Domain, while a normal Summoner like the fat Elf could only get their Magic back by dismissing their Summons.

  Advantage, me. Which made me feel a little better about my Spider being taken down in one hit.

  Especially as the Spider had only been meant to be a distraction.

  For the Earth Snake, which had been working to seal the half height door behind the fat Elf’s back, was now nearly at the Summoner's boot-

  And just got stepped on as the Elf as he took a step backwards to take a two handed ready for a fighting pose with his Shepard's crook.

  Seriously? All the Summoner did was step on my Snake with the heel of his boot. He didn’t even see it. Just one unknowing step, and the Snake was gone in a poof. Just how pathetic are Rank one, Level one Summons?

  I really need to level my Totems up.

  At least… Nope. While I hadn’t been paying attention. My Level six Skeleton, and all my Level one other Summons had been torn apart by the eight tiny Blithe Deer who were now swarming around in the inner hall just outside the open doorway to where I was hidden away in my library.

  “Summon all.”

  I called all of my Summoned creatures back into existence all around me. With one simple command rather than naming one individually like some second rate showboating, other Summoner might have done it.

  At least one of us could be professional about all of this.

  Up the stairs, the fat Elf came with a bound, dressed in his absurd outfit in red from his white fur trimmed and topped hat, down to his matching pants.

  His clothes were all marked with embroidered Sigils and wooden charms, and a heavy bundle was slung on his hip.

  Rather than advance down the hall in search of my Core, the enemy Summoner fumbled away at his bag with a cheery grin on his face and a gleam in his ice cold blue eyes.

  Pulling his hand free from his bag, the invader clamped a pipe in his mouth and puffed away at a flickering flame that appeared on his fingertip from a small red glowing Sigil stitched into the end of one of the fingers of his black glove.

  First, the fat Elf had Summoned a striped crook, and now a flame. Is this something I could learn to do with Sigils, assuming I survived, or is this a form of Summoning?

  The Elf said nothing at first as he puffed away, then he winked his eye and gave a nod of his head down the hallway.

  “I don’t mean you any harm young Core, but I have been entrusted to deliver a message to you. A message to pass on to your Familiar.”

  Viola peered out from between the forelegs of her pet Goat, where it now stared out into the inner hall from the shelter of the doorway of its room. Somehow it had remained unassaulted by the Blithe deer.

  The one thing I wouldn’t have minded if they killed...

  My Fairy knotted her hands together, “What… What do you want?”

  The invading Summoner nodded at Viola. “I bear a message… From your Mother.”

  Viola shook.

  “Pansy, you need to call more often.”

  Shaking her fist above her head, my Fairy began screaming. “It’s Viola now. V. I. O. L. A. Some people can respect a girl’s choice. And tell the old bag to mind her own business, I’m no contact-”

  That was it? All of this, for that?

  The Fat elf laughed and dug into this sack again, “For the trouble young Fall.”

  It’s Fell, you fat fool…

  The invading Summoner set a small box wrapped in a brightly colored paper and tied together with a shiny, obnoxiously red bow. Still laughing to himself, the fat Elf turned and began to make his way back out.

  Standing below the shaft to the surface of the city, the Summoner created a new circle shaped Sigil array, which he stood on as it began to rise up the shaft. Followed along by his Summoned Blithe Deer, which flew along below it.

  As he rose above the edge of my Domain, I heard him exclaim.

  “Happy Solstice to all, and have a good night!”

  “...Well. That happened.” Ignoring the still cursing Fairy, I regarded the wrapped box.

  “Not happening. Fire Snail”

  My Fire Aura Summons soon reduced whatever had been inside the box to ash, and I began to try to forget this whole night had ever happened. I had a true threat to prepare for.

  I could only hope that I would never have to deal with any kind of Deer in my Domain again.