Christmas Core, page 1
Christmas Core
A Holiday Dungeon Core Novella
Jonathan Brooks
Cover Design: Yvonne Less, Art 4 Artists
Edited by: Ellen Klowden
Copyright ©2021 Jonathan Brooks
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The following is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, businesses, corporations, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to any actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design Copyright ©2021 Yvonne Less, Art 4 Artists
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my wife for putting up with all my crazy outdoor Christmas decorations every year! I tend to pick up tons of decorations after they go on clearance after the holidays, and now I have more than I can possibly use!
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Author’s Note
Books by Jonathan Brooks
Chapter 1
“Have a great weekend, Elmer! Don’t stay too late!”
His co-workers laughed good-naturedly at Elmer’s smiling nod as they entered the elevator, leaving for the weekend and leaving him there all alone. The solitude was actually appreciated because it allowed the 68-year-old a chance to finish putting up the decorations all throughout the office without being interrupted.
As he used the stepstool to hang up another red tinsel garland along the perimeter of the main office room, Elmer Robbins looked around at how much he still needed to finish before he was done decorating his workplace for Christmas. Thankfully, a series of permanent hooks had been installed along the drop ceiling a few decades ago to help with the installation of the décor, for which was thankful for more and more as the years went by. While he was still in fairly good shape for his age, climbing up the stepstool and having to figure out how to hang or attach garland or lights in the office was a bit much for him.
Still, even if it took him all weekend, he would gladly take the time to fill his workplace with Christmas cheer. Of course, working on the office decorations for that long would cut into the time he was planning on spending this weekend decorating his own home, inside and out, with the massive number of decorations he had in his backyard shed. Then again, he didn’t really have anything to do after work next week… just like he hadn’t had much to do over the last year.
Elmer smiled as he hung ornaments from the length of garland he could reach from his position on the stepstool, remembering how much Mary had enjoyed decorating for Christmas just as much as he did. Granted, her domain had been inside of the house while his had been outside, but they both worked long hours shortly after Thanksgiving to ensure that their house was completely decorated before the end of the weekend. While most people spent the weekend shopping for deals in the stores, they found delight in creating a Christmas winter wonderland around their relatively small house they had purchased shortly after they were married just shy of 45 years ago.
In fact, if I remember correctly, it would’ve been 45 years at the beginning of next year.
Unfortunately, they never actually made it to 44 years of marriage before Mary passed away the year before from a sudden and unexpected heart attack, a couple of days before Thanksgiving. It had been totally unexpected because she was in fairly good health for someone in her 60s, and there had never been any history of heart disease in her family. The only thing that made it bearable for Elmer was that she must have suffered the attack during her sleep, and she appeared as peaceful as an angel when he had tried to wake her up.
He nearly didn’t decorate at all last year at home, let alone at the office, but the thought of her scolding him for not following their yearly tradition made him crack open the door to the shed last year and unload all of the decorations. In the end, it turned out to be the only thing that kept him from breaking down, refusing to move without his love, his soul-mate, by his side.
All throughout the last year, he continued to decorate their house, and the office he worked at, for all of the major holidays, like they always did. It wasn’t just Christmas for which they decorated, but also for holidays such as St. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving; there was almost always something to celebrate, and they loved to participate in the decoration together – it was sometimes more fun than the actual holidays themselves!
Elmer was half-convinced that it was because of his love of livening up his office for the major holidays that he was allowed to continue working there. Theoretically, he could have retired years ago, but he hadn’t because he didn’t feel ready to retire; in a couple of years, as his body began to tire more and more, he would have to seriously consider it, but for now it was a lifeline he needed in order to stave off the loneliness of an empty house.
He shook his head at the thought of going home and putting up Christmas decorations for the second time at home without his Mary, but he felt a warmth in his chest when he remembered how she would spend hours ensuring their tree was perfectly balanced with the right amount of ornaments, lights, garland, and candy canes. He didn’t do nearly as well as she normally did on the tree last year, but he hoped that with some more practice he might manage to make it look passable this year.
An hour later, Elmer was starting to become tired from the constant up and down on the stepstool, but he was determined to finish decorating that night. He only had a little bit more to do before he was done, however, because the small tree was already set up in the corner and decorated (not nearly as well as Mary would do, but it still looked festive in his opinion), and most of the perimeter décor was up. The only thing he had left was perhaps another half-hour or more of lights to attach to the cubicle tops, and then a few finishing touches to ensure it looked perfect for when everyone came back on Monday morning.
As he went to get the first strand of lights, wrapped around a thin wooden spool he had created himself for storage, his exhaustion was starting to kick in more and more. Breathing hard, he unwrapped the plug from the end of the spool, and without really paying attention, he plugged it into the wall to ensure it was still working. He had done it so many times in the past that it was nearly automatic… which was why he didn’t notice that the plastic sheathing over the wires near the plug had been melted off, as if the box of lights had been near one of the personal heaters that many of his younger co-workers plugged in under their desks.
An intense electrical current went through his entire body, and he felt his muscles stiffen involuntarily even as shock shot through his mind. A sudden pain erupted in his chest even as he somehow managed to get his hand off of the live wire, and he felt himself collapsing on his back, his shoulder hitting a cubicle wall as he fell. That was probably the only thing that prevented him from slamming his head into something hard and unyielding, which would’ve been bad for someone of his age.
Unfortunately, that didn’t really seem to matter in the end, because the sudden pain in his chest rose in intensity as he lay on the floor of his office. After a few seconds, it felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, and he opened up his mouth in an attempt to scream – but nothing came out. Then, just as quickly as it started, the pain suddenly stopped…
…along with the beating of his heart.
Mary… I’m coming…
Chapter 2
Darkness overcame Elmer as his body failed him, but his consciousness didn’t fade away along with his mortal shell. Instead, his awareness of the world felt like it was ripped away, and there was a period of intense disorientation, followed by a wrenching sensation as if his consciousness was coming to an abrupt halt. After an indeterminate amount of time, he felt his awareness blossom around him again, though it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
Suddenly, as if he had opened up eyes all around his body, Elmer could see again. The first and most obvious thing he saw was that he wasn’t in his office anymore, nor was he in a hospital or even in a place he remotely recognized. Instead, it appeared as though he was in some sort of stone-walled cave, illuminated by a source he couldn’t identify at first. Looking around, he saw that there was a passageway of sorts on one side of the cave, and without even thinking about it, he took his viewpoint down the cave to explore it.
Before he moved too far down it, however, the strangeness of the situation sent him into a panic. I don’t feel my body moving! How am I—?
It was only when he looked back into the cave in his panic that he both identified where the illumination was coming from, as well as what he instinctively deduced was his “body”. Only, it wasn’t a body, but a floating spherical orb that glowed with some sort of internal light. Zipping his attention back to the orb, he reached out his mind and intuitively recognized the light….
It was his soul. The shape and feel of it, at least as far as he could determine with his thoughts, was unmistakably Elmer Robbins. He wasn’t exactly sure where the knowledge of that came from, but its accuracy was never in question.
Is this the afterlife? Elmer had to admit that he had never been a particularly religious person; to him, many of the religious holidays he celebrated, such as Christmas and Easter, had been more about the feeling of the holiday than for any spiritual or religious reasons. His wife had been the same way— Wait! If this is the afterlife, then Mary should be here as well!
It turned out that she was closer than he thought. As he continued to look at the glowing orb, he realized that it wasn’t just his own soul that he felt in there; deep down inside of the object was a hint of a very recognizable soul that he rejoiced in finding.
Mary! Is that you? Where are you? He called out for what felt like a lifetime, attempting to reach his Mary, who seemed trapped inside the orb. Feeling around with his perception, he eventually found that there was some sort of barrier, an intangible shield that kept him separated from his soulmate buried deep inside.
Welcome, new Dungeon Core!
Please select your new Dungeon Helper:
Fairy
Pixie
Sprite
Tabby Cat
Golden Retriever
…..
…..
…..
Capuchin Monkey
Dragonling
Disembodied Artificial Intelligence
(Custom)
Words abruptly appeared in Elmer’s mind, and he tried to ignore them while he continued to try and reach his wife. However, the more he tried to look past them, the more insistent they became – and he stopped to contemplate how words could be insistent. It seemed like an impossibility; regardless, that was exactly the feeling he got from the words in his mind.
Dungeon Core? Dungeon Helper?
He didn’t understand any of what that meant, but he looked over the gigantic list of things that he was supposed to choose from. Fairies, cats, dogs, monkeys, dragonlings, artificial intelligence? Other than possibly the artificial intelligence, none of them seemed like helpers to him. When he thought of a helper, only one thing came to mind; it might have been a result of what he had been doing before he had been electrocuted and wound up inside of a glowing orb, or just because he felt like being contrary, but the result was the same.
Without thinking about it too long, he selected the (Custom) option and he was prompted to picture the helper he wanted. It was easy enough to think of an Elf, though not one from those King of the Rings movies (or whatever they were called; he never watched them, though he was aware of their existence); no, he was thinking of a North Pole Elf, such as the ones that helped Santa Claus create toys for all of the children around the world.
The words disappeared from his mind, thankfully, and he was about to try reaching Mary again when an enthusiastic and squeaky voice interrupted him.
“Hello, there! I’m Keebles, your appointed Dungeon Helper!”
Elmer identified the source of the voice immediately, as it was the only thing in the cave other than the glowing sphere. On the floor directly under the orb was an honest-to-goodness Elf, standing around 3 feet tall with pointed ears and wearing the classic garb of an Elf. From its green shoes that curled back in the front, to the red and white tights that looked like a candy cane, the green long-sleeved shirt with white cuffs and red collar that was pointed like a poinsettia, the black belt with a golden-colored buckle, and the red and green hat that drooped down in the back with a bell attached to the end, it was the quintessential North Pole Elf. Just like he imagined—actually, it was exactly as he had imagined, down to the smallest detail.
Elmer attempted to speak back, as it was the polite thing to do, but given that he didn’t have a body, a throat, or lungs in which to talk, nothing happened.
“Oh, you can simply think what you want to say and I’ll hear you.”
* Uh… okay… um… can you hear me? *
“Yes, I can! How may I help you?” The emphasis on Help was obvious, as if it was something special. Elmer didn’t really understand it, but he didn’t understand a lot of what was happening – so that wasn’t anything new.
* Well, you can start by telling me WHAT IS GOING ON? One minute I was putting up Christmas lights, and the next I’m… here—wherever here is. *
The Elf, Keebles, looked toward the ground and folded his hands together. When he spoke, he sounded apologetic. “Yes, well, I’m sorry to say that you died.” The small figure was silent for a total of 2 seconds before he smiled as he looked at Elmer’s Core, pointing one of his fingers in the air like he was just now recognizing a point. However,” he continued, “your soul had been magically transported to the world of Bershia, where it’s become a Dungeon Core! As a brand-new Dungeon Core, you’ll have to learn to defend yourself from Adventurers who want to destroy—”
* Hold up! This is another world? And why is my wife here? *
That seemed to shut the Helper up as he looked closer at the floating orb—the Dungeon Core—that seemed to be holding Elmer’s soul. A look of surprise crossed his face as he opened his mouth to speak, though nothing came out after a few seconds.
* Well? Explain. *
Oddly enough, the knowledge that he had actually died back in the office wasn’t really a huge deal to him. Sadly, after his wife had died, he had thought about hastening his departure from the world in order to join his Mary, but he knew that she would’ve been angry at him for doing such a thing. Since this wasn’t any fault of his own—as far as I can remember—it didn’t bother him that he wasn’t living his lonely existence anymore. On Earth, because he was apparently on another world, if the Elf knew was telling the truth.
What did bother him was that now that he had been reunited with his wife, he couldn’t actually see or talk to her. He knew she was there, behind the impassable barrier in his “Dungeon Core”, and being so close and yet unable to get to her was almost worse than going through the motions back when he was alive. Though, I still feel like I’m alive; am I undead like some sort of zombie?
“I’m sorry, I was trying to figure out what was going on, myself,” the green-garbed figure finally answered. “I think I know what’s going on, however.”
* And that is…? *
“Well, and this is purely conjecture because I haven’t seen anything like this before,” he said hurriedly, holding up his hand, “but I’m pretty sure that the two of you are Soul-bonded. Tell me, were you Soul-bonded back when you were alive?”
* That word is quite official-sounding, so I’m not sure what that means. I can tell you that we always thought we were meant to be together, and I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone but her; I remember her telling me that she felt the same way. Is that what you mean? *
“I guess so, if you don’t have Soul-bonded in your world.” Keebles shrugged. “Anyway, apparently your Dungeon Core was always meant to hold your soul when you died, but as your Soul-bond passed away before you, her soul was brought here instead. When her soul wasn’t compatible—but still enough like your own soul that it couldn’t be destroyed—it was sealed inside of your Core to keep it dormant. If allowed to activate even partially, like it is right now since your soul has arrived, it would light up like a beacon on a dark night to any Adventurers within 100 miles. Since she couldn’t operate the Core to create defenses, it would’ve been a death sentence.”
* Well, now that I’m here, how do I get her out? *
“You’ll need to have better control over your Dungeon Core in order to break down the barrier containing her soul.” When he didn’t say any more than that, Elmer got frustrated and asked the obvious question.
* …HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT? Aren’t you supposed to be Helping me? *
If the Elf seemed affected by the mental shout that Elmer couldn’t help but release out of annoyance and frustration, Keebles didn’t show it. “Oh, by Leveling up your Dungeon Core, of course.”
