Despite my best efforts, Christmas will be arriving on schedule this year.

[Evil!Skald]

Late yesterday afternoon, at approximately 32:15, there was a dreadful calmor in the RhymerLair. It was the dungeon alarm. I grabbed a laser-axe and raced to the Pit of Despair, but it was too late. Not only had the Claus-beast escaped, but the flying caribou and poncy elves as well; in addition, only 1% of the confiscated Yule presents had been fed into the wood-chipper at that time, and Kringle had managed to retrieve the rest.

Clearly I’ve been betrayed by an insider. I suspect it was WhyNot or Oak or Mika; all the lair’s booby-traps are programmed to spare their lives and limbs, and as fond of them as I am, they’re not actually evil, and sometimes they get all sentimental and squeamish. Not that it matters. According to my repeater-scope scans, Claus & Company have not only retaken the Workshop but called in Aquaman for reinforcements as well. With the armies of Atlantis defending the Pole, it is simply impractical to ruin Christmas for everyone.

I’m sorry, you guys. It’s my own fault for not just chopping his head off as soon as he fell into the trap.

:frowning:

I’ll bet you were monologuing.

Learn from your mistakes.

Better luck next time.

Or his cape got snagged.

You have failed us all. Hang your head in shame.

I was not monologuing. I was baking. Mrs. Claus looked was all weepy and stuff when I threw Kringle and the rest into the Pit, so I sat her down in the sitting room and gave her some tea and went to make her ginger bread men so she wouldn’t feel so bad. Yes, I did leave the keys to the dungeon pit unattended during this time so in theory she had access to them but she’d given her word not to do anything.

What?

Wasn’t me! I may have, just once, gone to schnuzzle the schnozzle of one of those cute little reindeer, but that disgusting creature in the red coat kept calling me a Ho. Bastard. I’ll show him some claws…