Armando Lazzari - Nikolaos The Man Of Dreams ...and The Legend Of Santa Claus

What the Krampus saw when his consciousness was activated was a fairy-tale and surreal landscape, however incredibly realistic. With open mouths he contemplated the panorama that surrounded him without the slightest awareness of what was happening to him. He was awakened by the weight of a large hand on his right shoulder, which shaken him insistently, but it was the owner of that hand that made him grow weaker.

"You're not dead, don't worry. Now, demon, hurry up, we've got a long way to go." Nicholas urged him.

"To go where? Could you be less cryptic and make me understand what's going on, please? If you brought me with you, it means you need my help, but if I don't know what to do, how can I ever help you?" he demanded to know the Krampus.

Nicholas sighed, he had no desire to talk with a demon, but he recognized that necessity required a sacrifice.

"You will be the polar star that will show me the way to reach the kidnapped boys," he acclaimed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but I have no idea what you are talking about!" was his sincere answer.

The giant once again showed off his intimidating look on the little creature, sure that he would have all his attention.

"First: I am not your friend. Second: you don't need to know more, just walk in silence and in front of me."

"Yes, but where to? Come on, I have the right to know something, don't I? I don't even know your name. By the way, what is your name? I am Pétros the Moor, in case I want to use an appellation other than: monster, demon, goblin..." I will enumerate.

Nicholas was not accustomed to mistreating people he considered inferior, but that was not a person, but a diabolical Krampus, and that raised a wall of contempt that was difficult to break down.

"Pétros is enough for me. Then I do not judge by the colour of the skin, but by the colour of the soul. Anyway, this is the world of dreams, the infinite roads that unravel can take you everywhere, including the way to Hell, and this is what we are looking for, to recover the kidnapped boys before they reach it. Finding the right path is almost impossible, but you, as a demonic entity, are naturally connected with that path: your nature will guide us without you realizing it".

For the first time, Pétros found himself speechless and continued to walk the path that magically formed under his feet.

"Nicholas launched the bishop on the plate of education.

The leprechaun looked banned the giant.

"Sorry?

"My name: Nicholas," he said dry without adding anything else.

A smile of satisfaction appeared on the face of the Krampus.

Every now and then, at the roadside, objects of the most disparate shapes appeared, which changed quickly depending on the perspective or intensity with which they were looked at. Monkey-shaped fountains erupted bananas that suddenly became flying cobs that croaked words backwards. Wavy palaces that grew out of all proportion until they were lost above the sky. Streets of coloured pebbles with junctions in every direction, including the sky and the subsoil, or ending in dark puddles.

Pétros walked regardless of where he went, letting his feet lead him, just as he had been told, and at every step the bricks were coloured bright red.

"This place is...crazy! It looks like the delusions of a madman!"

"In reality they are: your mind is unconsciously producing them, they are your fantasies, while I am only a guest."

"Incredible! Are you saying that if I concentrate enough and think about a wineskin, this could materialize?"

"It's risky to make explicit requests in dreams, you have to deal with your emotions: fears, anxieties, hidden desires..."

A large barrel materialized in the distance in the air, only to fall and crumble ruinously to the ground, sprinkling the road with wine, immediately sucked by a gutter that ended the work with a burp.

"Here is an example, if you had been more agitated the risk would have been greater and the fact that this place is a mental projection doesn't mean that we can't die".

The demon watched helplessly the wicked scene he was performing before his eyes.

"I doubt there is anything worse than the loss of an entire barrel of wine..." he found disconsolate.

Pétros' confidence was lost when he came across a fork in the road that led to a dark dirt path.

Nicholas, noting the indecision, thought to question him.

"Why did I hesitate? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know... I feel I must continue along that path, but at the same time I have unpleasant sensations, as if entering there was extremely dangerous, if not deadly..."

The big hand of the man fell amicably on the back of the small being, which for the movement advanced several steps forward and risked falling to the ground.

"Then it means that we are in the right place! Come on, let's take that road and keep our eyes open, from there on we'll get out of your mind and into the hellish meanders!"

"Hell...ish? Listen, I don't think I'm suitable for such a journey, after all, I've done my duty and you've found the way, so my presence should no longer be necessary and I..." he hesitated in fear.

"I still need you. You are an indispensable catalyst to get to our destination, so you will travel the road with me. Come on, move!" he was abruptly exhorted by the holy man.

This time the goblin received a less friendly and more eloquent push than the previous one, which spurred him on to continue in spite of himself.

The surrounding landscape was less surreal than the previous one, there was only a path that crossed a barren and barren area, rarely approached by shrubs and brushwood, immersed in a semi-shade that immediately gave little visibility, and then darkened until it became impenetrable as one looked away.

"You didn't bring flashlights with you, did you?"

"No. I only have my rod 2."

Reading the misunderstanding painted on the face of the creature, he gave further details.

"The ribbon, the crosier...in short, the sacred stick!"

"Ah! Well, it would have been more useful to have at least a flashlight..."

The Bishop, sighing, tried to cut it short.

"I was in a hurry, I will remember next time, happy?"

"Oh, but you don't have to make me happy, I was just saying, and anyway we could borrow one from them." he pointed.

The man, alarmed, looked in the direction indicated.

"Here is the welcoming committee! I was just wondering when they would arrive." he exclaimed with the confidence of those who knew.

The leprechaun, misunderstood, showed off his best toothless smile.

"Fantastic! Finally, someone to chat with and not spell, this place was becoming a deadly bore!"

Nicholas clutched the crosier and put himself in a defensive position in front of the Krampus.

" Deadly is the appropriate word, if you will try to talk to him!" he informed him.

Now, beyond the torchlight, they heard the galloping of the hoofs as they galloped forward.

They had confirmation of this only when they glimpsed the black cloaks and the scarlet cloaks shaken by the wind.

"Black Sentinels!"

"Something tells me that they won't offer us a drink, will they?"

"As soon as we're within reach of their spears, they'll stick us like piglets ready for the spit. To them we are unauthorized intruders, to be neutralized without hesitation."

"Oh God, but how many are there?" observed Pétros, now that the proximity allowed for a rough estimate.

"A hundred...more or less."

"What? One hundred...you have a solution, don't you? Because you know very well who I am, and therefore you have foreseen what to do!"

"Let's say that for the moment I have an attempt at a solution...stay behind me, don't move, close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you to do so..." instructed the Bishop, regardless of whether or not the little fellow had put the advice into practice.