The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company

by L. G. Estrella

  “Master…” Katie blanched.

  Timmy ruffled her hair, and this time, she didn’t try to hit him with her shadows. It couldn’t have been easy for her to be dumped at the castle by her family. He was the first person to ever accept her despite knowing about her necromancy and shadow magic. She would never admit it, but it hadn’t taken her long at all to enjoy life at the castle. She’d already stopped thinking about it as the place where her family had left her. It was home. “Don’t worry. After the training I’ve been through, it’ll take a lot more than some bandits and assassins to kill me.”

  * * *

  Robert the Relentless, as he liked to call himself – or Bobby the Bastard as his colleagues referred to him behind his back – was a mid-level bandit who dreamed of becoming a bandit king. Unfortunately, Everton was not a good place for bandits due to their actually enforcing their laws and their tendency to carry out periodic campaigns to eradicate bandits, but he had high hopes. His current group was reasonably skilled, and they’d begun to work with some assassins of high standing. If everything went well, he would have more than enough money to expand his group, obtain better equipment, and establish a proper stronghold in this area. The backing of powerful assassins would also open many doors, and cut many throats, that he wouldn’t otherwise have been able to reach.

  Yes, he’d been laughed at before, but those days would soon be behind him. In time, all would grow to fear Robert the Relentless, King of the Bandits!

  Alas, things were about to take a turn for the worse. The exact cause for Robert’s change in fortune was currently fifty feet above him and dropping fast.

  Timmy’s elite zombie warriors were made using the finest corpses. They were then reinforced by his necromancy and a variety of other techniques until their strength, speed, and durability far exceeded those of normal people. It was no exaggeration to say that his zombie warriors could fight ogres barehanded and win. Of course, he wasn’t an idiot. There was no way he’d ever let them march into combat unarmed. He hadn’t put so much time and effort into making them only to let them enter battle unprepared. Each of his zombie warriors wore high-quality armour and used high-quality weaponry. They also wore charms designed to protect them from fire and holy magic, two of the more common weaknesses amongst zombies. By the time he was done with them, each of his elite zombie warriors stood around seven feet tall and weighed more than three hundred pounds.

  Robert the Relentless – also known as Bobby the Bastard – was crushed almost flat without ever knowing what hit him, as were another eleven bandits who had the misfortune of being outside. Timmy had very good aim with his zombies, and it never hurt to be efficient.

  Roaring their fury to the skies and banging their swords and spears on their shields, the zombie warriors stomped away from the bandits they’d crushed and hastened to obey Timmy’s command. It was a simple one: wipe out the bandits but leave any food untouched. Timmy and Katie were already late for dinner, so they might have to help themselves to a little bit of food. Given what else was about to happen – zombies weren’t known for their mercy – losing their food was the least of the bandits’ concerns.

  * * *

  Timmy and Katie landed their zombie wyvern in the forest not far from the bandits’ camp. Screams and panicked yelling filled the night as the zombie warriors methodically hacked their way through the bandits. It was totally unfair. The bandits were riffraff, capable of robbing and murdering random villagers and travellers, but they had no chance whatsoever against Timmy’s zombies. They were so badly outmatched that Timmy would normally have captured them and turned them over to the authorities, but he wasn’t about to take any chances with Katie around. Weaver had also asked him to deal with the bandits decisively to prevent any future trouble. It would also send a message to anyone who might be watching. Plus, it was common sense. If a group of bandits were willing to go after someone with connections to Weaver, it wouldn’t be long before they caused more trouble.

  “Use your shadows to hide us,” Timmy told Katie. “It’s time for us to move.”

  Katie tensed, and shadows enveloped them. Timmy plunged his shovel into the ground and reached out with his magic. The ground around them rippled, and chunks of dirt rose into the air. Another gesture of his shovel filled the camp with clouds of dust and dirt, dousing torches and fires and leaving the whole area in darkness. Perfect. The bandits might not be able to see properly, but with his magic, Timmy could feel the ground and their surroundings. He waited for Katie to grab his hand before they made their way through the storm of dust and dirt toward the central building.

  Timmy used his magic again. Was the boy in the building? His magic gave him an answer, mapping the shape of all the earth and stone in the area, as well as giving him some idea of what was on top of all that earth and stone. Odd. The central building had a stone floor, but he couldn’t use his magic to get a better grasp of its interior. It must be magically protected, which made him certain the boy was there.

  “Keep moving,” Timmy urged. A bandit ran in their direction, screaming and wailing, only to be picked up and thrown like a sack of noisy potatoes by one of the zombie warriors. “I don’t think he saw us. I think he was trying to get away from my zombies.” He stepped to one side, so Katie wouldn’t have to see one of his zombie warriors use its mace to reduce one of the bandits to a fairly awful-looking splatter on the ground. “Anyway, let’s keep moving. We’re here for the boy. The zombies can handle the bandits.”

  “I guess…” Katie looked a little queasy.

  “I’m sure this all seems horrible,” Timmy said. “But these bandits aren’t exactly nice, people, Katie. Given half a chance, they’d rob us and leave us to die in a ditch.” He squeezed her shoulder gently. “Focus on the mission. We’re here to help a little boy.” He paused. “Think of this as a lesson for the future. If you have a big, difficult mission, don’t panic. Break it down into more manageable pieces and always remember your objective. We’re here for the boy, but to get him, we need to sneak in. To sneak in, we need a distraction. To make a distraction, we sent in the zombies.”

  “Yes, master.” Katie stayed close, and her shadows quivered as she held them in place against the clouds of dust and dirt that swirled through the air at Timmy’s behest. She was used to hiding herself, but hiding someone else in these conditions was more difficult. It didn’t help that her master was a lot taller than her. In a way, concealing the zombie wyvern had been easier since she only needed to hide them from people looking up at them from below. Now, she had to make sure her shadows covered every inch of her and her master since there were a lot of bandits still running around and screaming.

  They managed to make it into the building before something went wrong. Timmy felt and heard the rush of air being displaced and shoved Katie out of the way. The girl stumbled, still hidden by her shadows, and Timmy faded into view. He gave her a brief warning look – she needed to stay hidden – and then dove to the side to avoid the shockwave of compressed air that would have blasted a hole through both of them if they hadn’t moved. The attack slammed into the stone floor, and the magically reinforced stone cracked and buckled. Timmy rolled away as another blast shot toward him, wider but less focused than before. Good. Whoever was attacking him hadn’t aimed at Katie. They probably thought he’d used a magical artefact or charm to conceal himself.

  He got to his feet and swung his shovel to deflect a pair of daggers. One had been aimed at his chest and the other at his leg. His lips curled. Those daggers had to be poisoned. Any decent assassin could put a dagger through a man’s eyes at this range, but a smart assassin didn’t have to. With the right poison, even a scratch could prove fatal, and the chest and leg were large targets.

  In the same instant, there was a flurry of movement. He twisted and drove his shovel up and back to block the attack he knew would come. He caught the incoming blade on his shovel and then jerked back as fluid sluiced off his opponent’s weapon. A drop of it hit the floor,
and the stone smoked and bubbled.

  Wonderful.

  There were at least three of them, and they knew what they were doing. If his master had been any less sadistic in his training, Timmy would have been caught off guard and overwhelmed by the initial ambush. He’d managed to survive, so the battle would simply move on to its next phase.

  His gaze swept over the building’s interior. Only one of the assassins was visible: a thin man with a sword who appeared to have the ability to create acid with his magic. It was a good thing Timmy had made his shovel out of the finest materials he could get his hands on. Regular steel wouldn’t last more than a few seconds against acid that potent. There was another assassin hiding in the shadows cast by the pillars that helped hold up the roof, most likely the one with the knives since the weapons had raced toward him along a downward trajectory. Whoever they were, they hadn’t revealed their magic yet. If the knives were poisoned, it could easily have been done manually. Finally, there was the one with the wind magic who was probably hiding amongst the beams that crisscrossed the ceiling.

  His eyes narrowed. This was a tricky situation, but many assassins were not as dangerous in a normal fight as they were in an ambush. Oh, a good assassin could announce their arrival with a parade and still murder most people, but Timmy wasn’t most people. He’d cut his teeth getting pummelled by his master, who had been one of the greatest swordsmen and warriors in Everton when he was sober. He’d also fought countless warriors, mercenaries, assassins, and other individuals with violent tendencies. This was a fight he could win although it wouldn’t be easy. He glanced to the side. There was a patch of slightly darker shadows near the door. His lips twitched. Katie had listened to him. She was close enough to help but also ready to run if something went wrong.

  “Good evening,” Timmy said to the assassin he could see. It never hurt to try to cut a deal first. “Let’s cut to the chase. Give me the boy, and I’ll leave. He’s all I’m after.”

  The thin man’s reply came in the form of a blindingly fast attack. Damn. He was good with that sword, and his technique and footwork were impeccable for both the initial lunge and the three subsequent attacks that Timmy was forced to parry or dodge. He caught another attack on his shovel and twisted away to avoid the spray of deadly acid that followed. Some of the liquid splashed onto his cloak, but he kept his focus on his opponent. His cloak could survive a bit of acid, which was one of the more frequent dangers necromancers encountered since hydra-based zombies were immensely popular for their durability, regeneration, and fighting prowess. However, he would have to replace it after this mission.

  Timmy backed away, searching for an opening as the assassin continued his assault, but the other assassins leapt back into the fray before he could seize the initiative. He jerked away from a blast of wind and almost tripped as he hastily retreated from a hail of knives. This was beginning to get annoying. He needed to even the odds, or they’d wear him down. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the shadows twitch. Anyone else would have missed it, but his little apprentice’s magic had forced Timmy to pay closer attention to the shadows around him lest she manage to catch him off guard. She’d almost surprised him several times before he’d gotten good enough to spot the minute changes her magic made to the shadows. Right now, she was trying to tell him where one of the assassins was. He smirked inwardly. Whoever this assassin was, they might be good at concealing themselves in the shadows, but Katie could see and feel everything the shadows around her could. The assassin might as well be waving a bright pink banner around.

  He pulled a pebble out of one of his pockets and struck it with his shovel. His magic turned it into a projectile faster than a crossbow bolt. There was a muffled scream, and a woman with throwing knives tumbled off one of the beams. Interesting. She’d been hiding up there, not amongst the pillars. The woman hit the ground heavily and lay still. He doubted she was dead. Assassins were fairly durable, and he’d put the pebble through her shoulder not her chest, but she wouldn’t be doing anything else in this fight.

  Timmy had no more time to think as the swordsman pressed forward again. The swordsman was fast and skilled, and his blade was a constant blur of motion that left trails of acid in its wake. If the assassin could prolong the fight, it would only be a matter of time before he managed to hit Timmy with some acid, but Timmy had no intention of letting the fight drag on. He dodged another blast of wind and charged forward. His shovel ground against the assassin’s sword, and a sharp flick of his wrist wrenched both weapons loose. The assassin gasped. He couldn’t believe that Timmy would abandon his weapon. Timmy drove one fist into his opponent’s chin, and the other man stumbled back. Before he could recover, Timmy took his other shovel from its place on his back and struck the assassin upside the head. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

  One left.

  More blasts of wind rushed forward, but they were easier to dodge since he could now devote all of his attention to them. Katie was trying to show him where the assassin was, but he had a better idea. The stone floor was designed to resist his earth magic, but his necromancy worked perfectly well on things outside the building. A bandit shambled into the building, freshly reanimated by Timmy’s magic, and he heard a muffled curse. There! He called for one of his zombie warriors, and the creature came crashing through the roof on top of the assassin. The assassin hit the ground hard with his zombie warrior on top of him, and Timmy winced. The poor fellow was lucky to still be alive, given how heavy his zombie warriors were.

  With the assassins unconscious, he ordered two of his zombie warriors to tie them up and stand guard. If they so much as twitched funny, the zombies knew what to do. In the meantime, he and Katie went deeper into the building. They found the boy in a cell near the back of the building. Timmy broke the cell open, and the boy stumbled back to press himself against the far wall.

  “No!” the boy shouted. “Leave me alone!”

  “Easy there.” Timmy smiled. “I work for a friend of your father.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note that Weaver had gotten the boy’s father to write. “Here, read this. It’s from your father.” The boy relaxed slightly, but he still refused to come forward. He didn’t look injured. Hopefully, all the bandits and assassins had done was threaten him. “Katie, show yourself.”

  The shadows behind Timmy receded, and Katie appeared.

  “See her? Katie is my apprentice. Do you really think a bad person would have a little girl with them?” Timmy asked. “Especially one as adorable as her?”

  “I am not little!” Katie grumbled. “And I am definitely not adorable!”

  “You totally are.” Timmy chuckled and beckoned the boy forward. “Come on. It won’t be long before your father gets here.”

  “But the bandits…” the boy sniffled miserably and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “And… and the other ones… the strong ones…”

  “Did you hear the screaming earlier?” Timmy asked. “It’s because I brought stronger people here to deal with them. It’s quiet now, which means its safe.” Timmy sent a pulse of magic through the amulet Weaver had given him. It was a signal. They’d secured the boy, so Weaver should bring the boy’s father and some reinforcements to clean up the mess. “Come on. It’s safe. I promise.”

  Less than an hour later, Weaver arrived with reinforcements. They’d come on griffins, so he must have called in some favours too. The boy’s father was there, and he and the boy ran to one another as Weaver came over to speak to Timmy.

  “You have my thanks,” Weaver said. He nodded at the boy’s father. “He’ll thank you too once he’s hugged his son almost to death. You will be very well compensated for this.”

  “And the assassins?” Timmy asked. “Do you recognise them?”

  “I do. The assassins’ guild has already demanded their return, and I do plan to hand them over. However, they will have to agree to certain conditions, and I expect a number of concessions in return.” Weaver nodded at Katie. “You ha
ve my thanks as well, Katie. You have a bright, prosperous future ahead of you.”

  Katie grinned. “I want to rule the castle.”

  Timmy ruffled her hair and then ducked to avoid the shadow that swiped at his head. “Not yet, Katie, not just yet.” He stretched and worked a kink out of his neck. “Now, if you don’t mind, Weaver, we need to get going. It’s well past Katie’s bedtime.”

  * * *

  Weaver had maintained a very good – and very profitable – relationship with Timmy and Katie over the years. They were, in many respects, the two people he could most rely upon when a problem needed an… unofficial solution. It was why he was so glad they were earning themselves pardons. He wanted Timmy and Katie to succeed, and their success was now tied to Everton’s prosperity. Today, however, was not going to be one of their usual visits. Timmy had sent a message earlier to inform him they would be opening an account for someone else. That piqued his curiosity since Katie already had an account, and the elf staying at Timmy’s castle had an account with the bank as well although the contents of her vault were still in the process of being transported to this branch from one closer to the forest of the elves.

  At the appointed time, Timmy entered his office with Katie, Gerald, the elf, and… was that a little dragon?