The only thing better than chocolate cookies was chocolate cookies covered in melted butter.

Goliath crushed the cookies into crumbs and mixed them with the butter, pressing them into the pie plate.

He snuck a few bites.

He’d better put it aside before he ate the whole crust.

Goliath liked this recipe because it was quick and required few ingredients, yet still produced an incredibly rich dessert.

Almost too rich, depending on which chocolate he used.

He played it safe with a semi-sweet chocolate, to which he poured hot cream over and stirred until it was completely melted.

He snuck a taste of that too.

After the chocolate cooled slightly, he whisked some of it into the beaten eggs bit by bit. Time to pour it into the crust and bake.

~

The next night, after letting the pie chill completely, Goliath made chocolate whipped cream to put on top.

No one should complain that it wasn’t chocolatey enough.

He packaged it neatly and just in time too. The recipient of the pie was back.

Or, more accurately, the messenger for the recipient.

A glowing orb floated in the doorway.

It was no bigger than the palm of his hand, and it pulsed with a cool blue light. It made a humming noise when he approached.

A glowing scroll appeared out of nowhere in a cloud of smoke. The kind of scroll one might sign to make a deal with a powerful (and probably evil) entity.

The orb communicated this way, having made the original request for pie with the same scroll. It seemed much fancier that way. But this one only contained two words:

FOLLOW ME

So Goliath did.

It zoomed through the night sky, leading him over the woods by Dusk’s store, even further until they reached the swamp that lay beyond. Its eerie light was almost hypnotic.

Goliath had been hoping to avoid swamps for a while.

This swamp was known for its population of wisps, just like this floating orb. Known for creating illusions, they were sometimes helpful, sometimes tricksters. They could only be seen at night.

The wisp did a loop in midair, and weaved between the trees like a sinister firefly. Goliath reluctantly followed.

Even though he could see in the dark, being in a swamp at this time seemed much scarier. And he always started seeing things in the shadows.

Despite contrary belief, there were plenty of creatures scarier than a dragon.

The ground was more mossy than wet, much to his relief. Twisted vines hung from the trees, brushing his wings even as he crouched to avoid them. Pointed stones lined a makeshift path.

What Goliath noticed most was the uncanny silence.

No crickets chirping, or rustling of leaves or distant howling of wolves. Even the moonlight didn’t want to be here, blocked out by the ancient trees.

But as the wisp led him along the path, phosphorescent mushrooms grew more frequently, lighting the way with their ghostly glow. They grew on the trees, and in clusters on the ground.

The wisp halted when they reached a large pond.

The water was completely dark, only reflecting the luminescence of the mushrooms. It could have been bottomless.

Goliath shuffled his feet, tucking his tail in close.

The wisp flashed once and emitted a high-pitched whistling noise that made him want to cover his ears.

Within a second, the sound stopped and the forest came to life with supernatural light.

Hundreds of orbs hovered in the trees, and by the mossy ground.

None of them floated near the pond.

A few curious ones approached him and bumped against the tote that held the pie. One brushed his neck and left a chill down his spine.

The wisp that had led him here chittered and they backed off.

A purple wisp approached it and hummed in response. They chittered back and forth, as if having an argument. Then the blue one made a sound like a sigh and hovered over the pond.

All the other wisps watched in hushed silence.

It floated down and barely touched the surface of the pond. Then it bounced back up immediately and zipped over to Goliath’s side.

Its behavior reminded him of a naughty pet that had been caught doing something it shouldn’t.

The water rippled from the point it touched, spanning out to the edge of the pond. The ripples increased in frequency and Goliath’s anxiety spiked.

I ought to quit making deliveries.

Two twisted horns poked out of the water, quickly followed by luminescent scales, like those deep sea fish he’d read about. The dragon had a mane of fur that looked like the stringy green algae that floated on the surface of ponds. No wings, but a lithe, snakelike body with ruffled spines, and gills fluttering on the neck.

The biggest dragon Goliath had ever seen in his life was living in this swamp.

Even Mimi couldn’t compare.

I’m gonna need a bigger pie.

~

The dragon introduced himself as Ignis.

Goliath stuttered out his own name, trying to keep his legs from giving out. The wisps around him tittered, amused by this exchange.

“My sweet friends went to get me a treat?” The swamp dragon’s voice was low and hoarse, almost like a whisper.

Apparently he didn’t know the blue wisp went out to get pie.

Goliath could understand. The wisp hadn’t been very clear. But NEED PIE ASAP was a valid reason as far as he was concerned.

“How thoughtful of you.” Ignis cooed, holding out a massive webbed hand.

The wisps bumped against it, making sounds like purring.

Goliath held out the pie and Ignis delicately took the entire thing between two claws. He popped it into his mouth like it was a snack. For him, it certainly would be.

“Mm. I haven’t had a treat like this in ages. Well done.”

The blue wisp materialized a scroll that said: THANK YOU

“You’re very welcome.” Goliath said.

What an evening this turned out to be.