stomach growled, he pulled his knees closer to his chest and tried to pretend his hunger pangs away as he had often done during his street urchin and air pirate days. But he found that he couldn’t. Living at Higher for Hire during the past year and a half had rendered the old trick unnecessary.

Sitting huddled on the cask, hungry and alone in a strange, unfriendly environment reminded him too much of his life prior to Higher for Hire. As if a dam had burst, carefully buried memories of the hard, harsh days and cold, cruel nights flooded into his mind, threatening to crush him under a wave of despair and heartbreak.

As tears pricked his eyes, Kit became aware of an object pressed against his chest. It was his pocket watch, the symbol of his adopted parents’ love, reminding him that he was wanted, he belonged somewhere - even if it was centuries in the future. He wished that he knew how it worked so he could transport himself and Baloo back to their own time, away from Hammalot and dragons.

His thoughts shifted to the quest they were going to embark on in the morning. Was there a real dragon? Surely not. They were only things of medieval legends.

Just then, a spurt of fire flew up in the sky over the hilltop where the Dragon’s Den was. It was closely followed by a muffled roar and a slight tremor of the earth.

Staring at the stream of fire blazoned against the dark sky, Kit shivered, not entirely from cold. He’d encountered many outlandish things during his short, yet full, life, but never a dragon.

What if we never make it home?

The Next Morning

“We art here,” Dunder proclaimed. Sunlight glinted off his armor as he carefully dismounted from his noble steed.

“So soon?” Baloo stammered, toppling off the horse that he and Kit shared.

“Aye. There ‘tis,” Dunder said, pointing with his gauntlet as Kit nimbly hopped down and helped Baloo to his feet.

The threesome stood in front of the Dragon’s Den and gazed into the large, black, gaping mouth of the cave. A steady stream of smoke issued from within and swirled into oblivion into the sky.

“Still wishest that I hadst armor to offer you brave sorcerers,” Dunder said hesitantly.

Feeling anything but brave, Baloo said, “Forget it, Dundee. It’ll make it easier for us to skedaddle without that extra baggage. Come to think of it, I’ll just stay out here an’ keep watch.”

“But we have to help the good knight,” Kit reminded him.

“Goodnight is right. One puff from that overgrown lizard an’ we’re dust.”

Kit gave Baloo a reproving look. “Don’t be such a baby.”

Dunder lit the three torches that he had brought and gave one each to Baloo and Kit. “Art thou ready?”

“Knights first,” Baloo said with a nervous chuckle. “We sorcerers don’t wanna hog the fire...uh, spotlight.”

Dunder unsheathed his sword, then entered the cave with Baloo and Kit right behind.

“Couldn’t ya go on a safer quest, say, takin’ on a fish?” Baloo said, his trembling voice echoing throughout the cave. “I’ve met up with some pretty mean catfish in my day.”

As they slowly, cautiously traveled deeper and deeper into the cave, Kit secretly thought that if there was a dragon living there, he’d chosen a poor home. The young navigator wasn’t particularly impressed by the dripping walls or the cold, damp floor. By torchlight, the spooky shadows of overhanging stalactites looked like fangs.

Just then, a loud roar reverberated through the cave accompanied by a slight earthquake. A sprinkling of dust fell from the ceiling as well as a small rock that bounced off Dunder’s helmet.

“I don’t feel too goodly,” Dunder said, slightly dazed.

“That’s it. I am leavin’!” Baloo exclaimed, heading back towards the entrance.

Before Baloo could get far, Kit caught him by the hem of his shirt. “Dunder’s counting on us, remember?”

“Don’t tell me that you didn’t hear that!”

“Sure, but I don’t believe in dragons. They’re myths, legends, fairytales.”

“No fairytale made that noise!” Once again, Baloo attempted to bolt, but Kit’s hold on his shirt held him back.

“Come on, Papa Bear.” Taking Baloo by the hand, Kit dragged the petrified pilot along behind the Dunder, who was clanking in his armor.

After approximately a half hour of trekking deeper and deeper into the cave, there was another, louder roar followed by a second, more powerful earthquake that caused the dragon hunters to lose their balance and tumble to the ground. Mingled with a rumbling so loud that they could even feel it throughout their bodies was a loud cracking and popping noise. It was growing louder by the second.

First, a few small pebbles started to rain down on them. Then, larger rocks mercilessly pelted them.

“The cave is cavin’ in! Run!” Baloo bellowed as the torches were snuffed out, leaving them in total darkness.

Kit scrambled to his feet. Ignoring the sharp pains that the falling rocks inflicted, he blindly stumbled through the downpour of rubble with only his strong navigational instincts to guide him towards the entrance. Behind him, he could hear Baloo’s yelps of pain and the hail-like sound of pebbles striking Dunder’s armor.

When the rocky downpour ceased, Kit stopped running. Every inch of his bruised and lacerated body ached. Tasting blood, he swiped a hand across his mouth and peered into the all-encompassing darkness.

“Papa Bear? Dunder?” he panted. His voice seemed to echo forever.

When he received no answer, fear crept into Kit’s heart. “Papa Bear?” he called louder.

He waited for what seemed like hours, then relief flooded over him when he heard Baloo groan, “Oh, man! This dragon hunt is gettin’ ta be a real drag.”

“Where are you?” Kit asked frantically, his eyes straining to see through the darkness. Because of the cave’s echo, he wasn’t sure what direction his father’s voice had come from.

“Here, this might shed some light on the subject,” Baloo said, striking a match and lighting his torch.

Overjoyed, Kit carefully picked his way across the mounds of sharp, jagged rocks. When he reached Baloo, he threw himself into his arms for a hug. “Where’s Dunder?”

“Helpeth! Helpeth!” came the knight’s faint mew.

“This way,” Baloo said, taking off in one direction.

“No,this way,” Kit said.

For a few minutes, father and son searched through the rocks for any sign of the knight.

“There!” Kit cried, glimpsing shiny object protruding out from under of a pile of rocks.

“That’s one way to get rocked to sleep. Start diggin’, partner,” Baloo said, rolling a boulder to one side.

After a few minutes, the knight was unearthed.

“Are you okay?” Kit asked, pushing up the visor of Dunder’s helmet. By the flickering torchlight, he thought that Dunder’s eyes had a dizzy look.

“Aye,” Dunder murmured dazedly. “Mightest I sleep a little more, Mother? The chickens can waiteth for their breakfast.”

“He’s fine,” Baloo chuckled, knocking against the knight’s helmet. “Packed snugger’n a sardine in a tin can.”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid Dunder’s quest isn’t fine,” Kit said quietly. “Look at that.”

Where the cave’s ample tunnel had been, there was now a wall of rock stretching from the floor to the ceiling.

Despairingly, Dunder said, “How willith I get to the dragon now?” He imploringly turned towards Baloo and Kit. “Thou art sorcerers. Canst thou make yon wall disappear?”

“‘Fraid our magic ain’t that strong, Dundee,” Baloo said with a sad shake of his head.

“It’s not completely blocked. Look!” Kit pointed upwards, near the top of the wall, to where a shaft of light streamed through from the next chamber.

“Aw, even if we could climb up there, we couldn’t fit through that dinky hole.”

“I might,” Kit said thoughtfully.

“Are you kiddin’ me, kid?” Baloo said incredulously. “Do you wanna give me more grey hair?”

“But Dunder needs to slay the dragon to be a knight,” Kit said earnestly, “and we promised that we’d help him.”

Baloo scoffed, “We got shanghaied into searchin’ for that dragon.”

With his arms crossed resolutely, Kit said, “We still promised, and my father always told me to keep my promises.”

Baloo muttered under his breath, “Musta picked up that stubborn streak from Becky.” With a reluctant sigh, he said, “Okay, son, but if you see even one toenail of that dragon, you vamoose back here, got it?”

Kit nodded and Baloo lifted him to his shoulders.

Kit grabbed hold of the rock wall and nimbly climbed hand over hand the rest of the way up to the opening. He then peered through the hole. At the end of the tunnel, which was approximately ten feet long, was a warm, orange glow as of fire.

“See anything?” Baloo called anxiously.

“Not yet. I’m going in.” After giving a thumbs-up to Baloo and Dunder below, Kit hoisted himself into the

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