Mulch Diggums had never been much of a fan of Dublin. There was almost nothing valuable to steal there, and even thought it had its fair share of history with the People, most fairies usually avoided the place if they could.

Why? Because it was also the headquarters of the biggest criminal society since the B'wa Kell.

The Trollers began their realm of terror soon a year after Holly Short and Artemis Fowl's disappearance. Their headquarters was located in an abandoned grocery shop in a tough neighborhood, so it was very rare to see someone walking those streets. At first, nobody had taken them seriously because of their name, in fact, most people actually made fun of then for it, but as they soon learned, the Trollers didn't choose that name because they were funny.

Their leader, a dwarf named Wielki Potwór, had managed to find a way to control trolls. Nobody knew how he did it, but he was able to command a fully grown troll to attack, sometimes even kill, anyone who defied him. He had been a thorn in LEP'S shoes for a long time, but they had been too busy with Opal to go after him, and frankly, no one in their right mind would want to go against an army of angry trolls; which also made Wielki a great source of information.

And that was why Mulch Diggums was there that night, hoping to speak to the only man who could shed some light on the disappearances.

-This better work, Kelp-he whispered to himself-or else I'm a dead dwarf.

He approached the front door of the building. At first it looked like a bomb had hit the place: the windows were broken and part of the building had collapsed. Only the wooden sign witj the words ''WADEL'S BAKERY'' was still intact. After knocking on the door 7 times, a voice appeared from the other side:

-Who is it?

-Hum, hi. The name's Diggums and I really, really need to talk to Potwór…

-The boss is busy!

-But I…

-No ''buts''! Go away, or else we'll feed you to the trolls!

Bummer, he had been so close! Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't go back empty-handed, or else Holly and Kelp would kill him, unless…

He ducked and tasted the soil: it was nice and soft, perfect for excavating.

-Well-he said, opening a smile-I guess its lunchtime.


It took him almost an hour to find Potwór. The secret facility inside below the grocery store was HUGE, and there were times where the guards had almost captured him, but he made it through. He had also passed the room where they kept the trolls, and Mulch was sure he heard screaming coming from inside the room, but his guts told him it was not a good idea to check it out.

Eventually, he reached the ventilation system, and from there he was able to arrive in the meeting room were Potwór was, and immediately recognized the guy's face. He had seen pictures of Potwór before, but he was even uglier in person: his head was completely bald, and he had a scar that from his left eye the way to the cheek. Some said it was because one of his trolls had cut him, while others suggested that it had been Wielki himself that created the scar, cutting his face with a knife in order to prove his strength to his followers. Either way, it had only caused the rumors about him to be even scarier.

The meeting room was empty, except from Potwór, his body guards and…someone else. Whoever it was, he or she was sitting the opposite way to were Mulch was hidden, so it was impossible to see who it was. Potwór looked nervous, and his guards had their guns ready, whoever that visitor was, he or she was definitively dangerous. After a few minutes of silence, Wielki spoke:

-I trust you are here to discuss my payment?

-Yes, of course-the stranger replied. Mulch wasn't sure, but it looked like it was a women's voice-your payment…Well, unfortunately, your payment will have to be delayed.

-DELAYED? HOW DARE YOU! I have done everything you asked me to, and now you refuse me money?

-You have not apprehended the special target I requested, Mr. Potwór. So until she remains out of your hands, so does your money.

-But…I already acquired that other woman…the one who was hiding in France! I lost some of my best man in that operation!

-I know, and for that you shall be rewarded, but only when the time comes.

-This ''special target'' of yours…you do know how difficult it will be to acquire it, don't you? And you also know that if it goes wrong, I can kiss my life goodbye, right?

-Yes, my dear Wielki, I know that. But, unfortunately, your life is not very high on my list of priorities.

-Do not play games with me-he replied coldly- you are nothing without me! Remember how I was the only one who accepted doing business with you? And don't forget I have an entire army of trolls to do my bidding, so I would you chose your words carefully next time you speak to me.

After a few minutes of silence, the woman stood up and left, and for a split second, Mulch managed to see her face.

She didn't have one.

In its place, she wore a metal mask which covered her face entirely. He didn't know why, but the thought of what was behind that mask scared the heck out him. She suddenly stopped on the other side of the door and said:

-Talk to me after you have acquired my target, and do it soon. I have been waiting a long time for this, and my patience is wearing thin.

Potwór left a few minutes after the woman, and Mulch decided it was a good time to do some snooping. He jumped from the ventilation shaft and landed on the wooden table. It was a good thing that he hadn't eaten much these past few days, or else the table might have broken. He was about to head out the door when he noticed something shiny were the woman was sitting. It looked like a colored stone, and it was very pretty. Unfortunately, it was too small, so the rest of it was probably in some jewel she was wearing. He would have to remember to tell Foaly to analyze it when he went back to Haven.

-Well, well, what do we have here?

Mulch turned around. Wielki Potwór and four other guards stood in front of the door, blocking any possible exit. He was completely trapped, unless…

The guards moved closer, their guns pointed at Mulch's head. He ducked and counted to ten

-What do we do with him, boss?-asked one the guards.

8, 7, 6…

-Lock him up with the French pixie, I guess she could use some company-he said, opening an evil smile.

3, 2, 1…

The guard who spoke was ready to knock him down when suddenly, Mulch farted and went flying forward like a torpedo. When, he finally landed, he started to run as fast as his legs allowed.

-GET HIM! I WANT HIM ALIVE!-Potwór screamed

It was possible to hear the sound of guards coming after him, so Mulch ran faster. He had no idea where he was going, but it was least worth a try. If he could just find somewhere to dig, he would be out of there in a second.

Suddenly, all the lights went out and he was left in total darkness. He stopped for a second, but continued running as soon as one of the guards fired his gun at him. He continued to run in the darkness, trying desperately to dodge the guard's shoots. Things were going bad, he could hit a dead end at any second and…

Dead end.

The impact with the wall had been so strong that it took a few minutes for Mulch to remember how to breathe. Unfortunately, that was the time the guards needed to get to him, and dizzy as he was, Mulch was still able to hear Potwór's wicked laugh as they cuffed him.


-Get in here!-the guard shouted, throwing Mulch in the cell-You better enjoy the little time you have left because them trolls haven't eaten in weeks, and I hear they like dwarf meat!

After spending a few minutes with his face on the stone floor, Mulch got up. The cell was small, cold, dark and covered with hay, with only one bed and the bones of the unfortunate humans who happened to discover that place in the corner. He didn't know how much time the Trollers were going to keep him there, but he guessed it wasn't for much long.

-And who you might be?-asked a voice coming from a dark space in the cell.

-Who's there?-he asked.

-Over here, dwarf.

He approached the space and noticed that there someone shackled to wall, but couldn't see who it was.

-Is there any light in here?

-There's a pack of matches on the bed.

Mulch found the pack and lit a match next to the persons face. When he saw who it was, he gasped, dropping the match.

-YOU!

-Yes, it is me, I know that. Have we ever met before?

He found himself unable to answer, suddenly backing away from the prisoner and looking for the nearest possible weapon.

Because in front of him was the unmistakable face of Opal Koboi.


Domovoi Butler had fought a troll, been shot, had fat from a dwarf injected on his face and had a heart attack. All because of his master's, Artemis Fowl, plans.

So it did make sense that, for him, Artemis sending him on a simple assignment was very, very suspicious.

He had learned to question Artemis, but when he had asked him to go to Dublin to get a package for him, he had not resisted:

-What is it? - He had asked.

-Oh, nothing special.

-Nothing to do with achieving global domination, I suppose?

-Of course-Artemis replied with a small, almost unnoticeable smile-But it is of the utmost importance that you bring it to me as soon as possible, so try not to take long.

-Will do.

He had wondered what the package was all the Dublin, and even now when he had it in his hands, he could not guess what it was.

The package was very small and in it were the words: ''FRAGILE-DO NOT OPEN''. Maybe it was a computer disk, or some machine piece, either way, Butler had been very careful with it. Artemis had been very clear that he wanted it completely intact and Butler knew that he had meant it.

While driving back to Fowl Manor, he stopped on a red light which was being fixed. After a while, he realized he was insanely bored, and the red light was still half an hour from being fixed. His eyes moved to the package, he wondered if he could open it and later put it back like it had never been opened…

He resisted fiercely for a while, but eventually his curiosity gave in. After a few minutes, he opened the small paper box only to find whet another layer of paper. Whatever was inside, it was really important to his master.

Eventually, he managed to unfold all the paper and find the item wrapped inside. At first, it didn't make sense. Why would Artemis need something like that…?

Then, he smiled. He remembered the look on the boy's eyes when he had asked Butler to get it, the smiles and distracted looks he was having these last few months, his recent wave of good mood…

-Well, well,-he said, wrapping the package back-who would have guessed? Looks like my boy is growing up…


there! Sorry I took so long to update, it's just that I was busy with school work(A.K.A, watching ''Game of Thrones'', sleeping and reading), but chapter 4 is finally here! What is Artemis Fowl's mysterious package? What will happen to Mulch and Opal? Who is the masked woman? Find out next chapter(actually, you're going to have to wait a little longer to find out what the package is, but patience is a virtue, right?)!