The road was beyond disrepair and Nearos despite his years as an impulsive liar could not hide the disdain in his face. His companion a stout Dwarf by the name of Heinrich on the other hand seemed, perfectly at home. A part of Nearos wanted to chew the Dwarf out, accuse of him being facetious, but Nearos knew it probably was because the Dwarf was used to rough paths like this.  The grifter had no trouble with travel but it had been three months since he was delivered the ultimatum, and he was starting to lose mobility in his joints.<br/><br/>“AHHHHHH! Nothin’ like a good walk eh Neary,” the Dwarf asked with a wide grin.<br/><br/>The confidence man was having nothing of it. Clearing his throat, he shot daggers with his eyes towards Heinrich. “Three months master Dwarf, we visited settlements, broke bread with peasants, and the only lead we have is an apparently haunted estate. Why couldn’t monsters follow conventional story clichés Heinrich? Is that too much to ask,” groaning Nearos looked to his right hand and tried to close it, the hand followed the mental command but moved slow with great strain.<br/><br/><br/><br/>A deep guttural laugh came from the Dwarf.<br/><br/>“Next you gonna say me mah was a smelta and me pah was a blacksmith. Yet ye be wrong lad, me family are BANKERS, ye racist twat!”<br/><br/>Nearos bit his tongue, he nearly begged the Dwarf to join him on this trip. He was here off his own free will, one of the last people in the universe to give him the time of day. No, he will let Heinrich have his jabs now but Nearos always found a way to get even. Letting out a soft sigh he had a feeling that this was going to be a long trek.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Two days passed, and the trek has become more of a nuisance, the grifter already regretted his tangent about clichés. Their boots sunk in the consuming earth with each step, and the trees seemed beyond what he would consider dead. The worst thing, despite the humidity there was no living thing in sight. No mosquitoes swarming to bite at them, no frogs, not even a fly.  Nearos kept himself at high alert and Heinrich gripped his great axe tightly.<br/><br/><br/><br/>What seemed like an eternity they made it to the front gates of a large foreboding castle. Nearos knew enough about basic customs and courtesies than to cross a threshold uninvited. Last thing he wanted was to have a poison dart at his throat or an axe imbedded in his skull.  Clearing his throat, he pulled at the threads of magic to carry his voice.<br/><br/>“I am Nearos, employed with the University of the free city of Lar’thula! We come not to quarrel or do harm. This is peaceful visit of scholarly purposes. This Master Dwarf is my travel companion and protector as a sign of good will I will have him lay down his axe!”<br/><br/>Heinrich looked at Nearos confused and shook his head.<br/><br/>“Ya crazy lad? I AIN’T GONNA DISARM,” he shouted to his human companion.<br/><br/>Nearos turned to the Dwarf and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Remember when we talked, and you said this was a suicide mission, well it is if we’re trying to kill the Lich now put your damn axe down,” he hissed to the Dwarf. Finally, Heinrich complied. There was a clang as the metal hit the stone of the path, and the sound continued to travel across the property. The gates of the fortress slowly opened but it wasn’t the sound of the gate that caught the adventurers attention, it was the sound of the stone cracking.<br/><br/>One arm shot out near the left foot of the scoundrel. He quickly side stepped and then tripped as another arm shot out of the stone. It pulled him into a headlock as more arms came from the path overwhelming and pulling the Dwarf Heinrich to the earth. The stone continued to shift as what looked like fifty skeletons emerged, they moved in unison to push the visitors up and too their knees. Every inch of their limbs held down by enchanted cartilage. Nearos struggled to keep his head up and all he could see was a shadow slowly moving across the now opened threshold of the fortress.