Ragdar Starborn walked slowly through the night time forest, his figure hunched, hands folded within his cloak. Beside him his staff made of swirling ivory and obsidian floated along with a simple spell. No one in their party complained as he lagged behind, they only slowed their pace so that he would not be left completely.
"We're almost there men." Killian said from the lead, voice strong. Dual broadswords were strapped across his back, each with a hilt that resembled a dragon. "The dungeon of the Skeleton King resides just over the next mountain."
"Ah give it a rest Kill. You said that two mountains." Solomon complained, as expected of his large size, and beside him Lady Erin held back a snicker. The man could pick up a full grown horse with ease but he was not built for travel. "Maybe we should give old Ragdar a rest. His old bones must surely be beaten down by now. Besides, it will give us time to rest up and eat. The Skeleton King will be there on the morrow."
"Admit it." Lady Erin said, a smile in her voice. Her pointed ears fluttered with her humor and her golden bow sparkled in the moonlight. "You want that break for yourself Solomon. Need I remind you that we ate only a few hours ago?"
"Do you even hear what you just said?" Solomon cried. "Going hours between meals is a tragedy I tell you. A tragedy."
Killian glanced behind him at him, noting the many tired expressions. "Solomon may have a point friends, perhaps we-"
Ragdar's gruff voice rang out from the rear. "We go on." With a muttered spell his staff floated into the air and drew out a shining rune of Endurance. When the symbol shattered flakes of light fell across them, giving strength to tired limbs.
"You heard the man Kill." Raven whispered in her permanently hoarse voice. The dark sorcery she practiced was at odds with her childlike appearance. But they had all born witness to the undead puppets she could summon with a gesture.
"Then we go on." Killian said and set his sights on the mountain once more.
On the very outskirts of their group three identical brothers watched their perimeter. Every now and then the death of a forest creature reached the inner party's ears, the sounds of a threat taken care of. The brothers were not much for small talk, they preferred to keep their hands clenched on a weapon or dipped in blood at all times. And they became quite unruly if they were denied that.
With everyone's focus back on the task at hand, no one noticed Ragdar casting another spell. A moment later he stopped walking, but an identical man stepped from his body and continued at the previous pace. Even a staff appeared beside him. Ragdar nodded, satisfied. The clone could handle his healing duties well enough if they ran across trouble.
An old, shriveled hand reached out and grasped his true staff, Voidbringer and in a swirl of shadows Ragdar disappeared. Only to reappear seconds later inside the Skeleton King's dungeon, his cloak gone, yet no one from his party would have recognized him. Wrinkled skin was replaced with a translucent stone, its name lost to man. Inside the stone there was no blood nor organs, instead it was if a night sky was trapped inside his body, complete with swirling, bright stars. Standing with the posture of an emperor the last Starborn ventured deeper into the crypt, searching for the last spell he needed to complete his unbinding.