Not even half a minute later, with an overhead strike the bandit cut through Skully's spear and left a giant gash in his armor. The golem was quick enough to take a step back and avoid most of the hit, but without a spear he now had no way to attack or parry the attacks. At least Bones and the bandits thought so.

With the follow up attack, the bandit sought to finish the fight and went with a wide swing in order to cleave the undead in half. To everyone's surprise, Skully dropped on all four, avoiding the axe and spun around, sweeping the bandit off his feet with his tail. He then reached for the dropped weapon before the other two bandits reacted, and copied the last attack of the fallen bandit. The axe swooshed through the air horizontally, through one of the bandits, cleaving him in half, and knocking the other bandit back who managed to parry the attack at the last moment.

Skully wasn't used to swinging an axe and at the end of his attack, he simply let go of the grip. The axe continued flying and spinning through the air until it hit and stayed firmly embedded in the tree. Bones already had Bone Lance ready by his side in case he needed to intervene but stayed his hand. His surprise only grew when he saw Skully turn and pounce on the downed bandit and jammed its clawy fingers deep inside the bandit's eye sockets. The man's screaming was brief and chilling, and cut off abruptly immediately after.

The parrying bandit barely held onto his weapon, his hands trembling and his will to fight loosening. The fourth one, once he realized the situation had taken for the worse, saddled up but before he could usher the horse to move, Bone Lance pierced through him, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. Bones dashed forward and grabbed the reins, not letting his horse gallop into the unknown again. The last bandit put up a futile attempt at fighting back but Skully was simply beastial and unforgiving.

"Good work Skully." Bones praised, satisfied with how Skully had handled the situation. Before saddling up and continuing toward the bandit camp, Bones yanked the axe out of the tree and stored it in inventory. The weapon seemed in good condition and he hoped to see his orc golem use it for wide area attacks in the upcoming fight.

"Skully, come here."

Skully approached and Bones gave a glance over the Lizardman's body. There were numerous cuts all over but none serious and in need of immediate attention. The bandits didn't have anything of value with them, but their light clothing suggested they were hardened men, used to harsh winter conditions. Skillswise, they weren't anything to brag about. Afterall, they were done in by a golem. With a few hours left until nightfall, Bones took his time riding to his destination. When he got there, he saw… complications.

The wooden fortifications that could've been seen from the distance were merely the top, built atop an abandoned military fort made of stone. What seemed like a wooden fence around two and a half meters high, was actually a fortification four meters tall and too high to climb, even for Bones. At least, not without being heard.

They actually have themselves a proper fort. I should scout out for sentries and if there's any entry points from the ground. If not, I'll have to think of another way to get inside.

Bones spent the next few hours circling the fort, keeping distance and counting men standing guard. Eventually he did find an entrance, like he hoped he would. Roots and vines covered the iron bars of a barely visible sewer entrance. When the night descended, he sneaked up and started clearing the obstacles until all that barred his way were the iron bars. The corrosion was visible but the bars still held up well throughout the years, so did the lock to the gates of the sewers.

As if the universe is telling me, Bones, it is your fate to be a locksmith! That won't do. Being a Keymaker is enough.

*exhales*

Bones took out the Incomplete Skeleton Key and unlocked the gates with ease. The sewers led about ten meters downwards and then split left and right. Bones took a left and followed the cold hard tunnel until the ladders at the end and leading up. He climbed the ladders and with a bit of a push, slightly opened the lid cover. His perception didn't detect anyone nearby so he opened the lid all the way and exited the sewers. He looked around and groaned. He was in the cell, no doubt in the fort's basement. Once again, he worked the lock, this time on the cell doors, and headed down the corridor until he reached the stone steps leading upstairs.

He changed clothes, from winter clothing to thief's dark garments, then turned to Skully, who patiently and quietly followed from behind and ordered him to stay put while he slowly climbed the steps and unlocked the doors to the outside. The fort's dungeons were empty and looked like they hadn't been used in a while, so there was no reason to post guard here.

Seems like the bandits don't take prisoners.

Bones slowly opened the door, just enough to stick his head out and surveyed his surroundings. The doors led to a main courtyard which was patrolled, but not as tightly as the fort's walls. In the middle of the courtyard, a fire was lit and around it sat five burly bandits holding bowls of food. A vapor could be seen still coming off soup and bandits' attention was currently on the meal. Bones gave his surroundings a once over, then fully opened the door and summoned an orc skeleton. He gave the nameless orc golem a battleaxe and sent him charging at the five having a meal.

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Meanwhile, he unsummoned Skully, then tossed his golem core on the rampart and had him be ready to cut loose once the commotion starts.

*thump thump*

The orc charged straight through the fire, knocking the cauldron of soup over and wildly swung, looping heads and hands before the bandits realized they were being attacked. The attacks were slow, one every two seconds but powerful and most importantly, they came unexpectedly. The commotion drew the attention of the sentry on the ramparts where Skully already moved into action. Bones took the opportunity and slowly circled around the courtyard and headed toward the doors on the opposite side. His two golems raised enough noise that he wasn't spotted moving, and when the doors opened, he took action.

First he kicked the door close, hitting whoever opened them and knocking them down. Then, he opened the doors and tossed the Skull Bomb inside before closing the doors again. Once the bomb went off, he opened the doors, Bone Lance summoned and ready, then rushed in. Inside the fort the majority of the bandits stayed - most just coming out of their accommodations after hearing the ruckus.

Bones didn't spare mana and rapidly used Bone Lance and an occasional Skull Bomb whenever he saw movements. Soon, dozens of bodies littered the floor. A few of the bandits were still alive and in pain, but on the brink of death. Bones didn't stop to check who was alive or not and continued searching for his main target, the leader of this bandit's fort, Barret "The Red" Hayes.

His search led him upstairs where he didn't find anyone. The place was empty. Then, a thought occurred to him.

"Ah crap."

Bones hurried outside and saw Barret playing around with the orc, easily avoiding every attack coming his way. When he had enough, the leader simply parried one of the heavy blows with his hand and gripped the throat of the golem with the other. He then turned and in quick motion, with an overhead throw, crashed the golem to the ground.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Barret yelled. Bones waited, confused.

"If you don't show up, I'm going to break this little toy of yours, summoner."

Hooh? He noticed? How?

Bones stepped up and with genuine curiosity asked how he knew he was a summoner. Barret paused to analyze Bones then said in surprise: "You… I can't Identify you?"

"It happens." Bones simply replied while looking around, searching for Skully. There were a few sentries with bows in hands left on the rampart, all pointing their arrows at him, but no signs of Skully.

Just where did he disappear to?

Bones asked himself then focused on the link with the golem and immediately sensed Skully's location. His head swirled behind Barret, who was mid speech when Skully ambushed him from behind. Forced to act immediately, Bones casted Bone Lance and sent it towards the bandit leader. He kept casting them right as he summoned them but the leader was slippery. Skully's attempt to take Barret's life failed, but not without injuring him in the shoulder. Bones' lances though, missed entirely.

The leader was skilled in movement techniques and avoided Bone Lances by a narrow margin, all while moving closer toward Bones. And Bones was truly impressed by both the skill and the boldness of the man. As a mage, he was supposed to try and keep his distance but Bones just stood there, surprised seeing a rather burly man, a musclehead, nimbly navigating obstacles until he was right in front of him.

Barret extended a hand and hit Bones in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Bones wanted to feel firsthand what it would be like to get hit by Barret. He realized when he saw him fighting the orc and now when avoiding his attacks, that Barret was a hand-to-hand combat specialist. And as an undead, Bones could afford a hit. He didn't get sent flying for nothing though. He left a surprise right under Barret's feet the moment he was hit.

*boom*

A skull bomb exploded just as the leader jumped backwards, avoiding most of the blast from the Skull Bomb, but the shockwave still propelled him further back and right in the way of Skully's incoming attack. As nimble as he was, Barret couldn't fly nor move freely in the air. He twisted his body in that split second and managed to avoid a critical hit. Previously, while dealing with the sentries, Skully found himself a spear to use, but didn't use it in the attack just now. Instead he used the tip of his tail to pierce the leader's side. Barret's momentum while in the air caused him to crash into Skully and they both tumbled right back into the courtyard. Skully was the first to get up and immediately pounced, not giving Barret a moment of breath.

When it seemed that Skully would make contact and gain the upper hand, the leader once again used a strange throwing technique and Skully, like the orc, was smashed to the ground.

"Fascinating technique! But you didn't answer my question. How did you know I was a summoner?" Bones asked again, taking his time with the fight. Barret glanced down at Skully, then at the orc standing by motionlessly, and then back at Bones.

"Hm…I'm quite sure I hit you straight in the chest! The mana pulse I expelled should've shattered your heart! You're not a simple summoner are you?"

Bones didn't reply, but observed the rest of the bandits that gave up on using bow and arrows, drew their melee weapons and joined their leader in the courtyard. There were six of them left, including Barret, if there was no one left hiding in the fort.

"You insult my intelligence! That", Barret pointed at orc golem with his finger and said, "is clearly an orc. A somewhat odd orc but I recognize an orc, even a covered one. As for the other one", he referred to Skully, "seeing a bony tail, a tail of a Lizardman no less… I'd say it's an Undead Lizardman! The orc is probably the same. As for you? What does that make you? A Necromancer?" Barret finished talking and slowly, not rousing suspicion, inspected his wounds.

"Great observation but no, I'm not a Necromancer. You're a hand-to-hand combatant! I've never seen such techniques. Though, they might prove ineffective against this type of opponent." Bones replied, referring to his minions in the last part.

When everyone was gathered nicely in the same spot, Bones saw no reason to continue talking. He waited for the bandits to gather and while Barret was still checking out his wounds, he casted Boneyard beneath their feet. Barret reacted in time and suffered only minor cuts and was already halfway dashing toward Bones while Skully and the orc engaged the other bandits.

Barret will probably use the same technique as before. I didn't let it show, but his attack did interrupt my mana flow. He is imbuing his hands with mana and releasing a pulse with every hit. It could lead to trouble if I let him keep hitting me. Well, if he wants to play with mana expulsion, I have just the skill…

Bones acted sluggish, as he wasn't fast enough to respond to Barret's burst of speed and waited until the man entered the range of his Mana Blast. Just before he casted the spell, Barret stomp his foot firmly to the ground and sent a shockwave of mana from his palm three meters away. The shockwave traveled and stunned Bones briefly on impact and knocked him down. Barret jumped on top of Bones and prepared another palm strike but stopped mid-way and jumped in the air, avoiding bone spikes coming through beneath Bones' body. Still, the pulse of mana was expelled from the leader's hand and shook Bones' head hard.