“I’d say we’re in the right place,” Syn smirked as they passed from the thick forest overgrowth into a massive area some two hundred yards across of absolute devastation! There was barely a single blade of grass growing in the whole expanse of scorched, hard packed ground and at the opposite end a sheer cliff of barren rock rose up over three hundred feet like a massive monument, crowned by a spire of semi-transparent crystal another fifty feet tall. In the center of the barren area the bleached bones of two large winged creatures were visible, but it was clear that pieces were missing, and they could see movement amongst them; a short, stout figure was using a great axe to chop away sections of the skeletons. It would’ve been hard not to notice the party of six elves leave the tree line, and the dwarf apparently didn’t as he screamed; “Be gone with you! I found them first... they’re all mine!” “You’re welcome to them… we have no interest in a bunch of worthless bones,” Torryn answered flatly. Having no talent or experience with arcane magic, he was unaware of how valuable dragon’s bones could be to a wizard or sorcerer. “Actually,” Syn advised him quietly, “dragon’s bones are highly sought after by arcane spellcasters… they heighten the power of certain spells and can be beneficial in creating a variety of magical items.” “But they’re not what we’re here for… so let’s leave them to the dwarf,” the wood elven huntsman replied, raising his eyes up the height of the sheer cliff before them as he added; “and focus on the larger challenge ahead of us.” “If you’re not after my bones, what do you want?” the dwarf growled, still uncertain he could trust them. “We intend to climb the cliff,” Torryn answered, holding back the reason why they wanted to. “Oh,” the dwarf huffed. “You’re looking for the silver’s lair are you? Well you’ve wasted your time. I’ve been up there. The cave month is sealed with hundreds of tons of rock. Most likely the dragon’s last act… turning its lair into its tomb!” “Then you don’t object to us seeing it for ourselves, master dwarf,” Syn stated more than questioned. After a dozen days of trekking through the forest she wasn’t about to turn back now. “The name’s Baxor Stonechapel… and your welcome to go right ahead, lass,” the dwarf smirked, adding sternly; “You swear that you’ll leave the dragon’s bones to me and I’ll offer you a boon.” To which both she and Torryn nodded in agreement, so he continued; “Around the right side of the rock face there’s a path… it’s steep and narrow and switches back on itself in some nasty turns, but it’ll get you to the ledge.” Following the dwarf’s gesture, they looked to the right side of the cliff and could make out the zig zag cut that he spoke of. It would definitely be a difficult and dangerous climb, but it appeared to be their best, possible only, option to reach the top.