"Almost there. Be careful, and don't make a sound."
A group of eight wizards hurried along a leaf-strewn path through the dark, silent forest. Their cloaks billowed in the wind behind them.
Every so often, the wizard at the front would slow down and carefully survey his surroundings. He would only continue once he was sure it was safe.
But his caution earned him scorn from some of the others.
"Andrew, are you always this timid? There are eight of us!"
After the leader slowed down for the fifth time, a short, hooded wizard finally lost patience and stepped forward to challenge him.
"You're not planning to ditch us and go dig up the treasure by yourself, are you?"
"I'm not you. I'd never do that."
The wizard called Andrew frowned. It was clear he didn't like the man in front of him, but he still patiently said, "Our opponent is a wizard straight out of legend. We should be careful, or we might walk into a trap."
"A legend... Hah..." The man scoffed, full of disdain.
"What legend? He's just lived a long time. Dumbledore was a legendary wizard too, and he still got killed, didn't he?"
"They say he was the most terrifying wizard seventy years ago. Give me a break. If you ask me, he and Dumbledore made up those titles together just to cheat their way into the Order of Merlin, First Class..."
His voice cut off abruptly. As the others stared in horror, the hooded wizard suddenly shriveled like a punctured balloon.
In just a few seconds, the living wizard had been reduced to a skeleton. Then he fell to the ground, hood and all.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out from the group, but before anyone else could react, they all stopped in their tracks,