Shrugging off some piled-up tension from my shoulders, I turned to address my captor. "Ok, dwarf. I'll help you in, you'll help me get out of here before my master comes back, and get my arms fixed?"

He grinned toothily. "So we have a deal." He helped me up again. "I'd shake your hand on it but, well, you already got that point."

I snorted at him. "Don't make me regret this, now." I awkwardly slid my left hand into the folds of my robes, and pulled the key to the front door out of a concealed pocket.

He moved to gather his things, and I opened the door.

Once I was in the narrow hallway leading into the estate, I gestured at the floor. "Step only where I step." To demonstrate my meaning, I shrugged off my thick winter cloak, with some difficulty, then bundled it and threw it on a nearby tile. The tile clicked faintly, and some needles shot out of the wall just above it.

He followed me cautiously, telling the wolf to stand back. I was slightly disappointed at his canine-sparing edginess, but figured even a brutish Scyther would realize the dumb animal could not follow the concept of stepping stones. I pondered for a bit if I could have used some other trap to make the dwarf trust me so that he would not have left the mutt behind, but it was just as well the wolf was not poisoned on the first steps. After all, that would still leave me to deal with its pissed-off owner.

I had something much better planned for him.

He was barely two steps behind me when I quickly leapt forward and victoriously slammed my left hand on a tile on the wall. The wonderful sound of a trapdoor opening next to my feet to devour the insufferable scourge was like a soothing salve to my wounds. And I needed it, because the sudden impact of my bandaged better arm against the wall made me gasp and see stars erupt on the wall in front of me for a moment. But as I was focusing on restoring my unhampered vision, I heard the same trapdoor close again and lock my torturer into the spiked chamber below to die in agony. I broke into a broad, relieved smile.

After a bit of self-steadying I straightened and started to think of the corridor behind me again, and the leftover canine at its end that I would have to somehow get rid of. As I was turning to look that way, I felt something like a handful of apples on strings hit my legs, and suddenly crashed on my back when my feet got yanked out from under me.

I heard more than saw the dwarf holler, "Recall any other traps on the floor between us? Think quick, now." He was pulling me back where we came from. I felt a momentary panic rise, but pushed it back down. The trapdoors were closed again, I was sliding on them and there were no further mechanisms on top of them. That left me with just the obvious problem at hand – or leg, as it were.

I felt the tangle of cords around my legs pulling me towards him. I realized he had me caught in some strange contraption, but another sudden yank caused my raised head to hit the floor. Within moments he had roped me over like a fish caught in a seine.

I was still trying to come to grips with what just happened. Why wouldn't the ghastly vermin just die? Then his face appeared above me again, notably less cheerful this time. "I think you need a leash, puppet." With that, he flipped some of his rope over my head, planted a foot on my chest and unceremoniously tightened a noose around my neck until it was blocking my air.

I futilely clawed at it with my weak remaining forelimb, but he kept the cord tight while he shifted his attention to untangle the contraption from my legs. By the time he was finished, darkness was already creeping to the edges of my vision. The disinterested, callous look he gave me froze my blood. He was done messing around, and was not going to loosen the rope out of any flavour of sympathy. No, he would look me in the eye while strangling me to death.

The overwhelming feeling of powerlessness made my arm drop to the floor. I had tried to kill him, after all, and he was simply in a better position to return the favour. I could not possibly hold his cold gaze any longer, and closed my eyes to get away from his. I felt like curling into a ball as I shakily waited for my consciousness to slip away.

A moment later I felt him release the noose and loosen the knot enough to let me breathe again. I wheezed a lungful of air through my tortured windpipe and then proceeded to double over on my side, coughing.

I was not yet done steadying my breath when the dwarf leaned over to my ear and told me in a low voice, "This is the last lesson you'll get from me, squirt. You're a convenience item, but ultimately expendable. Got it?"

I tried to croak a hasty answer, but could not find my voice. I nodded shakily.

The rest of the corridors passed with an emphasized lack of excitement; not only had my bag of tricks been exhausted, I had no heart left to even try.

We got to the workroom door. "This is a room that only the most trusted servant of my master could enter, besides himself. I have not been there."

The dwarf peered at me. "Not really a favourite, are you."

I snorted and tried to spot any obvious traps on the door. It looked safe, but the simple wooden door was nevertheless locked. I was about to point this out to the man behind me, but had to hastily dodge aside when he unceremoniously sunk a battleaxe into the door. Pushing the shattered remains aside with his boot, he gestured for me to go in first.

The study was luxurious, with its own fireplace, a thick carpet on the floor, a desk, multiple bookshelves and paintings lining the walls. After some searching, we spotted a sturdy metal trapdoor under the carpet that had a single keyhole, and no visible vulnerabilities. An axe would not break through it, and digging through bedrock to get to the room underneath would be a feat even for an industrious dwarf with a lot of time on his hands.

I turned to the dwarf, who was looking through the room as if pondering what to bring. "This is as far as I can bring you. My master did not trust anyone with the key to this vault, so I expect it is on him even now."

He looked at me strangely. "You don't know how to get through this door?"

I shook my head, unsure what to make of his expression. "Without my spells, I can't even leave a dent on that. I doubt anything you have with you will get through it either."

He clicked his tongue disappointedly. "Pity. Looks like you outlived your usefulness after all." He began to unsheathe the nasty-looking weapon again.