The dwarf's scent hit him before the footsteps did. Byung had catalogued it the first time they met — that particular absence wrapped around something ancient, like a room that had been sealed for centuries and finally opened. He knew exactly how this creature moved, how it thought, how it set the board before anyone else realized there was a game. He had watched it disappear into shadow and leave him standing in his own chambers holding questions he couldn't answer. There was nothing simple about what was coming down that tunnel.
"We need to go," Byung said. "All of you."
Thulga didn't move. "We're not leaving without—"
"I know." He looked at the ceiling. Something had changed about it — the height was wrong, greater than it had been when they entered, the stone above them further away than the tunnels in this section should allow. He stared at it for a moment. "Thulga. You punched through the floor to get in here."
She paused for a second before saying. "Yes."
