Adventure of the first dragon 3

The Brown Catman slams both palms to the stone and roars, his deep voice punching through the chamber, "I will not be foiled." Dust blooms from nowhere, a thick magical veil that swallows the landing and the open stone mouth.

Boots scrape and coughs split the haze. The Elder Knight and the Scarred Knight brace blind, while Erma catches the fresh stink of grit and old ash. Somewhere ahead, frantic footsteps race into the service notch.

Erma drives forward into the cloud, his bulk lowering to fit the narrow cut of the wall. The illusion parts in ragged swirls as he tracks the fleeing shape by sound, heat, and the drag of panic.

Beyond the notch, the hidden stair-house opens another path, one that runs straight toward the Ash Regent's workings. If the Brown Catman escapes down it, he leads them closer to the source of the siphoning. If Erma catches him now, the road to the Regent narrows to a killable line.

Erma eases his weight back just enough to clear the notch. The dust keeps rushing past him, but he stops chasing for a heartbeat, letting the fleeing catman choose the dark ahead.

The Brown Catman slips deeper into the service notch, shoulders turned sideways, one hand skimming stone for balance. His panic does not slow him, it only makes him quieter.

Behind Erma, the Elder Knight coughs through the haze and steadies his shield. The Scarred Knight finds his footing beside the wall mouth, eyes fixed on the passage Erma has opened.

The dust begins to thin in ragged sheets, revealing the ash-gray rune-ring and the narrow cut beyond it. For one clear instant, the service notch shows as a true route, not a trap.

From deeper in the passage, the catman's footsteps echo back once, then split into turning silence. The hidden road waits on Erma's decision, and the knights brace to follow or seal.

Erma slips into the service notch without breaking stride. The dust clings to his scales, then peels away behind him as the passage accepts his bulk and the opening of the stair-house drops from view.

Ahead, the hidden way narrows into ribbed stone and old ash. The Brown Catman is already there, half-turned at the bend, and his head snaps around at the sound of Erma's claws on the floor.

He flicks one paw to the wall, and a faint seam wakes in the stone, showing a second slit beside the first. The catman has led them to a hidden turning he did not mention.

Erma closes the distance in a single smooth rush, and the catman gives ground instead of fleeing. The passage opens enough for the first clean look at the rune cut into the floor, fresh and bright beneath the dust.

Behind Erma, the Elder Knight and the Scarred Knight enter the notch mouth and halt at the sight of the marked turn. The catman is no longer slipping away, and the road ahead is suddenly a door that can be forced or named.

Erma eases his weight aside just enough to leave the rune in view. The fresh cut glints through thinning dust, and the hidden turn breathes cold ash from within.

The catman’s ears flatten, but he does not bolt. He drags one claw over the rune, then taps the second slit in the stone beside it, as if the passage itself is listening.