"Someone has been keeping an eye on the Calamity."
"Not just tracking," Hilda said as she picked up a leather-bound journal. "Making plans..."
"Check out these notes... battle plans and places where the city's defences are weak.'
"This sounds like military intelligence."
Hammy made a loud, warning chirp just as Greg was about to say something. Everyone stopped moving, and they heard it in the sudden silence.
Footsteps.
The footsteps were not coming from the front, as they had expected. The footsteps were coming from behind, in the direction they had just come from. Footsteps were echoing down the hallway they had just walked through, slow and steady.
Greg turned and raised his shield to put himself between his friends and the door. The footsteps got louder and closer, and now there was the soft tap of what could have been a walking stick or cane.
