“It sounded like a stone moving,” he explained.
The door banged shut. Twoflower shrugged.
“The place is probably falling to bits,” he said to himself.
He stood up.
“I say!” he shouted. “Is anyone there?”
AIR, Air, air, replied the dark tunnels.
“Hullo?” he tried. lo, Lo, lo.
“I know there’s someone here, I just heard you playing dice! “
ICE, Ice, ice.
“Look, I had just-“
Twoflower stopped. The reason for this was the bright point of light that had popped into existence a few feet from his eyes. It grew rapidly, and after a few seconds was the tiny bright shape of a man. At this stage it began to make a noise, or, rather Twoflower started to hear the noise it had been making all along. It sounded like a sliver of a scream, caught in one long instant of time.
The iridescent man was doll-sized now, a tortured shape tumbling in slow motion while hanging in mid-air. Twoflower wondered why he had thought of the phrase “a sliver of a scream”…and began to wish he hadn’t.
It was beginning to look like Rincewind. The wizard’s mouth was open, and his face was brilliantly lit by the light of - what? Strange suns, Twoflower found himself thinking. Suns men don’t usually see. He shivered.
Now the turning wizard was half man-size. At that point the growth was faster, there was a sudden crowded moment, a rush of air, and an explosion of sound. Rincewind tumbled out of the air, screaming. He hit the floor hard, choked, then rolled over with his head cradled in his arms and his body curled up tightly.
When the dust had settled Twoflower reached out gingerly and tapped the wizard on the shoulder.
The human ball rolled up tighter.
“It’s me,” explained Twoflower helpfully. The wizard unrolled a fraction.
“What?” he said.
“Me.”
In one movement Rincewind unrolled and bounced up in front of the little man, his hands gripping his shoulders desperately. His eyes were wild and wide.
“Don’t say it!” he hissed. “Don’t say it and we might get out! “
“Get out? How did you get in? Don’t you know-“
“Don’t say it!”
Twoflower backed away from this madman
“Don’t say it!”
“Don’t say what?”
“The number.”
“Number?” said Twoflower. “Hey, Rincewind-“
“Yes, number! Between seven and nine. Four plus four”
“What, ei-“