The main cave has weathered the last few days well, and the small group of Enterprise visitors have been safeguarded against attacks from the Crystaloids thanks to the two bands of fighters who've warded them off. Unfortunately, that's all about to change.
The ground begins to shake.
The walls rumble, pebbles and pottery and tools left from the archaeologists rattling as the shaking intensifies.
There is a horrible sound, and the ground opens up and splits, crystals pouring from the open wound. Just as the visitors have been learning about what the Crystaloids can do, the Crystaloids have been learning about the visitors. This time, they don't simply take on one shape, they take on three.
A terrible, nine-foot-tall quadruped clinks together on the right side of the room, its paws a nest of bitterly sharp claws. Its large head boasts a maw of equally deadly fangs. To the left side of the room, the Crystaloids join into a long centipede, but its legs are long and bowed like a spider's, and its tail arches over its back the way a scorpion's would. At its head is a pair of pincers, big enough to trap two full-grown men at once, and the high-pitched hum of the crystals sound like an awful hissing noise. By the time the crystals have stopped joining, it has to be twenty-feet long, and it moves quickly.
Finally, in the center of the room, out from the new hole in the ground climbs a shape much like the Almarians and humans and those of their ilk, so tall that its giant head nearly touches the ceiling. It's broad and strong, slower than the other two shapes but twice as powerful, crystals forming two mean fists. The Cyrstaloids have poured all their hatred into this shape, forming their impression of the cruelty of man.
Without prejudice, each terrible monster moves in to harm the unlucky people gathered around.
Joining the Final Fight
The ground begins to shake.
The walls rumble, pebbles and pottery and tools left from the archaeologists rattling as the shaking intensifies.
There is a horrible sound, and the ground opens up and splits, crystals pouring from the open wound. Just as the visitors have been learning about what the Crystaloids can do, the Crystaloids have been learning about the visitors. This time, they don't simply take on one shape, they take on three.
A terrible, nine-foot-tall quadruped clinks together on the right side of the room, its paws a nest of bitterly sharp claws. Its large head boasts a maw of equally deadly fangs. To the left side of the room, the Crystaloids join into a long centipede, but its legs are long and bowed like a spider's, and its tail arches over its back the way a scorpion's would. At its head is a pair of pincers, big enough to trap two full-grown men at once, and the high-pitched hum of the crystals sound like an awful hissing noise. By the time the crystals have stopped joining, it has to be twenty-feet long, and it moves quickly.
Finally, in the center of the room, out from the new hole in the ground climbs a shape much like the Almarians and humans and those of their ilk, so tall that its giant head nearly touches the ceiling. It's broad and strong, slower than the other two shapes but twice as powerful, crystals forming two mean fists. The Cyrstaloids have poured all their hatred into this shape, forming their impression of the cruelty of man.
Without prejudice, each terrible monster moves in to harm the unlucky people gathered around.