The cavern floor was a rugged, uneven expanse of black slate, stalagmites, and ancient, calcified rock formations.
As Sol walked further down the sloping path, his sharp eyes noted the scattered remnants of past life lying among the rocks.
Bleached, hollowed-out skeletons of surface beasts that had tumbled into the fissure lay scattered in the crevices.
But alongside those ancient bones were massive, curved shards of jet-black, armored carapace… thick, hollow exoskeletons that had been shed and left to rot in the damp gloom.
Sol knelt beside one of the shed armor plates, running his fingers over the cold, rigid surface.
The black chitin was nearly two inches thick, hard as iron, and bore a faint, lingering trace of cold, venomous essence. Judging by the curvature of the shell, whatever creature had shed this armor was long, multi-segmented, and massive.
