Page 49 of Alien Hunter's Prize

We stopped at the edge of the grove, peering into the unnatural stillness beneath the pale branches. No birds called here, no insects hummed.

The ground was littered with the brittle, fallen limbs characteristic of ghostwoods, but also with the small, desiccated carcasses of birds and rodent-like creatures, seemingly untouched by scavengers, as if even decomposers avoided this place.

"The energy spikes originate from the center of the grove," I reported, focusing my senses past the whine, pushing through the discomfort with Mateha's breathing techniques.

"There's something... crystalline? Geological? At the base of the largest tree, partially exposed. It pulses with the energy bursts."

Before Iros or Nirako could react, the ground beneath the central ghostwood rippled. Not a tremor shaking the whole area, but a localized distortion, like looking through moving water, accompanied by a sharp intensification of the energy whine that made me wince.

The air crackled audibly.

"Incoming spike!" I yelled, instinctively throwing myself backwards, grabbing Iros's arm to pull him with me.

A wave of visible energy, pale yellow and crackling like static discharge, erupted from the ground around the bottom of the largest ghostwood. It washed outwards through the grove, hitting the surrounding trees.

Where it touched, the dark lesions on the pale bark seemed to sizzle faintly, and the trees themselves shuddered violently, shedding showers of brittle branches and dry leaves.

The wave dissipated quickly, leaving behind a stronger smell, not just of ozone, but of sulfur, and an even more intense, high-pitched whine that scraped directly against my nerves.

"Ancestors..." Nirako breathed, staring wide-eyed at the still-crackling energy residue around the central tree. "A corrupted energy vent? Or... something worse?"

"Geological," I said, processing the energy signature now that the burst had faded slightly. "Definitely not technology. It feels like... a natural crystal formation, maybe quartz or something similar, but stressed. Fractured deep below.

It's resonating with the ambient planetary energy, but erratically, uncontrollably. Like a damaged tuning fork screaming instead of humming." Could the stabilization of the Echoing Caves have sent an energy surge through the planet's natural resonance lines, overloading this already stressed formation?

"Can we approach the source?" Iros asked, his eyes fixed on the central tree, assessing the lingering energy field, his hand already on his knife.

I focused again, mapping the residual energy. "It's dissipating quickly. The ground seems stable between the pulses. But the pulses themselves... they're getting stronger, more frequent."

Another ripple distorted the air near the tree, followed by a weaker energy discharge. "Whatever it is, the stress is increasing. It might be building towards a larger release."

"We need a closer look," Iros decided, echoing my own thoughts. "Nirako, secure our flank. Jen, guide us in after the next pulse. We move quickly, assess, and withdraw."

We waited, tense, watching the ground beneath the central ghostwood. The air crackled again. Another pulse erupted, weaker this time but still potent, making the nearby leaves curl and brown.

"Now!" Iros commanded.

We moved swiftly, darting between the pale, diseased-looking trees towards the center of the grove. The ground feltstrangely spongy, almost vibrating underfoot. The high-pitched whine drilled into my skull, making it hard to concentrate, making my markings ache with sympathetic resonance.

We reached the base of the largest ghostwood. Here, the ground was bare, cracked, radiating a faint heat. Partially exposed through the disturbed earth and tangled roots was not metal, but crystal.

A massive, milky-white crystalline structure, easily as tall as Iros, jutted from the ground at an unnatural angle. Its surface was marred by deep fissures, and veins of some dark, sulfurous-looking mineral snaked through it.

It hummed loudly, vibrating with the high-pitched whine, and pulsed faintly with that sickly yellow, unstable energy. It felt ancient, natural, but deeply stressed, like a bone about to snap.

"A geode?" I breathed, reaching out instinctively, then snatching my hand back as a wave of unpleasant static energy washed over my markings. "No, something... else. A natural energy conduit? A focusing crystal?"

Before we could analyze further, a low growl echoed from the edge of the grove, deeper and more guttural than before. We spun around.

The Trelleth. It had circled back. It stood at the edge of the clearing, its unnatural yellow eyes fixed on the pulsing crystal, then on us.

It looked even worse now, its movements more jerky, foam flecking its jaws. It wasn't seeing us as prey; it seemed drawn, perhaps tormented, by the crystal's erratic energy, and we were simply intruders in its zone of agony.

It lowered its head, gathering its spasming limbs, and launched itself towards us, not with a hunter's focus, but with the berserk, agonized fury of a creature driven beyond endurance.

IROS

The Trelleth charged with a horrifying explosion of tormented muscle and corrupted energy. Its six legs churned, spasming, sending clumps of diseased earth flying, yet propelling its heavy frame forward with unnatural speed.

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