"What's this?" Austin frowned, eyeing the sparkly object nestled deep inside the pit with interest.
As he observed the object, he noticed that it emitted a brilliant white light, much more intense and solidified than the light surrounding the murloc's body earlier. It was like staring into the sun in broad daylight, making it impossible for him to discern the object's shape amidst the radiance.
"Could this object be the source of the anomaly behind the changes in the murloc's corpse?" Austin considered the possibility.
Despite his curiosity, he resisted the impulse to approach and touch it.
If there's things he learned from horror films, they're:
"Never touch strange stuff!"
"Never touch unidentified objects!"
After pondering for a while, he had an idea. He quickly made his way to the nearest tree, where he located the longest branch he could find. He then severed it from the tree and returned to the pit.
