In a flash of roaring flame and shattered brick, the ground heaved and burst open with such explosive force that a web of cracks tore through the entire plaza, destroying several nearby stalls completely and damaging so many more. Water rushed through fissures in the fountain’s stone as the shadows like enormous arachnids emerged from the earth in a cacophony of strained hydraulics and whirring machinery.
Its thick armour plates shining despite the black smoke, the first of the behemoths rose from the breach to tower high over the panicked crowd. More followed in its wake, their heavy mechanical legs smashing through wood and stone without resistance.