Amber ball

My claws worked around the circumference of the buried amber marble. The clay held it fast. I wedged my snout beneath its curve, levering my front segments upward with steady force. With a soft pop of suction, the sphere detached from the compacted earth bed. I rolled it two inches into the open hollow of my trench using deliberate nudges of my chin. Midday sun angled straight down the root fissure overhead. The golden glass captured the ray, throwing a warm, luminous halo across the damp soil walls. Depth artifact extracted.