By now, the thief lost the ability to stand up, and he fell forward, now physically nothing more than a monstrously large lobster. While smaller than a human, it was still a good deal bigger than a normal lobster.
Just then, the auction host entered the room. "A word of advice, intruder. A thief should try not to look like a thief. Trench coat and fedora? It's a dead giveaway."
The lobster, still able to understand his speech, tried to reach the ring that had fallen off the thief's hand when it turned into a claw. However, the host snatched it up first. Then, the lobster tried to use its claw the size of the man's forearm to attack, but the man beat it back with his cane.
"Ah, ah, not so fast! This ring is clearly not yours, stolen just as you tried to steal that artifact. You are no Atlantean, or that spell would not have affected you. Not a human, either." The owner sniffed the air. "I see. Another deep dweller, and disguised as a human, this time. Clever, but not enough."
Again, the lobster rushed him, but the man dodged past, bringing his cane down on the back of the crustacean's head with a bone-breaking crack. Killed instantly, the lobster collapsed to the ground with a crash.
The host let out a breath. It seemed that the Abyssal empire had discovered his plan and were desperately trying to stop Atlantis's return.
Gently, he retrieved the lobster shell, a wide, flat thing of red crystal roughly the width of a car tire. Far from a simple sculpture, it was the ceremonial shield of the queen of Atlantis. No wonder the ring, also the queen's, seemed to react to its proximity.
"Time grows short,' the host said as he replaced the shield in its case and, after some thought, placed the ring beside it. Glancing back at the huge dead lobster, he quirked a smile. "Still, some things can wait till after lunch. It would be a shame to let so much good food go to waste."