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It is the twilight hour in the jungles of Ar Dra Kaan, and the last public seremony of the day, lead by the clerics of Sel, is just concluding at the top of the ziggurat temple of Draeksum. The chanting echoes loud and clear across the stony rooftops of the nearby buildings, the mudhuts of unimportant workers, now returning to their homes at the end of a day spent under the scorching sun and all the way to the outer walls of the town, held by forces both imperial and temple, ever-vigilant for another raid by the wicked snake-people. It even reaches the inner chambers of the library, once renowned for its collections of poetry and astronomy, now slowly crumbling under the relentless assault of the jungle while the now sole librarian fights a hopeless battle against rot and decay that threaten tomes that were once so short-sightedly painted on paper instead of being carved in metal or stone, now more valuable than many of the ones made of copper plates.
It had been an uneventful week in the temple of Draeksum and in the town itself, as well: No Yuan-ti raids, no signs from the gods, not even orders from the imperial government. That is not to say that the temple guardians had been allowed to be idle: Preparations towards fighting off further raids, scouting parties, plans for attacking the nearest viper nest and management of prisoners all had to be done. It would seem that some of them, at least, would be given more interesting - and therefore likely more deadly - duties, for come nightfall a select group had been summoned to the underground chambers of Ossial, the head priestess of Sel.
It had been an uneventful week in the temple of Draeksum and in the town itself, as well: No Yuan-ti raids, no signs from the gods, not even orders from the imperial government. That is not to say that the temple guardians had been allowed to be idle: Preparations towards fighting off further raids, scouting parties, plans for attacking the nearest viper nest and management of prisoners all had to be done. It would seem that some of them, at least, would be given more interesting - and therefore likely more deadly - duties, for come nightfall a select group had been summoned to the underground chambers of Ossial, the head priestess of Sel.