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. I
was exploring, seeking materials for my trade, when I came
across what was then only ruins. Now they are the
magnificent gardens you have seen outside. I followed it to
its heart. . . and learned of the glories of the gods!" Light
flamed in his eyes, and his tone vibrated with intensity.
Sudden movement in the shadowy corridor seized my
attention. Ghostlike shapes advanced all around me, and I
gasped in terror.
Then a torch flared, and the forms were revealed as
Erasmoth's acolytes, in their robes and flat masks. I heaved
a sigh of relief and began to follow the priest and priestess
down the long corridor, accompanied by the silent
apprentices.
"How much farther do we have to go?" I asked the
priestess. I found the darkness and the heat oppressive.
"Be patient, Historian!" said Kassandry softly. "We
must display no unworthiness before we participate in the
glories of the gods!"
"The role of the historian is not to participate - merely
to observe and to report," I corrected mildly.
She regarded me strangely, her eyes flashing. Her once-
pallid cheeks grew quite flushed, and her lips parted. She
licked them, invitingly, I thought, but said nothing further.
I grew more uncomfortable. "Why did the gods choose
you?" I asked the priest.
But Erasmoth did not seem to hear. "Await me here
while I complete the preparations," he said abruptly,
stopping and pointing to one side of the trail.
I noticed, for the first time, that what I took for an
alcove between the arches of the tunnel wall was, in
actuality, the entrance to a doorway
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