Standing with arms akimbo, Dickerson watches Wysteria nudging stones clear of the corpse’s twitching, lost for encouragement as to the utility. The corpse can still deliver a fatal bite he’d warned, alongside the initial dragging.

The hood flares and sags in time with a full-body spasm.

“Asking of the defenses is more likely to yield actionable information.”

There are others patching themselves up after combat, eager to catch their breath after hauling their quarry through the jungle heat. Task done, the immediate danger past, it does stand to reason that not everyone would be champing at the bit to question a dead snake.

“The temples are riddled with forgotten pathways.”