I did indeed read this story, so I know that the artifact was an hourglass.

The prose was very beautiful, but for me was almost too much. Maybe because I've been working so hard on word economy in my own writing, now when I read things with lots of description, I think "Yes, but you could have told me this in way less words!"

That doesnt detract from the actual power of this story though, how the snake was not needed to devour the city, and how fallible the works of man are, no matter how glorified they may seem in their heyday. It just felt a little slow getting there, in my opinion.

Thanks for sharing this story with us, Greg!