The Hammer - Cor Series Book I

Chapter 32

Corvan flipped the shroud back over Morgan's face. Without the antidote, the poison pill had killed the man.

"Hurry up, Kalian." Jorad hissed from his position up front between the poles. Corvan grunted as he lifted Morgan's litter. No wonder the soldiers had complained, Morgan was all muscle.

Jorad pulled him quickly the smaller broken gate but had a hard time keeping up with the soldiers. Corvan fell into a trot, mesmerized by the scene around him. If the city of the dead was any indication, the city it was modeled after must have been amazing in its day. Each miniature structure was ornately carved in white stone and augmented by tarnished metal trims. For the first time in his life, Corvan was a giant, walking the streets of a city seemingly built for people a quarter his size.

"Jorad," Corvan whispered, "is each one of these little buildings a grave?"

"Yes," Jorad replied over his shoulder as he slowed down. He was also breathing harder. "Our people will not be buried in a hole that could fill with water, so we build crypts above the ground." Jorad's subdued tone made his words difficult to hear. "The top of each crypt lifts off, the dead are placed inside, and then the airtight lid is fastened back down to keep the smell of decay inside. When the next person in the family dies, the bones of the first person are moved to the bottom compartment with their ancestors. Some of the wealthy families construct a separate crypt for each family member and there are very large ones for our rulers."

Corvan looked up a path that curved away from the main boulevard. "Why did they copy the layout of the main city?"

"Your crypt in the City of the Dead is in the same place here, as your home was in our city streets," Jorad said. "To some it is an indication of your status while you were alive."

"So, each one looks the same as their home in the city?"

Jorad shook his head. "Many people put more energy into the creation of their tombs than into the houses they lived in. A lot of the crypts here are much more elaborate than the corresponding house in the city, but they give you an idea of what Kadir looked like before the great destruction, when you could clearly see her beauty."

"Kadir?"

"Yes, we have other small settlements in the outlying areas where the workers live, but Kadir is our only city."

They were approaching the small circular plaza that marked the center of the crypt city but here, instead of a statue, an ancient tree stretched its gnarled branches toward the roof of the cavern. The tree trunk was split to the ground, as if a bolt of lightning had shot down to the roots. Pale leaves decorated the closest half of the shattered tree, but the other side was blackened and dead. Jorad stopped and Corvan caught his balance against Morgan's head.

Pushing himself upright, he noticed they were alone. "Where are the soldiers?"

"Weren't you listening?" Jorad asked in an irritated tone. "They said to wait here while they checked out a crypt." He pulled the litter and Corvan to one side of the rounded plaza. "Let's set the body on this bench while we wait."

It was a relief to be free of Morgan's dead weight. Shaking the cramps from his hands, Corvan crossed the tiles of the open area, drawn in by the half-dead tree.

Jorad joined him at the slender stone railing encircling the tree.

"Legend says it was here long before our people entered the Cor," the priest said. "The living side was much greener before our light began to fade."

"In the real city is this where circular plaza with the fountain statue is located? Corvan asked. "The one with the woman's head broken off?"

"Yes, this marks the same spot. I'm not sure if our forefathers built the city of the dead around the tree or if they planted it here afterwards. Either way it's the only one of its kind in the Cor. As priests, we tell the people the half-dead tree symbolizes the choices we make in our lives before we come here."