Downpour(III:4) The Land of the Dead

Well, I finished NanoWriMo last week, but am a bit behind on my posting. Here's book III part 4!

4. Land of the Dead

     “Whars’ a demi god?” asked Albert, propping himself up at the table using his elbows. “I haven’t ever heard nothing about a demi god before.” His words were slow, as the drinks had continued to come throughout Nick’s story.

     Lopsang was the one who answered. “It means that somewhere very far down my family line, I was the descendant of a god.”

     Albert and Marcus looked confused. Jimmy on the other hand, nodded with a sense of understanding. “Sort of like the story of Jesus Christ?” he asked timidly.

     “Yes, sort of, only in reality, there’s no immaculate conception. Every once in a while, gods come down to earth, and they’re really quite the lecherous bunch.” Lopsang looked at the men’s faces and could see that this was not what they had been expecting. “Long story short, gods and goddesses come down from above, seduce someone at a bar, and then head back to their place.” Lopsang made a grimace, as if thinking about the act was not something that made him proud.

     “It happens a lot less than it used to,” said Lopsang, trying to recover. The story of the gods seemed so much worse as he said it aloud. “Many people believe that it was the sudden string of demi-god conceptions that brought down the polytheistic fate.” Lopsang noticed the men were beginning to drift off. “But that’s a story for another time.

     “So your mother was impregnated by a god?” Asked Jimmy, the only person still interested.

     “Well no. My mother was a goddess, and she was impregnated by a mortal. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I believe on the day of my birth I was cast down to earth.” Lopsang seemed to get lost in the idea of it. “I really have no idea what lineage I am descended from, only that I can’t die, and I’ve got a couple of neat parlor tricks up my sleeve.”

     To wake the men up from their stupor, Lopsang conjured the same ball of light from the story and filled the bar with bright, white light. Albert shrank away from it nearly falling out of his chair. Marcus just stared at it, a man transfixed.

     “Alright, alright, we believe you, put it away.” It was Marcus speaking. “It’s Nick who’s the one not to be trusted. Saying that he went to El Dorado and the Land of the Dead, bunch of codswallop.”

     “Every word he has told since I have been here has been the truth,” said Lopsang, chastising the man.

     “See? I told you I wasn’t a liar,” said Nick.

     “I never said that,” said Lopsang grinning.

     “Will you just shut up and finish the story?” asked Jimmy. “We need to close soon. It’s past midnight.” He gave a sleepy yawn.

     “Alright Jimmy, but I’m not going to skip anything. If these gentlemen promise not to interrupt anymore, it will go a lot faster.” He shot a look at Marcus and Albert, who were both in various stages of drunken sleep.

     It did not take them long to catch up to the group of soldiers once more. They still marched at a languid pace, band playing the same mournful music behind them. Nick and Lopsang filed into line behind them, hoping to use the group as a guide to their destination.

     “Once we’re in the city of the dead, how do we find James?”

     Nick pulled out the book and read as they walked. “James is going to stick out like a sore thumb, so really it’s just a matter of finding the right plot.” He continued to flip through, struggling to read in the dim light.

     “Plot?”

     “Yeah, as far as I understand, families have a plot picked out for them in the Land of the Dead, same as they do the land of the living. I’m guessing that’s why these guys have to march back here every so often.” He gestured to the soldiers. “Family probably didn’t designate a plot for them, and they got lumped into those giant burial mounds instead.”

     He was so caught up in reading, that he did not notice the green light that had slowly brightened to show the page. He continued reading, trying to find anything that would help them find James. The vampire said this book contained all the information we needed. Nick felt that so far, the vampire had cheated them. If Lopsang hadn’t been quick on his feet, they would have likely ended up around Xolotl’s neck.

     “Aha! I’ve got it Lopsang. We need to find a records keeper.”

     Lopsang did not respond, and was instead distracted by something ahead of them.

     “The book basically says they’re a dime a dozen. There;s tons of records keepers in the Land of the Dead, and all of them have reference to the different burial plots.” Nick looked proud of himself. “Well, I’m not sure if it was worth fighting a werewolf in a gladiator arena for, but,” he trailed off as he looked up.

     They stood on the edge of a great cliff, overlooking a city that seemed to sprawl in all directions. The soldiers filed off on a path to the left that headed towards a large cluster of buildings that looked to be in the Aztec style. From below, the sounds of life, laughter and music seemed to waft up. “It sounds like they’re having a party,” murmured Nick, closing the book in his hand.

     He assumed the city would have to have been big to hold all the world’s dead, but was not prepared. Where the soldiers had gone may have been in the older style of building, but Nick saw tall towers too, that looked like they had been constructed in recent years. There were also large wooden forts that looked more colonial in construction. History splayed out before their eyes, infinite and visible.

     It was a strange thing for Nick to look down and see so many buildings from different eras that somehow did not seem to be at odds with each other. They all melded together as if they were meant to be there. “I’ll be damned. It’s beautiful Lopsang,” he said, truly humbled by the site before them.

     Lopsang could hardly speak. “It sure is. Where are we going to find a records keeper in all that mess though?”

     Nick had his answer ready and opened the Book of the Dead back to the page he had been on. “All we have to do is find a plot with this symbol.” He pointed to the book where 3 wavy lines encased in a rectangle had been placed. “It’s not very ornate, but I suppose they wanted it to endure throughout the generations. Smart planners gods are, well, occasionally.” Nick thought back to an entire realm ruined by gods with lack of foresight.

     “Might as well get moving then. Don’t want to spend any more time here than we have to.”

     Nick for one thought it would be interesting to spend a few days exploring the city, but knew that Lopsang was right. “Agreed. Who knows how long Xolotl will buy our little trick for. Wouldn’t want him to raise the alarm on us.” Nick wasn’t sure if the city of the dead had an alarm, but didn’t want to find out if it did.

     They set out down the same slope as the Aztecs. It was a rough cobblestone path carved into the side of a great mountain. Above them, a black sky swirled with long strands of green. In front of them, the path forked in several directions. Each path looked like it led to a part of the city from a different era.

     Nick considered them. “Maybe we head to the modern part?” he asked, unsure. “It’s more likely that someone there speaks some variant of English.”

     Lopsang agreed and they set off down the path. After only a few minutes of walking, large mausoleums began to dot the landscape. They were shaped like houses, or even complexes, but still bore the distinguishing marks of a grave. Stone busts were erected outside, bearing the names of the dead that lived there.

     From inside one of the stone houses, Nick could see flashing lights, and what looked to be a group of skeletons dancing. The stone door creaked open, and a man who was rotted from the bottom half down stumbled out to vomit. He waved at them, bending over at the mid-section, and then ran back inside to rejoin the party.

     Nick had the urge to step in and join then, partly because he could use a good drink, and partly because he was beginning to have a growing sense of dread about seeing James again. “What if he doesn’t want to come back?” he asked Lopsang, acknowledging the question for the first time since they had set out together.

     Lopsang sighed. “It’s a real possibility Nick, but like you said, we have to try. There’s a good chance that he is at peace here and will not want to come back. Either way, it will be a great weight off of our souls to know that we did the right thing.”

     It made Nick feel a little better to know that Lopsang was having the same concerns, but still felt like they were doing the right thing. They continued walking through the fields of graves, and slowly, the mausoleums gave way to large buildings, all built of the same stone and iron, but towering above them. Some of them had windows that looked out on the path below, and Nick  could see whole families staring out at them as they walked along.

     “It’s a bit eerie isn’t it?” he asked.

     “It’s exactly what I would have expected from the place the dead come to rest.”

     “Keep a lookout for the symbol on any of these buildings. I don’t know how big it’s going to be, and we don’t want to miss it.” They both craned their necks and looked around as they traveled through the city. Nick noticed for the first time that he could not smell anything. He had expected the Land of the Dead to be permeated with the stink of rotten flesh, but instead it just smelled like nothing. It was an odd sensation, but better than he expected.

     As they moved deeper into the city, the sound of music and merriment grew louder, and the road grew steep, heading to the top of a large hill. Legs burning with exhaustion, they continued forth, and walked upward. There was no sign of the symbol Nick had pointed out in the book, but as they crested the hill, there was something equally interesting.

     At the top of the hill was a massive square, filled with what appeared to be shops and other forms of entertainment. The dead were gathered in mass, hurrying, and bustling between them, carrying various packages wrapped in black paper. The scene was overwhelming. There were businessmen, children, street performers, all acting the same thing that they had in life, with one key difference. Everyone in the city seemed to be having the time of their lives.

     Then, Lopsang pointed down the long street. “Look, there it is.”

     Far from hiding, a large wooden sign was hung off the side of the building, over ten feet long. It bore the three squiggly lines, surrounded by a rectangle. “Let’s see if the record keeper is home, shall we?” asked Nick, and then walked through into the bustling crowd.