ALL ARE MORTAL. Greg Pius

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СКАЧАТЬ distracting Abram and Lot enough to stop them from vomiting. Abram had given the Sheikh all the money they had got from their sales at the last market day city visit. This was to pay for the up keep of his daughter and provide her with a dowry. But that meant that Abram was without money for food and accommodation.

      Then a rare piece of good fortune came his way. As they passed a man looking for workers, Abram heard the city name for grave diggers. He joined the queue of willing applicants, with Lot just behind him. They made their way to the front of the queue. The man hiring was dismissing most of the applicants. Eventually Abram could hear what his main objection was as the man's voice became clear,

      "GRAVEDIGGER! Not grave-robber you cur. Get away from me. I need honest men who can dig deep graves. If that is not you then go away."

      When it came to Abram's turn, the man looked him squarely in the eyes. He exclaimed,

      "At last an honest man. I can always tell by the eyes. Let me look at your hands..... Fantastic! Callouses and new blisters. These are just the sort of hands for digging graves. You are no stranger to hard, solid work I see. When can you start?"

      Abram could not believe he got to the top of that long queue let alone get the job. So he said eagerly,

      "At once. We were out looking for work."

      Suspicious again the man said,

      "WE? How many are there of you. I only have a modest side graveyard."

      Abram shoved Lot forward before saying,

      "There is only the two of us."

      Somewhat appeased, the man looked at Lot liking the sight of his muscles and young back. So he spat on his hand before offering it to Abram,

      "Then the both of you are hired. The job comes with the gravedigger's hut. It is mainly food and shelter but there is always special payments from the rich customers. What do you say?"

      Abram said in a grateful tone of voice,

      "We are your men. Lead us to your graveyard."

      He then spat on his hand before shaking the hand of his new employer.

      The walk to the graveyard took them past the worst sections of the city. It was still early morning so activity was confined to the few honest residents going about their necessary activities. The graveyard owner had worked out that his new employees were non-residents, so he warned them

      "In this city we worship all the gods. As workers in the graveyard you will both see some horrid sights. Just leave them alone You are only there to dig large holes." Abram saw a procession that seemed to be a show of ungodly wailing and cursing. He said

      "I can see what you mean. Why does the city ruler permit this way of life to go unpunished? It is against the laws of the one GOD!"

      Scoffing at this show of foreign ignorance, the graveyard owner said,

      "What god would that be you are talking about? In this city we have temples to over twenty gods. "

      The rest of their short trip was done in silence. This gave Abram the opportunity to notice a change come over the residents he now saw in passing. They now seemed richer and more industrious. When the graveyard came into view the immediate surroundings had even taken on a salubrious tone. This greatly surprised him. His people lived as far away from grave sites as humanely possible. So he asked his new employer in a puzzled tone of voice,

      "Why do such obviously well off people live so close to the buried dead?"

      Making a sign to ward off evil, his employer replied in a subdued tone of voice

      "They are probably followers of the necromancer. It is one faith that is so very creepy. Can you believe that these people worship the dead. Sometimes they rent out my graveyard to host one of their religious black rituals. I make sure to take my family away to a place of safety on those nights."

      Shaking his head in disbelief, Abram said to Lot in an apologetic tone of voice,

      "Sorry but I seem to have brought you to a pagan dominated city. "

      After settling in to their new shelter, the new workers went for a walk up to the market they knew from previous visits. Here they were welcome, but with nothing to trade they soon moved on to the ruler's compound. Arriving just as a large party was leaving, Abram caught sight of a woman's face and saw her ankles. He stopped staring when a man arrived to join her. This was obviously her husband as he placed his arm around this beautiful woman. Then his sharp eyes saw that an older man was watching them from one of the balconies of the ruler's compound. This man was too far away to see his face clearly but Abram had seen the way he always faced the spot where the woman was walking.

      People in the market had given him all the latest city gossip. One merchant said over a cup of the local brewed hot drink,

      "They say the ruler's brother wants to supplant him. The wife of the ruler is the holder of the scared gem of power. Whoever holds that gem holds the fate of us all if trouble flares."

      A local buyer said as she was nodding her head,

      "Yes, I heard that the ruler has already been poisoned but that the black witch had saved his life with her magic."

      Then a resident said in a shocked tone of voice,

      "My niece works in the kitchens. She says that the ruler has to have his meals prepared by his wife. Then only his daughter is allowed to bring his food to him. The kitchen staff are convinced that the ruler's brother wants to seek to be both ruler and husband to the ruler's wife."

      With their heads buzzing with all this city gossip, the two herders got food for dinner then walked back to their shelter at the grave site. It was just before sunset so they settled down to a unusually noisy nightly meal.

      They slept well despite the horrors they had recently witnessed. Still a day's full work beckoned. The two of them set to make as big an impression on their employer as was necessary to hold onto their jobs. They were both exceptionally strong, so they need not have worried. Graves were dug in record time. All the owner's customers were pleased by the speed of these new grave diggers. They complemented the owner on his good judgement. This led them to offer special extra payments or payment in kind. Soon he had stockpiled hills of eggs, unleavened bread, olive oil pots and even some chopped up meat.

      Weeks passed and Abram began not to notice the nightmares. His sleep patterns were now only disturbed by the one nightmare of seeing his wife and children butchered. Unnoticed was how all the grave digging was making him build up even larger muscles. Soon he was stronger than any man he met at the local watering hole.

      Then one day his life changed yet again. It was to be the day when the ruler's son-in-law was to be buried. This was to be the biggest funeral in the city for that year. The two diggers were even given new clothes for the day. As they waited in the background, the ruler's family began to arrive.

      The sudden death of the husband of the ruler's only daughter from his first wife had shocked even this city. All had seen how healthy he was at the city's annual festival. Just a few days after that came the announcement of his death. Rumors were rife of foul deeds. One story out of the kitchen told to Abram at the market was that the son in law was given a meal portion by mistake. It was the first cut of meat from the festival meat. Traditionally the ruler received this first СКАЧАТЬ