Holystone - cemeteries

Cemeteries

The Count’s family has a tomb located beneath the Keep. Only the Counts and their immediate families are buried there. The Archbishop blesses the tomb every year during the Rite of Remembrance. 

The Nobles Cemetery is just southeast of the Cathedral. It is a large, fenced-in area with many tombs. Nobles and knights are buried here. Holystones are buried in a separated section next to the Cathedral. Most noble families have a large tomb with many of their ancestors placed within. Knights attached to the noble houses are buried in the land surrounding the family tomb. The cemetery is patrolled by clerics and city guardsmen in an effort to prevent undead from appearing or escaping into the city.

The largest cemetery is located to the south of Tent City. All commoners are buried here. Clerics and knights of the Order of the Blazing Sun patrol the cemetery infrequently. Every year or so, an undead or two rises and causes problems in Tent City or even inside the city walls.

The dwarves and halflings of Cliffside and Hilltown share a cemetery just south of Hilltown. The cemetery has a five foot high wall surrounding it, with dwarves buried in ornate stone tombs and the halflings buried in small earthen plots. The Hilltown Cemetery is well-patrolled by dwarven and halfling warriors and clerics. 

Unbeknownst to anyone, a dwarf vampire, Brock Ironbones, lives in an older, apparently undisturbed, tomb. Every few nights, he makes his way into the Triangle and kills someone. He knows that if he limits his kills to the people there, no one will be looking for him. He is careful to dispose of the bodies so that they do not appear to have been drained of blood. He also makes sure none of his victims become undead.

There is a sect of the Church of Sol that cremates all of its members. They feel that burning the body is more respectful to their god.  They keep the cremated remains in their homes or in local churches instead of cemeteries. Bishop Jonston is a member of the sect, and is trying to make cremation more mainstream throughout the city. He often mentions that cremated remains don’t rise as undead when he brings the subject up with non-clergy, appealing to their pragmatism.