Khemi is segregated into sprawling wards and districts to separate the city into manageable social units and neighbourhoods.
Waterfront District (Odji): The harbour of Khemi lies
between two great jutting points of land running into the ocean. Great black castles rise on the southern point. Great black war galleys lie silent and unlighted at anchor and a flight of wide stone stairs mount up from the water’s edge. Iron rings set fast in the steps allow for the tying fast of water craft. Here the fishermen and dock workers live and work. 2,800 people live here among 1,150 structures of various types on 16 acres of waterfront land. This district is flanked by a pair of mountainous walls and two dark towers keep watch over the misty harbour. Most of the royal fleet stays anchored here, forming another black wall at night when they anchor themselves across the bay. A few canals are cut from here into the depths of the city. On certain dark holy days, when all the people are gathered at the smoking temples to watch the gruesome sacrifices, the wharves are protected by great aquatic dragons summoned by the priests (see Conan: Pirate
Isles for statistics). Odji has a class 4 dock (as defined in Conan: Pirate Isles).
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Tortoise Island – Tortoise Island lies in the harbour of Khemi. Foreign ships may only moor here over night. A causeway connects the island to Akhet (see below). Foreign visitors are permitted to stay on the island if they are not accorded a semi-permanent status within Akhet. Green Lotus Tavern – The Green Lotus is a popular tavern in Odji. It lies uphill from a brothel and is notated by an elaborate green flower, carved from wood, hanging over the door. The barkeep is a short man, brown skinned, with a round, hairless head that is somehow reminiscent of a coconut.
The Fangs of Set: Great black fortified castles rise on
the southern point of the bay. In the castles, soldiers and marines are based, securing the city from aliens. Covering 21 acres of land, these castles house 3,360 soldiers and support (craftsmen, servants, etc.) amid 1,344 immense structures, including crenellated towers, great walls of black stone, imposing barracks and storehouses and other military buildings.
Palace of Prince Tamuneb: This coastal palace of black stone is the tallest of all the dark keeps on the southern peninsula.
Bazaar Districts: The waterfront streets give way to the long
shadowy streets of the main part of the city. All stalls are closed at dusk. The only lights at night are torches set at wide intervals. Few people walk the streets at night, and they
move silently and in haste. Great black stone walls rise on each side of the streets. The architecture is grim and massive, giving an overpowering and oppressive atmosphere to the ward as a whole. The 18 acres of the market district is where wealthier shops, pavilions, merchant offices and trading stalls are located. The impressive architecture displays the wealth and power of the dark sorcerers who wield the power of Set with impunity. There are 3,300 people living here among 1,300 structures. Most of the market stalls of similar natures are kept together on common squares, forming little markets within the larger bazaar district. Thus there is a slave bazaar, a livestock bazaar and so on.
Bazaar of the Money Changers: Here foreign money can be exchanged for silver sethis and copper gurahs. Ona the money-changer has a stall here. There is always a detachment of the Royal Guard in this bazaar. Gold lunas from Aquilonia are forbidden here and will not be changed. Also of note: all gold in Stygia belongs to the king in Luxur. Anyone with gold must have it as a gift from the king or must have stolen it from a tomb. All gifts from the king are recorded in the Treasury of Luxur.
Temple Ward: The streets broaden as one moves
from the market district into the 20 acres of the city dedicated to the temples. Here, great structures rear their black bulks against the sky, grim and menacing.
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‘My brother was Theteles, and we were of the house of Chelkus, scientists and noblemen of Ophir. By special permission of the king of Stygia, my brother was allowed to go to Kheshatta, the city of magicians, to study their arts, and I accompanied him. He was only a boy – younger than myself...’ her voice faltered and broke.
Robert E. Howard, The Vale of Lost Women There are 3,700 priests, black sorcerers and their abominable
servants living among 1,200 forbidding structures. The wealthy and well-to-do also live in a subsection of this ward known as the Zamlek quarter. Merchants, diplomats, short-term noble visitors and honoured foreigners live in a subsection called Akhet, the enclave of foreigners. Many of the temples also have schools for the sons of officials and priests, although poor children could also attend if sponsored by local landowners. Schooling lasts for ten years, the youths specialising in some profession instead of a craft.
Zamlek Quarter: Here one can find houses owned by the wealthy, ranging from large houses to towering mansions. Its avenues are named after snakes.
o Avenue of the Asps: This avenue is renowned for
its huge mansions.
Mansion of Tothapis: Sheathed in bone, the sheer walls of this mansion are undecorated save for doors and air-slits. There are no windows. Its interior is lit entirely by candles and lamps. It is mounted by a dome and around the dome is a roof-top garden of black and purple lotus. House of Life: The House of Life is a temple devoted
to doctors and is open to the public. Doctors in the House of Life are paid in goods. A great medical library is attached to the House of Life.
The Treasury: Here are stored legal records, especially in regards to ownership of property. Documents going back hundreds of years are stored here.
Akhet: This is the enclave of foreigners, where those few foreigners permitted to stay in Khemi for short-term visits are kept.
Temple of Set: The black temple of Set in Khemi is tall, deep and relatively narrow. The courtyard of the temple is dominated by a statue of a great serpent.
Slum Clusters: Outside the walls lie 18 acres of clustered,
low, flat-topped mud houses and palm groves arranged in belts around the city. Each cluster is around 2 acres in size, boasting a total of 700 mud tenements to house the city’s 1,740 poorest adult labourers.
Gate Wards: The two massive bronze city gates are the main
entries into the bustling gate wards of Khemi, where traders line up to enter the city as sellers hawk their wares. Only the market ward has more activity than this vibrant section of Khemi. Inspectors and tax collectors swarm through the crowds as they enter the city. The great bronze valves of
these gates are closed at dusk.
Serpent Gate, on the east side, covers four acres of land, with 304 buildings and 752 people;
Crocodile Gate, the southern gate, is
low-arched. Beyond the gate lie clusters of low, flat-topped mud houses and palm groves. A broad avenue connects this gate with the Temple Ward.
Beyond those palms is a sombre, black-stoned pyramid rising colossally out of the murk of the desert. There are 370 people working among 150 grim structures.
o Keep of the Manticore: This keep, near the
Crocodile Gate, is a nearly cubical pile of dark stone around a central courtyard. Its name comes from the grim figure chiselled above the iron doors of its entryway. The lower levels are used for torture, executions and imprisonment. The common Khemians avoid this entire neighbourhood because of this place. Unknown to them, there are luxury suites on the two highest floors, including luxurious apartments, large bathrooms, a swimming pool, an elegant kitchen and secret walkways for entertainers, who are brought in blindfolded. These are for prisoners for whom comfort is designated for whatever reason. It is heavily guarded.
Craftsman Wards: These wards are almost slums and are
considered the meaner portions of the city. There are 6 non-contiguous craftsman wards in the city, each about nine acres in size and most devoted to a different craft. In total, there are 31 acres devoted to craftsmen among the four craft districts. There are a total of 2,158 workshops, homes and warehouses devoted to the craftsmen of Khemi and 5,395 craftsmen, journeymen and apprentices.
Uminankh's Hostel: A withered palm frond proclaims this building as an inn. Even though Khemi does not allow unregistered visitors, Uminankh asks no questions of visitors if they have money.