Coterie of Despair

In the early days of the city, The Necropolis was some distance outside of town and there were no bridges to allow funeral processions to easily cross the Ozpatak River, which meant mourners either had to travel a considerable distance north and wade through the ford at Skulltop or cross the river by raft. The latter option was easy enough for small processions that could make the crossing in a single trip, but presented a problem for larger funerals. Simply holding up the procession until everyone had crossed was not an option due to old superstitions about letting the dead remain idle for too long outside of the protective wards of the Necropolis walls. Sending the funeral carriage on to the Necropolis without accomapanying mourners, meanwhile, would have shown a scandalous disrespect for the dead.
The Coterie of Despair arose to help resolve the logistical issues inherent in early Khezvaran funerals. These professional mourners would cross the river well ahead of the main funeral procession and accompany the funeral carriage to the Necropolis while the mourners who actualy knew the deceased crossed the river. Once safely inside the gates, the Coterie assisted in preparatioins for whatever ceremonies were necessary and sang dirges to keep the souls of the dead resting peacefully until they could be committed to the tomb, the fire, or the water.
It is important to distinguish between the Coterie and the common mourners who can be hired for a few coppers at Mourner's Point. While many of the latter are undeniably skilled and wailing and crying and putting on quite a show, members of the Coterie are true professionals trained by Tomb Servants in all of the city's most common funeral practices. While streets and bridges leading directly to the Necropolis and the aforementioned cheaply-hired amateur mourners have decreased the demand for the Coterie's services, they are still considered essential to a proper funeral procession by the upper classes and those who wish to emulate them.