"Oh, Leaplow, there's no point talking sense to you." Turning to the wizard, Sophraea said, "Come on, we need to get out of here."
Behind her, her confused brother said, "If you weren't a moon elf, I'd swear you were my sister. She is always saying things like that."
Remembering that he was her brother, and no matter how annoyed she felt she did not want him harmed, she said, "There's a wolf outside the maze. You should stay here for a bit until it leaves."
She thought about urging him to come with them. But Leaplow's most likely reaction to a number of armed men running after them would be to turn and fight. Better he remained hidden while she led Stunk's men away from the maze.
"Can't remember ever hearing a wolf here before. I wonder how you wrestle one," Leaplow said, dropping heavily down to sit upon his fallen opponent. The beaten man grunted under his weight.
"I'd rather you didn't," said Sophraea. Then, with an idea born of desperation, she patted Gustin on the chest. The wizard had been watching their whole exchange with an expression torn between amusement and bewilderment. "It's his fight," she said to her brother. "You wouldn't want to spoil his fun."
Leaplow blinked sleepily at the wizard. "You look familiar too. Do I know you?"
"Not at the moment," said the wizard with some relief.
Leaplow shrugged. "Oh well, I am a bit tired." He yawned and settled more heavily upon his opponent. "I have been up all night. I'll keep this one quiet until they're gone. Then I can collect my payment and go home."
On the other side of the thick briar hedge, they heard a sniff and a scratch. The wolf had found them, probably smelled the blood on
Leaplow. Branches shook as the beast tried to claw his way through. A surprised howl came from the wolf as it encountered the thorns hidden behind the evergreens and the shaking stopped.
With a wave to the brother who had no idea who she was, Sophraea grabbed the wizard's hand and hurried back toward the center.
"The wolf can never make it through the thorns," she said. "Even if they find a way in, they'll be sure to get themselves in a tangle. It's nothing but traps in the outer ring."
"What about your brother?"
"They'll never see him, unless he wants them too," Sophraea said. "He knows all the twists and turns of the maze. He'll be safe enough-I hope!"
"And how do we get out?" asked Gustin.
"There's a secret way, of course, just as any good thief-would discover. Straight out from the center." Sophraea slowed so she could count her steps past the perpetual flame toward the round stone circle that marked the center of the maze. At the edge of the circle, she turned sharply left and walked straight into the thorn hedge.
Gustin recoiled behind her, then started forward to see if she was hurt.
"Sophraea, where are yoU?" he called.
She popped her head out of the hedge. "Come on, it's only an illusion here. But be careful, it's not a very wide path." She held out her hand to the wizard, who took it with a smile.
Edging sideways through the briars, Sophraea whispered to her companion, "This will put us close to the Deepwinter tomb. And then it's just a short run from there to our gate. With luck, it will take them some time to figure out that we're not in the maze and start following us again."
They slid out of the hedge and back to a normal path. Two more turns revealed the Deepwinter monument. Just past one black corner, Sophraea could see the high wall surrounding the City of the Dead. They were almost home.
She ducked around the high flowering bush that marked the Carver's gate. The moss-covered steps were still there. But now rather than an iron gate at the top, the steps led to a smooth stone wall, perfectly matching the rest of the high barrier separating Sophraea and Gustin from the courtyard of Dead End House.
"Where's the gate?" they said together.
"Another illusion?" added Gustin.
Sophraea ran up the stairs and felt along the wall. "No, it is real." The mortar under her fingers felt slightly sticky. "When they found the gate broken this morning, they must have decided to wall it up."
A frustrated baying sounded behind them. Stunk's bully boys and pet wolf must have discovered their prey had escaped the maze.
Sophraea ran agitated hands across the stones blocking the Dead End gate. The work was perfect, of course, only the best as usual from her family. And it perfectly blocked their safe exit from the City of the Dead! Her family had trapped her within the graveyard.
NINETEEN
Where now?" said Gustin. "Coffinmarch. That's the closest public gate." Frustrated, Sophraea almost pounded against the stones confronting her. The mortar was still tacky. If she screamed, her family might hear. The men could easily tear this block down again with their pickaxes and hammers.
But, and Sophraea stilled at the thought, that would open the gate again for the walking corpses and other noble haunts. Better to keep them out ofWaterdeep. She still knew the City ofthe Dead better than any of Stunk's bullies. With luck, they could elude their. pursuers.
Once through the Coffinmarch gate and deep in their own neighborhood, there were always friends who would shelter them or send word to her family.
Her mind made up, Sophraea started down the steps, only to halt at a second howl.
"I think that was closer," said Gustin.
Sophraea nodded. "What spells do you have left?" she asked the wizard.
"The one that lets me run very fast. I can stretch it to cover both of us," he said. "But it doesn't last long."
"Let's get closer to the Coffinmarch gate," Sophraea replied.
"How much time do you think we have left?" Gustin asked, looking up at the gray clouds above them.
From the paler shades of gray toward the west, Sophraea judged it was still late afternoon. "The gates should be open for awhile longer."
"If we can get them to chase us past the City Watch at the gate, we'll be moving too fast for the Watch to catch and they'll run…" Gustin mused.
"Right into a fight," enthused Sophraea. "Or the Watchful Order. They should be arriving soon. But what about the wards on the gates? Will that interfere with your spell?"
"Let's hope not," said the wizard, setting out with long strides to follow Sophraea as she led them away from the Dead End House's blocked gate.
As they passed round a small round tomb carved from a pale violet. stone and inlaid with silver, a door creaked open. Two shadowy figures stepped out.
Gustin raised his arm, ready to fight, but. dropped his hand as he recognized the two men halted in the doorway of the tomb. One had a head full of tentacles. The other's amphibious face was scaled and his mouth open and closed with surprise, revealing a double row of teeth. The two gravediggers seemed as startled as Gustin was, but gave out no yell of greeting to echo his own.
Sophraea let out a glad cry upon recognizing her friends, "Feeler! Fish!"
The two gravediggers had started to turn back into the tomb but stopped at her shout.
"Who are you?" said Feeler, his tentacles waving in agitation around his long pale face.
"Sophraea," the puzzled girl replied.
"You're still mostly moon elf," Gustin said. With a snap of his fingers, the illusion melted away from the pair.
Feeler and Fish blinked together at the sudden transformation.
"Sophraea, we've been looking for you!" said Feeler, hurrying to her. "Your mother was afraid you'd try to come back to Dead End House from the graveyard side."
"We did, but the gate's blocked."
"Yes, the family decided to brick it closed this morning after they saw the damage there," said Feeler. "Then, about halfway through the work, a thorn popped his head over the wall and said he'd seen you in the City of the Dead."