"Will the dead claim him?" Gustin asked.
"No," said Sophraea, seeing again all the ghosts of the City of the Dead. Some still drifted along the pathways. There was mischief in the darkness but no malice, no hatred, anymore. "They may tease and trick him, as they will any who wander unprotected, but they will not seek blood tonight. I am sure of it."
Briarsting and the topiary dragon escorted the Carvers as far as their gate.
"Try to keep him from falling into an open grave," Sophraea said to the thorn, as the sounds of Stunk's blundering grew fainter and farther away.
The little man shook his head at her. "You need a harder heart, girl," he said, "or all your enemies will outlive you."
"There's nothing finer than a tender heart," Gustin answered him.
Sophraea blushed as Briarsting responded, "Yes, but you think she's perfection already. Keep her safe, wizard!"
"I'll keep myself safe," Sophraea answered with her usual spirit.
"But let me help with that task, it's been so much fun these past few tendays," Gustin whispered in her ear, making her blush even harder.
"Hey," said Leaplow, "what are you saying to my sister? Do we need to have a talk?"
"No!" said Sophraea so emphatically that the rest of the family laughed. She shoved Leaplow up the stairs. "You leave Gustin alone! No fights! No bets! No wrestling matches! He's a friend!"
The rest of the family chuckled as Sophraea scolded her brother all the way into the center of the courtyard.
Once everyone was through the Dead End gate, Astute Carver dragged a few boards from the wreckage left from their battle and propped the lumber before the opening. The black-and-white Carver cat twined around his legs in greeting and then slipped past him to sniff at the temporary barrier.
"We'll need to reforge the gate," said Perspicacity..
"In the morning, Brother," answered Judicious with a pat on his shoulder..
"In the morning," agreed Astute in his usual calm voice.
"Sophraea Carver, your skirts are soaked through," said her mother. "Come inside, and tell us your adventures."
"Yes, Sophraea," said Bentnor. "Where have you been, little cousin?"
And suddenly she and Gustin were surrounded by her swarm of a family, big, warm, and loving. Exclaiming, arguing, hugging, as they recounted their battles with Stunk and the dead.
"Stunk thought he could steal our ledger!" yelled one cousin.
"He thought he could control the City of the Dead, buy and sell tombs in it like houses in Waterdeep!" shouted an aunt.
"Guess he knows different now," said several Carvers together.
"Come on," said Sophraea to Gustin, "let's find something to eat."
"Maybe your grandmother can make soup and toasted bread," Gustin responded.
"That's a wonderful idea!" Leaplow said, clapping the wizard on the back and making Gustin stagger. "I could eat a whole loaf! With cheese melted across the top! Fighting always makes me hungry."
TWENTY-SEVEN
The next morning, Sophraea stood in the snow, watching her uncles rehang the Dead End gate. Perspicacity had forged extra flourishes and twists to the iron bars and Judicious had supplied a beautifully polished brass knob and lock. Astute and Sagacious helped them hang it while Vigilant gave them plenty of advice.
"Well, doesn't that look fine," said Gustin, making his way carefully across the slippery cobblestones. Although the storm had passed, the air was still unusually cold and the snow was very heavy on the ground.
Sophraea nodded. "They thought they'd do it a little fancier, knowing it wouldn't be broken any time soon," she explained. "No signs of haunts during the night?" he asked. "None at all. Everything has been quiet."
"There you are! I thought you were going to sleep the day away!" A voice sounded high above their heads.
Sophraea looked up. Briarsting stood on the wall between the graveyard and Dead End House. A Carver cat walking along the wall hissed at him but turned tail with a mew when the little man poked his sword at it.
"What are you doing there?" Sophraea asked.
"Waiting for you two. You left some trash in the City of the Dead last night," the thorn replied. "We'd consider it a favor if you'd get it out."
"Stunk," said Sophraea.
"And others," answered Briarsting. "A few of his guards made it as far as a public gate last night, and the City Watch dragged them out this morning. But Stunk and a couple of others are still up in the north end."
"We'll help," said Sophraea, her always troublesome conscience pricking her to find the fat man and lead him out of the City of the Dead.
"Best we come with you," said Judicious, when she explained to her uncles why she needed them to open the gate just after they had gotten it hung to their satisfaction.
"I'll go with you too," said Gustin.
"Do you have any spells today?" she asked him.
"Lots," he said, sending a spark flying off his fingertips. "I had a wonderful supper last night, a good sleep in a soft bed, and a fine breakfast complete with your grandmother's rolls!"
"I noticed you managed one more than Leaplow," Sophraea teased as they went down the stairs into the City of the Dead.
"I felt I deserved it," answered Gustin without shame.
Great drifts of snow still decorated the tombs in the City of the Dead. The place was hushed and subdued after all the excitement of the night. The guardgoyles perched on the edges of mausoleums had tucked their heads beneath their wings. The weeping warrior once more covered her face with her hand. The perpetual flames burned low and steady while the fountains burbled softly under their crusting of ice.
Sophraea let her vision expand until she could see all the City of the Dead. Wherever she looked, she saw only peace and stillness. The noble dead were quiet and content at last.
"It's really a pretty place," observed Gustin as they crunched through the snow.
"It's beautiful in the spring," answered Sophraea. "When the trees bud out and the new leaves appear. And summer, well, in the summer, it's the coolest and most lovely place in all ofWaterdeep. Families come in the summer, just to walk along the paths and admire the flowers."
"You know, I still haven't seen the monuments at the south end," Gustin said. "The famous ones that everyone is supposed to go look at."
"I'll take you," Sophraea promised.
"Good," said Gustin, tucking her hand through his arm.
The topiary dragon bounded up to the party, sending sprays of snow over all of them with enthusiastic sweeps of its tail.
"Call it off, call it off," sputtered Sophraea, wiping snow off her face for the second time.
"Sorry," said Briarsting. "The old boy had an exciting night and he hasn't quite calmed down yet."
Sophraea's uncles were inclined to pause and admire the shaping of the topiary dragon.
"Didn't Fidelity work on this one?" Judicious asked his brother.
"Think so. There're sure to be details in the ledger. I'd forgotten that there were any left in the graveyard. Thought that they'd all gone to seed long ago," answered Perspicacity. "Nice to see that this one survived."
Sophraea urged everyone on.
"We should find Stunk," she said.
"If you say so, pet," answered Perspicacity.
Following Briarsting's directions, they discovered Rampage Stunk at the far north end of the City of the Dead. He lay curled against a tombstone and whimpered when Sophraea placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder.
Although he had only been lost for one night, the fat man's ruined physique bore the marks of magical mischief.
"Not everyone was completely in their graves when he blundered past them," explained Briarsting. "Nothing deadly, but the ghosts never did like him trying to empty out those tombs."
Rampage Stunk's once black hair had been stripped of its glossy dye and was completely white. The merchant's face bore numerous small scratches, as if he'd been dragged through bushes. Most strange of all, he appeared to be half his original weight, and apparently he had aged by many yean.