City of the Dead
I could write a book about the City of the Dead. It is such a fascinating place, filled with so much history and so many stories. But alas, there would be few buyers for Volo’s Guide to the City of the Dead, since it would be of interest mainly to Waterdavians — and the topic is one about which they are already intimately knowledgeable.
The City of the Dead is no drab cemetery. It is a great park of grassy hills, tended flower beds, artfully placed clusters of trees and bushes, beautiful sculptures, astounding architecture, and gravel paths that wend intriguingly through it all. Long ago, Waterdavians largely abandoned the practice of burying their dead, instead entombing them in mausoleums. For centuries, the major mausoleums here have each been connected to an extradimensional space where the dead are taken, mourned, and interred.
Those who can afford it memorialize the departed with sculptures, making the City of the Dead an open-air museum that features some of the most stunning, haunting, mournful, and downright eerie statues ever crafted in marble or bronze. Nobles and wealthy merchants have competed to erect the grandest markers for their dead, leading to a wide variety of styles and concepts created by artists at the height of their skills.
One of the cemetery’s most impressive attractions is the Warriors’ Monument. This intricate, sixty-foot-high sculpture depicts a circle of women and men striking down trolls, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, and barbarians, all of which are falling backward and outward around the warriors. Above all of them, a flying griffon rider spears a skeletal knight whose breastplate bears the symbol of Myrkul, god of the dead. But this statue is also a fountain, and the wounds on these combatants gush water! Don’t try to imagine it — just go see it. And see it as Waterdavians do: pack a midday feast, have a picnic, and then take a stroll through the beauty of the place.
Outside the City Proper
There’s more to the city of Waterdeep than just the wards within its walls. If you have need to visit the environs of the city, here’s what you’ll need to know.
Field Ward
This district was once a caravan yard between Waterdeep’s two northernmost walls, kept free of settlement to serve as a killing field in times of war. As refugees from various calamities settled there after not being allowed into the city’s wealthy northern neighborhoods, the area has grown up into a lawless town of its own.
Though not an official ward of the city, the Field Ward is commonly referred to as one. The Watch doesn’t patrol this area, however, and many crimes go uninvestigated. The City Guard oversees the Field Ward from the walls around it, but its members get involved only when folk moving into or out of the city are threatened.
The area is a muddy mess, populated by the poorest people and those who take advantage of those folks’ desperation. It has no sewer system and isn’t served by the Dungsweepers’ Guild — a fact that will be quite evident to your nose if you venture here. I don’t recommend that you spend any more time here than it takes to pass through from one gate to the next.
The Guild of Butchers operates several slaughterhouses, smokehouses, and leather-making facilities in the area — noisome operations that have been pushed out of the city proper. A word to the wise: being friendly with a burly fellow who is good with a knife is one of your best defenses in the Field Ward. The other place you might solicit aid is Endshift Tavern, a popular stop for off-duty members of the City Guard, situated on the corner of Endshift Street and the Breezeway. Though the guards might not be inclined to assist you, your status as a visitor to Waterdeep technically obliges them to help you reach the city proper in safety.
THE WONDERS OF THE WAYMOOT
The place where the High Road and the Way of the Dragon meet in the south of the city is called the Waymoot. At the center of the crossroads, a high signpost stands with hanging arrows pointing toward the harbor and each of the city gates. Created by the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors and funded by local merchants, the signpost magically directs travelers to well-known distant locations when the names of those locations are spoken into a crystal on the post. The magic of the Waymoot writes the destination onto the proper arrow of the signpost and indicates its distance from Waterdeep in miles. Folk are thereby sent out of the harbor or the appropriate gate leading north, east, or south, depending on their destination.
Unfortunately for newcomers, the Waymoot is of no use whatsoever in finding locations within Waterdeep. You will, however, find a number of enterprising individuals near the crossroads who take advantage of this fact to offer their services as city guides. Though some reputable members of this cadre will guide you true for a fair fee, plenty of citizens with nothing to lose or gain by doing so will also readily set you on the right course if you’re simply polite.
Undercliff
This area of rolling grassland and small wooded areas east of the city is a rural community focused on farming and animal husbandry, and which caters to travelers. It is also the site of a large and well-protected training camp for the City Guard, and a prison farm run by the City Watch (called Amendsfarm) where those convicted of minor offenses work off their debt to the city. Many gnomes and halflings live in this region, and most buildings are built to reflect their stature.
Two noble families have estates in Undercliff. The Amcathra estate is used for the housing and final training of horses bred in the town of Amphail, many of which are sold to the City Guard. The Hothemer noble house has an estate where its members conduct business in overland trade — beyond the reach of Waterdeep’s auditors.
If you visit this area, I recommend the Snobeedle Orchard and Meadery, owned and run by the Snobeedle halflings. They have a delightful drinking hall and a shop sized for larger patrons, and you can pick your own fruit when it is in season.
Undermountain
Tales of this legendary dungeon below Waterdeep are told well by many in the city, but I’ll provide you with the basic truths here.
Beneath the plateau of Waterdeep lies the largest and deepest dungeon in the world. It sprawls out under the city, said to plunge as many as twenty levels deep. The Melairkyn dwarves first excavated the tunnels that would become Undermountain, and the drow are said to have dug their own tunnels up from below. All were claimed, altered, and expanded by the mad wizard Halaster and his apprentices — who are believed to dwell in the dungeons to this day. What drove them deep into the earth remains a mystery, but Undermountain’s allure is a siren song that still draws many. If you want to see adventurers descend into the depths, or perhaps glimpse some returning with wondrous treasures, visit the Yawning Portal in the Castle Ward.
