Land of the minotaurs lh-4

by Richard A. Knaak

  He was suddenly seized by strong arms that tore the axe from his grip, secured him, and covered his muzzle before he could speak. The minotaurs with the kender did not even notice the swift and silent scuffle behind them. There was no one now who could save Delbin from becoming the high priest's prisoner.

  A hard female voice whispered in his ear, "Kaziganthi, you are summoned before your patriarch."

  Patriarch?

  He had been captured by his own clan? Kaz felt like a fool. Of course they would have been in the audience. Possibly even the patriarch himself.

  "Give your word of honor and we shall let you walk. Refuse and we shall be forced to bind you hand and foot and drag you. We haven't much time, so you'd better make up your mind fast."

  She meant what she said, especially about dragging Kaz. The clan of Orilg did not make empty threats. Kaz quickly nodded.

  The minotaurs relaxed their grips, though at least one blade grazed his back. Kaz glanced around him. The others were all young, strong, and lean. He could have taken two, possibly three captors, but the clan had surrounded him with six, which was something of an honor, he supposed.

  Able to speak again, Kaz said, "Listen to me! There is a kender with those two! It's important that we rescue him! The high priest must not get his hands on that-"

  "We've orders concerning only you, Kaziganthi. The patriarch saw you flee the arena and desires to speak to you."

  "The kender is my-"

  "Your word's been given. Resist and we'll have to act accordingly, Kaziganthi."

  He had no real choice. Kaz glanced at the receding figures. It was already too late. The State Guard had carried Delbin off into the crowds. It was fortunate that only his clan had so far caught up with Kaz.

  I'll get you out, Delbin, he silently promised. I'll teach Jopfer to regret his scheming.

  Another thought occurred to him. Ganth and the others. As far as he knew, they were still inside. He turned back to the female. "The others-"

  "We've been ordered only to bring you. Now move on before someone notices who you are. If they recognize you, we can't help you."

  He almost laughed. He had escaped, only to be captured just outside the circus. Now not only was Delbin lost to him, but so were the others.

  "All right, then," Kaz growled. "Let's go see old Dastrun. Maybe it is time I had a few words with him."

  For the first time, he managed to disconcert the female. He could tell by her expression. Looking at the others, she commanded, "Keep an eye on him at all times, but make it look casual." To Kaz she added, "Don't fight us, Kazi-ganthi. We are clan, remember."

  "Does Dastrun remember that?"

  There was no reply. The female started off, as did the others. It made for a long and sobering march to the clan house.

  "So this is how you spread the glory of Clan Orilg," Dastrun commented.

  Kaz had always recalled Dastrun as a wiry sort, and in the years since he had last seen the elder minotaur, Dastrun had grown even more wiry, almost emaciated. His fur was nearly white. Yet there was strength in those limbs and voice, despite the signs of old age. He had to admit that the robed figure seated on the chair was very much the image of a clan patriarch. He even might have respected Dastrun despite their differences if only the patriarch had not been chosen for his position by the emperor, possibly at the high priest's urging.

  The patriarch was seated on a high-backed throne placed at the top of a short dais. Seated on each side of the huge chamber to which Kaz had been brought were other elders of the clan. Standing along the walls were guards. Kaz and his captors were the only others in the meeting hall. Dastrun was trying keep Kaz's presence a secret as long as was possible. Whether that strategy would succeed, the prisoner could not say.

  "No, this is how I try to live," Kaz finally remarked. "This is how I uphold the honor of Orilg."

  Dastrun sighed. "The same old Kaz. You were always one who would not bend when it was best to do so. Your sense of honor, your personal sense of honor, was always more important than the good of the clan."

  Kaz stared at the minotaurs gathered in the chamber. Most of them he recognized as followers of Dastrun. Some, he was pleased to see, were from parts of the clan that would never, ever, accept the elder as a legitimate patriarch. In their eyes, there were some traditions that should not have been flouted.

  "All I ask is to be left alone."

  "You were left alone."

  "Only when it was convenient, Dastrun. Only when it was convenient."

  The patriarch waved the matter away. "I came to the arena to see if you would at least die with your honor intact. You could not even do that. When I saw that you intended to flee, I commanded Fliara to keep watch for you. I knew she would understand your thinking."

  "Fliara?" Kaz froze, then slowly turned to study the younger female. "Fliara?"

  Her acknowledgment was formal, nothing more. "Brother."

  "Fliara." She was his youngest sibling and had been little more than a baby when he had last seen her. Fliara had often tagged along behind him, watching with great interest what her eldest brother did. Now she seemed not to care. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

  "The patriarch had commanded me not to reveal myself unless you recognized me." If she felt any emotion, it was well concealed by her indifferent expression. "You did not."

  She looked away as she finished speaking.

  "Our father was back there."

  Her eyes darted to Dastrun, then to Kaz. With clipped words, Fliara quietly said, "I know."

  "Fliara understands that her duty to the clan outweighs all else. Family is important, as Sargas teaches, but it must not be forgotten that the clan is the greatest of our families. One individual may be lost, but the integrity of the clan must be maintained. Without it, all that has been built since Orilg became patriarch will collapse."

  Kaz found himself wondering if Dastrun knew about the clan-in-the-making Kaziganthi. What would the elder say about that?

  "I've striven to keep Orilg strong. You've not been here much the past decade." The tone was almost accusatory. "Things have changed, especially in the past couple of years. Attitudes have changed. The way things are done has changed. To survive and prosper, Orilg has had to make some changes, too."

  "Yes, I've noticed," Kaz commented, purposely ignoring the look of disapproval on Dastrun's features. One simply did not interrupt the patriarch. It just was not done. "Some traditions change as well, things like how the young are trained, what honor means, and how those who rule are chosen."

  "I could have turned you directly over to the State Guard," the patriarch pointed out, still angry at being interrupted. "It is what my duty to the glorious minotaur empire demands."

  "Should we leave now, then? Since I'm going to be handed over to them when you're done trying to excuse yourself, we may as well get going."

  Dastrun started to rise. "You impudent-" Then his anger suddenly dissipated, leaving an older, world-weary figure who looked away and sighed deeply in frustration. Kaz actually found himself sympathizing, briefly, with this vulnerable Dastrun behind the mask.

  "Tell him what's been decided, Dastrun," said a clan elder on one side of the chamber. Kaz peered curiously at the new speaker, vaguely recognizing the squat, wrinkled visage as a former tutor of his, a sword master. He was still formidable, though lacking one arm.

  "I will, I will." Regaining some of his composure, the patriarch eyed Kaz. "There's been some… discussion, concerning how best to deal with your presence-"

  "Send me home."

  "That would not be easy. Kaziganthi, you don't realize just what you've become here. You don't realize that you've become a symbol. You don't realize just how many stories of your… recklessness… have reached Nethosak. Most of the stories are sheer nonsense, of course…"

  Kaz snorted, then added, "Of course."

  "But such tales grow in credence the more they are repeated. You've done more to disrupt the course of destiny here th
an the years under the rule of the Dark Lady's warlords."

  "I've already heard such words from the high priest, Dastrun. Unless you have an original point, you can forego the rest of your speech."

  "Same arrogant little Kaz," snarled one of the other elders. "Never did know his proper place."

  Kaz gave the elder a look. "I thought that was one of the driving forces behind our people, the fact that we have dared strive to improve ourselves and achieve greater heights… Of course, that was in the old days."

  The elder muttered something about insolence, but there were many others who nodded agreement with Kaz. It was then he saw Dastrun's predicament. Kaz's father had mentioned that Dastrun's position was not a secure one; he was the emperor's designate, not the clan favorite. Perhaps things might have been different had he gained his position by the old ways, but now no one would ever completely trust his wisdom. He ruled because Polik said he should rule.

  A puppet pulling the strings of a puppet, thought Kaz.

  He suspected that all the strings, be they attached to the emperor, various patriarchs, the military, even the circle, led back to Jopfer.

  "Very well," the patriarch grumbled. "When you were sent to the circus, there was some question as to the fairness of your sentence, but Orilg is not influential enough to change the commands of either the emperor or the state priesthood. It was hoped you would fight honorably and prove that any crimes you might or might not have committed were of no consequence. You would have been kept on the rolls of honor, forever a symbol of Orilg greatness."

  "How flattering."

  "Of course, you couldn't bring yourself to do what was best, could you? I was in the crowd when the chaos began. I left immediately, of course, but left word to keep track of you." The elder minotaur's tone indicated that he suspected the chaos was part of a plan to engineer Kaz's escape. "The warriors of the clan did their best to see that you were brought here rather than be recaptured."

  "You seem to have forgotten my father and Hecar, who also are clan members."

  Dastrun looked at the other elders. A narrow-muzzled female that Kaz thought might be an older cousin of his nodded. The patriarch turned back to Kaz. "There are others watching for them. Fliara and her group were ordered to watch for you. It's you that causes the most concern to the clan."

  Kaz glanced sideways at his sister. She stood stiff and emotionless, a fine example of the sort of warrior that was being reared in the homeland these days. Did she even care about her father? Granted, much of her early upbringing was owed to the teaching prescribed by Warlord Crynus and his ilk, but the years since Kaz's departure had not improved Fliara.

  "It is fairly certain now that we will request an amnesty for your father. He will even be given a chance to crew his own vessel again despite his past carelessness." A few elders muttered at the choice of words. Dastrun pretended not to notice them. "Hecar may join him as well."

  They would be virtually exiled on the high seas. It would not be the first time the unruly were cast out in such a way. More often than not, they did not return, falling overboard during storms or wasting away, through no choice of their own, on some lonely island.

  "And me? The high priest has already offered me a chance to rejoin the cause, to help take us further down the path of ruin." Kaz's words ought to have been considered sacrilegious, but instead he received little more than a weary stare from Dastrun and concerned expressions from the others. Even Fliara was looking at him oddly. "My apologies. I meant the emperor, of course. I wouldn't dare suggest that he followed the priesthood's commands and not the other way around."

  It took the patriarch a while to collect himself enough to continue. "I've been petitioned by some within the clan to act on your behalf. There is a chance to save you, and it's a path I suggest you accept. It's believed that the emperor will permit it. There is a ship, an explorer under the banner of Orilg, sailing to the continent east of here."

  "Another continent?" Now and then, there were rumors of another continent, and, despite his reluctance, Kaz's curiosity was piqued.

  Observing Kaz's reaction, Dastrun pressed on. "Yes, another continent. An opportunity to expand even further. We've already made some inroads there, Boy. The few inhabitants discovered there so far have been… of no consequence. However, we've explored only a little into the interior. There's room for adventure and opportunity."

  Sail to the other land and become one of those who pioneered the way for the rest of the people. It was exciting, an offer Kaz would have accepted gladly under other circumstances. But several concerns held him back. One was that he could never leave Helati and the children behind. Another was that he knew, despite whatever Dastrun and the others believed, that Polik and Jopfer would not agree to the offer… or they would send Kaz off, only to have him suffer an 'accident' once he was far from home.

  Kaz wondered if Dastrun himself made the offer in good faith or was aware of what would likely happen.

  "A tempting offer," Kaz finally commented, still pondering. Whatever happened to him, Kaz refused to let others assuage their guilt by sending him somewhere far away where his fate could not be tied to them and their tainted sense of honor. "But you might as well turn me back over to the circus if that's the best you can do."

  "Don't be a fool, Kaziganthi!" warned Dastrun. He rose from his chair. "We offer you a chance not only to maintain your own honor, but to increase your standing! At the very least, the honor of the clan should mean something to-"

  "You're the fool, Dastrun, if you expect us to believe that honor is still of such import that we're willing to sacrifice one of our own like this!"

  Kaz and the others looked to the source of the voice. Somehow, Ganth had found his way from the circus and slipped into the audience chamber. There was no sign of Hecar, but at least Kaz's father was safe.

  "You are not a part of this meeting, Ganth!" snarled the patriarch. "You'll leave now!"

  "Ganthirogani has as much right to speak as any of us!" pointed out an elder. "More than some, even."

  The consensus of the majority of the elders was the same. Dastrun might be patriarch, but even he could not argue against certain precedents. One of the foundations of clan life was that each minotaur was allowed to voice his opinion, and those who achieved the age and status of Kaz's father were entitled to speak during matters of council. The race considered itself the most democratic of all the peoples of Ansalon.

  "Aye, it's good to see that some haven't forgotten that." Ganth marched forward until he stood next to Kaz. He glanced briefly at his daughter, who looked away in what might have been embarrassment, then at his son. In a low voice, he told Kaz, "I can say only that Hecar waits outside. More'll have to wait until we get you out of this."

  To the others, Ganth addressed these words, "I've missed a few years among my kin and clan, I'll be the first to admit, but there are some things that shouldn't have changed completely in that time. We're minotaurs, the greatest race ever to walk Krynn, greater than the ancient ogres from whom we're descended. Only dragons could be considered superior, and they've left this world to us now."

  Kaz watched as his father appealed to the vanity of the race. To him, the words were almost a jest, but to the others, who had never lived outside their small world, they were true and monumental.

  "What's happened now, though?" the older minotaur asked, giving a theatrical performance that Kaz would not have expected his mariner father capable of delivering, but he had the crowd. "We've become willing to set aside our personal honor, to set aside the clan and our esteemed ancestors, including great Orilg, who once fought a dozen ogres to save his children. Our ancestors watch us now, Dastrun, and what do they see? That's the question you should all ask yourselves. Are we being true to our ancestors? Are we being true to the honor of Orilg?"

  He had most of them agreeing with him, except for Dastrun, of course. The patriarch snorted; then, seating himself again, he countered, "Pretty words, Ganth, but they say nothing. Are w
e to presume you speak for our ancestors, most especially great Orilg? More to the point, have you forgotten that we also belong to a larger family? We're the children of Sargas! Even Orilg would give Sargas his due." He shook his head and looked at Ganth as if Kaz's father was a dim-witted child. "The high priest teaches us that sometimes there must be sacrifice for the greater good. That is what we must all remember, even you and your son."

  "I know what the Great Horned One's like, Dastrun, which is why I've chosen Kiri-Jolith to be my lord… or is such a choice now also forbidden?"

  "Ah, yes." Dastrun nodded. "You met them both, didn't you?" He chuckled. "Quite a yarn that was."

  The old mariner drew himself up to his full height. He still had the presence to impress most around him. Kaz was proud of his father. "Aye, I've met them both. Whether you choose to believe that or simply toss it aside as a sea tale, you'd do well to remember one thing: It's honor we've been brought up to believe in more than anything else, even more than our so-called destiny. It's honor that's at the core of our kind, even more than among the humans of the Solamnic knighthood. 'Honor is our blood and our blood is honor.' Recall that? Orilg liked to quote it. It's carved on the outside and inside of the circus and every minor arena throughout the land. It's carved high in the walls of the palace and the headquarters of the Supreme Circle." Ganth crossed his arms and looked up. "Why, it's even carved up there."

  Many others looked up, nodding. Even Dastrun could not help glancing in the direction that his rival had indicated.

  "Of course," added Ganth, looking at the other minotaurs, "I know it can even be found in the temple itself, of all places. The home of Sargas, they say." He stared at the patriarch. "And you know why it's especially interesting that it's there, Dastrun? Because it's supposed to be a direct quote from your Great Horned One himself. He's supposed to have spoken the words to Istvanius, the first high priest, who we all know was a paragon of virtue and truth. Therefore, the words must be true."

  "Your point?" Dastrun demanded. The patriarch seemed to have shrunken in size by a third.