Brave words, he thought bitterly as he returned his battle-axe to its harness. But where do you plan to start, Kaz? You have only all of Ansalon to search!
“It doesn’t matter,” he muttered aloud. “All of Ansalon won’t be able to hide that elf.” The minotaur smiled grimly at the night. “This is personal now.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kaz sat brooding on the ground near the front gates, his eyes closed in contemplation of what he would do when-not if-he and Argaen Ravenshadow met again.
The flicker of a torch warned him of the knight’s approach.
“You are the minotaur called Kaz?” the knight asked. He was a middle-aged human whose most distinctive feature was his rapidly receding hairline.
“How many other minotaurs are there in Vingaard Keep, human?”
The man ignored the jibe. “We found two horses that apparently belong to your party.”
“Did you?”
“They are being kept in the east end of the keep until the stables can be cleared.”
Kaz looked up at the man. “The Grand Master didn’t send you here just to tell me about our animals, did he?”
The silence that followed spoke volumes. Like many humans, this knight had difficulty dealing with a minotaur. Here was a monster, an enemy, despite what had happened this very night, despite the part Kaz had played in the final days of the war-if that was even remembered anymore by more than a few.
“The Grand Master wishes to speak to you.” A tone of menace crept into the human’s voice. “He is very nearly exhausted. Do nothing to further the strain.”
The minotaur rose, allowing him to look down on the knight when he answered. “Lord Oswal is a comrade and a friend, human. I’ll do my best to ease his problems. You might help by being more respectful to those whom the knighthood and your Grand Master in particular have in the past called an ally.”
Kaz marched off to where he knew he would find the Grand Master. A bit more respectful now, the knight hurried after him with the torch. They had not made it more than a few dozen paces when a shout from the watch at the gates broke the silence of the keep.
“Riders approaching!”
“Paladine! What now?” Kaz whirled on the knight accompanying him. “Tell your lord that I’ll be with him shortly… I hope.”
“I’ll come with you, minotaur. If there is a danger to Vingaard, I may serve my liege best by-”
“Fine.” Kaz left the human in midspeech and, utilizing his long stride and powerful legs, raced toward the front gates, approaching so fast that he startled one of the guards. The knight jumped up and pulled his sword free, actually taking a slash at the minotaur before Kaz was able to convince him that he was a friend. He had forgotten momentarily that he was dealing with men whose minds had suffered for quite some time.
“Who called out?” Kaz asked the sentry.
“Ferril. Ferril called out.”
Kaz called out to the indicated sentry. “You! How many riders?”
It may be that, in the darkness, the one called Ferril could not tell it was a minotaur he spoke with. Certainly he was respectful enough. “Difficult to say from here, sir. A small army. More than a hundred.”
More than a hundred! They might be in for a full-scale assault! “Can you identify them?”
“Not yet.”
The knight who had followed Kaz joined him again. “What news?”
“More than a hundred riders. You’d best tell the Grand Master.”
“He’s in no condition! He couldn’t possibly take command.”
The minotaur’s eyes narrowed, and even by torchlight they glowed blood-red. “Do you mean you won’t inform your lord of a possible attack?”
The human opened his mouth, then clamped it tightly shut. Stiffly he replied, “I’ll inform him at once!”
“Good for you,” Kaz muttered under his breath as he watched the man practically vanish before his eyes. A horn sounded from somewhere out in the countryside. He looked up at where Ferril stood watch. “What was that?”
“Signal horn.” The man was anxious. “I think-the Triumvirate be praised! — I think they are brothers!”
“Knights of Solamnia?”
“Yes!” The other knight on the wall and the one near Kaz began to cheer. The minotaur shouted them down.
“Quiet! They may not be what they seem! They might be some of the Dark Lady’s servants, or if they are your fellows, they might not be in their right minds!”
The knight next to Kaz looked up at him with an uneasy expression. “You think we should keep the gates closed?”
“If only until we are certain. It follows common sense, don’t you think?” He glanced upward. “If the Grand Master should come, I’ll be up on the battlements watching.”
Surprisingly, the knight saluted him.
When Kaz reached the top of the wall, Ferril was waiting for him. Judging by the expression on the human’s face, Ferril had only just discovered that he had been conversing with a minotaur.
Kaz gave him a casual look. “Something wrong?”
“No… sir.” Ferril, a Knight of the Sword, was uncertain how to address someone like Kaz.
“Good.” Leaning forward on the wall, Kaz peered out over the countryside of Solamnia. He had some difficulty making out the oncoming force. They looked like a black tide on a gray surface. Still, at the rate they were riding, they would be at the gates of Vingaard in an hour’s time. He suspected there were well over a hundred riders, likely closer to two hundred. Indistinct as they were, the group’s size as a whole gave some idea of the numbers.
“Could we hold them if they don’t turn out to be your brethren?” Kaz asked the knight.
“For a time… until they succeed in finding some way over the wall.”
“What’s happening, Kaz?” a familiar voice piped.
Both minotaur and human jumped. Kaz turned and snorted angrily at the figure who had somehow managed to sneak up next to them. “What’re you doing up here, Delbin?”
The kender smiled. “I heard people running around, and someone said that someone was coming with lots of horses, so when I heard the horn, I knew they were nearby, and I-”
“Take a breath, Delbin!” Just then the horn sounded again. “Why’re they doing that?”
“They want us to respond,” Ferril said excitedly. “They must be comrades.”
“Maybe you should respond.”
Shaking his head, the man replied, “I cannot. The horn that usually stands by the gates has vanished. No one is able to locate it.”
Delbin, meanwhile, was doing his best to peer over the wall, a difficult thing considering his height.
“Do you think they’ll attack?” he asked eagerly. “I’ve never seen an actual siege, though maybe it won’t be a very long one, since there are so few-”
“You up there! Kaz, is that you?”
“The Grand Master!” Ferril whispered reverently.
“Yes, Lord Oswal.” Kaz shushed the kender, who had been about to speak again.
“Can you see the riders?”
‘They’ll be with us before long.”
“How many?”
Kaz looked at Ferril. “Somewhere between a hundred and two hundred. We can’t make them out any better.”
There was a pause as the Grand Master evidently digested this information. He was determined to be in command.
“You four will have to protect the gates alone, I’m afraid,” the elder knight decided.
“I’ll help real good, Grand Master,” Delbin began.
Instead of the consternation that the minotaur expected, the Grand Master chuckled. After a moment, Oswal said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. Three knights, a minotaur, and a kender guarding the front gates of Vingaard Keep! A kender guarding Vingaard Keep from possible invasion! No offense is meant, Delbin, but I never thought to see the day!”
“I’ll be a good fighter, honest!”
“I’m certain you will.” To the
defenders as a whole, he added, “Call out the moment you know whether they are friend or foe. May Paladine and his sons watch over you.” Lord Oswal turned and departed, undoubtedly to rally his few other stalwarts.
“How does he keep going?” muttered Kaz.
“He is the Grand Master,” Ferril answered simply, as if that explained everything.
Before very long, the newcomers were near enough to make out. The men were obviously armored well, but in the dim moonlight, it was still impossible to tell anything specific about their appearance. Kaz glanced up at Solinari. Over a third of the moon was gone, as if eaten up. Slowly it dawned on Kaz that another body was overwhelming Solinari. It was a moon that represented the darkness within men and other races-Nuitari, the black moon, whose presence, overshadowing its bright rival, could not be a good omen.
“There are sure a lot of them, Kaz.”
“I know, Delbin.”
“They’ve got banners and lances and everything.”
“We’d better pray they’re friends, then.”
The riders slowed a few hundred yards from Vingaard. A small group, maybe five or six, started forward.
“They’re Solamnic Knights, Kaz.”
“Let’s let them talk first.”
“Who guards the gates up there? I see someone!” the apparent leader shouted.
Kaz stiffened. Relief that these were true Solamnic Knights and not marauders in disguise washed over him, tempered a bit, however, by his personal feelings concerning the knight who had spoken.
Ferril responded to the call. “I am in charge of the gates!”
“Why did you not respond to our horn?”
“Ours cannot be located, milord, and the situation here has not warranted time for a thorough look.”
The company leader’s voice softened. “The Grand Master… how fares he?”
“All things considered, well, milord.” Ferril continued.
“Forgive me, but I must ask you to identify yourselves before we dare open the gates.”
“Understandable. Know that I am Bennett, Lord of the Order of the Rose, nephew to Oswal, Grand Master of the knighthood. I have with me some two hundred fellow knights. How-how fares Vingaard Keep, man? Are there still enemies that must be rooted out?”
Kaz chose to call out before the sentry could respond. “Vingaard Keep struggles back to normality, Bennett, which does not mean that all of its enemies were mere figments.”
Bennett stood in his saddle and peered up. Kaz was standing too far away from the nearest torch to be made out clearly. “Who is that? Your voice sounds familiar! What order do you belong to?”
“The order of survival, human. I’m not one of you, but you know me just the same.” Kaz shifted over so he was visible.
“A minotaur!” the man next to Bennett shouted. More than one man unsheathed his sword. “Vingaard is in the hands of the enemy!”
“Be still!” Bennett commanded sharply. To Kaz, he said, “I do not think you are part of an enemy force. I think you are a minotaur with definite suicidal tendencies, else why would you have come where you were supposedly wanted for crimes-eh, Kaz?”
The minotaur laughed grimly. “Call me an optimist.”
This time, it was Bennett who chuckled. “You have nothing to fear, Kaz, not from me or anyone here.”
“Milord!” Ferril saluted and leaned back to call down to the knight standing by the gates. “Open the gates for the Lord of the Order of the Rose!”
While the gates were unbolted and opened, Oswal’s nephew signaled back to his men. The column slowly began to move forward. There were scattered, tired cheers from some of the returning band.
Kaz glanced at Delbin, who was watching the parade of armored figures with delight. While the kender was thus occupied, the minotaur descended from the wall to meet Bennett.
Some of the men were milling around on their horses, staring at the long-neglected interior of the keep with mild shock.
“A word with you, human,” Kaz called.
A look of annoyance briefly flashed across Bennett’s face before he succeeded in controlling himself. “There will be time to speak later, Kaz. Right now, I would speak to my uncle. We have much to discuss.”
“Then I’ll come with you. I can fill you in on some of it.”
“As you please.”
Bennett dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to another knight. Kaz began almost immediately to relate what he knew, going through the madness and illusions, the meeting with Argaen Ravenshadow and the subsequent betrayal of his party, Lord Oswal’s struggle, and the destruction of the vaults and much of the keep as the dark elf made good his escape. By the time he was through, Bennett was shaking his head.
“Paladine preserve us! I cannot fathom all you have said, minotaur, and I know there must be much more that my uncle can tell me.”
“I’d hoped that you’d sighted his pet on your way here, since he headed in the general direction of south.”
“Leave this to the knighthood, minotaur. We owe Argaen Ravenshadow for these past few years of manipulation and deceit.”
“I owe him, too. He made a fool of me and nearly succeeded in poisoning me. Through me, he gained access to his prize. I want that elf!”
Bennett turned to face him. “The knighthood will deal with him! He owes us for lives! He owes for disgracing us-”
“I see no reason why you two cannot pursue him together,” a voice called out. “I think that might be best for all concerned.”
“Uncle… milord!” Bennett immediately knelt before the elder knight. “Glad I am to see that you are fit!”
“A sham, nephew. I am in fact ready to teeter over, but no one will give me time. Praise be that Paladine chose to make me a cleric as well as a knight, for I doubt I would still be standing if not for his power.”
“You are the foundation of the orders, uncle.”
“And you are still the eager young squire, Bennett.” Lord Oswal bade his nephew to rise. “The two of you should not argue. Kaz, you will need the might of Solamnia behind you. I do not doubt that the dark elf will be found in some dire region. As for you, nephew, respect the knowledge and honor of this minotaur. Huma called him friend. I do now. Learn from his experience. In many ways, Kaz knows more than I.”
“I find that impossible to believe, milord, but I shall do as you say.”
“Fine. What about you, Kaz?”
“You have my word. Argaen Ravenshadow is my goal. I’ve sworn that I’ll hunt him down if I have to travel beyond the ice in the south.”
The Grand Master smiled sourly. “Let us hope it does not come to that.”
‘This is all a bit pointless,” Bennett remarked in exasperation. He looked from his uncle to the minotaur. “I have been told that the magic thief flew south. But where in the south? Surely not Silvanesti or Qualinesti! Ergoth? Kharolis? Where?”
Kaz gritted his teeth. He took a deep breath and was about to launch into another tirade when the Grand Master spoke. “We will solve nothing with bickering,” Lord Oswal said wearily. “I suggest we try to get some rest. Bennett, walk with me for a bit, please. I wish to hear what you have seen since your departure. I wish to discover what else the knighthood must make amends for.”
Bennett grimaced. “As you wish, milord.”
“Get some sleep, Kaz.”
“A good suggestion, Grand Master.”
Kaz watched the two depart and felt exhaustion suddenly take control of his body. Arguing, however briefly, with the Grand Master’s nephew had just about used up his own reserves. He looked around. The sky would be his roof tonight, as it had been for so many nights in his life. He looked for a secluded spot.
The place he finally chose had only one drawback, and that was the sudden appearance of a particular kender, even before Kaz had a chance to lie down.
“Where’ve you been, Kaz? I’ve been looking all over for you since you vanished back at the gate while I was watching the knights arrive. How c
ome you’re sleeping here when there are so many other places? Though I guess we can’t sleep at the library anymore, because the building isn’t in too good shape anymore, is it?”
“Delbin, unless you have something important to say, why don’t you go to sleep, too?” Kaz removed his battle-axe and harness and lay down. He put his hands under his head and stared up at the sky. Until tonight, the only things really visible had been the moons. Now, however, the stars were apparent. Kaz started to pick out the constellations he knew.
“Are we gonna stay here for a while, Kaz?”
“In Vingaard? Not if I can help it!” the minotaur grunted. “One can only take so much of the knighthood. I start searching for Argaen Ravenshadow tomorrow. The colder his trail becomes, the harder it’ll be to find him.”
“At least we won’t have to go far.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Delbin shrugged innocently. “Well, I mean, he probably headed for the mountains east of Qualinesti or for the southern part near Thorbardin. Don’t dwarves live down there? You wouldn’t go that way when I asked last time. Did you have trouble-”
The minotaur sat up. “Delbin, do you know where the elf is?”
“I do now. I was going to write about everything that happened and how big and powerful the knights looked when they arrived a few minutes ago, but when I reached for the book, I found this little crystal that I knew had to be Argaen’s, and when I thought about him real hard, all of a sudden I could see him landing someplace in the mountains just north of Qualinesti. I think they’re partly in Ergoth and partly in Solamnia, but I could be wrong.”
“Let me see what you found.”
Delbin pulled something out of his pouch. “I thought you might want to see it, but you looked pretty busy. I bet maybe Argaen put it into my pouch while he had me imagining I was helping you by opening the vaults.”
A look of wonder passed over Kaz’s bullish visage as he eyed Delbin’s prize. It was the same trinket that Ravenshadow had used to find the kender the first time he had disappeared, searching in the library. Kaz snatched the magical device from his companion’s diminutive hands.
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