Land of the Minotaurs

by Richard A. Knaak

  It was hard to see in the darkened stable, causing Kaz to momentarily flounder around. Delbin immediately pointed out the animal. Once again the minotaur was impressed with the kender’s keen eyesight.

  “Help me with the saddle, Delbin. It’ll be quicker if both of us pitch in.”

  “Okay, Kaz.”

  They completed their work in short order despite the dim light. Ganth had not yet returned, so Kaz decided to take the horse outside. He had just maneuvered the horse around when a voice near the entrance called out, “Hold right there!”

  “It’s all right. This is my mount. I can easily prove that.”

  Only after he had spoken did he notice there was more than one shadowy form blocking his path. The owner of the voice was now flanked by two others, and at least one of them carried a glittering blade.

  “Kaziganthi de-Orilg, you will surrender yourself and your companion to us in the name of the emperor, the circle, and the Holy Orders of the Stars.”

  The State Guard. Kaz snorted, wondering how the guardsmen had tracked him so swiftly and, more important, why they wanted him in the first place. He had done nothing wrong … but then, he doubted Hecar had, either.

  “There must be some mistake. Why would you want me to surrender? I’ve done nothing to merit your attention.”

  “You will surrender now,” insisted the leader. “Throw the magic axe to the ground and step away from it. Do it now.”

  They were determined to arrest him. No amount of protest would deter them. Interesting that they knew about the axe and its abilities. Few minotaurs in the homeland knew. It could be no coincidence; the same power that had sent the hunters in the woods had also dispatched these guards … but who was it? The circle? The priesthood? The emperor himself?

  Hecar had killed a high-ranking cleric. That couldn’t be a coincidence either. The priesthood must lie at the heart of the conspiracy.

  The warriors began to stalk toward him, swords raised. Kaz took hold of his axe and confronted his dark adversaries.

  “Put down your weapon,” commanded the leader, a little uncertain.

  “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m certainly no danger to our people. Why do you want me?”

  The guard leader did not answer. Behind the trio Kaz saw two more figures. Here in the crowded stable, Honor’s Face would be limited. The stalls, the posts, and the horses would confine his abilities. Kaz didn’t mind risking his own life, but there was also Delbin’s to consider.

  “The kender is of no consequence to you. Leave him be,” Kaz demanded.

  They ignored him. A sixth figure appeared some distance behind. The odds mounted against him.

  Raising his free hand, the guard leader signaled the others. The figure in back suddenly let out a loud cry and charged into the others from behind.

  Taken by surprise, most of the guards were pushed aside. Weapons went flying. One warrior managed to charge Kaz, who met him axe to blade. The close quarters prevented Kaz from making full use of his weapon, but Honor’s Face still presented a respectable threat.

  “Away with you!” roared Ganth, his tall figure looming over the pack of warriors trying to regroup. Ganth pulled one up and struck him in the jaw, sending the minotaur falling to the earthen floor.

  Two minotaurs faced Kaz’s father. Another warrior joined the one already dueling Kaz. Against both of them he was hard pressed, unable as he was to fully employ his axe.

  Beyond his attackers he could hear swordplay. Ganth laughed and said something, but to Kaz the words were unintelligible.

  One of his adversaries suddenly shouted in pain and hopped away. Something brushed Kaz’s leg. Delbin, he realized. The kender had something long and sharp in his hands. Kaz identified the shape as a pitchfork the stable hands must have left behind. A brave, loyal companion as always, Kaz thought. It inspired him to fight that much harder.

  Thanks to Delbin’s diverting action, he was able to press forward. Ganth, too, looked to be pushing his pair back.

  A shout came from outside. The entrance to the stable was filled with more armed figures, one of which barked out commands. Reinforcements had arrived to help the beleaguered soldiers.

  There was no hope of Kaz and his father escaping now, but there was a slim chance at least one could be saved. “Delbin! Get out of here! Run and hide! The southern gate’s only a short distance from here!”

  “But, Kaz—!”

  “Do it! I’ll keep them occupied! Do it for me!”

  The kender had more of a chance on his own. The small figure was clever and agile. “Go!” Kaz shouted again.

  Delbin dropped the pitchfork and obeyed, not even looking back. The minotaur fighting Kaz turned and tried to seize him, but Kaz thrust and caught him in the side with the upper edge of the axe blade. Grunting, his adversary slumped to his knees, hands covering his wounds.

  Angry shouts informed him that Ganth was now under assault. Suddenly Kaz himself had three more warriors pressing him. He was backed into the stall. As he was pushed back near his horse, the animal reared up and, whinnying, struck out at the nearest member of the guard. The unsuspecting warrior was flung backward by the blow, but almost immediately two others moved to take his place.

  Again the horse kicked out. Although he missed this time, the stallion prevented anyone from reaching his master. The reprieve was a temporary one at best, but Kaz was grateful to the loyal animal.

  “Get back!” commanded a new voice.

  Kaz’s opponents retreated. Someone brought a torch into the structure. Kaz found himself facing a minotaur with a scarred visage. It was another familiar face, not Angrus, but a more intelligent opponent.

  “Surrender now, criminal.”

  He was all too familiar, but Kaz was more immediately concerned with the bound figure four members of the guard were dragging forward. It was Ganth, still struggling. He was bleeding from minor wounds on one arm and his chest. There was also a patch of blood on his face, but it did not appear to be his own.

  “Surrender, Kaz, or I may be forced to execute this old one here and now.”

  Something in the voice made him remember. “Scurn!”

  “Captain Scurn of the State Guard, Kaziganthi de-Orilg.” The way Scurn pronounced the clan name made it seem a vile curse. “And you’ll surrender now. Understand?”

  To emphasize the point, one of Scum’s men brought the tip of his sword up against Ganth’s throat. Kaz’s father snorted in contempt. “No honor in the guard anymore, Lad?”

  Scurn pretended not to hear him. “What’s it to be, Kaz?”

  Lowering his axe, Kaz stepped forward. “All right. I yield to you.”

  “Bind him.”

  As two of his warriors seized Kaz, Scurn looked around. “Who has the blasted kender?” When he received no response, he grew angry. Scum’s eyes took on a reddish glow. In the flickering light of the torch, his eyes looked wild. “Fools! You let a kender sneak away into the city? Search the area at once!”

  Nearly half the patrol immediately departed the stables in search of Delbin. Two others began prodding the corners and the piles of hay in the possibility that the wily little fellow was hiding.

  “Lose something?” Ganth asked with a touch of mockery.

  “Not as much as you’ll lose, Old One, after His Holiness is finished dealing with you.” He indicated Kaz. “Harboring a fugitive is a criminal offense.”

  “Now what would the high priest fear from my little boy? What danger could he be?”

  “That’s not for you to know.” As Scurn replied, however, Kaz noted his brief look of annoyance. Evidently, Scurn, too, would have liked an answer to that question. He obviously was not important enough to have earned the right, though, and for someone like Scurn, that fact had to be bothering him.

  “Not in here, Captain,” announced one of the pair searching the stables.

  “Then get outside and help the others. I don’t want you back until you have that little vermin … and don’t kill him! The
high priest might want him since he rides as companion to this one. Anyone who fouls up will be speaking to His Holiness personally.”

  That was warning enough for any minotaur. The pair ran outside, leaving only Scurn, the torch-bearer, and the soldiers holding the two prisoners. Kaz’s old enemy walked past him, eyeing the axe, which now lay on the ground, and then the war-horse. “Don’t worry about these, Kaz. I’ll keep them for you until you need them back.” He laughed, then picked up Honor’s Face. In the light of the torch, the axe gleamed. Scurn held it high, admiring the workmanship, especially the mirrorlike finish of the head. “I’ll keep them both safe, all right.” A grunt of surprise escaped the captain’s lips. He glanced at Kaz. “It reflects the torchlight, but there is only a vague image of me in this blade! What sort of trickery is that?”

  “A minor one,” Kaz returned. And not surprising, either, he thought, to find that you’ve so little honor left in you, Scurn. He was tempted to tell Scurn the truth, that only those with honor were reflected in the axe face, but decided better of it.

  “I’ll examine this oddity later.” He noticed the pouches hanging on the belt of Kaz’s kilt. “What have we here?”

  Kaz squirmed, but could not keep Scurn from taking not only the pouches, but also Kaz’s knife. The captain put the blade in his own belt, then inspected the contents of the pouches. One bag he tossed away with disgust, no doubt having located nothing of value. From the other he removed several coins and, lastly, the medallion that Delbin had brought to Kaz from his dream.

  “So, a souvenir of greatness.” Scurn snorted in disdain. “Don’t know why you kept this. You never cared about it much.”

  If Scurn expected a response from Kaz, the prisoner was more than willing to disappoint him. Kaz watched his captor pocket the medallion. Then Scurn commanded, “Bring these two. The high priest wants to see them.”

  “What would the high priest be wanting with simple folks like us?” asked Ganth, still maneuvering for some information.”

  “You … nothing. Him …” Scurn used Honor’s Face as a pointer, thrusting it at Kaz. “He’s been in the high priest’s eye for some time now.” The disfigured minotaur snorted with laughter. “When I was told that Hecar was coming here and that I should arrest him, I was glad to do so, even if I didn’t know why. Now I know why … You were baited, Kaz, baited like a fool of a fish.”

  One of the searchers came up to them as they departed the stables. He saluted Scurn. “No sign of the kender yet, Captain. It’s as if he vanished. No one’s seen him. We’re questioning everyone nearby.”

  Kaz brightened at this news. Grinning, he said, “Looks like the high priest might be a little annoyed with you, Scurn. You let a kender slip out of your grasp and escape into the city. Nethosak will never be the same.”

  Scurn spun and struck Kaz with his hand, sending the prisoner staggering back. “It might be that he’ll be annoyed about that, but we’ll find the little pack rat. He can’t escape Nethosak.” To the warrior who had reported, Scurn commanded, “Return to the guard. Get another squadron out. I want the entire southern part of the city searched from top to bottom. He’ll try for the gates at some point, probably before daylight. I want him.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  When the warrior had departed again, Scurn studied both of his captives, giving special attention to Ganth. “Now I remember you, Old One. I thought you were dead.”

  “I have a way of coming back.”

  “Not this time. Not you or your son.” Scurn grinned at Kaz. “Now you’ll answer for everything you’ve done.”

  “The past is over. It was settled long ago. I don’t understand you, Scurn. I don’t understand you at all. You still think about the past, even now?”

  “You betrayed the dream, Kaz. You turned your back on our destiny. That’s the greatest of your crimes in my eyes. No one can turn their back on our destiny. You’re a coward. You have no honor.”

  “Funny,” interjected Ganth, “but I was just thinking the same about you.”

  Scurn looked ready to lash out, but chose not to. Instead, he turned on his men. “Well? What’re you waiting for? The high priest wants to see them both right away. Move!”

  As they were dragged off, Kaz quickly looked around, searching for some sign of the kender. He saw none. Paladine, hear me, Kaz thought. Let him be careful if he flees to Helati.

  There had to be a spy among those in the settlement. That was the only way they could know so much about him. One, possibly more, of the refugees was an agent of the guard. If Delbin went there, the high priest would hear of it. Kaz knew they would stop at nothing to satisfy the high priest … even if it meant destroying the settlement itself and everyone who was a part of it.

  “Helati …” he whispered. No one would have any notion of the danger they were in, and Kaz could do nothing to warn them.

  Delbin ran out of the stables, darting past a minotaur occupied with trying to subdue Kaz’s father. He felt terrible about leaving both of them, but Kaz had said he had to leave, and he always did what Kaz asked … even if he usually changed his mind later and did the opposite. Delbin was determined to rescue his friend, but first he had to make certain he lost any of the bad minotaurs who were dogging his heels.

  I’ll rescue you, Kaz. You’ll see! Kaz was a true friend, the nearest thing to a family Delbin really had. Kaz always got uncomfortable when Delbin mentioned what a good friend he was. Yet the minotaur understood him better than other kender did.

  Behind him he heard a minotaur shout. The shout was far away and probably didn’t even concern him. Delbin started thinking about where he should go next. The minotaur city was so fascinating that he kept wanting to stop and look at things, but he knew that Kaz was in trouble, so he had to hurry.

  I have to do something to help him and Ganth! He liked Ganth, too, in great part because the elder minotaur treated him almost like a grandson. But what could a kender do?

  “This way!” roared a deep voice, this time definitely a lot nearer.

  Delbin looked behind him and saw an enormous shape closing in. They were very near, all right. He had the advantage of being small, which made it hard to see him in the dark, but he was unfamiliar with the area. It would have been nice to set a few traps for his pursuers, but he was in a hurry. Maybe he’d even have to kill a few of them, albeit in self-defense. Kaz would be proud of him if he did.

  “Cover that street!” shouted the voice.

  They were even closer now. Delbin spotted a darkened alley ahead of him and giggled. Like all kender, he was good at playing hide-from-the-bad-guys, a game all youngsters of his race learned in their childhood, just in case. The alley looked as if it led to another good hiding place. There were all sorts of good buildings in which to hide.

  Delbin giggled again, then shook his head and whispered to himself, “You should be quiet, Delbin, because if you don’t, those soldiers might hear you, and then they’ll catch you before you can kill a few …”

  He squeezed down the alley, then slipped through an even more narrow opening between two buildings. The minotaurs could certainly not follow him here. Delbin cracked a smile as he darted around another corner. This was actually fun. He just wished Kaz could be here to enjoy the game.

  “Don’t worry about that!” Delbin whispered, reminding himself. “Find a good place to hide, then come up with a plan to rescue Kaz!”

  He was certain he would think of something. He had always been a clever fellow. Had not Kaz said so? Delbin had helped him against the dark elf Argaen Ravenshadow and those nasty ghosts down in the cold south. He could certainly help his friend against a few stupid minotaurs.

  “I’ll come up with a real good plan, Kaz. You’ll see! I’ll save you and Ganth and Hecar, and then we’ll all ride home together. I’ll make it a really good plan that you’ll be proud of and all the other minotaurs will be surprised about!”

  Delbin, of course, was blissfully unaware of how Kaz, not to mention the others,
would have cringed at hearing any plan of his. A kender plan was more likely to backfire on those involved than it was destined to succeed. Of course, to kender, that was part of the fun.

  They just could not understand why others never seemed to see it that way.

  Their captors dragged Kaz and Ganth to the temple, where the high priest awaited them. Inside, the acolytes were very attentive. One of them guided the party through the temple. He led Scurn and the others to two great doors. There, two more acolytes opened the doors, then stepped away. Scurn paused at the entrance, giving Kaz a moment to study the place in detail. The artwork did not concern him at all. What he wanted was some way out should the opportunity arise.

  His eyes drifted to the carvings. Most, especially the faces of Sargas, were familiar to him, since copies appeared on structures throughout the empire, but the dragon was something uncommon. It was startlingly real. It unnerved him almost as much as the thought of facing the high priest.

  “Your party may enter, Captain Scurn.”

  The voice echoed throughout the nearly black chamber and caused the hair on the back of Kaz’s head to stiffen. Like all minotaurs, he had been raised with a healthy respect for the high priest. But, just standing there, he felt an unreasoning terror. This is nonsense, he told himself. The cleric’s as mortal as anyone else here. An axe in the hand will cleave him in two just as easily as it would Scurn.

  Nonetheless, it was all he could do to keep from quavering when they pulled him forward.

  Torches suddenly blazed, revealing not only the immense chamber, but the dais ahead of the party. Seated at the desk atop the dais was the high priest, who stared down at them.

  Studious features were half-shadowed by the cleric’s hood. Kaz had met this particular minotaur before, but he could not recall when. Was his past out to destroy him? It seemed that everyone he had ever met was turning up in his life again, wanting to dispose of him.

  Scurn led the prisoners up to the dais. Kaz was pleased to note that his captors seemed nervous, too. Everyone was afraid of this high priest.

  The high priest leaned forward, studying the two prisoners. His eyes raked Kaz, then Ganth, almost as if he intended to dine on their corpses. The hooded figure studied them for a moment or two longer, then turned his burning gaze on Scurn.