Land of the Minotaurs

by Richard A. Knaak

  The acolyte nodded approval, looking past Scurn. His mouth twisted in distaste. “Such betrayal to the cause is ever shameful. You are sure he is one of the traitors?”

  “He’s traveled with Kaziganthi for years. Knows him better than anyone. As I said, he is also acquainted with the kender.”

  “A kender. Can you believe it? A minotaur who travels with a kender. This Kaziganthi has fallen low.”

  “Captain,” Hecar interjected. “Maybe we should get this honorless one in a cell before he slips free again.” That there were cells in the temple was common knowledge. In the course of their duties, the clerics of Sargas were forced, so the high priests always insisted, to treat heretics as criminals. No emperor, however popular, had ever had the courage to question the existence of this private dungeon.

  “A cell?” blurted the robed minotaur. “He should be thrown into the arena! Take him there.”

  Fliara casually tapped her sword against Scum’s side. He quickly spoke up. “I’d rather he were kept here, Brother. And the high priest would surely agree. He is too valuable to waste in the arena—not yet at least.”

  The acolyte weighed this seriously. “I am not accustomed to making such decisions. That was the duty of Brother Merriq.”

  “Then get him.”

  “Brother Merriq,” the other said frostily, “is no more. He perished bravely, capturing … capturing the other prisoner. A fire of some sort, I understand.”

  Kaz could barely refrain from smiling. So Delbin had not been captured without a good fight. Kaz had no pity for Merriq. He had been the epitome of what was wrong with the minotaur homeland.

  The robed figure was taking much too long to consider the matter. Hecar spoke again. “Captain, can’t we just put the prisoner in the cell ourselves and take responsibility?”

  Scurn frowned, but Hecar’s words made the acolyte brighten. “Of course, if you want to take responsibility for the prisoner, you may go ahead. I cannot say how His Holiness will react, but as long as it is your responsibility …”

  Even Scurn seemed disgusted with the robed minotaur’s attitude. The acolyte was one of those middle-level subordinates who would do anything as long as it didn’t threaten his own well-being. It was the type who never rose very high in the ranks, but seemed to last forever.

  “We’ll take responsibility for any taint he leaves in the holy temple,” the scarred minotaur answered somewhat sarcastically. “Just tell us where the cells are and we’ll take him there. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”

  “I’ll have to have someone lead you there.”

  The robed figure stepped away quickly before anyone could suggest that he himself lead the party to the cells. Scurn glanced at Kaz, who kept his expression neutral.

  A couple of minutes later, the acolyte returned with what was obviously a novice. The novice, a shorter, muscular minotaur, seemed caught between fear and anger, most of it aimed at his superior.

  “This one will take you to the cells. Be about your business, then depart this building. Make certain the prisoner is completely secure before you leave, or it’ll be your heads. In the morning, someone will alert His Holiness.”

  He turned away again before there could be any objection. The novice watched him depart, then looked at the others with a scowl on his face. “Come this way. Walk quietly, for the high priest rests now.”

  “Will we be passing near his chambers?” Scurn asked on his own. Fliara shifted ever so slightly toward him.

  “No, his private rooms are beyond the great audience chamber. The cells are below.”

  Kaz was relieved to hear that. The farther they were from Jopfer’s rooms, the better.

  The novice led them down one corridor after another, gradually descending into the bowels of the temple. All along their journey, the eyes of Sargas watched them. Here was a relief of Sargas saving the first minotaurs. Over there was a tapestry showing him building the border mountains. One image showed Sargas raising ships from the sea. Artisans had worked diligently to create the illusion that Sargas watched the viewer even as he performed his miracles.

  They descended deeper. Kaz counted the levels in his head, estimating distance and time. He hoped the cells would not be much farther. One fortunate thing was that they had passed only a few sentries and never more than a pair at one station.

  “This level is where the traitor should go,” the novice finally said, just when Kaz was beginning to think they were never going to reach the bottom. “We’ll take him down—”

  The entire party paused as four sentries blocked their path. Unlike the previous ones they had passed, these sentries were alert and bristling.

  “No one comes down this way,” commanded a dark minotaur who was the apparent leader. “By orders of the high priest.”

  “We have a prisoner—” the novice began.

  “No one.”

  “The high priest’ll want this one in a special place,” Scurn interrupted. Fliara’s weapon had suddenly found itself nudging his back. “He’s a companion of the renegade we’ve been searching for.”

  “We’ve got our orders.”

  Scurn tried again. “He’s also a friend of the kender you have prisoner. The high priest will be glad to have him nearby. He’ll be able to make use of him. Leverage and that sort of thing.”

  For the first time, the sentries seemed uncertain. The leader looked at his companions, then at Kaz. “I don’t know …”

  Ganth glanced at his son. Kaz nodded slightly. Choosing a moment when the guards’ attention was elsewhere, he stepped past Ganth and Scurn, in front of the guard leader and one of the other sentries. Raising his hands, he brought forth Honor’s Face.

  Startled, the guards looked up at the magical axe as if it were Sargas himself. Kaz quickly lowered the axe shaft with both hands and struck wide, hitting them both. The flat side of the axe head caught the second sentry squarely, knocking him completely over. The leader stumbled back, stunned but able to keep his footing.

  Ganth reached out and shoved the novice’s head back against the wall. The novice struck the wall hard and, with a grunt of astonishment, slid to the floor.

  “Don’t try anything!” Fliara commanded Scurn, who had started to reach for a weapon dropped by the guard leader.

  Ganth seized the guard leader and threw him against the wall, just as he had done to the novice. Hecar and Kaz moved forward. The remaining pair of guards, suddenly outnumbered, backed away. They did not get far before Kaz and Helati’s brother caught up to them.

  Kaz made the most of his axe in the narrow passage, swinging it diagonally. This action forced one guard back, while leaving Kaz wide open to an attack from the other. Hecar filled the gap, however, countering the other minotaur’s attempted thrust and bringing his blade up underneath, stabbing the guard in the stomach.

  The death of Hecar’s foe drained the fight from the remaining temple guard. He dropped his blade and fell to one knee, hands over his head. “I yield myself.”

  Hecar came up and took charge. Their foes had been too stunned to give an alarm. To Ganth, Kaz said, “We need to bind him and put them in another cell. The dead one, too.”

  “What about him?” Kaz’s father asked, indicating Scurn.

  “We still need him. Just make certain he knows what’ll happen if he opens his mouth at the wrong time.”

  “I think Fliara’s taught him about that already.”

  They gathered up the guards and located the nearest cell. From the pouches on their belts the party removed rope and cloth. Within a few minutes, the guards were secure. The only traces that remained in the hallway were some bloodstains, which they could do nothing to hide.

  “I have the keys,” Hecar said, holding them up and dangling them. “Now we just need to find him. Surprised he hasn’t picked the locks himself and met us already.”

  Kaz brought the head of his axe to bear on the one guard still conscious. “I’m going to remove the cloth around your muzzle, and you’re
going to answer the question I’m about to ask. You get one chance, or you join your dead friend. Understand?”

  The guard nodded.

  “Good. Now where’s the kender?”

  The guard answered, “Third corridor, second cell, but you’ll regret—”

  Replacing the cloth over the prisoner’s protests, Kaz joined the others. “Let’s go.”

  With Fliara keeping an eye on a suspiciously docile Scurn, the group hurried in that direction. The halls were darker here, only an occasional torch illuminating the area. As they passed each cell, Kaz peered inside. He had had a notion to free the other prisoners, but not one cell was occupied.

  “Jopfer must want a lot of privacy for the kender,” Ganth remarked. “There should be at least a few poor heretics being retrained down here.”

  Kaz was the first to reach the third corridor. He peered inside, seeing little more than darkness. These cells were far larger. The torchlight barely illuminated part of a chair and possibly a small table.

  He tugged on the door. It opened.

  Delbin had escaped … but where was he now?

  “Kaz! Look what I just found!” Hecar came toward him with a squirming bundle. It was a gully dwarf. “This is the same one I think helped capture me. He did something to my harness!” The minotaur raised the sorry figure up so he could look it in the face. The legs of the gully dwarf … a male, Kaz thought … kept spinning, though his feet were high off the floor. “Well, now we can talk about the lesson I’m going to teach you—”

  “Hecar—”

  “No hurt Galump!” the gully dwarf pleaded. “Galump is Delbin’s friend! Good friend!”

  “What’s that?” Kaz moved forward, seizing Hecar’s arm. He had his companion lower the creature called Galump to the ground. The creature tried to dash away, but Hecar maintained his grip. “Stop that!” Kaz commanded. In a softer tone, he asked, “You’re a friend of Delbin’s?”

  “Yes! Galump is Delbin’s friend! Yes!”

  “Do you know where he is? It’s important.”

  The gully dwarf hesitated, then murmured, “High one will eat us if I say … He shouldn’t have gone after her.” The gully dwarf leaned forward and hesitantly asked, “You Kaz?”

  The minotaur blinked. “I am. How did—”

  “Delbin’s friend.” Galump attempted to think. It was manifestly a strain. “Delbin’s friend. Delbin wanted to help Galump. Galump help Delbin.” He broke into a childlike smile. “I show you.”

  The gully dwarf twisted out of Hecar’s grip and started down the hallway. After a moment’s hesitation, the minotaurs followed.

  Galump hurried deeper into the temple. Kaz was amazed and horrified at how many cells there actually were beneath the temple. Finally, Galump pointed at a cell door midway down a corridor. Kaz hurried past him and peered through the grill into the darkened cell. He could neither see nor hear anything within.

  Then a chain rattled slightly. Kaz heard a short gasp that did not sound like the kender. In fact, it sounded like a female, but not really like a minotaur.

  “Delbin!” He called, trying to keep his voice quiet enough so that it would not echo. “Delbin! It’s Kaz!”

  The chain rattled more. He heard someone rise.

  “Delbin!”

  “Kaz?” came the kender’s hopeful voice. “Kaz!”

  The chain dropped to the floor with a loud clash. Delbin burst out of the darkness from one side of the cell … followed, to Kaz’s astonishment, by a human female in her early or mid-teens. The girl paused only when the chains she wore yanked her back.

  Kaz snarled, studying the length of chain. More and more, he desired the high priest’s neck between his hands. What right did Jopfer think he had to do this to a harmless, innocent child? She could not be any real threat to a minotaur. There was no honor in the cleric’s actions, only evil.

  He turned away from the door. “Where are those keys?”

  Hecar raised the ring of keys, but Delbin was already at the door. Before any of the minotaurs could say anything, there was a click. A moment later, the kender pushed the door open. “The manacles are really hard, Kaz, but the doors are simple. I locked it when I heard someone coming, just in case.”

  “Amazing,” grumbled Ganth. “Minotaur locks are some of the best in the world, and this little one flicks them open without a care.”

  They followed Delbin inside. The kender took the girl by the hand. She was staring at the minotaurs in open fear. “Don’t worry. We’re all going to rescue you.”

  “Who is she, Delbin?” Kaz studied the girl. She looked as if she had some elven blood, but was otherwise unassuming.

  “She’s—” The kender frowned. “She says she doesn’t have a name, Kaz.”

  “Is that true, girl?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had a name.”

  “Why didn’t your parents give you one?”

  She looked down. “I don’t remember them.”

  “She said she’s been on her own as long as she can remember, but she doesn’t seem to remember very far back, maybe a couple of years, I think—”

  “Shouldn’t we be leaving soon, Lad?” interrupted Ganth.

  “We have to take her with us, Kaz!”

  “A human girl?” Hecar shook his head. “She’ll stick out worse than a kender!”

  “Nevertheless, we will take her.” He looked at the girl. For some reason, she reminded him of someone. “Don’t worry—girl—you’ll go with us. I wouldn’t leave anyone here to wait for the high priest.”

  “I don’t like him. He kept saying I’d be here for centuries.”

  “Jopfer’s truly mad,” Hecar retorted. “Becoming high priest has made him crazy.”

  “Can you get the manacles open, Delbin?” Kaz did not want to have to use the axe. Striking the chains would make more noise than they could afford. It was a wonder no one had heard them so far.

  “I think so.” The kender was already at work. “I think I almost have this one figured out.” To the human he said, “Don’t you worry! We’ll get you out, and then you can come with us back to Kaz’s home, and then we can come up with a name for you—”

  “I think I’ve decided on one,” she abruptly announced with much seriousness. “I think I found one I like.”

  “That’s all very nice—” but Kaz got no farther.

  “I want to be called Tiberia, or even just Ty.” The girl smiled prettily at Kaz. “Delbin mentioned a dragon in a story he told me while he was trying to free me. About a dragon called Tiberion. I like that name.”

  “Tiberia it is then,” snorted Ganth. “We can admire the choice later. If you can’t get those manacles open in the next few seconds, Delbin, then we’d better—”

  Scurn swung his elbow back, catching a momentarily distracted Fliara in the stomach. She bent over, the air pushed out of her, allowing the scarred minotaur to seize her by the arm and shove her. Fliara collided with Hecar.

  The action caught the others off guard. Scurn turned and raced through the open doorway.

  “Somebody stop him!” Ganth called, already chasing the scarred minotaur.

  “Delbin!” Kaz called over his shoulder as he started after them. “Get that bracelet open and get her out of here without us if you have to! We’ll meet where we stayed before this whole mess began, but don’t wait long! Get her out of Nethosak!”

  “But, Kaz! I haven’t told you the biggest thing! You should hear what she’s able to do!”

  “Later, Delbin! Free her!”

  The kender was already back at work on the chain as Kaz and the others rushed out after Scurn. Kaz trusted the kender’s skills, at least where sneaking around was concerned. If anyone could get Tiberia out unnoticed, Delbin could.

  Scurn and Ganth were out of sight as he turned the corridor, not a good sign. If Scurn made it up to the next level, he would be able to warn some of the temple guards.

  Then he heard the sounds of a struggle. Kaz twisted around the corn
er and discovered Scurn and Ganth fighting hand-to-hand, the older minotaur’s sword on the floor between them. It was a credit to the undiminished skills of Kaz’s father that he had caught the escaping captain before Scurn could climb the steps.

  Scurn saw Kaz coming. A dark glint appeared in the disfigured warrior’s eyes. Scurn opened his mouth and shouted loudly, making as much noise as he could. The cry echoed throughout the hall and, no doubt, the floor above.

  Ganth finally freed a hand and punched his adversary in the jaw. Scurn stumbled back, falling over the steps. The older warrior reached down to retrieve his sword.

  “What’s going on down here?” called a voice. Less than a breath later, three temple guards appeared on the steps, weapons drawn.

  “He’s a traitor!” Ganth quickly replied. “He tried to kill the high priest’s prisoner!”

  The guards looked at Scurn with surprise, then started down.

  “You fools!” Scurn snarled in turn. “That’s the fugitive, Kaz, back there! He forced me at sword point to bring them here! I was the one who just shouted!”

  The foremost guard looked the trio over. “I think you’d all better come with us. We’ll let one of the clerics hear this mess. Now turn your weapons over.”

  Scurn revealed that he had no weapon. Ganth glanced at his son, then turned the blade so that the hilt pointed at the guards. One of the other warriors reached for it.

  The blade slipped from the mariner’s hand. As the guard reached to retrieve it, Ganth seized his wrist and pulled him forward hard, knocking the shocked minotaur into Scurn. Both fell roughly to the floor.

  As if by magic, Fliara and Hecar appeared behind Kaz. The three wasted no time before charging the remaining sentries. Ganth backed away, seizing his lost sword before rejoining his son and daughter.

  Hecar struck the guard who had fallen, knocking him senseless. This gave Scurn the opportunity to grab the unconscious warrior’s blade and bring it up against Helati’s brother. The attack was weak, but it prevented Hecar from joining Kaz and the others.

  For the first time, Kaz saw his youngest sibling in action. Fliara was swift, her smaller stature working for her in ways he would not have expected. Twice she got under the guard of an attacker, bleeding him. Fliara was versatile, using both orthodox and unorthodox moves to confuse her adversary.