Land of the minotaurs

Chapter 2

Still no word from Hecar, Kaz thought as he gazed over the small settlement. "Small" was perhaps not the proper word anymore, for there had to be at least sixty minotaurs in the vicinity and another thirty down by the river. What had started out as a home for Helati and him, with Hecar, her brother, deciding to remain nearby, had grown into a village. Most of the newcomers had only just arrived during the past year and a half, and the population increased every couple of weeks. Word had somehow gotten back to minotaurs disenchanted with the reborn empire that a free settlement existed. If things continued at this pace, the race could soon claim three kingdoms instead of two.

And they'll probably try to make me emperor at that point. He snorted, not so much out of the ridiculousness of the possibility but rather at the realization that he was already well on his way to becoming such a figurehead. Already the others looked to Kaz as their leader. His reputation, instead of being sullied by rebellion against his former masters, had earned him respect in the eyes of many. His past glories in the circus also lent him an air of strength, for he was the only one of his rank who had ever chosen retirement rather than demanding his right to challenge the emperor for the throne.

Kaz grunted. He knew he had to return to Helati and tell her that her brother had missed yet another rendezvous. Hecar should have returned from the capital long ago. There was no denying now that something must have happened. Paladine protect you, Hecar! Why couldn't you listen to me? Going back to Nethosak was asking for trouble!

The tall, dark-furred minotaur started back to the dwelling he shared with his mate of two years' standing. Perhaps it would have been better to remain in the icy south, but after the snow wraiths and dwarves of frozen Farahngrad, the warmer and quieter north had looked extremely inviting. More important, the time in the south had brought Kaz and Helati closer to one another in a shorter time than even he could have dreamt. Instead of journeying across all of Ansalon, the two had instead decided to settle in a quiet, wooded region far south of their homeland. Hecar, never one to abandon his sister, had decided to build a place there, too.

In settling down, Kaz had found a peace that had escaped him all his life. He had really known nothing but battle since he had been young enough to train, and now he realized that quiet solitude, combined with sharing that quiet with someone he loved, was preferable. He and Helati had made a home for themselves, acting in many ways more like humans than like minotaurs. Kaz saw nothing demeaning in that. Despite his race's obvious superiority in some matters, the minotaurs truly were deficient in most important aspects of life. Humans could appreciate things that most minotaurs, not understanding, would have scoffed at. Humans were not perfect, but they were admirable in some ways.

Of course, he had met one of the greatest humans, so perhaps, Kaz thought, his opinion was biased. Huma of the Lance, the now legendary hero of the war against Takhisis, the dark goddess, had been one of the bravest, most honorable warriors Kaz had ever known. It was a friendship that should not have thrived, but it had, ending only when the young knight had died vanquishing the Dragon Queen. Kaz had been there, a part of the epic battle. He had witnessed the humanity behind the hero, and the lesson had stayed with him, influencing his own decisions and behavior. Like Huma, he had come to want only peace and a quiet life.

But that never seems to be the way. He snorted. I try to live in peace and only end up mired in one battle after another. Not that I haven't purposely walked straight into a few.

The first newcomers arrived shortly after the trio had settled here. Once the first travelers arrived, it seemed to him as if half the minotaurs in the empire followed. Worse, they all seemed to know who he was… and had been. The past that Kaz had thought buried seemed more alive than ever.

I will not go back to Nethosak! he thought, snarling quietly. I will not go back there again!

Yet if Hecar was in danger, what else could Kaz do?

He found Helati exactly where he expected her to be, cradling the newly born twins and trying to sing them to sleep. For a minotaur, his mate's voice was surprisingly melodious. He had thought it pleasant from the very first time he had heard it. Then, Kaz had been a prisoner of a band of minotaurs, hunters sent to bring him back on a mission of honorable purpose. The leaders of the band did not have any intention of giving him the opportunity to defend his actions, but a few had believed in him. Helati and her brother had been among those. When the matter had been settled, they remained with him. He could not have been more pleased. She was still the most beautiful female he had ever seen, and a fine companion in battle as well.

Her features were refined, gentle. Standing, she was a bit shorter than he was. Helati's horns were about half as long as his own. None of this meant that she was weak. She had been a seasoned warrior when he first met her, and the tricks he had taught her since made her better than most larger and stronger warriors.

The twins shifted restlessly. Both the male and the female were fitful like Kaz, though in looks they favored their mother. He wondered if that would change as they grew older. He wondered if he would be around to witness the changes.

The dwelling he and Helati had built was simple, a stone-and-wood hut with three small rooms. Some of the newcomers had built larger homes, but Kaz wanted only what his family needed. He was not in competition for status. Perhaps that was why the other minotaurs looked to him for guidance. They knew he cared nothing about fighting for dominance; he intended to live simply, as he and Helati desired.

Helati looked up as he neared. His expression was all she needed to see. "You're going, aren't you?"

"I have to."

"Why?"

"Because if I don't, Helati, I know you will."

There was no denying that. "Hecar is my brother, Kaz. By rights, I should be the one to search for him."

"And if there was not something more important for you to deal with," he said, indicating the two squirming bundles, "then I might let you go." But he wouldn't, in any case. If it weren't for the children, Kaz still would have sought some excuse to prevent his mate from riding off to treacherous Nethosak.

She looked down at the pair. Kyris, the boy, had a broader face and tiny buds that would someday grow into horns as great in length as those of his father. His sister,

Sekra, was just a little smaller and more narrow, but darker-furred. The stubs where her horns would come in were barely noticeable, as a female's horns grew in later and to a lesser size than those of a male. Both children were, of course, perfect in the eyes of their parents.

"You could just as easily take care of them as I." Her tone was hesitant, however, caught as she was between her care for her brother and her love for her children.

"You know they cooperate with you much more than they do with me, Helati." She could not deny that. The infants loved their father, but their mother had what seemed a sort of magic touch. Where Kaz might take all night to coax them to sleep, Helati would need only an hour… or two. The twins shared his rebellious nature, all right. "And we can't take them with us, now can we? Not if something's amiss in Nethosak."

Looking up, she locked gazes with him. "You know it might be dangerous for you to go back."

"Go back where?" asked another voice.

A shorter, muscular minotaur with a mixture of black and brown fur and a long snout came trotting toward them. One broken horn spoke of his past in the Great Circus. Brogan never talked about his experience there, much the way Kaz never did. Brogan visited them often, possibly because he had no family in the settlement, not even distant kin.

Kaz saw no reason to hide the truth. The others would notice his absence. "I'm going back. Hecar hasn't returned from Nethosak. I'm going to find him."

Snorting, Brogan replied, "I'll gather the others. We'll be ready when you are."

"I'm going alone."

"Alone?" The other minotaur snorted again. His thick hands curled into fists. "Not alone! You don't know what it's like back there-"

"Brogan." Kaz's quiet tone commanded silence. "I can't very well go riding into the imperial capital with a conspicuous force behind me. A lone rider will make less disturbance than fifty. Besides, it's been over eight years. It's less likely someone will recognize me. The war and the time since then have made changes."

"We could follow you."

"You haven't been gone that long. People will spot you or the others more easily than they would me. Besides, I work better alone." That was not entirely true, but other than Helati or Hecar, there was no one he would trust to follow his lead… Well, there was one more, but "trust" was not exactly the right word where a kender was concerned. "Desperately hope" to follow his lead was more accurate. Fortunately, the kender concerned was not here.

Brogan looked unconvinced. He turned to Helati, but she looked away. Helati, more than anyone else, knew how Kaz worked best. It was not to her liking, but Helati was aware that he had a better chance of success without others to betray his presence.

"Was there something you wanted, Brogan?"

Blinking, the short minotaur nodded. "Aye, but it'll wait. Just some of us wanting permission to put your mark on our places. I told 'em to wait until we knew it was fine with you. It can wait, though."

He turned and stalked away before Kaz could pull himself together to respond. Helati gazed up at her mate, seeing the consternation in his face.

"My mark on their homes? They're supposed to put their clan markings there."

"Perhaps they've decided they belong to a different clan now."

Kaz was uncomfortable with the image of his name carved into the simple structures. That was reserved for the clan name, which was the way by which minotaurs asked their ancestors to watch over a new home. By putting his mark on instead, they were acknowledging him as clan leader, much the way Orilg himself had been chosen.

Clan Kaziganthi… or rather Clan Kaz… since there was a tendency to shorten the title. At one time, Kaz would have felt honored. Now he was unnerved.

"I leave before dawn, Helati. That should let me escape the others. I can't take them with me. You know that."

"I know." She rose, careful not to disturb the infants, who were still wakeful. "Would you like to hold them for a while?"

Kaz nodded, taking his children in his arms. To his surprise, they nestled in close to his chest and began to drift off into slumber. It was the first time they had ever fallen asleep so smoothly. He was almost disappointed. This might be the last time he saw them before he departed.

Helati turned toward their dwelling. "I've got some things I want to prepare for your journey. Do you want to put the children to bed or hold them a while longer?"

"I'll hold them until you're ready to take them."

She nodded, then went inside. The massive minotaur watched her disappear, then returned his gaze to the twins. At the moment, Kaz did not feel like a former champion of the circus, a veteran mariner, or a seasoned warrior. He felt like a proud father, and the feeling was a good one.

Enjoy it while you can, he suddenly reminded himself. It may be the last time you feel this way for days… or ever again.

Cradling the twins closer, Kaz looked north.

Dawn was still nearly two hours away when Kaz began the final preparations for departure. His great warhorse, a cherished gift from the Knights of Solamnia, was impatient to go. Kaz needed only one more item to complete his gear, something long mounted on one of the walls of his dwelling.

The battle-axe he pulled from the wall was one that had been given him by an elf named Sardal Crystalthorn, an elf who had been dead for more than three years now. Even in the dark, the long, double-edged weapon somehow gleamed, its mirror face able to catch even the slightest illumination. The unknown dwarf who had crafted it had created a masterpiece. The balance was perfect. It had saved Kaz's life many times.

The runes on the side spelled out its name: Honor's Face. It was a name with magical connotations, for the mirrorlike finish enabled the minotaur to see whether a person was or was not to be trusted. Those with honor reflected brightly in its finish; those who sought to betray showed no reflection at all.

There were other things Honor's Face could do, but Kaz had no time to reflect. He gripped the axe in one hand and swung it with practiced ease into the back harness he had strapped on. It was a strange yet comfortable sensation. He had not carried the axe with him in at least three months. For chopping wood he used a more mundane household axe, not a well-honed weapon.

Kaz did not doubt that he would have reason to wield the axe on his journey.

Helati was waiting for him by the entrance. The children slept, the first time they had made it through the night without waking. Kaz wondered if that was somehow prophetic. Did they sleep unconcerned because they knew their father would return unharmed, or was it an omen of a doomed mission?

He was glad he could not ask them.

"You are ready."

"As ready as I can be."

They were embracing when a commotion from the darkness made them turn. Kaz had the axe out and ready without thinking. The clink of metal and the thud of hooves, accompanied by the snorting of horses, warned him that an armed party was coming.

The newcomers were shadowy forms, but it was clear that they were all minotaurs. One of the nearest rode close enough so that Kaz could make out the one broken horn.

"Brogan! Paladine's sword! What's the meaning of this?"

"We're ready to go with you, Kaz." Behind Brogan rode at least a dozen or more minotaurs. The darkness made it nigh impossible to say how many or who each of them was.

He was warmed by their loyalty and concern, but angered by their disregard for his wishes. "I told you I needed to go alone. It'll be easier that way. A party like this will attract the notice of the guard miles before arriving at the city gates!"

"Nethosak is dangerous these days," insisted another faceless minotaur. "More dangerous than it has ever been."

To Kaz, who had faced fearsome dragons, rampaging soldiers, dark mages, and darker gods, Nethosak was no worse nor better than any other danger of the past. He knew it would be treacherous, but he also knew he had no right to endanger anyone's life but his own.

He propped Honor's Face shaft-down on the ground, giving all a good view of its mirror side. "Your loyalty and bravery are commendable," Kaz returned, playing on those traits the minotaur race respected most. "And I am honored by your actions. But this is a thing I have to do on my own. It must be done this way, for in crowded Nethosak, stealth will serve me better than an army." He dipped his head in gratitude. "I appreciate that you want to help, but I must reject the offer."

Brogan was not to be put off. "Kaz — "

Straightening to his full height, Kaz growled, "That is my command, Brogan."

The riders grew silent. Brogan finally nodded. "We will wait for you, then… but if you do not return after a reasonable time, we will come to help you." Others nodded or grunted their agreement. The one-horned minotaur raised a hand. "Victorious journey, Kaziganthi."

One by one, the other minotaurs followed suit until the entire band had saluted him. Kaz raised a hand in return.

Then, with Brogan leading, the riders turned their mounts and rode off, heading for their dwellings.

"You realize now they won't stop at simply putting your mark on the entrance of their dwellings, don't you? You've started giving them outright commands. By doing so, you've acquiesced to being their leader… their clan leader."

Kaz almost dropped the axe. "I don't want that! I should go after them now and-"

"And do nothing." Helati sighed. "My love, you might not want to be clan leader, but I know you too well. You won't let others take a risk that you can take yourself. To our people, that is the sign of a true leader, not like those who rule our race now."

"Then our race consists of a bunch of fools-with me the biggest fool of all."

"And I am a bigger fool for loving you." She embraced him. "I wish there were another way. I don't want to lose both you and my brother."

Kaz snorted, trying to sound like the reckless warrior he had once been. "You won't lose us. I'll bring Hecar back. He's probably stopped to talk to every female in the kingdom, that's all."

Stepping away, the minotaur warrior swung the axe back into its harness. He mounted, purposely looking away from Helati as he did. The thought of leaving her was almost unbearable.

"May your father watch over you, Kaz."

He pictured Ganth, so tall in the memory of his son. It was Ganth's example that Kaz had followed all his life. At that moment, Kaz realized he had become more like his father since his encounter with Huma and the others. Would his father or his mother, Kyri, for whom he had named his son, have journeyed back to Nethosak on such an insane quest? Both of them had gone down with their vessel, Gladiator.

It doesn't really matter what anyone else would do, Kaz decided. I'm the one going.

"Kaz…"

He looked down at Helati. Even in the dark, he could see the set expression on her face.

"If you don't come back soon, I, too, will follow. Some how I will."

"I'll be back."

Turning away, he prodded the horse. The animal started off at a fast trot. He did not look back. He did not dare to do so. If he had, the minotaur was certain he would have turned around and stayed home, never leaving the solace of his mate's side again.

Nothing else slowed him as he left the settlement. The other dwellings were dark, but Kaz knew that not only those who had tried to join him but also many who had not were peering from the shadows. He had never wanted to be a leader, not really, but he could not help feeling some pride.

Before long, there was nothing to give sign that anyone lived in the area at all. Kaz had initially chosen the location because of its remoteness. He cared little for visitors or passersby. While he had become resigned to the influx of new settlers, he was pleased that few others sojourned to this hard land. There had been the occasional trader and, once, a foolhardy band of robbers who had not understood what it meant to steal from a minotaur, but otherwise his people lived in peace. That would change someday, but hopefully not too soon.

Dawn came and went. The day was cool and a little overcast, fair traveling weather. Kaz paused only to deal with necessities, such as feeding and watering his mount. The empire city was far enough without wasting time. He prayed to Paladine and Kiri-Jolith that nothing terrible had happened to Helati's brother. If Hecar was harmed however, Kaz would see to it that the perpetrator regretted his act for the short time he still lived. Kaz had not become so peaceful that he was above meting out justice in time-honored minotaur fashion.

By nightfall Kaz had to admit that it might be better to bed down than continue on. It was an oddly starless evening, so dark that he could barely see even the shadow of his hand in front of his face. He found a reasonable site two intertwined trees that would give him some concealment and allow him room to fight if the need arose, then set about taking care of the horse and building a camp.

It had been a good day's journey. As he settled down by his small fire, Honor's Face beside him, Kaz hoped that for the next several days he would be able to make similar progress. Near the lands of the twin kingdoms the going would be slower, but he saw no reason why the trek to that point should not proceed smoothly. The landscape consisted mainly of wooded areas until the extensive mountain range running along the upper half of the eastern edge of Ansalon. Fortunately, one could ride on the east or the west slope and avoid having to cross the heights. Only when he reached the southern borders of his people's self-proclaimed empire would the peaks cause him some difficulty, but Kaz, like most minotaurs, knew the best paths.

Kaz only hoped Hecar was not in any immediate trouble. He stared at the fire, wondering what it would be like to return to the homeland.

When he started to doze, he could not say. It was only when he saw that the fire was about to go out that Kaz realized he had fallen asleep. His hand gripped the shaft of the axe, but there was no obvious sign of danger. Kaz snorted in annoyance at his own jumpiness and started to work on the fire.

He had just finished rekindling the fire when he heard a branch snap.

Kaz eased his way to Honor's Face, clutching the axe and slowly bringing it to hand. Having wandered for several years before settling down with Helati, the minotaur was more than familiar with night visitors. It was the best time for beasts and bandits to ply their trade, and he had met more than his share of both during his various travels. Once he had even faced a scaled abomination resembling a dragon, the result of a mad mage's effort to create the perfect warrior for the Dark Queen. That had been the worst of the lot, as far as Kaz was concerned. Abomination or bandit, I've no time for such games anymore, Kaz thought as he peered into the darkness. If it won't come to me, I'll go to it.

He really had no evidence that it was anything more than an animal, but Kaz had discovered long ago that he had some sort of instinct, a sixth sense, that more often than not differentiated between what was simply a deer or raccoon and what was worse. It might not be a threat, but then again…

His horse, too, was alert, though from long training it did not budge. Kaz stepped away from the fire, trying to determine exactly from which direction the noise had come. To his left, he decided. Cautiously, the seasoned warrior started that way, moving with surprising silence for one of his bulk. Most assumed a minotaur relied on brute strength and was therefore neither swift nor cunning. Being underestimated by his adversaries had proven to Kaz's advantage more than once.

As he stepped between two trees, he heard another twig snap, this time from his right. Kaz immediately turned, holding the axe close in order to avoid snagging it on a branch. The woods were not too thick here, otherwise he would have resorted to his knife. Honor's Face was his weapon of choice, but Kaz was expert with blades long and short, thick and thin, not to mention a variety of other weapons that were all a part of his training.

The source of the noise had to be only a few feet from where he now stood. Kaz readied the axe, gauging the limitations created by the various trees and shrubs he could only vaguely make out in the darkness. It would be close quarters if it came to fighting, but not too close. He had made excellent use of the axe in cramped battle conditions before.

Another branch cracked… from behind him.

Paladine's sword! Is the creature that swift or am I surrounded? Kaz turned cautiously this time, not wanting to make the obvious move and leave himself open to an attack from behind as he shifted in the new direction.

No attack came. Exhaling quietly, Kaz moved again heading back to his campsite. His heart beat faster as he wondered if he had been so naive as to have fallen for a ploy leading him away from the fire so that bandits could plunder his belongings. If so, they were about to learn what the fury of a minotaur was like… for the few seconds that remained of their foul lives.

Throwing caution to the wind, Kaz charged toward the camp, the flickering flames his beacon.

In the light of the fire, he first noted the smaller mount tied not too far from his own. Then his gaze alighted on the short, cloaked figure squatting in the exact location the minotaur had vacated moments earlier. The hood of the other's travel cloak was pulled forward, obscuring any glimpse of the face within.

Positioned as the newcomer was, it was hard to tell the race. An elf, perhaps, albeit a fairly short one. Slim for a dwarf, but not for a gnome, though what a gnome would be doing here was beyond Kaz. A human was a likely bet, Kaz thought as he edged closer, axe gripped tight, but the size was more that of an adolescent, not an adult. That really left only one other race…

No, it couldn't be…

From within the hood came a booming voice. "Greetings, O Great Warrior-" The voice broke off, then became a higher, merrier one unable to control itself. "That was a fun game, wasn't it?"

Slim, tapered fingers fit for a pickpocket reached up and pulled back the hood, revealing a dark-haired, handsome, yet childlike face. The figure stood, revealing that he was no more than an inch or two over four feet-tall for his kind, but unmistakably a member of the most annoying race ordained by the gods on Krynn.

A kender.

A kender named Delbin Knotwillow.