Richard Knaak: Land of the minotaurs

At first Kaz had the strange notion it was the medallion of Paladine he had taken from the hand of Huma after Takhisis's defeat, but that medallion he had hung on a tree branch not far from the great knight's tomb. Besides, Huma's medallion showed the symbol of Paladine, while this one featured another god, one just as familiar to Kaz as Huma's deity, if not as respected by him as he once was.

Sargas. It did not look like a cleric's medallion, however.

"Let me see that, Delbin." The kender turned the round object over to him. Kaz held it near the flames. Memories began to wash over him as he at last recognized the medallion for what it was. Years ago, he had worn one exactly like it.

"'Champion of all,' "Kaz muttered, reading the script that circled the edge. "'Hero of the people.' Where did you get this, Delbin? Come on, now. Think hard."

The kender screwed up his face in concentration, then grinned. "I remember! The man in gray gave it to me!"

"A man in adream gave it to you? You know that can't be."

"But he did! I remember! After he told me to go to you, he gave me the medallion. Ithink he said you lost it! Isn't that neat? That's what I mean about the dream. It's important. I've never had adream like it before."

Kaz almost threw the medallion into the fire. He had indeed worn one that resembled it… until the day he decided that his life would not be lived-or lost-in the arena. Fighting as a slave-soldier under the human and ogre masters had seemed preferable to the insanity and hypocrisy of the circus.

This could not be the same medallion… could it?

"Do you know what it is, Kaz?" asked Delbin.

Kaz knew exactly what it was, a medallion given to the supreme champion of the games, the greatest warrior of any of the arenas, including, of course, the Great Circus. The supreme champion could challenge the emperor to single combat for the throne, and the emperor would have to agree to fight or lose face. When the two met, it was always to the death. Combatants did not leave their rivals alive to foment discord or challenge them again and perhaps win the next time.

The Great Circus made for glorious entertainment for the masses.

"No," Kaz finally replied, putting the medallion into a pouch attached to the belt of his kilt. His eyes watched the campfire's darting flames. "No, I don't."

He sat down, leaning his axe nearby. Delbin watched him solemnly, wisely saying nothing. Kaz had forgotten about the kender. The dancing tentacles of the fire resurrected images of past opponents locked in duels. Kaz watched himself wrestle to the ground a reddish black minotaur taller than him, but then that adversary became a shorter but more muscular one carrying an axe longer than Honor's Face. Kaz deflected the blow with an axe of his own, then countered with a bone-cutting swing. The images went on and on, battle after battle, until somewhere along the way Kaz fell asleep.

When the next day came, Kaz said nothing to the kender about the previous night's conversation. For the time being, he allowed Delbin to ride beside him. He still did not want to put Delbin at risk, but silently welcomed the kender's company. Delbin could be so diverting that Kaz might forget for a time the dangers awaiting him in the imperial capital of the minotaur kingdom of Mithas.

For the next two days, they traveled in relative peace, the only vexation being the kender's relentless questions about the minotaur lands. Some of them Kaz had answered more than once over the years, ever since he first encountered Delbin on a dock in the southern reaches of Ansalon. Now and then the kender asked a question about the minotaur's own life, which Kaz deflected by telling him something fascinating about his homeland.

"One thing I can never understand-why are there two kingdoms?" Delbin asked, for the umpteenth time.

"Because it's more competitive. Each kingdom strives to raise the greatest champions." Although there was only one emperor, the minotaur homeland was divided between the kingdoms of Mithas and Kothas. Mithas, with the imperial capital located within its boundaries, had some advantage, but Kothas was known for its own share of emperors.

"You were in the arena, weren't you?"

"All minotaurs go to the arenas."

"But you were in the arena a lot! You must have been a great champion! Don't champions become emperor if they defeat the old emperor, because that's what I heard, and you said something like that once, so if you were a great champion, then you could have become emperor, which-"

"Take a breath, Delbin!" Kaz suddenly snarled. He tried to be patient with the kender, but couldn't help the occasional angry outburst. The kender overflowed with questions, and endlessly repeated his favorite ones. This time Delbin shut his mouth and remained silent for nearly a mile, something approaching a miracle.

On the fourth night, they made camp near a range of hills. The woods had grown thicker. The forest covered everything. Kaz was vaguely familiar with the lay of the land, but their progress was slowed a bit. All the better- each day's travel brought Kaz nearer a place to which he had no desire to return, a place that in some ways he feared.

After tethering the horses, Kaz decided it was time to tell Delbin that he could go no farther. His life would be in jeopardy. The minotaur was surprised at how guilty he felt about letting his small companion ride this far. But the woodlands would provide good cover for him as he retraced his steps and found other kender to rejoin.

"Delbin-" Kaz started to say, turning… but the kender was nowhere to be seen. His mount was tied up and some of his belongings lay near the fire, but Delbin himself had vanished.

The moon Solinari was only a wisp in the heavens, but the stars were visible this night. Trust Delbin to go exploring now. Snorting in annoyance, Kaz searched the ground for some sign of the direction in which the kender had departed. Delbin's race was notoriously light-footed. The minotaur knelt to peer for tracks.

"Kaz! Look what I fou- What're you doing there? Did you lose something? Can I help?" Delbin materialized out of nowhere beside the minotaur and fell to his knees. He earnestly began surveying the ground for whatever he thought Kaz had dropped.

"I was looking for you!" Rising, the beast-man looked down at his small comrade. "That's it!" He overplayed his attitude, pretending to be very annoyed. "Come tomorrow, Delbin, you're heading back to your kind! You can't go running off at night in the middle of nowhere… or even during the day, for that matter!"

"I was just curious-"

Kaz thrust a finger at the kender. " In Nethosak, or any other place in the homelands, being curious like that will get you killed, Delbin… and me along with you, by the way! I want you to promise to return to your people at first light!"

Delbin Knotwillow looked down. He seemed tiny and vulnerable at the moment, so chastened that Kaz found himself feeling guilty again.

"I… I don't want to. They all think I'm so serious! All 'my friends stay away from me!"

"What? Why?"

"Because I get bored with them! They're not as much fun as you and Helati are, Kaz! Not in the same way! You always come up with interesting things to do, interesting places to see! I told them all about everything we've done, and they were interested at first, but then they got tired of hearing about minotaurs and wanted to hear about anything else, and Noppel even made fun of you, and I didn't like that, so-"

"Take a breath, Delbin." The minotaur blinked. "So this… Noppel… made fun of me, and you got angry because of that?"

A wide smile spread across the kender's childlike features. "You're my friend, Kaz!"