Land of the minotaurs

'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.