Land of the minotaurs

The other ogre was no longer in sight, but Kaz had a fairly good idea of where it had gone. Crouching as low as he could, yet still move swiftly, the minotaur darted among the trees. Suddenly, he spotted the second ogre waiting impatiently for some signal. Kaz moved at an incautious pace. He was almost on top of the ogre. Only a few steps more…

Then something, some slight movement on the minotaur's part, made the hunter turn. The ogre spotted Kaz and hesitated. It would be only a moment before his opponent realized that Kaz was not an ally, so the minotaur did the only thing he could. He threw his blade, burying the knife deep in the ogre's chest. The creature dropped its weapons and tried to reach for the blade, but its life was already draining from it. It fell before its hands were even halfway to the hilt.

Kaz rushed to the body, hoping no one had heard it fall, and reached to retrieve his knife.

A bird called out. The minotaur froze, knowing that such birds were not usually in the habit of chattering at night.

From the other side of the campsite there came the rustling of vegetation and the heavy grunting of moving figures. Kaz heard a gasp that had to have come from Delbin. A deep voice snarled an unintelligible order. The minotaur cursed. Seizing his blade, he thrust it into his belt and ran for the camp. Even before he reached it, he was able to make out what was happening. His heart sank.

There were five of them, two minotaurs and three ogres. One ogre was trying to hold a squirming Delbin while the others looked around for obstacles to their fun. All of them looked very disappointed.

He did not hesitate. Roaring at the top of his voice, Kaz leapt into camp just behind one of the ogres. The hunters looked up in time to see him raise his arm and open his empty hand. The look of surprise in their eyes when Honor's Face materialized in his grip amused Kaz even though he had already witnessed that shocked look countless times in the past. The magical axe always had returned to him when he most needed it, and certainly now figured to be a time of need.

He cut down the first ogre while the creature was still gaping. The one holding Delbin tossed the kender aside and readied its weapon. One of the minotaurs started forward while the second backed quickly away, retreating into the woods.

Kaz met the ogre axe against axe. The ogre was a veteran warrior, so the two traded blows at first. The other minotaur moved in after that to give the ogre a hand, forcing Kaz back. Behind them he could see the remaining ogre turn on Delbin menacingly.

Hard-pressed as he was to concentrate on anything but his two opponents, Kaz did not at first know why the ogre in the rear abruptly slipped and fell. Only when Delbin's small figure darted past his field of vision did he guess what might have happened.

'Stand still!' cursed the second ogre, rising. It had a sword nearly as long as Kaz's axe and was trying to cleave the moving kender in two. Kaz would have laughed, if not for the fact that his own enemies were separating in order to further divide his attention.

'Surrender and we'll see that your death is swift,' the minotaur in the woods demanded.

'I don't surrender to those without honor.'

His words angered the other minotaur, who swung carelessly with his blade. Kaz used that anger to his advantage, catching his foe's weapon by the hilt with the edge of his axe and tearing the sword free. The blade flew at the ogre, who, though it was in no danger of being hurt by it, stepped back in astonishment.

His minotaur antagonist tried to stop the flow of blood from his wounded hand. Kaz immediately turned to the ogre. Its advantage lost and its footing awkward from backing away, the ogre swung its axe far too high. Kaz ducked enough to allow the weapon to pass harmlessly over his head, then brought his own battle-axe down on the ogre's forearm.

Honor's Face cut through the arm with as much ease as it did most everything else. The ogre screamed and pulled away, leaving behind its hand and part of its forearm. The wounded minotaur had retreated.

'Sargas take all of you!' cursed the second minotaur from the darkness, his words for his companions, not Kaz and Delbin. Seeing Kaz about to battle against it, the remaining ogre decided that escape was the best course of action.

Not willing to let any more of his foes escape, Kaz charged after the fleeing ogre. However, he had only reached the edge of the campsite when he suddenly became entangled in a number of tree limbs that materialized before him. Kaz tried to shove them aside, only to discover that they clung to him with the tenacity of serpents.

One of the nearest trees started to move, its branches reaching out in what looked to be an attempt to seize his axe.

'Paladine!' He tugged Honor's Face back before the tree could succeed, then swung it around, slicing through the harassing branches. As they clattered to the ground, more sought to seize him, but he cut through those as well. No normal axe could have severed so many limbs so quickly. If Kaz had used any other weapon, he was fairly certain he quickly would have become trapped… or worse.

The animated tree suddenly loomed above him, black shadow in the black night. Kaz hefted his weapon, but as he prepared to strike, another tree moved toward him. ft now appeared that the trees intended to crush him on all sides.

Unwilling to accept such a fate, the minotaur gripped his weapon and leapt into the nearest tree, which tried unsuccessfully to seize him. Kaz continued climbing into the upper reaches, avoiding branches from below that tried to drag him down.

Peering down, Kaz caught sight of an unnatural red gleam. He faintly glimpsed a minotaur holding something aloft in his left hand, an item that was the source of the gleam… and likely the reason the trees had become so lively. Hooking the axe into his harness, Kaz crawled swiftly along a strong limb that led toward the mysterious minotaur.

Movement to his left and right informed him that the other trees were squeezing in closer. Kaz took one look each way, estimated the distance to the other minotaur, and jumped.

He landed just short, but his abrupt appearance so startled the second minotaur that the latter dropped the gleaming red artifact, a crystal. Kaz, charging forward, did not waste time. The other minotaur tried to retrieve the magic talisman, placing a hand on it just as Kaz reached him. The pair collided, and the gem flew away.

Neither had time for words. The darkness made the battle more confusing. Kaz sought to get a grip on the other minotaur's arm in the hope of twisting it, when he backed into a tree that he did not think should have been there. His amazement might have given the advantage to his foe, but for the fact that the tree pushed Kaz forward, sending both minotaurs scrambling.

What in Kiri-Jolith's name? wondered Kaz. Then he realized the truth. The gem gave the minotaur crude command over the trees he had animated. The trees were ordered to capture or possibly kill Kaz, and if the other minotaur got in the way, they would not notice the difference.

His foe crawled out from underneath him, but instead of trying to continue the fight, he took one look at the oncoming monsters and rushed off after his comrades. Kaz did not have much respect for his fellow's sense of duty and honor, though he did have some regard for his common sense. There was no use dying needlessly.

Tree limbs sought him again, but he managed to roll away. Kaz landed against another trunk, this one belonging to a stationary tree. The minotaur took momentary cover.

Attacking with Honor's Face occurred to him, but Kaz did not like the idea of wading into the huge monsters no matter how formidable his battle-axe. There had to be another way. He could outrun ogres, but then he was afraid some other person might run afoul of the animated creatures. Kaz had no idea how long the enchantment would last. The only one who could have answered that question was the minotaur who had been controlling the gem-

The gem! I've been a fool! He quickly scanned the darkness for it, seeking the red gleam. A faint crimson glowed in the foliage to his far left. It could be only the talisman.

One of the trees had shifted closer to try to seize him, but he managed to evade it. Behind him Kaz could hear the animated trees pursuing. Kaz gritted his teeth. He was not far away now. Just a few more yards.

His legs became entangled in some branches. Kaz lost his balance and fell face forward. Almost before he had even hit the ground the hapless warrior found himself being dragged backward. He tried to reach for his axe,