'What about your little friend, Lad?' Ganth suddenly asked his son. 'Think he'll be okay? I feel sorry for the little one. I've met some kender, and they're not too bad… from a distance. He's a good one, though, a real surprise. I hope he makes it to safety.'
'They haven't told us anything, which makes me think he's managed to avoid them. I can only hope Delbin gets out of Nethosak and heads west or south. If west, he can join up with his own kind again and disappear. I'm wondering, though, if maybe he might go to the human areas in Solamnia. He always liked the knights. He might very well ask them for help.' Kaz shuddered, thinking what might happen if Lord Oswal or Sir Bennett took Delbin seriously. Would they try to send aid? He hoped not. That would only tangle the situation further.
'He'd go there all by himself?' Hecar asked, astonished the kender was capable of such a trek.
'You'd be unwise to underestimate him, Hecar. Scurn and his bunch have made that mistake. So have a lot of others since I've known Delbin. I cannot guarantee that he will make it, but he has a better chance than most.'
'A kender. He's that dedicated to you?'
'He is. Never underestimate their kind. I know.'
'Well, his chances are better than ours right now, Lads, so what do you say we think on it while we wait for our meal… We do get one, don't we, Hecar?'
The other minotaur grunted. 'Some might call it a meal, Master Ganth. Some might even dare call it food. You'll see what I mean, but I'll warn you now not to smell it, or concentrate your hopes on the taste.'
Ganth and Kaz looked at one another. The former finally spoke. 'We'd better see about trying to escape soon, then. Dying in combat in the circus is one thing, but dying from bad food would be an embarrassment to our ancestors.'
Delbin sat in the dark, in the small room he had discovered the night before, chewing on a piece of meat that had somehow found its way into his hands. Delbin Knotwillow had an amazing tendency to find just what he needed, just when he needed it.
I hope I can get him out.
Delbin was fairly certain that Kaz was somewhere near the circus. Had not Kaz said that matters of justice were decided there? Since he had been taken by the guard, he would probably go to the circus at some point. It sounded good to the kender, who was naive enough to discount a thousand other places the prisoners could have been taken. It also sounded good because Delbin wanted to see the circus
Delbin had no way to accurately measure time, but he was certain the other minotaurs had long ago ceased searching this area. Still, to go out in the daytime might be too risky, even for him. Kaz would have thought so, and Delbin was trying to think like Kaz as much as possible.
At least he did not have to fear discovery here. Delbin had found a small room in a storage building that was filled with equipment used for sailing… or so the kender had decided after a cursory examination of some half- hidden objects. Delbin had no idea what some of the other various items stored in the building were used for, but they had a military look to them.
I have to go outside soon, Delbin decided. Something terrible might happen to Kaz. Yet, still he did not move. He needed a brilliant plan.
He ate a piece of fruit that had accidentally fallen into his pouch, and wondered where all the food had come from. Fortune had smiled on him.
His journey through the city had been a fun time, despite the danger. Delbin had come seen gully dwarves running around picking up trash, and had used their similar heights to fool a couple of his pursuers. In fact, any time he thought someone might have noticed him, he squatted low and put on a befuddled expression. No one had stopped him, so he was pretty sure they thought him a gully dwarf, though Delbin didn't think it was right that the poor creatures were forced to clean the streets in the first place.
He thought about Kaz and his possible whereabouts. Kender liked to talk, and so, with no one else to talk to, he went over matters with himself, the most loyal audience any kender had. 'He should be at that big arena they call a circus but which really isn't, because I always thought a circus was a fun place with animals and jesters, but this is supposed to be a really big place where a lot of people just fight one another, and sometimes they must fight animals, because there's supposed to be a menagerie there, too, but I don't think-'
Delbin absently took another piece of fruit from his hoard and bit into it. Swallowing, he continued, 'I'll bet they've got some cells really deep down below the big arena. They've probably got Kaz and Ganth prisoner down there. I'll bet if I went there, I could find a way to free them…'
The kender thought hard, his expression as intense as possible for one of his kind. Delbin wanted to do his best to find Kaz and rescue him. Kaz would do the same for him, after all.
'I'll have to wait until night, that's what I'll have to do, because then I can go looking in the circus without a bunch of big minotaurs bothering me. I can at least see what's there, so that I can think of a really good plan.' The kender frowned. The topknot in his hair bobbed back and forth as he shook his head. 'But Kaz would want me to stay away from there, because if I go there now and they see me, then maybe they might catch me-'
Delbin straightened, steeling himself. Even if Kaz got mad at him, he had to try to help the minotaur. Ideas began to form, neat, ingenious ideas… at least in the eyes of the kender, that is.
It would be so simple, so masterfully done… and even if there was an element of danger to it, the kender saw that only as added excitement flavoring this new, grand adventure.
'Don't you worry, Kaz,' he whispered into the dark, eyes shining in anticipation. 'I'm coming to save you!'
Chapter 9
'I am disappointed in you, Captain Scurn.'
Scurn shivered as he faced the high priest with the news that the blasted kender was still at large. Scurn was no coward and, despite his exalted position, the high priest was more a scholarly type than a great warrior. In single combat the soldier was certain he could easily defeat the figure looking down on him. Of course, that was an opinion he would never dare voice to others.
The high priest was not alone. Acolytes lined the path to the dais, strong sons of Sargas, who Scurn knew would willingly throw themselves at him unarmed if their master so commanded. They stared straight ahead, but the captain knew very well they watched his every move.
'Holiness, the guard is still looking. It's only a kender, anyway. A mischief-maker, nothing more! My commander-'
'Has nothing to do with this, Captain. You presented yourself to my subordinates as someone striving to rise in rank and who saw, wisely, that such a path must be harmonious with my goals. You have benefitted from my goodwill, but in return you have not given what I required of you.' The high priest leaned forward angrily. 'I want the kender found. This creature is loyal to Kaziganthi. Not only might he cause unnecessary and politically embarrassing trouble in some kenderish attempt to redeem his comrade, but it has occurred to me that he of all of them might be used against the prisoner. This Kaziganthi sees himself as something of a champion to the small, I think. Therefore, I want him found. He cannot have escaped the city. The gates are too closely guarded. Find him. Do you understand that, or shall I endeavor to find out if any of your men can do better?'
'No, Your Holiness. I'll find the little vermin. I will.'
Leaning back, the high priest regained his composure. 'You had better.' He waved a hand, dismissing the subject. 'You will be pleased to know that on the morrow the criminals will face separate challenges that shall give them a chance to recover the honor of their clan… and shall put an end to at least one of them if Kaziganthi does not cooperate.'
'Tomorrow?' Scurn was unable to hide his surprise. The leader of the temple worked in swift fashion. 'Which one?'
'That is undecided, but I believe it will be the one called Hecar. His usefulness is at an end, but as the brother of Kaziganthi's mate, his death will have a profound impact. It may be enough.'
