And obviously a worse influence on you than I could have imagined, the minotaur thought. He felt a slight twinge of shame for making his companion a veritable outcast among his own people. He could not send the kender away… not after learning that Delbin had stuck up for him… well, at least not right away.
"What did you find?" Kaz asked.
Smiling, Delbin reached into his pouch. "You should see it! I think I know what it is, but… Hey, here's my book! Just what I was looking for!"
It was one of the few times that Kaz could recall having ever seen the fabled book. It was battered and filled with loose sheets of paper that he suspected had been "borrowed" from everywhere the kender had visited. Somehow the sheets stayed more or less within the battered leather cover. Before Kaz could make out the lettering, though, Delbin put the tiny book back into the pouch and removed something else.
"Here it is!"
The kender's latest acquisition was almost as unnerving as the medallion. Every muscle in the minotaur's body tensed. Suddenly the forest seemed even darker, more filled with danger, than before.
"Isn't this a neat knife? You know, I think this handle is bone, which makes a pretty sturdy handle, I guess, because bones hold our bodies up pretty good, don't they-?"
"Be quiet, Delbin!" the warrior whispered. He seized the knife, turning it over. The handle was made of bone, just as his companion had said. But what Delbin did not know was that the bone had probably come from a thinking creature, possibly a human or even a minotaur.
Ogres did, after all, have preferences.
The knife was in very good condition and hardly rusted at all. "Did you clean this up?"
"No, I found it just like this-"
Kaz waved him silent and glanced out at the shadowy forest. The knife could have been lost some time ago, depending on the weather, but the very thought that ogres had ventured this far south almost made Kaz want to head back and warn the others. It occurred to him, however, that with the number of minotaurs now living in the settlement, it would take a fairly large force of ogres to attack them. Such a large force could certainly not have remained hidden in this region. Ogres were too clumsy not to leave signs of their passing.
"Show me where you found this."
The kender did. The place was surprisingly close to the campsite. Delbin had found the knife lying next to a tree. It was proof of just how superior the short creature's night vision was that he could have spotted it. Kaz found no other trace of ogres, but he knew the darkness might be masking some proof. When he rose at first light, he would do a thorough search of the vicinity.
The two of them returned to the fire, Kaz still clutching the blade. First the medallion… his medallion… and now this ogre weapon. There could not possibly be any connection between the two other than Delbin finding both, yet, the weary minotaur could not help but wonder.
Delbin sat, with a hopeful expression, next to the fire. Kaz realized that the kender wanted the knife back. It was a treasure to Delbin. The minotaur started to hand the blade over, then hesitated. He grunted. "I'll give this back to you on one condition, Delbin."
"What's that?"
"Don't find anything else for a while, okay?"
The smile widened. "I'll try real hard, Kaz."
Snorting, Kaz handed back the knife. He turned his attention to food, his stomach reminding him that it had been a long time since either of them had eaten. The minotaur looked forward to his simple meal. Food had a way of temporarily erasing worries.
Often in the past he had grumbled to himself and others that the gods must surely be out to test him. How else to explain the rocky path Kaz had journeyed over the past several years? In his mind, he had suffered more than his share of trial and tribulation. The short time he had spent in the home he and Helati had built had been the only peaceful period in his life that he could recall. That respite was over now, though. Once more, it seemed as if he had become a pawn of the gods.
Maybe I'm just tired, he thought as he passed a bit of bread to Delbin. Maybe it's just my imagination that the gods are steering me toward some dire adventure.
His arm came to rest against the pouch into which he had placed the medallion Delbin had supposedly been given by the gray man. He yanked the arm away and, ignoring the kender's curious glance, chewed his food as if doing battle with it.
Tap-tap went the staff of the man sitting on the high rock.
"On the path again… but do you know the way?"
Kaz stood in the middle of a mountain path. High peaks rose on each side of him. Ahead, the path seemed narrow, barely wide enough for him to pass. Behind him, it was wide and flat. In that direction, the minotaur could make out a beautiful forest and in that forest a dwelling he recognized as his own.
From the mountains in the other direction he heard what sounded like a child crying.
"He who hesitates is lost, they say. Are you lost?" The questioner tapped his staff against the rock again. He was a tall, elderly human… elderly but certainly not frail. He wore a hooded cloak that covered most of his form, and on his hands he wore long gloves that went up his wrists, eventually disappearing into his sleeves. On his feet the human wore boots that rose
up almost knee high.
A long gray beard obscured what was a plain yet somehow intelligent face. The gray beard blended into a gray face, which in turn blended into the gray coloring of the cloak.
Kaz's eyes narrowed. Everything about the man was gray, even his teeth, tongue, and eyes.
The crying continued.
"Will that crying never cease?" Kaz rumbled.
"He is out of balance." The explanation seemed to suit the gray man despite its vagueness. "Hail to you. Supreme Champion."
"NO!" roared Kaz, waving his hand in denial. "I've not worn that title or-" He suddenly realized that the medallion hung around his neck. With one massive hand, he tore the medallion from its chain and threw it as far as he could. The gray man watched him do it, his expression perfectly bland. "Not worn that title or that medallion since I left Nethosak! I reject what it stands for!"
"But what swings one way must always swing the other. What one rejects, one must later accept-if one is to remain in balance."
The crying grew more shrill, as if demanding to be heard.
Kaz tried to ignore the sound. "I'm not putting up with such nonsense! I'm going home!"
He turned toward the path leading to the woods, only to discover that instead of the forest, he faced the Great Circus of Nethosak. Cheering rose from inside, and a line of minotaurs stood at attention, awaiting him.
Kaz stepped back, but as his foot came down, the mountain path transformed into the flat, sandy floor of the arena. Instead of the gray man and the rock, a high wooden platform stood before him. The platform was several yards across and towered above him. A dozen of Kaz's kinsmen struggled at levers, their efforts causing the structure to slowly rotate.
Frozen, Kaz watched as a figure hove into view. The figure slowly came nearer as the rotating platform brought him around.
Still the child cried, but now he sounded older… not adult… but definitely older.
The face of the figure on the platform came into view.
It was his own face.