"Richard A. Knaak - Dragonlance - Lost Histories 4 - Land of the Minotaurs" - читать интересную книгу автора (Knaak Richard A)

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 dragonlance


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


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