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

meant to steal from a minotaur, but otherwise his people lived in peace. That would change someday,
but hopefully not too soon.

Dawn came and went. The day was cool and a little overcast, fair traveling weather. Kaz paused only to
deal with necessities, such as feeding and watering his mount. The empire city was far enough without
wasting time. He prayed to Paladine and Kiri-Jolith that nothing terrible had happened to Helati's
brother. If Hecar was harmed however, Kaz would see to it that the perpetrator regretted his act for the
short time he still lived. Kaz had not become so peaceful that he was above meting out justice in time-
honored minotaur fashion.

By nightfall Kaz had to admit that it might be better to bed down than continue on. It was an oddly
starless evening, so dark that he could barely see even the shadow of his hand in front of his face. He
found a reasonable site two intertwined trees that would give him some concealment and allow him
room to fight if the need arose, then set about taking care of the horse and building a camp.

It had been a good day's journey. As he settled down by his small fire, Honor's Face beside him, Kaz
hoped that for the next several days he would be able to make similar progress. Near the lands of the
twin kingdoms the going would be slower, but he saw no reason why the trek to that point should not
proceed smoothly. The landscape consisted mainly of wooded areas until the extensive mountain range
running along the upper half of the eastern edge of Ansalon. Fortunately, one could ride on the east or
the west slope and avoid having to cross the heights. Only when he reached the southern borders of his
people's self-proclaimed empire would the peaks cause him some difficulty, but Kaz, like most
minotaurs, knew the best paths.

Kaz only hoped Hecar was not in any immediate trouble. He stared at the fire, wondering what it would
be like to return to the homeland.

When he started to doze, he could not say. It was only when he saw that the fire was about to go out that
Kaz realized he had fallen asleep. His hand gripped the shaft of the axe, but there was no obvious sign of
danger. Kaz snorted in annoyance at his own jumpiness and started to work on the fire.

He had just finished rekindling the fire when he heard a branch snap.

Kaz eased his way to Honor's Face, clutching the axe and slowly bringing it to hand. Having wandered
for several years before settling down with Helati, the minotaur was more than familiar with night

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visitors. It was the best time for beasts and bandits to ply their trade, and he had met more than his share
of both during his various travels. Once he had even faced a scaled abomination resembling a dragon,
the result of a mad mage's effort to create the perfect warrior for the Dark Queen. That had been the
worst of the lot, as far as Kaz was concerned. Abomination or bandit, I've no time for such games
anymore, Kaz thought as he peered into the darkness. If it won't come to me, I'll go to it.

He really had no evidence that it was anything more than an animal, but Kaz had discovered long ago
that he had some sort of instinct, a sixth sense, that more often than not differentiated between what was
simply a deer or raccoon and what was worse. It might not be a threat, but then againтАж

His horse, too, was alert, though from long training it did not budge. Kaz stepped away from the fire,