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

trying to determine exactly from which direction the noise had come. To his left, he decided. Cautiously,
the seasoned warrior started that way, moving with surprising silence for one of his bulk. Most assumed
a minotaur relied on brute strength and was therefore neither swift nor cunning. Being underestimated
by his adversaries had proven to Kaz's advantage more than once.

As he stepped between two trees, he heard another twig snap, this time from his right. Kaz immediately
turned, holding the axe close in order to avoid snagging it on a branch. The woods were not too thick
here, otherwise he would have resorted to his knife. Honor's Face was his weapon of choice, but Kaz
was expert with blades long and short, thick and thin, not to mention a variety of other weapons that
were all a part of his training.

The source of the noise had to be only a few feet from where he now stood. Kaz readied the axe,
gauging the limitations created by the various trees and shrubs he could only vaguely make out in the
darkness. It would be close quarters if it came to fighting, but not too close. He had made excellent use
of the axe in cramped battle conditions before.

Another branch cracked тАж from behind him.

Paladine's sword! Is the creature that swift or am I surrounded? Kaz turned cautiously this time, not
wanting to make the obvious move and leave himself open to an attack from behind as he shifted in the
new direction.

No attack came. Exhaling quietly, Kaz moved again heading back to his campsite. His heart beat faster
as he wondered if he had been so naive as to have fallen for a ploy leading him away from the fire so
that bandits could plunder his belongings. If so, they were about to learn what the fury of a minotaur was
likeтАж for the few seconds that remained of their foul lives.

Throwing caution to the wind, Kaz charged toward the camp, the flickering flames his beacon.

In the light of the fire, he first noted the smaller mount tied not too far from his own. Then his gaze
alighted on the short, cloaked figure squatting in the exact location the minotaur had vacated moments

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earlier. The hood of the other's travel cloak was pulled forward, obscuring any glimpse of the face within.

Positioned as the newcomer was, it was hard to tell the race. An elf, perhaps, albeit a fairly short one.
Slim for a dwarf, but not for a gnome, though what a gnome would be doing here was beyond Kaz. A
human was a likely bet, Kaz thought as he edged closer, axe gripped tight, but the size was more that of
an adolescent, not an adult. That really left only one other raceтАж

No, it couldn't beтАж

From within the hood came a booming voice. "Greetings, O Great WarriorтАФ" The voice broke off, then
became a higher, merrier one unable to control itself. "That was a fun game, wasn't it?"

Slim, tapered fingers fit for a pickpocket reached up and pulled back the hood, revealing a dark-haired,
handsome, yet childlike face. The figure stood, revealing that he was no more than an inch or two over
four feetтАФtall for his kind, but unmistakably a member of the most annoying race ordained by the gods