Kaz pretended indifference but, beside him, Ganth smiled.
The guards were all impressed, but the same one who had asked Molus the question persisted. "If he was supreme champion, why isn't he emperor or dead?" Those were the only two routes generally left to the supreme champion. He had to challenge the emperor and defeat him or die in the attempt. "What happened?"
Molus eyed Kaz with curiosity. "I don't know why, but he quit. He abandoned the circus, abandoned everything he'd fought for. He turned down commissions, rank benefits, and every sort of glory that should've been heaped on him. He went into the war just a simple warrior!"
The others, save for Ganth, looked at Kaz as if he had suddenly turned into something distasteful. The guards muttered among themselves, trying to understand so uncharacteristic an action. Any warrior who had made it to the most exalted rank of Supreme Champion was expected to seek the throne. It was insane to work so hard and rise so high otherwise.
"Just why did you quit?" Molus asked Kaz.
"I saw no good reason to continue."
"Maybe he turned coward," suggested a guard.
"Him?" The jailer laughed. "Not likely. But it doesn't matter. He'll be fighting in a day anyway. You boys should watch. It'll be a good battle, even if it's a little onesided." He turned away. "Bring them this way. They can share the cell with their friend."
Kaz and Ganth were dragged to the door of a dingy cell that contrasted greatly with the clean environment of Nethosak. Molus unlocked it, signaling the guards to put the prisoners inside.
The cell was dark, which was why they did not see Hecar at first. When the flames of one of the guards' torches finally revealed the other minotaur, Kaz and Ganth dropped their jaws at the pitiful sight.
"He was… more skilled… than he looked," Hecar muttered, forcing a smile onto his battered face. "I heard them… talking about you coming here. I'd like to say it's good to see you, Kaz, but-" Hecar glanced at the other minotaur and frowned. "Ganth?"
Hecar had lost a great deal of weight, and scars covered his chest, arms, and legs. Bandages were wrapped around both his left arm and his right leg. He was covered with the grit and grime of the arena, not to mention a layer of dried blood.
"This is no way to treat a minotaur," Kaz snarled at his captors, losing his temper for the first time since being led from the sanctum of the high priest. "By right of victory, even as a criminal, his wounds should be cared for and his body cleaned."
"By right of victory, he should be a.free warrior now," Ganth pointed out, eyeing Molus. To his credit, Molus lost some of his good humor and briefly looked even a little guilty. "He should once more be an honored member of the race."
"The orders come from the emperor and the high priest," the jailer mumbled. To the guards he commanded, "Chain these two up next to Hecar. He can entertain them with stories of what to expect."
"Where's your honor, Old One?" snarled Kaz, struggling against his captors. "What has happened to the honor of the circus?"
As they forced the two new prisoners to the wall and chained them, Molus whispered, "You idealistic fools wouldn't understand."
Moments later, Molus and his guards departed, leaving the trio to themselves. Kaz's eyes grew accustomed to the cell's dimness. He looked at Ganth, then at Hecar. "What happened to you, Hecar? How did you end up here?"
"I don't really know." Hecar sounded better now that their captors had departed. There was a glint in his eye. He was obviously worn out, but evidently hardier than he wanted the jailer to know. "I've broken no laws that I can recall. I looked around, asked a few questions, and suddenly found others asking me questions. I stopped to see an old friend, but I couldn't find him. That's when they came for me." He took a breath. "Kaz, you remember Scum?"
"We met him," interjected Ganth. "He brought us in."
Hecar looked at the older minotaur for some time. "You! You're supposed to be dead."
"You should be, too. Give me time."
"But Gladiator-"
"He'll explain later, Hecar. Go on with your story." Kaz needed to hear everything.
"They seemed interested that I knew Jopfer, but-"
"I told you he did, Kaz, remember?" Ganth said, interrupting again. To Hecar he asked, "And did you ever get to see Jopfer?"
"No, I didn't."
"You would've, if you'd been brought before the high priest himself."
Hecar snorted. "What does that mean?"
"What he's saying in a roundabout way is that your old friend Jopfer is the high priest now."
"Jopfer?" The other minotaur sounded incredulous. "Jopfer as high priest? This is a jest, isn't it? A sorry jest."
"It was him all right, even if he pretended not to know me. Imagine that. Me!"
"Jopfer?" Hecar still sounded incredulous. "Jopfer never cared much for the calling. He followed Kiri-Jolith if he followed anything."
"Well, he's the high priest now, and a mighty strange one," Ganth concluded.
"Jopfer…" Hecar shook his head. "If he is high priest, then what's he up to? And why would he throw me into the circus just for asking a few innocent questions?"
"They're worried about the settlement, Hecar," Kaz said. He told the other minotaur about what the chief cleric had said and how there had to be at least one spy among the settlers. "This is a nation at war. Everything seems tensed toward some lightning strike. They expect to use a fleet, but whether they intend to travel north or south, I don't know."
"I think it might be south, Lad. Good land down there. Makes sense to spread the empire where the resources are best. Doubt if anyone there will be expecting an armada of minotaurs."
"Maybe, but I'd opt for north, Father. That place, Istar, is growing too, despite the effects of the war. It'll probably be the next big empire. I'd go there. It would satisfy their taste for revenge, since we've been beaten back before, plus it would quickly remove the biggest threat to our western border."
The old mariner considered that. "You could be right."
"Which still doesn't help us any," Kaz added. He tried the chains, but they were of good minotaur workmanship and easily held despite his most strenuous efforts.
"I've tried that over and over with my own chains," Helati's brother informed him. "I've pretended to be weaker than I really am just so they don't tax me in the combats. Now that you're here, though, I guess they won't worry about keeping me alive." He grunted. "All I am is bait."
"The emperor wants to tidy up loose ends before beginning his campaign. Kaz here was a big loose end. He was giving the people an option other than blind obedience to the cause. He told my boy to either join up or meet his end in the circus." Ganth broke into a smile. "Strange as it might sound, I'm happy to say that he turned the bugger down."
"I don't think it's the emperor as much as the high priest, Father," Kaz remarked. "I think he runs the empire, not whatever fool happens to sit on the throne."
"It's still Polik, Son."
"Is it?" Kaz grew silent.
Beside him, Ganth snorted in anger. "Polik, yes. They left that scraping cur in power even after he more or less played a puppet on a string for the warlords!"
"He keeps winning all of his blasted challenges," interjected Hecar. "That's enough to keep him in power, Master Ganth. He wins about ten to twelve challenges a year, all of them issued by him."