A few moments later, clad in the same robe and with the hood pulled up over his head, he continued on his way. There was no method by which he could hide the staff, so he kept it out and used it as a walking stick, pretending some leg injury.
Two clerics, obviously on their way to the circus, gave him perfunctory acknowledgments, then hurried on. A temple guard straightened as he walked past.
His good fortune faded as he reached the doors to the audience chamber. Two guards stood on duty, guards who stared intensely at him as he walked up to the doors.
"I'm on official business for the high priest. Let me pass."
They did not move. The one on the right announced, "We've orders not to admit anyone. That comes from His Holiness himself."
"My orders are new. His Holiness left important papers behind that I'm to retrieve. Do you want to face his displeasure after I tell him you wouldn't let me pass?"
The words were enough to cause the two sentries discomfort, but still they stood their ground. The same guard spoke again. "The orders were very clear. No one is to enter, save the high priest himself."
"Commendable," replied Kaz with a nod. He stepped closer to the two. Both sentries shifted stance ever so slightly, showing their weapons, in this case a pair of sturdy battle-axes. "But I think I have a way of resolving this problem."
He brought the staff up sideways and charged both guards. One raised his axe and managed to deflect his end of the staff, but the other was slower. The staff caught him in the throat, and he went down, coughing and struggling to breathe.
The other sentry fought back, pushing against Kaz's staff. Kaz slipped to the side and used his momentum to strike the gasping minotaur with the hard end of his weapon. Again, the blow, which should have only stunned the guard, sent him slumping to the floor.
The remaining guard was still off.balance. He stumbled forward, and Kaz caught him on the back of the neck, just below the head. The second guard joined the first on the floor.
The battle had not gone unnoticed, however. From across the temple, several guards and clerics came running. Kaz cursed, pulling a door open. He slipped through even as the first of the guards threw a lance at him. The weapon bounced harmlessly off the door.
The doors were designed to be barred from the inside, something Kaz found very useful. Kaz had the entrance barred in seconds. That would certainly hold off the guards for a time. Now he had to find Ty.
The audience chamber was dark, but it was not difficult to locate the rooms in back. Kaz found the doors, but could not open them. They were either locked or possibly ensorcelled. He glanced at the doors, then at the staff the mage had given him. It was not Honor's Face, but he was certain it was imbued with magic.
Raising the staff, he aimed for the center of the door. Behind him he could hear the barred doors to the audience chamber rattle as the guards threw their weight against them, so he rammed the staff against the door. It shattered, sending splinters flying everywhere. Kaz had to fall back immediately lest he be injured by the debris.
No magic had kept the door sealed, only a simple lock.
Clearing the remnants with the aid of the staff, Kaz entered.
Tiberia sat in the midst of a chamber that seemed almost as huge as the one from which he had just departed. A pulsating shell of crimson light covered the small figure. Prior to the minotaur's appearance, Ty had evidently been staring at a greenish globe that floated at the young prisoner's eye level. Even from where he stood, Kaz could see faint images skimming along the globe's surface. It was just like the red dragon to make his captive watch the deaths of Kaz and the others.
Ty rose to her feet at the sight of the minotaur. Her eyes were tired. A smile broke across her features. "Kaz!"
"I've come to free you, Ty."
"I know. The gray man said to wait for you."
"Nice of him to do that." He wondered if the mage had, said anything else, such as how to break the spell that surrounded Ty.
The staff had worked before. Perhaps it would work again.
"Ty, curl yourself up into as small a ball as you can."
The female did as Kaz requested.
"Ready yourself!"
Kaz brought one tip of the staff down on the crimson field.
The force unleashed by the dragon's spell when the staff hit burned the magic artifact to ash and threw the minotaur across the chamber.
The guards chosen to escort Hecar and the others gathered the party together. Scurn was among the prisoners. The guards placed Hecar next to an oddly contemplative! Kaz, who obeyed their captors' orders without protest. He did not have an opportunity to do more than glance at Helati's mate, but when he did, Kaz smiled back at him. It was almost as if Kaz knew some jest, which he had not shared with the others.
What can he be thinking about? Hecar wondered. Does he have a plan of escape?;
They reached the main level just as several guards and clerics went rushing toward the doorway leading to the high priest's audience chamber. The guard leader called a halt and started toward one of the clerics, but Kaz suddenly broke his silence.
"If you delay, we won't make the circus in time. They, can handle the matter."
If Hecar and the other prisoners thought it odd for Kaz; to speak these words, the guards and their commander seemed to find them completely sensible. The leader nodded, and the small band continued on, departing the temple moments later.
"Kaz!" whispered Hecar. "If you've got a plan, you'd-"
"Be silent!" snapped a temple soldier. He swatted Hecar on the shoulder with the flat of his blade. Hecar was tempted to forego the circus and end his life in a valiant but futile struggle with the guard.
"Rest easy, Hecar." Kaz gave him that same peculiar smile again.
"But, Kaz-"
Delbin abruptly giggled. Hecar glanced at him, wondering what even a kender could find so humorous at this moment. Delbin glanced at Hecar, then barely forced back another giggle after looking at Kaz.
"Just a little longer, Delbin. It's almost time for the surprise."
None of the guards seemed to take notice of what Kaz was saying, which further perplexed Hecar. It was as if they knew Kaz was there, but paid no mind to anything he said or did.
There were ten guards besides the leader, which was something of a compliment to the four minotaurs and one kender they guarded. Given weapons and free hands, Hecar was fairly certain he and the others could have fought their way to freedom… at some cost, of course. Still, that was not likely to happen.
The streets were nearly deserted, most of the city's population having gathered in or near the Great Circus. Now and then a minotaur passed within sight of them, but, compared with the normal traffic in the busy city, Nethosak was a ghost land.
Then the attack came. Hecar likely would have chosen the same location, for it was narrower than most of the path, and the street was deserted, with many hiding places for armed warriors.
The band and their captors were suddenly surrounded by roughly a dozen or so minotaurs bearing swords and axes. Some of the newcomers were vaguely familiar to Hecar, but he had no time to consider that, for the guards formed a defensive position, some of them concentrating their weapons on the captives.
"Stand aside," commanded the guard leader. "These warriors are destined to redeem themselves in the Great Circus."
"You mean they're supposed to die there," said one of the strangers, a tall, dark-furred minotaur with a streak of white between his horns that ran all the way to the back of his head. Hecar was certain he knew him, but from where, he could not recall. "For daring to defy the high priest's desires and nothing more. I had another brother who died for reasons something like that. There's no honor in such a death."