Read Online Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy by Carey Scheppner - Free Book Online

“Next time we gamble to see who gets feeding duty, we’ll use fists instead of dice.”
    Garad guffawed. “You know Karlan wouldn’t allow it. Besides, playing dice is such a friendly game.”
    “Especially if they’re your dice,” muttered Zylor.
    “But Zylor,” said Garad innocently, “if you had your own dice, I’d be glad to use them instead!”
    “I just might take you up on that offer someday,” said Zylor, turning and marching off to the kitchens with Garad’s laughter in his ears. “All I need,” he thought, “is to find some enchanted dice and then I’ll show him!” Then his thoughts drifted to the more immediate problem of escaping the call to arms. He needed time. Much more time.

Chapter 6
    T he light coming through the grate in the window indicated a hot, sunny day was in store as Harran went through his morning exercise regimen. His uncle Red had told him to keep in shape even when things looked bleak. That way he would be prepared when an opportunity came to improve things.
    Harran finished his last push up and sat back with a long sigh. He had waited for more than two weeks for that ‘opportunity’ but had come up empty. The prison was designed well, with large fenced-in areas, guards at appropriate intervals, and towers at the corners. Sure, he was allowed free movement during the day, but unless he could fly over the tall un-climbable fence and avoid the arrows of the guards, his chance of escape was non-existent. The recent call to arms might reduce the number of sentries but wouldn’t help him to fly. If there was a way to escape, he couldn’t think of it. That left him with the two options he had from the start. Become a gladiator in the games, or give his name to the dwarven emissary to arrange bail in the form of dwarven weapons.
    The first option was simply not his kind of profession (not that he couldn’t fight), and the second option, well, just to think of it made him shudder. If the dwarven community learned his identity, they would gladly pay the ransom, but he would be looked upon with dishonour for many years. Not to mention—and few people outside the dwarven community knew this—his family would have to pay the cost of the ransom, even if it took years to do so. Moreover, he was one of the kingdom’s leading map makers, which meant a higher ransom, larger family debt and, worst of all, greater dishonour.
    To be chosen as a map maker was a great honour. All dwarves, including blind ones, have the ability to find their way through the mountains without losing direction. Some dwarves, like Harran, have an exceptionally strong sense of direction and if this ability is detected early enough, they are trained to be map makers. There are thousands of tunnels in the mountains, and a high price is paid for accurate maps, particularly ones leading to valuable mineral deposits or gems. To construct a map of the tunnels, it must not only indicate the left/right configuration, but also the up/down representation in the diagram. After all, some tunnels run underneath others and even spiral below themselves. To give an indication of depth, the tunnels are marked in varying colours, ranging from lighter colours at higher altitudes to darker colours at lower ones. The creation of maps in the tunnels was a difficult process in the days before trade was established with the human mages. The magic ‘glowing paper’ and ‘fire sticks’ simplified tunnel exploration significantly.
    Harran was proud of his career. He was one of the best map makers his race had ever seen. His king had personally sent him on quests to find gold and minerals and he had not failed him, making maps to many valuable sites within the mountain. But now he was a prisoner of the minotaurs, all because he had left the mountain at night to replenish his water supply. He knew he was in minotaur territory—it wasn’t his first time—but he didn’t expect any difficulty at night when most patrols were asleep.