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

Who knew they were patrolling so close to the cave entrance? Furthermore, who knew he was so close to the wildhorn plants that caused his allergies to act up, forcing him to sneeze violently? Well, Harran sighed again, that was then and this is now.
    His stomach growled. Where was breakfast? As if in answer, a key grated in the lock. There was a curse, and then more scraping as the key continued its struggle with the lock mechanism. Finally the lock snapped open and a minotaur, still cursing under his breath, entered with a breakfast tray.
    “You should be trading dwarves for decent locks instead of weapons,” said Harran.
    “I’ll be sure to mention it to Karlan,” said Zylor, passing the tray to the dwarf.
    “I’m Harran Mapmaker,” said Harran, stuffing a piece of honey-covered sweetbread into his mouth. At least the prisoners get good food around here, he thought.
    Zylor was taken aback. Carefully, he said, “So you’ve decided to talk.”
    “Yup,” said Harran, stuffing another piece of sweetbread into his mouth. This stuff was delicious. “At least I’ll finally get out of this dump.”
    “Why did you wait so long?”
    Harran looked up at Zylor with scorn and wiped the back of his palm across his honey-covered mustache. “Because I wanted to find another avenue of escape, you dolt, and maybe get some revenge while I was at it! Why did you think I waited—because the food was too good to pass up?”
    Zylor stifled a smirk and pressed on, “Surely it didn’t take you two and a half weeks to figure that out?”
    Harran looked away and sighed. “There’s the matter of honour, of course.”
    Now Zylor was interested. “What do you mean?”
    Harran looked back up at the minotaur. “It is dishonourable to be taken prisoner, especially if the ransom is in the form of superior dwarven weapons. When I return to my kingdom, I will be scorned and dishonoured and my family will be hard pressed to repay the king for the cost of the ransom—especially since I am so valuable as a map maker.”
    “Loss of honour,” Zylor mused. “I can relate to that.” Suddenly an idea occurred to him. “How would you like to get out of here without losing your honour? In fact, you might even gain some.”
    “If you’re thinking of entering me in the arena, you can forget it,” shot Harran. “I’m not interested.”
    “No, no,” Zylor held up a hand. “There’s a third option.”
    Harran’s eyes glittered. “Which is?”
    “I can get you safely out of here with no one the wiser.”
    “What’s the catch?” demanded Harran. He wasn’t about to be snookered into doing something stupid.
    “There’s no—oh—yes, there is a price,” amended Zylor. He took a deep breath. “You have to take me with you.”
    “I thought so—what!?” Now it was Harran’s turn to be taken aback. “Why would you want to come with me? The dwarves back home would roast you alive!”
    “You need only take me to a safe place in the mountains where no one will interrupt me. Your knowledge of the mountains in exchange for your freedom.”
    Harran glanced shrewdly at the minotaur. “What are you running from?” he asked.
    Zylor tensed. “That is my concern.” He hadn’t expected an interrogation.
    “How do I know you’re not going to kill me when you don’t need my services anymore?” pressed Harran.
    “Because I believe in honour,” growled Zylor, “and by my honour I will not kill you unless you give me reason to. Any other questions?”
    Harran decided not to press any further, sensing he was close to the ‘reason’ the minotaur was talking about. Instead, he thought over the proposal and examined it from all angles. If he agreed to the plan, he would be free, his honour intact, his reputation restored. If he refused, he would be freed by a ransom that would have to be paid back and his honour and reputation would be ruined. The choice was obvious. But what to do about the minotaur? Could Zylor be trusted? He gave