The Legend of Huma

by Richard Knaak

  “I see.” Taggin stared at him with penetrating eyes. After several moments, the elder knight said, “Nothing we can do. It will be best to break the news to the men first thing in the morning, Buoron.”

  Buoron, who had been standing quietly through the entire talk, did not hesitate. “I’ll do it, Lord Taggin.”

  “Fine.” The commander cleared off everything from the table he used for his work. “You are excused, lad.”

  Huma turned as Buoron did, but Taggin immediately stopped him. “Not you, Knight Huma. I still have a few things to ask you. Be seated, please.”

  Nothing was said until Buoron had departed. Huma felt uncomfortable alone in the presence of Taggin but was disciplined enough not to show it. Taggin tapped his fingers on the table. After evidently gathering his thoughts, he spoke.

  “What is the purpose of your travels?”

  “Milord?”

  The nervousness of the senior knight had vanished. His voice and stare were both steady. “Don’t hedge, Huma. This is not Vingaard. I will not hold you to anything you say. This is between us. I like to think that I’m a good enough judge of character, and I trust you despite the company you keep.”

  “Thank you, milord.”

  Taggin smiled ruefully at the politeness. “I’m already well aware of my status and especially of my age. Please, call me Taggin. Now then, what is your purpose for coming here? I can think of a hundred different routes that would have taken you back to Vingaard long before now. Why head south? Is it the mage? Despite his less-than-savory attitude, I gather the two of you are close.”

  “We grew up together.” Huma was hesitant about expanding on his friendship with Magius any more than necessary.

  “Did you? Unusual combination. Still, a man is more than symbols or robes, be they white, red, or even black.”

  “He is not evil, Lo—Taggin.”

  The outpost commander smiled slightly. “I did not say he was.”

  Huma began to break down in the presence of understanding. “He fears for his life, but he also thinks to end this war.”

  “Which was his first priority?”

  “I—” Huma tensed. “I would have to say his life is more important to him.”

  “Understandable. Providing, of course, it is not to the detriment of the world.”

  Huma had no answer for that.

  Lord Taggin stood up and paced around the room. “Why have you decided to join him on this—shall we say ‘quest’ for want of a better word? Is it merely out of friendship?”

  “Yes. No. Both.”

  The elder knight raised an eyebrow. “Both?”

  To explain his answer, Huma first had to tell Taggin of the Test and how it had affected Magius. The Knight of the Rose listened patiently as Huma told him about Magius’s premonition of his own death. Taggin’s expression changed little.

  “You’ve been quite honest with me,” the commander said when Huma had finished. “I’d like to digest it and then speak to you again come the morrow.”

  Now that it was over, Huma was sweating. “Yes, milord. Thank you.”

  Taggin sat down in his chair. “I’ve lived a long life, Huma. I’ve seen more than you think. I want you to consider that tonight. Dismissed.”

  Huma saluted and left. Once outside, he exhaled sharply. He found Buoron waiting for him.

  “You’ve not eaten for some time,” the bearded knight finally said. “Would you like some nourishment?”

  Huma smiled thankfully. “I could use some food. Magius might as well.”

  “He can fend for himself. He’s a magic-user.”

  The comment cut deep. Huma glanced back at the knights’ quarters. At last, he replied, “He’s probably still asleep. When he’s hungry, he’ll awaken.”

  “Fine.” Buoron led him away, and Huma did not resist.

  Night grew, aged, and finally passed away. Magius remained asleep. Huma decided that the mage must be purposely building his strength. Magius might have been dead, judging by the way he appeared, all pale and nearly as stiff as a corpse. Huma had checked his pulse, though, and discovered nothing wrong.

  As the first hour of day passed, the sentry gave a shout that the patrol was home at last. Men rushed to open the gates, speculation on the success of the hunt rampant. Huma found Buoron and joined the rest. Taggin stepped out of his quarters and merely watched.

  The first man at the gate peered through a spyhole and turned back in excitement. “They’ve got something!”

  Immediately, Taggin walked toward them. “Everyone on duty return to his post! By the Triumvirate, this is a military establishment, not a circus! You’ll see the thing soon enough, if it’s truly a beast!”

  The gates were opened, and the weary but triumphant party rode in. A number of them appeared wounded, but Buoron whispered that all had returned.

  The Beast was not visible, having been wrapped up in weighted nets. Some patches of brown fur were evident, but the nature of the Beast was hidden; the creature had been forced into a ball. It snorted and growled.

  Taggin had the Beast dragged to a pen, which had been built days before just for this event. While Huma looked on, several knights took hold of the bound mass and pulled it into the pen. The Beast squirmed and some of its wrapping came loose. The knights hurried out of the pen while the creature continued to try to free itself.

  The patrol leader came up to Lord Taggin and saluted. “Found it in the gully. Killed a stag recently and was eating it. Sensed us but by then we had surrounded it. First men tried to net it, and it pulled them in. Got more men wounded trying to rescue the others. For a moment, I thought we were going to have to kill it. Fortunately, we did not have to. It tripped in the tangle of nets, and we had it.”

  The elder knight nodded. “Paladine watched over you, that is obvious. I’m glad no one was killed. The cage should hold it now.”

  “Best not to call it a cage. A prison would be a more proper term, milord.”

  “Prison?” Beside him, Huma and Buoron exchanged glances. “What have we got here?”

  The Beast was still unrecognizable, having succeeded in freeing its limbs but not in uncovering itself. It was obvious now, though, that some of its growls were actually muffled words.

  The patrol leader looked overly proud. “A spy from the Dragonqueen! One of her ugly creatures from the north. The war has finally come to us.”

  There was a gleam in the knight’s eye that Huma, at least, found disturbing.

  Taggin stepped closer to the prison cage. The Beast had finally begun to tear away the nets still covering it.

  “Sargas be damned! I’ll tear all of you apart!”

  Huma froze. Buoron looked at him, possibly wondering why the sight of the Beast so astonished Huma. Having recently come from the north, Huma should have been familiar with such creatures.

  The Beast pulled the last net from its horned head. It turned on its captors, breathing heavily. With blood-chilling fury, it shook the bars of its new prison.

  “Fools! Cowards! Let me fight one of you! Give me a fair chance! Where is your vaunted honor?”

  From its present angle, the Beast could not see Huma. Huma, though, could see the Beast quite well. He stared wide-eyed at the furious man-beast and wondered just how he was going to save Kaz from execution.

  CHAPTER 14

  It was to Buoron he first confided his secret.

  “You were fortunate that no one else noticed,” said the bearded knight. “Your mouth fairly hung open when he was brought in.”

  Huma shook his head. “I was stunned. The last I had seen of Kaz, he was riding north and I was riding south. We had a great number of pursuers following us. I was apparently the main prize, for they followed me.”

  “And paid the price,” Buoron remarked quietly. Huma had told him of that incident, without any embellishment. It had not failed to impress the other knight.

  “I am amazed that Kaz is here, and has been for at least a couple of days more than I hav
e. He must have turned south almost immediately and just missed me. After we separated, I was forced to let loose my horse in the hope I might lead my pursuers farther astray. I was on foot for some time after that. Still, he must have been riding hard to have gotten all the way here. He must have lost his horse soon after.”

  “Did he know where you were heading?”

  Huma thought long. It seemed ages ago. “In general. Enough, at least, to bear southwest.”

  Buoron stared out a window in the direction of the cage. Kaz was slumped in sullen anger. “There are many paths that an expert warrior could use to travel safely. He must have discovered our existence down here as well and assumed that you would stop here. Perhaps he even assumed this was your destination.”

  That made some sense to Huma. “I did mention wanting to return to the knighthood. He may have assumed that I would go here if I could not make it back to Solamnia.”

  “Or—” Buoron hesitated. “Or he really is a spy, and this was his intention all along.”

  “No.” Huma was unsure about much lately, but the minotaur’s loyalty was not an issue.

  “You may have trouble convincing the others of that. A minotaur is a minotaur. They will question him and, whether or not he speaks, will probably execute him.”

  “For what? He’s done nothing but defend himself.”

  Buoron grimaced. “Haven’t you heard what I was saying? He’s a minotaur. They do not need any other reason.”

  Huma paced. “I must speak with Taggin.”

  “Do it soon, then. They will start the questioning today, likely after morning vigils.”

  “Will I find Taggin in his quarters now?”

  “I think not. Being a Knight of the Rose, he will be at his daily prayers by now. It was only because of the hunt that he delayed at all this morning. Speaking of which, have you eased your mind of late?”

  Huma stopped his pacing and whitened. “No. I’ve not. It would serve me right if Paladine turned his eye from me forever.”

  Buoron shook his head. “I think Paladine is a little more forgiving than that. Come.”

  Taggin was unable to see Huma after prayers. The commanding knight was conferring with his seconds and with the patrol leader. Huma knew better than to demand entrance; it would only hurt his chances of convincing them to free Kaz.

  With the leadership busy, Huma decided to face the minotaur. It was not right that he pretend not to know the massive easterner. Kaz had always treated him honestly.

  The minotaur’s place of confinement was a cage like those used by traveling shows to contain their exotic animals: a metal cage with bars, a single gate, and grass and straw piled on the floor. Kaz did not pace to and fro. Instead, he was sitting, staring sullenly at the meat and grain mixture his jailers had left him. It was hardly an appetizing dish, and Huma wondered if it tasted as horrible as it looked.

  Two knights guarded the cage, and they quickly blocked Huma’s way.

  “May I question the prisoner?”

  “That is for the Lord Commander to do. Any who wish to watch may do so.”

  “May I at least speak to him?”

  The two knights looked at one another. They were no doubt wondering why one of their number would wish to speak with a minotaur prisoner. At last, the one who had spoken the first time replied, “Not without the Lord Commander’s permission.”

  By this time, Kaz had heard the voices. He was slow in reacting, possibly because he was not sure whose voice he was hearing. Then, he suddenly turned and leaped up against the bars.

  “Huma!”

  The two sentries started, and the one apparently in charge turned and banged a mailed fist against the bars—far enough away that the minotaur could not grab it. “Be silent, Beast! You’ll have your chance to talk when the inquisition meets.”

  Kaz snorted angrily. “I had thought the knights an honorable band, but I see that honor is something very few of them possess!” He raised a long, muscular arm through the bars, his hand open as if in supplication. “Huma! Free me from this cage!”

  The knights stared at Huma with narrowed eyes. “He seems to know you well. How is that?”

  “We have met and traveled together. He is not the Dragonqueen’s slave. He is his own creature. He is a friend.”

  “A friend?” The guards looked at Huma in amazement—and much disbelief. Other knights were beginning to gather, curious as to what the shouting was all about.

  The other guard finally spoke. “Perhaps, Caleb, we should notify Taggin.”

  “I will not interrupt him now.” Caleb, a tall, plump man with a carnivorous look, pointed at Huma. “If I did not know better, I might think you a spy for consorting with mages and minotaurs. As it is, I think you are just a fool. If you want to speak to this creature, ask Taggin. I would lock you up until the inquisition, if I had my way.”

  There were murmurs of agreement, and Huma was startled. He had gone from favored visitor to seeming outcast in the space of a few seconds.

  “What is going on here?”

  Everyone, even Kaz, froze at the sound of that voice. It was Lord Taggin, clad in his formal dress armor. At least twenty years had slipped from his face. He was now the very image of authority.

  “You men have become rabble of late. I can see that I am going to have to make some changes.” Taggin turned to Huma. “I’m told you have some knowledge of this minotaur.” Behind the commander, Buoron looked down. “We will begin the questioning in half an hour. I expect you to be present and to have your facts prepared. Understood?”

  “Yes, milord.”

  Taggin turned to the sentries. “As for you, there are tenets of the knighthood that you seem to be failing. I expect both of you to learn from this incident.”

  The Knight of the Rose did not wait for them to answer. Instead, he walked past them and up to the cage. Kaz glared down at him. Taggin seemed unimpressed.

  “Know this, minotaur. The basics of the knighthood stay the same. Your hearing will be impartial. You will be given every chance to prove yourself and to prove what this knight says of you. I will promise that.”

  Kaz did not reply, save for the mere ghost of a nod. Taggin spun around and headed toward his quarters.

  “You never cease to amaze me with your ability to become the center of attention, Huma.”

  Huma and Buoron looked up as they entered the knights’ living quarters. Magius, in full splendor in his robes of red, stared at them from across the room. Again, Huma wondered at the change. Had Magius really returned to the Order of Lunitari, or was this merely another of his whims?

  “The mage returns to the land of the living,” Buoron remarked dryly.

  The mage stirred. “Really, Huma, the only thing more foolish than you parading around in sheets of metal is the company you tend to keep. Myself excluded, of course.”

  “If you have nothing worthwhile to say, Magius, then don’t say anything.” Huma surprised himself by his comment.

  Magius ignored the barb. “I see the minotaur has succeeded in getting into trouble. We really do not have time for this. Had I not required the rest, we could have been gone by last night.”

  Buoron smiled nastily. “You go nowhere without Lord Taggin’s permission.”

  “Won’t I?”

  “Not with me, Magius. Not unless Kaz is freed.” Huma added.

  The mage sighed. “Very well. I do hope it won’t take long. I know how long and boring inquisitions can be.”

  “Huma, is this filth really your friend?” Buoron interjected.

  “If you can believe it. I still hope to find the old Magius underneath there.”

  For once, the magic-user had no retort. He merely looked at Huma and then studied something interesting on his staff.

  “Are you coming with me, Magius?”

  His childhood friend looked up. “To an inquisition? Hardly. They might decide to put me on trial. I shall await the outcome here.”

  Huma let out a sigh, although whether i
t was from relief or worry he could not say.

  Unlike the formal inquisitions of Vingaard Keep, the sessions at the outpost were quick, straightforward, and to the point. Kaz was questioned about his whereabouts for the last half-year. His crime against his former masters and his subsequent meeting with Huma were gone over in minute detail as Lord Taggin looked for some slip that might prove the minotaur untrustworthy.

  In the course of the questioning, many facets of the minotaur’s past came out. He had been one in a long line of champions in his clan. He had even been given the name of one of his more remote ancestors, a powerful fighter who had been ruler of the race for twenty-three years before finally falling to defeat.

  Kaz, though, had grown up in a time in which no true ruler commanded the minotaurs. As Huma had learned, those who controlled the race now were, in turn, puppets of the Dragonqueen’s commanders. Each minotaur, male or female, was conscripted into the swelling ranks of the Dark Queen’s armies upon reaching fighting age. There were never enough of the race in any one unit to create an atmosphere of rebellion. Kaz’s people were severely punished for even the smallest infractions.

  The tall warrior admitted he had done his share of fighting. It was part of his nature. Yet he had slowly become sickened by the senseless slaughter around him. There was no honor in much of what he was forced to do. The ogres cared not whether they faced an army or village. All who stood in their path were to be destroyed.

  Kaz then went into detail about that final incident, when he had come across the butchering ogre captain. For a brief time, the knights in attendance were solely on his side.

  The news of the collapse of the Solamnic lines and the chaos that followed brought renewed anger from those knights. From there, Kaz described the attack on the citadel of Magius and the flight that had resulted in the separation of Huma and Kaz.

  Perhaps the highlight of the questioning occurred when Kaz described Huma’s brief but bloody encounter with the warlord. The tide of feeling again flowed toward Huma. Those who had frowned on his odd friendship began to look at him with renewed respect.