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

mere shrubbery, it certainly couldn’t cut through the tough hide of a minotaur. With another sigh he turned to the shrubbery and attacked it with a vengeance.
    The sun was just setting behind the mountain when Harran and Zylor broke through the dense underbrush. Before them lay a scarcely wooded area with several large boulders strewn awkwardly about, covered in places with remnants of the previous winter’s snow. The wind here was strong and cold.
    Harran wiped the back of his hand across his face. “We’re finally through,” he commented, relieved.
    Zylor re-sheathed his axe. “Now we have to locate the nearest cave entrance.”
    Harran examined the cliffs above and squinted against the sun. It was only late afternoon, but this side of the mountain was already covered in shadow. At last he said, “I can see three different entrances.” His knowledge of the mountains made it easy for him to find the locations of the caves. “There are two more not far from here but they’re not visible from this vantage point.”
    “Which one do we take?” asked Zylor.
    “One of them leads to a large plateau on top of the mountain. There’s plenty of wildlife and berries for you to live on. I assume that’s more or less what you’re looking for?”
    “Exactly. Which cave is it?”
    “It’s one of the ones we can’t see from here,” said Harran. “We’ll have to work our way to the right and get past that small ridge over there,” he added, pointing.
    “Right,” said Zylor. “Let’s go.”
    The companions travelled for about twenty minutes before clearing the ridge that Harran had indicated. They stopped and Harran motioned for Zylor to stay low. “The minotaur guard post is not far away from here,” said Harran. “If we want to reach the cave without being seen, we’ll have to go up from here.”
    “We’re fairly well concealed right here,” said Zylor. “Why don’t we wait until dark before moving on?”
    “Good idea,” said Harran. “In the meantime, where’s the pack with my gear?”
    Zylor pulled a small pack out of his larger one and tossed it to him.
    Harran opened it and examined the contents inside. “Good. Everything’s still here.” He looked up at Zylor. “I’m surprised nothing’s missing. Some of these maps are quite valuable.”
    “We don’t use maps,” replied Zylor. “I don’t think there’s a minotaur alive that can read one; especially dwarven ones.”
    “That explains why they only took my axe,” said Harran with contempt.
    Zylor merely shrugged and looked away.
    “If you want to find your way back from the plateau,” continued Harran, “you’re going to have to learn to read maps. I’ll guide you there but you’ll have to come back on your own. If you don’t follow the map, you’re as good as dead.”
    Zylor turned his gaze back to Harran. “Then show me.”
    “I can’t teach you everything at once,” said Harran. “You’ll have to learn as we go.” He rummaged through the pack and pulled out a selection of maps. Then he peered intently at each one until he found the one he was looking for. “Here it is.” Harran put the rest of the maps back into the pack and pulled out a blank piece of parchment and a pointed graphite stone. He looked around, spotted a moss-covered boulder, sauntered over to it and sat down.
    “What are you doing?” inquired Zylor curiously.
    “I’m making a copy of the map for you. You didn’t really think I’d give you my copy, did you?”
    Zylor shook his head and looked for a comfortable place to sit down.
    Harran looked up from his map making and commented, “One thing you should do before we enter the mountain is gather some leaves from the wildhorn plants in the area. They’ll enable you to see better in the darkness of the tunnels. I’ve got a fluorescent light stone in my pack but it might not be enough to help you to see properly.”
    Zylor hesitated.
    As if reading his thoughts, Harran added, “Don’t worry.