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

passageway on the right. The chanting seemed to originate there.
    Harran looked at Zylor and put a finger to his lips. Zylor nodded. They moved slowly along the passageway and a few moments later the light brightened and an opening appeared before them. Standing at the opening and looking down into the cavern beyond was another lizardman. Deftly, Harran pulled his axe out of his sheath and raised it above his head. With an expert swing, he severed the lizardman’s head from its body, all the while making no noise. The lizardman’s body slumped to the ground and Zylor caught its spear before it could clatter to the floor. Together they dragged the corpse into a shallow alcove nearby.
    “Nice swing,” murmured Zylor.
    “It’s all in the shoulders,” returned the dwarf, “although I’m surprised the axe was sharp enough to do the job.” He pointed to the cavern. “Let’s go see what our slimy friend found so interesting, shall we?”
    The two spies crept toward the opening and peered down into a vast cavern lit by torches all around the perimeter. To one side they could see a ledge containing an elaborate altar inscribed with runes of some forgotten magic. Behind it stood a lizardmage dressed in a dark red cape. In his right hand he held a staff topped with a small white skull. The eyes of the skull glowed with a sinister red light. He chanted a spell and waved it over the altar, which contained a small dwarf-like figure. The figure struggled feebly against its bonds but slowly began to relax. Suddenly a bolt of sapphire light shot from the figure’s head and entered the eyes of the skull, causing the eyes to glow even more fiercely. The lizardmage raised his staff and two lizardmen approached the altar. They freed the figure—it was a dwarf—and stepped back. The dwarf rose and moved with almost mechanical motion toward a row of benches which stood at the side of the ledge. There were at least ten other dwarves sitting on the benches. The dwarf sat down next to one of them and stared straight ahead. The others were in exactly the same position. There was no movement among them.
    “Fetch the next one!” commanded the lizardmage.
    The two lizardmen promptly obeyed, heading toward a side tunnel nearby. There was a small commotion for a few minutes and finally they reappeared, dragging another dwarf by the arms.
    “Unhand me!” yelled the dwarf. “I demand to know what you want with me!”
    The lizardmen continued to drag the struggling dwarf up to the altar and bound him to it in the same manner as the previous one.
    “I will answer your question,” said the lizardmage in a calm, even tone. “I want your mind to power my staff and your body to do as I command.”
    Harran gasped.
    “You’ll never get away with this!” screamed the dwarf. “I’ll die before I serve you!”
    The lizardmage chuckled. “Your friends seem to think differently,” he said, gesturing toward the benches. “In fact, you might say they changed their minds on the subject!” With that, the lizardmage let out a loud hiss, cognizant of laughter.
    Harran pulled Zylor back from the opening. “He’s stealing their minds!” Harran whispered harshly. “We’ve got to do something!”
    “How do you propose to get down there?” murmured Zylor softly. Whispering was something minotaurs were not good at. “And if we do go down there, how are we going to stop a magic wielding lizardmage?”
    Harran scratched his head. “We’ll need to surprise him before he can react. We have to attack him while he’s busy.”
    “You didn’t answer my first question,” said Zylor.
    Harran looked at Zylor. “That’s easy. Follow me.” They quietly rose and worked their way back to the main tunnel. After checking the area to be sure they were alone, they stopped for a brief discussion.
    “So that goblin was telling the truth about the lizardmen after all,” said Harran.
    “Yeah, so?”
    “That means the lizardmen are back! Hundreds of years