The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark - Book I by Keith Baker

cloak.
    Turning a corner they came upon a granite statue of a club-wielding goblin, its face frozen in rage. “I’m not sure about the taste,” Jode said, “but it’s nice to see an attempt to bring a little artistic flair to the region.”
    “It’s not a statue,” said Lei. She studied the perfect lines of the statue. “This unfortunate fellow was once very much alive. Something changed him to stone. Medusa, unless I miss my guess. Though I suppose it could be a basilisk.”
    Jode stumbled, and looking down found that he had tripped over the arm of a shattered second statue. “Lovely! Can we get this over with? Dinner with Councilor Teral is sounding more attractive every minute.”
    The next living residents they encountered were a pair ofgoblins—a male and a female—engaged in a heated debate. Sheathing his dagger, Jode walked over and hailed them in the Goblin tongue—somehow managing to make even that harsh language seem cheerful. The goblins were momentarily dumbfounded by the interruption, but their demeanor changed once Jode produced a few copper crowns. The male goblin reached for the coins with a snarl, but as he did his companion struck him in the head with a mighty double-fisted blow and he sank senseless to the ground. The woman took the coins and engaged in a brief, animated conversation.
    Jode returned to the group, and the goblin dragged her fallen comrade out of the street.
    “What did she say?” Lei asked.
    “She said that she sympathized, as her fool of a husband wouldn’t ask for directions either.” Jode grinned. “But I’ve got directions, and I’d say there’s at least half-odds that she was telling the truth.”
    “Lead on, then.”

    The broken church had been abandoned long ago, its holy trappings stripped away and only bare fragments remaining of the once-beautiful windows of colored crystal. Fire and acid had scarred the walls. On the steps, two monsters were engaged in a brutal battle.
    One was a minotaur—at least eight feet tall. Powerful muscles rippled beneath a sleek coat of black fur. He wore a black loincloth embroidered with golden sigils, and his long horns were bound with bands of brass. His opponent was a bugbear—a seven-foot blend of ursine and goblin features. His light brown fur was unkempt and patchy, his clothes torn, and one of his fangs was missing. The two were fighting barehanded, and it was clear that the bugbear was getting the worst of it. Studying the steps, Daine noticed the bugbear’s missing fang lying a few feet away.
    Daine could see that the bugbear was barely standing. The minotaur ended the battle with a single mighty head butt. The bugbear fell down the steps, blood streaming from nose andmouth. It did came to a stop, its head resting on the second step, and did not move again.
    The minotaur studied its fallen foe for a moment, then looked over at Daine. “Move on, outsiders,” he rumbled, his voice hoarse and deep. “You have no business here.”
    “On the contrary,” Jode said, skipping forward. “We were sent to … well, talk to the wind. Is that you? We have a gift.”
    Lei held up the staff.
    The minotaur roared, and Daine had almost grabbed Jode before he realized that the creature was laughing.
    “You
would enter?” The minotaur snorted. “You think you can defeat me?”
    Daine felt foolish challenging this juggernaut with his tiny dagger, but its keen edge had served him well. “Watch your tone. Size isn’t everything. There’s four of us to your one, and you’re not even armed. So why don’t you step aside?”
    The monster fixed Daine with its inhuman eyes. “Don’t threaten me, little human. I am appointed to guard this gate, and only I can open it. You face me or you do not pass. One person. No weapons. One chance.”
    Daine stepped back and turned to his companions. “What do you think?” he said quietly. “I know when I’m outmatched. Pierce?”
    “I’m willing to try, Captain.”
    “No. I’ll do