"Keep moving beast!"

His hands tied behind his back and a short rope attaching his feet together, Binvo was pushed forward by a kick, almost tripping. He looked over his shoulder, anger and fear mixed together as he saw the two crossbows pointed at him. The innkeeper was walking between the two crossbowmen while the fourth man was slightly pulling on the rope attached to the Minotaur's hands, preventing him from running away.

"Binvo walk, no hurt."

"Shut your mouth and obey, monster!"

Another kick in the back later, the small group was advancing through the labyrinth. While they were looking at the Minotaur, making sure he wasn't trying to escape, the men were discussing their plans.

"I can't believe we are going to finally be able to get our hands on that treasure. Eighteen years! It's been eighteen years."

The innkeeper was brimming with joy at the idea; one of his goons answered him.

"Guess we were lucky that dwarf came seeking help at your inn that night. Imagine if he had gone to see the guards or even the chief."

The one with the rope laughed as he remembered something.

"Do you remember how he was crying when he was pleading for help..."

Taking a high pitch voice, he continued.

"Please, please help me! My brothers; you must help me save my brothers! They are blocked in the ruins, protecting ..."

Stopping in his sentence, he cursed.

"Shit, what was the word he used, the midget?"

The innkeeper laughed a bit, correcting the man.

"Binirinvogo. I checked while we were searching all those years, it means 'treasure' in their language. This stupid dwarf came to us to help him and his midget companions to protect their gold! How sad he looked with my axe in his skull!"

The group started to laugh as they remembered the first victim of their plan.

"Still...eighteen years. Don't you think it's a bit too long, chief?"

"Not at all. Everyone thought the dwarfs were gone for years. The other inhabitants didn't even bother with a quest to go send someone in there. Why would have they? Those old ruins were not interesting enough at the time. I said we had to wait for a year, so we would be sure they were dead. Seeing how desperate the one we had killed was, this was more than enough to be sure they wouldn't bother us. All we had to do was to make sure no one would come in here."

"Oooh, that's why you asked us to go around telling people that there was a monster in the ruins?"

"Yeah, that was supposed to be good enough to keep people away. Who would have thought there really was a monster in here...isn't that right, monster?"

Because Binvo wasn't answering, the man with the rope kicked him once again, the sight of the Minotaur in pain clearly amusing the group.

...........................................................................................................................................................

"We've got to hurry!"

The trio was running in the ruins direction, Maximilian with Lin-Lin in his arms while Octavia was following, running as fast as she could to keep on with her master.

"Are you alright, Octavia?"

Not wasting her breath, the spider girl simply nodded. It was kind of strange to see the spider girl running as fast in her human form than with her eight legs.

They quickly arrived at the ruins; entering once Maximilian had put Lin-Lin down, ordering the two girls to have their weapon ready.

"I want you two to be ready to attack...and kill if necessary. I don't know how many men there will be inside, and I don't want to take any risk."

"At your order, Master." Said Octavia.

"As always." Continued Lin-Lin.

"Very well. First, we'll go back to Binvo's lair. If we're lucky, there will be some clues to see where they have gone."

"What if we come across others of those monsters from before, Master?"

"Kill the ones on your way and keep going on, we mustn't waste time."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"We've been walking for some time now, why haven't we arrived yet?"

Fearing more pain, Binvo answered the innkeeper.

"Binvo go fast, legs attach. Dwarfs chamber further."

"How long till we arrive, monster?"

"No long, but long if talk and hurt Binvo."

The men in the group looked at each other.

"Tell me, monster, you wouldn't dare to threaten us, would you?"

Binvo shook his head from left to right.

"No threat, Binvo say the truth. Walk, no fight, arrive fast."

The innkeeper smirked and spat on the ground.

"Yeah...we'd better find what we want, beast, or you'll regret it."

One of the crossbowmen laughed a bit.

"We've got some luck, don't you think? We must have faced the most cowardly Minotaur in existence."

The innkeeper got irritated by the crossbowman's statement.

"Luck? Bah, if I had known this sooner, we would already have the gold. To think I lost time getting a string long enough to find my way in this place. Talking about a shitty labyrinth, there wasn't a single trap in here, apart from a hole or two. But it took me so many years, between the inn I had to look after, to not raise suspicion, the distance between the town and the ruins, all that to try and find a way through this place. And when I finally found the right directions, I face what I thought was a dangerous bloodthirsty beast, it would have been so much easier if I had known the 'beast' was as threatening as a friggin maiden!"

"Talking about maiden, what about the chief's daughter? Shouldn't we take care of her?"

"Who cares? After we've found the gold, we'll be able to leave this town and buy ourselves whatever we want. When I found her near the ruins, I wanted her to play the role, be bait to bring the monster out. The bitch dared to say no, and then this giant waste of meat comes out of the ruins and scares me off!"

"That's why you used the scroll?"

"Yeah, I kept it for this kind of situation."

Not feeling at ease talking about the centipede monsters, one of the crossbowmen looked around.

"Aren't they going to attack us?"

"No need to worry about that. As long as I have this..."

The innkeeper pulled out a rolled scroll of his pocket, showing it to the group.

"...they recognised me as their summoner, they won't attack us."

"How can you be sure about it?"

"I crushed one of them and it didn't move while I did so. I even got some of its venoms on me, it smells awful but at least I'm sure of myself."

Still advancing, Binvo looked over his shoulder.

"Monster attack girl."

"And? What about it?"

"Girl hurt. You bad human..."

The innkeeper laughed at the minotaur's words.

"That's precious. A monster is telling a human that he is bad..."

Sure of himself, the innkeeper moved to place himself right next to Binvo.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

Seeing the innkeeper so close, Binvo gathered all the courage he had and, in a sudden violent move, torn apart the rope binding his hands and feet, before pushing the innkeeper against the wall, provoking a loud noise doing so. Not waiting while the Crossbowmen looked surprised at their fallen leader, Binvo started to run, trying to escape. Shaking his head, the leader saw the Minotaur trying to escape.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, IDIOTS? SHOOT HIM!"

"But, boss, what about the treasure?"

"If he tries to escape, that must means we're near, SHOOT HIM!!"

The two crossbowmen looked at each other before aiming at the Minotaur’s back and shot. The first bolt missed Binvo, while the second pierced his shoulder, making the Minotaur scream in pain, but not stopping his escape. While they reloaded, Binvo had the time to disappear around a corner, knowing the labyrinth better than anyone. The innkeeper, after he was helped up by the fourth guy; hit him in the face.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?!"

"Boss, he broke the rope, I couldn't have expected that."

"You good for nothing...run after him, I want his skin to serve as a bag to transport the gold!!"

Obeying the innkeeper, the group started to run after the Minotaur, stopping when they faced three possible paths.

"Damn! Now, what do we do?"

Looking around, then on the ground, the innkeeper smiled as he saw drops of blood. Putting a knee on the ground, he touched the blood with his finger, rubbing it his thumb to his finger checking if it was fresh.

"We follow the trail, that's all..."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Now where should we go?"

The trio had quickly reached Binvo's lair. Coming next to the altar, Maximilian saw some blood on the ground and cursed.

"This blood wasn't there when we left...we've got to hurry or...what was that?"

As he was speaking, Maximilian and the girls heard a loud sound coming from one of the exits, like something hitting the wall with force.

"What was that, Master?" Asked Lin-Lin.

"I'll take that as a lucky clue, let's go!"

The trio began to run inside the tunnel. They quickly found themselves facing multiple choices: left, right or straight.

"Shit! Where should we..."

"Left, Master."

Maximilian turned to see the two girls pointing at the left passage.

"May I ask how you can be so sure?"

"The innkeeper's bad smell. We weren't sure why we thought it reminded us about something, but we figured it out in Binvo's lair earlier." said Lin-Lin.

Going in the passage and continuing to advance, Maximilian asked.

"What did you figured out?"

"He smells like the stuff we got out of the girl's leg. You know; the venom."

"Yes, I remember. Strange, I didn't smell anything when he faced us at the village when we were with the Chief's daughter."

"He must have washed since he got the stuff on him, but it's still there, the stench." said Octavia.

Thinking about something, Maximilian looked at his gauntlet; with which he had crushed the centipede's head with.

"What about me? Do I smell bad?"

"No, Master. I think it's because the monster didn't have time to use his venom, so you only got some blood on you, nothing smelling that bad." explained Lin-Lin.

"That's good news. I would have felt bad if my smell was bothersome for you two."

"Master's smell would never bother us..."

Maximilian didn't hear the girl's last sentence well.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!" answered the two in unison.

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Blood...and it's fresh. We're getting closer."

The trio had finally reached the place where Binvo had managed to escape from the innkeeper's men. Advancing fast, the trio followed the path the others had taken, following the blood and smell. After a while, they arrived at a different looking location.

Looking around, Lin-Lin asked.

"What is this place?"

The ceiling was higher, at least twice the height than the labyrinth tunnel. The walls were made of a different kind of rock than the other rooms, more polished and well-made in grey granite. All around the room, dug in the walls, were small spaces where bodies had been laid to rest, one space for each body. By the size they had, the bodies were dwarfs one. At the centre of the room was a stone sarcophagus, on which the same picture as Binvo's pendant had been engraved.

"It's a sepulchre..." said Maximilian as he looked around.

"A tomb? For whom?" asked Lin-Lin.

"By their size, I would say Dwarfs, although the one in the middle is bigger...but let's keep the explorations for later, where are the others...BINVO, ARE YOU THERE?!"

As if to answer Maximilian, a roar of pain and anger came from farther in the room. Coming from another tunnel, Binvo was still running, but now he had something in his arms.

...........................................................................................................................................................

A moment before Maximilian and the girls reached the tomb; Bingo had come in, running as fast as he could towards the tunnel on the other side of the big room. After three or four meters, the Minotaur had reached a resting chamber, where another dwarf's body had been laid on a stone altar. There were some differences in the way he was equipped. The armour on the corpse was richly made, covering the dwarf from head to toes, with a battle hammer resting between his hands. Although the years had passed, the equipment was as good as new, if just a bit dusty.

Falling on his knees before the corpse, the Minotaur began to talk.

"Binvo sorry, father. Binvo let bad men inside..."

Looking down as if the Minotaur was fearing a stern look from the corpse, he continued after a few second, looking up.

"But Binvo happy, Binvo have friends now. Bad men want gold, Binvo have not. They not happy, they want kill Binvo...Binvo scared, father..."

Strange scene it was to see the tall creature talking to the corpse like a scared child would have to his parents when he wanted them to reassure him.

In a few seconds, some memories came back to the Minotaur as he was silently trying to figure what to do.

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Binvo scared, father!"

A much smaller Binvo, armed with a big wooden cudgel was talking to the dwarf facing him, looking sternly at the Minotaur child, having the same kind of weapon in hand. The bearded little man coughed a bit before talking in an authoritarian tone.

"Listen to me, Binvo. Being a healer is hard. You have to be twice as strong as a warrior."

Scratching his head, the Minotaur clearly didn't understand.

"But...why Binvo must fight? Binvo want heal..."

"And what if the ones you work so hard to heal are in danger? What will you do?!" scolded the dwarf.

Looking down, the Minotaur looked sad. Seeing that, the dwarf sighed and came at him, limping on his left leg.

"Binvo..."

Putting a hand on the Minotaur’s shoulder, the dwarf made Binvo looked at him in the eyes, being already as tall as him at his young age.

"...You know I won't always be here, son. What I want...what we all want...is for you to be able to defend yourself. Look around..."

Showing around, the dwarf pointed at the different bodies resting there, as well as the sarcophagus at the centre of the room.

"...we are alone. I'm not strong enough to travel anymore, all I hope is that, one day, you'll be able to...go and see the world. I promised your mother I'll look after you. She sacrificed herself to save us...to save you."

"Mother...Binvo not remember mother..."

The dwarf weakly smiled at the Minotaur.

"She was a fierce warrior, your mother. At first, she was brought as a prisoner, a prisoner I had caught...who would have thought she would become so precious to us, to me, or even that she would be the one to kill that monster...It's thanks to her that I was able to put my brothers to rest."

"Father tell mother kill monster...how?"

The dwarf motioned towards a collapsed tunnel on the other side of the room.

"See that? An earth golem was guarding this place. He killed almost everyone, including me. When she saw there was nothing else to do, your mother gave her life to protect you, like everyone did. She made the tunnel collapse on the earth golem. It is sad she had to die in the process. Sadder was the fact almost everyone was dead already. I myself wasn't that well when all was over..."

Unconsciously, the old dwarf touched his limping leg.

"... But, knowing you were alright, I had the satisfaction to know those lives were not lost in vain."

"But...all dead?"

"Sadly, yes. Sooner or later, even with my good healing technique, I was forced to accept there was nothing else to do. Even the messenger we had sent to brought back help didn't come back. Is he dead or did he flee, I don't know and don't care anymore...My only regret is to not be able to see our dear city under the mountains again... Can you promise me something, son?"

Binvo nodded.

"If, one day, you have the chance to travel to the Dwarf's city, make sure they know our bodies are here. A dwarf’s place after his death is among his ancestors, not in a forgotten labyrinth. They may not send anyone, but at least the clan's scribe will be able to write down our names in the book of fallen ones."

"Binvo promise, father."

The bearded small man laughed a bit.

"You truly remember me your mother sometimes. She too was easy to like. In less than a year after she was captured, she was considered as one of us, and when you arrived just after that, it was as if a dwarf woman had a small one. Digging her out and putting her in that sarcophagus has been one of the most difficult things I've had to do in my life."

The dwarf put his forehead against the Minotaur’s one, making the golden pendant on his chest tinkle against his thick armour. He closed his eyes for a bit.

"Thank you. Binvo, you and I may not be of the same blood or race, but you are my son, never forget that."

The young Minotaur closed his eyes for a bit, smiling at the dwarf's kind words.

"Binvo not forget, father."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Binvo not forget, father."

Still kneeling before his father's corpse, the Minotaur’s little flashback had done him some good, setting his mind and spirit straight. Yes, he was a healer, he didn't like to fight or hurt people, but he had to defend himself. He had to protect his family's remnants.

"You made us run, you filthy beast!"

The innkeeper's group had reached him, blocking the exit.

"Where is my gold, beast!"

"No gold, bad human go."

Binvo stood up, hiding the altar with his large body. Behind him, the innkeeper visibly didn't like the answer he had received from the Minotaur.

"No gold? What about this?"

Taking out the pendant he had taken from Binvo, the innkeeper smirked at the Minotaur.

"This is gold, right? Where is the rest?"

Binvo looked over his shoulder for a second before looking back at his father's body on the altar; especially at the battle hammer he had seen the dwarf use so many times.

"This present."

"You think a small present from you is going to be enough? I WANT THE REST!"

"Not for you. Present for Binvo, give back..."

The innkeeper laughed without any joy for a bit.

"Or what? You think you'll be able to kill us all before we take care of you? You are nothing more than a stinky monster, so I'm going to ask you one last t..."

"BINVO, ARE YOU THERE?!"

From the room behind them, the group heard a voice resonating. Binvo, consciously or not, smiled when he heard his friend's voice. All the movements he made was hurting him a lot, the crossbow bolts still imbedded his flesh, but he decided to act.

In a second while the innkeeper's group was distracted, Binvo took his father's battle hammer and roared in anger and pain as he charged the group, using the hammer to smash the head of the one who was keeping him bound earlier in the tunnel. Pushing through, he managed to pass the three men and reached the tomb.

...........................................................................................................................................................

As he heard and saw the Minotaur coming his way, Maximilian dashed in his direction.

"KILL HIM! KILL THEM ALL!!!"

Maximilian heard the innkeeper shouting orders and saw two of the three men who were with him earlier pointing their crossbow at Binvo.

*Oh no you don't!*

With a hand gesture, Maximilian projected two ice spikes at them, piercing them at their heart's level. The two fell, dead, before they touched the ground.

Maximilian came at Binvo, checking his injuries.

"Binvo hurt, but can fight!"

Lin-Lin and Octavia came running next to them.

"Fight? I thought you didn't like to fight?" asked Lin-Lin.

"Binvo not like, but Binvo must. Bad human have father present."

"AND I'M GOING TO TAKE MUCH MORE ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU ALL!"

Coming from the tunnel, literally walking on his fallen companions, the innkeeper had the magic scroll in his hand, unfolding it as he was talking.

"Bad magic, monster come!"

As soon as Binvo had finished his sentence, the ground around the group started to shake greatly. All around them appeared the centipedes, dozens and dozens of centipedes. Binvo lifted the battle hammer above his head and crushed the nearest one in one powerful hit. The girls, ready like their master had told them to be, instantly killed the ones nearest to them.

"No time to waste right now, we've got to heal Binvo...FIRE CIRCLE!"

Making a circular gesture with his hand, Maximilian made a circle of fire appeared around the group before expanding it, burning the monster around them as the fire layer passed on them.

"Master is no fun...what do we kill if you take care of all the monsters?" Asked Octavia.

Looking at the innkeeper, Maximilian had a feral smile for a second.

"I still see one monster to kill. Binvo, do you want to kill him yourself?"

The Minotaur simply shook his head from left to right.

"Fine then, he's yours, girls."

Octavia and Lin-Lin looked at each other before imitating their master's feral smile.

"Yes, Master!"

They advance in the innkeeper's direction, who clearly wasn't impressed.

"Ah! You send the little bitches to get me? You're going to regret it once I cut their arms off!"

Throwing away the used scroll, he picked up his battle axe. The innkeeper, underestimating the young ladies in front of him, smirked as he signalled them to approach.

"Come, little sluts, I'm going to make you squeal!"

Lin-Lin spoke to Octavia and asked;

"Do you want to go first?"

Octavia looked at the man in front of them for a second, before shrugging.

"He's not really interesting. You can go first."

From behind them, Maximilian smiled a bit as he heard the two talking.

*Seems like they have acquired enough experience to feel when an opponent is far under their level.*

"Alright, I'll take care of him." said Lin-Lin as she advanced in the innkeeper's direction.

Maximilian had asked Binvo to sit so he could examine his injuries easily. The Minotaur was observing the scene with interest.

"Lin-Lin fight...she okay?"

Not needing to even look at the scene to know how it was going, Maximilian nodded.

"Those two are way more powerful than that man."

"But...they so small...ouch!"

Maximilian had started to slightly cut around the bolt's head.

"Sorry, I'll make it pain as less as possible. You're a tough guy, bear with it."

"Binvo okay?"

Maximilian extracted one of the bolts, making the Minotaur roar in pain.

"Yes, you'll be fine. Fortunately, the bolt's heads weren’t that large nor poisoned. You Minotaur’s have a natural thick skin, so the injuries aren’t that deep. You're lucky they didn't have better equipment though, or the bolts would have killed you. Here comes the second one!"

While Maximilian was treating his friend's injuries, Lin-Lin was taking care of the innkeeper.

At first, the man had simply tried to kick the panda girl back, smirking whilst doing so. He was surprised, to say the least, when she turned on herself, evading the kick and hitting his leg with her spear's handle. The innkeeper stepped back, limping on his hurt leg and cursing.

"YOU FREAKING BEAST! I'M GONNA TEACH YOU HOW TO BEHAVE WITH THE UPPER RACE!"

Lifting his axe up, the innkeeper tried to cut the panda girl in two, only to hit the ground before receiving a handle blow to the side of his head, so strong it made him lift off the ground as he slammed against the wall.

Patiently waiting for him to get back up, Lin-Lin lay against her weapon, a pitiful look on her face.

"For 'upper race' folk, you sure don't give an upper feeling when you act...Octavia, you can finish him if you want, I don't want to dirty Tribulation's Breaker with his blood."

"HOW DARE YOU?! I'LL CUT YOUR HEAD IN TWO, JUST LIKE THAT MIDGET YEARS AGO! I COULD EVEN BURY YOU NEXT TO HIM IN MY BASEMENT, BUT NOT BEFORE I RAPE YOUR FURRY BODY!....No, I have a better idea...I'm won't even have to do anything...hahaha..."

Standing back up, the innkeeper took something out of his pocket, another magic scroll.

"I still have a trick up my sleeve. You're all going to die here!"

As he unfolded the scroll, a wind arrow pierced it and into the man's shoulder, Octavia looking at him without any emotion whatsoever. He screamed as the scroll fell down, disappearing in a few second, some dust flying away replacing it. Falling on his knees, the man's trembling hands trying to picked up the bits of dust.

"NOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! DON'T YOU REALIZE? WITHOUT THE SCROLL, IT WON'T OBEY ME!!!"

As he was screaming, the ground around him started to shake. He tried to stand up but had trouble doing so. Around his legs appeared centipedes, immobilising him in place.

"NO, NO, NOOOOO!!!"

One bit his waist and the other his crotch, the last one having the effect to make his scream becoming a girly shrill.

He didn't suffer for long, though, as another centipede, this one a dozen time the size of the others, came out of the ground before him, looking at the man for a second before biting his head off, killing him in a second.

When Maximilian had felt the ground shaking, he had looked around for a second. When he saw the big centipede, he thought about what Binvo had told him, about his father's present.

"Lin-Lin, Octavia, kill the big one before it takes away the body!"

Lin-Lin made her spear turn in her hand as she heard her Master's order, Octavia already having a wind arrow ready to be fired.

"Yes, Master!" answered the two as they attacked.

While Octavia was shooting the smaller ones from afar, Lin-Lin made an earth-wall come out of the tunnel wall, using it to push the big centipede against the opposing tunnel wall, preventing him from going back inside the ground. The big monster started to move around with violence, desperately trying to escape the stone wall blocking it.

The panda girl dashed, aiming for the small space between the monster's exoskeleton segments. The spear's head went in easily, the soft monster flesh simply too weak to resist the excellent equipment. Once the head was firmly implanted in the monster's body, Lin-Lin used earth magic in a way that surprised everyone, including Maximilian. She pointed at the ground beneath her and...

"EARTH WALL!"

Coming out from the ground slightly leaned, the wall pushed with force against the panda girl's feet. Lin-Lin used the impulsion the wall gave her to jumped and turned around her spear's handle, firmly gripping it while she did so.

By doing that, she made the spear's head turn using a strong force inside the monster body, the little spikes on the weapon's head were tearing away its flesh and making the monster shriek, the tremendous pain it was feeling being simply unbearable.

"Octavia! Your turn!"

Lin-Lin pulled the spear's head out of the monster's body, leaving a big gaping bloody hole in its place.

"Yes, I'm on it!"

Octavia hurried to the monster, slightly under the hole, she aimed at its head from the inside and shot one wind arrow, then another and another, not stopping before the monster's head literally exploded, the inside of its body torn apart.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Once the big thing was dead, taking care of the smaller ones wasn't hard for the girls, Maximilian making Binvo drink a health potion while he was finishing his treatment. The Minotaur didn't miss a single second of the fight, his eyes wide open as he saw the small ladies killing the giant centipede. Once they were done, Octavia picked something from the innkeeper and they came back to Maximilian and Binvo.

"Here, Binvo, this is yours, right?" said Octavia as she gave back the pendant.

With trembling hands, Binvo took the golden jewel, putting it against his forehead as a flashback came to him.

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Father...tired?"

Years had passed; the Minotaur had grown up, while the dwarf's health had slowly started to decline. For days now, he hadn't been able to stand up from his bed, his own body giving up after so many years. As he spoke to the Minotaur, his voice by himself showed the state of the bearded little man.

"I am, Binvo. Even though I'm still quite young for a dwarf, it seems like my body cannot go on anymore."

Hidden, seeing the dwarf, who had been his father for as long as he could remember, in such a bad state, he was starting to get quite frantic.

"Father not worry, Binvo get plant and help!"

The dwarf laughed a bit, even if laughing in itself was hurting him. He smiled at the Minotaur.

"It's alright, Binvo. Dwarfs know when their time comes. It is time for me to sleep on the stone; like my ancestors did before...do you still remember your promise?"

The Minotaur nodded; sadness readable on his face.

"If Binvo travel, Binvo find dwarf. Binvo tell father story. Binvo not forget."

The dwarf lifted a fist, Binvo catching it to not tiring the old one even more. As the dwarf opened his fist, Binvo saw his father's pendant in it.

"Take it, it's yours now."

"But...this father pendant."

The dwarf slightly shook his head from left to right.

"This is my family...our family's symbol. I was to give it to my descendant, and that's what I'm doing. Binvo...you are my son, never let anyone say otherwise. You are Binvo, son of Galim, member of the Steelbull Dwarf clan. One day...one day you'll find friends to help you, friends that will make you stronger. On that day, I know you'll do what's best...my son..."

And in a last breath, Galim Steelbull died.

"Binvo promise, Binvo not forget..."

Those were the Minotaur’s last words before he put his forehead against the dwarf's, crying as he held the body of his father.

...........................................................................................................................................................

A single tear dropped from the Minotaur’s eyes.

"Binvo say thank you. This important."

Lin-Lin and Octavia looked at each other, not really knowing what to say or do.

"This...it's alright, we’re glad your safe, Binvo." Said Lin-Lin

Maximilian looked at the scene for a bit before patting the girls' head.

"You did well, you two, it was a good fight. Octavia; I see you've got better with the wind arrows, your aim and attack rhythm were perfect."

"Thank you, Master." Said the spider girl as she closed her eyes for a second, appreciating the feeling of her Master's hand.

"As for you, Lin-Lin, I'm impressed, really. The way you used your magic wall to attack was very creative, and the effect showed. The way you use your new weapon shows you begin to master it, good work."

"I'm glad Master is happy." said the panda girl as she closed her eyes like Octavia did.

"Octavia and Lin-Lin strong. Little but strong, why?"

Binvo, still sitting, talked to the group, not really understanding everything.

"That's because Master is teaching us. Octavia and I are his students."

"Stu...dents? Binvo not understand."

"That means Master shows us how to fight, how to become stronger, better. He helps us to evolve."

The Minotaur scratched his head, thinking.

"Father tell Binvo. Evolve is when monster change..."

Looking at the two, Binvo seemed to think hard.

"But...Lin-Lin is beast, not Octavia. Octavia is beast?"

Seeing the Minotaur’s interrogative look, Octavia took off her ring of masquerade, retrieving her normal form in a few second.

Seeing the Arachne in front of him, Binvo jumped back on his feet, eyes wide open. Maximilian reassured him.

"Don't worry, Binvo. This is Octavia's true form, she is an Arachne. She disguises herself as a human girl so we aren't bothered by others in the cities. Do you understand?"

The Minotaur took a step or two in Octavia's direction.

"Octavia still Octavia?"

The spider girl nodded at the Minotaur’s question.

"Only my looks change, not who I am or what I can do."

Binvo kept silent for a bit.

"Binvo...understand. Octavia is Octavia, Octavia is great mage, can be human if want to."

"That's more or less what it is." said Octavia.

"When I want to disguise myself as a human, all I have to do is put this ring on, it's a present from Master. Do you want to try?"

Maximilian was surprised by Octavia's question, as were the other two. Seeing their looks, Octavia said.

"Binvo is like me, he can't go in human cities like that and they would attack him."

"You're right, Octavia...although I think a ring is going to be difficult for him to use..."

Maximilian showed the Minotaur’s big fingers. The beast wouldn't be able to put a ring on, that was for sure.

"Ah...that's right. Sorry Binvo."

"Binvo is okay, Octavia is kind."

The Minotaur’s compliment made the Arachne open her eyes wide for a second, before she resumed her usual look. After a while, Maximilian broke the silence.

"So...now that those bastards are dead, what are you going to do, Binvo?"

The Minotaur scratched his head for a bit, thinking while looking at his pendant.

"Binvo...Binvo want travel. Father say Binvo must see world. Binvo want see father home."

"Your Father's home? Where is it?"

"Binvo not know..."

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Father say 'city under mountain'. Binvo not know more."

"A city under a mountain? I'm sorry Binvo, but isn't it strange for Minotaur’s to live under a mountain. I thought they lived in the south?" asked Lin-Lin.

"Father not minotaur. Come, Binvo show."

Binvo lead the trio back in his father's resting chamber. As he saw the dwarf's body, Maximilian understood.

"Oh, I see...your father is a dwarf."

The girls didn't catch on at first.

"Wait, I don't understand. Can a dwarf have a Minotaur’s child? How does it work?" asked Octavia.

"Father and Binvo not same blood. Mother give Binvo to father before die, father raise Binvo, father say Binvo his son. Father give Binvo family symbol."

Binvo tapped the pendant he had put back around his neck. The girls understood right away.

"Sorry...I shouldn't have asked." said Octavia who, for the first time, seemed to regret her straightforward talking.

"Binvo not angry. Binvo proud, Binvo is son of Galim, Steelbull clan."

Maximilian thought to himself for a bit and then smiled at himself before talking.

"So...what you're looking for is the Dwarf's city under the mountain?"

Maximilian's words caught the Minotaur’s interest.

"Yes, Maximilian know where?"

"I'm afraid I don't, not yet at least. Tell me, what would you do if you found it?"

"Binvo tell about father. Father say dwarf must sleep with ancestor."

"So...why not bringing his body back to the dwarf's city?"

Binvo lifted his arms, showing them to the group.

"Binvo not enough arms. Bingo cannot carry all body’s."

"Master..."

Maximilian looked at Lin-Lin, besides Octavia, who had just spoken.

"Don't you think he could..."

The question was obvious, even if the panda girl wasn't finishing it. Looking at the girls, Maximilian smiled a bit.

"Are you two okay with that?"

The two girls looked at each other before answering.

"Master decided, not us." said Octavia.

"But if Master wants to, we aren't against it." Added Lin-Lin.

"Very well then."

Maximilian turned to face Binvo who was looking at the trio, clearly wondering what they were talking about.

"Binvo, if you're willing to, we would be happy if you were willing to travel with us. We are on a journey around the world, we will see a lot of places, and the dwarf's city under the mountain could be one of those places."

Binvo silently looked at Maximilian for a minute.

"Maximilian say...Binvo come?"

"If you want to… yes."

The Minotaur looked at Lin-Lin and Octavia, as if he had to be sure it wasn't a mean joke.

"You really want Binvo to join?"

"I don't mind." said Octavia.

"The more the merrier." added Lin-Lin.

The Minotaur looked once again at the group then, as if he had just realised, hugged Maximilian while joyfully roaring, lifting the man off the ground.

"Binvo come, Binvo come!"

Maximilian laughed at the Minotaur’s reaction, gently patting the beast’s back.

"Welcome to the group, Binvo."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Bag too small, father not go in."

Maximilian has been trying to explain to the Minotaur how he would carry the dwarf's body in the Havebag, but his new companion clearly had trouble understanding it.

"Let me show you, okay?"

The Minotaur nodded and Maximilian opened the Havenbag as wide as possible. He then put it around the dwarf's feet; slowly going up the body, making it disappeared inside.

*Good thing his father is a dwarf and not a giant, or else the Havenbag wouldn't have been large enough...*

Binvo was clearly impressed when he saw his father's body disappeared.

"Where father is?"

Maximilian simply tapped the Havenbag.

"In here. With this bag, we'll be able to take all the dwarf's bodies with us. Like this, when we finally reach the city under the mountain, we'll be able to return the bodies back to the clan. Lin-Lin, Octavia, could you help Binvo put the corpses in here? I have something to do."

While the girls and the minotaur were actively putting the bodies in the Havebag, Maximilian used earth magic to create a stone wristband of masquerade for Binvo. It worked exactly like the rings, but was made so the minotaur would be able to use it. The trio came back to him as he was finishing, engraving the runes.

"What Maximilian do?"

"Something for you, Binvo. You see this wristband? It works like Octavia's ring. If you put it on, it will disguise you as a human."

Maximilian gave the wristband to Binvo who looked at it for a few second, then at the group.

"Binvo no mage..."

"You don't need to be one to use it, the magic is inside it already."

"...it hurt?"

"Not at all. It didn't hurt me at all; I was just a bit surprised by my new form, because of the legs. You, you already have two legs, it should be alright." said Octavia.

"If...Octavia say, Binvo believe." said the Minotaur before putting the enchanted wristband on.

"Once you'll be used to your new form, I'll give you some equipment to travel with, we can't let you go on in nothing more than underwear."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Is it really you, Binvo?"

The one currently talking was the chief's daughter, still having trouble believing the one in front of her was Binvo. Her mother had helped her up her bed when she had wanted to see the group, although she could have done it herself already, now feeling a lot better.

Maximilian wasn't blaming her, it wasn't easy to believe.

In the room with the chief, his wife and the daughter, Maximilian and the girls had come back with their new companion, who for everyone to see was a tall tanned skin man of two meters and half, with large shoulder, long black hair, a nose slightly larger than normal, slightly falling ears and dark blue eyes. He was equipped with a long skirt made of leather covered by small metal strips going from under the belt to the knees and, above the belt, a large chainmail with pieces of thick metal armour covering his shoulders and right arm, the left one already taken by a stone wristband. His weapon was a big battle hammer, although in his hand it looked almost as if it had a normal size.

"Binvo is Binvo, only look like human."

The tallest man in the room timidly smiled at the girl, while Maximilian was laughing a bit.

"I understand it can be hard to believe, but it is the Minotaur who saved you. Binvo, take off your wristband, so she can see your true form."

"Maximilian sure?"

Warily looking at the couple in the room, Binvo hesitated for a second. Seeing that, the girl reassured him.

"It's alright, Binvo, they know you helped me before. Right father? mother?"

"I...I don't really understand what's going on here, but if you are the one who helped my daughter, then yes, we know you are a minotaur...you really are a minotaur?" asked the chief.

To answer the man, Binvo simply took off his wristband, resuming his normal form in a few seconds. The chief and his wife took a step back as they saw the beast in front of them, but the girl didn't. She smiled at the Minotaur.

"It really is you...I'm happy lord Maximilian and his friends managed to save you."

"Binvo is happy, girl is fine."

"It's thanks to you that I am..."

Without warning, the girl hugged the Minotaur the best she could, her arms not long enough to encircle the Minotaur’s large frame.

"Thank you, Binvo."

The Minotaur stood there for a moment, surprised for a bit, before returning the girl's gesture, circling around her shoulder, being careful to not hurt her with his large arms.

"So...he truly is a minotaur. Who would have thought..."

The chief stepped forward, coming next to his daughter as she broke the embrace.

"You saved my daughter, for that I'm in your debt. What that scum innkeeper did is unforgivable, and I would like to give you something as compensation, but apart from the money I gave for rescuing my daughter, I'm afraid I don't have a lot to give you."

"If you're willing to listen, I may have a proposition." said Maximilian.

...........................................................................................................................................................

The group entered the inn once again; empty of any customers or any 'kind' innkeeper to welcome them.

"I made an agreement with the chief. Because the innkeeper doesn't have any wife or children, his inn will be sold later. But before that, we can take all we can, apart from the walls. So let's get to it."

"What do we take, Master?"

"Anything that will be useful, Lin-Lin. Food, drinks, any furniture in good shape. Any gold, silver or copper we find will be good also. Let's begin with the upper level and then we will come downwards."

The quartet went through and emptied the inn of all they found interesting, only leaving behind what they didn't want. In the guest bedrooms, they took the bed sheets and candle, finding nothing else at all. The innkeeper's bedroom was a bit more interesting; they found and took some coins and jewels, probably taken from customers during the years. It was Binvo who found the jewels actually, lifting the bed as if it weighed nothing.

"This good?"

When Maximilian examined the jewels, he nodded.

"Indeed, good work Binvo."

The Minotaur smiled widely as Maximilian congratulated him while friendly tapping his back. Thankfully, the Minotaur hadn't acquired the same habit as the girls, presenting his head to be patted on.

At the ground floor, they took the bit of food they found, as well as some cooking furniture in good shape, leaving behind the big cauldron, simply too dirty to be useful.

"When I look at this cauldron, I'm happy we didn't stay the night. Who knows what he had been cooking in there..."

Octavia came above the cauldron, sniffing a bit the inside before stepping back, putting a hand on her nose.

"Yuck. This man was a bad cook..."

They also found a small purse with some coins in it, certainly the innkeeper's current expenses purse.

"If this is his purse, what was hidden in his room upstairs?" asked Lin-Lin.

"Maybe the thing he had robbed, he didn't want to be found with too much money or jewels on him, so he kept two separate purses. Everything is ours now, though."

Finally, they went into the pantry, situated underground. They took all the dried food and alcohol barrels they found. Once they were done, Maximilian thought about something.

"Didn't he say he had buried a dwarf in here?"

Lin-Lin thought for a bit.

"He might have said something about that; do you think he is part of the same clan as the others?"

"Father say messenger was sent. Maybe him?"

"Give me a moment..."

Maximilian closed his eyes and stomped on the earth ground, using his scan to examine what was under the ground.

"Yep, something’s in there."

"Binvo dig!"

"Thank you for your enthusiasm, Binvo, but I have a faster way..."

Using earth magic, Maximilian separated the ground in two, revealing several dogs and cat's skeleton.

*...why am I not surprised this guy was killing little animals...*

Among the animals skeleton was the dwarf's corpse, the little skeleton with his skull cut in the middle, it let little doubt to as of how the dwarf had died.

"We have found the messenger."

They took the skeleton and put it in the Havenbag, decided to bring it back with the others.

"Okay, we have taken all we could; I suggest we leave this place. We still have a long way to go and...!"

They heard the inn door opened, someone coming inside.

"Lord Maximilian? Are you there?"

The group went back near the inn entrance, meeting the chief being seemed relieved to find them.

"Is there a problem, chief?" asked Maximilian.

"Come with me, quick!"

They followed the chief out, quickly going in his house's direction. On their way, they passed next to several people, curiously looking at the chief's house.

"What's the matter, chief?"

They entered the house and the chief closed the door behind them.

"Someone appeared at the teleportation crystal, in bad shape and unconscious. You are some kind of healer, right? This town doesn't have any temple or herbalist; do you think you could help?"

Maximilian looked at the others, the girls shrugged while Binvo seemed interested by the idea of helping someone getting better.

"I can take a look, at least."

"Good, follow me."

They followed the chief in the living room, where a fire had been lighted. Maximilian approached and opened his eyes wide when he saw who was lying on the table.

"You!?"

The chief looked at Maximilian, then at the person on the table before asking.

"Someone you know?"

"You can say that. Don't worry chief, I'll help."