The creature that had been Jeff felt a smack across his face, "Shut up, beast!" came the gruff voice.
Jeff only dimly remembered now. He felt the thick leather binding around his wrists and ankles and glared with unrestrained hatred at the adventure party. He had been captured in a trap then magiced to sleep. He had woken up bound as he was. He looked at the four people in the party, a pair of fighters with swords, a young man in mages robes and a female cleric dressed in white. Jeff bellowed in anger again and the first fighter made as if to his him again, but was restrained by the mage.
"Stop! It won't do any good, and we don't want to damage him anymore than he is already. Shellar will pay top coin for a healthy minotaur."
The fighter stayed his hand then gruffly sat back near the fire. "I don't like it," he grumbled. "Minotaurs are dangerous. The only good one is a dead one."
The mage nodded, "Aye, but you knew the danger when we set out."
The cleric approached Jeff slowly. He took a moment to drink in her scent and felt a stirring. It was only the fact that she was a female that allowed him to stay his anger long enough to allow her to apply a salve to his head. "It will be fine, creature," she said gently.
The two fighters and the mage took a moment to check the restraints before they started to settle in for the night. The fighter that had hit him had agreed to first watch.
For his part, the minotaur bided his time. The humans all thought that creature was nothing but a mindless beast capable of no thought other than that that was needed to fight. What they didn't know what that he had been working on his restraints quietly, carefully, slowly and he was almost free.