Forgotten Realms - Return Of The Archwizards 04 - Realms of Shadow

Trial by Ordeal

Lisa Smedman

Netheril Year 3389

(The Year of Perdition's Flame, -470 DR)

Hands clasped behind his back, Andoris Derathar stared out the warded

window at the drifting clouds that veiled the farmland so far below. The city was

currently floating over a lush checkerboard of leaf-greens, wheat-yellows and

loamy browns, but in the distance he could see a ridge of sun-bleached white

that should not have been there: the low dunes of the encroaching desert.

He had just come from the Hall of Judgment and was still wearing his robes

of office: a starched and pleated black kilt that hung to the floor and a long-

sleeved black shirt with a pair of scales, embroidered in gold thread, on its left

breast. A gold cord was knotted around his waist. Suspended from it was a

mask-a smooth circle of ivory with holes for eyes and nostrils, and a slit for the

mouth. Its color matched that of Andoris's white-blond hair, which was receding

on either side of a high-swept forehead. The face of the mask was as bland as

Andoris's own his beardless cheeks were smooth-unmarred by lines of age or

worry.

Turning away from the window, Andoris regarded the gem he had been

holding behind his back: an enormous blood-red ruby, faceted at such odd

angles that the sides of the gem seemed to turn in upon themselves. Drifting at

the center of it was a ghostlike essence that twisted slightly-the soul of the man

Andoris had just found guilty of murder. Two holes that might have been eyes

stared mournfully out through the walls of the crystal prison.

"Death," Andoris said, repeating the sentence he had just imposed, "without

possibility of resurrection for fifty years."

He placed the ruby in a niche on the wall beside a dozen others.

Behind Andoris, a homunculus-a vaguely humanlike creature with green,

leathery skin, enormous batlike ears, and glistening black eyes-gave a faint

snort. Folding its leathery wings around itself like a cloak, it made a disdainful

gesture with webbed fingers.

Horbal was a cruel bastard, it said in a voice that was part squeak, part

croak-a voice that only Andoris could hear. He killed that cat slowly-and enjoyed

watching it suffer. You should have given him five hundred years, not fifty.

Andoris stared down at the homunculus. Even standing fully upright, the

creature was no taller than his knee. Created through an alchemical process with

a pint of Andoris's own blood, it was in constant telepathic contact with its master.

In the years since its creation, it had served as an invaluable tool in Andoris's

climb up the ranks of the judiciary.

"Fifty years is the punishment proscribed by law for the killing of a familiar,"

Andoris told it.

He spoke the words aloud-something he only did when he and the

homunculus were alone.

It isn't fair! the homunculus whined. That bastard Horbal will be free in fifty

years, while poor Jelal-

The homunculus had been reaching for the ruby, intending to give it a furious

shake. Even though this wouldn't damage the gem or its contents, decorum had

to be maintained. Andoris forced his will into the homunculus's mind and

wrenched its arm down. Sulking, the creature huddled into itself, nursing a

dislocated shoulder.

Andoris, his mind shielded from the pain, stared down at the homunculus

with a face as dispassionate as the mask that hung at his belt. With a flick of his

fingers, he cast a healing spell.

A moment later, he heard sharp raps at the door. His finger pointed in silent

command, and the homunculus stiffened, then scurried under a table. It watched

with large, luminous eyes as Andoris first cast an illusion spell to mask its

presence, then flicked a sparkle of magical energy in the door's direction,

unlocking it. "Enter."

The door swung open, revealing Justice Vlourir, a woman with long black

hair and deep frown lines across her forehead. She wore a judge's black kilt and

shirt, with an ivory mask at her belt.

"Lord High Justice Derathar," she said, "I am sorry to trouble you so soon

after your sentencing, but there is a case requiring your judgment."

A small fist thumped in irritation under the table, but went unheard.

"What is the charge?" Andoris asked in an expressionless voice.

"Espionage-specifically, the theft of state secrets. The arcanist Algar Ptack

was, under direct commission from Lord Karsus, researching a way to reverse

one of his spells. Lord Karsus hoped the reversed spell might be used to further

decipher the Nether Scrolls. Ptack's research notes from that project, however,

were stolen."

Andoris nodded. Lord Karsus had confided in him, some time ago, the

details of this particular research project. Ptack was trying to reverse his secret

script spell, an incantation that made even magical text indecipherable to anyone

who didn't know the command word that would negate the encryption. If he

succeeded in reversing the spell-assuming the Nether Scrolls were ever found

again-the enclave that possessed that spell would be the first to read the scrolls'

secrets and would become the most powerful in all the land. The case was

certainly an important one, but did that mean Andoris had to hear it?

From under the table came a small sigh, audible only to Andoris.

"High Justice Emilus Wentar is qualified to hear evidence in capital cases,"

he said.

The frown lines on Justice Vlourir's face deepened. "He has heard the case,

but he finds it impossible to reach a judgment. He says the trial invokes

questions about legal procedure that only the Lord High Justice can answer- and

that the testimony itself presents an insoluble puzzle."

Visible only to Andoris, the homunculus sat up, ears erect and a gleam in its

eye. A puzzle?

As if she had heard the echoed question, Justice Vlourir continued, "There

are two defendants. High Justice Wentar said deciding which is guilty is like

trying to choose between a reflection and a mirror."

What do we suppose he meant by that?

Andoris merely inclined his head. "Where is the case being heard?"

"In the Spiral Court. It has been adjourned temporarily, and High Justice

Wentar awaits you there."

Andoris nodded. "Inform High Justice Wentar that I'll join him at once."

*****

The Spiral Court had been named for its dominant feature: a flat inlay of

white ivory, about two paces wide, that spiraled up the wall of the circular

chamber. As voices echoed up from the floor of the deep, well-like chamber,

ebony-black letters flowed up the spiral: a transcription of the testimony being

given below.

The force of gravity had been twisted during the construction of the Spiral

Court, allowing its walls to serve as floors, and these walls were crowded with the

citizens of Karsus Enclave-arcanists and lay casters alike-who stood at a right

angle to the floor below, affording them an excellent view of both the proceedings

and the transcription that flowed past their feet.

At the bottom of the Spiral Court, Andoris sat on an ornately carved chair of

solid silver that floated a hand-span above the floor. He wore his judge's mask-

but pushed up onto his head, leaving his face bare. A few paces behind him,

High Justice Wentar sat in a similar chair, listening quietly as portions of the

testimony given earlier were repeated, his face hidden behind his judge's mask.

His body appeared young and trim and his hair was still thick and dark, thanks to

age-resisting magic, but his shoulders slumped with the heaviness of decades of

difficult decisions, betraying his true age.

On the opposite side of the room, the stone floor had been marked with two

intricate circles, painted with a brush made from three braided hairs from a

minotaur's tail. Each maze-circle was perhaps two paces wide, and inside each

stood a woman with a proud, narrow face and long red hair. One woman had

pulled her hair back with a gold cord and dusted her lips and eyelids with

powdered ruby and was dressed in a silver-gray gown dotted with tiny flecks of

black that whorled across its surface like shifting smoke. The other wore her hair

loose over her shoulders and was dressed in gray tights, a loose gray shirt, and

thigh-high boots that were scuffed at the heel and knee.

Though the two women had chosen dramatically different clothes in which to

appear before the court-one looking as though she were ready for a celebration

at Lord Karsus's tower, the other as if she were about to set out on an adventure-

their faces were as identical as those of twins. Even their expressions were the

same. Each stood rigidly, glaring haughtily out at the other through the

shimmering circle of latent magic that would cause her to become lost inside the

maze-circle were she to try to cross it, either bodily or with magic. The two

women even expressed their tension in the same way: a narrowing of her pale

green eyes and the occasional restless drumming of the fingers of her right hand

against her thigh.

One of the women, according to the testimony, was a shadow double-but so

cunning was the magic that had brought it into being that it was impossible to tell

which was the arcanist and which the magical construct. High Justice Wentar

had already tried all of the standard tests, but none had shed any light on the

question. Each of the women had a heavy aura of magical dweomer surrounding

her-but it was well known that Blamira, like most arcanists, had prolonged her life

span using powerful magic. Wentar had exhausted himself trying to determine

precisely which spells had created this aura, and he failed. Blamira's magic was

too powerful.

He had next ordered the women stripped of all clothing and possessions and

had analyzed each of these objects for any traces of nonfunctionality. Had they

been created at the same time as the double, as part of Blamira's spell, that

magic should have been unable to fully sustain them, once they were no longer

in contact with the double. But all of the objects proved to be completely devoid

of dweomer-mundane items acquired by the shadow double after its creation.

In his final test, Wentar had teleported one of the women briefly to another

plane, in the hope that the other would dissipate-something that normally

happened when the magical bind between alchemist and construct was severed

by such a distance. Like the other tests, it hadn't worked.

Staring at the women now, Andoris noted that each of them moved

independently of the other and appeared to be fully in control of her own actions.

There were none of the usual signs of a shadow double being commanded by its

creator: no hesitancy of speech, no mirroring of movement.

The magic that was sustaining the shadow double was durable. Wentar had

already spent the better part of a day hearing testimony, and the shadow double

had not faded in the slightest. Its creator appeared to have cast a permanency

spell upon it.

Prom Andoris's bedchamber-where the homunculus was safely locked away-

came a nervous, worried voice.

We don't like this case, it said, wringing its hands. It reminds us of-

The similarities are superficial, Andoris told it. Be quiet.

He stared expressionlessly at the arcanist who was giving testimony. Algar

Ptack, a man with a high forehead and thinning blond hair that hung to his

shoulders, was pacing back and forth in front of the chairs in which the two

judges sat. He wore an alchemist's leather apron over his trousers and a loose

white shirt. The cuffs of his sleeves were dusted with yellow, and the smell of

burned sulfur clung to his clothes, suggesting he'd come straight from his

laboratory to give testimony. His eyes were enormous behind clear glass lenses

that floated just in front of his face. As he gave his testimony, he peered

nervously at the two women held inside the magic circles.

Every now and then he glanced to the judges, as if for encouragement, but

failed to find it in Wentar's blank mask or Andoris's emotionless expression. The

mantle Ptack had been ordered to wear while giving testimony- a cape of fine-

spun gold-billowed out behind him as he paced, humming like the strings of a

melodious harp with each word he spoke.

"You know I can't lie-not with this thing on," Ptack groused. "I'm telling you

the truth. Shiris Blamira is the thief. I'd engaged her as a consultant for my, ah ...

my latest research. I needed her expertise on magic that reaches into other

planes and demiplanes. She guessed what my research notes contained and

figured out how I'd ... where I'd hidden them." He grimaced. "To think I trusted

her! I'll never work with another wizard again- especially one from the Shadow

Consortium."

From the walls above came a rustle of subdued voices as Ptack's words

spiraled up the ivory inlay. The crowd of spectators had been growing throughout

the day, as whispers spread that a disciple of Shadow was on trial for stealing

state secrets.

Into Andoris's head came a malicious giggle: Shadow had better tread

carefully! If his disciple is found guilty, Karsus may withdraw his favor.

Andoris ignored the homunculus's tittering. "This is a j serious matter," he

cautioned Ptack. "You're accusing a fellow arcanist-a member of the Shadow

Consortium- of a capital offence, and yet you have provided no proof, other than

your own testimony, that magical research was stolen from you late yesterday

afternoon, or that it was Shiris Blamira who committed the theft."

Ptack's eyes gleamed behind the floating lenses of his spectacles. "There

was a witness," he said. "One of my servants. It saw the whole thing-but High

Justice Wentar refused to hear its testimony."

Wentar, who had been listening quietly, sat up sharply. His blank white mask

hid his expression, but the tone of his voice gave away his irritation.

"He wanted to summon an elemental!" Wentar protested. "It's too dangerous.

This court doesn't have the proper magical containment to-"

Andoris motioned his fellow judge to silence and said, "If there is a witness,

its testimony must be heard."

"If Ptack loses control of it, the elemental could kill us all!" Wentar sputtered.

Back in Andoris's bedchamber, the homunculus rocked back and forth

nervously, chewing one of its finger talons.

What if it does get free? What if it kills someone? We could be blamed. Are

we sure we want to risk-

"This court will hear the testimony," Andoris announced.

Above him, the crowd began to thin as the spectators looked at one another,

shook then* heads, and teleported away.

Andoris turned to Ptack and said, "Summon your witness."

Nodding, Ptack reached into a pocket of his trousers and pulled out a lump

of wet clay. Dropping to his knees, he used it to smear thick gray lines on the

floor. When he was done, he rubbed the remainder of the clay on his palms, then

stepped back and curled his hands over the patterns on the floor, making digging

motions as he chanted.

After a moment, the stone at his feet began to bulge. A moment more, and

the bulges took on the shape of a face. Eyes slowly turned in Ptack's direction

with a sound like boulders being dragged across hard ground, and a crack

formed and ruptured into a mouth, emitting a dank, earthen smell. The floor

trembled underfoot as the lips slowly began to move.

When the words at last came they were as heavy and slow as a grindstone.

"Maaasterrr."

A ripple of relief came from the walls as those spectators who had been

brave enough to remain realized the elemental had indeed successfully been

held in thrall. Some of them teleported out to spread the news, and the hall

gradually began to fill again. An excited buzz of voices grew as they realized

what they were seeing.

Ptack had just summoned an earth elemental-a creature that none had

suspected existed within Karsus Enclave. When Lord Karsus had sheared the

top off a mountain and used it as the foundation for his floating city, he must have

inadvertently taken the elemental up with it, condemning the creature to an

existence forever severed from the ground below. And yet the thing still lived-and

was under Ptack's control. Equally amazing was the fact that the normally

secretive Ptack had revealed this fact.

Ptack concentrated on his spell, his palms pressing down with invisible force,

holding the earth elemental in place.

Tell the Lord High Justice what you saw," he commanded. "Describe the

thief who stole my scrolls."

"Humaaan. With... great... maaagic. She... waaalks ... in ... shaaadows."

Andoris nodded. A shadow-walk spell would explain how the thief-if it was

indeed Blamira-was able to enter Ptack's laboratory, protected as it was by

numerous magical locks and wards.

"Was it one of these two humans?" he asked, pointing simultaneously at

both of the accused.

The elemental's unblinking eyes rolled in their sockets to stare at the closest

of the red-haired women. The ground under her feet bulged then subsided.

"Thaaat... one."

Slowly, the eyes ground in the other direction, and the ground bulged under

the second imprisoned woman.

"And ... thaaat... one."

"Just as I said!" Ptack exclaimed.

Behind the floating lenses, his eyes swiveled briefly to gauge Andoris's

reaction to the testimony-but only briefly. Sweat was running down his temples

from the strain of holding the massive elemental inside the earth.

Andoris leaned forward on his chair. The elemental's eyes were slowly rolling

back and forth, grinding softly in their sockets.

"Which one is the thief?" he asked.

A heat haze shimmered in the air above the elemental's mouth as it licked its

lips with a tongue of molten lava.

"They... taste... saaame."

"Did both of them enter your master's laboratory?"

The floor trembled, forcing Ptack to catch his balance, as the elemental

slowly shook its head. On the walls above, some of the spectators who had been

drawn back by curiosity disappeared again.

"Juuust... one."

"Can you tell which one?" Andoris asked. "Nooo."

Ptack, sweating more profusely now, shrugged a shoulder to wipe a trickle of

sweat from his temple, but kept his palms motionless over the elemental.

"Blamira knew about the elemental," he said, "yet she had the audacity to

steal my notes, despite the fact that she was being watched. She must have

counted on Went- on this court being too timid to hear its testimony."

"When did the elemental alert you to the theft?" Andoris asked.

"Immediately," Ptack said. "Unfortunately, Blamira had already fled with my

notes." Andoris glanced at the two accused-both of whom

Were watching the elemental with rapt, silent frowns- then sat back in his

chair, considering. It was possible the elemental was lying, but unlikely. Ptack

could control it and force it to carry out his orders, but he couldn't control its

thoughts. It was an independent creature, with a mind of its own-a mind filled with

fury at being forced to serve a mere human. If the elemental did lie, it would do

so out of malice, to damage Ptack's testimony.

We would never do anything like that. We would never, ever tell a lie about

our master if we were ever called to testify. But we wouldn't ever be called to

testify, would we? If people knew the truth about us, it would ruin our reputation.

Andoris ignored the homunculus's words, which were sent in a fawning tone,

but with a slight edge.

"The testimony of the witness is deemed valid," he announced. "The witness

may be dismissed."

Taking a deep breath, Ptack leaned forward, forcing his hands ever closer to

the floor. The elemental grimaced, causing the floor and walls to tremble

violently. It slowly sank back into the floor. Ptack moved his hands back and

forth, as if erasing a picture. A heartbeat later, the floor was smooth, flat, and

featureless, as if the elemental had never been.

As High Justice Wentar let out an audible sigh of relief, Andoris turned to the

two accused and said, "You have heard the testimony given against you. You

now have an opportunity to plead guilty or to-"

Both interrupted at once.

"But I'm innocent!" they cried. Each pointed at the other and spoke, their

words fitting together like heartbeats. "She must be-" "She's the one who's-" and

came together on the final word, "guilty!"

They continued to protest, each trying to shout the other down. Andoris,

noting that the testimony was becoming jumbled on the ivory spiral-even the

Spiral Court was having a hard time telling the two apart- forked the fingers of his

right hand, simultaneously casting a holding spell upon them both. Each woman

froze in place, unable to do more than breathe or blink, but still capable of

hearing any testimony given against her.

"They're both guilty," Ptack muttered, peering back and forth at the frozen

figures. "One's the arcanist, and the other's her shadow double. One directed the

crime, the other committed it. Execute them both-but force them to say what

they've done with my research notes, first."

Andoris crooked his finger. "The mantle."

Ptack plucked it from his shoulders with a grateful shudder, as if removing a

leech. Andoris gestured, and the mantle floated across the circle that held the

Blamira claimant with the gown and gem-dusted face. As soon as she was

released from her spell she flung the mantle across her shoulders with a haughty

expression and stood poised and expectant, waiting for Andoris's questions.

"Are you Shiris Blamira?" he asked.

"I am," she began, then winced as the mantle struck a slightly sour note.

"That is, I believe that I am. There is a chance, of course, that I am wrong. If I am

the shadow double, I wouldn't know it. I have all of Shiris Blamira's physical and

mental attributes, including her spellcasting abilities-even the same memories."

"And the same motivations to commit theft?" Wentar asked.

Ha! Got her!

Andoris held up a hand. "The accused is not required to speculate on

whether she might have committed the crime," he cautioned. "Only to testify as to

whether or not she did commit the crime."

Wentar considered a moment, then said, "Assume, for now, that you are the

original Shiris Blamira, and answer my questions accordingly." He pointed at the

woman in the other maze-circle. "Did you create this shadow double?"

"I must have. It wouldn't be possible for another arcanist to have created so

exact a duplicate." "Do you remember casting the spell?" "No. I know only that

the shadow double must have been created yesterday-and that somehow, my

memory of yesterday has vanished."

"What do you remember?" Andoris asked.

"One moment I was sitting in the library of the Shadow Consortium, reading

and enjoying my morning tea, and the next, I found myself in my laboratory, face-

to-face with this . . . creature. I thought it was a doppelganger at first, and only

realized what it must be after I tried to magically bind it-and it dismissed the

binding as if it had cast the spell itself. That's when I realized it must be a shadow

double."

"Did you try to command it?"

Blamira nodded vigorously. "Immediately-but it didn't work. Somehow, the

thing must have become free willed."

Free willed?

Back in the bedchamber, the homunculus was sitting on the edge of

Andoris's four-poster bed, riveted by the testimony.

"Did you try to dismiss the shadow double?" Andoris asked.

Blamira nodded. "That didn't work either."

"Did you try dispelling the magic that sustained it?"

"Of course I did," Blamira said, curling her lip disdainfully. "I'm not some

newly initiated apprentice, you know."

Andoris thought for a moment, then asked, "When did the constabulary

arrest you?"

"At shadowfall-dusk," Blamira answered. "That was the first I heard of the

missing research notes."

"Did you steal Ptack's research?" Andoris asked bluntly.

Blamira looked pointedly at her double and said, "One of us did. It may or

may not have been me."

"Do you know where the stolen research notes are now?"

"No."

Throughout Blamira's testimony, the mantle of truth echoed her words with a

continuous harmony, without striking a single off note. Blamira was telling the

truth.

Andoris tried a different line of questioning. "When your memory returned,

what was the shadow double doing?"

"What do you mean?" Blamira asked, frowning.

"Did it appear to be casting a spell?"

"No. It was just standing there, staring at me."

Andoris sat quietly a moment, considering. "Shadow doubles normally have

only a limited duration, yet this one appears to have been made permanent. A

simple permanency spell should have collapsed under the dispellation spells

High Justice Wentar subjected you both to, but this one did not. How do you

explain that?"

"How can I explain anything?" Blamira cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"You obviously weren't listening to what I just said. I have no memory of anything

that happened yesterday-including casting the spell that created the shadow

double."

Bitch! Of course we were listening.

Andoris sat on his silver chair, motionless and impassive. He would not allow

his judgment to be swayed by the expression or tone of voice of the accused.

"The court will hear the defense of the second accused," he announced. He

pointed at the mantle on Blamira's shoulder. "Remove the mantle of truth."

As soon as she complied, Andoris froze her in place and floated it to the

second woman, dispelling the magic that prevented her from moving. He posed

the same questions-and received almost identical replies. The second Blamira

also swore she had no memory of the shadow double's creation and said her first

clear recollection after the gap in her memories was of she and the shadow

double standing in her laboratory, blinking at each other in confusion. All the

while, the mantle hummed in perfect harmony with her words.

Wentar leaned toward Andoris, his eyes troubled behind his ivory mask. He

spoke in a low voice, but even so, the spiral of ivory picked up his words. "By law,

an arcanist is legally responsible for the actions of any creatures created by his

or her magic," he began, "but in this case..."

"In this case, it's obviously not an ordinary shadow double," Blamira

interjected, tossing her long red hair. "It's free willed, with a mind of its own. It

could have committed the crime entirely of its own accord, using my spells and

my knowledge of Ptack's research to steal his notes. If that's what happened-and

if you find us both guilty and sentence both of us to die-you’ll be killing an

innocent woman. You have no other option but to find us both innocent, and let

us go."

Found innocent. If only we'd had that option with Jelal.

Choking back a sob, the homunculus sank needle-sharp teeth into one of its

fingers.

Andoris ignored the mental image of blood dripping from the homunculus's

punctured finger. He sat in silent contemplation as a murmur of voices drifted

down from the spectators. Now that the defense of the two accused-slight though

it was-had been heard, all attention was focused on the judges. On Andoris, in

particular. The spectators, the two accused, Ptack, and Wentar all watched his

face closely, looking for the slightest of frowns or the twitch of a mile, hoping to

interpret it in their favor. As usual, he disappointed them.

This court will temporarily adjourn," he announced. "High Justice Wentar and

I need to discuss this case in chambers." He glanced at his fellow judge. "Shall

we retire to the Crystal Chamber?"

Wentar nodded behind his mask and spoke the words of the spell that would

take them there.

*****

An instant later, both men were standing in a room whose oddly angled walls

and ceiling were made of a clear, glasslike material. Perched on one of the

enclave's highest towers, with nothing but air surrounding it on all sides, the

chamber caught the light from all angles. Beams of sunlight slanted in through

walls and ceiling, erupting into thousands of tiny blue and red sparkles, revealing

the chamber to be an enormous, hollow diamond. Wards etched by magic into

each facet of the gem prevented those outside from scrying on those within.

Far below the tower that supported the Crystal Chamber, the rooftops and

spires of Karsus Enclave could be seen, clustered like barnacles on the inverted

mountaintop from which the enclave had been formed. Two buildings stood out

from the rest: the cagelike enclosures that housed the enclave's two mythallars-

enormous spheres, more than one hundred and fifty paces in diameter, that

channeled raw magical energy from the Weave. Energy pulsed out of each

mythallar, sustaining the magic that kept the enclave afloat, and powering all

quasimagical devices within the energy field's one-mile radius. That energy was

visible to the eye as a light colder than ice and brighter than the hottest flame-

and like a flame, it drew its moths. Those bent upon self-destruction had only to

touch one of those brightly glowing spheres to be instantly killed, without any

possibility of resurrection.

Back in the bedchamber, the homunculus shuddered. Horrible, it moaned. A

horrible way to die. Andoris, however, merely turned away from the view. He

snapped his fingers, causing a decanter and two tiny glasses to hover in the air

in front of him. He glanced at Wentar, who nodded, then caused the decanter to

tip, filling one glass with a yellow liquid, then nudged it through the air to Wentar.

He then filled the second glass and took a sip. The honey wine was delicious,

warm and sweet.

"I'd like to hear your thoughts on the case," Andoris said.

Wentar pushed his mask onto the top of his head and took a sip of wine. He

gently swirled the liquid in his glass, considering it with a slight frown.

"The accused has a point," he began. "If the shadow double was an

independent creature that committed the theft of its own volition-even if the

original motivation sprang from its creator's psyche-then Blamira must be found

innocent. Whichever one she is." "Quite so," Andoris agreed.

"It all comes down to the question of when the thing gained free will," Wentar

continued. "If the shadow double was commanded by Blamira at the time of the

theft, and only gained or was granted free will afterward, then Blamira is guilty-

Forgotten Realms - Return Of The Archwizards 04 - Realms of Shadow

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