Time of the Twins

Tas’s face grew unusually serious and thoughtful. “Caramon,” he said after a moment, putting his arms around Caramon’s neck and speaking into his ear to be heard above the rattling of chains and the sounds of the city streets. “Raistlin must have been awfully busy, what with traveling back here and all. Why, it took Par-Salian days to cast that time-traveling spell and he’s a really powerful mage. So it must have taken a lot of Raistlin’s energy. How could he have possibly done that and done this to us at the same time?”

“Well,” Caramon said, frowning. “If he didn’t, who did?”

“What about—Fistandantilus?” Tas whispered dramatically. Caramon sucked in his breath, his face grew dark.

“He—he’s a really powerful wizard,” Tas reminded him, “and, well, you didn’t make any secret of the fact that you’ve come back here to—uh—well, do him in, so to speak. I mean, you even said that right in the Tower of High Sorcery. And we know Fistandantilus can hang around in the Tower. That’s where he met Raistlin, wasn’t it? What if he was standing there and heard you? I guess he’d be pretty mad.”

“Bah! If he’s that powerful, he would have just killed me on the spot!” Caramon scowled.

“No, he can’t,” Tas said firmly. “Look, I’ve got this all figured out. He can’t murder his own pupil’s brother. Especially if Raistlin’s brought you back here for a reason. Why, for all Fistandantilus knows, Raistlin may love you, deep down inside.”

Caramon’s face paled, and Tas immediately felt like biting off his tongue. “Anyway,” he went on hurriedly, “he can’t get rid of you right away. He’s got to make it look good.”

“So?”

“So—” Tas drew a deep breath. “Well, they don’t execute people around here, but they apparently have other ways of dealing with those no one wants hanging around. That cleric and the jailer both talked about executions being ‘easy’ death compared to what was going on now.”

The lash of a whip across Caramon’s back ended further conversation. Glaring furiously at the slave who had struck him—an ingratiating, sniveling fellow, who obviously enjoyed his work—Caramon lapsed into gloomy silence, thinking over what Tas had told him. It certainly made sense. He had seen how much power and concentration Par-Salian had exerted casting this difficult spell. Raistlin may be powerful, but not like that! Plus, he was still weak physically.

Caramon suddenly saw everything quite clearly. Tasslehoff’s right! We’re being set up. Fistandantilus will do away with me somehow and then explain my death to Raistlin as an accident. Somewhere, in the back of Caramon’s mind, he heard a gruff old dwarvish voice say, “I don’t know who’s the bigger ninny—you or that doorknob of a kender? If either of you make it out of this alive, I’ll be surprised!” Caramon smiled sadly at the thought of his old friend. But Flint wasn’t here, neither was Tanis or anyone else who could advise him. He and Tas were on their own and, if it hadn’t been for the kender’s impetuous leap into the spell, he might very well have been back here by himself, without anyone! That thought appalled him. Caramon shivered.

“All this means is that I’ve got to get to this Fistandantilus before he gets to me,” he said to himself softly.

The great spires of the Temple looked down on city streets kept scrupulously clean—all except the back alleys. The streets were thronged with people. Temple guards roamed about, keeping order, standing out from the crowd in their colorful mantles and plumed helms. Beautiful women cast admiring glances at the guards from the corners of their eyes as they strolled among the bazaars and shops, their fine gowns sweeping the pavement as they moved. There was one place in the city the women didn’t go near, however, though many cast curious glances toward it—the part of the square where the slave market stood.

The slave market was crowded, as usual. Auctions were held once a week—one reason the bear-skin man, who was the manager, had been so eager to get his weekly quotient of slaves from the prisons. Though the money from the sales of prisoners went into the public coffers, the manager got his cut, of course. This week looked particularly promising.

As he had told Tas, there were no longer executions in Istar or parts of Krynn that it controlled. Well, few. The Knights of Solamnia still insisted on punishing knights who betrayed their Order in the old barbaric fashion—slitting the knight’s throat with his own sword. But the Kingpriest was counseling with the Knights, and there was hope that soon even that heinous practice would be stopped.

Of course, the halting of executions in Istar had created another problem—what to do with the prisoners, who were increasing in number and becoming a drain on the public coffers. The church, therefore, conducted a study. It was discovered that most prisoners were indigent, homeless, and penniless. The crimes they had committed—thievery, burglary, prostitution, and the like—grew out of this.