Free The Wizardwar by Elaine Cunningham

do is present my arse as a convenient target.”
    “But-“
    The wizard glanced up, his eyes sharp. “Do you want to help Tzigone, or don’t you?”
    As Matteo held the challenging gaze, his own stern conscience mocked him. “I’m coming to realize moral choices are often difficult and seldom clear-cut,” he said at last.
    Basel grunted. “I値l take that as a yes. Why don’t you keep looking while I copy these spells.”
    Matteo held his ground, determined to tell the wizard what little he could. “Queen Beatrix will stand trial at the new moon. Did you know King Zalathorm has charged me with her defense?”
    The wizard’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I heard. Why do you mention this now?”
    “Since we are working together to free Tzigone, it seemed reasonable to ask your advice in this other matter.”
    “I don’t envy you your task,” Basel said bluntly. “Some of the artisans who built the clockwork creatures came forward to identify the ruins. Magical inquiry determined that all of these artisans worked for the queen and no one else.”
    “Yes.” This was one of many disturbing facts Matteo’s search had turned up.
    “Perhaps you can prove Queen Beatrix intended no harm, no treason.”
    “I’m not sure ‘intent’ is relevant here. In recent years, the queen has not shown herself capable of logical thought. Also, any defense of this sort will be countered with stories of madmen and their acts of destruction. Halruaan history has its share of such tales. None of these insane villains escaped justice, nor will Beatrix if this argument is presented as her only defense.”
    “Perhaps you can prove her work was misused. Under Halruaan law, if a wizard creates a spell and a destructive spell variation is created and cast by a second wizard, the first wizard is held blameless. Beatrix made the clockwork creatures, but Kiva took them away and used them as warriors. If Beatrix had no understanding of Kiva’s intentions-and it is likely she did not-perhaps she is protected by this law.”
    “If Kiva were available for magical questioning, this might be a reasonable defense.”
    Basel thought for a moment. “Have you considered the possibility that Beatrix’s state of mind is the result of an enchantment?”
    Matteo remembered the look on King Zalathorm’s face when Beatrix said that she’d been enchanted-not by a who, but a what.
    “This will be difficult to prove,” he murmured, thinking of the oaths that bound Zalathorm to silence.
    “Has the queen been examined by magehounds? By diviners?”
    “She has. They can find nothing either to condemn or exonerate her. There seems to be a magical veil over the queen blocking any sort of inquiry.”
    A veil the king could not dispel, he added silently. He wondered once again why Zalathorm would put so important a task of divination upon the shoulders of a magic-dead counselor.
    “You look troubled,” Basel observed.
    Matteo shook off his introspection. “It is a perplexing matter, but I thank you for your council. You have a solid grasp of Halruaan law, as I would expect from any former jordaini master-“
    He broke off abruptly, but Basel’s wide, startled eyes announced that the cat was already in the creamery. The wizard quickly composed his face and settled back in his chair.
    “Apparently you have a good many things on your mind! Is there any particular reason for inquiring into my past employment, or are you inclined to fits of random curiosity?”
    For a moment Matteo debated whether to follow this path. The need to know won out over propriety. “Yesterday, after the king named me counselor, you said we had matters to discuss.” His heart pounded as he waited for the wizard to admit what Tzigone had hinted and Matteo suspected: Basel was his natural father.
    The older man’s expression remained puzzled. “I was speaking of Tzigone’s rescue.”
    Matteo felt an unreasonable surge of disappointment. Not yet ready to let the subject drop, he asked