How was Retribution stolen?

[Antonio]

Can anyone offer a plausible explanation as to how Retribution was stolen? Not only stolen but replaced with a fake. By all accounts Retribution is a pretty unique sword so a counterfeit would have to be forged which would mean the forger would have to have access to Retribution to study or enough accurate knowledge/description of the sword to make a forgery that would fool Kylar. A big issue is the weight of the sword. Because of it's magical properties retribution is much lighter than a normal sword of the same size. That weight difference should be enough to tip off Kylar of a switch. Speaking of the switch, Kylar thinks it was stolen when he was walking through some town. So the thief would have to take Retribution off of Kylar's back and replace it with the forgery without being noticed. Also, the ka'kari warns Kylar to duck when an arrow shot by Scarred Warble is speeding towards him but doesn't warn him of a thief sneaking up behind him?
So any ideas?

[Teaxzz]

ninjas magic and those dragon things from winnie the pooh id wager. any counter arguments?

[Ross]

To quote the Simpsons "Whenever something happens that cant be explained through normal events.... A Wizard did it"

[Aislinn]

hahahhaa. awesome.

[Ashley]

I was under the impression that it was stolen and replaced by the fake while Kylar was being judged and killed on the wheel. since he left it in a safe house and the person that stole it was able to use the vir the trap could have been avoided and crafting the fake wouldn't have been to hard.

[Antonio]

I thought about it being stolen from the safe house while Kylar was on the wheel but couple things didn't make sense about it. One Kylar's was a very public execution so the need for the thief to replace Retribution with a fake escapes me. Kylar was as good as dead far as the thief knew so why go to the trouble to replace a fake, just take it. Second, according to Kylar's best guess when he discovers the theft, "someone had stolen his sword before he hid it here, probably when he'd first been gawking like an idiot on the crowded sidewalks of Vestacchi." Kylar is the expert so I'm inclined to follow his own assumptions. Also, he pulled Retribution on Durzo on the road to the Chantry so if it was the fake picked up at the safe house it was good enough to fool them both, and Durzo carried that thing around for 700 years. Good fake.
As for "crafting a fake wouldn't have been too hard" There was so much emphasis on the fake Ceur'caelestos that Feir was making and what a great "Maker" he is that this other forger must have been as good or better.

It all just rankles a little because Neph getting hold of Iures is so central to the events of the book and yet it happens so conveniently. I'll take Ross's very helpful response as the winner though,which basically translates to "Don't think, just accept."

[Kieran]

But you forget that the thief was working for Neph, who knew that Kylar had the black ka'kari so knew he would be reborn. The fake though was covered i the ka'kari which should have made it look like the original I assume. Although I could be completely wrong about all of this......

[Antonio]

Neph wasn't in Cenaria at the time of Kylar's execution, he was actually pretty busy getting things ready at Black Barrow, so he wouldn't have known about it. A thief, a good thief in my opinion, is an pooprtunist. He would take advantage of the target being indisposed on the "Wheel" to just take the sword and not bother with the fake which would be a waste of time. Wether or not Neph knew the Black made Kylar Immortal I doubt. The Godking didn't even know that or he wouldn't have ignored Kylar's dead body in the throne room so that Kylar could "wake up", sneak up behind him and kill him. If the Godking didn't know I don't think Neph did.
As for the Ka'kari making the sword look like the original, remember it was the Ka'kari that noticed that Retribution was a fake as soon as Kylar covered the sword with it. It screamed "Wait!" right before Kylar stuffed them both in a drawer to hide them. But Kylar didn't listen

[Wandering Elf]

That was something I wondered when I read too. I ended up with several questions that I'd have liked answers to, but this one was one of the ones that struck me as being a big plot issue. Knowing what Lilly and Gnasher did to end up in the hole, or how come Elene could suddenly speak when Kylar found her for Drake to help probably wouldn't really further the plot. ;)

[Jade O'M]

On an aside... There's actually a phenomenon called selective mutism (no magic or nuttin'!! ;) ) that would explain how Elene would suddenly speak... It's when kids can physically speak but don't, it's more of a psychological thing and can go on for months/years...
But haven't anything to add to the point in hand - it did seem a bit sudden for Retribution to get stolen. I thought if I read it again I'd figure it out, but apparently not then!! ;)

[Kneph09]

I had a lot of these questions, too. My default reaction, though, is to give the author the benefit of a doubt. These books are pretty lengthy already, and chances are a lot of these situations that were simply missing were probably edited out for the sake of space. Maybe Weeks will have the chance to go back and elaborate on some of these events in later books, but it should be understood that sometimes authors just have to cut things out...

[Arkali]

Hrrrm. For some reason I had thought it was stolen while it was in the safehouse in the town near the Chantry - ie. while Kylar was talking to Vi and Elene. I could definitely be wrong, though.

[Antonio]

As Kylar is hiding Retribution in the false bottom of a drawer in that safehouse outside the Chantry,....Quote - "Kylar willed it (the Kakari) to cover Retribution. -Wait!- He dropped the sword into the space beneath the bureau."
That "Wait!" was the Kakari realizing that Retribution was a fake and trying to tell Kylar. But he ignored it.

Later when he retrieves the sword....Quote - "As soon as the ka'kari touched his skin, it began shrilling. - Why didn't you listen! I tried to tell you! It's gone. Three months gone. Stolen!-"

So Retribution was stolen before they reached the Chantry. Which again takes me back to, How? and When?