Aftermath, Part Five: Endings and new beginnings in Duendewood

When it was done, they went north: Tarric and Werendril, Aesa and Rose, Ruin and Sun, Scar, and Risk. Ruin had never found a suitable candidate to replace the Druid Hierophant, and so stepped into the role himself, with Alnira and Zoriel and Elendor to help him. They squabbled -- frequently -- but over time the druids returned to their former strength, and from time to time the Elf-King Mythrandril would call on them for counsel or aid. At long last, Ruin turned Saladhael's Stone over to Zoriel, and with it the position of Druid Hierophant.

Aesa built a small shrine to Amun in the wilderness just outside of Calisthum and settled in; to her considerable surprise, she found a following among the local elves, and over time her shrine became a chapel and then a temple. Eventually, she married an elvish ranger who had once worked with Werendril and then gone on to join the resistance; three or four times a year, they would go and visit Aesa's father in Annun, and both of them felt that those trips were adventure enough... especially as their family grew. 

Tarric and Werendril drifted apart, unable to overcome their shared grief at the deaths of Anica and Rune. Tarric returned to Sol Povos, and eventually became Tavros' right hand; making it a habit to have Zone of Truth active for all policy debates had a transforming effect on the politics of the court. Werendril returned to the Order of the Golden Bow, training new candidates and working to maintain the peace along the border with Sol Povos; it was a full century before he caught the eye of a silver-haired bard, who courted him relentlessly until he finally gave in and accepted her proposal.

Amaranth kept her smithy and her apprentice where the resistance had once had its camp, a few miles southwest of the sacred grove; her work was good enough that her customers came to her. Ruin stopped in to visit her when he was in the area, and sometimes she came to Calisthum to check on the blade she'd made for him. Eventually they stopped pretending it was casual and got married, adding three more names (Ash, Tybalt, and Azrael) to the list of Ruin's children. 

Shalmistra and Darvinin returned to Annun with their child Dionaea, and stayed in the service of King Mythrandril until Dionaea was grown; then they married again, and set out to see the world together. 

Alnira and Nym remained a couple, and each gave birth to a girl; Nym insisted on learning everything Ruin and the others could teach her about battle, and eventually became one of druids' strongest defenders, while Alnira slowly rebuilt her circle of druids and eventually grew into the duties her mentor had once carried.

Ruin's children grew up together, except for a few months a year when Eva would show up to collect her niece and nephews and disappear into the depths of the rainforest. The half-dragon child Risk grew up nearly feral, fighting with claws and rage but relaxed and affable outside of battle. His brother Scar turned out to have a knack for sorcery and troublemaking, while their sister Sun became a cleric of Amun and put herself to work in Aesa's growing temple. Aesa's daughter Rose considered doing likewise, but joined the druids instead. Nym named her daughter Morrigan, and the girl grew up learning to master her instincts and abilities as a warbear; she became a disciplined fighter, and adventured for a time with her half-dragon half-brothers. Alnira's daughter Skyflower never quite seemed to settle on anything, until one day her father presented her with an old amulet and a new teacher... and she went off to learn horizon-walking from her grandfather and his new wife. 

Sherra, Sam, Leander the Elf, Evrimon, and Moonshadow all went on to further adventures and even a few proper heists, too many to detail here. Though they eventually parted ways, Sherra and Sam opened a school just outside of Annun, and the others made it a point to visit as often as they could. 

Did Ruin ever make it to Asgard and kill Galvera? No. But that doesn't mean he isn't still trying. And meanwhile, Tavros enlisted Thierry P Thierry to spread the true story of Galvera, so that the goddess could no longer hide behind the name of Vecna Orlok or pretend she'd been a god all along. The Order of Secrets is not in good shape these days-- well, not as far as anyone knows.

All of this was after the defeat of Behemoth and the sealing of the portals, of course. It was after the warbear queen met her fate, and Tavros Fontaine ascended to the throne of Sol Povos with his wife Jacqueline Bouvier at his side. But those, dear friends, are other stories, for another time...

Aftermath, Part Four: Tavros

Tavros stepped into the Chapel of Farewell alone, just as the sun was slipping below the horizon and painting the clouds with the last of its light. He noted with surprise that there were five tables now, though after a moment's reflection it made sense. He moved closer, looking them over. The bodies had not been allowed to decay yet; they would remain preserved until they were interred.

Anica lay cold and still, the fire gone out of her. He would never hear her laugh again, never see that challenging look on her face or the fierce grin as she drew her sword. Rune was on the table beside hers, no longer getting into everything, his endless stream of questions silenced. Vendril lay on the table beyond, as much a mystery to Tavros in death as he'd been in life, no longer there to support Aesa or protect Rose; someone had put the fox mask back over his face, which seemed fitting. Geddy was next, the irrepressibly animated bard now blank and expressionless. Would he be amused to know that that damned song of his had spread through the kingdom? Probably. And beyond him, a small gold statue of a dragon to mark the death of Rita. Tavros had no idea what Eva had done for her sister, but she'd disappeared for several days and then returned with that statue, saying only that it had belonged to their mother.

I failed you. Tavros knew that Anica -- probably all of them -- would have argued that he hadn't failed, that he'd done what was right and necessary. He wished he could believe it. That was why he had come alone; he could barely carry the weight of his own sorrow and guilt and regret; seeing it in anyone else would have broken him apart entirely. And there was also Vigo's exasperated voice in the back of his mind, reminding him that his future subjects should never see such weakness from him. 

He knew now how Martini must have felt when Azrael died, and wished that he'd taken more time to be kind to her then. Not that any of them had been given much of a chance for that; they'd been separated and fighting for their survival almost immediately afterwards. Still... 

He looked at Anica again and let the tears come. She and Tarric were his oldest friends, and the world wouldn't be the same without her. But he had to carry on, to defeat Behemoth and close the portals, to find some way to deal with the warbear queen and take back the throne. So he would do his weeping here, now, alone. And then he would go and become the King once again.

Tavros Fontaine: Whispers, Part Four

Written by our DM, the final fate of Vigo the Whisperer... 

Tavros followed Abbess Sturmgart down the hallway. They were under the main complex, in seldom used tunnels that he was unfamiliar with.

“Here,” the Abbess gestured to a small cell, being used more literally in the spirit of its namesake. It was guarded by two very serious looking guards wearing regalia not of his house, but of the temple – men loyal to the Abbess. She had been wise not to trust anybody of the Fontaine household with the prisoner, who might claim to be acting in the purported best interest of their king. It was an effort by the Abbess to put the power of decision making back in Tavros’ hands.

“Thank you,” he said, “you are one of the few, and always have been, who look after my genuine best interest. Really, I… I appreciate it.”

“Of course, my child. I know it’s important to you.”

“It is. If I continue to let everybody think they need to step in and fix things for me – if they continue to think that I’m incapable of doing these things for myself – I will never truly be king; I will only be a puppet.”

The Abbess nodded and smiled graciously. Tavros felt a surge of warmth. No matter how grown up he felt, the Abbess had a way of making him feel like he was that young boy again, running amuck around the temple.

“Who told him?” Tavros inquired.

“It was one the maids who served you and Jacqueline a few nights ago. It turns out that neither your mother nor Andraska had any recollection of ever hiring the girl. You see, with so many people coming and going here and at your mother’s estate, everybody just assumed that someone else had hired the girl. In reality, nobody hired her, but she’s been going around for months, serving your food, folding your clothes, and all the while funneling information back to…” she paused.

Tavros’ face became stoic, “Yes, well we’ll see about that. Thank you, Abbess.” He bowed low. It was how he used to defer to her, as a disciple – not entirely appropriate as a king, but well, there was nobody here to see. She smiled again, and touched him affectionately on the cheek – also not appropriate, but damn it all!

After the Abbess walked away, Tavros, took a deep breath, nodded to the guards, and barged into the room. It was a spartan cell, in the fashion of many in the temple, but this one was deep in the bowels, windowless, and barely furnished. Vigo the Whisperer sat a table, writing. The Abbess had treated him as a political prisoner of importance rather than throwing him in a proper dungeon, again giving Tavros the opportunity to decide how he would be treated.

“You ran away!?” Tavros blurted angrily.

“Of course,” Vigo responded calmly, “you were going to execute me. How can I serve my purpose if I’m dead?”

Tavros sneered, “Well I hope our dear Reverend Mercy didn’t mistreat you too badly.”

“He found me in the Savage Hills, halfway to Brightland. I have to say, I’ve never been eaten and shat out by a snake before.”

”Yes, well,” Tavros brushed the scales on the back of his head, “Marshall finds that a convenient way to store and transport things.”

Vigo finished writing and put his quill in the holder, “I’ve taken the liberty of drafting a list of others that you should execute alongside me. I assume you’ll make it a public affair, likely with some light torture to emphasize the price of crossing the king.”

“I am not torturing people!” Tavros stamped his foot in frustration. This was exactly the problem with Vigo. “Besides, wouldn’t you be included in this group?”

“Yes, of course, assuming I don’t escape. But public torture is nothing compared to the real thing – just some minor dislocations, cutting out a few internal organs -- …”

“Enough!” Tavros yelled, “why doesn’t this bother you?”

“As we discussed,” Vigo said with a moderately bemused look, “I have nothing left to lose. But truth be told, I’d rather not be executed at all.” He got up and came over to Tavros, dropping to his knees. He grabbed Tavros’ enormous claw and started begging, “please, my liege, spare my life. I will swear to serve you, on your terms!”

“Are you -- ?” Taavros snatched his hand away, “begging!? Get up, it’s…”

“What’s wrong with begging?” Vigo asked as he stood up.

“Aren’t you ashamed?”

“No,” Vigo said simply, “I want to live, so I’m begging you to let me live.”

“But,” Tavros said, eyes narrow, “you also don’t care what I do to you.”

“Not really,” Vigo said honestly, “but I beg you not to kill me, so that I may serve you.”

“You’ve served me enough,” Tavros said angrily.

“At least,” Vigo implored, picking up the list, “look at my list.”

Tavros received the list begrudgingly. He scanned it, his eyes getting bigger, “are you serious?”

“Of course,” Vigo said, “these people are your enemies.”

Tavros stopped suddenly, his mouth open, “Martini D’wintlithar!?”

Vigo nodded, “She’s dangerous, angry, and evil. She tried to turn in your pivotal battle against the Goddess of Secrets, offering to join her. It would be better for the kingdom if she were dead.”

Tavros turned away, massaging his aching temples.

“Surely,” Vigo said, “you don’t consider her situation different than my own? It’s true that I might betray you, if I felt it necessary, but I haven’t yet. She has.”

Tavros sighed, turning back to face his former spymaster, “Vigo, I sentence you to death. There will be no torture, no fanfare, no performance. I will do it traditionally and honorably: With a block of wood, a sword, and my own hand. I pledge to you it will be over quickly, but it will be over. My mind is firm on this matter. I am sorry.”

Vigo nodded, thoughtfully, “that is… sub-optimal. But… it suits you. Good job.”

Tavros looked at him aghast, shaking his head, “Vigo, you confound me.”

“My apologies, my liege, for I seek only to aid you.”

There was nothing left to say. Tavros just shook his head, and made for the door.

“Wait,” Vigo pleaded, “one week. Give me one week.”

“One week for what?” Tavros asked.

“One week of you,” Vigo replied, “one week to tell you everything I know, everything I’ve learned, everything I have planned. If I will no longer be here… at least let what is in my head live on in you. It is clear I have no leverage, and I am out of time. The best I can do for my kingdom… is to give it all to you.”

“You can do that in a week?” Tavros asked, skeptically.

“Yes. You will arrive at eight o’clock each morning, and we will go through supper. We’ll eat our meals here. I will be provided spare quills and all the parchment I need. What I don’t say, I will write. All of it, all my knowledge, it will be yours.”

“That’s,” Tavros searched for words, but had none. He did not understand this person at all.

“No disruptions,” Vigo said firmly, “you give me one week left in this mortal world, but I want all of it. Your other advisors must wait, for now.”

“I,” Tavros stuttered, trying to find the hole or trap in this suggestion, “I - …”

“And on the eight day, can you execute me at mid-day?”

Tavros looked at Vigo in surprise, “Why?”

“I just,” Vigo seemed to think for a moment, “well, I guess I wanted to see the sun one more time.”

Tavros laughed once, mirthlessly, “Confound is not a strong enough word. Very well, I will execute you at high noon of the eighth day, on MY terms.”

Vigo bowed deeply, “thank you, my liege. For what it’s worth…”

There was an awkward pause. Tavros didn’t know what to say, so he just waited for Vigo to continue.

“I think,” Vigo said, “you will be a much better king than your uncle. I am proud of you.”

Tavros swallowed. For all the horrible things Vigo had done, for all the certainty he had about this decision, it was still hard for him. He was not good at sentencing people to die. “Thank you,” was all he could muster. Then the two men stared at each other in silence until Tavros left the room.

Once outside the room, Tavros had a pit in his stomach, but then something tickled the back of his brain. Was it mistrust? Or perhaps a developing, ingrained vigilance?

“Double the guards,” he ordered, “and nobody is to see the prisoner except for myself.” After a moment, he added, “that includes the Abbess and my mother. Absolutely nobody, is that clear?”

The guards nodded vigorously, virtually wilting under his gaze. A part of him felt bad, but another part nodded in satisfaction. Dammit, he swore to himself, a little piece of that bastard is already inside me.

Aftermath, Part Three: Ruin, Werendril, Aesa, and Tarric

They weren't in their rooms, nor were they down in the primary chapel, nor was Werendril up in the Chapel of All. They weren't out in the practice yard, and Akkora hadn't seen them. It was only when he stepped into the antechamber to the Abbess' office and the halfling priest Birno rose to his feet with a resigned, "Ah," that Ruin thought he might be able to locate the rest of his people. 

"You know what I'm here for?" Ruin asked. 

Birno nodded sadly. "They will be in the Chapel of Farewell."

"In the what?" In all his time in the temple, Ruin had never heard of the Chapel of Farewell. 

"This way," said Birno, and set off. He walked quickly for a halfling, making it easy for Ruin to match his pace. "The Chapel of Farewell is where we bring the dead, where we clean them, and where we see them off on the journey from which they will not return. It's the open-walled chamber in the western tower."

"Ah," said Ruin, as Birno threaded their way across the temple and up the stairs. "That seems..." He wasn't sure how to finish that sentence, and finally settled for: "...appropriate."

"Under the circumstances, it was the best we could do." The halfling sounded pained, and perhaps also frustrated.

Ruin swallowed and choked back his rage. He had no doubts that everyone in the temple had done their best. No, what he needed to now was to finish wiping out the Order of Secrets, and then find some way to get to Asgard and kill Galvera again, this time properly. She needed to die in a way that even a goddess couldn't recover from, and he needed to make it happen.

No. What he needed to do now was raise his children and pay his debt to the druids. But someday... Someday.

The Chapel of Farewell was like nothing he had ever seen before. Three wooden tables had been covered with blankets, and a circle of chairs surrounded them; there was even a series of cots along the outside walls. The western wall was entirely open, and as the sun set its light would fill this room. 

Each table held a body wrapped in a shroud, but before he could even begin to confront that he was faced with the survivors: Aesa, holding their daughter Rose; Tarric and Werendril, sitting side by side in shared grief. They were sitting in the chairs and watching over the bodies. 

Aesa saw him first. She rose, and the two paladins were so lost that they just watched as she walked over to him. "Ruin..." she said. "We saw... And Anica, and Vendril, and Rune..." 

"I know," he choked out, as Birno disappeared silently back down the stairs. "And I know they can't be brought back."

She nodded, then collapsed against him, keeping Rose just far enough aside to avoid crushing the little girl between them. Ruin held her until she finally drew back; Aesa didn't cry, but he thought that was only because she'd used up all her tears already. Rose actually smiled at him, and for a moment his heart caught. It should never have come to this. More people, dead on his account. More people he had cared about, lost to him. It should never have come to this. 

Tarric rose, approached, and studied them. "I know this was Vecna's fault," the paladin said, studying Ruin's expression closely. "I know it. But I still hate you for it."

Ruin nodded. "So do I."

Tarric snorted. "Is it weird that hearing that helps?"

Ruin shook his head. "Not at all." He stepped past Tarric, past the chair where Werendril still sat looking pollaxed, and went to each of the bodies in turn. Anica, always so fiery, was still and quiet now; death had taken that fierce energy from her. Vendril... Ruin wasn't sure he'd ever understood the man who had stepped in to court Aesa and help raise Rose, but he didn't need to understand to feel the loss. The Silver Fox was irrevocably dead, his soul carried back to Asgard despite Vecna's defeat. Oh, yes. It might take centuries, but Ruin was going to find a way to cross over, and to slay the false goddess. 

He went to Rune at last, and that was when he broke. For a long, impossible moment he didn't even realize he was sitting on the stone floor. All he could see was his child's face, still and cold, all traces of that child's curiosity and developing awareness wiped away. The image consumed him utterly. He couldn't chase it away with justifications for the battle or thoughts of vengeance; he couldn't focus on anything else but the face of his son. 

It was the knowledge of his other children that brought him slowly back. Rose needed him here. Scar, Risk, and Sun needed him here. Whatever children Alnira and Nym eventually gave birth to would need him here. 

Galvera had been wrong. She'd seen his ties to the world as vulnerabilities, and tried to make him see them that way too. They weren't, though. They were strengths. They were anchors, dragging him back from despair. 

Werendril came and knelt beside him, holding him as he sobbed and keened. That was an anchor, too. Then Aesa came as well, and finally Tarric. And when the last of his tears ran out, they held him still. It didn't make things all right. Things were never again going to be all right. But it made things possible.

Aftermath Part Two: Ruin and Eva

The nursery was crowded, but the three young half-dragons had been given a small room to themselves. With their claws and their strength, it was too easy for them to damage the other children -- accidentally, or in a fit of temper. 

Ruin paused in the doorway, swallowed, and then stepped over the short metal gate and went inside. Eva followed him in. 

The children were engaged in some sort of game that involved building a fortress with wooden blocks and setting the carved figures of human soldiers on its walls. He suspected there would soon be a moment where they went to tear the whole thing apart, but instead Scar looked up at them, focused on Eva, and said: "You're not Mother."

Eva nodded approvingly. "That's correct. I'm your aunt. Your mother was my sister."

The other two fell silent as well. Then Sun said, "Was?" She was Ruin's daughter, and frequently more perceptive than her brothers. All three looked obviously worried, but it was no surprise that Sun was the one who'd latched onto the change in tense. 

"Was," confirmed Ruin, watching them closely. "My children..." He seated himself, leaving Eva standing, and motioned for them to come over. Sun settled in front of him, and Scar sat beside him; Risk actually crawled into his lap. "Your mother..." He swallowed. "Your mother fell in battle yesterday. She was killed by a goddess, and we cannot bring her back."

Risk turned and tried to bite him; Scar tried to sink his claws into Ruin's arm. "You lie." Sun just sat in front of him, looking stunned. Fortunately, neither of the boys was able to do enough damage to actually break the skin. 

"I wish I was," Ruin said simply. "I wish it was just a story, and not something that happened." She died of knowing me, he thought, and squeezed his eyes shut. He knew the thought was wrong and self-important: Rita had been killed for being Eva's sister more than for anything to do with him. He knew it, but he couldn't shake it off. 

There was a momentary scuffle of movement as Risk tried to bite down harder and Scar tried again to claw him. Eva swayed slightly, but held herself back from trying to interfere. 

Then Sun leaned back and said, "But you killed the goddess, right?"

Ruin choked out something that was half laugh and half sob. "You bet your scales we did. Beat her down, destroyed her plan, wiped out her priesthood..." There was more to do on that front, he knew, but that could wait. They were still too bloodied and bruised for it now. 

"Good," Sun said firmly, and the two boys stopped trying to tear their father apart. 

Then Risk burst into tears, and a moment later all three children were sobbing. Ruin wept with them. Rita had never been destined to be his one true love, but he had loved her -- in his own idiotic, distracted way -- and he felt her loss keenly. 

When things had settled back down, minutes or hours later, Eva knelt down and put a hand on Ruin's shoulder. "Let me take them for a while," she said. "I know you have other business."

Scar studied her suspiciously. "You can't be our new mother."

"No," Eva agreed. "I can only be your aunt, but I can help to take care of you. Right now, all four of us need food; and your father has other duties." She glanced at Ruin. "We'll need to make some decisions before too long."

He nodded and looked down. After a moment, Risk scooted off of him, and Sun stood up and offered her hand to Eva. That seemed to settle the other two, and she was able to lead them out and off towards the dining hall.

Aftermath, Part One: Ruin and Eva

"They can't be brought back, can they?" Ruin stopped beside Eva, where she stood at the railing and looked out over Mar Dentro at the distant shore and the tall trees of the Duendewood rain forest beyond.

The gold dragon, currently pretending to be a rather attractive human woman, shook her head. "No. I asked Grandfather. He said that with their souls brought across that way, there was nothing that either mortal or god could do to send them back." Her eyes never left the distant line of the rain forest. There was a long moment of silence, before she added: "He promised to negotiate a place for them, a chance to become Celestials and perhaps -- eventually -- gods in their own right, if they can find enough worshippers here in Midgard."

"But for now, for us, they are dead and nothing more." Ruin's voice was flat. He didn't want hope; he wanted to understand.

"For now," Rita agreed. "For now, they are dead and we must look to the living." She tore her gaze from the forest and turned to regard him. 

Ruin had stopped with a full pace between them: close enough to talk, but no closer. No shared whispers; no intimacies.

"My sister had children by you," Eva said quietly. "My nephews and niece."

Ruin nodded. "Scar, Risk, and Sun."

"We should go to them."

"Will you take me?" That was why Ruin had come to stand beside Eva. He had no comfort to offer her; she had no comfort to offer him. But she could carry him back to the temple, and they could present the news together. It was the fastest possible way to get there short of teleportation, and until Marshall recovered enough to resurrect Leira there would be no teleportation. 

"Ruin?" called Tavros, from the far side of the deck. The half-dragon sensed trouble, though not as well as Ruin did with the crystal at his belt. "What are you--?"

"Yes," said Eva, and reverted to her dragon form, her wings beating hard to keep her weight off the deck. Tavros staggered back from the force of the artificial wind; so did several of the sailors. She snatched Ruin off the deck in one claw, and rose into the air. "Let's go find what remains of our families."

Tavros Fontaine: Whispers, Part Three

"Tavros!" Jacqueline smiled warmly, then hesitated as she studied his expression. "You look worried." They'd met for an evening meal at his mother's house, with Emiliana's Steward Andraska to watch over them and make sure that all the proprieties were maintained, while ostensibly just directing the servants who brought the meal.

"I am," he said, quietly crestfallen. "You barely survived our battle with Vecna, and Tabitha... Tabitha is gone beyond recall. You could have been too. And now I learn that Vigo the Whisperer was once a Secret of Vecna -- something I should have discovered much earlier -- until the dark army threatened the kingdom and he betrayed them."

Jacqueline considered that for a long moment. It sounded like exactly the sort of thing that Vigo's political enemies -- and some of those still survived -- would spread around to discredit him. "First of all... you were fighting a god. There were always going to be consequences to such a battle. Second, it was not your choice to endanger us. The guilt for that belongs to Galvera, and Galvera alone. You didn't know Tabitha--"

Tavros dismissed that with an anguished shake of his head, and she loved him for it. "I know that she was important to you. I know that her aunt corresponded regularly with my mother. Had she lived, I would have known her better."

Jacqueline bowed her head. Tabitha's absence was an emptiness in her chest. She had been Jacqueline's closest, most trusted friend -- and now she was gone. 

She'd also been clever. If she'd been carried over to Asgard, she might eventually teach the Goddess of Secrets a thing or two about trickery. Jacqueline could at least hope. 

Tavros gave her a moment to be silent with her grief. When she looked back up, he was studying her face. "I'm sorry," he said. "I seek to justify myself, and cause you pain instead."

Jacqueline drew a breath, released it; drew another, and released it as well. Finally she said: "We are all grieving. Let that not rob us of whatever small joys we can find. What I was trying to say is that while you did not know Tabitha, you understand what a loss her death was -- to me, and to the world. We are poorer without her, but even so: it was not your fault."

Tavros nodded thoughtfully. 

"And this news of Vigo," Jacqueline said slowly, guiding them as gently as she could onto a different track. "Where did you hear this?"

"From Vigo," Tavros said. "He chose, I think, to let me know the terms of his service to the Crown and the limits of his loyalty to me."

Oh. Oh my. Oh, that is going to be a problem. Jacqueline made herself draw another breath, and then release it, while she considered. "Tavros... you will be the king. You cannot afford to have Vigo trying to run the kingdom for you, nor would you want to." She hesitated, as she followed her own trail of thought. "Tavros... How much do you trust him?"

"Not at all," Tavros said immediately, and with a certainty that she found welcome. "He carried out my uncle's will, but only as he chose. His Archons tortured and executed anyone of elvish blood. He is precisely the evil that I do not want attending my rule."

"Then you can't dismiss him," Jacqueline said slowly. "You can't count on him to accept it. He will continue to interfere; he might even move against you. I don't know how likely that is, but..."

"He would do it the moment he considered that it would damage Sol Povos less than leaving me in place would," Tavros said. "You are right. I'll have to have him executed-- not as a traitor to Sol Povos, but as an overzealous servant who overstepped his role and committed crimes against our own citizens."

Jacqueline thought about that for a long moment, then nodded. "You'll also need to make sure that the stories among the public mostly uphold this as an example of the new king bringing justice." Her expression turned thoughtful. "It wouldn't hurt to have word leak into Duendewood that his treatment of the elves was a large part of his betrayal." 

She wouldn't have said anything of the sort even six weeks ago, but conversations with Aesa and Emiliana and Hilda and Werendril had gone a long way towards informing her understanding. 

Tavros smiled, and she saw how he controlled it to keep his fangs hidden. "As it happens," he said quietly, "I know a few bards who move through that area."

Then the servants laid the last of the feast on the table, and Tavros Fontaine and Jacqueline Bouvier moved to opposite sides of it to lose themselves in the joy of well-cooked food.

Tavros Fontaine: Whispers, Part Two

"Ah," said Emiliana Fontaine. "You have come directly to your mother, with not even a stop for your future bride. It must be important. What troubles you, my son?"

"Vigo the Whisperer," he said simply, and waited. 

"You want him removed?" His mother offered a gentle smile. "I could arrange--"

"No." Tavros kept his voice under control. "How much have you arranged already?"

"Nothing. I only..." 

"Mother." Tavros kept his voice firm. "Don't lie to me. Don't even shade the truth. Tell me what you've done."

The lady Emiliana Fontaine sighed. "It was for your own good. I spoke with your friend Martini, and mentioned that Sol Povos might be better off without Vigo the Whisperer around, and that I had two hundred or so platinum pieces sitting on a table in a side-chamber that I might be willing to hand over to anybody who brought me a certain sort of news about the man."

Tavros sighed. His mother was a wizard and a noble, but not a paladin and no longer a princess. "Did it not occur to you to consult with me first?"

"A king must be able to disclaim any evil done in his name," she said gently. "No, it did not. I would not have you compromised in such a way."

"Mother..." Tavros forced his expression back to calm, hid his fangs, and held his mother's eyes. "You believe we should be rid of the Whisperer."

"I do," she answered immediately. "He is a subtle poison, certain of himself and his vision for the kingdom, and far too ready to be the power behind the throne."

Tavros nodded slowly. "He would support my rule, actively and effectively, until I took steps he disagreed with. Then he would betray me, with no more care than a craftsman discarding a useless tool. Even so, I will not have him assassinated, or have an accident arranged. Can you call off Martini? Or must I speak with her myself?"

"...It will be less awkward if I do it," his mother admitted. 

"Do so," he said. It was incredibly strange to be commanding his mother this way, but it was also desperately needed. "And don't try to go behind my back again."

His mother smiled, mostly sincere. "I am chastened. I will not."

Tavros Fontaine: Whispers, Part One

"Why did you take him in?" Tavros asked, as somber as the Abbess Hilda Sturmgart had ever seen him. 

"Who?" she asked. She was fairly certain she knew, but it never hurt to be sure. 

"Vigo," Tavros said. "You know what he is. You know what he's done."

"He's been a valuable resource to you," Hilda observed. 

"He has," Tavros agreed. "Not trustworthy, but valuable. On the one hand, I doubt we would have made it this far without his knowledge and his ability to gather information. On the other hand, he is a torturer, a murderer, and a former Secret of Vecna."

"He was also," Hilda said gently, "a political refugee, at least when he came here."

"Is that why you took him in?"

"No," she replied immediately. "It was a whisper in my ear, an intuition, and if it did not come from Amun himself then it came from one of his own. I did not know then that you would return, but the moment I saw Vigo and Dante I knew that they needed to be here."

She watched as Tavros sat back. "Divine scheming." He shook his head. "I wish there was some way to be rid of it."

"You would have to change the nature of divinity," she said, "and I doubt even the Creatress herself could manage that."

Tavros nodded. "There are battles yet to fight, and there will likely be further losses, but I believe I can reclaim my uncle's throne and rid Sol Povos of its demonic invaders. What, in the wake of that, should I do with Vigo? He is loyal to his particular vision of the kingdom, and therefore tries to serve the kingdom itself, but... I do not trust him. I never have. And I am honestly amazed that the elves have not assassinated him already."

"Your friends trust you. They follow your lead. Still, with his immediate usefulness diminished, many who want him gone might see him as more dispensable. Whatever you decide, you will need to act before they do -- to protect him, or to have him justly executed. You should not allow others to act for you in this, especially if they act without your command."

Tavros nodded. He knew already. Did he think it would have been easier to let them? No, not Tavros. The boy hadn't been born to be a king, exactly, but he'd been born to try his best at whatever he turned his hand to. He wouldn't shirk responsibility that way. 

"The Temple of Amun exists to serve the good of all people," Hilda continued, a soft reminder of one of the catechisms, "through the application of justice and law.We seek first to understand the situation, to see what is actually happening, and only then to find what moral principles apply."

Tavros was silent for a long time. "Thank you, Abbess," he said at last, and rose. He offered a bow, not as deep as he had when he was purely a paladin, but deeper than anything she'd ever received from a king. Then he turned and departed.

Her office seemed emptier with him gone. Perhaps he truly was growing into his role as king. It would be good to see what followed from this.

Good!Party: The Vicious Victory over Vecna

While we still have all our buffs in place, we charge up the stairs to the portal at the top of the tower. Ruin has a premonition of death and destruction on a massive scale. We come up into a large, open area; the stairs are now gone. Vecna has gone full lich, and grown to twice her side; she’s floating in the air. She turns to us and uses a surge of energy. We all clutch our heads, and these tendrils start extending from the sides of our heads and spreading towards the wall. 

Vecna/Galvera: “Nearly a thousand years of planning, and you dare interfere with a single day left? But you mistake me. I am the goddess of secrets, and I know how to hurt you. Geddy Lee Geddy, I see that one already shares your suffering. One of the walls dissolves away, and we see Eva’s sister Rita sleeping beside a lake in Duendewood.  Vecna connects a tendril from Eva to Rita. Any damage he takes will now be split between the two dragons. 

“Leira!” She gestures, and the next wall vanishes and Sacha is there; Vecna connects a tendril from Leira to Sacha. Sacha can see us, but not reach us; he’s blocked by an invisible wall. 

“Ruin! I see within your soul, much deeper than you know. I see that you have many ties to this world. You will learn that those ties are a weakness, and you will bring them nothing but pain. Darvinin, Tarric, Aesa, Vendril, Anica, Werendril, and the children Rune and Rose. They see us; Vendril starts looking at their surroundings, but realizes that they’re trapped; Werendril and Darvinin come rushing up to the wall, but also can’t get through. 

She opens another portal, and Martini’s young brother Joseph R. Pious is there in the care of the druids. “Martini? Is that you?” Martini: “What are your thoughts on the survival of the elves?” Vecna continues to connect tendrils, and the druids gather around Joe. 

She gestures again, and the next portal opens to Fanaxia, where Lotan and the Bakunawa are worshipping in front of a statue of Marshall Mercy. Marshall: “You’ve made a mistake, Miss. I don’t actually care about them.”

Vecna: “You created a religion where there was none. Tonight, the worship of Artemis will fade from Fanaxia.”

She waves again, and another portal opens, this one to the Chapel of All, where Ameliana, Jacqueline, Tabitha, and about a hundred other assorted worshippers have gathered to pray. The temple closes itself up, trapping everyone inside, and they turn to see Tavros and the others. “Tavros!” 

Tavros: “Fighting a god! A bit busy now!”

Martini looks at Vecna: “You know, I’d be totally willing to join your side, if you want to make a pitch.” Vecna sniffs dismissively, and Martini pulls out a longbow and starts shooting arrows at her. “Galvera, Galvera, Galvera, Galvera, Galvera, Galvera.”

Joe: “Sister! Tell me it’s going to be okay!”

Martini: “No!”

Ruin circles around and attacks, and manages to hit once. A knockback effect blasts Ruin back, and Rune falls dead; a soul passes through the wall and starts heading towards Vecna. She then drops an intensified Meteor Shower. She drops the meteors on Martini, who dodges aside and escapes entirely. The flames hit everybody except Ruin; Tavros and Geddy dodge aside and avoid the worst of it. Secondhand, Sacha takes a bunch of damage; so do the two dragons; One of the snake-priests dies and his soul starts moving towards the center. Fifteen or so of the regular people in the Temple of All fall dead. Vecna attempts to disintegrate Martini, but fails. Eva throws Geddy, at his command, at the lich. He tries to hit her with Otto’s irresistible Dance, but barely fails to get through her spell resistance. Eva then lets loose with a blast of fire. Vecna avoids the worth of it, but it’s still damage. Vecna tries a quickened disintegrate on Eva, and does a bunch of damage; somewhere in Sol Povos, about ten innocent people die. 

Tavros charges and hits, and also gets knocked back; more people die in the church. Marshall casts a Mass Heal, healing us and damaging Vecna, though she again shrugs off the worst of it. Marshall now very much has her attention. Marshall makes himself immune to Disintegrate, Meteor Swarm, Finger of Death, Fireball, and Waves of Exhaustion.

She casts a quickened Disintegrate on Tavros, who shrugs off the worst of it. Marshall moves up towards Vecna; Leira moves away from the others and fires off an Empowered Meteor Swarm. She forces it past Vecna’s spell resistance, and delivers the whole thing as fire damage. Vecna again shrugs off the worst of it, but it’s still a lot of damage. Sacha yells for Clovis, who comes staggering into the room. “Oh, shit! I have the worst luck!”

Sacha: “You’re not attached to it!”

Ruin and Vecna heal up a bit. Ruin realizes that Martini’s about to care a lot more. Vecna: “I know what you fear!” Azrael – or some semblance of him – appears behind Martini. Martini charges and tackles him. Azrael attacks her on the way in with his sword, and misses completely. She tackles him and tries to take him down, but he throws her aside. “Good try, Farta.”

Ruin charges Vecna but misses. 

Vecna drops an intensified Disintegrate on Leira. Leira and Sacha both take a ton  of damage; Leira goes down and Sacha is barely hanging on. Geddy lets loose with a chord from the Richenbacher’s Electric Lute, but fails to get through her spell resistance. 

Vecna drops a quickened Time Stop. and drops two Maximized Delayed-blast fireballs. On Eva, Tavros, and Marshall. We take damage, and more people die. Eva goes and restores Leira, and Vecna hits Geddy with a quickened disintegrate. Eva and Rita take the damage. Tavros charges and smites. Tavros absorbs the knockback effect, but Ruin gets knocked back again… and Anica takes damage and staggers. Tavros rolls with it, and takes half the knockback damage, which again is spread among the people in the church. 

Marshall moves up next to Vecna, activates the Blade Barrier on his armor, and tries another Mass Heal. It heals us, but it doesn’t get through Vecna’s spell resistance. Sacha falls, but he has only lost consciousness. He isn't dead yet.

Azrael takes a five foot step, then drops a Meteor Shower on us. Ruin, Tavros, and Geddy all avoid the worst of it. He then shoots Farta/Martini with a quickened scorching ray, damaging both her and Milathyra. Leira stands up and drops an Intensified Meteor Swarm on Vecna. Three out of four meteors make it through her spell resistance. Clovis Cloverfield Heals Sacha. He follows it up with a quickened Cure Critical Wounds. Sacha rolls over onto his stomach. “Leira! Don’t stop fighting! I can take it! I’ll be strong.”

Ruin has a bad feeling about this. Alexej has appeared, and now approaches Geddy. “Geddy! My old friend!”

Fartathren moves in on Azrael. “Let go of me, Farta!”

Martini leans in: “Everyone you’ve ever slept with is a lesbian now.” 

Azrael: “What?”

Ruin charges but misses again; still, he’ll offer Tavros a flanking bonus.

Vecna drops another Intensified Meteor Swarm. Tavros takes the brunt of it. 

Rune’s soul is now with Vecna, along with one of the Bakugawa. Anica falls, and her soul begins drifting towards Vecna. Vendril falls as well. Geddy uses the Cube of Force to enclose us, leaving Martini and Azrael on the outside, and Alexej as well. Tragically, this will not prevent the souls from being drawn to Vecna. 

Vecna hits Tavros with a ranged Otto’s Irresistible Dance. Tavros begins to dance VERY badly, and will be dancing for five rounds. Geddy activates the Cube of Force that we’ve been holding in reserve, and Alexej circles to try to trip Martini. He connects, and trips her; she pulls Azrael down with her. Alexej: “Oh! What a mess.” Alexej follows up with an attack, and damages Martini. 

Vecna fires off a quickened Chain Lightning, targeting Marshall. It spreads from him to Eva and Ruin. Another of the Bakugawa goes down. Ruin absorbs the lightning and grins; he is undamaged. Tavros continues dancing, and he’s ridiculously embarrassed by it. 

Marshall turns into an incredibly large snake, and drops a quickened Heal on Leira. Vecna throws another quickened chain lightning, targeting Tavros, Marshall, and Eva. Eva avoids the worst of it, and Tavros is somewhat protected by his Ring of Energy Resistance. Azrael uses Dimension Door to escape the grapple. He drops a quickened fireball on us, and Ruin essentially shrugs it off but Tavros, and Marshall take damage. Leira drops another Intensified Meteor Swarm. Clovis heals Sacha again, and follows up with a quickened cure spell; Sacha’s looking a lot better. 

Ruin and Vecna both heal a bit. 

A silver dragon appears and attacks Tavros. Presumably it’s his dad? Yep, it’s his dad, or some semblance of him. He’s somehow convinced that he must stop Tavros. About ⅔ of the people in the temple are dead at this point.

Martini, on the ground, casts Disintegrate on Alexej. Vecna drops another Intensified meteor swarm, angling it to get Leira. The rest of the folks in the temple die, and so does Tabitha the lady-in-waiting. The souls of Anica, Vendril, and Rita are one round away from getting taken by Vecna. Geddy dismisses the wall of force and uses a Mass Heal scroll. This heals us, and damages Vecna somewhat. Tavros stops dancing. Leira is out of the range of the effect, though. 

Vecna responds with a quickened disintegrate on Geddy. 

Eva lets loose with another blast of fire breath, doing solid damage to Vecna. Alexej attacks Martini on the ground, hitting three times – one of them critically. Martini feels it, and Milathyra staggers. Tavros’ father – or his simulacrum – hurts Tavros some more. Emiliana and Jacqueline take damage as well. 

Vecna drops a quickened disintegrate on Geddy, and kills him. Geddy’s soul starts sucking out of his body and moving towards Vecna. Tavros attacks again and triggers the knockback effect. Werendril takes damage for Ruin, who is knocked back. Eva takes damage and is knocked back. Tavros takes damage and is knocked back into Marshall, who is also pushed back somewhat.

Marshall casts a quickened Cure Serious Wounds, Mass. He follows it up by using a Wish to cast a bard spell, putting a zone of silence around himself. He moves up, engulfing Vecna with the silence effect. She’s going to have to cast her spells silently, which is going to require higher-level spell slots; or else she’s going to have to cast spells that don’t have verbal components. 

Vecna, frustrated, fires off a quickened, silent magic missile at Eva. 

Leira drops another Meteor Swarm; two of them get through, again making the damage all fire. She tries a quickened Fireball but doesn’t get through spell resistance; she drops another, making it sonic, and get through, doing some damage. Again, and this one fails. Sacha calls encouragement. Clovis Heals Sacha again, his last one. 

Ruin and Vecna heal a bit. 

Martini hits Alexej with Power Word Kill and he dies. Ruin steps over to Azrael and takes him out. Vecna dispels the cone of silence, and then hits Marshall in his reptilian face with a Cone of Cold; Anica, Vendril, Rita, and one of the Bakanawa priests are gone now. Geddy is on his way. 

Eva considers trying to resurrect Geddy, but that wouldn’t work. She breathes fire on Vecna. 

Vecna tries a quickened disintegrate on Leira, who… avoids the worst of it. Tavros’ silver-dragon father damages him some more; Emiliana and Jacqueline are both injured. Tavros charges and attacks, as his mother calls for him to hurry. He misses. 

Marshall pulls the last Mass Heal scroll and drops it on the group at the center, including Martini; he then follows up with a quickened Heal on Leira. 

Vecna tries a quickened Disintegrate on Leira. She survives and drops a Meteor Swarm of sonic damage. Vecna takes damage. 

She heals as bit, as does Ruin. Geddy’s soul is absorbed by Vecna. Ruin foresees Tavros getting hit hard, as Tavros has actually done her a lot of damage. Martini stands up, but there isn’t much she can do; she casts Destruction and hopes she can push it through the goddess’ magic resistance. 

It gets through. (OOC: Her player rolled a 20.)

Ruin charges and attacks, but just barely misses. 

Vecna casts Time Stop and drops two maximized Delayed Blast Fireballs. They mainly affect Tavros and Ruin. They’re resistant to fire, but not that resistant. 

Ruin’s child Rose dies. Her soul begins moving towards Vecna. The same for Emiliana and Jacqueline. 

She throws a quickened Cone of Cold on Marshall. A few of the Bakugawa are still standing. Eva hauls out the Orb of Controlling SIlver Dragons, and takes over the summoned dragon that resembles Tavros’ father. The dragon turns on Vecna as she throws another Cone of Cold at Marshall’s face. 

Tavros hits Vecna again, and the repulsion effect knocks him and Ruin back. Tavros is taking the full damage now, and Tarric is splitting damage with Ruin now. 

Vecna tries a quickened Disintegrate on Leira. She takes the damage but survives. 

Then she casts Time Stop. She drops four Delayed Blast Fireball, setting them to be sonic damage instead of fire. 

Vecna shimmers, and then implodes. 

We saved Rose, Werendril, Emiliana, and Jacqueline. We’ll still have to resurrect them, but they aren’t taken by Vecna. Anica, Rune, Vendril,

The implosion blows the top of the tower off. Martini avoids damage. Tarric will now also need to be resurrected. Geddy’s soul is gone. Leira’s dead body is flying through the air and is going to land in the ocean. Martini is also flying through the air; she uses Dimension Door to get down to the ship. Eva fetches Geddy’s body; Ruin teleports down to fetch Leira’s body, then uses Overland Flight to carry her back to the boat. Tavros lands on the rocks, and the sailors pull him onto the boat. 

There are other things that need to happen, but the campaign is effectively finished.

Good!Party: The Tragedy of Vigo the Whisperer

This one's from our DM, who's been meaning to share more of Vigo's backstory and apparently also wants to complicate Tavros' life with more complex moral decisions. Honestly, I was pretty sure that Tavros' mother Emiliana was going to have Martini assassinate Vigo, if Vendril didn't get to him first. (Vigo spent the better part of two days torturing Vendril, and was responsible for the Archons who were arresting and torturing anybody with any elvish blood on suspicion of disloyalty.) Our DM, however, argues -- not unconvincingly -- that having someone else assassinate Vigo in an attempt to help Tavros goes against Tavros' whole story arc, where he's become increasingly responsible and increasingly willing to make his own decisions. So... for the moment, I'm posting this here while I think all that over. 

* * *

“A company of vrocks was seen on the Sun Plains, I need you to send word to Lady Bertrand immediately!”

“Yes sir!” The messenger was impeccably clad in the regalia of Tavros Fontaine. He nodded dutifully and flew from the room, almost knocking Clovis over.

“Where the hell is Paulo Carbone!?” The man speaking swiped his arm across the desk, sending a shower of documents toward a hapless, second servant.

“He is… on his way,” the servant stuttered, “I am assured he will be here soon.”

“You assured me he would be here an hour ago! Now get out of my sight, you feckless moron!”

The servant quickly bowed and ran from the room. He also almost knocked Clovis over; Clovis really did have the worst luck…

“Stingard: Fallen. Paras: Fallen. Our eastern front decimated by that damned tarrasque. We’re going to have to lean on our dear Grand Marshall Bouvier sooner rather than later. Good thing his daughter’s our hostage.”

Clovis edged his way into the room, “His majesty,” Clovis began.

The head of Vigo the Whisperer snapped around, consuming Clovis with his penetrating stare.

“He, uh….” Clovis cleared his throat, “he gave us strict orders not to make any move until he’s back from Sandorne Castle.” Clovis looked at the floor, somewhat ashamed.

Vigo got up and paced the room, continuing to count their many obstacles. He was now on his second hand, “Eastern front, destroyed. Northern front, ground to nothing by those damned elven revolutionaries. The western front… it at least is defended by our newly minted Supreme Marshall, but she hangs on by a thread. And may the gods have mercy if Suncoast becomes the center of our power…”

“Oh yes, I know what you mean,” Clovis said. It was a bit of a fib, “and I’m sure King Fontaine does as well.”

“Does he?” Vigo glared at Clovis, “He knows it so well that he goes in the opposite direction of all these troubles, prancing off to Duendewood on some fanciful quest for the God of Secrets – who, incidentally – is actually NOT one of our problems at present!”

“He –“

Vigo cut Clovis off, “Where is that other blasted messenger!?”

A young boy ducked into the room, looking sheepishly at the ground, “You already sent him to Magister Atrix with a message, m’lord.”

“And what are you?” Vigo bellowed, “You’re not mute, why can’t you carry a message? Must I wait for the first idiot to return!?”

“Oh, no no no, m’lord, I couldn’t –“

“Blast!” Vigo threw his wine glass across the room and it shattered on the wall next to the boy. who looked like he was about to melt.

Somewhere deep down, the part of Clovis that was a priest came to life, and he stepped between Vigo and the poor boy, “Lad, now is not a good time. Why don’t you wait outside, and please let us know the moment the official messenger returns? Alright, that’s a good lad.” He patted the boy reassuringly on the shoulder and closed the door quietly behind him, turning to face Vigo. The man was leaning over the table again, hands balled into white-knuckled fists, staring angrily at some paper.

“Vigo,” Clovis began carefully (he really did have the worst luck), “that was not well done.”

The spymaster’s body softened, and his shoulders slumped with a sigh, “I know, Clovis, it’s just… we’re a kingdom, which means we need a king. Instead, I’m left here to hold things together, and as you so succinctly put it, I’m not allowed to actually DO anything.”

Clovis’ face lit up – this was his area of expertise. “Vigo, good sir, you must have faith in our King. He is doing what he believes is best to protect the kingdom.”

Vigo snorted, “Faith? A lot of good that does.”

There was something odd about the way he said it, and Clovis, always one to stumble into the unluckiest situations, opened his big mouth before he even knew what he was saying, “What do you believe, Vigo?”

The spymaster regarded Clovis intensely, but with a degree of respect, as if he’d found something he hadn’t seen there before.

“I said,” continued Clovis, always one to dig his unlucky holes deeper, “What do you believe?”

Vigo might have grinned for a split second, but then he turned his head away, as if embarrassed, “Nothing.”

“What?” Clovis asked in shock.

“I said nothing.”

“Well,” Clovis stammered, “that doesn’t make any sense. Everybody believes something, at least sometime in their life.”

“Sometime,” Vigo laughed, without mirth, “yes I did, not that long ago.”

“Then what was it?” Clovis asked.

The man’s head snapped around, “Look at me, Clovis. I deal in secrets, I deal in knowledge, I deal in knowing that which isn’t supposed to be known. Do the math!”

“Oh,” Clovis stumbled backward, realization slamming into him.

“Were you expecting Helios?” Vigo asked sarcastically, “Or Amun? Or maybe some obscure harvest goddess? Who else would I worship!?”

“May the sun’s rays protect us from the night!” Clovis drew a circle in front of himself.

“Save it,” Vigo said, turning his head away again, “That is… no longer.”

Clovis was silent for a long moment. He didn’t know what to say, he really hadn’t expected the conversation to go this direction. He really did have the worst luck.

“Well,” Vigo sounded almost relieved, “now that it’s out there, should I tell my king? Get my head lopped off by that big, rusty sword of his?”

“Y-yes,” Clovis stammered, “but n-no…”

“Which is it?”

“Of course you should tell him,” Clovis stamped his foot fiercely, “but you should have some faith that he won’t lop your head off!”

“Faith again,” Vigo rolled his eyes.

“Yes!” Clovis walked over to Vigo, grabbed him by the shoulder, and looked him in the eye, “Faith!”

“In Tavros? In a king? I tried that, boy. It’s how I lost my faith in the first place, and I still ended up on the wrong side!”

Clovis blinked, his mouth moving wordlessly. It all made so much sense now: Vigo the Whisperer, the accomplished spymaster, pursued knowledge and secrets. Of course he was a follower of Vecna, perhaps even one of some import. But when it came time to choose between his kingdom and his god, he chose the former, only to have the ‘king’ in kingdom become a raving nutcase.

“That’s what I thought, boy.” Vigo seemed both pleased and pained to have won the argument, and turned back to his papers.

“Nothing,” Clovis whispered.

“What’s that?”

“You have nothing: You chose king over god and lost both.”

“Thank you for the diagnosis,” Vigo sneered.

“You have to stop this,” Clovis exclaimed, gathering a head of steam. Such a state always led him to an unlucky place.

“Stop!?” Vigo asked, incredulous, “Stop? As you so honestly put it, I have nothing else left!”

“No,” Clovis said, “quit trying to atone for whatever you used to believe, or trying to honor this office, if that’s what you think you’re doing. And definitely stop trying to tutor our king like a schoolboy! That is not the way to earn his respect and it’s getting you nowhere!” Clovis waved his arms around the room, indicating the various maps and papers, “Because look here, Mr. Whisperer, I know what you believe!”

“Really?”

“In this! In your kingdom!” Clovis tapped his finger on the map of Sol Povos.

“Sirs,” the boy poked his head in the room, “the messenger is back.”

Vigo nodded, his voice much more subdued, “thank you, please send him in.” After the door closed, he turned to Clovis, “Thank you, Cardinal, I will think on this.”

It was a dismissal if Clovis had ever heard one, and a good thing, too. As he ducked out of the room, Clovis was in the process of regretting every word he’d said. In the hall he buried his head in his hands and moaned, “How did I get myself into this!? I truly have the most rotten luck!”

-----

Tavros stretched his aching back. The trials of Sandorne Castle had taxed him severely, and he suspected some of these pains would be companions for life. The three hour briefing on events since his departure was mercifully drawing to a close, and his retinue of advisors filed out until only Vigo remained. He stood in front of the desk, across from Tavros, with his hands clasped behind his back. Tavros groaned and drained his cup of wine, simultaneously reaching for the decanter to refill it.

“I’ve had confession with Cardinal Cloverfield,” Vigo said flatly.

Tavros spewed a mouthful of wine across the room in astonishment, “You what!?”

“I’ve had confession with Cardinal Cloverfield,” Vigo repeated patiently, “and he gave me some advice. Upon reflection, I concluded his advice was logically sound and I intend to act upon it.”

Tavros looked around the room like a caged animal, convinced this was some sort of joke. Was it his birthday? Were people about to spring out of hiding places with fireworks and sweets? Did Jacqueline put them up to this?

“I’m serious, Tavros.”

Being called by his name jolted Tavros’ attention. Vigo really was serious.

“You asked me a question once – one I didn’t really answer.”

Tavros narrowed his eyes, searching Vigo’s habitually unreadable face. That was a trick he could stand to learn. Then it hit him, “What do you believe?”

“Nothing,” Vigo said, “but I already answered that question, and it’s not what you were really asking.”

“Have you,” Tavros chose his words carefully, “ever believed?”

“I was a Secret of Vecna – the equivalent of a bishop – but only a membrum honorarium, not a priest. It’s an honor often awarded to important nobles, especially those who make financial contributions. They’re given significant influence and access to high-ranking clergy, but are not priests themselves.”

“Gods!” Tavros was aghast, “you bankrolled them!?”

“The king’s chief spymaster is a very well compensated, but as you can see, I have virtually no mentionable wealth. As king…” he cut himself off before finishing, pursing his lips.

“As king,” Tavros continued in a somewhat abashed tone, “I should have already asked myself where your wealth had gone, and I should have had someone independently look into it.”

Vigo nodded.

“What else have I missed, Vigo?”

Vigo was silent.

Tavros growled angrily, “What, no lecture? That’s a change. Fine. I’ll reason it out.” He drummed his fingers on the desk, “Let’s see, what should I desire to know of a member of my council. Are you loyal to me?”

“No.”

“Excuse me,” Tavros choked, his eyes bulging, “if you’re not loyal to me, then who?”

“Not who. What. I am loyal to the kingdom.”

“Then why serve me?”

Silence.

“Hrm, okay. Well, obviously,” Tavros reasoned out loud, “you currently believe I best serve the interests of the kingdom, so you support me. Then logically,” he paused to take a drink of wine, “the next question I should want to answer is what will happen if you cease to believe in my kingship, will you act against me?”

“Without hesitation,” Vigo answered.

“And you tell me this? Fear you not that I will string you on a questioner’s rack for saying such things?”

“Men torture for two reasons, Tavros. The first reason is simple: Cruelty. I do not fear that from you. The second reason is to gain knowledge, and since I am well aware that I would, under pain of torture, divulge every bit of this information, there is no reason to withhold it from you now.”

“How many men did you torture for my uncle, Vigo?”

“Hundreds. I can’t even count them all.”

“Personally? You were in the room?”

“For a great many, I turned the crank and asked the questions myself.”

“Amun’s mercy,” Tavros shuddered, “doesn’t that bother you?”

“In truth, I hate it. It’s one of the reasons I sleep so little, and when I do, it’s usually after secretly drowning myself in wine. My dreams are plagued with horrors I wish on no living soul, and will be to my end of days.”

Tavros threw his hands in the air, “Why, Vigo? Why… any of it?”

“There are times when the good of the kingdom – the many – outweighs the good of an individual, even an innocent one. In such cases, a sacrifice is logical and must be made.”

It chilled Tavros to hear Vigo speak of it so bluntly, as if it were as simple a choice as wearing a coat on a cold day. He wondered if he would ever be able to make such a sacrifice. If it was a choice between Aesa’s life and hurting an innocent, what would he do? What if it was Aesa and Anica and his mother and Jacqueline (since when was she in this list?), what choice would he make then? He shuddered and pushed the thought to the back of his mind. “I must admit, Vigo, bringing these things to me takes more courage than I realized you had.”

“Wrong again.”

Tavros frowned, and considered this rebuttal, “Fine, another puzzle. I will reason this one out as well. I will look at the converse.”

Vigo smiled, “I see you have been listening to Dante after all.”

“I listen more than you realize, Vigo. Now, as I was saying, the converse: Why wouldn’t you tell me? Well, I suppose the same reason as anybody else: Fear, specifically the fear of losing something. So, I must conclude you don’t possess this fear, or alternatively you have nothing to lose.”

“Very good, Tavros,” Vigo nodded his head appreciatively, “most excellent. Now, circle back to the beginning of our conversation, what is my purpose today? You must always be asking yourself, what is the other person’s purpose?”

“I thought I was reasoning things out for myself,” Tavros chided.

“Old habits, I’m afraid.”

“I’ll overlook it. Now, circling back to the beginning. You wanted me to know that you used to worship my mortal enemy – the very force that I, and everybody I love, have been fighting against these last three years. But you also wanted me to know that you have nothing to lose. I suppose this is all about understanding. You want me to know exactly, precisely, what you are.”

“Which is?”

“A broken man,” Tavros said, a full picture finally forming in his head, “One who gave everything to the Order of Secrets, only to have them betray and attack the only thing you cared about more – your kingdom. So, you abandoned them and backed a man you knew to be evil, presumably based on some logical calculation that he was the lesser evil. However, this turned out to be a poor gambit, so you betrayed him as well and now you have nothing. You attach yourself to me because I provide a means to help the kingdom, wherein you have some very specific ideas as to exactly what kind of help the kingdom needs. You’re like a broken and out of favor tool, each day hoping only to be picked up and used for its intended purpose one more time.”

Vigo was quiet for several long moments, before replying softly, “Well done… Your Majesty.”

Tavros took a deep breath, drumming his fingers on the desk again. “The only question remaining, that I should be asking, is why now? Because I don’t believe for a second that our dear Cardinal Cloverfield simply coaxed you down this path of confession.”

Vigo was silent again, seemingly committed to letting Tavros figure it out for himself, no matter how long it took.

“Well, let me take inventory,” Tavros began thoughtfully, “you’ve made it clear where your true allegiance lies, and that you don’t fear me. In fact, you don’t seem to fear anything, namely because you have nothing to lose. You are, in fact, quite exactly a tool. And why do you want me to know this now, at this moment? I would guess because you’re sensing that this conflict is starting to come to a conclusion, and when that happens, like an artisan finishing a project, I will start thinking about what to do with my tools – about what to do with you.”

Vigo stared at him intently.

“In fact,” Tavros continued, “a man of your experience would have already suspected, or perhaps even discovered, that I’ve already begun thinking about this.”

“I would be otherwise disappointed in you, Your Majesty.”

“So, it seems,” Tavros said, counting on his fingers, “you have laid out your terms neatly and quite immutably: I can turn you out, expecting not a shred of loyalty should our interests ever collide. I can use you for the tool you are, and only that tool – also without a shred of loyalty, I might add. Or, I can have you killed.”

“Quite exactly and well spoken, Your Majesty.”

Tavros’ face softened, “These are not compassionate choices, Vigo. Do you even want to stay with me, to be used as a tool, but never trusted, never loyal, never part of the family? Is that really an existence? Is that really what you want?”

“With all my heart, Your Majesty.”

Tavros signed and rubbed his temples, “Vigo, I know this doesn’t mean to you what it would mean to another person, but for what it’s worth… thank you for telling me the truth.”

“It served its purpose, Your Majesty.”

“I know. Now, you are dismissed. I have much to think on.”

As Vigo the Whisperer left the room, Tavros shook his head in dismay.

Good!Party: The Great Priests of Vecna

We begin with the Hierophant Malafar and Cardinal Marcion vowing to try to stall… no, hurt the heroes so that Vecna might manage to manifest. We start dropping preparation spells.

Ruin has a vision of swarms of bugs covering everybody. Martini turns invisible and zips up the ceiling of the stairs and begins studying Cardinal Marcion. Ruin charges Malafar and hits him; Malafar grunts and evaporates into a swarm of flies. There’s a brief flicker of nearly invisible movement, and a moment later the room is full of locusts… except where Marcion is standing. 

Geddy starts singing to Inspire Greatness. Eva carries him up to the room and exhales fire all over the swarms. Malafar avoids the worst of the damage, and drops two quickened Mass Inflict Damage (Light); we avoid the worst of it, but still take some damage. He then attempts to cast Implosion, starting with Geddy. He fails to get past Geddy’s spell resistance. Marshall charges, and promptly discovers that swarms are immune to weapon damage. Tavros charges in, ignoring Malafar, and attacks Marcion; he misses.

Leira comes up the stairs and steps into the cone of no bugs, stopping just in front of Eva. She decides that this is her cue to use Time Stop, and uses it to lay down four Delayed Blast Fireballs… except, she’s an archmage, so she can shape her attacks so as not to hit any of our people. She clears the swarms out of most of the room and strips the fire protection from Marcion and Malafar; Marcion stubbornly heals himself and Malafar. Leira hides herself with Greater Invisibility.

Martini moves over behind Marcion, who sees her coming. They’ve got some kind of countermeasures in place. Martini stabs him anyway, and barely manages to hit. Ruin decides that he can’t really hurt Malafar, and charges Marcion and attacks him, doing some damage. Malafar swarms over to Leira, Eva, and Geddy, and drops a quickened Cure Critical Wounds on Marcion. He then drops Energy Drain on Leira and tries to nauseate Geddy, who shrugs it off. 

Geddy hits him with a power chord, and while Malafar shrugs off the worst of it he still does some damage and also absolutely blisters the air. Eva also avoids being nauseated, and casts Cure Critical on herself. Marcion casts Heal on himself. Then he does a quickened Inflict Moderate (to damage us and heal Malafar) and a quickened Resist Energy, then does it again. He doesn’t get past everybody’s spell resistance, but he does do some damage. Also, because he’s a swarm of carnivorous flies and swarming over Geddy and Eva, he does them some additional damage. Marshall casts Cure Critical Mass, to heal us and damage Malafar. 

Tavros straight up murders Marchion. 

Leira takes damage from standing in Malafar’s swarm. She takes a step to get out of it, and drops a quickened Fireball on Malafar, and then casts Time Stop. She drops a Delayed Blast Fireball and a Freezing Sphere which she converts to fire, doing a bunch of damage. His wounds heal slightly, as do Ruin’s. 

Martini attempts to Disintegrate Malafar, but does not get past his spell resistance. She moves away from Tavros and Ruin, and Ruin follows suit. Malafar uses Harm to restore himself (he’s undead), then drops a quickened Greater Spell Immunity on himself. He also elongates his swarm to cover Leira again. 

Geddy plays another power chord, slashing through the swarm of flies with the power of Rock’n’Roll. Eva shifts position and then breathes fire all over the swarm of flies. Malafar again avoids the worst of it, but takes some damage. Marshall casts Searing Light on the swarm of undead bugs, then does it again. Leira steps back again and hits the bugs with Scorching Ray. She adds a quickened scorching ray that kills him. Geddy: “Take that, bitch-ass flies!”

We should really immediately charge up the stairs and take on Vecna, while we still have all our buffs in place. Marshall can heal us on the way.

Good!Party: The Fall of Kas Luthien

 Martini and Ruin are scouting… 

We start by leveling up, because apparently we’re a full level behind. 

Ruin and Martini return downstairs and the group moves up the stairs together. Martini sneaks back up into the room, while the cultists are chanting. Behind her, somebody stops chanting and starts sniffing the air; she thinks he can smell her. Geddy shuffles forward, chanting, and Martini and Ruin have snuck into the room, and outside the room there’s this clanking sound. It’s Marshall, approaching with all the skill and subtlety that we know and love about him. 

The cultists lean down and pick up staffs and start sniffing around. Martini moves, and attempts to stab Kas Luthien. She plunges the dagger into his back, and a sort of gooey blood comes out; it wasn’t the true Kas Luthien, but it was alive… well, until just a moment ago. 

 

One of the cultists tries to grab her, and she stabs him. She slices him open, and it’s still not quite right; the flesh is wrong. He fails to grab her. He's an it, not a him.

Leira steps forward to where she can see into the room, and fires off a magic missile. The cultist she hits moves a lot more vigorously; it takes the missile but swings its staff around to point at Leira. 

A bunch of cultists swing their staves around and fire off scorching rays at Martini. Only three of them connect, but they do a fairly significant amount of damage. Geddy leans around the corner and fires off the acid-bolt crossbow. He targets the one in front of Leira, which flinches back. Tavros strides in and finishes it. Three of the cultists in the audience cast mirror images. 

One of them says, “I’ve been waiting for this!” He casts Power Word Kill at Leira – she dies – and Disintegrate at Ruin. He takes a bit of damage, but otherwise ignores it. 

Marshall says, “It’s all right, I’m here!” He moves forward a bit. 

 

Everyone in the room appears to be Kas Luthien, now that their cowls are back and they're turning to face us.

A door opens and more Kas Luthien clones come shambling out. Marshall: “Holy shit, guys. There sure are a lot of these Luthiens.”

Marshall and Martini take damage from magic missiles. Geddy shoots one down with an acid bolt, and it dies. Tavros charges towards the one who cast disintegrate, killing one of the lesser ones on the way. Tavros takes a couple of lightning bolts but avoids the worst of it. Ruin shifts over to one of the spellcasting clones, kills the clone beside it, and starts picking off mirror images. 

Luthien tags Tavros with a freezing sphere which does nothing (cold damage doesn’t affect him) and follows up with a prismatic spray which does some damage. Marshall steps up and kills another clone with his scythe. Martini steps up and kills another of the more active clones. Shamblers try to grab Tavros and Marshall, and Tavros cuts one down. Both of us shrug them off. 

Martini takes more damage from Magic Missiles; so does Marshall. Geddy murders another clone. Tavros reaches Luthien and starts carving into him, but he’s protected by a magic shield and the other clones seem to take the damage instead. (We saw something similar back when we were fighting The High Priest Septimus.) One of the clones fires off an empowered Scorching Ray at Ruin, but misses. Another one tries an empowered scorching ray on Marshall and connects. Another one throws a lightning bolt at Tavros, who again avoids the worst of it. Ruin finishes the spellcasting clone, and Luthien attempts to hit Tavros with Feeblemind. Tavros shrugs it off. He follows up by dropping Mordenkainen’s sword over by Geddy. Marshall wipes out four of the weak clones. Martini kills two more scrubs. The lesser clones attempt to swarm Marshall and fail. 

Geddy disengages from the sword, and retreats. Tavros continues attacking Luthien, and three of the clones explode. The spellcasting clone tries an empowered scorching ray on Tavros, hitting once. The other spellcaster attacks Marshall, who’s starting to look a bit worn. 

Luthien points at Tavros: “Concentrate fire!” He hits Marshall with Power Word kill, and follows up with a scorching ray to make sure Martini is actually dead. The remaining clones move in and just batter Tavros with magic missiles. 

The beholders break through the door, and set off an Energy Drain trap that Martini left for them. They hiss and move back away from the door, because that Energy Drain has reduced them to wimpy little things. He also moves the conjured sword and takes a swing, but is nowhere near Geddy. Tavros continues beating on the shield, and more of Luthien’s clones explode. 

The spellcasting clones fire off more magic missiles at Tavros. Ruin moves to flank, attacks once, and then drops his sword. Luthien uses Dimension Door to cross to the far side of the room, and cals his conjured sword back into the room. He creates another sword right in front of him. Geddy moves over to Martini and retrieves the key to the Nine Halls. 

Tavros charges after Luthien, and takes a hit from the conjured sword on the way. He slams his falchion down onto Luthien. 

The last two clones explode, and the shield around Luthien shatters. Luthien casts Mirror Image as Ruin scoops his sword back up and charges after him. His sword attacks Tavros, hitting again. He then casts Greater Shout. Tavros again avoids the worst of it, but he’s barely on his feet now. 

Geddy opens the Nine Halls and drags Martini inside. 

Tavros starts taking out images. Ruin comes up on his other side and misses. Luthien hits Tavros with a Prismatic spray and finally takes him down. 

Geddy takes out our one working Resurrection magic, a philosopher’s stone, and uses it on Martini. Ruin cuts down more of his images, and Luthien restores his mirror images and attempts a quickened scorching ray, which hits; his words then attack also. Martini pops up, and Geddy’s like: “Get out there and kill Kas Luthien!”  She can hear Ruin screaming in rage. 

She sighs and moves over to Luthien. Luthien: “IMPOSSIBLE!” Geddy stays back in the Nine Halls. 

Ruin attacks and takes out a couple of images. Luthien drops a Meteor Shower on the far side of the room. The swords continue carving into Ruin. Luthien follows with a quickened Magic Missile at Ruin. Martini moves into position and flanks him. She attacks and misses. Ruin attacks and takes out more images, and nicks Luthien with one attack. He’s still being assaulted by conjured swords. Luthien takes him down with a quickened magic missile, and hits Martini with a scorching ray. 

Martini attacks, taking out more images and also stabbing him. Luthien shifts his swords to Martini, and hits her with a magic missile. Martini has been studying him; now she moves in and stabs him. 

He dies, and the chanting dies with him. They manage to stabilize Ruin, so it’s him, Martini, and Geddy who are still up and around. There’s a fountain in the side room with a stack of coins. There are also stairs going up. The next floor is largely empty; it looks like it was once an artifactory, but much like the airship level it hasn’t been touched in a while. We reopen the Nine Halls in the artifactory and drag our friend’s bodies inside, along with Kas Luthien’s – nobody gets to resurrect this asshole. 

Hierophant Malafar is up on the next level; so is – apparently – Vecna herself. If we can find some way to disrupt her, we can get our powers back. Vecna is, among other things, a lich.

And we know her name. 

We rework one of the Wail of the Banshee traps to scream out her name. 

Martini and Ruin sneak to the top of the tower. Vecna looks around and spots us immediately. Martini throws the trap at her, and she disintegrates it in mid-air. Ruin yells, “DAMN IT, GALVERA!”

She shrieks and falls to her knees, and her anti-magic spell shatters. We have powers again. We book it back down to the Nine Halls, and resurrect everybody. Eva wakes up too. 

We level up again. And next time we’re going to have to fight Vecna/Galvera.

Dark Army: Best-Laid Plans

Kas Luthien watched with satisfaction as the Dwint’lithar girl tried to assassinate Cassadia Almonda, and was foiled by her protective magics: a half-dozen images of the diminutive wizard dancing in and out, absorbing each attempt to strike. Almonda and her images paused to study the hapless girl. "Did you really expect that to work?" Then she dropped a Wall of Force, trapping Fartathren against the edge of the air dock, with nothing but emptiness behind her. 

They'd tried to turn Almonda's ambush; of course they had. The would-be King might come striding chivalrously forward to offer honorable combat, but Ruin and Fartathren knew better. And Fartathren had almost managed it, but now she was trapped, imprisoned where all she could do was watch the action. Ruin cut an ogre apart, but that no longer mattered. As long as her bodyguards held them back, Almonda could take them apart with her magics...

The Dwint’lithar girl offered Almonda a jaunty wave, then leaned back and dove off the edge of the dock. She was grinning as she did it, and it wasn't because she thought she'd sacrificed herself to escape their vengeance. No, that was one of Fartathren's accursed I know something you don't know expressions. Damn that girl--

Ah, here we go. A hulking corpse was shambling out from the sewing room, and the two ogre Lieutenants were still forming a shield wall protecting Almonda. And there was no way for the others to get behind her, with her clever wall of force in place. 

Then the human priest rushed forward, slamming into one of the ogre lieutenants and pushing him back, breaking the blockade they'd formed. The sorceress was firing off magic missiles, but they were ineffective... except in removing the last of Almonda's images. For a moment, the entire scene went red-yellow-white in the darkwater pool. Almonda had dropped a fireball, a powerful one. One of the ogre lieutenants had gone down; the other, and the hulking corpse, were damaged also. Damn you, woman, Luthien thought, though he was profoundly aware that what she'd just done was little different from what he'd done in setting this all up. But the King was there too, having arrived just in time to be burned with his fellows. That was good. 

Then the damned elderly gnome fired off a magic missile and took out the last of Cassadia Almonda's images. 

Ah, here we go! The hulking corpse reached Ruin, and bit him; it flailed at him with its arms but missed. Come, servitor! Do your work! 

Ruin cut it apart, and Luthien almost screamed in frustration. He controlled himself, barely, by an effort of will. Even here, amongst those who served his will, he must keep up appearances. 

The remaining ogre had stepped back to shield Almonda. King Tavros charged it, taking some damage on the way in but cutting into it as well; Luthien couldn't tell which of them had come off the worse from the exchange. Then the sorceress lifted her staff, and a bolt of pure darkness slammed into Almonda, staggering her. "How?" she demanded. "Kas Luthien said you would have no magic!"

They don't! Luthien thought desperately. They can't! Our mistress laid down rules to prevent it! 

And yet, clearly they still did. Not all of it, not even enough of it, but... some. He smiled as Almonda's next spell pinned the slender young sorceress and started to crush her. Yes. Try that again, you little bitch. She followed with a scorching ray that brought down the human priest, and his grin widened. The ogre lieutenant, with only one opponent left, attacked Tavros... 

...It missed, and Tavros cut it nearly in half. The half-dragon king's strength was formidable, but he could still be stopped. Almonda would know to--

Tavros moved forward, leaning into the heavy wooden crate that the halfling wizard had been hiding behind and driving it forward to pin her between it and the wall of force that she'd so carelessly cast earlier. And at that moment the Dwint’lithar girl came racing into the scene from the direction of the stairs, her hand extended to fling a dagger. 

Somehow the king knew it was coming. "Azrael," he said, and then leaned aside with the ease of long practice. The dagger buried itself in Almonda's left eye, and the halfling slumped, dead or dying. Vecna, preserve me! The prayer went out with the force of true desperation. The Blood of Vecna was an order of formidable warriors, but with Almonda down all the two berserkers could hope for was to do some damage before they died. 

He watched as they did some damage before they died. Kas Luthien swallowed as the second one fell: the tip of Tavros' blade had barely touched his throat, but the veins there had erupted like a crack in a dam. And even then, the damned priest didn't die! The sorceress, despite her obvious incompetence, had managed to stabilize him -- and the others were closing in on the two Thoughts who'd been waiting in reserve to flank them when they were occupied with Almonda's defenders. The sorceress had shrugged off their first attack, and since then they'd been fighting on the defensive -- still striving to win, but flanked at close range by Ruin, Tavros, and Fartathren. And Ruin, who'd started life as an idiot barbarian, was suddenly using a bow like a proper elf! It's not fair, Luthien thought, and then stomped on that thought and locked it away. He'd built his entire career on the knowledge that life wasn't fair, and those who know how to find the cracks and take advantage of them were the ones who came out on top.

Martini and her friends might have survived the library. They might be able to disappear from his vision. They might even have overwhelmed Almonda, and... He shrieked as Ruin threw Almonda's corpse off the edge of the dock, to sink into Mar Dentro, and then set fire to the structure that was supposed to become a flying ship. That little fucking brat...

Very well, then. Endgame. And I have been preparing my pieces for them. All my pieces for them. Hierophant Malafar will not win this bet, and they will serve me in death as they should have served me in life.

Luthien sighed and let the image fade. He didn't need to watch them any longer. Any fool could see what was coming: a reckoning. He just needed to make certain that he was on the right side of it. And with so many friendly faces to do his bidding, he could.