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.