> Having actually "been" Demon (<g> ask Steve).... > I'd simply poison the bastard and do it with a poison that > requires REGULAR treatments of antidotes. This gives me Vlad > back and now rather than having to kill him or worrying about > him killing me, I have publicly punished him, and returned > him and his shiny new weapon into the fold as a wonderful > tool for the organization. > That's an interesting suggestion. I only see two problems with it. The first is that at this point I don't think Vlad wants to return to the The Organization. He's returned to Adrilankha because it's home and because he can, not to pick up where he left off. That makes him an unreliable tool, especially if he's working under duress. He wouldn't meekly accept the situation and come back to the fold. He'd plot and plan and eventually take out whoever was charged with holding his leash. The second is that he was originally cut loose by The Organization because he became a loose cannon. He shook up the status quo too many times. I don't think any of them would trust him to be a "tool" at this point. He's just too much of an unknown factor. In fact, he and his family might be safe from reprisals just as it is because of that. I'm in the middle of re-reading Phoenix right now. All of Vlad's problems with the Organization stemmed from his devotion to his wife. Boralinoi was ultimately responsible for Vlad's putting the hurt on the House BECAUSE he, Boralinoi, broke the rules. First, he attacked Vlad's family by not just having Cawti arrested, but by admitting to specifically wanting to put her out of the way. Second, he attacked Vlad in his home. All of the damage Vlad did to the Jhereg stemmed from his need to protect his family. Once the word gets around that Vlad has a Great Weapon, I'd imagine that the Council might very well put the word out that he and his family are untouchable. None of them could doubt that an enraged Taltos looking for vengeance would stop at anything short of obliterating the entire Council. His loose cannon rep might be the thing that protects him at this point. I think that if I were the Demon ( or whoever Number One is, do we ever find that out?) I'd try a different tack. I'd arrange a meeting. I'd tell Vlad that I know Boralinoi started things by breaking the rules. It doesn't matter if the Council really sees it that way, it's mainly a pretext to initiate negotiations and it's a justification to give to the peons in the organization who wonder why a squealer is being allowed to live. Then I'd offer him an assignment that would be suicide for anyone except for an expert thief/assassin who owned a Great Weapon and tell him that all debts are paid if he succeeded. I wouldn't tell him that he was untouchable anyway. If he lives, the Organization saves face and maybe he ends up on The Throne's bad side, removing both Zerika and Norathar as potential allies. If he dies, he's one less complication they have to deal with. I just wouldn't want to see every story from here on out have Vlad slowly metamorphosing into some Dragearan version of Elrik.