Chapter Text
A set of hastily written notes on scraps of paper, heavily damaged, found in the City of Dundee after the defeat of the Dark Wizard. Author unknown, but presumed to be one or more of the heroes who had helped defeat Zargothrax.
[The edge of the paper is burnt, making it impossible to read the first and last bits of the page]
--hesitate? Throughout the entire encounter, up until that moment, I had been confident that every action I took had been correct. And yet, when it came to striking down Zargothrax, I couldn’t do it.
My hesitation almost cost every person in the kingdom, if not on this entire planet, more than they’d ever know.
Regardless, Zargothrax is imprisoned now, after being knocked into a simple arcane trap.
“Simple” is relative, of course – the liquid ice that then solidified around him is held together with his own magic. The more powerful the captive, the stronger the trap. In a bitter irony, his own strength is his own downfall. Perhaps his downfall for eternity, if--
[The next part is on a separate scrap, even more damaged; only the second half is legible]
--is a fate worse than death. It would be a kindness to kill him instead. So why haven’t I yet?
Upon further observation, it appears the Zargothrax has retained some sense of awareness from within the ice. The way his open eyes occasionally shift just a little has already creeped out several of the others present in the area, at least those who are not busy tending to Her Highness. This was not intended.
The current imprisonment must be kept as temporary at most. A different solution must be found, quickly.
[Another scrap, this one in better shape than the first two]
…hesitated too long. The Knights of Crail have been charged with keeping watch over Zargothrax’s prison. It is too late to modify this course of events, no longer possible to do so without raising suspicion.
The prison will hold him as long as necessary without outside interference; that is not to be questioned.
It is more a question of whether future fanatics will attempt to disturb it – whether Zargothrax’s rumored charisma is capable of causing his legacy to survive beyond this and form a group of people misguided enough to seek to free him. If such people come to exist and succeed in their misguided goals, then this world will need a hero of a magnitude capable of putting Lord McFife to shame.
I do not expect such a hero to ever exist.
The days of this world may be numbered.