Toox diary entry
I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write in a few days. First because I was busy, then because… well I’ll get to that.
Things have gotten worse. Much worse.
We woke up the other day and Angus was gone, nowhere to be found, no note, no goodbye, nothing, just disappeared. The last of the original group, gone. We looked for him, me and my new…. Friends. We had no luck though, he was simply gone. We still had a job to do though, so we carried on.
Isobael had been taken to jail for trying to steal from the king, because of course she had. Hell, I taught her to do it. So everything from that point forward, is basically my fault. See we had gone to see the king, and we spoke to him of the prophecy and our role in it. On the way out Isobael tried to steal an item from the Kings collection. She got caught. They arrested her & put her in the dungeon. There was nothign we could do that night. So We went back to the Inn, went to sleep.
Then the cult got her. They broke her out of jail. If I hadn’t taught her how to steal, that it was ok to steal, she would have been safe by my side. But she wasn’t she was in that jail cell because of me. Because I tried to teach someone to be like me. The cultists blew a hole right in the side of the castle, and ran off with her. We chased them down, cross-country, through the teleporter network, and onto an island. There were the ruins of an old keep there. We had to fight our way inside. There were dozens of cultists, maybe as many as 50. There was a lot of blood, some of the cultists were practically kids, brainwashed to be sure, they never had a chance, we killed with impunity. Already there’s a lot of blood on my hands. Maybe some of them could have been saved? Maybe I should have at least tried? Too late for that now. Too late for so many things. Our only goal to reach Isobael before it was too late
I Couldn’t do that right either. When we found her, she was leading the ritual. My little girl was speaking an incantation, stealing the life force from cultists. She chanted, and raised her hands, she directed the others, She did it. All on her own. I was too late to save her. When she finished she cast the stone and opened the portal, The ritual complete, a gateway to pure hell was opened. She smiled. A demon came forth, praised her, and tossed her into the portal. I could barely move, could barely think. I had failed her, I guess I could have said I failed the world too, saving everyone and everything from an apocalypse. But to be honest, that’s not what I was thinking about. I was thinking only of her. How I’d promised to protect her, how I promised not to let anything happen to her. I was supposed to save her….
Then the sounds of battle roused me. My companions had taken up arms against the demon, I helped as best I could but it seemed like I was of little use to them. This seemed out of my league. Luckily my companions were more powerful than I was. They defeated it.
The portal was still there, Nothing else had come through yet, but it was only a matter of time. We soon learned that the only way to close it was from the other side. Ceaphalus didn’t hesitate, he just jumped in. I don’t know for sure what happened on the other side, but Isobael was tossed out, then the portal closed, with Caephelaus still inside. Another death on my hands, but not the last. No my greatest sin was yet to come.
She lay in my arms, no longer my little girl, but grown. She simply radiated evil. I had been too late to stop her from becoming exactly what the prophecy said, the demon queen.
She woke up and looked at me, I thought for just a moment, that I could see the innocence in her eyes. I asked if she was alright…. She called me pappa one last time. What I said was “rest now” what I meant was “goodbye” because what I saw in her eyes, I think, was just my wishful thinking. I couldn’t let her live, the chance of her opening the portal again was too great. Who knows what the queen of demons would unleash. I killed my daughter then & there, for the good of the world. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. The only real connection I had i this world and I snuffed it out. What kind of monster am I?
We left… I was in a daze. There was a parade I think. There was cheering and clapping, music, people congratulating us. Then the king thanked us. Showered us with gifts. I couldn’t do it though. I couldn’t accept money for killing her. So I gave my share to be split between the rest of the group.
Then I left. I left them before they could leave me, and now I’m going to find a nice quiet place. Let my sorrow take me. I need…. To be alone. I failed everyone around me, I got some of them killed, some ran away, maybe they were the lucky ones, maybe I’m the one who is too dangerous to live….