Chapter 15: The Prisoner's Dilemma
POV: Adam
The System's interface materialized through the morning light streaming into Adam's room, its blue glow carrying the weight of choices that would define more than just experience points and reputation scores. He sat on the edge of his bed, still processing the emotional aftermath of Bronwater, when destiny decided to present him with another test.
[MISSION ALERT - Choose One:]
Option A (BLUE): "Free the Innocent"
Intel: Man imprisoned in Cintra dungeons, accused of treason, actually innocent
Framed by corrupt nTask: Gather evidence, prove innocence, free himoble for personal gain
Task: Gather evidence, prove innocence, free him legally
Reward: 250 XP, +30 Justice Reputation, Freed Man's Gratitude (future ally)
Time Requir
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ed: 5 days investigation
Difficulty: High (political maneuvering required)
Option B (RED): "Assassinate the Noble"
Same situation, solve through direct elimination
Task: Infiltrate manor, kill noble, stage accident
Reward: 400 XP, 200 crowns, +Assassination Skills, -50 Good Reputation if discovered
Time Required: 2 days preparation + execution
Difficulty: Very High (security, witnesses, moral consequences)
Option C (YELLOW): "Investigate Neutrally"
Gather information without taking direct action
Task: Discover truth, report to authorities, let system handle resolution
Reward: 150 XP, +Information Network access, No reputation changes
Time Required: 3 days
Difficulty: Medium
Eleven days until the invasion. Every day matters.
Adam stared at the options, feeling the weight of time like a physical pressure against his chest. The red option offered the most experience and the fastest resolution—kill the corrupt noble and solve the problem with violence. Simple, efficient, brutal.
And exactly the kind of choice that turns heroes into monsters.
The blue option was the right thing to do, but it would consume five precious days when he needed every moment to prepare for Nilfgaard's arrival. Five days that could mean the difference between success and catastrophic failure.
But what's the point of saving the kingdom if I lose my soul doing it?
Adam selected Option A.
[MISSION ACCEPTED: "Free the Innocent"]
[Moral Path: Justice over Expedience]
[Time Remaining: 11 days until Nilfgaardian Invasion]
[Warning: Deadline pressure acknowledged]
The Cintra dungeons crouched beneath the castle like a stone wound in the earth, their corridors thick with the smell of unwashed humanity and institutional despair. Adam descended the narrow stairs with careful steps, following a guard whose keys jangled with the rhythm of routine corruption.
Someone innocent is rotting down here while a nobleman profits from their suffering.
"Alton," the guard grunted, stopping before a cell that contained a man who looked like hope had abandoned him weeks ago. "Merchant. Accused of selling information to Nilfgaard."
The prisoner who looked up from his straw pallet bore the hollow expression of someone who'd learned that truth and justice weren't the same thing. Alton appeared to be in his forties, with the soft hands of someone who'd made his living through words and contracts rather than sword work.
Let's see what story he tells.
"Alton?" Adam said, approaching the cell bars with the careful posture of someone who understood that desperate people could become dangerous people. "I'm Adam. I'm investigating your case."
The merchant's eyes sharpened with something that might have been hope or might have been suspicion. "Are you with Lord Derren? Come to gloat?"
Derren. There's the name I needed.
"I'm with nobody except my own sense of justice," Adam replied. "Tell me what happened."
The story that emerged over the next hour painted a picture of casual corruption that made Adam's stomach turn with familiar rage. Alton had been a successful merchant specializing in trade routes between Cintra and the northern kingdoms. Lord Derren had offered to buy his contracts at prices far below their actual value. When Alton refused, he'd been arrested on charges of treason that appeared from nowhere.
"Forged documents," Alton said, his voice carrying the bitter tone of someone who'd learned that the law could be bought like any other commodity. "Letters supposedly proving I was selling information to Nilfgaardian spies. Complete fabrications, but who's going to believe a merchant over a lord?"
Classic frame job. Corrupt noble eliminates business competition through false accusations.
"What can you tell me about Derren's operations?" Adam asked, already planning the investigation that would either save this man or condemn them both.
The merchant guild occupied a building that spoke of prosperity built on careful record-keeping and meticulous attention to detail. During the day, it buzzed with the activity of people who understood that commerce was the lifeblood of civilization. But at night, it became something else entirely—a vault of secrets waiting for someone skilled enough to extract them.
Breaking and entering in service of justice. My mother would be so proud.
Adam approached the guild hall's rear entrance with the careful steps of someone who'd learned that confidence was often indistinguishable from authority. His lockpicking skills were nonexistent, but airbending offered alternatives that conventional thieves couldn't access.
Air Sense. Feel for the guard's breathing patterns.
The technique revealed a single watchman making regular rounds every twenty minutes. Adam timed his entry for the midpoint of the cycle, using a focused Air Gust to manipulate the door's internal mechanisms until the lock clicked open with satisfying precision.
Inside. Clock starts now.
The guild's record room contained exactly what Adam had hoped to find—contracts, correspondence, and financial documents that painted a detailed picture of Lord Derren's business practices. The corruption was extensive and well-documented, speaking of someone who'd turned graft into an art form.
Forged signatures. Stolen contracts. Bribery records. Everything I need to hang him.
Adam worked by candlelight, copying the most damaging documents with the speed of someone who understood that discovery would mean death or worse. Footsteps in the corridor outside made him freeze, hand reaching toward the candle flame.
Guard. Early round. Shit.
The footsteps paused outside the record room door. Adam triggered Air Gust without conscious thought, blowing out the candle and plunging the room into darkness just as the door handle began to turn.
Please don't come in. Please don't come in.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
The guard's voice carried more curiosity than alarm, but Adam knew that curiosity could be just as dangerous as suspicion. He held his breath, pressing himself against the wall beside the door while his heart hammered against his ribs.
Twenty seconds. That's how long before he decides to investigate further.
The door opened, spilling torchlight into the room. Adam waited until the guard stepped inside, then used a carefully controlled Air Gust to extinguish the torch. Darkness flooded back, and Adam slipped past the confused watchman with movements that relied more on luck than skill.
Out. Get out. Before he raises the alarm.
Adam escaped through the rear entrance with stolen documents that felt like they weighed more than gold. Evidence that could free an innocent man, but only if he could present it without revealing how he'd obtained it.
Day two. Need witnesses who can testify without implicating themselves.
Elsa proved to be exactly what Adam had hoped to find—a servant with access to Lord Derren's household and a conscience that hadn't been purchased along with her employment. She met him in a tavern that catered to people who understood the value of discretion.
"He's been stealing contracts for months," she said, her voice barely above a whisper despite the privacy of their corner booth. "Forging documents, bribing officials. I've seen him do it."
A witness with firsthand knowledge. Perfect.
"Would you be willing to testify before the Queen?" Adam asked, studying her face for signs of the fear that would make her a liability instead of an asset.
Elsa's hands trembled slightly as she considered the implications. "If... if you can protect me from his retaliation. He's had people killed for less."
Stakes rising. Now I'm responsible for her safety too.
"I promise," Adam said, meaning every word. "Lord Derren won't be in a position to threaten anyone much longer."
The noble gathering in Cintra's great hall provided the perfect stage for confrontation that would either destroy Lord Derren or get Adam killed in the most public way possible. He approached the lord's table with confident steps that belied the terror crawling up his spine.
All or nothing. Time to see if evidence trumps noble privilege.
"Lord Derren," Adam said, his voice carrying across the hall with clarity that made conversations pause and heads turn. "I know what you did to Alton. You're going to confess."
Derren's laugh carried the particular arrogance of someone who'd never faced consequences for his actions. "You're nobody. A boy playing detective. Leave before I have you arrested."
Bluff called. Time to show my cards.
"I have documents proving you forged evidence against Alton," Adam replied, his voice growing stronger as other nobles leaned forward to listen. "Witness testimony confirming your corruption. And the Queen's ear through Princess Cirilla."
The color drained from Derren's face with gratifying speed. "You're bluffing."
Adam smiled with all the confidence of someone holding a winning hand. "Try me."
The standoff stretched through heartbeats that felt like hours, noble attention focused on the confrontation with predatory interest. This was entertainment that money couldn't buy—the destruction of one of their own by a commoner with inconvenient principles.
He's breaking. Fear's setting in.
"Guards!" Derren called, but his voice carried the desperation of someone who knew the game was already over.
"I don't think so," Adam said. "Not when the Queen hears what I have to say."
Queen Calanthe's throne room had become familiar territory over the past weeks, but this time felt different. This time, Adam came bearing evidence that would reshape the balance of power among Cintra's nobility.
Present the case logically. Documents first, witness testimony second, let the evidence speak for itself.
"Your Majesty," Adam began, spreading the copied documents across the floor before the throne. "I present evidence of corruption, fraud, and false imprisonment perpetrated by Lord Derren against the merchant Alton."
Ciri stood beside the throne in her position as family, but her presence felt like moral support rather than royal obligation. Eist occupied his usual place among the military advisors, his expression carrying approval that meant more than Adam had expected.
They're listening. Really listening.
The case Adam presented was methodical and devastating—forged signatures matched to known samples, financial records proving bribery, and Elsa's testimony delivered with the calm authority of someone telling objective truth.
"You've done investigative work worthy of my spymaster," Calanthe said when Adam finished his presentation. Her voice carried something that might have been respect.
Approval from the Lioness of Cintra. Not something many people earn.
"Guards, arrest Lord Derren immediately. Release the merchant Alton with my apologies and compensation for his suffering."
Derren's protests echoed through the throne room as he was dragged away, but his threats felt hollow against the weight of evidence and royal judgment.
[Quest Complete: "Free the Innocent"]
[Experience Gained: 300 XP total (including thoroughness bonus)]
[LEVEL UP! 7 → 8]
[Free Stat Points: +5]
[Allocation: +1 STR, +2 STA, +2 AGI]
[New Stats: STR 18, STA 26, AGI 22, HP 180, MP 260]
[Reputation Changes:]
+30 Justice Faction
+15 Queen Calanthe (now 45/100 - approaching Trusted status)
+10 Castle Staff
+5 Common Folk (word spreads)
[Ally Gained: Alton - Freed Merchant (Life Debt)]
The castle gardens provided sanctuary from the intensity of court politics, their stone paths winding between carefully tended flowers that spoke of beauty maintained through discipline and care. Adam and Ciri walked in comfortable silence, processing the day's events while evening settled around them like a peaceful shroud.
Six days until invasion. Was it worth it? Five days of investigation when I could have been training?
"You did the right thing," Ciri said, her voice carrying the quiet authority of someone who understood moral complexity. "The hard thing."
"Took too long. Lost five days."
Days I didn't have to spare.
"You saved an innocent man. That matters."
They settled onto a stone bench positioned where moonlight painted everything in shades of silver and shadow. The silence between them felt different than before—charged with possibilities that neither was quite ready to examine.
"You're not like anyone I've met," Ciri said softly, her green eyes reflecting starlight in ways that made Adam's breath catch.
Is that good or bad?
"Is that good or bad?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ciri smiled, the expression transforming her face into something that belonged in paintings instead of reality. "Good. Definitely good."
She leaned closer, close enough that Adam could feel the warmth of her breath against his cheek. For a heartbeat, the space between them seemed to shrink until only intention remained.
Then she pulled back, both of them suddenly aware of boundaries that hadn't been negotiated yet.
Too soon. We're both too young and the timing is impossible.
[Relationship +5]
Current Points: 75/100
Status: TRUSTED COMPANION
[Bond Ability Evolved: "Guardian's Bond" - Ciri's courage +25% when Adam nearby, fear effects -50%]
Almost there. Almost to whatever comes after friendship.
"Six days," Adam said, the number feeling like a weight that couldn't be lifted.
"Six days until what?" Ciri asked.
Until everything burns. Until you lose everyone you love. Until I find out if I'm strong enough to save you.
"Until we find out what we're really made of," Adam replied, which was true enough without being the whole truth.
The stars wheeled overhead, cold and distant and utterly indifferent to the small dramas playing out below. Somewhere in the darkness, armies gathered strength while a kingdom prepared for war it didn't understand it was already losing.
Six days. Time to make sure I'm ready when reality comes crashing down.
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