Chapter 88: Cahir's Debt
POV: Adam
The mountain road stretched westward through passes that glaciers had carved millennia ago.
One day into our journey toward the coast, with Mahakam's gates finally behind us and open sky overhead for the first time in a month. The air tasted different here—thin, cold, carrying scents of pine and distant snow that underground living had made me forget existed.
Seismic Sense detected him first.
A single rider, approaching fast from the east. Hoofbeats transmitted through stone, giving me distance and speed before visual confirmation became possible.
"Someone's following." I raised my hand, halting the group. "One person, mounted, moving hard."
Geralt's sword cleared its sheath. Lambert flanked left, positioning for ambush. Ciri pulled back, hand finding the dagger at her belt.
"Nilfgaardian?"
"Can't tell yet. But they're alone, which suggests either messenger or assassin."
The rider crested the rise behind us. Black armor caught morning light, distinctive enough that recognition came instantly.
"Cahir." Lambert's voice mixed surprise with suspicion. "Thought we'd seen the last of him."
The knight slowed as he approached, raising both hands to show he held no weapons. His horse was lathered, flanks heaving—he'd ridden hard through the night.
"I came as soon as my family was secure." Cahir's voice was rough with exhaustion. "Couldn't let you leave without proper thanks. And information you need to hear."
Geralt's sword didn't lower. "Information delivered by someone who spent months hunting us seems questionable."
"Which is why I came alone, unarmed except for what honor requires." Cahir dismounted slowly, keeping his movements visible and unthreatening. "Grant me audience. If my words prove false, you lose nothing but time. If they prove true, you gain intelligence that could save your lives."
—Scene Break—
POV: Ciri
They made camp by a stream that tumbled through rocky terrain, water cold enough to numb fingers.
Ciri watched Cahir across the small fire, trying to reconcile the desperate hunter of her nightmares with the exhausted man before her. Without his helm, without his army, without the weight of Empire backing his pursuit, he looked almost... ordinary.
"Your family," she found herself saying. "They're truly safe?"
"As safe as anyone in Nilfgaard can be." Cahir's answer came with tired honesty. "House arrest at our country estate. Mother tends gardens. Ana has tutors and playmates and room to run. It's not freedom, but it's life."
"I'm glad."
His surprise at her sincerity was visible. "You shouldn't be. I hunted you for months. Caused you fear and suffering. Your gladness is... unexpected."
"You were protecting your family. I understand that better than you might think." She glanced at Adam, felt their bond pulse with shared memory. "We all do terrible things for the people we love."
"Some more terrible than others."
"Yes. But you're here now, risking that safety to help us. That counts for something."
Geralt interrupted before Cahir could respond. "The information. Share it, then we decide what it's worth."
Cahir straightened, professionalism replacing exhaustion. "First, the political situation. Emperor Emhyr accepted the death report officially, but intelligence officers continue investigating. Three factions in Nilfgaard refuse to believe Princess Cirilla died—they've seen too many convenient deaths become inconvenient resurrections. Your deception bought time, not certainty."
"Expected." Adam's response came flat. "What else?"
"Second, I've formally declared blood debt." Cahir met Adam's eyes directly. "By Nilfgaardian tradition, you saved my family when I couldn't. I owe you my honor until that debt is repaid. This isn't sentiment—it's obligation that transcends political loyalty."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning I remain an officer with access to military intelligence. I can provide warnings about Imperial movements, troop deployments, political developments that might affect you. Consider me an asset within enemy territory."
Lambert snorted. "Asset. Spy. Same thing with prettier words."
"Same thing with practical applications." Cahir didn't rise to the bait. "My loyalty to Empire died when Emhyr held my family hostage. What remains is debt to those who freed them."
—Scene Break—
POV: Adam
The third revelation changed everything.
"Nilfgaard's mages have been researching the Wild Hunt." Cahir's voice dropped despite the isolation of their camp. "After soldiers reported 'ice riders' during the campaigns, Imperial scholars were tasked with understanding the phenomenon."
"What did they find?"
"Old texts. Pre-Conjunction records that most historians dismissed as mythology." Cahir pulled a folded document from his saddlebag—pages covered in cramped handwriting. "The Hunt aren't random predators. They're refugees."
Geralt's hand tightened on his sword hilt. "Explain."
"Their world is dying. Has been dying for centuries. The ice that defines them isn't aesthetic—it's environmental. Their dimension freezes slowly, inevitably, and they cannot stop it." Cahir spread the document across a flat stone. "They search for Elder Blood because it can open doors between worlds. With Ciri's power, they could escape their dying realm. Or potentially save it, if enough energy could be channeled to reverse the freezing."
The implications crashed through me like an avalanche.
"They're not hunting her to kill her."
"They're hunting her to survive." Cahir's confirmation came heavy. "Which makes them desperate rather than evil. Dangerous, certainly—desperation drives terrible acts. But their motivation is understandable. They're trying to save their people."
Ciri had gone pale. "All this time... they just want to live?"
"They want to use you to make that possible. The methods they'd employ would likely kill you or worse—dimensional channeling at that scale burns through hosts quickly. But their goal isn't cruelty. It's survival."
Silence fell over the camp. The fire crackled. The stream burbled. Somewhere distant, a bird called into the morning quiet.
I broke the silence. "This changes the calculus."
"How?" Lambert's question carried genuine confusion. "They still want to kidnap her. Still want to use her. Sympathetic motives don't make the threat less real."
"No, but they create possibilities." I turned to Ciri, found her eyes already on me. "If the Hunt's problem is their dying world, and Ciri's power can theoretically address that problem, then there might be solutions beyond just fighting them until one side is destroyed."
"Solutions like what?"
"I don't know yet. But a month ago, we thought killing Cahir was our only option. Instead, we found an alternative that saved everyone." I looked at the knight who'd been our enemy and might become our ally. "Maybe the same principle applies here. Find what the Hunt actually needs, and figure out how to provide it without sacrificing Ciri in the process."
"That's optimistic," Geralt observed.
"It's hopeful. Different thing."
"Is it?"
"Has to be." I stood, stretched muscles stiff from sitting. "We've been reacting to the Hunt—running, hiding, preparing defenses. What if we started asking questions instead? Understanding what they really want? Finding out if there's any overlap between their needs and what we're willing to offer?"
Cahir rose as well. "For what it's worth, the intelligence I've shared suggests the Hunt has tried diplomacy in the past. Other worlds, other Elder Blood carriers. It ended badly because no one trusted them enough to negotiate seriously."
"Maybe we'll be different."
"Maybe you'll die trying." But something flickered in Cahir's expression—hope, perhaps, or just respect for audacity. "Either way, I've shared what I know. The debt isn't repaid, but it's begun."
[ INTELLIGENCE ACQUIRED: Wild Hunt Motivation ]
[ Faction Status: Desperate Refugees, Not Pure Evil ]
[ Diplomatic Options: Potentially Available ]
[ XP: +250 ]
[ LEVEL UP! 37 → 38 ]
"I need to return to Nilfgaard before my absence becomes suspicious." Cahir gathered his documents, secured them in his saddlebag. "Contact me through the messenger network I've established—Yarpen knows the channels. When I have more intelligence, I'll send word."
"And if we need to reach you?"
"Same network works both directions." He mounted his horse, looked down at the group that had transformed from prey to partners. "Safe travels to Skellige. May you find what you're seeking there."
"May you find what you're seeking too." Ciri's words surprised everyone, including herself. "Ana deserves her brother home."
Cahir's expression shifted—vulnerability replacing composure for one brief moment.
"She does." He turned his horse eastward. "Until we meet again."
The hoofbeats faded into morning silence. The five of them stood in the aftermath of a conversation that had transformed their understanding of everything.
"Skellige," Geralt said finally. "The plan hasn't changed. We need defenses, training, time to figure out how to approach this."
"But now we know it might be possible." I shouldered my pack, felt the familiar weight of the pickaxe strapped across it. "Negotiating with the Hunt. Finding a solution that doesn't require anyone to die."
"Might." Lambert's emphasis carried warning. "Might be possible. Might also be impossible, and we die anyway."
"Then we die trying something other than violence." I started down the road westward. "Seems like a better death than most."
The others followed. Behind them, the mountains held dwarven allies who'd proven kindness existed even in dark times. Ahead, the sea waited, and beyond it islands where Ciri's blood might finally mean protection rather than persecution.
And somewhere across dimensions impossible to perceive, the Wild Hunt rode toward them—not monsters anymore, but desperate refugees seeking salvation through the only means they knew.
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
The Mentalist: New Detective /Suits: The Win Rate System / The Walking Dead: Shelter Sys
Love [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers ] with exclusive access to 70+ min chapters ( 5 chapters every week ) on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!