Chapter 3: The Price of a Path
Rylen left the records room, the hidden ledger a flat, damning weight against his ribs, concealed beneath his travel-stained tunic. The fear in Elric's eyes had been replaced by a spark of confused hope. Good. Let the clerk think his new lord was all bluster and no bite, a boy playing at authority who had quickly been cowed by the reality of the task.
He found Mayor Krell waiting in the main hall, pretending to examine a dusty book. The mayor's posture was coiled, his eyes darting over Rylen, searching for any sign of discovery.
"A formidable mess in there, Mayor," Rylen said, allowing a note of weary frustration to color his voice. He rubbed his temple, the gesture of an overwhelmed youth. "Elric will begin collating what's salvageable. It seems the previous administration's record-keeping was... creative."
Krell's shoulders loosened a fraction. He saw what he wanted to see: a noble boy out of his depth, already regretting his grand proclamation. "As I said, Lord-Mayor, years of hardship. The complexities of frontier governance are not for the ledgers of soft southern scribes."
"So it appears," Rylen conceded, his tone bland. "For now, I will retire to my quarters. We can discuss the... logistics of this audit tomorrow, once I have a clearer picture of the ledgers."
He's stalling, Krell's expression seemed to say. He's looking for a way to back down without losing face. The mayor's smile returned, thin and victorious. "Of course, my lord. A wise decision. Rest well. Borin will show you to your residence."
The "residence" was a stark room above the stable, as Rylen had seen in his death-memories. It was cold, sparse, and smelled faintly of hay and horse. It was an insult, a clear message of his standing. Borin deposited him without a word, his heavy boots thudding back down the wooden stairs, leaving Rylen alone with the silence and his prize.
He barred the door with a simple wooden bolt—a feeble defense, but it was something. Only then did he pull the ledger from his tunic.
In the grey afternoon light filtering through a single grimy window, he opened it. The script was neat, economical, and utterly damning. Page after page detailed the systematic looting of Frosthold. Tithes of Sky-Iron due to the Kingdom of Lastwall were halved on paper, the remainder marked as "lost to instability" or "theft," then sold to Northgard intermediaries. Payments to a "Town Guard" of twenty men were listed, though Rylen had seen maybe eight listless souls. The extra salaries lined Krell's pockets and paid off Borin's loyalty. There were entries for "hazard mitigation" and "beast tide preparedness" that correlated perfectly with deposits of gold from unnamed sources—Northgard's bribes for keeping the town weak and compliant.
This wasn't just corruption; it was treason against Lastwall and direct service to a rival kingdom.
But having the evidence and being able to use it were oceans apart. As the simulations had shown, waving it around meant a swift, anonymous death. He needed a plan, and for that, he needed to test the paths. He had 28 Gold Crowns in the System. The cost was fixed: one gold, one complete life, one final lesson.
First test. The direct approach with the enforcer. He formed the intent clearly.
I will take the ledger to Captain Borin tonight. Confront him with his name in the book. Try to turn him into an ally.
[Paid Simulation Activated. Cost: 1 Gold Crown. System Balance: 27.]
The summary unfolded a short, brutal life.
[You go to the guard post. You show Borin his name. He listens silently, then kills you with a single dagger thrust to the heart that same night. He takes the ledger to Krell. Your body is disposed of in the mine shaft.]
[SIMULATION ENDS - Host Death: Immediate Violence.]
[Select Reward: Life Experience / Power Level / Item]
So much for that. Borin was Krell's creature through and through. Rylen selected Life Experience, enduring the shocking, cold burn of the blade and the final darkness. Balance: 27.
Second test. Go over their heads. Find the Northgard scouts. Use the knowledge of their general location from the previous simulation memories to search for them.
I will slip out of town tonight and search for the scout camp to parley.
[Paid Simulation Activated. Cost: 1 Gold Crown. System Balance: 26.]
[You use remembered knowledge from past simulated deaths to locate the scout camp after two days of searching.
You attempt to parley, offering information on Krell's weakening position. The scout lieutenant listens, then has you executed as a 'loose end' on the third day. Your head is sent to Krell as a warning.]
[SIMULATION ENDS - Host Death: Betrayal.]
[Select Reward.]
Another death. Another Life Experience of the harsh, pragmatic brutality of the borderlands. Balance: 26.
Two paths, two quick graves. He needed a longer-term strategy. The ledger mentioned the "Crown Tithe Caravan" due in about six weeks.
Third test. Play the long, passive game. Wait for the caravan. Then reveal everything. Simulate from now until that action plays out.
[Paid Simulation Activated. Cost: 1 Gold Crown. System Balance: 25.]
This simulation ran for a full, tense lifetime.
[You play your part perfectly for six weeks. You make vague noises about the audit but take no action. Krell grows cautiously confident.
Week 4: Borin tries to provoke you into a duel. You refuse, losing face but staying alive.
Week 6: The Crown caravan arrives. You present the ledger to the commander. He is outraged. He confronts Krell publicly.
That night, the Northgard scouts, fearing exposure, launch a full assault on Frosthold to silence everyone. A three-day battle rages. You are killed by an arrow on the second night of the fighting.]
[SIMULATION ENDS - Host Death: War.]
[Select Reward.]
He absorbed the Life Experience—the tense weeks of acting, the sudden, violent chaos, the death amid fire and shouting. So, even the Crown's authority couldn't protect him here. It would only trigger a massacre.
Frustration simmered. Every institutional path led to a grave. To survive, he needed to change the power dynamics from within, not just reveal the crime.
He looked at his remaining gold. 25 Crowns. He needed a new approach, not another rehearsal of his death.
The core problem was Borin's control of violence. Rylen couldn't remove him alone. He needed someone else with a reason, and the strength, to challenge the captain. Someone already inside the town's suffering.
Fourth test. Don't look outside. Look within . Into the town itself. Don't wait for outsiders. Spend time observing, finding the discontent people in the town. Find Krell and Borin's other victims. Build from within. See where that leads.
[Paid Simulation Activated. Cost: 1 Gold Crown. System Balance: 24.]
[You spend a week observing the town and mines. You identify a former guardsman named Durn, a large man with a permanent limp, crippled by Borin over a stolen mining claim. He burns with hatred and is respected.
You approach him cautiously with an offer of coin for 'information.' He is wary but takes the gold. A tentative connection forms.
Month 2: Through Durn, you quietly connect with other miners and tradesmen with grievances. A secret network forms. You use your gold to buy small loyalties and gather information.
Month 4: Krell, sensing a shift in the town's mood, becomes paranoid. Borin's crackdowns grow harsh, beating a popular miner. Unrest simmers but is suppressed.
Month 8: Your network is stronger. You have identified five reliable men, including Durn, who know how to fight. You begin planning.
Month 10: You attempt a coup. You and your men ambush Borin in the guard post. The fight is bloody. Durn dies holding Borin down. You manage to slit Borin's throat.
That same night, Krell flees to the Northgard scouts. He returns with them at dawn.
A week-long siege of Frosthold begins. You and the townsfolk fight from the buildings.
On the final day, the Northgard lieutenant, a hardened apprentice Knight, breaks through your barricade. You fight, using every memory of combat from your simulations, but you are untrained and weak. He runs you through with his sword.]
[SIMULATION ENDS ]
[Select Reward.]
LIFE EXPERIENCE
POWER LEVEL
ITEM
For the first time, a simulation had shown him a path that wasn't immediate suicide. He had lived for ten months. He had built something. He had even killed Borin. But he had died anyway, because he was still too weak, and the external threat—the Northgard scouts—remained.
But within that long failure was a kernel of success. The alliance with Durn worked. The townsfolk could be rallied. The plan was possible, if he could solve the final piece: the Northgard scouts, or his own overwhelming weakness.
He didn't need the life experience of that entire grueling year. He needed the Item that had symbolized the first, crucial bond of trust in that timeline. The simulation offered a choice: a Northgard Scout's Dagger, a Purse of Silvers, or the Miner's Luck Charm—the small, smooth stone Durn had given him after their second meeting, a token from the deep mine.
He chose the Miner's Luck Charm. It appeared in his palm, cool and heavy. A real object, pulled from a possibility. Worthless in gold, potentially priceless in trust.
Dawn was still hours away. He had a path—a hard, bloody, long path that ended in failure, but a path nonetheless. He now knew the steps: find Durn, build the network, remove Borin, and somehow deal with the Northgard retaliation. The ledger was his proof, but strength—either his own or an army's—was his missing component.
He hid the ledger beneath a loose floorboard in his room, a mirror of Krell's own hiding place. He pocketed the luck charm.
Outside, he heard the heavy tread of Borin's patrol passing by. The game had changed. He was no longer just playing defense. He had seen a way to fight back, and he had seen exactly how he would die trying. The next step was to change that ending.
[System Balance: 24 Gold Crowns]
[Free Simulation Available at Dawn.]