039 The Truth Won’t Set You Free

Lt. Alex Smith led me across the garrison and to a particularly small building. Everything was built with logs and I didn't wonder why Diane couldn't get a lumberjack to build her shack. They had all been busy building this thing.

The lieutenant greeted the man at the desk inside the small building and took me through another door. Inside were rooms that were practically the same as the rooms in the bath house. He put me in the very first room by the door.

“I'll be back with your meal in a few hours.” Lt. Smith said.

“I brought my own.” I said and opened my pack to show him a nice piece of smoked meat.

“It's not wrapped up?” He asked, surprised.

“What for? It's smoked.” I said and bit into it. “Nothing's going to make it go bad now.”

Lt. Smith gave me an odd look for a moment, shrugged and started to shut the door. “Don't use your marsh magic to lock the door.”

“Why?” I asked.

“So we can check to see if you try to escape.” He responded.

“I don't even need my knife to break out of here.” I said and walked over to the back wall. I pushed on it and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as the logs bent out in a curve. “They used the wrong trees for the walls, probably because the bendy ones are plentiful.”

Lt. Smith opened his mouth for a second, closed it, then sighed. “I'll let the Commander know.”

I shrugged and he shut the door. I waited for nearly ten minutes before the door was tried again.

“I'm just checking.” The guard said and then he shut the door.

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You have a choice to make.

A) Ignore it. B) Show off some more. C) Secure it anyway. D) Sleep. E) A&D. F) B&D. G) C&D

I am definitely not going to ignore it. I thought. It's way too dangerous to be here and not be secured. I choose G.

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“They don't know much about keeping someone captive.” I said.

I took out a vial of number ten potion and poured a tiny amount on the spaces between the logs. Unlike them, I actually preferred solid walls and not letting anything crawl in. That thought made me smile, because these people must be miserable while living here.

I bet almost none of them have had the general health potion that protected them from bug bites and itchiness. I thought with a chuckle. “Poor city folk.”

Another ten minutes passed and I stopped what I was doing. The door opened again and he gave me a quick look, then closed the door.

“And people call me stupid.” I said with a shake of my head.

I was quite liberal with the potion on the door this time. When I was done, there wasn't a door anymore. It was just a solid wall with a superfluous door handle and two hinges for no reason. I chuckled at the sight and checked the bed. It was just a cheap cot, so I laid down on it fully dressed. Suddenly, my vigilance technique stopped and a wave of sleepiness came over me.

I kept... it up... tooo... looong. I thought lazily as my brain shut down and I fell unconscious.

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Administrator Warning: Over-extended Perception skill usage (Time limit exceeded at the cost to Mental Stability). Story paused. Time until recovery: 6 hours.

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Goddammit. I thought with a sigh at my own stupidity. I had completely forgotten that I needed to count the time while I was showing off. I should have let the skill lapse during that long walk to the garrison. Oh, hey! Did I win the bet? I asked the darkness.

“Yes, you claimed the pot. The extra credits have been added to your account.” A man's voice said.

Fucking sweet. I thought. You know, if you had like a mini-game or something during the waiting periods, getting kicked out like this wouldn't suck so bad.

“Your brain needs to decompress from exertion, not continue to be stimulated.” The man said with a bit of humor in his voice. “I can give you the sleep code if you want.”

I thought about it for a minute. You want to take a break, huh?

“Hell yes.” The man said and laughed. “You're burning through all of our extra options pretty fast.”

I'm not ruining the story, am I? I chose the main branch.

“Ha ha. No, you're right on track. There are a lot of variables you can go through and still not change certain major events.”

That's a relief. I liked the original story a lot, even if it did do a few things wrong and skipped a bunch of stuff that shouldn't have been skipped, especially without any explanation.

“I hear you.” The man said. “You've had a better background already and your base character is much stronger, even if you are a bit reactive.”

I laughed in my head. I'm finally getting a chance to have fun. I'm not giving up on it now.

“There's fun and there's reckless. Attacking the commander of the garrison was not a good idea.”

He knew I wasn't serious.

“Why didn't you kill him?” Some other man's voice asked.

He was partially right. I wouldn't be leaving the base if I killed him. The solders would swarm me and I would be toast.

“If you didn't let them gather together...”

I laughed. If, somehow, a trained army doesn't make a concentrated attack on a lone assailant, everyone in the village would get me instead.

“I guess that's true.” The second voice said.

I would never be allowed back if I did somehow make it out alive... not that I think I actually am allowed back right now. I was pretty much just passing through. I was going to get cleaned up, drop the stuff off to Diane, then make the journey to the next village.

“That would have been the smarter move.” The first voice said. “They were waiting for you here.”

I was tempted to go all the way and bypass the village; but, I needed to see Diane and make sure that she didn't hate me. I thought. She looked really thin, though.

“Don't worry about that. She took a healing potion and a general health potion as soon as you were out of sight.”

Are you going to tell me why she was so skinny? I asked.

“If you see her and remember, you can ask her yourself.” The second voice said.

Ha. You're a funny guy. You have to give me the option. I thought and they both laughed. That reminds me. Thanks for adding the few mixed options. Those were great.

“We remembered what you said before. So, we agreed that streamlining your choices and reducing the number of interruptions was better in some situations.” The first voice said. “Plus, it saves us a bit of work, too.”

Of course it does. I thought and laughed.

“I'm sending the sleep code now. Night night.”

Thanks. I thought and then I blacked out.

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Administrator Warning Timer expired. Mind stabilized. Exhaustion Penalty 70%. Story resuming.

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I woke up to the sound of banging and yelling. “Ughhh.” I groaned because my head felt like it was split open. I opened a number four potion and took a sip. The pain faded and I remembered overusing the vigilance technique. That was stupid of me. I thought and the banging and yelling didn't stop, which meant it wasn't in my head. “Stop banging!”

It stopped, as did the yelling.

“I command you to open this door.” The CO said.

“What door?” I asked and tried not to laugh. They must have heard it, because there were several curses.

“I thought I told you not to use your marsh magic on the door.” Lt. Smith said.

“Can I lie and say I used it on the wall?” I asked and he sighed loudly.

“Open. This. Door.” The commander ordered loudly.

I jerked a little at the angry tone and tried to use the vigilance technique. My headache returned and I had to take another sip of potion. I picked up my pack and walked over to the wall, then made four long and careful slices through the wall where the door used to be. I had the hinges and the handle to guide my cuts. I flicked the knife at the last second and had the new door fall into the room.

“You are paying to fix that door.” The CO said.

“It's only three silver for the hinges and ten for the handle.” I said and they looked surprised.

“He charged us a lot more than that.” Lt. Smith said.

The CO looked at him. “I'll send someone over to... talk to him... right after the trial.”

Lt. Smith winced and even I knew what that meant. “Let's go.” He said and waved me out of the cell. I walked by him and the commander and then had to wait for them to walk me through the guard station and out the door. We went to a different building that was pretty big. The inside was completely empty, except for a bunch of chairs, a single desk, and a whole lot of people.

“What took so long?” A woman asked as she walked away from the crowd and sat down behind the desk.

I got a good look at her and I had to admit that she was a real pretty lady. That was bad. The Hag when she was at her prettiest and felt her best, was when she was also the meanest and hurt me the most.

“The prisoner had sealed himself inside of his cell.” The CO said.

“How did he do that?” The woman asked, confused. “It's a cell. It should already have held him.”

“Marsh magic.” The CO said with a shrug.

“You.” She spat at me and I jumped a little. “Why did you delay this trial?”

“I didn't know I was doing that.” I said, truthfully.

“You knew the trial was today.” She said and glared at me, then at the soldiers. “They were sent to get you an hour ago.”

“I only just laid down.” I said. “I'm still really tired.”

“Didn't you sleep at all?” Lt. Smith asked me.

“I laid down after I sealed the door. I don't know what happened.” I said and reached up to rub my face. I forgot that I still had my knife in my hand and sliced a big chunk of my hair off.

“AH!” The pretty woman at the desk yelped as my hair fell to the floor.

“Oops.” I said and looked at the clump of hair on the floor.

“Take that dangerous weapon off of him right now!” The woman exclaimed and no one moved. “What is wrong with you people? You're soldiers!”

“None of them...” I started to say and then yawned. “...want to be the first to die...”

“They wouldn't be the first!” A woman's voice yelled. It was Star, the mayor. “You killed John!”

“...for taking my stuff.” I finished. “Can I sit down or something?”

The pretty woman glared at me for a moment, then she nodded at the CO. He pointed and someone brought over a chair for me and put it beside the desk. I sat down on it and put the pack between my legs. I was too tired to care that I was getting my clean clothes smelly.

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You have a minor choice to make.

A) Go to sleep. B) Eat. C) Tough it out. D) Attack. E) Run. F) Yell. G) B&C. H) D&E. I) F&E.

I am sticking with it now. I thought. I better go with B, especially since I was out since yesterday. I choose B.

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My belly let out a rumble and I rubbed it. “I guess it has been a day.” I said and put the knife into the sheath on my bandoleer and opened my pack. I took out a water skin and opened it.

“UGH!” The woman behind the desk grunted and covered her nose and mouth. “What is THAT?!?”

“Food.” I said and tipped it up to drink some of the broth of the stew and then squeezed it to get some of the bigger chunks of meat out. There were some gagging sounds and a few green faces as I chewed on the greatest stew I had ever made.

“What are you eating?” Lt. Smith asked me.

“Um... let me think.” I said and my mind was pretty slow today. “I think... near-deer, rabbit, marsh lizard...”

One person turned away and let out the sound of someone throwing up.

“...water beast, near-duck... um... oh! Marsh bat and diamond snake.” I said, glad that I remembered almost everything. I knew I was missing a few things, since it was a while ago.

“You forgot marsh panther.” A woman's voice said and several people gasped or shouted in surprise at the words. I turned my head to look and saw that the woman who spoke was Diane.

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You were right before, so we're adding this superfluous choice, just for your own peace of mind.

A) Ask her why she was thin. B) Compliment her. C) Ask her what she did. D) A&B. E) B&C.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I thought. She looks fine now, so I'll choose E.

_______________

“Hi, Diane. You don't look thin anymore.” I said and waved. “Did you take the potions?”

“Thanks for the compliment. I think.” Diane laughed. “Yes, I took them. I even took them in the right order. Healing first, then general health.” She said, then her smile faded. “During the winter, I had to use the last dose of snake juice that you gave me years ago.”

I gasped and stood. “It still worked? They're only supposed to be good for a year or two!”

“That's why it took me a lot longer to recover than it took dad that time.” Diane said. “I was in bed for most of the winter.”

“I'm surprised you recovered at all.” I said and let her see the surprise on my face.

“Sit down.” The pretty woman behind the desk said to me. “This isn't a social gathering.”

“Then what are they doing?” Diane asked and pointed to the group of people gathered together and talking.

“They... are discussing the case.” The woman responded.

“You're a bad liar.” I said and sat down.

“I am not the one on trial here.” The woman said and looked at the rest of the room. “Take your seats. Let's get this over with.”

It was the shortest trial the village had ever seen. I wasn't asked any questions, allowed to speak for myself because it was Lt. Smith's job, and the only witness called was the mayor and all she did was call me a cold blooded murderer. Diane had tried to shout that she was there when it happened and the pretty woman had her taken from the room for disrupting the proceedings. The mayor finished lying and left the stand.

“I think we all know that this... Marsh Man... is guilty.” The pretty woman said with an evil smile. “I don't think there's any real reason to delay the sentencing, is there?”

No one spoke up, because they all knew it was pointless.

“Well, then. I'm sure that everyone knows the penalty for murder.” She said, almost in a purr. “Tomorrow morning, that awful man will be...”

“...drafted into the Gulf Kingdom's army.” The CO said loudly.

The pretty woman's face became angry. “I am the presiding judge here!”

I winced, because my guess that she was as mean as the Hag under that prettiness had been right.

“I am the commanding officer of this garrison. In all cases of capital crimes, the army has reserved all rights to any prisoner that will be sentenced to death, if they have any skills that can be valuable.”

“He is a murderer and he must be hanged!” The woman spat.

“He will be conscripted by law and cannot be discharged by anyone, for any reason, unless it is by the decree of the King himself.” The commander said and everyone in the room gasped. “My Colonel is much too busy to listen to any news from this backwater garrison, so there is no need to worry that the King will ever be hearing about any of this.”

“He's a menace!” Star Mansfield exclaimed. “He needs to be dealt with!”

“The army always takes care of their own.” The commander said with a smile. “Besides, I believe you will be far too busy looking for another source of health and healing potions.”

Complete silence met these words.

“I've been here for a month now and I must say, the Hag you allowed to enter your village was some piece of work.” The CO said. “She should have been killed years ago, long before she gained an apprentice.” He looked at all of their embarrassed faces. “You all contributed to this death, and now you've contributed to the death of this village.”

“NO!” Star yelled. “He's a murderer and...”

“...so are you.” The CO said and she gasped. “How long will it take this village to survive when people start dying from bug bites and injuries that can't be healed?”

“The Hag will...”

“...never come back here.” I said and the villagers looked at me with shock on their faces. “That's why I came alone in the old boat and with only one crate of potions. That's all I was safe to bring with me.”

“By the Son's Light.” Someone whispered.

The pretty woman behind the desk sat down, a look of devastation on her face.

“Do you see what your shortsightedness has brought you?” The CO asked them. “You were so determined to make the boy pay for a murder that he was fully justified in committing, that you were too blind to see that you were killing everyone else to kill him.”

“It... wasn't justified.” Star said, her voice sad.

“Unlike you, we have some talented magic people. It only took a few tracking spells and a scryer to determine that the actual witness, Miss Diane Phelps, was entirely truthful in her recitation of the incident. I couldn't have the defendant's representative present that evidence, since she wasn't allowed on the stand.”

“You... you let us...”

“Of course I did.” The CO said and the mayor sighed. “Who would want people like you in charge of the whole village?”

An uncomfortable silence followed his words.

“Yes, I know. Most of you do.” The CO said. “It's just unfortunate for you that you invited the army to build a garrison here.”

“What do you mean?” The pretty woman behind the desk asked.

“It's quite simple, really.” The CO said as he stood up straight and spoke in an authoritative voice. “The Gulf Kingdom hereby places this village under its protection and administration.”

Gasps and groans came from the gathered people and a few of them were shaking their heads.

“What's that mean?” I asked, not understanding what the CO said.

“It means that the army can directly interfere in how things are run in the village.” Lt. Smith said. “That's not really your concern anymore.” He waved for me to follow him. “Come on. I need to get you properly situated.”

“What's that mean?” I asked as I picked up my pack and walked after him.

“It's easier to show you than explain.” Lt. Smith said and no one looked at me as I was led out of the building.