QuestWright Chapters 32-33

At the start of each month, I tend to do a poll, a "behind the scenes", and a newsletter-like write-up. The poll and behind-the-scenes hits tier2+, while everyone gets the newsletter. They're just additional little things I add in because I enjoy writing them, and I hope my patrons enjoy reading them.

The chapters effectively close the largest arc of the series so far. Chapter 34 will post soon as I have some final edits to make there. It also helps split up the writing so you won't lose your place as it's longer than normal.

Chapter 32: Three Days

With a “here goes nothing” attitude,  Cass pulled the screen back up. Wanting to just rip off the band-aid, he activated all of the remaining Tier 1 types at once instead of one at a time.

Quest type: (R)Retrieval, (E)Escort, (S)Scouting, (U)Support, (F)Resource, (L)Diplomatic, (RE)Rescue selected…

QuestWright Ledger updated…

…

All Tier 1 Quest types are now unlocked.

The screen shifted to the silver tower independently. Piece by piece, the greater majority of bricks solidified in a glowing sheen, locking in his choices. Before he knew it, his reputation updated.

Total System reputation accrued: 332

Current System reputation remaining: 132

— —

Initiating new weekly review due to an elevated status

Weekly quota met: 50/50

Failed Quests: 0

Total quests completed since last review:

66

Complete unlock of all Common Quests for upgrade met: 13/13

Status updated:

QuestWright Cassio Vale:

Region: Liora- LIA

Callsign: CV

Calling recognition upgraded: Initiate -> Apprentice

Automatically assigning new Uncommon quest type: (CR)Crafting

New recognition status: Apprentice

The System has increased your maximum Quest rate.

New maximum daily Quest rate: 100

New weekly Quest quota: 200

-UNCOMMON QUEST TYPES-

(H) Hunt, (C) Combat, (SC) Secure, (OB) Observe, (Y) Internal Development, (TT) Mentoring, (EE)Extended Escort, (MT) Maintain, (TR) Trade, (SL) Sale, (X) Experimental

[SYSTEM NOTE]

New Quest types unlock at higher reputational levels

— —

[SYSTEM NOTICE- TITLE UPGRADED]

Your title [QuestWright Initiate] has upgraded to [QuestWright Apprentice]

Upgrade unlocked for reaching a new System reputation level

+20% experience gained from all completed Quests

Upgradeable

Note: Modified per Calling

— —

Bonus experience granted for unlocking half of all Common Quest types:

20 Experience

Initiate QuestWright Achievement progress:

2/12

Bonus experience granted for unlocking all Common Quest types:

40 Experience

Initiate QuestWright Achievement progress:

3/12

So I’m an Apprentice now…

It was strange. Though he knew it was a big step forward for his Calling, he didn’t feel any more special now than he had before. A few words had changed in his Calling node. A title upgrade had come, along with a more than doubling of his available daily Quests. And yet, he was numb to it. 

He didn’t sit on that thought for long, but he was aware, and it was worrying. 

With a stoic expression, Cass read the details over twice, committing the new types to memory. They were greatly different from what he’d first seen of the Common Quests. Instead of Training, there was Mentoring, a more individualistic practice that likely took much longer. Trades, Sales, Hunts, and of course, Combat.

With this upgrade, he could now fill out all three boards whenever he unlocked the new ones.  He knew he wasn’t ready to assign any Combat Quests yet, not with everything that had recently happened.

Johnny

But having the option was important. It meant he could take his Quests to a new level, and with what he hoped to start doing soon, that was very important. Mr. Moore was right; he should’ve unlocked all of them as soon as possible.

Tapping into the Outliner, he pulled up Crafting. That was when he discovered just how different Uncommon Quests were.

“Holy shit.”

There were hundreds of options. Thousands even. Just looking at it made him lose his breath a little. If he thought Construction was complicated with its specific needs, this was on a level so much higher above that the climb could take him months. Years. Just scrolling through everything took him several minutes.

“Material types…imperfections…end grade? What?” Before his brain became fuzzy, Cass stood up, closing the Annex. If this was just one category, he’d need help. Fast.

“Maybe someone at the Foundry can tutor me…” He’d have to look at the options again after graduation in just a few days. Maybe even unlock another Quest Type so he didn’t fall into the habit of overly conserving his Reputation.

The alarm for his next class had been steadily buzzing at him, but he’d ignored it once he grew lost in just how complicated Uncommon Quests were to create. Before he knew it, he was late. Sitting down for Diplomat Haim’s Interpersonal Dynamics block, Cass listened with one ear, while Quests and plans filtered through his mind.

I need to come up with something that’s good enough for Hollis to approve. Not some half-baked idea that I change on the spot, but a premise that can extend itself to cover the whole city, lasting decades into the future. If he denies it, or pokes so many holes in my logic that it ends up looking like Dad’s favorite cheese, it sets a precedent that I don’t know what I’m doing. 

I can’t fail.

Between his forthcoming meeting with the Guild Master, preparing to take over the first floor, Common Solutions, and all of the new Quests he’d unlocked…Cass was more than a little overwhelmed. Moore was right; it was a lot for a young QuestWright.

The days passed by at a rapid pace. Every eating period was filled with Pellin’s dry jokes, Orla’s ridiculousness, and Cass, a notebook in front of him as he scribbled down anything that came to mind for his plan.

Moore continued to work with him during their blocks. Each meeting brought new questions from the serious man.

Why did you give most of your initial Quests to your friend Gary?

What does Bella mean to you?

How did you survive the Skreel ambush?

Each question seemed designed to get to the core of who Cass was as a person. Then, when he wasn’t digging into Cass’s life, he was hammering him over the head with everything he didn’t know about being a QuestWright. What was expected of a Tier 2 Quest? How to modify your screens to allow your achievements to appear for tracking. And, most importantly, how to create easy-to-produce templates that only require a few changes.

On the day before the meeting, Cass straight asked him, “How do you know all of this?”

“Who do you think Gerald’s Clerk was at the beginning? I may not be a Guild Trainer, but there are few people living who know more about Quests than I. The people of your Calling included. Now, direct your attention to the outline. I want to see a turnaround time of thirty seconds for the next Delivery Quest. You’re still taking too long on inputting the source destination.”

His daily visits with Bella continued, as did his personal Quests, until he was only a day away from unlocking her Training node. As for Common Solutions, both Rina and Phil, one of their Potters, reached Routine in their received daily Quests.

Bonus experience granted for converting three Quests to Routine:

80 Experience

Initiate QuestWright Achievement progress:

4/12

That, along with the addition of creating thirty new generalized Quests a day under Mr. Moore’s guidance, increased Cass’s experience rate a great deal. If you added in the ten Quests he was now handing out to the enterprise on reset, the cost of his initial passive nodes slowly became a non-factor.

But all the frantic learning, worried scribbling, and stress-inducing thoughts began to take a toll on Cass’s psyche. A person could only move at such a level of anxiety for so long. When the final day of classes arrived, and after an all-night cramming session for his meeting with the Guild Master, he slumped against Bella’s steady frame.

“I’m so tired!” He dramatically wailed into her back.

She whuffed.

“I know! Okay, I get it. I need to straighten up and stop complaining, but Bella! I’m tired!”

The draft horse was unforgiving in her reprimands. Many a stomp and whinny followed until Cass finally stopped whining and set about what he needed to do. Shucking his exhaustion and with deep shadows under his eyes, he performed the objectives as best as he could, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Apparently, the System didn’t care about that.

[Stalwart Way Daily Quest Complete]

Rewards: 8.4xp, 2 Stalwart Tokens, 1 Survivor Token

Note: Check the Survivor path for updates…

Lying in a hot sweat, Cass opened up the Way of the Stalwart for his reward. Selecting the horse that still looked a little too much like Bella, he finalized his choice.

[SURVIVOR PATH: WAY OF THE STALWART- STEP TAKEN] 

Third node unlocked: Mounted Conditioning

New Way function unlocked: Certain daily Quests have an increased chance to grant you reputation with the draft-horse Bella.

Your daily Quest has been reset

With eyes closed, Cass waited for the burning increase to his passive ability, but it never came.

“Oh, thank god.” It wasn’t as if it would be a bad thing to heal even faster than before, but he wasn’t a glutton for torture. Each activation felt like nothing less than lighting his body on fire.

Bella snorted as he got up, “No, we can’t go riding today. It’s my last day of classes. I’ll talk to the stablemaster and get it figured out for tomorrow. Sorry, Bella.”

She gave him a long stare, then definitively turned her back on him.

“Come on, don’t be like that. We’ll go soon, I promise.” When he tried to step closer, she gently lifted a rear leg, the warning explicit.

Cass stopped where he was. “Sorry, girl. Tomorrow, okay?”

The walk out of the stables was not a pleasant experience, as Bella made no sounds upon his leaving, and something else appeared. 

Your reputation with the draft-horse, Bella, has decreased by 5

Cass mentally cursed to himself as he dragged himself out of there. He’d really have to make it up to her tomorrow. It didn’t help that his first taste of losing any kind of reputation came from someone with whom he was becoming quite close. It burned him in a way that the System couldn’t really manage

But he didn’t want to be late. It had been implied throughout the week that the last session of each class came with something special. Arriving after everything was done would do him no favors.

After a light jog, Cass arrived at the rings where a smiling Dev sent a chill down his spine. “Vale, nice to see you. You got here just in time.” Dev gestured at the second ring. “Today marks your graduation from our class, and I thought it would be a special treat for everyone to step into a higher ring of difficulty to see what the experience is like. Based on your physical metrics from the first day to yesterday, Kara and I have selected the most plausibly challenging setting for each of you. Cray,” She said, nodding at Pellin, who was already holding his weapon of choice, “is going first.” 

Cass could see his friend swallow as he took a few heavy steps up and entered the second ring.

Kara already stood by the post, “Skreel, low intensity, single.” She pushed a few buttons, and onward the screeching creature came.

As he’d shown before, the System Engineer fought at an advanced level that was hard to deny. It was impossible to guess how much time Pellin had spent training, but the results of such were apparent when he managed to skewer the creature after only a dozen seconds of rolls and testing attacks. However, that’s when the weakness of his body presented itself.

Before fighting the Skreels, Cass had never noticed how quickly a person grew tired in life and death scenarios. His mother’s training had always been paced, focusing more on technique and tactics than on trying to hurt him. But once the adrenaline began to pump, everything went to a different level, and you had to have the physical fitness to keep up.

Pellin managed to strike the creature once more before the System dome retracted and the monster disappeared.

“An excellent showing, Cray,” Dev said with a happy nod. “In the month we’ve had our classes, you’ve shown the most improvement. That makes you a strong contender for the final prize. Please place your weapon back on the rack, but you can step down with pride in what you’ve accomplished.”

With a sweat-covered head, Pellin smiled and did as she asked.

Like the first day, the class moved alphabetically. The several that followed didn’t match the fight Pellin had brought to the Skreel. Each was knocked out before marking the creature once, though one of them, a young woman with a confident expression, did manage to skim her weapon over the monster’s skin before its nails touched her chest.

Orla stepped down to Dev’s lauding, “It’s not so hard now that I know there’s a fricking training ring.”

After a few more went with negative results, Cass sighed as his name was called, “Vale!”

Already holding the heavy hatchet in hand, he stepped in as Kara rattled off his challenge, “Skreel, high intensity, single.”

Cass felt his heart skip. High intensity?

As it started to appear, Dev spoke up in the background. 

“Vale fought these once before, and has shown the most physical improvement out of all of you since we began. This should be a good test for him.” 

It finished materializing in a flash. Locking onto him, it sprinted at him across the shallow distance with a scream. Hearing the odd sounds of bones popping and seeing the creature he’d once fought to the death, twice, pushed his mind to shut down. But a voice saved him.

“Cass, catch!” Pellin yelled out as a round object was thrown through a gap in the dome that closed up only a moment later. Sliding across the ground, a round, metal buckler stopped in front of him. He had only a moment to pick it up before the Skreel was in his face. He positioned the shield in front of him, blocking the heavy knockback from the simulated monster.

Dev yelled out, “Cray! You just lost your chance at the prize!”

“So what?” Pellin yelled right back as Cass fought a battle of the mind as much as one of the body.

Each screech brought back dark memories, and though he was healed, it felt as if the long, knife-like fingers of the Skreel were already plunged into his body again. Every time it screamed, he was back among the rocks, Johnny’s mutilated body beside him.

But the shield held.

Peeking out to the side, he tried to test a swipe, but found four long fingers waiting. Ducking back behind the buckler, he brought his stance in slightly and re-positioned his elbows to conserve energy as his feet continued to move, always keeping a slight distance from the monster.

Block and slip. He thought to himself, fighting that churning fear in his gut. Block and slip.

Trying again from a different angle, Cass brought the shield slightly lower, only to discover the Skreel attacking again from the same direction. In a burst of speed, he dropped to his knees, buckler held above, and swiped under the shield with his hatchet.

The contact he felt was solid, but as Adya had warned, the vibration running through the weapon hurt his hands.

Like an egg! Cass mentally screamed at himself as he rolled away and looked at the damage quickly. The angled bones of the Skreel’s leg had a divet carved into it, one that could be worked on. Think like a QuestWright! You’re not a warrior!

Listening to the loud voice inside his head, Cass pushed the dark tunnels away from his vision and refocused. It's fast. It’s a pack hunter, but alone. It’s stupid, and reactionary. It can be tricked.

Two steps to the right had the Skreel follow, but it was thrown off when Cass jumped left. Positioning the shield at the only direction the twisting creature could reach, Cass waited for the pressure of an attack, then pushed when it was off balance. 

Like the Silver from before, Cass surprised the creature with the power built into his frame. As it was knocked sideways onto the indented leg, it kept going.

Crack

Bone splintering, the creature fell with a loud scream. Not wasting a second, a grim-faced Cass buried his hatchet in its neck, ending its scream and the fight in a final attack.

“Excellent, Vale!” Dev yelled out as both dome and monster disappeared. “Though I do not appreciate your training being interrupted by Mr. Cray, his addition was smart. Fighting with a single, one-handed weapon against an opponent like this is dangerous. Adding a shield to your repertoire brought your fighting abilities to another level. Well done.”

Cass took a shaky breath as he walked off the platform. Kara named the three combatants who would be facing the Driftclaw as they moved over to the third ring to watch.

“Thank you, Pellin,” Cass said with a smile, weapon and shield still in hand. “If you hadn’t done that, I’d be screwed.”

“Nah, you would’ve figured it out,” Pellin said with a dismissive gesture. “Besides, I’m the only one who could modify the dome once it was active. I bet Orla would’ve done the same if she could’ve.”

“What’s that?” She asked, not paying attention to them as one of their fellow students lost horribly to a slavering beast that disappeared with a howl.

In the end, though Pellin, Cass, and Orla had done well, it was of course Adya who won.

“Congratulations to Scout Adya for showing the greatest amount of improvement. You’ve just won two days of personal training with Liora’s Master of the Hunt.” If Cass could whistle, that would’ve been the time. ‘Now, that spells the end of our time together as a Class. Take care of yourselves, stay in shape!” She said this with a glare at Pellin, “And always be prepared for the worst to happen. Goodbye now.”

The three walked away, with Pellin commenting on how happy he was that he didn’t get the prize. Placing his items back on the rack before running to catch up, a stray thought entered his mind.

One class down, seven and a meeting to go.

Chapter 33: Advertising

Sitting down to eat, an unusually dour Orla stared at her food as Pellin arranged his morning setup.

“What’s wrong?” Cass asked, taking a bite from a slightly unripe apple.

They normally only put the best out.

Orla didn’t lift her eyes as she said, “This is our last breakfast together as three. You realize that, right? Pellin’s got his Guild contract doing whatever he does.”

Pellin inched his fork over, “Fixing and updating system programs run throughout-”

“Whatever.” She interrupted, “And while you and I will still see each other because of Common Solutions, it’ll be far less often. I guess I’m just worried we’ll drift apart.”

“I’ll still see Cass,” Pellin replied, checking over his breakfast one last time. “I’m contracted to work in the Grind for the next year.”

Cass shook his head. “That’s not what she means. Orla,” She looked up at him, a slight dampness just under her eyes. “We’ll still see each other. There’s no reason that we can’t remain friends for the rest of our lives. In fact, I’ll swear to it.”

Lifting a hand up, he put it in the center of the table, “Pellin Cray, Orla Marrowind.” They both paused as they looked at him. “I, Cassio Vale, swear to be your friend until my last breath leaves me. So I swear.”

It was a little dramatic, but there was something about seeing Orla crying that touched something in him. She was the emotionally sturdiest of them. An irascible rock who lived high in the moment. He couldn’t say or do nothing. 

With a wry grin, Pellin stopped fiddling and joined, repeating the same vow. Only a second later, Orla followed suit, the three of their hands hovering just inches off the table top. When they pulled their arms back, Orla coughed, then bumped against Cass’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

Pellin took a sip of water with a raised eyebrow. “Do you have a crush on Cass or something?”

“Ugh, no.” She said with a disgusted look. “His father, on the other hand.”

“Hey!” Cass said with a tortured expression.

Pellin snorted at her, “You do realize he’s like, thirty years older than you, right? And he grew up in what was basically a different world than ours.”

“So? I bet that man makes an apron look sexy.”

Pellin winced, “You’re going to give Cass a complex.”

“Too late,” Cass mumbled.

Orla’s weird obsession with his father became a topic of discussion until it was time to leave, much to Cass’s continual horror and Pellin’s odd delight. 

“I’m just saying,” Orla continued as they walked down the hallways to their next class, “there’s something about your father that’s titillating. Like, he’d cook you a meal but enter the room only wearing an apron.”

“Please stop,” Cass muttered as he grabbed his seat.

“What’s with you and aprons?” Pellin asked.

“It’s not about the apron, but the body underneath it,” Orla corrected, just as class began.

The prize in System Mechanics with Instructor Marrel went to Pellin, of course. He was the teacher’s darling in every possible way, which made great sense considering his Calling. Had a question about System Mechanics, and the instructor wasn’t around? Ask Pellin. 

As they walked to Institutional Overview, he flapped his reward in their faces like a trophy. “A fully guided tour of the private Guild archives! I even got a ticket!”

Orla looked like she wanted to throw up. “Only you or a Clerk would find that fun!”

Gently folding it, he placed it in his chest pocket and patted it twice, “It’s going to be a great keepsake.”

Meanwhile, Vex gave his prize to one of the Combat Classers who seemed to sleep through the whole block. Seated in the back row and often with his head down, the guy couldn’t show he was less interested in the class if he tried. Vex’s favoritism wasn’t shocking, as every time that student did anything more than snore and drool, the Silver heaped praise onto them.

“What a kiss-ass,” Orla said flatly, well within earshot of the man as they left the class. “You know the Silvers just want to recruit him.”

“That’s probably why the prize was a meeting with the Silver’s Company Head,” Cass added, then snorted. “I doubt he’d want to meet any of us.” 

Moore was his usual self when they met up in the Annex after, his presence as unflappable as always. “Do you have your plan all ironed out?” he asked, as if it were just another line in a long-running conversation.

There’s never any greetings from him, Cass thought as the System Map shimmered into view the moment he sat down. Always straight to the heart of what we spoke of last.

Considering his question, he replied, “I think so.” The note of uncertainty in his tone was hard to miss.

Moore gently shook his head. “I’ll tell you what I told Gerald in times like these. Don’t think, just do. A single action holds more value than a thousand thoughts. Often, I’ve found the time in waiting was more difficult than the actual event.” His eyes became glassy before blinking, and the standard steel gaze returned. “I’ve told the Guildmaster that you’re going to present him with a necessary change to the Guild and given him my tacit approval of your plan.”

“What?” Cass was shocked enough that he involuntarily blinked multiple times. “But you don’t even know all the pieces of it yet? Hold on, I’ll show you,” he reached for the bag, already pulling at the strap.

“Doesn’t matter.” Moore said with a fleeting smile, even going so far as to bend and stop him from pulling any documents out. “You have a goal that you want to see through. As your Clerk, it isn’t my job to poke holes in it, but to help you bring forth that goal into reality. Now,” Standing upright, he looked down at Cass with an expectant look on his face. “You have absolutely nothing holding you back from presenting it to the Guild Master. There’s been enough thinking, Cassio. Now is the time to act. I suggest you prepare yourself with the time we have today. There’s a list and a packet of contracts on the desk for you. Complete those, then, prepare yourself for the meeting.”

He left him to it as Cass was still staring at the spot he’d recently vacated, the weight of the moment pressing down on him like a storm about to break. 

Nothing to do, but do or die.

Turning back to the desk, his eyes roamed over the list, switching into what he mentally tagged as QuestWright Mode. It was a shift from worrying about everything happening in the world, to a steady focus on steps, goals, and execution. And that’s what he needed right now.

Eight deliveries, four messages with two outside the city…He looked through the whole list to get a sense of what’s expected. Not the largest batch I’ve ever done. But big enough to take some time.

Prioritizing those he could get done quickly, Cass stepped into the Ledger and pulled up one of the two dozen Delivery templates that Moore helped him create. Removing the delivery contracts from the stack, he brought up each template and matched it to the corresponding contract.

With some quick inputs, Moore’s lessons on speed paid off as one by one, Cass knocked them out. They were all Tier 1. Drop off ore here. Bring a component from one shop to another there. Each insured by the Guild’s good name for completion. All with a cost to them, paid by the customers who came to the Petition Chamber. Drafting came more fluidly after a month of practice, with a lot of his old hangups disappearing from repetition.

The trick to drafting from an outline was simple: clear your mind. Moore had shown him a few tricks for not thinking of anything but the Quest, and they came in handy now as CV stamped vellums appeared in a stack on the desk.

But he knew that of the thirty he was creating, maybe a little more than half would get done today. He needed his plan to work, or Liora’s gears would continue to move far too slow.

Creating the Quests with his new templates was fast. Immediately after the Delivery types were complete, he worked his way down in cost of time created. Messages were second, as if they were required to leave the city, the requirement shifted to those with Combat classes and movement skills, if possible. 

Administrative Quests took extra time as he had to ensure his visualization was on par with Moore’s exacting necessities. Must have experience listed. Must detail the route, something he’d encouraged Cass to continue after reviewing a few of his old drafts that hadn’t been completed yet. Must give the name of the receiving party, another detail Kara had missed.

Not that she hadn’t been a great trainer for him. It was simply the fact that Moore knew a great amount. The man’s memories and experiences from before the Reshaping to now were profoundly large. The more Cass learned about the Maestro, the more he grew to respect him. 

The only slowdown occurred when he got to the single Training Quest at the tail end of the list. He took his time, making sure it was built correctly. A note in the contract from the petitioner said it was for a young man who was listless and far too carefree. Cass thought it was obviously the man’s mother, and as the son of a proud mom who liked to push her children, he drafted it as kindly as possible.

For a brief moment before he finished, Cass considered unlocking another Uncommon Quest type. One in particular.

(X) Experimental: A Quest type related to System-triggered, unpredictable, and abnormal Quests

“System-triggered? How does that even work?

Not wanting to get distracted, Cass spent the final stretch of time re-reading his documents and memorizing his drawings again and again. One in particular held a speech he’d spent all the last evening drawing up. It spoke of Liora; not what it could be, but what it currently was. The speech was a little grand, but he hoped that would be the extra push necessary to get the Guild Master’s approval. When the notification hit his screen that he had five minutes left, he left and went to the next portion of his day. 

In Diplomatic Haim’s class, Orla won, as expected. With a flourish and a magnanimous smile, the instructor of Interpersonal Dynamics & Negotiation handed the Merchant a prize trapped within a closed fist.

“For your future,” He said, eyes glinting.

Forced to wait until the end of class, Cass sidled up to her and asked, “What’d he give you?”

“Two hundred Crests,” She said with a laugh, “That man understands me. If only he looked like your father.”

“Just stop already!”

Lunch blew by, the cafeteria being an explosion of noise as everyone from their Group was ready to graduate, then Myla Jen’s logistics class came calling. Her final class was similar to Dev’s in that a competition was held. One in which Cass did his very best to excel.

Routing simulations were brought up, resource allocations, and even a fake incursion was thrown in at the end. Though he knew he had a shot at winning, the prize ended up in the hands of a Combatant who really took a shine to how everything came together.

Myla Jen handed over the prize with a faint smile, “Remember, your Calling isn’t exactly who you are as a person. No one thing can ever truly define a person. We are all collections of thoughts, preferences, and histories. Keep that in mind as you go about your lives.”

Her words stuck with him. Enough so that he approached her at the end of class.

“QuestWright Vale,” She said with a flicker of a smile, ‘I’m sorry you didn’t end up winning, but second place should make you feel quite good about yourself.”

Holding his bag a little tighter than normal, he had a question for her, “Instructor Jen, you said that Calling’s are only a part of who we are, right?”

“Of course,” She canted her head to the side, “What’s on your mind, Mr. Vale?”

Cass put his bag down. “I was hoping you could help me with something.” Pulling out several worn documents, he said, “How much do you know about advertising?”