QuestWright: Chapters 23-24

Because the length of this weekend's posting would break past 10k, which can be intimidating for some, I've decided to go back to the old days where I split things. Today is 23-24, tomorrow will be 25-27.

Chapter 23: Common Solutions

What could’ve happened that would trigger a Quest Chain? Did something go wrong? Is Master Chask okay?

Judging by Kara’s damaged figure and grim look, that last question would have to remain unanswered for the time being. Instead of asking, he simply said, “Master Chask finished the Quest, but the experience was a lot higher than I’d initially drafted.”

“Of course it was.” She said with no small amount of bitterness. She paused, fists clenched at her sides. “Everywhere the Master goes, bad things happen. He’s a plague on the Guildhall. Why Guildmaster Hollis ever put him in charge of the Hunters is beyond me.”

Cass chose to remain silent as Kara began to mumble under her breath, their speed picking up.

“..so great. He’s a monster. Gets people killed. Stupid scar. Should’ve killed him.”

Eventually, they wound up in one of the few Guild locations Cass had heard of but hadn’t visited.

Stepping through a wide arch just a little distance from the Range where his classes had begun initially, Cass found himself in a vast, open courtyard. Starting small, then growing in size, several rings dotted the landscape, racks of weapons and shields standing just outside of them. Near the third ring, a familiar System Engineer waved at him.

“Hey, Cass!”

“Ho, Pell!” Kara gave a curt nod of permission, so Cass jogged over to his friend.  He discovered Pellin standing beside a thick wooden post mounted on the edge of the ring. Scattered across its surface were several rotating dials, small slots, and an inset glowing screen.

Pelling scratched the back of his head after glancing at Kara, “Guess I’m not the only one being thrown into unfamiliar territory.” When Cass gave him a confused look, he clarified. “I’m trying to update all of the Combat Rings. This one is just about done, then the Ring’s safety protocols will come back online, and it’ll be ready for use again.”

“What can you tell me about them?”

“Mmm,” He mumbled, twisting a few knobs on the post. “It’s like an integrated training program. The big rings on the right are mostly just anti-lethal programming for duels, but in the first five rings, you can go up against monsters. Think of it like sparring in a padded world that reacts before you break something.”

“So what am I doing here?” Cass asked, looking back at the quickly losing patience Guild Trainer.

“I don’t know, buddy.” He tapped on the screen a few times before stopping and looking at him. “But you’d better not pick up any Combat abilities or they might just reclassify your Calling.” Laughing at himself, Pellin continued to work as Cass returned to Kara.

Wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen.

Kara gestured at Pellin with her chin, “He going to have that fixed soon?”

“Knowing Pellin, probably.” Cass said with a lopsided smile, “And he’ll probably get another level from it.”

The snap of a folder came out, “I see. Noted.”

While she wrote, he asked, “So, what are we doing here?”

Snap. “I lost a bet with Chask, come along.” She entered the first ring with an awkward jump, Cass following along in her wake. Stepping over to the posts’ side that faced the ring, she pushed a few buttons. Then, a two-foot-tall creature with wiry limbs and twitching ears appeared in the center. Instantly, a shimmer suffused the area before a Cyanic dome fired from the post, encapsulating the ring and changing the color of everything in the area to an off-white blue. The creature looked around with a chirp before spotting him.

“What the hell! Why is there a monster in here!?”

“Smarten up!” Kara yelled, “You’re under attack from a Scrounger, what do you do?”

“Run!”

“Good, but that’s not an option today.” He felt the moment her foot connected with his back. As he stumbled forward, the creature leaned back onto two flat feet and then sprang forward. Cass screamed as it leaped directly for his face. In a dive back, he fell onto his rump, terrified that his life was about to come to an end. Until just before connecting, a small blue shield popped up.

He was still screaming even when both the creature and the dome disappeared.

“Cass…Cass!” Kara smacked the back of his head, causing his jaw to instinctively close and cut off his scream. “I’m sorry, but that’s the best way to get a non-combat type to understand the Ring’s protections.”

A shaky breath exited his mouth, “What the hell, Kara?”

“I said I was sorry, that should be enough. Now, do you believe your life is still in danger from the Scrounger?”

“No,” Cass said after a deep breath.

“Good. We’re going to try this again, but first, you’re going to get a weapon. Head over to the rack and pick whichever one calls out to you.”

Cass turned in his seated position to look at her, “Calls out to me?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Pick them up and see what feels right.”

Cass grumbled under his breath as he stood up on shaky legs and approached the weapon rack. There were a dozen options: swords of different lengths, a few staffs and spears, blunt weapons, and what suspiciously looked like a repurposed blacksmith hammer. He passed over the swords. It’s not that Johnny’s death still lingered so severely that he couldn’t pick one up, it just…didn’t seem like Cassio Vale.

He lifted a spear, then shook his head. He wanted a hand free, which wouldn’t be possible with any of the two-handed weapons. A mace was too heavy, and the Morning Star scared the hell out of him. He didn’t want to accidentally brain himself. But then he found a smallish, unweighty axe. Something closer to a hatchet than anything else.

Lifting it, he understood what Kara had been talking about. It felt right.

He returned to the circle as she looked over his choice, “You planning on chopping some wood later?”

Cass shrugged, “It feels right.”

Kara gave him an approving nod, “If it feels right, it’s right.” She said, confirming his choice. “Now, are you ready for round 2?”

Cass spread his feet a little, falling back into his mother’s training, “Yes, let's do this.”

The Scrounger appeared again, and Cass felt no little shame in its appearance. The Skreels had around a foot of height and ten times the lethality of this tiny creature, yet he’d panicked all the same. Where was his warrior spirit? Where was that thing that had gotten him through the attack?

The Scrounger chirped when it saw him, then it leaped. Moving slightly to the side, Cass brought the hatchet down on the blunt side, rotating the weapon unexpertly and fumbling the movement. When it struck, he felt a slight resistance vibrate into his hand, then stomped down with his shoe, crushing the things back. It faded as soon as the monster croaked out a final sound.

A little better every time, He thought to himself. He was about to ask for another when Kara called out, “Not bad. I can see why you did well against the Skreels. Let’s see how you do against two.”

Two Scroungers appeared, their chirps warning him they were coming. The two leaped at somewhat different angles, forcing Cass to jump out of the way. As he turned around, one latched onto his weapon arm while the other was already leaping for his face.

This time, Cass didn’t scream.

“Again.”

Better.

Chirp, Chirp.

“Again.”

Faster.

Chirp, Chirp.

And so it went five times over, until Cass was breathless and felt a twinge burning in his back as the Way tried to heal him over. But each fight was a little better, until on the last round, he’d managed to kill the first quickly by going on the offensive before they could react.

“That’s enough for the day, but I have to say, I’m thoroughly impressed.” Kara pushed a button on the post and then walked over. “It’s honestly too bad you didn’t get a Combat Calling, I bet you would’ve been a solid addition to any Company.”

Cass was still trying to catch his breath. “Can I come back here sometime?”

“You’re a Guildmember, come back whenever you please. In fact, how about this, QuestWright Vale. Anytime we have a field block and I get pulled away, why don’t you head over here and practice? The Guild can never have enough people who can fight those damned things.”

With enough time remaining for a quick shower, Cass went back to his room. While he soaked, he considered the Scroungers of the world. Small monsters who seemed designed to overwhelm you. Sometimes, going on the attack was the right move.

After he hopped out, he quickly pulled up the ledger to see what had happened with the Hunter’s quest.

[QUEST INFORMATION IS CODED CONFIDENTIAL PER GH]

Cass cursed. Gaining knowledge of not only what happened, but also how to create a Quest chain would’ve been a great boon to him. Knowing he only had about ten more minutes, Cass decided to form a mini-rebellion. He decided to attack the problem.

It took only a few minutes for him to get to the Atrium, his fist poised above the black door of the Guildmaster's office, when a thought leaked through.

Is this the smart move? He stood there, frozen in thought for all of a second, before he remembered just how much experience he’d gained. Then, it was already too late to second guess himself.

Knock knock.

“Come in.” He heard from beyond the door.

Turning the knob, Cass had to put a serious amount of muscle into pushing the door past the frame. The Guildmaster’s office, it turned out, was not what he had expected.

Rather than the spacious, lush comforts he’d anticipated finding, he instead noticed a small bed, a wide desk that looked a little too familiar, and a man with mussed hair leaning back in a dark chair.

“Hello, Cassio. How can I help you?” the guildmaster asked in a voice that sounded both alert and tired at the same time.

“Hello, Guildmaster. If you’re busy or this is a bad time, I can come back later.” He already had a foot inching that way when the tired man sighed.

“No, it’s perfectly fine.” Let me see, why would you choose to approach me now? Ah, Master Chask’s Quest Chain.” He sat up a little straighter. “You want to know what happened, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m afraid, by decree of the Liora Council, that information is currently embargoed. You’ll also need to forget any mention of Fillmore’s Decor and pretend like nothing ever happened. I meant to send you and Ms. Tullis a message declaring even that, but” He gestured at his lined face, “I never had enough time.”

“I understand, sir. It’s not a problem.” Cass kept his tone respectful. He wasn’t about to dip a toe into Liora Council business without an explicit invitation. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

“No, no. You did well. Unlocking the Investigation type after only a week into your Calling show’s great promise. Now, that deserves the gift of knowledge.” Rubbing his hands across his face, he stood up. The sound of his bones cracking in his back was audible. “Quest Chains aren’t designed, they’re activated by the System when the Questor discovers there’s more to the task than initially meets the eye. While not going into specifics, I can tell you that Master Chask’s Quest began as something simple, that soon ballooned into a much larger problem.”

“So, there’s no way to create Quest Chains intentionally?”

The Guildmaster gave him a knowledgeable grin, “I know what you’re thinking. Technically, yes, you can force them. But it’s not about stringing Quests together on paper.”

Cass found himself leaning forward, “Then what is it?”

“It’s about outcomes, Cassio. The System tracks the progression of not only Quests, but people and results. If the final tally of a Quest creates new consequences that demand resolution, be they Systemic, Social, Logistical, or even danger-related, then the System responds by spawning a chain. It sees when a single action leads to a cascade of needs, and that’s when a Chain starts.”

“So it’s not about the Quest’s structure, but about the ripple effects that they cause.”

The Guildmaster nodded, “Exactly. The System doesn’t reward clever design. Rather, it responds to necessity. If you try to force it, you’ll run into problems with your System Reputation. The best you can hope for is to continue assigning your Quests to the right people with the right skillset, then hope that they develop naturally.”

Cass gave a slow nod in reply, “I see,” and he did.

In fact, he even had an idea about how to create one that would begin with a simple, innocuous Quest to the right person at the right time.

Knowing he was burning the Guildmaster’s time, he thanked the man and quickly walked away, closing the heavy door behind him. The rest of the day continued. Cass pulled aside Orla after lunch and during one of the later classes. By the time dinner had come, he gave her a very special Quest.

[Tier 1 Administrative Quest]

Orla Marrowind. You are charged with establishing an Enterprise by gathering at least ten Tradesmen from the Commons of Liora. In coordination with QuestWright Vale and Leatherworker Rina, you have one month to create a Council-approved Collective.

Requirements: 

–A minimum of ten active Tradesmen sign on

–Draft, submit, and gain approval from the Council for an Enterprise charter

–Secure a location for the sale of wares

Reward for completion: 10xp

Cassio Vale

Liora Guildhall 

QuestWright

The merchant looked it over as she slurped some noodles out of a bowl. Her face moved through a range of emotions as her eyes seemed to track the thing twice. Cass felt like his heartbeat and the sound of her eating were the only two things in the world before she nodded.

“I can do this. As we discussed earlier, the products they’re creating are useful, but they lack an effective way of getting them into the supply chains. With me on the job, we’ll have our Collective in a month.”

Cass felt a large smile splitting his face, “Thank you, Orla. I promise we won’t disappoint.”

“The only thing disappointing me right now is the experience attached to this thing. Do you know how much work is involved in creating an Enterprise from scratch? I mean, I’ll get experience once we have the thing up and running as soon as our foundational training ends. But still, that’s barely twice what I get on the daily.”

Cass tried very hard not to laugh, “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be worth it. By the way, what are we going to call ourselves?”

Pellin took a sip from his glass before looking at them both. “Why not call it Patchwork?”

“Terrible,” Orla said with a sneer, “A name is a brand. I’m signing paperwork for something that sounds like a thrift bin. No, it needs to be something that fits exactly what we do while inspiring others to use our services. I think…” She considered it for a long moment. “I think we should call ourselves The Little Foundry.”

“Pschh,” Pellin chuckled. “Sure, if you want a cease and desist from the Guild Tradesmen in your first week. They won’t even want to work with you after naming yourselves that.”

“He’s right,” Cass added in. “Besides, we’re going to be working with Tradesmen from all different types. Leatherworkers, Blacksmiths, a group of Callings working together. The name should reflect that. I think, since most of our people are low-level and we’re planning for the future, we should lean into it.”

“So what’s the name, genius?” Orla said with a raised brow.

“Simple,” Cass said with a smile. “Common Solutions.”

Chapter 24: The Groove

Time moved quickly after that. 

Between classes, spending time with Bella, building Quests, and helping Orla and Rina with their joint Enterprise venture, each day seemed to blur. The day after his first experience in the Rings, he finally saw what the start of a routine Quest looked like.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

You’ve gained .5xp for Gary Trenner’s Quest Completion.

Your System Reputation has increased by 1. 

Details can be found in the Quest Ledger.

CV-0001-D-LIA has met the criteria for Routine status:

-10 successful completions by the same Questor

-0 failed Quests

Final review from the designated receiver of delivery: Excellent

– –

Gary Trenner has accepted the routine Quest change.

This Quest is no longer assignable.

Routine Quests will still offer experience to the original QuestWright at a diminished return: 

10 System Reputation for upgrading a Quest to Routine with an excellent review.

This Quest will no longer give System Reputation.

– –

Bonus reputation granted for establishing your first Routine Quest:

80 System Reputation

Achievement progress:

10/10

[SYSTEM NOTICE- BASIC QUESTWRIGHT ACHIEVEMENT SET COMPLETE]

Cassio Vale, you have completed the basic achievement set: [Foundations of a QuestWright]

Your consistent efforts have been recognized…and rewarded.

Reward for completion:

The System has increased your maximum Quest rate.

New maximum daily Quest rate: 25

New weekly Quest quota: 50

The System has increased your map radius:

Updated range: 2.5 miles.

You’ve unlocked new Administrative tools:

Outline template creation.

Draft template creation.

Thinking it was a cause for celebration, Cass met Gary in a special bar that night called Cullings. They spent the evening toasting one another over and over again until Cass finally stumbled home, the now-familiar burn of his healing trying to cancel out all of the alcohol he’d consumed. Then, the next day began, and the next after that.

Before he knew it, several days slipped by. And every day brought new opportunities to learn. New ways of designing Quests to be more efficient and better for the Questor. New ways of looking at Quests as something more than just words on a screen.

Though Kara increased his daily Quest quota to forty percent after he told her about the achievement, Cass didn’t mind. That still gave him fifteen Quests he could throw at his friends and budding enterprise whenever he wanted. After he got into a groove in deciding what Quests to assign for the day, his experience began to skyrocket.

When Sunday finally rolled around again, Cass woke up and took a look at his gains. Seeing both of the Annual quests being completed brought a smile to his face.

With a moment of thought, he was able to add the token totals to his node on the experience tree. Having a System that was willing to modify your screen at will was something he tried not to take for granted. If only other parts of his life were that easygoing. 

Calling: QuestWright Initiate: Cassio Vale

Level: 3->4

Experience Accrued: 480.77

Experience required for the next level: 219.23

Unspent experience: 180.77

Total Stalwart Tokens: 7

Total Survivor Tokens: 7

Cass stretched, eyes skimming the updated status screen. In one week, he had already moved up a level. Without killing monsters, he’d managed to gain enough experience to hit Level Four in a blazing amount of time. Gary had told him he didn’t reach Level Five until after a year of working at the Golden Crust, but Cass was on track to achieve that after only a month.

He knew there was a lot to why he was leveling so quickly. It came from a perfect storm of additives pushing him along: achievements, the monsters he’d slain, titles gained, and the Guild investing so many personal Quests into him at the beginning. By this point, he’d already assigned a dozen administrative Quests, two dozen deliveries, a half dozen training, and the oddball message here and there when needed. As his Questors gained experience, so too did the QuestWright. 

To some small degree, he viewed himself as a parasite, sponging the xp off of people to fill out his bottomless well. But that thought didn’t hold. Without him, they wouldn’t have any Quests in the first place, so it was only fair he got a piece of the pie. Additionally, any spare minute he had that wasn’t taken up with daily business was instead devoted to the System map or trying to pre-set templates for faster outlining.

As for the map size more than doubling, it had brought an assortment of new headaches. Firstly, he had no idea how Guildmaster Hollis created so many Quests. A brief glance at Liora city showed a dozen Investigations going on at once, hundreds of Administrative Quests, and so many deliveries and messages running in and out that he had to filter the Quests just to reduce his stress. Yes, a significant number of them were routine, but it was still insanity when viewed all at once.

Secondly, a large pressure was building in that spot between his shoulder blades. Kara wasn’t hinting anymore. In the last two days, she’d been explicitly telling him that he’d have the Tier 1 Quest Registry to run as soon as classes were done. Since he could now see the entirety of the city and most of the Company territories, it made more than enough sense for him to take a load off of the Guildmaster. But that also meant he’d have to deal with the Questors in a more face-to-face format. 

Not to mention, the Registry was expected to receive a new Clerk soon, as Chancey has been transferred to the Petition Chamber, and a rather angry Kara was running it at the moment.

But this was his rare day off. Knowing that, Cass shoved all of the worries out of his head. They’d still be there tomorrow, but today was his.

A quick look at his ledger told him that both Rina and one of the Tanners he’d been assigning Quests to were only a few days away from entering Routine status. That meant more experience, and more Quests he could assign that wouldn’t drain from his daily allotment. To top it all off, he was only twenty experience away from unlocking his first standard path and whatever came with it. 

Not that his first choice had been a mistake. Thirty-five of his experience points in the last week had been from the Survivor path on its own. He’d even gained three reputation with the Liora Guildhall, and another five with Bella from his visits. Experience and Reputation were the roads that led him to better things. Choosing Survivor had just made sense.

No, he didn’t have any doubts left. After all, it’s like his father told him the last time they’d had dinner: every Calling was different for every Called. Based on what he knew of everyone’s paths, it’s likely that whatever choice he made next would look completely different from another QuestWright's.

Cass rolled out of bed and took a quick shower. Since it was Sunday, he slipped on his out-and-about clothes and then headed to the stables. He may not have his class today, but he’d made it a habit to visit Bella for his workout each morning. Greeting the horse with his normal sweet, he did his workout, reached eight tokens in the Stalwart way, then gave her the promised weekly bath.

Leaving the stable behind, a much happier Bella gave him a goodbye neigh, and he was on to his second stopping point of the day, the Rings.

Fighting those Scroungers had lit up something within him. When he’d first panicked, the feeling it had brought on was utterly irrational. It was a controlled environment, and unlike his time with the Skreels, he’d had a proper weapon in hand. Even Kara had been there.

Since sitting and reflecting on the why of his panic hadn’t been working, he decided to attack the problem in a more straightforward manner. By practicing against the monsters over and over again. If thinking couldn’t fix it, he’d try action.

Unfortunately, he would not be alone.

Inside the second ring, a young woman in dark clothing fought against a single Skreel. Spear in hand, she gracefully moved side to side, poking at opportune moments as the constructed monster screeched. Cass felt his breath come quicker as the sound brought back unfortunate memories, but he swallowed them down. 

That’s why he was here. No more panicking.

Since he wouldn’t want someone to stare at him while practicing, he moved toward the first ring and grabbed the same hatchet he’d used previously. As before, it fit his hand well. There was just something about the weight of it that felt comfortable. He stepped to the post and reached for the controls. Unsurprisingly, they were simple. The options asked him how many Scroungers he wanted, size changes, and even expected intensity.

Wanting to start simply, he set it to one at a medium intensity and confirmed. A timer appeared, counting down from ten, so Cass quickly moved into position and waited. The dome dropped over him, and then it was time to fight.

Chirp, Chirp.

The Scrounger darted out, twice as fast as before, and confirming a fear he’d had since first seeing the post’s intensity controls…Kara had set it to low.

It leaped forward on an unerring trajectory for Cass’s face. Rather than allow him to “die”, Cass dropped to his back, swinging the hatchet through the air at where he expected the Scrounger to pass through. A small bit of pressure told him he’d connected, but with the dome still up, he knew it wasn’t down for the count.

Cass rolled to the side, but the Scrounger was already leaping again, a small wound on its side. It hit a shield covering his face, but he still fell back two steps as that familiar fear wormed its way into his stomach. Pushing back panic with anger, Cass stepped over and started it again.

This time, he kept his feet. When the Scrounger leaped, he drove the hatchet forward. But instead of connecting, it skirted off the creature's face. The dome shimmered and vanished as he “died” again.

Catching his breath, he stayed still and began to analyze what went wrong when a soft voice spoke from nowhere, “Your footing is wrong, and so is your grip.”

Cass turned. Adya Korring stood watching him from the second ring. Her voice was clipped, as if she’d prepared every letter she was going to use before speaking.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak before.”

“Never had much to say.” Pointing low with her spear, she said, “Your feet are too wide, which I’ve never seen anyone do before, and you're gripping the axe too softly. Shoulder-width for your feet is what you want to do for balance, and you need to cradle the weapon.”

Cass glanced at his shoulders, then brought his feet closer together. Seizing the hatchet in his hand, he asked, “Like this?’

“Your feet are better, but now you’re gripping it too hard. Think of it like an egg. Firm enough to control, but loose enough not to crack it. You don’t want to feel every vibration that comes through.”

When he thought he had it right, Adya gave him an approving nod, then turned around and tapped on her own post, so Cass did the same.

Chirp, Chirp.

Though the monster got him again, he had to admit that Adya was right. It was easier to move when his feet were set like that, and the counterattack he’d managed to land had seemed like it did more damage.

Reflecting on the situation, he decided to approach it in the same way he had his Quests. Start at the bottom and work your way up. Setting the intensity at very low, he got a Scrounger who merely looked at him without attacking. Cass dispatched it with a sigh, then put it just on low. 

The speed was the same he’d seen with Kara, confirming his suspicions. But he was able to react quickly to its attacks and managed to defeat it on all three occasions it had come forth.

“You’re different than I’d thought.”

Cass turned at the sound of Adya’s voice again, finding her standing just outside of his ring. “How so?”

“When I saw the region alert that a Vale had gotten an Administrative Calling, I thought you’d be like your sister. Dive in, then fight your way out. And maybe you did that initially.” She nodded at the post suggestively, “But you wised up. Not many people our age think about building themselves incrementally.”

“I prefer to think that I’m wise in many ways,” Cass said with a light smirk that didn’t last long. “I don’t like losing, but I can admit when I’m not ready for the next step.”

“Smart. I’m here every Sunday. If you want to, I can give you some more tips next week.”

“It’s a-” He felt his pulse quicken as he decided not to finish that sentence. While she looked at him in confusion, he lamely said, “You’ve got a deal.”

With a nod, she walked away, but Cass wasn’t done with the day. 

What the hell was that? 

Rather than dive into the introspection of why he’d almost suggested Adya and he should go on a date, he dove into training himself. He went at it for another two hours before calling it quits. His muscles ached and burned, but he had work to do. 

In the quiet of his room, Cass spent the rest of the day bouncing back and forth between reading over active Quests in the ledger and memorizing the System map. There were no announcements. No bonuses or Quest alerts. Just the quiet hum of progress as he worked hard to better himself every day.

Tomorrow begins the last week of classes, and he needed to be ready for his real life to start.