Chapter 19: First Test of a Hero

  Quest Name: Ody’s Journey

  Storymancer: Ody Eus of Ithika

  Supplemental Storymancers: N/A

  Number of Sub Quests: 10

  List of Sub Quests: Test of a Hero, Guide the Hero’s Home, No One to Blame, Capture the Wind, Swine Heart of a Hero, Siren’s Call, Six Lanterns, Golden Cows, Dangerous Path, and Battle Against the Sea

  Adventurer Ranking: S

  Adventurer Wait Time: 3 months

  Typical Time for Completion: 2-3 weeks

  Quest Reward: Any adventurer who completes this entire quest will become the heroes they have always yearned to be.

  Quest Summary: The adventurers progress through each of the sub quests in order. Due to the number of subquests attached to this quest, please review the supplemental quest summary information found in Appendix A.

  About the Location: Ody’s Path is a collection of six hundred islands with five core islands that are replicated through illusionary magic. Replicating the core islands ensures that adventurers receive the same experience as well as reduces the adventurer wait times. Not all islands have a function in the quest, as they are too small. Some islands give adventurers the illusion of choice while they are on a linear quest. Their ship will always be led to an available version of the island they need to accomplish their next quest. All time between locations is determined at random between 1 and 3 days.

  Keylynn sucked in a deep breath. Ody’s Journey was the largest quest that she will be reviewing. Not only does it have ten sub quests, each with their own locations, but there are also several quests that occur between islands. Additionally, this quest utilizes excessive illusionary magic to increase their adventurer input. Unless they were on the 'master island,' her team would be unable to conduct their assessment thoroughly. None of that accounts for the storymancer that compared her to a female dog several times in his complaint. She only found his cowardice insulting.

  She pulled out her comms device, as she had every few minutes for the past hour. They were currently waiting for their turn to enter a quest teleportation portal. Dauven still hasn’t heard a reply from his requisition, meaning they didn’t know what to expect when it came to their turn.

  “Waiting for an important message?” Dauven asked her.

  Keylynn’s cheeks flushed as she read over the latest messages between herself and Tiv.

  Tiv: Got the mobile Cup Stop rolling this morning. Started between the 6th and 7th morning bells. Met a series of ghouls.

  Keylynn: Hello Tiv, this is Keylynn. They sound like my ghouls. If they are extra ghoulish, please give them grace.

  Tiv: Not to worry, I can handle a few ghouls. Wouldn’t be the first time.

  True to her word, Tiv got her coffee cart ready. Keylynn wished she could have been there to see it or be the first customer to order a coffee. But Lark got them on an express train that left promptly at the 6th morning bell.

  “Whatever you have been doing, I’m assuming it’s going well. You stopped apologizing for slime Eugene.” Dauven mused with a playful smirk.

  “It was necessary. I caused extreme suffering from my lacking of foresight,” she explained, changing to the chat that surprised her most. Human Eugene from floor five messaged her. “Have you heard from anyone on floor five?”

  “No, why?”

  “Human Eugene asked for help.” She turned her comms device towards him so he could read it. She was concerned for human Eugene; he has a talent for getting himself in trouble.

  Human Eugene: Kiki! It’s been so long! I guess they kept you after all. So, I know you respond better to email, but my matrix is back in the office. Grief assigned me to remedial fieldwork, and this quest I’m on is a hot mess. Can I call you my mushroom saviour?

  Keylynn: Hello human Eugene, this is Keylynn. I am currently in the field myself on an annual assessment. Should you require assistance when my assessment has concluded, I’ll be pleased to help. If I can help through email or, I suppose, comms messages, I will do my best. That being said, what did you do to require remedial fieldwork? Was it your desk fermentation of fruit juices? I told you that was unwise.

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  “I thought you two didn’t get along? You were always complaining about him.” Dauven asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

  “I find him irritating at times, yes, but he is the one who always took care of my colonies when I was out of the office. He put more care into that than his work,” she explained. “Besides, he's young, a child really. I can’t fault him for his neglectful parents.”

  Dauven looked as if he was going to say something but changed his mind. “Would you like me to look into it?”

  “Do you think floor five has similar problems as floor seven?” She asked, fidgeting with her comms device again. She hates to think of her previous floor as imperfect. At the time it felt like the perfect work environment. But that was before she discovered the cover-up hiding the true cause for closing Vlahd's infamous quest.

  “I’ll look into the crimes of your human pet.”

  “Thank you, but don’t tell him that. I have a feeling he will like being referred to as my pet too much.”

  Dauven chuckled.

  They waited in a muted silence. Their plan for when they were granted entrance was simple. Dauven takes half of them to conduct the administration side of the assessment, while she takes the other half to conduct the active quest assessment.

  “The Divine Soul heroes need your help to turn the tides of battle against their foe, the Ancient Primal Lords." A booming voice greeted them. "—you aren’t adventurers.”

  A human wearing gold armour approached them. He held a helmet at his side, revealing wavy golden-brown hair and eyes that could have been made of liquid gold. His eyes lacked both an iris and a pupil. Keylynn couldn't tell if the eyes were real or if she was looking at an illusion.

  “That is correct. We were sent by the Royal Department of Assessment and Adventurer Welfare to conduct an annual assessment.” Dauven explained, pulling out his ID card and a paper copy of the Annual Assessment Notice. The gilded human read through them and handed it back to him.

  “Well, wish I had notice on that. Not your fault. I will put in a note for your itinerary moving forward. Can’t promise they’ll all listen, I’m afraid.” He answered, running his hands through his bog-brown hair. “Alright, I’ll lead you in.” He gestured towards one of the dozen portals that would transport them to the first quest location.

  They followed him through the portal as he announced. “Not adventurers! Annual Assessment Team.” Keylynn looked around and saw what looked like two armies; one was clad in gold, and the other was a herd of elemental beasts. She squinted, trying to see through the illusions of the island. After a minute she was able to see a barren, rock-covered island and a mixture of workers. Underneath the golden-clad warriors were mostly humans, while the opposite army was composed of primarily orcs or entirely illusionary creatures.

  “What nonsense are you going on about? We don’t get assessed.” Another human with the same eerie golden eyes marched over. In their hands was a spear that appeared to be made of gold. Keylynn pulled out her matrix and began to write notes. Golden weapons and armour were a concerning sight. Everyone knew gold was a weak metal and made for poor implements of war regardless of how flashy it looks.

  “Don’t know what to tell you, they have the notice.” Their guide explained to the others. He turned and stepped through the portal, sealing it behind him.

  “Well, welcome to the Test of a Hero quest. If you need the office, I can take you. Poke around and do your business. No one will get in your way.” The golden-eyed human set down his spear.

  Dauven gestured to Riv, Demetra, Range, Gwen, and Inferno to follow him. “I’d appreciate you showing us to the offices. The sooner we start, the sooner we can get out of your hair.”

  Keylynn shot Dauven a questioning look. He nodded in agreement; this was strange. Never have they arrived for an assessment and not have the quest ready for them.

  “Fortuitous assessment.” She handed him a piece of her brown slime mould. It was reluctant to go with Dauven, which was as strange Eugene's silence. Dauven took the slime and set it on his shoulder and followed the golden-eyed soldier.

  One of the elemental beasts approached her, and their form changed, revealing a gruff orc with dark green-brown skin and large yellowed tusks. “The goal here is to simulate a war zone for the adventurers. They have to sneak behind enemy lines to destroy their secret weapon, a box. Would you like to run through the quest?”

  “I think that would be best.” She nodded and turned to the remaining team: Tsunami, Barnibus, BEEG, and Zukyov. “Tsunami, I believe this is your area of expertise.”

  The water elemental being stepped forward and cracked his neck. “Alright, can I have the quest description given to the adventurers?” He asked with a casual grin on his face.

  The orc nodded and narrated in a soothing deep voice. “The Divine Souls are close to bringing an end to the final stronghold of the Ancient Primal. The end of the Ancients' rule is within their grasp. However, they are at their limits with this endless war and have called upon you to hear the call of heroic duty and come to their aid. While they keep the main forces of the Primal army busy, sneak behind enemy lines and destroy the root of their power. They keep it in a box. Destroying the box will give the Divine Souls the advantage they need to end the war.”

  Tsunami nodded and turned back to the team. “I’ll be back. This should be fun.” He grinned, walking further into the war zone. The orc's bestial visage reappeared as he grunted out orders to those behind him. The golden-clad soldiers didn’t so much as move from their various positions. Most had removed their helmets. Some were leaning against battlements or piles of rubble, while others drank from coffee-to-go cups.

  “Alright, BEEG, let’s look for traps and test these weapons. I want to know how real this war zone is.” "Barnibus ordered," as he cracked his knuckles. “Right, if our team lead agrees.”

  “While Tsunami assesses the quest itself, it seems prudent that you assess the quest location and lethality, as is your discipline.” She smiled at him. Neither of them was used to her acting as Dauven. “Zukyov, I think we should do a walk-through observing. I think your eye for quality assurance and safety will be helpful.”

  Zukyov nodded in response.

  She watched as Barnibus and BEEG began their assessment, taking samples of everything while BEEG checked for structural integrity. She turned away and walked towards the currently bored collection of golden soldiers.

  “If there were adventurers present, what role would you play?” She inquired about keeping an eye on Zukyov.

  “Make a good show with the orcs on the other side, keeping most of them busy. We have choreography that we cycle through, not that it has any bearing on the quest. Everything is meant to appear like a real war zone without actually being one.” One of the soldiers asked with a shrug.

  She nodded and made notes. It seemed to her that this first quest had a lot of unnecessary staff. “Would you say you are all essential staff?”

  “If you’re wondering if the boss ever lets us get a day off, the answer is no,” the soldier responded bitterly. She made a note of that on her matrix tablet.

  “Did you all hear about the cyclops? He gets 8 weeks off of medical leave, and the boss is still trying to dispute it. No way in all the hells are we getting a day off.”

  “I missed my wedding, the birth of both of my children, and my divorce.” Another added.

  Keylynn couldn’t hide her smile. “Would all be willing to make statements for my assessment?”