By the time Cass approached the last class of the day in the Atrium, the sky had already dimmed. Unlike his previous visit, which was less than a week ago, this time he was invited to sit at the top in the Guild-only section. Among a sea of brown robes, Cass grabbed his seat and went over his paths for the fifth time that day. After only a minute, Branden, the Clerk he’d met earlier that day, sat down beside him.

  “Hey, Cass. Are you excited for the Guest Lecturer?”

  “Seeing as how I don’t know who it is, Branden, I don’t think I can be excited.”

  The Clerk made a silly face, “Oh, right. It’s Guildmaster Hollis! Doy!” He gave a shrill laugh. “Sorry, my mom always said if I didn’t have a neck, my head would fly off straight into space.”

  That brought a chuckle from Cass, who decided in that moment not to let Kara’s bias of Clerks color his perspective of them.

  They spoke for a few more minutes as a heavy door opened below. Stepping out was the only black-robed man in the building. His hood was pulled up far over his head, concealing his face from view as he made his way to the center.

  Branden immediately pointed, “Oh, that’s his office. Man, I’m not looking forward to my yearly review with him. He’s scary.”

  “Guildmaster Hollis?” Cass asked, “He was pretty nice to me.”

  “Not me,” A shiver ran through his frame. “He always seems so foreboding. I heard he used to be married, and when people stopped seeing her around, everything changed. That’s what the Clerk pool says, anyways.”

  The sound of someone clearing their throat caused the room to go silent.

  Pulling his dark hood back, he revealed a smiling face to the crowd. “Hello to all.” He paused and scanned across the area. “For many of you, you’ve met me only once, during the time of your Calling, of course.” He gestured at the Book of Callings on the podium beside him. “But rarely have I had the opportunity or the time to enter the Atrium as a Guest Lecturer. All too often, my duty requires me to forgo speaking with many of you, so this is a special moment for both you and me. I’d like to thank Jim Harbow for graciously allowing me to slip in here when he was the original lecturer.”

  Jim bowed from the Guild section, a plate of nachos precariously held in his hands. A few laughs bounced around the room as Guildmaster Hollis smiled again.

  “Yes, that is what I’ve missed. Laughter. Joy. I’m afraid, my friends, that I rarely get to hear such levity. The life of a Guildmaster is a harsh caretaker. The demands of this world are powerful and unrelenting. And I am not the only Guildmaster to believe that. But we endure, because we must. Not for glory, but for posterity, a brighter future. The end of monsters.”

  He looked around, then gave a sharp laugh, “Enough of this melancholy, that’s not why you’re here.” He gave another laugh to the silent room, shaking his head as he looked around. “There are a great many truths to this great city.” Pointing at one section filled with well-dressed people, he said, “The truths of numbers, of trade, and law.” He pointed to another, filled to the hilt with people in shiny gear, “The truths of battle and risk.” He pointed at Cass’s section without looking. “The truths of service, of helping those who don’t know they need it. Of pushing for greater truths.”

  Spreading his arms wide as the sleeves of his robes fell back, he seemed to look at them all as he spoke. “We are Liorans. Do not wait for the System to tell you you’re valuable. I’ll tell you right now, you are. You matter. Don’t wait to contribute. As the old world used to say, see a need, fill a need. After the reshaping, it’s probably better to say, See the cracks, fill the gaps. Be worthy of Liora and the Calling you were given, each and every day. That’s what Liorans do.”

  He paused as the silence seemed to crack, then bowed as the room erupted into applause, Cass among them. Standing back upright as the clapping and light cheers petered out, he smiled again, “Thank you for letting me speak. I’d like to let you leave early, but first, I’d also like to offer you the chance to ask me any questions you may have. Don’t be afraid, just raise your hand, and as time allows, I’ll call on you. Evalyn?” He looked around, then spotted a stiff woman stepping forward from the back of the guild section as people parted before her. “Ah, for those of you who haven’t met her, that’s Evalyn Serris, Tier 4 Guild Trainer. She’s in charge of the Foundational Training program. Evalyn, if you could screen the questions, we can get this started.”

  The woman nodded, then gave a look to three people in the Atrium, Kara being one of them. As the hands went up, a Guild Trainer ran over, spoke to them quickly, then either asked them to put their hand down or called down to the Guildmaster.

  The first question he fielded was from a young man in the Combat section. He stood up when called on, “If we’re supposed to work together, why is the Guild so separate from the Companies?”

  The Guildmaster nodded, “Excellent question. History, mostly. The Guild is neither above nor below the Companies. We’re the foundation upon which Companies are built. Our purpose is to help you achieve your goals, whether that involves Quests, Equipment, Provisions, or simply gathering information. If a Guildhall ever allows itself to be partial to a single Company, corruption ensues. At least, that’s my belief, and not all Guildmasters share it.”

  The next question came from an older woman in the Trade section. “What’s the Guild’s stance when market pressures conflict with the ethical distribution of goods?”

  “Ah, Mrs. Jennson, how nice to have you here. That’s a great question.” He paused to think for a moment, scratching his chin. “Profit is not evil. But when it causes suffering, I’m afraid the Guild would have to step in. We can and have blacklisted vendors in the past, or even delayed permits. While we don’t control Liora’s economy, we do control all access to Questing and centralized Company coordination.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  He scanned a room filled with whispers, voice steady, “In order to keep the Guild’s trust, you may, of course, sell your wares. But I’d like to warn you to sell responsibly.”

  Cass missed the next question as Brendan seemed to have a fit beside him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I want to ask a question, but I’m not sure if the Guild Trainer will allow it?”

  Cass looked behind them and found the Tier 4 standing straight. Nobody in their section had raised their hand yet. He looked back at Brendan, “It won’t hurt you to try.”

  “I know…I'll think about it.”

  He listened in as Guildmaster Hollis continued answering the last question. “...so, for records like that, you’d want to speak with the outstanding Administrators of the Public Archive. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  The next question came from a section of intermixed people. “Oy, thanks for taking my question, Guildmaster.” He paused, looking nervous for a moment, then seemed to find the courage to speak again. “My cousin Jaime got a combat Calling two years ago. Even though I’ve been working my trade for half a decade, he’s already caught up to my level. I wanted to know if you had an idea of why the Combat Callings seem to level so fast.”

  Guildmaster Hollis gave a big smile, “I love that question, thank you, Hammish.” Pausing for longer than usual, he seemed to weigh the room as everyone unintentionally leaned forward in their seats. Experience and levels could save lives. Knowing just a little bit more today than you did yesterday was incredibly important to everyone in the room. Even Cass, with an Administrative Calling, clenched his fists in anticipation.

  The Guildmaster’s eyes seemed to track to Cass’s section for a moment before he sighed, “The World Council commissioned a report from the Guild to answer that very question, Hammish. What we’ve found through quantitative data collected from all over the world, is this. Combat Callings gain experience faster at the beginning, but slow down greatly once they reach the fourth tier.” He paused as the whispers returned, waiting until everyone was quiet again. “Trade Callings, on the other hand, seem to have a slow and steady progression, moving from one tier to the next without any great leap in time.” He had to pause for longer this time, then said, “Administrative callings, like Clerks, Record Keepers, or those who work directly with the System, have a tendency to leap forward in spurts, rather than with a trade’s steady progress. So, to answer your question, Hammish, your Cousin may be at your level right now, but eventually, and as long as you ply your trade with wisdom, you will outstrip him in experience.”

  Cass felt the world slow down as his thoughts tumbled around. Spurts, spurts. He thought back to the quick bit of experience he’d gotten just for creating a Quest that would never get used. There has to be a trick to it. Even Archivist Marell said that Guildmaster Hollis had made leaps in levels. That means I can too.

  While the whispers blew up into full-blown conversations, Branden seemed to vibrate in his seat enough that his body had had enough. His hand fired into the air like a cannon. A brief rush of air, then the Tier 4 Guild Trainer stood behind him. He leaned back and whispered into her ear, eyes wide as he told her his question. Based on the smile lighting up her face, he’d get his chance.

  It took all of a heartbeat before he was standing, the attention of the room on his fidgeting form. Cass leaned over and whispered as quietly as he could, “You’ll be fine. Pretend you’re confident and you’ll be confident.”

  That seemed to shore up his resolve as he spoke in a cracking voice, “Hel-lo Guildmaster, and th-thank you for taking my question. I was just curious. How…How does one become a Guildmaster?”

  “Oh,” the dark-robed man said with a smile, “Already thinking about what heights you will obtain, Mr. Caner?”

  “J-just curious, Guildmaster.” He sat down in a rush as his legs gave out on him.

  The man in the center laughed, “Sure, I’m happy to answer that. The Guild can never have too many prospects. Guildmasters come from all over, Mr. Caner. Once you reach the appropriate Tier in your Calling, secondary options begin to appear that supersede Calling upgrades and evolutions. You’re a Clerk, are you not?”

  Branden sat up a little, “Yes, sir.”

  “Excellent, we can’t have enough good Clerks in the Liora Guildhall.” he paused, collecting his thoughts for a moment as he dry-rubbed his hands, then said, “I know of two Guildmasters who are former Clerks, though one is on the opposite side of the world. I also know of many Craftsmen, Archivists, and even a few Combat-related Guildmasters in regions that see quite a bit more danger than our own.” He lifted a finger and pointed it straight at Pellin in the mixed section, “There’s even a System Engineer Guildmaster who runs the Guild in the Capitol. One of the smartest women I’ve ever met. But, and I say this with some small bit of pride, the majority of Guildmasters come from a single Calling.”

  A man in the Combat section called down, “What Calling?”

  Guildmaster Hollis looked right into Cass’s eyes at the moment, “QuestWright. Now, I believe that is all the time I have, and I promised I’d let you all leave a bit early. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and I look forward to seeing you all again in the future. Thank you.”

  Scattered applause broke out before people began to stand up and leave the area. Cass was still seated when only a few people were left, including a new friend who sat down beside him.

  It was the third time that he said Cass’s name that he seemed to come out of it, “What, Pell? Sorry?”

  The long-haired man gave him a smile, “What’s going on with you right now? You okay? Already have dreams of running your own Guildhall?”

  Cass shook his head, “Just running through everything he told us. It was a lot for me to break down.”

  “Meh, we don’t have time for that right now.”

  “What? Why?” Cass said, turning in his seat with a look of confusion. That’s when a voice spoke over both of their shoulders.

  “There you two are.” Cass’s head turned slowly, meeting the crazed eyes of Dev Rinn as she gave them both a bloodthirsty smile. “Did you think you had a stay of tutoring just because the class ended early?” She gave a sharp laugh, “I’ll have to thank the Guildmaster later for giving me this extra time. Now, up you go, we’re heading over to the sand pits.”

  Pellin and Cass knew better than to groan as they both stood up slowly. Following the Instructor out, she continued to speak, “Oh, I love the sand pits. It’s such an incredible workout for your core. Nothing like the ground shifting below you to build up a good sweat.”

  As they stepped down the Atrium’s big steps, Pell asked, “But we don’t have our workout clothes?”

  “Then do it in the nude!” Dev said, throwing her arms in the air, “It matters not to me what you wear, only the effort you give. Ah, sand across your nude form. Let me tell you about a time…”

  When Cass finally made it back to his room, he collapsed onto the bed, out before he even realized he’d never showered.