To say Cass had a good time of things would be a bold-faced lie. By the time the thirty minutes had elapsed, he’d fallen off of Bella more than two dozen times, plummeted over the posts thrice, and had to endure the laughter of a draft-horse enough that he’d taken to imitating his friend just to get her to stop.

  But still, it was worth the pain of his entire body feeling like it was on fire. His ass in particular.

  [Stalwart Way Daily Quest Complete]

  Experience is split among Bella, the Draft-horse, and Cassio Vale, the QuestWright

  Personal rewards: 5.1xp, 2 Stalwart Tokens, 1 Survivor Token

  Note: Check the Survivor path for updates…

  Your reputation with the draft-horse, Bella, has increased by 10

  Grabbing her reins, Cass walked a particularly chatty, happy horse over to the bathing area and performed his promised duty. The meditative feeling of the last experience was lacking with the twinges of pain in his body. When she was back in her stall, he was forced to ask.

  “Is it going to be that hard every time?”

  She gave him a long, unblinking stare before stomping once.

  “Fine, then,” he closed the stall, placing the useless latch on and the rope beside it. “As much as I enjoyed our time together, I need to heal from the trauma. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Leaving with no bit of heat in his steps, Cass headed out to the next part of his day. But some thoughts came over him as he grew mired in the quiet surroundings.

  The fact that Bella can now gain experience opens up a whole lot of new possibilities. Would she gain a Calling? What would a horse’s Calling look like? Did she have one already and just hasn’t told me?

  All were thoughts he could’ve asked the horse in the moment.

  Cursing himself mentally, he continued to think as he walked. The idea of an animal gaining experience and potentially its own Calling could go a lot of different ways, but what stuck out to him the most was why hadn’t he ever heard of it?

  He’d attended his classes, as his pages and pages of notes showed. But never once did they talk about animals gaining experience and abilities. Was Bella just special? Or in a slightly different direction, was he? Those thoughts continued to tumble through his mind as he entered the Foundry.

  He’d visited earlier in the week when Noah had sent him a message for testing. It hadn’t taken long, but the man’s method of fitting the perfect axe for his preference had been a tad invasive. Squeezing, measuring, basically lots of touching. He swore that at one point, the Smith had even sniffed him.

  But after the long week, it should be done, and he was excited to see the results.

  The third floor of the Foundry was as busy as ever. It seemed like every freeday allowed the Crafters and Tradesmen to work on their personal projects, rather than focusing on the kind that came along with Quests. He said a few friendly hellos and helped an old woman lift up a piece of armor from the ground, then found himself standing in front of the grinning axesmith. Cass wasn’t so overly excited that he missed the fact that several new weapons had made its way to the man’s table.

  “This here is one of my finest works. To see its effects, we’ll have to grab one of the Identifiers. I heard Thava was around, so it’ll be just a sec.” Pushing a button behind him, a red light lit up overhead, then an oddly muscular hand brought the axe to Cass’s waiting fingers.

  Holy crap! Cass thought as soon as he held it. The extra weight was definitely present, but as he gripped it, the axe seemed to meld to his hand. With a very fast test, he released his grip and reapplied it, but the same thing happened. It’s like it was wrapping around him.

  Noah’s grin only seemed to grow, “Feeling that already? That’s the binding. Give it a little time, and you won’t even have to think about your grip anymore. It’ll already be set.”

  “That’s amazing, Noah,” Cass replied in awe.

  And it was. The axe was a brutal bit of elegance. With an angle to it that still seemed reminiscent of a hatchet, that’s where the similarities ended. Thick reinforced ridges ran along the sides of it, granting the axe an almost scaled appearance that seemed more functional than decorative. The haft was shorter than those spread across Noah’s table, a balancing choice that met in both speed of movement and power. Wrapped in a dark, matte binding of material he didn’t quite recognize, it felt almost warm to the touch. On the back edge was a flat side, a little too wide for what he’d expected.

  All in all, it felt…perfect.

  After looking at it for less than a minute, a young woman who looked like she hadn’t had a good meal in a year walked straight their way upon noticing the light. To call her gaunt would be a disservice to the recently starved. It was like every piece of meat on her bones had been scraped clear away. And that wasn’t guesswork. The robe hung upon her frame like puffed-up straw on a scarecrow.

  With a too-serious expression for someone who couldn’t be older than sixteen, she nodded at them both, “Noah, QuestWright, how can I be of service?”

  Noah gave her a lazy grin, “Got an axe that needs identifying. This one should be good.”

  “I see,” She gave a sharp nod, “May I inspect it, please?”

  Knowing what he needed to do, Cass was about to hand over the axe when he rethought that. Because of the weight, it’d probably drop the poor girl straight to the ground the moment he did so. It might only be three pounds, but the length of it would drag when held straight away. Those who had never held a real axe wouldn’t understand.

  Instead, he placed it on the table in front of them and received a nod of thanks. She stepped forward and placed a hand on both ends, then closed her eyes. A silver glow lit up across the axe, before she and it both shone with a brief golden aura.

  When she opened her eyes, Thava looked directly at Noah, “This is only one step down from a masterwork. Congratulations, Noah.”

  The man’s eyes became glassy before he punched a fist in the air and hollered.

  As he did that, she removed a Vellum from a bag hanging off her thin frame, then lit up a second time in silver. The moment she did, she handed it off to Cass, saying, “As a Guild member who paid for the crafting service, your Identify is free of charge, and we thank you for using the Foundry’s services.” Once he took it, she nodded at them both, “Have a great day.”

  While she walked away, Cass looked over at the preening Noah, “Is she always so stiff?”

  “Yep,” He said with a Cheshire grin, “She’s young. They always puff themselves up when they first get here. But don’t worry, the Foundry’ll fix her in a few months. Now, what’s it say? All I was told was the grade.”

  “Let’s take a look, shall we?”

  [IDENTIFY REPORT]

  Commissioned Item: Custom Axe

  Crafter: Noah Curry, Journeyman Smith of the Liora Foundry

  Grade: Superior

  Material: Reinforced Steel, Tempered Handle, Composite Binding

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Weight: 4.2 lbs

  Properties:

  Eversharp: This weapon will never dull

  Durable: Due to special treatments, this weapon is far more durable than standard

  Shock Dampening: The reinforced handle reduces vibration transfer, minimizing strain and injury risk from repeated impacts.

  Grip Memory: The weapon’s binding subtly molds to the wielder’s grip over time, improving control and preventing slippage during use.

  “That’s a lot of properties, Noah.” He didn’t want to say the next part, but it slipped out, “A thousand Crests seems like almost too small an amount for this.”

  Noah waved a hand, “And that’s why we set the term before the weapon’s crafted. What if it had only reached Rare? Then a thousand would be too much. I’m just sad that it didn’t hit Mastercraft. That would’ve given you an additional property.”

  “Does it have a name?” Cass asked as he twisted it around, getting a feel for how to hold it. “It’s a little strange to just say axe with how well it’s made.”

  “No,” The axesmith said with a shake of his head, “That’s up to its wielder. Though I would hold off on naming it. It’s a bit of bad luck here to name a non-unique weapon. There may only be a few hundred in the world, but every warrior and archer knows the name of every unique weapon in existence. They always come along with special properties that can’t be duplicated. Unique is unique, one of a kind.”

  Promising to pay him starting the next week, which got a few small grumbles, Cass put it in his bag and once again marveled at both it and the storage device. Though he placed a long, slightly heavy axe inside of it, the weight barely changed. It made him very nervous about how complicated crafting Quests were going to be.

  Walking to his last scheduled stop of the day, Cass reflected on what Noah had said.

  Unique is one of a kind. That made him think of the Survivor path. Does that mean I’m the only one with the Survivor path in the world? Suddenly, the experience gain he’d seen when things leaped up by ten times wasn’t so odd. If it really was one-of-a-kind, special benefits like that made a certain amount of sense. It also led to another thought. How many unique paths were there, and how many people secretly held them?

  Stopping off at the rings, Cass put his bag down outside the second one and removed the axe. Feeling his grip solidify within seconds, he walked over and grabbed the same buckler he’d used yesterday. What Dev had said rang true; he’d fought at another level while using it.

  When he turned around, Adya was standing there, outfitted in her standard leathers and leaning on her spear.

  “Wasn’t sure you’d show.”

  “Well,” Cass spread his arms out, “Here I am. Sorry, I’m late. I was picking up something.”

  She glanced at the axe in his hand and gave him an approving nod. Looking back at where he’d placed his bag, she asked, “Not going for Scroungers again?”

  “No,” Cass replied, already taking a step into the second ring. “I have a bad history with Skreels. Think it would be better if I keep pursuing my training against them.”

  As he stepped in, he walked over to the post and barely heard her mutter, “Again, not as I expected.”

  “What was that?” He asked, but she just shook her head again. Mentally shrugging, he keyed in a starter monster and activated it. As the dome dropped, a medium intensity single Skreel appeared with a scream.

  Lifting his buckler and axe, Cass angled his body for a block, then tried out his first swing. The whooshing sound of it cutting through the air was beautiful, as was the lack of felt impact when it severed the three fingers reaching out to him from their short distance apart.

  As they fell to the ground, Cass moved into the same rhythm he had against the high-intensity Skreel of yesterday. Block high, cut low, move-move. In only seconds, the Skreel and dome faded, and he was barely out of breath. What was even better was the fact that the dark tunnel had only been a blip in his mind. Just as fast as it had appeared, it was gone.

  “That was well done,” Adya said from outside the ring, “But I’m betting you’ll have trouble against two.”

  “Any advice?” Cass asked, already moving toward the post.

  “Your movements are okay, but you need to work on seeing the field around you, not just the monsters.” She commented. Lifting her spear for extra emphasis, she spun it in a circle, gracefully moving her feet in tune with the action. “Fighting multiple opponents is about seizing on advantages and minimizing weaknesses. It’s not about strategic thinking, but constant attacks. The axe and shield is a strong combination, so you need to be strong.”

  “I need to be strong,” Cass repeated, setting the post for two medium-intensity Skreels. They came on with a shriek, so he decided to test out what she was saying. There was no waiting. Cass sprinted at the two simulated creatures, particularly the one on the left. When he got close, he twirled away from their reaching hands, his buckler stretched out before him and batting away the appendages, then took one explosive step forward at the one on the right. With a heave of strength he didn’t know he had, Cass plunged his axe down.

  It greatly slowed as it cut deeply into the Skreel's shoulder. As it screamed, Cass rolled backwards, pulling his axe out at the same time, but not before the second Skreel’s fingers touched his leg.

  The dome faded.

  “Not bad,” Adya commented. Putting her spear on her shoulder, she walked over to the third ring, “Watch me this time.”

  The scout activated a medium-intensity Driftclaw. With fluid movements, she seemed to almost play a game of chess with it. Poke and prod, then a risky plunge, doing her best to move away should her attack fail. When the dome broke after she’d been batted aside following a failed leap with the butt of her staff stuck in the ground, she sighed, then got up and walked over to him.

  “That was pretty great,” Cass told her with a conciliatory smile. When she didn’t look like she believed him, he doubled down. “I doubt I’ll be fighting Driftclaw’s anytime soon.”

  “You also have an Administrative class.” Fixing her hair, she looked at him, “Combat Callings are expected to be able to take down solitary Driftclaws by level ten. I want to do it by level five.”

  Out on a limb, Cass asked, “What level are you now?” When she looked surprised at him asking, he clarified, “I’m just curious.”

  “I’m level four,” She said with a sniff, “With so many incursions beyond the walls, it’s too dangerous to send out a low-level Scout. I can’t travel down my path if there’s no experience coming in, but Dev and the Guild Master won’t send me out right now.”

  Cass gave her a big smile, “I think I can solve that.”

  Asking her to follow him, they went and sat on a bench near the third ring’s weapon rack. Pulling out a stack of vellum, Cass gave her a brief rundown on Pathfinder and, unlike with his sister, told her about his secret title. When she finally spoke up, it was with a pointed look.

  “What do you get out of helping me?”

  “Well,” Cass rubbed the back of his head, “The way I see it, you helped me before, and you’re helping me now. I’d be a poor friend if I didn’t consider returning the favor.”

  “A friend, huh?” She seemed to think on it for a long moment. Cass couldn’t help but note her eyes were a startlingly deep green. She sighed, “I don’t think it can hurt. What do I need to do?”

  Cass smiled, “Give me a moment.”

  Diving into the outliner, he moved the map toward the Depot in the sections that looked like they hadn’t seen any Quests since Liora’s founding. Making a note of it, Cass outlined a scouting Quest for the first time. It had far less options than he’d expected, seeming to be a rather cut and dry Quest type compared to many of the others.

  Inputting the options, he finalized it, then held up a vellum and drafted it.

  [Tier 1 Scouting Quest]

  Dearest Adya,

  Please go to the Depot and locate the most broken sections, then try to understand what is needed to fix them. Also, should you see a handsome man, try to think of only Cassio-

  Cass bundled it up and threw it in his bag, then tried again, focusing his hardest to keep control of himself.

  [Tier 1 Scouting Quest]

  Scout Adya,

  The Depot is all broken. Walk through it and talk to the people, try to get a feel for what’s wrong, then report back to me, the amazing Cassio, for what you’ve discovered. It would be great if you could find a few spots that need immediate attention. Please don’t fail, as it’ll make me a sad QuestWright.

  Expected experience to help you reach Level 5: 5xp (It’s not a lot)

  Cassio Vale

  Liora Guildhall

  QuestWright

  Cass held it up as a curious Adya tried to look. It could definitely be worse. Stupid libido. He handed it over with a slight grimace.

  The scout read it and gave a light smirk before glowing a golden hue. “I can do that.”

  “Great! Because I may give you several over the next week. Come find me in the Registry tomorrow morning if you’re not doing anything, and I’ll hand you another.”

  “Will do,” She said with a smile, folding the vellum and placing it inside her shirt.

  Lucky vellum…no!

  She stood up, “Come on, let’s work on your Skreel fighting a bit more. I apparently have something to do tonight.”

  Cass stood up with a smile, “Hey, what are you doing for breakfast?”