I told myself, if I hit 500 Followers and 100 Favorites this week, I was going to drop a surprise bonus chapter, this is that. I hope you're enjoying the story. I love the hell out of it. Even though dark times happen in the story, with the occasional monster making an appearance, Cass has such a bright outlook on things. He doesn't always say them aloud, but you can feel it in how he treats people. I don't know. There's just something special about him as a character.
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Let's get on with the show, this is a fun one.
The rest of the day passed quickly. Quests were completed. Tutors came and went. Cass’s parents even dropped by for dinner, though his father’s excellent cooking took the words right out of their mouths. After they left, he used his last two Quest slots for the day to create two more for Gary, then checked his updates and knocked out for the night.
When the next day rose, he was determined to leave the infirmary. Poking his head out, Cass managed to wave down a passing man in healer white and explain that he felt well enough to return to the Guild. A back and forth happened, before he showed the man his wounds, now old scars that could’ve marred his body for a lifetime.
Seeing that there was no reason to hold him, he was free to go. With his bag strapped across his body, Cass left the Goldencrown infirmary with a pep in his step.
Dropping off Gary’s daily Quest on the way, Cass made good time as he hoofed it downtown. His body felt spry, in a way it hadn’t before. One day of the Stalwart quest was already showing results, which was odd. He’d done tougher workouts in the past without seeing these results. But Cass wasn’t going to complain about a sudden increase in energy; he simply noted it as strange in his mind.
Wanting to use his rare moment of undocumented travel, Cass stopped by the Martin Family Metalworks. Sadly, a young guy was standing behind the desk rather than Mera. He left word that he’d dropped by, then stepped out with only a slight reduction in his enthusiasm for the day.
The sight of Gatekeeper Jim was far more pleasant than he expected. The jolly man waved him down as he approached..
“Well, hey there, fella. Didn’t expect to see you coming this way so soon. The healers let yah go?”
Cass shrugged with a laugh, “I think they were tired of me eating all of their food.”
Jim winked at him, “I can totally understand that position. Well, either way, it’s nice to have you back, QuestWright Vale. Take care of yourself.”
“Will do, thanks Jim. And if you see Kara, can you let her know I returned to my room.”
“Of course, I’ll get word to her right away.”
But Cass didn’t return to his room. Knowing it would be a bit of time before Jim could contact Kara, he instead made his way to the stables. The trip across the Guild expanse was now familiar to him. When he arrived at the large building that housed the animals, the sounds coming from within told him that she knew he was there.
Grabbing a sweet, Cass approached the excited horse with a smile, “Hey, old girl. How was your night?”
Bella gave him a shake.
“I know, most nights are just us passing time in the darkness.” He slipped into the stall, latching it shut behind him. “But at least we have each other, isn’t that right?” Feeding her the sweet, a notification struck him.
Your reputation with the draft-horse, Bella, has increased by 1
Cass smiled, “I’m going to work out, then, how about we get you a bath?”
In no time, Cass hit the ground and rotated through his sets. Working up a good sweat, he popped up the moment it was done, brushing spare straw away from his body as his lungs recovered.
[Stalwart Way Daily Quest Complete]
Rewards: 5xp, 1 Stalwart Token, 1 Survivor Token
Note: Check the Survivor path for updates…
Washing Bella was a special experience for him. Besides the fact that the draft horse seemed to love the experience, there was something therapeutic in scrubbing her down. It was the way she preened while the accumulated dust fell away with the dirty soap. As if she were modeling her form for the world.
When it was done, a little more time than he’d wanted had passed. Getting her back to her stall took even more from his clock, though he didn’t mind. She was his charge. He needed to take care of her as best he could.
Before he left, he asked, “How often do you want to be bathed?
An ear flicker and stomp told him that once a week would make her happy.
“Deal.” Cass gave her side a rub, then closed and latched the stall gate on his way out.
Your reputation with the draft-horse, Bella, has increased by 5
Starting into a light jog, he made it to his room in good time, but not good enough, as a toe-tapping Kara was already waiting for him. When he got close, she reached out and pulled a bit of straw off one of his shoulders.
“I see. Well, at least you’re responsible. Come along. If you don’t want to be in the Infirmary, I’ll put you to work.”
Speed-walking to keep up with the no-nonsense Guild Trainer, they made their way to the Petition Hall. The Building was on the opposite side of the Atrium, across from the Quest Registry. In a rare form of intelligence with Guildhall construction, they were placed fairly close to each other. Kara explained that contracts were transferred from the Petition Hall to the Registry so they could be turned into Quests. The two buildings were symbiotic in nature, but required different locations as Customers rarely sought to complete Quests themselves.
When they entered, Cass found a long desk cutting off a large portion of the room. It was mostly empty at this time of the day, though there were a few people within. Including one familiar face, who waved at them.
“Hey, Kara! Cass!”
“Hey, Brendan,” Cass said, shaking the excited young man’s hand. “How’s the Clerk's life?”
“Better than yours, I hear! Is it true you fought off three monsters with just a knife!?”
Cass’s eyebrows rose. “How does everyone keep hearing about this?”
Brendan threw his arms in the air, “The Clerk pool, of course! Nothing happens in Liora without us knowing.”
Cass looked over at Kara, who was already rubbing her forehead with a wince, “Clerks!” She said with such finality that he had a good idea of what she was thinking. “We’re here so you can assign your first Administrative Quest. They’re less personal than Training Quests, but have a tendency to explode in complexity as they’re drafted. Brendan here will receive one.”
Brendan waved at her, “Hi again, Kara.”
“Hi,” Kara replied in a dry tone. “We’re also here to give a Quest to a young woman I believe you know.” She pointed at the large desk that half-filled the room, where a pretty young girl with a morose expression stamped several forms in front of her. A man in a fancy outfit approached as they looked at her.
“Is that Chancey?”
“Yep!” Brendan said, only too happy to tell the story. “She used to work in the Quest Registry, but she kept assigning Quests to the wrong areas. I heard that she put a Tier 3 Quest on the Tier 1 red bo-”
“See, this is why I don’t like Clerks.” Kara interrupted. “Any little thing that happens, and you blow it all out of proportion through the grapevine. Doesn’t matter what city you go to, Clerks are just walking rumor mills.” Kara closed the distance between them in two strides, clapping both hands onto his shoulders. “Brendan, STOP spreading rumours. That isn’t what happened, and no matter what DID happen, that’s for Chancey and the Guildmaster to know. Not everyone else.”
Brendan’s face lost a little color as he nodded quickly, “Right. Yes, Kara. Understood.”
She gave him one last squeeze with a slight glare, then turned back to Cass. “The goal of every Administrative Quest is simple. They need accuracy, clarity, and task balance.” Kara guided him and Brendan over to the large desk, entering through an area where the desk ended for several feet before beginning again. When they arrived just behind Chancey, she was dealing with a red-faced man speaking in a loud voice.
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“I don’t care what standard Guild protocol says,” The man growled, “I requested three runners, not one with a bum leg. They took twice as long and gave my guys lip when they demanded to know why it was so late.”
Chancey’s voice was flat, but Cass could see her wringing her hands under the top of the desk. “Sir, the request was marked ‘Non-Urgent’, and I’m afraid the Guild is very low on staffing lately. Might I suggest that you seek one of the enterprises that specializes in this sort of business?”
“Like I’d trust my goods to those pirates and thieves. No. I want to speak with the Head Clerk immediately.”
“Mr. Rueda is not in at the moment.” Seeing the man lean forward, her hands gripped each other tightly, “But I’ll be certain to-”
Cass stopped listening, even as the man grew louder and ruder. Pulling up the Quest wasn’t easy, but it was a Delivery, and as such, he did have access to it.
After staring at the map for so long, filtering out any non-delivery Quests now came naturally as he tracked routes and markers. Looking over the particulars, he found both people were correct. The request did ask for multiple messengers, but only one was assigned. Complications had arisen as he’d had to fight off multiple monsters during the run, injuring his leg in the process. Doing his best to memorize the information, Cass took a deep mental breath and stepped forward as he felt Kara’s eyes fixate on his back.
“Mr. Dannet, of Dannet Goods, do I have that right?”
The man leaned back from the desk. “Who’s asking? When you all wear the same thing, it's impossible to remember faces.”
“Cassio Vale, sir. Now, I heard the discussion you were having with Ms. Chancey, and I wanted to inform you that the young man who delivered your goods had been beset by monsters. That is why it was delayed. From what I’ve seen, he still made it to the location with your package intact, so-
“That doesn’t matter! He was late! No Guild delivery should ever be late, otherwise, what’s the point of you all?” He gestured at everyone, Chancey most of all. “It’s pathetic.”
Cass nodded as something lit up in his chest, “I see, then let me set your mind at ease.”
Chancey gave him a look of sincere gratitude as the man took a step back from the desk. “Is that right? Well, it’s about time. What compensation do you have for me, Vale?”
Cass looked the man square in the eyes, “I can guarantee you that no more Tier 1 deliveries will ever be late again with your name attached to them.”
“That’s more like it. See, girl, that’s how you treat your customers. Wait, you said your name was Vale? That name seems familiar. Vale…Vale..” He started to mumble. “Aren’t you that kid who got mauled?”
But Cass wasn’t done. “I can give you that guarantee because of my Calling.” He looked at Kara, “You told me once before that a QuestWright can decline to create quests for any person they feel a personal conflict with.”
She nodded with a smile, “That’s true.”
Cass hooked a thumb at the man whose face reached a sudden dawning of realization. “I choose to never make any Quests for Dannet Goods. Ever.”
Sputtering, Dannet held up his hands in a warding gesture, “Hey now, hold on just a minute. We can work this out.”
Chancey gave Cass a dimpled smile before turning back to Dannet, “I’m sorry, sir. But according to Guild protocol, a QuestWright’s word on the negation of any future contracts is law. You can appeal to Guildmaster Hollis, but I believe he will side with QuestWright Vale and block Dannet Goods as well.” She smiled as she drove the knife in. “As there is nothing else that the Liora Guildhall can do for you at this time, I wish you a good day, sir.”
“No, that’s not.” The man seemed to be having a fit, “But my contracts.”
“Have a good day, sir,” Chancey repeated in a lighter voice than she’d used before. With finality, she turned her back on him and spoke in a quiet voice filled with relief. “Ahh, that felt so good.”
Kara squared up on her as the man stomped out of the room. “Chancey, if they start to get rude, you can always decline them. The Guildhall is a service. Yes, they pay for the Quests, but we never charge too much because what we do helps everybody.” Turning to Cass, she gave him a smile, “That was well done, Cass, though looking to me for my authority was unnecessary. You need to be ready and able to step forward and shut down that kind of nonsense. You won’t just hear about it in the Petition Hall. Those kinds of people are everywhere. Though, maybe you’re closer than I’d thought.”
"Closer to what?” Cass asked.
“I told you about it once before. You’re not far from taking over the first floor of the Quest Registry. Once you unlock a few more Quest types and get used to practicing with them, it’ll be a cinch. And,” She gave him another smile. “It’ll earn you a ton of experience. Now.” Clapping her hands together, both Chancey and Brendan jumped back. “Let's get to these Administrative Quests.”
Kara’s requirements for both Chancey and Brendan were the same. It seemed that a tremendous number of contracts had been incorrectly labeled. As Clerks gained experience from both Quests and basic clerical duties, such as organizing paperwork or investigating Administrative discrepancies, Brendan and Chancey were about to receive a significant boost towards their next level.
Cass put in the information, then read it verbatim to Kara. Once it was all set, she had him make a slight change. Rather than assigning it to either of them, Kara had Cass create it as a generalized Quest. When it was done, he looked it over one last time.
[Quest Ledger Entry: CV-0001-A-LIA]
Quest Title: Annual Contract Reorganization
Assigned Questors: Any active Guild Clerk
Quest Objective:
Label and reorganize all Guild service contracts from today back to the same date last year.
- Categorize contracts by expected tiers, region, client, and type
- Transfer contracts older than one year to the Public Archive
- Find and flag errors and mismatches for eventual review by Tier 4 Clerk Rueda
Status: Active
Questor XP Awarded: +30 XP (Divided among all willing participants)
QuestWright XP Awarded: +3 XP
System Reputation: +5
Expected Liora Guildhall Reputation: +3
Modifier:
- Scaling Difficulty (+200%)
- Extended Time Requirements (+100%)
- Multi-level Criteria (+100%)
- Complexity (+100%)
“That really blew up in experience,” Cass said when he looked at the final total. Just over his shoulder, Brendan kept staring at the same wall where the mentally projected ledger was located. Naturally, only Cass could see it.
“That’s because of stacking modifiers. Once you’ve unlocked enough Quest types, you should start moving into Quest chains, which are where the largest jumps in experience come from. Sadly, that’s also the end of my notes on QuestWrights.”
Cass looked at her, “Why do your notes end there?”
“Because that’s where the Sovereign decided to end them. Guild Trainers receive a small book on every Calling we’re meant to help train. Everything after that is intuition, general coaching, or just feeling things out.” She said that last part with a distasteful face. “Still, thirty experience split among two Clerks is quite a lot.”
“Did you say thirty experience?” Chancey asked, just as Brendan yelled out, “Thirty experience!”
Kara flipped around in a blur, “Split! Split between you!”
Cass drafted the Quest after spending the longest amount of time yet focusing on what he wanted it to say. Unlike when he’d drafted the Quests of the last few days, he was no longer distracted by everything that had happened in the previous week.
[Tier 2 Administrative Quest]
By the order of QuestWright Cassio Vale, the following task is issued to any active Clerks located in the Liora Guildhall.
All service contracts accepted from customers by the Guild between today and one year ago must be retrieved, relabeled, and refiled according to Guild standards.
This task includes the following:
Labeling: Look for tiers, places, clients, and Quest types
Archiving: Any contracts older than one year must be sent to the Public Archive
Audit: Locate any errors in labeling and put them togetherness. Do your very best to find the reason for the errors.
This quest will take time, and the amount of thirty experience will be split among any Questors who accept the role.
Completion of task will be evaluated by Clerk Rueda.
Cassio Vale
Liora Guildhall
QuestWright
Kara held it up when he was done. “Look at that, your first Tier 2 Quest. But I have to ask, togetherness?”
Cass shrugged, “I did my best.”
“Well, you got all of the requirements into it, that’s good-”
A notification splashed across his screen.
[System Notice]
Bonus experience granted for drafting your first Tier 2 Quest:
10 Experience
Initiate QuestWright Achievement progress:
1/12
Kara had stopped speaking when Cass’s eyes became unfocused. “Did you just get an achievement?”
Cass blinked, “Yep. I’ve started the Initiate QuestWright series.”
She shook her head, “Way too fast. You better calm down or you’re going to outlevel me. Come along, these two are going to be freaking out about this Quest for quite a while and I’d like to get some distance from them.” Handing the Quest to Brendan, her walking speed became a blur before she was out of the room.
Starting into a light jog to catch up, he called back, “Have fun!”
“We will. Thank you, QuestWright Vale!” Chancey yelled at him.
“This is going to be SO MUCH fun!” Brendan yelled out to the room.
The moment Cass was outside of the building, he stepped over to a waiting Kara, “Clerks?”
She nodded, “Clerks.”
Cass didn’t know what was more dangerous. Monsters, or overly-enthusiastic Clerks with 30xp to split.