QuestWright BK2 C46: Purge (Patreon)

Author's Note:

Wham! Things are speeding up more and more on this rollercoaster. This chapter is a little long, with a lot of foreshadowing. I'm rather proud of how it's turned out, so I hope you enjoy it.

Also, this is a two-week ReaderQuest for the first time. It's a little different, so maybe give it a shot.

Quest ID: JDM-0004-C-EA

[Tier 3 Construction Quest]

Assignment: Build the Third Place

Most people only exist in two locations.

Home.
Work.

Your Task

Over the next two weeks, establish a third place.

A location outside your obligations where you can regularly exist without needing a specific reason for the next two weeks.

Examples:

A café
A library
A park
A diner
A game store
A gym
A bench near the river

Anywhere you can return to consistently without any awkwardness

You must visit this place at least four separate times across the Quest duration.

Don’t rush the visits…

Learn the layout.
Recognize the people.
Become familiar enough that the location begins to feel known to you.

It’s not about claiming ownership, but building a presence.

Rules

The location cannot be your home or workplace.
At least one visit must last longer than one hour.
You must return to the same location each time.

Completion Condition:

One third place established through repeated presence.

Timeframe: Two Weeks

Reward: 30 XP

A person with nowhere to exist eventually disappears into obligation.

—
J D Mullenary Sr
The Original QuestWright

Chapter 46: Purge

The fight was quick, dirty, and merciless. It was a no-holds-barred slugfest directed by both Cass, with his map, and Alan, with his experience. Cass had settled into a de facto secondary leadership position, pushing Shirley to simply be in charge of the frontline as he called out incoming enemies while Alan managed the ongoing battle.

Cass only had to take his eyes from the map a few times, and even then, it was only so he could move out of people’s way. He didn’t mind.

As the first battle ended, they began to move again, but the Guardian was far from done. It felt like the boss monster of the Speed Dungeon was aware that this wasn’t the usual kind of foray into the dark. Back at a light jog after a brief rest, the group was hit no more than ten minutes later.

The whole time, Cass held back on activating any Hybrid Quests. It wasn’t necessary at this point, and with how draining it continued to be, his wisdom allowed him to conserve his energy. He’d warned Alan about his choice prior to entering, and the old Scout agreed with the logic behind not wearing out his guide.

As for why the Guardian attacked them for a third time only a few minutes later, he had a guess.

Alan called a halt and checked back with him, so Cass took the opportunity to tell him his theory.

“I think it knows we’re coming and it’s trying to slow us down so the environment has time to get to us.”

“Yep.” The nonplussed old Scout nodded. “Common tactic for this place. Show up with any amount of numbers, and it’ll try to delay you anyway it can. But don’t worry, Vale. I’ve got a solution for that.”

“Great,” Cass said with a smile.

A few moments later…

“This is stupid,” Gary complained, trying not to tip off Joran’s back as the Defender sprinted through the Dungeon’s tunnels with the Baker’s arms clasped around him from behind.

“Speak for yourself,” Orla yelled atop Shirley, “This is the best time I’ve had he-agh. God damn the air is terrible.”

Adya didn’t need a ride like the rest of them, but Cass surely did. An overly large man named Dain, who was seven feet tall if he was an inch, carried Cass in his arms like a child. This allowed him to project the map on the strip of leather Alan had given him before first entering the Dungeon. The big man’s long steps weren’t fast, but the reach of his stride more than made up for it.

“I don’t know,” Pellin said loudly, weapons holstered as he bounced around. “This feels like a good, common-sense move on Alan’s part.”

“Common sense is never common,” Cass ground out through the jostling run.

“Heads up, kids,” Alan said, dropping back and talking to them with a smile. Though he appeared at ease, the dripping sweat down his face dashed his subterfuge to bits. “The Guardian isn’t done with us. We’ve spent the last few weeks wearing down the Dungeon’s numbers before it could replenish the troops, but it always has a trick or two to play.”

They ran for a little more before Cass saw the walls close in. But he didn’t expect those walls to be carrying monsters as they quickly slammed into place. He called out a warning, and just as everyone took a breath, Greybeards in unbelievable numbers began to attack.

“Look out!”

“Don’t let their saliva get on you!”

Dain quickly put Cass down, who moved a healthy distance away while pulling out his weapons. While Cass backed up, the giant man roared, shaking a massive axe at a particularly large Greybeard waddling his way. However, Cass had his own worries.

He felt Adya’s worry spike as two Greybeards slipped through the lines with him in sight of their beady eyes. How she noticed in the scrum of fighting, he’d never know, but he wasn’t ill-prepared.

The slightly larger one took the lead, waddling in front, large teeth grinding together as Cass covered part of his body with the buckler and held his hatchet firmly. Once it got him in range, the monster’s head shot out like a fast-fired arrow. Rather than going for the shield, which would have been stupid, the Guardian-controlled monster went for his right leg.

Cass had only a moment before Tactical Framing slid over his eyes, outlining the creatures and combatants around him. Alacrity helped his mind keep up with the movements, and enhanced reflexes helped his timing, as his thin arms slammed the buckler down and punched the Greybeard's head into the ground.

While that happened, the other Greybeard had moved up beside the first and was already preparing for its own attack. With his new ability, Cass saw it all before it came; thus, when the second Greybeard’s head fired out, he’d already ducked and lightly dodged to the side.

Moving through a pinwheel as his Tempered Dailies had taught him, he hacked down with his axe on the monster’s distended neck. There wasn’t enough power in the move to cut all the way through, but the ever-sharp blade didn’t get stuck and his movements were fast, so he pulled back to prepare for the next engagement.

With one Greybeard hurt, potentially fatal given time, the other became more aggressive. It waddled two steps forward and punched out with its face. Just before Cass could get his buckler in position, Framing warned him that the momentum of the Greybeard was wrong.

His ability was right.

The Greybeard stopped its extension and spat saliva at him in a blink, but Cass already had his buckler up. Moving around the identified friendlies in his vision, he took gasping breaths as his fight against the two Greybeards entered its final stage. 

As he’d ever learned, combat was fast, where seconds felt like hours. Those who’d never felt the rush and sting of fighting for their life could never understand just how quickly the lungs emptied and the body grew heavier. The environment didn’t help either.

The hurt one settled on supporting the other, spitting at any good opportunity, while the original Greybeard continued its attack. Their timing was slightly off, and he wouldn’t waste a chance to use it against them.

In the midst of all this, Cass was calm, and he felt rather than saw Adya calm down as well. He’d trained for scenarios just like this one, and while his body was getting tired, he hadn’t taken a hit yet.

The larger Greybeard’s end arrived when it tried to misdirect Cass by attacking just outside the range of his left side. He didn’t fall for the bluff as Framing told him where it was going and when it would arrive. Instead, he took two steps closer, dodged a glob of spit, then buried his hatchet in the larger Greybeard's skull as soon as it retracted.

The timing of it was perfect as he’d needed to attack before it could prepare to distend its neck again.

The second Greybeard watched its companion collapse into a twitching mess and knew its end was coming. So, it tried a desperate final attack from close range. Cass dodged the already-mangled neck as it fired out, but nothing else needed to be done as the deep wound tore from its own momentum. 

Somewhere on the battlefield, a Greybeard's unattached head was flying through the air. He imagined that would be a story told later.

The fight was mopped up quickly as the last of the monsters died. Alan did a headcount, Cass mentally chuckling at the thought, then walked over with most of the group beside him as they looked down. Seeing the body on the ground, he sobered up quickly.

“Twenty-two,” Alan whispered, but Cass heard him.

They mourned the dead, then patched everyone up and used one of Johan’s solutions to clear any corrosive spit off of them and their equipment. 

Some people, especially the Trapsmith Damien, began to cut the Greybeards open so they could scavenge their glands. Once they were done, the slower members mounted up again. This time, nobody had anything extra to say.

The Guardian continued trying a few tricks, including fully walling off certain areas. But Cass guided them around any obstructions, proving again and again that having a QuestWright in the Dungeon was more than useful, even as the progress was slower than everyone wanted. Far too quickly, the miles of explored territory were behind them rather than in front, where only questions remained.

Things began to change at some point as they pushed into areas his map couldn’t see. The air became thicker, and gravity began to weigh everyone down, including poor Cass. The bag, lightened effect or not, began to dig into his shoulder as Alan called out.

“We’re getting closer, which means the Guardian is going to send everything it has at us soon. Let’s stop for a moment and rest.”

Cass gratefully felt his feet touch the ground, which was a relief for several reasons. It wasn’t pleasant to move with the big man while he pounded ground, and there was a patched wound on his neck that smelled strongly of one of Johan’s Curious Curatives. 

He took the offered moment to perform a quick mental check.

You’re not dead, and you fought two Greybeards. That’s not bad, warrior Cass. But don’t get a big head. It’s not every day that you’re fighting for your life, and in the past,  you’ve acted recklessly. Stay calm, stay collected, and keep moving on.

That man died so you could close the portal down here and provide a greater safety net for the citizens of Liberty. Be smart and don’t waste his sacrifice.

The group took a breather, then moved much more cautiously.

They turned a corner as Cass’s map updated, and he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Alan tilt his head to the right and ahead as they continued to move.

“There’s an old world antenna just up ahead. It’s safe, just a piece of junk that wound up here sometime during the Reshaping.” He spat to the side, as if the memories made something crawl up the back of his throat. “Once we pass it, that’s the furthest we’ve ever gotten before. Keep your wits about you and stay sharp.”

Cass nodded, “Yes, sir.”

The antenna the old Scout had mentioned was hard to miss. To the side of the tunnel, embedded in the ground and wall, rose a piece of rusted metal with several points. The group walked by it as if it were nothing, having reached this point and checked it out before. 

But Cass couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something odd about it.

He paused to stare at it, having kept a good distance on the other side of the wide tunnel. As he did so, Pellin did as well. They both stood there as Alan called a halt and made his way back from the front.

He looked from them to the antenna and put his hands on his hips, “Why are you stopping?”

“I don’t know,” Cass said, “but that feels strange to me.”

“Me too,” Pellin said gravely, “it’s like there’s something off about it.”

Alan snorted, “It’s just an old antenna, boys. Nothing to worry about. If there were something wrong, my eyes would pick it up.”

Some instinct told Cass that he couldn’t walk away from what was in front of him. That, leaving it behind him, would cause unknowable horror. In fact, the more he thought about it, the stronger the feeling became, until without realizing it, he’d already taken two steps toward the metal structure.

It wasn’t until he was close to twenty feet away that the notification appeared.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

Warning: Corrupted object nearby (Pylon)

(System Trust I) Note: This Pylon has been inundated with corrupted energy for so long that it has developed limited concealment properties. 

(System Trust I) Note: Command Center effectiveness is reduced within the affected radius. 

Purging the corruption will grant 500 points for cleansing, as well as an additional reward tailored for Junior QuestWright Cassio Vale.

As if it were asleep, the rusted out antenna woke up. Starting at the base embedded in the ground, a red haze erupted from it, just as a similar haze erupted from himself without him doing anything. Only while the antenna was shrouded in red, he was wreathed in the cyantic blue of the System.

Soon enough, the entire antenna turned red as the group around Cass panicked.

“You seeing this!”

“We need to get out of here, I’ve never seen anything like that!”

“Cass!” Adya’s voice rang out clearly above the yelling. “Move away from it!”

System Geas active: Cassio Vale of Liora, you must purge any corrupted objects that you chance upon, or risk losing your Calling.

“I know,” Cass reached a hand up and called the Quill into the world. “I’ll take care of it.”

He took several steps forward, the Quill held out before him as if to shield his body from the strain about to come. With the corrupted vellum, Cass had to modify the Hybrid Quest he’d inadvertently created. If only it were that easy.

There’s nothing to write here, so the circumstances can’t be the same as last time. He rolled the Quill over his fingers like he’d done with the coin so many times over the past month. It felt as solid as ever.

All I can do is try, then adjust when the results come.

Bracing himself, Cass took several definitive steps forward, Quill out and tip ready. Then, he touched it down on the edge of the glowing, red, metallic structure.

The skin over the finger closest to the Antenna began to bubble and burn away.

“Ahhh!” He screamed, taking two steps back.

“Cass!” Adya yelled as Gary also said, “Cassio! Get out of there!”

His finger slowly began to repair as regeneration kicked in, but there was something else going on. As he took another step back, all sound around the immediate area ceased. Looking back of his shoulder as tears sprang from the corners of his eyes, Cass noticed a large, cyantic bubble.

As if it knew what he was thinking, the System immediately sent a message.

Compensation was granted by negotiated request, Cassio Vale of Liora

There will be neither retreat nor negotiation. The corruption must be purged.

“What if I die?”

Then the agreement will be concluded.

Cass wheezed as a new pulse of pain flared from his flayed finger. “I don’t think I can stay conscious while my skin is being boiled off.”

A strange buoyant calm entered his mind as the System responded. The pain was still there, but now, it was like there was a wall holding it back. As if it were happening to someone else, even though he could still feel it.

As agreed, the System will provide the means for your task. But the Pylon must be purged.

Cass looked at his friends as they beat on the cyantic bubble covering the area. Even Joran and the large-bodied Dain didn’t have a real impact. Nobody was coming to save him from the choices he’d made.

Cass stood there, Quill in hand, friends screaming as all of them pounded on the bubble. While they were distracted, the Guardian seized the opportunity to attack. He couldn’t do anything to help as a small army of monsters appeared around the far bend. As they rushed forward, the group, including a teary Adya, was forced to turn away from him.

He felt her genuine fear, though, like the pain, it was shunted aside.

I can’t get out of this. They have their fight, and I have mine. Besides, if I don’t purge the corruption, I’ll be stuck at the second Tier forever.

The System probably wouldn’t take kindly to me creating a corrupted object just to purge it a few minutes later. No, I need to trust that they’ll see their fight through, and focus on my own.

Alan was yelling out orders when a large group of Veilrunners burst from concealment. They appeared all along the line of fighters, as even Orla was pulled into melee range. 

He couldn’t wait.

But that didn’t mean he was rushing into things. Maybe it was the clarity the System was providing, or maybe it was the quicker thoughts given to him by alacrity, but several options filtered through Cass’s mind in that moment. And just like that, he had a plan.

It was audacious, ambitious, and more than a little crazy, but if he succeeded, it would solve several of his problems in one fell swoop. Tokens, points, and his gate would also come flooding in from a single choice. And so, Cass reached into his abilities and chose one he’d only glanced at before.

I can barely even feel my skin with this thing going on. Better not risk supercharging it though.

The Trial of Endurance:

Length: Indeterminate

Nerves will become hyper-sensitive, with all pain responses amplified.

Reward: Scaled Experience and Tempered Tokens based on sustained exposure and intensity.

(System Trust I) Note: The Trial will continue beyond safe thresholds without cancellation.

Without pause, Cass took two steps forward, flipped the switch on the Trial, then pushed the Quill down.