QuestWright Bk2 C56: The Operational QuestWright (I) (Patreon)

Author's notes:

Was the last chapter a shocker? I hope so. It included a lot of little things I'd come up with back during the Master Brannic chapter. There's a ton of little lore pieces interworking in the background on that chapter, but if you blink, you'll miss it.

I have Tycoon chapter 2 done, which will be getting posted soonish. The start is a little slow(ish) compared to QuestWright, but then it jacks up to 11 and pretty much stays that way. I've been told I'm a slowburn writer, and I'm trying not to be that way for this next one.

Anyways, here's the ReaderQuest, a little late as foretold, and I hope you're all doing well. I've been ill this week, but I'm getting over it.

Quest ID: JDM-0003-D-EA

[Tier 1 Delivery Quest]

Assignment: Deliver a Recommendation

It is often said, the non-reader lives a single life, while those who read live thousands. 

So help someone live again.

Your Task

Recommend one book that you genuinely believe is worth reading.

Your recommendation must include:

The title
Why you recommend it
Who you believe would benefit from reading it

You are not required to write a review.

You are required to make a sincere recommendation.

The recommendation may be delivered through:

Patreon
Royal Road
Discord

Or directly to another person.

Rules

Only books qualify for this Quest. Audiobooks are fine, I guess.
The recommendation must be genuine.
You must have read at least part of the book yourself.

Completion Condition

One book recommendation successfully delivered.

Timeframe: One Week

Reward: 5xp

A good book can change a life.

Most never leave the shelf because nobody thought to mention them.

Extra note: This is a rare time where I’m telling you, on Patreon/Discord/RR, you can post about someone else’s story to your hearts content. Go nuts, and don’t feel limited to only one.

—

J D Mullenary Sr
The Original QuestWright

Chapter 56: The Operational QuestWright(I)

The next morning, Cass had to beg Ana to tone down the meal prep. He’d accidentally slept in, which for him meant waking up only an hour before work, and the older woman had already prepared most of his lunch and all of his breakfast. She sat at the table with him and watched as he spooned every mouthful in, then smiled as she informed him she’d see him for a big lunch.

“You’re all skin and bones,” Ana said as she pinched his cheek. “You’ll never get a girl looking like that.”

“I already have a girl. Technically, I have two.” Cass replied, misunderstanding her meaning.

“Well…” She looked at him dubiously, then nodded, “Okay then. Put some meat on you, or you won’t keep them.”

Cass promised to eat anything she put in front of him, then made the slow walk to his Annex in the Spillage Room. Surprisingly, Mirelle was waiting for him in the Scriptorium.

“Ah, excellent, I’d hoped to catch you early.” She told him to follow her, then walked at a quick trot to the same offices they’d been in only yesterday. One of them had an open door. 

“This will be your new Annex for the future. As a Journeyman QuestWright, you rate a higher room in the tower, two servants, and a substantially higher pay.”

“How-”

“Four hundred Crests per week,” She added quickly. “You’ll also find the Annex is a little more powerful than the older model you’ve been using.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Detailing, mostly. Many QuestWrights choose Paths and abilities that upgrade the number of Quests they can do in a day, or the amount of experience they’ll glean from their Questors. A Journeyman’s Annex empowers your System Map to have much higher detailing.”

But I already have insane detailing from Command Center?

Cass didn’t say that part out loud. Though he and Mirelle were getting along better, particularly after revealing that he was the Friend of the Fifth, he still didn’t want to share any abilities that weren’t strictly necessary.

“I see, well…thank you very much, Senior QuestWright.”

“Of course.” She nodded at him and began to walk away, before stopping. “The Guildtower still tracks the efficiency of most Journeyman QuestWrights. However, at your Tier, it is more of a blanket viewing than anything specific.” She turned to look at him. “I made sure to check that no hidden protocols were established in your Annex for any additional Quests you choose to provide the city.”

Cass immediately got the drift, “That’s very kind of you.”

She arched an eyebrow, “I hope to see that kindness repaid to my city, QuestWright Vale. Also, you’ll find a few different Quest-types arrive on your desk starting tomorrow. I’ll give you a day to acclimate to your new settings.”

“What about the daily meeting?”

“Juniors and below, thankfully.” Without saying anything else, she turned left.

Cass walked into his new office. The desk was three times the size of his former Annex, with a set of trays clearly labeled for completed and incomplete Re-Quests. On the Wall was a perfectly smooth, flat, white board at the perfect distance to spread his map to its full potential. Sitting down, he was disappointed to find out the chair was about the same.

The lighting was better, the room didn’t smell like dust, and there was actually space to breathe. Overall, it was a significant improvement over his former situation.

Cass’s map expanded, and sadly, there was no noticeable difference in detail. Not that Command Center could gain more detail than it already provided, but he’d hoped there would be something noticeably better about his new Annex. Drumming his fingers on the desk, he lifted up a pen he’d clipped to the pocket of his robe, a quill motif sprawled across its length.

After double-checking that nobody was around, Cass put his back against the door after closing it, then activated the tutorial. 

Is this going to become a habit?

“How else can I get you here for a conversation?” Cass asked with a smirk. “I just wanted a quick chat.”

You left me waiting while you stared off into nowhere.

“I was making plans.”

I’m aware.

“Will they work?”

Some of them.

The Source was not leaking any information, so Cass tried appealing to its curiosity.

“So, about Profile. You’d call that an experimental ability, right?”

By its nature, as a contracted ability formed from the merger between two distinctly separate Callings, it is an experimental ability, yes.

“Then, what’s the point of it?”

Explain.

“Well,” Cass sat down in the Annex, then pointed at the map. “I can see all these lovely people out here. They’re going about their business, living their lives, saying hello to their neighbors. I mean, it’s a huge map of the city, which is fantastic for me as a QuestWright.”

Get to the point.

“I’m getting there, I just need to build up some context for you. So, here I am, a QuestWright, a builder of Quests with a full view of the city,” He tapped the pen-shaped Quill on the desk, “And yet, Profile isn’t working with the map.”

It isn’t supposed to.

Cass threw his hands in the air, “Exactly! That’s exactly my point! So far, Profile is designed more for Adya as a Scout than me as a QuestWright. I mean, how many times am I gonna go out there and stare people in the face? My job is here, within the Annex, making Quests.”

Do not forget the corruption.

“Of course not! We have a deal, there. But you do see my point, right? Why grant me a merged ability that only works for one of the supposed merger's Callings? It doesn’t make sense.”

I understand, but there will be a-

“Cost?” Cass said, finishing the Source’s sentence. “But should there be when this is something that, in my opinion, should’ve already been a part of the ability in the first place?”

The Source was silent for a moment, so Cass spent his time rolling Hollis’s coin across his fingers. After what had to have been several minutes, the Source spoke.

Something cannot be gained for nothing. 

You were due to receive a new Path upon completion of the next step in the Tutorial, which would’ve been advantageous to your current situation. However, that path can be cannibalized and provided on a delay if you choose to modify Profile at this time.

Cass chewed on that, “Which would be better at this particular moment?”

I won’t answer that.

He blew a raspberry, “You really like negotiating, don’t you? I bet you and Orla would have a lot of fun together.”

She isn’t unique enough to warrant my consideration.

“That’s a pretty messed-up thing to say to a friend of hers. Orla has plenty going for her.”

A love of money and conquest is not unique in the world.

“And what is?”

I have no interest in building your ego. 

Do you choose to accept the Path with the next step of the Tutorial, or will you further integrate Profile into your map ability?

“Isn’t it already called Integrated Profile?”

Structurally different semantics

Cass didn’t have long to decide. He was running the potential Path through his mind, guessing on what it might be, when, starting from the bottom, the words for the tutorial began to gradually fade away.

“I see what you’re doing.”

My time is valuable, and I’ve already broken my word to only speak of the Quill. The fact that you pointed out a missed opportunity with Profile is the only reason I’m still here.

That was almost a compliment.

Knowing time was running out, he went with his gut, “I’ll take the Profile upgrade.”

Done.

The tutorial vanished, and Cass received a notification immediately after.

[System Notice]

New functionality has been added to the Integrated Profile ability.

Profile will now interact with all versions of the System Map ability.

The map didn’t look any different, but appearances could be deceiving. Zooming in again on a random person showed him nothing. But as he moved the map around, highlighting different folks going about their day, it landed on one where things changed.

Warren Smith:

Known affiliations: Married to Jenna Smith.

Estimated Calling: Plower

Employment: Works at Doubloon Cashiers

Extra Details: Administrator Adya Korring overheard Warren saying he was having trouble paying the rent last month. She also noted he had a black eye.

An image appeared showing the man in question, and, as it said, he had a nice-looking shiner just below his right eye. Cass zoomed around some more before finding another ping. It wasn’t what he’d expected.

Old Ginger:

Employment: A stabled horse often used for heavy freight work

Extra Details: Administrator Bella has noted that Old Ginger is overly flatulent and prefers apples over carrots.

“Bella, what the hell?” Cass said, shaking his head. “It looks like getting a Calling has really changed things up for you. Even in Profile, you’re a gossip.”

He moved around, identifying locations he’d traveled to with Adya and the others, their associated images appearing on the side like a second screen layered over the first. 

Liberty was a huge city. He still didn’t know the exact population, but it was easily ten times Liora's. That meant that even with Profile now integrated into the map, there were still serious limitations. 

As always, it came down to ground work. But he could test a few other things first.

That thought was immediately put on hold as an excited knock came to his door. He’d guessed it was Quirrel by the exuberance of the hammering, and he was proven right only a moment later.

“Journeyman Cassio Vale!” The Clerk gushed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Cass patted him on the shoulder, “Sorry, Quirrel. I got caught up in the rush.”

“Of course, of course. Think nothing of it. Oh, this is just great!” He actually squealed. “With you being a Journeyman, my weekly rate is going to skyrocket!”

“It’s that good?”

“Oh, yes. My resume will see quite the bump as well. A few years working for a Journeyman QuestWright, and I’ll be able to get a job with a third ring house, just you see.”

Cass didn’t have the heart to tell him he wasn’t planning on staying that long. So he patted the man a second time, then they started the day.

Since it was only one-hundred Quests again, he burst through everything rather quickly and finished before five. His speed with advanced Quest formatting, Profile’s new integration, and anchored templates allowed him to get to the point where a Re-Quest was in his hands and out of it almost as fast as he could read it.

There were some notable differences, however. The fact that Profile was now directly integrated into his map meant that for every Quest he assigned, the person directly associated with it received an update. As did the locations. All the effort he’d put into taking notes when first getting started in Liberty was now useless, as Profile had taken away the extra work by simply clicking on a place or person.

It wasn’t something to complain about, as any form of ease with his work was appreciated. But he grumbled all the same.

Ana had brought him an overburdened lunch, and when he got to his room, he found that the door wouldn’t open. He was trying for the third time when the door opened on its own, and Ana let out a small yell, dropping a bundle of white robes to the ground.

“Don’t scare me like that!”

“I was just standing here!”

“You were looming!”

“I…don’t know what that means!”

“Ugh!” She grumbled, picking up the robes from the ground as Cass dropped down to help her. Ana blew a stray hair away from her face, “I’ve got it. Do you even know where you’re going now that you’re a Journeyman QuestWright?”

“Oh, I completely forgot that Mirelle said my room was going to be upgraded.”

Ana flicked his sleeve, dropping a robe to the ground, and grumbling again as she picked it back up, “You’re not even in the right attire for your rank. Come on, follow me and I’ll show you to your new room. It’s a little much, and I’m not a fan of your new servant.”

“Why?”

Rather than answer, Ana stomped toward the elevator. He could almost hear her grinding her teeth as the door opened. 

“You’re on the twentieth floor now. There’s only three rooms here, and they’re all…large. Also, I’ll be staying in separate quarters attached to your room from now on. If you ever need me for anything, there’s a button to push that rings in our rooms. Come on, he’s already waiting to meet you.”

“He?”

Cass pressed his thumb down, and the door opened on its own. Ana was about to step in front of him, then stopped, and he could see why.

In a golden robe, pearly teeth smiling, Under-Guildmaster Martin stood there, “Well, if it isn’t Journeyman QuestWright Cassio Vale.” He shook a finger at the air, “I knew there was something special about you, so I did some digging. Journeyman in less than a year? That’s gotta be close to a record.”

“It is,” A voice said around the corner. That voice revealed itself to be Senior QuestWright Randolph as he came forward, “At least for Liberty.”

“Fast, he’s very fast,” He looked at Randolph, “You should think about taking him under your sail. He must be doing something right.”

“Mirelle has spoken well of him,” Randolph said as if in consideration, “But I already have two Journeyman who need plenty of training.”

“Shame.” Martin looked at Cass again, his golden robes shimmering as he turned. “Well, it’s a little out of tune with how things work here, but I’d consider taking you on. What do you say, QuestWright Vale? Want to come work with me on the upper floors? You’ll learn a heck of a lot about Liberty. Might even do some serious good in the world.”

Even with Alacrity, Cass didn’t know how to respond.