QuestWright BK2 C74: Revelations (II) (Patreon)

Author Note:

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Just about all of them are on sale for .99 cents or plain free, which makes it a great deal for anyone with a dollar or less. In that list, you'll find Symphony book 1 by some author guy who wanted to challenge himself by writing something wholly original. Sad day for him when he learned there were two other series out there that followed the same premise (kind of). 

If you're interested in Symphony book 1 (god-mode, worldbuilding contest), it can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Protocol-Sci-Fi-Adventure-Symphony-ebook/dp/B0FG5H9L7X

Chapter 74: Revelations (II)

The next day, Cass was notified that all members of his first deliberate Quest Chain had shifted to routine. It was a nice way to wake up, and as he did his Stalwart and Tempered dailies, he remembered something.

Right as he was leaping from his bed to his couch.

“I forgot about my extra reward! I’m such an-ahh!”

Superior reflexes didn’t help much when your mind was somewhere else. His leg caught the end of the couch, sending him face-first into the wall. Pulling away, his head smarted as he checked for damage on himself and the room. Luckily, there was none.

“Tough wall and an even tougher Cass,” he said, sitting down in a huff as he tapped his chin.

I really did forget my reward from purging that tree. The Source said I would talk to him the next time I opened the Tutorial. Him? It? Doesn’t matter.

What to pick, what to pick…

I don’t really know what I’m allowed to ask for. A new Quest-type? Something for Bella? The moon?

The indecision weighed on him. After Bella’s events of the day before and how tired he’d been after closing the second Dungeon, he’d put exactly zero thought into what he might need. It was irresponsible, and he knew that. But then an idea came.

I don’t have to choose right away. I could save it for when I think of something I need, then poof, the Source provides. That keeps me from having to pick a reward that isn’t necessary right now.

But that also means I can’t open the tutorial for a while.

Cass had been making great progress in learning how to create Merged Quests. So much so that even though he’d unlocked the next stage of the tutorial, he’d held off. His newfound philosophy of mastering his current abilities before moving on to the next was paying off.

Conditional Questing will have to wait until I figure all of this out. Having a stored reward that can be pulled up by need is too big an advantage.

Decision made, Cass restarted his leaps, then took a quick shower before heading down to his office. Only one Clerk was manning the Scriptorium’s front desk, and judging by the dour expression on the man’s face, Cass assumed his day was interminably boring.

Clerks get a bad rap for a shitty job. A thought for his old Guild Trainer came to the fore. Kara’s hatred is completely misplaced.

Cass’s Delivery and Message Quests showed a profound change with the coming of the Harvest. More than half of what arrived on his desk was targeted at the fields surrounding the city. The Liberty Loaders locations saw such heavy traffic on an unbelievable scale, that Cass became very curious about how they were managing it.

He was almost done with his shift when a knocking sound came from just beyond his door. Looking up, he discovered Mirelle standing there, her face dancing back and forth between serious and something he would almost call a smile.

“Hello, QuestWright Vale, how are you doing on this wonderful day?”

What’s gotten into her?

“I’m fine, thank you for asking. How are you?”

“Wonderful, Vale. I’m simply wonderful.” Closing the door behind her, the smile fully broke through her normally serious demeanor. “Word arrived to me today that the Junipers are in a great deal of trouble.”

“No kidding.” Poker face, Cass. Poker face.

“Senior QuestWright Juniper, who I believe you have only seen but never spoken to, has been having apoplectic fits on the higher levels. I’m amazed you can’t hear him from way down here.”

“Did something happen?” Cass replied, locking his facial muscles down and trying to sound as unknowingly curious as anyone else would be.

“It appears thieves broke into his family home yesterday and absconded with quite a bit of wealth. Fifty thousand Crests, if you can believe it.”

I can’t.

“That is an absurd amount of money,” Cass replied politely. “Do they have any idea who the thieves might’ve been?”

Hopefully they don’t have a clue that Adya was nearby, or things could get very bad.

Cass’s apprehension eased when Mirelle waved it off. “Trackers are on the case, but all they’ve been able to figure out is that a horse was somehow involved. If I were the thieves, I’d be long gone and away from Liberty at this point.” After pondering it for a moment, she smiled again.

Cass followed an easy-to-see thread. “You seem unusually happy about Senior QuestWright Juniper’s troubles.”

“I’m not ashamed to say that I’m very happy at this moment.” Contrary to that statement, her hands formed into claws at her sides.

“Senior QuestWright Randolph is a whiny kissass who lives under Martin’s boots, but Juniper is somehow worse. He didn’t have to work hard to get to the rank he now holds; they fed it to him on the back of a golden Crest. We started at the same time. All the high-experience Quests went to that weasel, while I was forced to move at a speed that makes a snail seem fast. His entire family built their wealth on the backs of good people. They. Are. The. Worst.”

Cass knew why she was telling him all of this and letting her emotions out of their cage. He was the Friend of the Fifth. The QuestWright determined to help people, regardless of what the Guildtower might think. 

In essence, he was an emotional relief valve for Mirelle that no one else at their work could provide. So he took an intuitive leap after considering her story.

“This is only a guess, but did you know some of those people?”

Mirelle grimaced. “I don’t, but I’ve heard stories. Cutting corners on kilns, burns, refusing to pay for treatment. My friends in the Fifth don’t have anything nice to say about their ceramic shops, and of those I know in the Third, it’s about the same. They’re only a step away from running old-school sweatshops from before the Reshaping.”

“Well,” Cass said, still keeping his tone steady. “If that’s all true, it seems that justice has somehow found its way to the Junipers. Though if I were you, I’d be sure to keep any smiles off your face when you’re around the other Senior QuestWright.”

“Offering me advice now, Vale?” Mirelle said with an arched eyebrow.

“Just looking out for you, like you’ve done for me,” Cass replied evenly. “I’d hate for Juniper or Randolph to suddenly end up as my supervisor.”

“Yes, you would.” Mirelle agreed. “By the by, in two days you’ll receive fewer Delivery Quests and a few more Administrative. You may want to prepare some templates. I’ll make sure your Clerk brings by some old Re-Quests so you can plan them out.”

It was Cass’s turn to smile. “That’s very kind of you to provide a timely warning.”

“It’s a small thing, Vale. I’ve gotta run. Have a good rest of your day.”

“And you have a great one.”

She closed the door as Quirrel dropped by with his last stack for the day. Cass burst through the rest of his work quickly, then contacted Adya through his Whispr. While he was sitting there, a few thoughts came to mind.

Everything Alan and Orla have told me about the First families implies that they’re…well…terrible. Liberty is as corrupt above as it is below, if in different ways.

Bella’s theft could be seen as a good thing. As a positive for the city's citizens. Orla already signed the contract stating she’d keep the workers, and I have a hard time imagining she’d treat them any worse than the Junipers apparently do.

I’m gonna say this is all a net positive.

Cass left after getting his Vellums from Quirrel, pocketing them in his bag among the others. The walk to the front was quick, and in no time at all, he transferred his experience to his Bonded.

A notification appeared, but he didn’t look at it until after they’d already left.

[System Notice]

Your reserve experience did not transfer because your intended target is currently gated at their Tier.

Reserve experience has been released to the original holder and can no longer be placed in abeyance until the intended target has passed their gate.

And just like that, Cass gained several hundred experience for the first time since Bella had received her Calling. He wanted to ask Bella about her gate, but then he noticed that the notifications didn’t end there. There were still ones he’d gained in the second Dungeon that he’d never looked at.

Your achievements have been condensed:

Bonus experience granted for achieving a tactical victory against an active commander with minimal loss of life.

1,280xp + A Choice

Bonus experience granted for intentionally creating a rare-tier Merged Quest, creating five Merged Quests in a dangerous scenario, cleansing a second corruption, cleansing a corrupted being, and using the Airscript Quill’s form in a unique manner.

9,920xp

Tactician Achievement progress:

10/10

Junior QuestWright Achievement progress:

9/16

Cass went over the achievements again as a new notification appeared. He ignored it as a thought struck him.

Ten thousand experience in one hit, waiting for me to find it while I’m writing Quests rewarding a half experience point at a time. That is absolutely insane. Achievements are an Administrator’s best friend.

Hell, if Bella wasn’t at her gate right now, this would all be hers. It would probably level her up several times in one jump.

Instead, it’s all mine.

Cass smiled as he wrapped his arms tighter around Adya while they moved farther away from the tower, but he didn’t close the screen. There was still more to see.

A Choice is being offered:

You have planned and executed ambushes, structured retreats, aligned bottlenecks, deployed environmental Hybrid Quests, and coordinated city-wide defenses.

Allies by the thousands have moved, fought, and survived by your guidance and your direct planning.

They’ve navigated the dark under the light of your Waypoints, transforming raw chaos into deliberate victories.

Now, you must make the choice…

Will you take the experience, further empowering your Calling on the long road ahead?

Will you take the Path, gaining strength in a way beyond that of a standard QuestWright?

Or will you forgo immediate rewards and continue down the road you have already begun to walk?

Fucck, Cass lamented in his head, already ignoring experience in light of the other two options. A Path or something down the line? What the hell is…wait a second. I know what that is.

When he’d first arrived at Liberty, he’d gained the Prestige screen. He hadn’t looked at it too often, as really it was just a preview of things yet to arrive. After feeding his experience to first Adya, then Bella, there’d been no great rush. But now, it held incredible value for him.

Closing the notifications, Cass quickly pulled up the screen and took a look. His answer was lying in the Future Achievement Sets area.

Strategist: Completion of Tactician and additional elements required

Cass shifted the screen back to the choice.

So a new Path, or something potentially better down the line that may require some extra effort to reach.

Completing the Combat achievement set gave me the Versatile Path. That did some seriously big changes for Survivor. It was something so momentous that it saved my life when I was purging the Pylon.

But Strategist could be the better choice here. That’s more achievements, more experience, and a potentially larger choice at the end if I can unlock it.

This isn’t like it was when I was picking from the Index a few days ago. People’s lives won’t matter on this. It’s purely on me. My choice.

My decision.

A brief memory came back of Kara speaking to him on his first full day as a QuestWright. She’d been in his head ever since seeing that Clerk in the morning.

Cass had just failed at jumping across the last rock, and predictably for her, she’d let him fail before saving him. They’d talked a little more about the history of the world following the Reshaping before she’d stopped him, the Uncalled Way beneath their feet.

“A QuestWright doesn’t do. A QuestWright decides.”

It was a smart lesson and one he didn’t give her enough credit for back then. So, he made a decision.

Cass opened his eyes, unsurprised to see that they were about to head into the Fifth. He spoke loudly to both of his partners.

“Hey, Adya, Bella. Can you help me with something?”

Assuredly.

“Of course.”

“Great! So I have a decision to make. I had a choice like this before, and I went with the smart option. Right now, I’m being offered a choice again, but I have to choose between something that’s immediately helpful again, or something that could have a massive benefit way down the line.”

“How far down the line?” Adya asked.

“No idea. That’s in fact a part of the problem. But I think it could be something huge,” Cass replied.

I don’t know. Bella said in his mind, her archaic language forgotten as she considered Cass’s question. It returned quickly. Mayhaps thy choice is one from within.

“That’s very helpful, Bella, thank you.”

Cass got a warm feeling from her, happy she was happy, even if her answer didn’t have any value.

“Adya?”

“The potential one could really change everything?”

“I had a choice like this before, and I went with the immediate option, which was amazing; don’t get me wrong. But the second option here is a bit of an unknown that could have a huge impact when the time comes. It’s a little veiled, but I have some hints.”

Adya leaned back against him a little. “Go with the second. What do you have to lose? More opportunities will come along if it doesn’t work out. But if you don’t shoot for the stars, you never have a chance of leaving the ground.”

He kissed the top of her head. “What an interesting saying.”

“It’s something my father liked to say.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Cass’s decision had been to listen to his partners. It was still his choice, but he agreed with what Adya had said. Nobody ever changed the world by playing it safe.

And he wanted to be the Bringer of Hope.

Cass mentally pushed at the last option. The words faded on their own. Nothing else appeared, but Cass went back and looked at his Prestige screen. There was something new there.

Strategist: Obtain Level 30

Happy with his choice, he enjoyed the rest of the ride, then hopped off at the apartment entrance when they found Alan waiting for them.

“Get back on your horse. William Atherby is awake, and he’s talking.”