Chapter 81: Expanding

William…

This horse is stone-cold crazy, William thought for the tenth time in the last several hours. 

It wasn’t enough that Bella had made him traipse through the gates of Liberty little bigger than a large dog. No. As soon as they left sight of the city, she grew so big that he feared for his level-zero life as the ground fell farther and farther away.

William wouldn’t have considered himself scared of heights, but he’d also never ridden a horse that could clearly look over a one-story building. Below him was nothing but air, dirt, and the fall.

And the speed at which she ran? Blistering.

William spent the entire run on her back, gripping her tightly and praying to whatever merciful gods there might be that this trip would soon be over. All ambivalence and nonchalance had long since vanished. Even as his pained thighs screamed and she was in a complete sprint across the grasslands, Bella took another sharp turn.

She was honing in on her next target.

As if fate had a hand in their travels, another weird monster approached. It raised translucent limbs to the sky and screeched the moment it saw them, an unnatural sound that vibrated his poor, weak body. It wasn’t the first they’d seen in the wilds, and based on the horse’s pure rage whenever she saw them, it wouldn’t be alive much longer.

With a defiant roar that sounded nothing like a horse, Bella dove toward the monster. The creature took two steps back, even as they all heard two more screeches not far behind it. Bella bore down, her overpowering size forcing the monster to look more nervous than any monster he’d ever seen in the beneath, but it was already too late.

Reaching with her thick neck, the monstrous horse tore the head off the creature in one swift movement. William adjusted his burning muscles, barely holding on as she shook her head back and forth, a loud and horrendous crunch coming from within her mouth.

She looked back at him with wide eyes and spat it out. The monster’s pale blood added another layer to the dried remains of those she’d killed along their journey. With another roar, Bella took off in the direction of the two who had answered the dead one’s call.

The first planted itself and plunged its knife-like fingers forward. The monster’s goal was clear as it prepared to sacrifice its body to impale the large horse. 

Unfortunately, Bella didn’t seem to care; she charged right over the poorly informed thing, then crushed it into the ground with her heavy hooves, body unharmed. The second monster attacked from the side, but the horse seemed to have eyes in the back of her head as she wheeled around and bucked both legs furiously. The monster’s frail body flew through the air, gray, pupil-less eyes wide. William barely held on when Bella dove forward and pounded that one into the ground, too.

She looked back at him, snorted, then began sprinting in their original direction again. Only a few more minutes passed before they heard a sound no natural creature could make, then she went on the attack again.

What is wrong with this horse!

Cass…

Cass spared a thought for the two travelers on their way to Liora. He hoped Bella and William were being smart and staying safe. His equine partner could take care of herself, but the former Private was another matter. 

Then his mind stopped considering the present and tumbled back in time. 

The Path of Expansion was one of the originals he’d discovered when first receiving his Calling. It had been one of four. Logistics, Inspection, Resolution, Expansion. Cass felt like he’d lived through several lifetimes since discovering his paths, but only a little less than half a year had passed by.

The System had gatekept Expansion’s description behind future progress. Now, here he was, in the future, and finally ready to unlock the last of his original choices.

Maybe I should light a candle to celebrate this solemn moment?

Tiredly chuckling to himself, he pulled up the description that had once been hidden from him.

The Path of Expansion:

A line of development focused on expanding the role of the QuestWright. Unlocks additional tools for the management of buildings, materials, and resources. 

Cost to unlock: 1000xp

“A thousand experience ain’t that much,” Cass said, laughing at his old self. He used to scrounge for any little experience he could get. Now, he was throwing a boatload of the stuff at his paths while sitting naked in a bath. “Times sure are different.”

While he was in his experience screens, Cass pulled up the other remaining options. There were only two, which worried him more than a little.

QuestWright Path: Enterprise

A path designed for QuestWrights who lead enterprises and organizations through formally recognized charters. Unlocks abilities that enhance cohesion, interpersonal situations, and member productivity.

Cost to unlock: 300xp

The Path of the Builder:
A Path of vision and permanence. Allows the QuestWright to lay conceptual foundations for institutions, guilds, and settlements. Grants non-standard ability interfacing, community-linked quests, and regional developmental blueprints.

Cost to unlock: 1200xp

“I came to Liberty with six paths to unlock; now I’m down to three. Heck, after that achievement step on Junior, I probably have enough experience to get all of these. Let’s see what the old status update says.”

Calling: Versatile QuestWright: Cassio Vale

Standing: Journeyman

Level: 26

Experience Accrued: 43,884.21

Experience Required for Next Level: 5,115.79

Unspent Experience: 25,994.11

Available System Reputation: 2,422

Available Quests: 388/542

Total Stalwart/Tempered/Survivor Tokens: 12/61/280

“I leveled three times…” Cass said quietly. Then, it really hit him. “I leveled THREE TIMES!”

He couldn’t believe it. His mind raced back, recalling how much experience he’d had before. From a set of achievements and managing the fight in the dungeon, he’d nearly doubled all of the experience he’d ever earned. His reputation had taken a bit of a hit, nearly halving from what he could recall, but his new level couldn’t be denied.

QuestWrights really do move in bursts.

“Junior QuestWright Vale! Are you okay?” Jamison yelled out from just beyond the entryway. The door started to open, Cass’s tiredness evident in his failure to twist the lock closed. While Cass was still recovering from the shock of his levels, Jamison entered, mumbling to himself, “I meant Journeyman…damnit.”

Cass dismissed the Quill to wherever it went, plunging the bathroom into candlelight. Standing up, he yelled out, “Don’t come in! I’m na-”

Young Jamison, pristine-robed and bursting through the door in a fit at Cass's yelling and his own mistake, got an entire eye-full of the Journeyman Questwright’s…junior. He immediately covered his eyes.

“S-sorry, J-Journeyman QuestWright Vale…I didn’t know-”

Cass sighed loudly, interrupting him before he could continue. “It’s fine, Jamison. I bathe each evening. Sorry for yelling; I was just excited over something. You can leave.”

“Are you sure?” Jamison asked, shifting his fingers and looking around anywhere but at Cass.

“I’m sure. Thank you.”

“R-right. Sorry, sir.”

Spinning stiffly, he stepped out, and the door closed behind him. Once he was sure Jamison wouldn’t return, Cass stepped over, locked the door, returned to his bath, and pulled out the Quill again. 

The water was a little cold, but since unlocking Cinder, he’d barely felt temperature differences. It was just another benefit from unlocking further steps on the Survivor path.

Turning on the hot water, Cass did the most dreadful thing of his life. Math.

“That is an awful lot of experience to the next level. I was sure it said something like three thousand to go before... why-” He pondered it for a while, then found a connection. “I passed level twenty-five. Is there a big experience jump there, and I missed it because the achievement hit me all at once?”

Still happy to have gained three levels, Cass put the idiosyncrasies of exponential experience growth in the back of his mind. He didn’t know what math equation the System was using, but it didn’t seem particularly fair.

Then again, he had 25,000 experience points to play around with. Complaining would just be stupid.

Just to confirm everything, he looked at his status screen one more time, enjoying the sight of his new level. Then, smiling, he accepted the cost.

The node lit up, then something unusual happened. Words appeared beside it.

Cassio Vale of Liora

Your Calling has changed since this Path was first offered.

QuestWright's evolution into Versatile QuestWright has forced a departure from the normal path choice.

The flames of Cinder, always resting at the top of the screen, turned white. A moment later, the previous writing disappeared, and pale words replaced it.

Cassio Vale.

A decision must be made…

Expand into the Clerical

Expand into the Structural

Expand into the Crafted

Expand into-

Expand into-

The System watches…and rewards.

Make your choice.

After the first few choices, there were two more, but the wording was blurred. That left only three options, and a decision that felt like a bomb about to explode. 

The System really likes giving me choices in triplicate. Man, if I go with Clerical, Kara’ll know, and I’ll be dead.

Kara…

A foul wind passed over Kara’s shoulder. Something detestable. Something malignant. Something that stayed with her long after it had moved on.

She turned. 

A horse’s rear was inches from her face. 

“Brendan, you fool. Get your horse’s ass away from me.”

“S-sorry, Senior Guild Trainer Kara,” the young man stammered, moving forward to direct cleanup efforts in the northern Depot.

Clerks! She thought with rage.

Cass…

Cass weighed his options based on the limited information he had. If all he had to go on were the names, he was forced to narrow it down to a few likely possibilities.

Clerical probably involved paperwork. That was the only conclusion he could reach. Structural could mean construction or buildings, as the path description claimed. Maybe an architect role of some kind? While crafted sounded like something he should probably ask Pellin about before touching.

“No other descriptions, really,” Cass said in a harsh whisper, careful to keep his voice down so Jamison didn’t bust in for a second round. 

“So, what? Am I supposed to blindly guess my way through this? I thought we were done with all the mystery bullshit. Whatever happened to System Trust giving me tips?”

There was no reaction. He even tried pulling out the tutorial, but the Source didn’t come along for the ride this time. No matter how much he spoke to the air, he got no response. Cass was on his own.

“Fine,” he mumbled. “I guess I have been getting a lot of help lately.”

Indeed.

After saying that, the tutorial disappeared on its own.

“Sneaky bastard,” Cass groused. Then he focused. Three choices, three expansions. Clerk, something to do with buildings, or crafting.

Clerk was likely the closest choice to being a QuestWright. After all, paperwork begets more paperwork. Rather than expanding into other fields, this option felt like he’d be doubling down on his Calling. Maybe he’d get paper-based superpowers?

“Paper mage.”

When he hovered over it, however, the Tempered path lit up like a bonfire. Partly merged into Cinder in the newly formed Way of the Forged, the green lights told a story.

“So Clerical is tied into the Tempered path? Alright, sure. Why not, mysterious System choices.”

Construction, buildings, or whatever structural meant, was next. It tied neatly with The Path of the Builder he’d just reviewed. Picking Structural would probably layer with whatever Builder did, maybe even synchronizing some of his abilities. It was a solid choice.

“Architect…probably.” Hovering over it lit up Stalwart, making it clear this choice tied strength and healing to building things.

Crafted, however, was nothing like the other two. It was a completely new way of looking at Callings. Cinder lit up at the option, and he didn’t know what to think as the yellow path blazed forth.

More than tying Crafted to Cinder, Cass couldn’t imagine expanding QuestWright into a trade. He didn’t know how to make vellums, nor, if he was honest with himself, did he want to. Heck, he’d barely ever written a Crafting Quest. It was a big, seething gap in his role as a QuestWright.

But what if it gave him some special abilities? Things he might need in the future? Abilities that couldn’t be gotten any other way?

He had the sense that the Path of Expansion would be like Resolution. A one-and-done kind of deal. That meant this was his only choice for expanding his Calling. At least for a while.

Shit! This is tough.

“Focus, stupid,” Cass said in a hush, admonishing the version of himself from only a second ago. “This is all progress. You could’ve unlocked this a long time ago, and you chose to wait. Now button up and make a decision.”

Looking at his reflection in the water and ignoring Junior, he said to himself, “Do you want to be a Clerk?”

No matter how he searched, his heart said no. He had friends who were Clerks, but he had never, ever, wanted to be one.

“Do you want to be in architecture or buildings or whatever?”

No again. Connecting Expansion to Builder would probably be the right move. The smart choice. But he’d long ago learned to trust his gut. This didn’t feel right. And that only left one answer.

“Well…shit.” Before he could click it, he asked his reflection and the Questing heart it held, “Is this really what you want?”

Yes.

Cass didn’t doubt himself. He didn’t second-guess. This wasn’t a planned moment or thought. It was something that felt right deep down.

Reaching out with his mind, he made his choice. 

Just as when he’d first contracted with Adya and received the Path of the Index, and again when he unlocked the Path of Versatility, everything on his experience screen disappeared.

Oh shit. 

The white choices, "Clerical" and "Structural," disappeared from the screen. Next, the unknowable final two options faded, the curiosity to know what they were remaining in Cass’s mind. And then, only Crafted remained. 

It expanded, swelling and growing; morphing until it took on a whole new meaning. 

QuestWright Secondary Function Unlocked