QuestWright: Chapter 34: Graduation
🕑 Added 2025-07-27 17:51:08 +0000 UTCSorry for all the posts today. When I know I'm about to get hit with a lot of busy work, I tend to just knock out the things I can with the time provided. Enjoy the chapter, it's longer than normal.
Chapter 34: Graduation
When the notification to meet in the Atrium came, he steeled his spine, stood up, and made the walk with a million thoughts in his mind.
Arriving, he found the upper booths filled to the brim with well-wishers, family, and friends. Spotting Gary standing beside his mother and father, Cass waved, getting a cheer back as they all smiled at him. Then, he was surprised to find Rina and a few members of Common Solutions pop up in a different area. They clapped and waved, with a small chant breaking out.
“Sales and Deals! Sales and Deals!”
Cass turned to Orla beside him. “I think they like you more than me.”
“That’s normal,” She said with a cheeky grin, “They know I’m going to make us all filthy rich. You’re just a guy with paperwork.”
Pellin, meanwhile, waved at the one person in the crowd smiling at him, “Hey, Mom!”
“Hey, baby!” She yelled back. “Make smart decisions!”
“Oof,” Cass said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Not what you want to hear right when you finish the Foundational course.”
As the Guild Master’s door opened, the booths all calmed and sat down.
Without seats and unnecessary instructions, group LIA-G-0701 moved into their alphabetical line, standing in stiff poses. Starting at Pellin and moving down, the Guild Master looked each person in the eye, pausing every so often and whispering a quiet word.
When he got to Cass, he said, “I’ll see you in my office as soon as this is over.” Then turned around, walked up beside the Book of Callings, and looked out on the crowd with a solemn expression.
“We live in troubling times. Less than a week ago, our city was attacked by Monsters within the walls. People were hurt, though thankfully, nobody died. It was a terrible incident that we’re still investigating and has caused us great worry. And yet, I see smiles.” He paused, giving them a smile himself. “Because, as always, we have prevailed.”
“We have prevailed.” The room echoed back to him.
“That line was said by the first party to ever close a portal. Up north, in the location once known as Michigan, a collection of heroes stepped out of the shadowy night and brought the day back to us. When they returned to their town, bleeding, and with fewer numbers than they’d left with, those words were uttered to the masses. In their honor, we repeat them with each day’s Callings and with each group’s graduation. We have prevailed. Humanity has prevailed.”
He paused and looked around the room. “And we’re gonna win. Not with weapons or rage. But with cooperation. With each other. With hard work. And most importantly, with the love of our friends and families,” he gave a brief nod to the booths in the room, somehow making it seem as if he was speaking to each individual person.
“Now, I’ve had my moment in the sun to speak to you all, and I feel it’s time for you, the newest members of Liora’s society, to step out of the shade. In just a moment, your Quest will complete and your titles will be unlocked. Prepare yourselves, as it’s often quite eye-opening.” He looked up at the booths as he spoke, “Group LIA-G-0701, your Foundational Training is complete!”
His eyes went glassy, then all at once, everyone from the group stood rigidly and began muttering to themselves. The crowd above cheered and applauded for those they’d come to see, with names being called out and cheered every so often.
As for the members of his group, a few looked disappointed, but others, like Pellin and Orla, were all smiles as they received their rewards with blank stares. Cass watched it all, and naturally, had nothing to unlock.
He’d already gained his rewards while sitting in the Infirmary, so it was a strange experience to stand among those excited by their rewards and have none of his own. Instead, he turned and looked at the Guild Master.
For all the smiles the man showed everyone, he also seemed very tired. Like the weight of the world was bowing his shoulders. Cass couldn’t help thinking that he would look like that one day. Then again, he might look like that now, with how exhausted he felt.
Quickly, everyone in the booths rushed downstairs and joined together to celebrate their friends and family. Pellin’s mother aggressively hugged him, causing the poor guy to stumble back a few steps. Orla’s parents, dressed in gaudy clothing that looked like it could fund an orphanage for ten years, were much more serious as they congratulated their daughter.
For Cass, the Fabulous Five appeared, with his sister giving him a brief hug as, for once, she wasn’t in armor. He was going to comment on that when he was pulled into a rough hug from behind. The smell of leather and powerful grip told him his mother had made her appearance, further confirmed by his smiling father inching into his vision.
Overall, it was pretty nice, and Cass was touched by how excited everyone was for him. When they separated, he noticed the Guild Master still standing by the Book of Callings. Telling his family he’d meet them later at home, he steeled his nerves and walked over.
“Are you ready, Cassio?” The older man asked.
Cass took a quick breath, “As I’ll ever be.”
“Follow me.” After a quick walk to the room, Cass stepped in as Hollis closed the door behind him, the wave of sound cutting off with its seal. Walking near his bed, he retrieved a small but comfortable chair and asked Cass to take a seat before doing the same.
“So, I’m told that you have a plan that will fix all of Liora?” Before Cass could speak, he smiled, “I’m just kidding, Cassio. Thomas told me that you have something planned out and you wanted to present it to me for approval. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir,” Cass said, the butterflies in his stomach flapping erratically, “I think I can make it so more of the Quests on the board get completed and we can help Liora while doing it.”
Leaning back in his chair, he said, “Okay, I’m all ears.”
Cass set his bag down, then pulled out several sheets of paper. Pointing at the wall, he asked, “Do you mind if I pin these here?”
“No, no, whatever makes things easier for you,” the Guild Master replied with a smile. As Cass stood up and began to place them on the wall, he said, “It’s nice that you’re so prepared. You remind me a lot of myself when I was first starting.”
Cass continued to reach in, pulling out more as he asked. “Will you tell me about it?”
“A little, sure.” He sighed, running his hand across his dark goatee. “The world was even harsher at the beginning than it is now. I was young when the portals appeared, only two years older than you are now. The news couldn’t keep up with all of the mayhem, and we didn’t have time to watch it as we were often running for our lives. After only six months, I’d lost several members of my family and most of my friends.” He paused, his hands grinding together in his lap. ”To this day, only my sister and nephew still live. In those times, I would say that only one in fifteen survived. It was terror and tragedy every which way you turned. But as civilization collapsed, I had a plan. Build a city, protect the people. That’s all I ever wanted. A return not to civilization, but to civilized human beings.”
Cass finished up, pinning the last piece of paper to the wall, “I’d say you’ve done that, sir.”
“Have I? I’m not so sure.” He shook his head, then reached into his desk and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This map Thomas gave me is a pretty stark issue when you look at it with a long lens, Cassio. I’ve been ignoring parts of the city. People, in my city. Do you know what Liora means?”
Cass shook his head.
“It’s a word from the Hebrew language, meaning My Light. It was to be a beacon for all. I bet you don’t even know what city we formed our small haven out of. It was once called San Antonio. Beautiful place. Like several smaller towns conjoined into one large city, the likes of which were rarely found in our world. But the time of Liora’s beginning is called the Reshaping for good reason. It was in ruins when I arrived. Rubble and bodies and fear. So we started anew.”
“How?” Cass asked, pausing his inspection of the documents as he glanced over.
“Ah,” Hollis said, raising a finger. “That’s for another time. Some quick advice before you begin, Cassio. Always leave them wanting for more. Now,” He settled back again, placing both hands on the arms of his chair. “Tell me this plan.”
“Okay.” Taking a deep breath, he mentally psyched himself up.
No thoughts, just action. Make him believe you. You can do this!
Gesturing at the map, he asked, “Have you ever looked at-”
“No, don’t sell me,” Hollis said, his expression growing a little dark. “That approach will work wonders in the Registry, but not with me. Just speak plainly, and I promise to hear you fairly.”
“I, okay.” Cass took a beat. Pushing the ideas his speech had held into the forefront of his mind, he tried to speak plainly. “L-Liora has problems. You’ve seen the map,” he pointed at his hand-drawn version, centralized among all of the other papers. “This is what I see with my Logistics ability, Assignment Spread Monitor. It shows that there is a distinct lack of Quests among major parts of the city. If you look in the south, you’ll find that the Grounds has way, way too many of the city's Quests.” Pointing at another paper, it revealed an expanded and colored version of the Company territories. “There is a solvable problem here. Every day, the Registry boards get flooded with Civic and Trade Quests that remain unfulfilled.” He pointed at another set of papers holding a list of old Quests. “They sit, uncompleted, waiting for a Questor that will never come.”
“I know.” Hollis steepled his fingers. “Why do you think that is?”
Picking up steam, Cass organized his thoughts and then spoke. “One, we’ve restricted access too greatly. People have to come to the Registry and get a Guild pass that, as far as I can tell, none of them know exists. Two, we haven’t marketed Quests to the public, nor what they really do.” He pointed at the lined map connecting the Depot to the Guild. “The north has almost no Quests except Deliveries. Nothing Administrative, nothing related to Crafting, it’s all empty.”
“Hold on,” Hollis said, sitting upright, “How do you know they don’t have any Crafting Quests?”
“I-” Cass paused.
“You already unlocked Uncommon Quests, didn’t you?” He asked with a big smile. “Hot damn, I didn’t think you’d be that fast. Sorry,” He gestured, the smile not leaving his face, “continue, continue.”
Cass took a breath. “My proposal is three-fold. First, we need to begin targeting parts of Liora that have been overlooked.” He pointed at another map, where the largest ignored sections of the Depot were located. “I’ve walked across that area, and it’s smelly, dirty, and honestly, some of the walls look like they’re collapsing. If we start there, I think word will get out, which leads me to the second issue, how the Guild is seen by the public.”
He took a breath, then reached into his bag and pulled out another paper. One, that he’d only recently added to his plan. “I want to launch a campaign as we work. I can hand out informational flyers like this one about Guild Passes, and I believe, if we conduct small, non-invasive tests on people, we can certify them for Quests beyond the first Tier.”
“For what purpose?” The Guild Master said, and by his tone, Cass knew he hadn’t sold him on it yet.
“To expand the reach of the Guild into all of Liora. I mean absolutely no disrespect, Guild Master Hollis, but the Companies have the run of the Registry. Rarely, if ever, do I see regular Liorans walk in and pick up a Quest off the wall.”
He paused, do or die.
“I’ve recently come to believe that it’s a mistake to think that your Calling is every bit who you are as a person. My friend Gary, for example, is a Baker. But he’s also the best salesman I’ve ever seen. Pellin will turn into a fine warrior if he keeps training the way he does, and I know of at least two or three others I’ve met in my classes who have non-system skills that are outstanding. All of them feel like they’re locked into their Calling. Like it’s all they are, when instead, they could help us clear up the majority of the Quests I’ve seen gathering dust instead of being completed. Quests that don’t match the Calling they’ve received.”
“I see.” Hollis replied, “What’s the third point? I only count two so far.”
“It’s this.” Cass replied, wiping the thin layer of sweat off his forehead, “I want to incentivize Quest taking. With my plan, we’re going to have more Quests not get completed, and I know that means a loss of reputation for us both.” Hollis blinked. “But, it’s a natural consequence for my plan of action. If we’re handing out more Quests to people who don’t have a related Calling, some of them won’t be completed. However!” He said loudly, trying to keep up his momentum. “I…” Do or die, Johnny. “There’s an additional benefit to Liora’s citizens completing non-Calling-related Quests. When I, an Administrator, fought the Skreels some time ago, I received a title…” He took a breath as Hollis raised an eyebrow.
“Was that from when the tragic death of Mr. Figure occurred, or your more recent fight in the School Zone?”
“You know about that?” Cass asked, a nauseous feeling rising in his throat.
“It’s my city, Cassio,” Hollis said with a not unkind smile. “I know everything. From the failures of certain Companies to an incursion happening on my front-door step. How those creatures got through is the only thing I don’t know, but I’ll find out soon enough, don’t worry.” He gestured, “Continue, please.”
Cass swallowed the bile down. “As I was saying, I received a title from killing the Skreels, one that specifically activated when I was performing non-QuestWright activities, and it came with some very particular benefits. If I can receive that for performing non-Administrative actions, why can’t my friend Gary, a Baker, complete a few construction Quests? What titles might a Blacksmith I know named Holt get for completing an administrative Quest?”
He paused. That would go terribly. No, speak from the heart.
“The point is,” He put his hands out to his sides, “I believe we’re doing our people a disservice by not giving them additional options regarding Quest types. And by allowing others to take on Quests that don’t follow their particular Calling, it could elevate Liora into a new kind of city. One where nobody is stuck at the lower tiers.”
Hollis stood up and walked over to the maps. “How are you going to incentivize the Quests?”
Cass pointed at one of them, “First, I won’t approve anything that doesn’t help the city, or if I think they’re an asshole.” Hollis snorted. “But I think we can give them points towards the Provisioners Exchange for every three successfully completed Quests that aren’t related to their Calling. They’d have to demonstrate some aptitude for the Quest types before they could take them off the board, but I think it’s doable.”
“Historically, Exchange Points have only been granted for dangerous Combat missions.”
“I know,” Cass said with a nod, “I’m just trying to give us options for the greater good.”
“The greater good…”Hollis stood there and stared at each map, particularly the ones drawn of the Grounds. “Do you know why I give so much power to the Companies?”
Cass knew the answer to that, “Because they’re the ones out there killing the Monsters?”
Hollis nodded with a smirk, “Correct. But I’m also hamstrung, in more ways than one.” He stepped over to his desk and pulled out a folded package. Unstringing it, the sides fell, revealing a colossal stack of Vellums. Placing both hands on it, he closed his eyes as a huge silver glow erupted. As he realized what was happening, Cass’s eyes grew round.
No way!
The glow grew brighter and brighter until it suddenly vanished, and the room’s light returned to normal. Hollis picked it up before dropping it with a thud, “Two hundred and fifty new Quests for the second, third, and fourth boards.”
Cass felt his mouth drop open. “How?”
That would take me days!
“I’m sure Thomas told you that, although we share Callings, it’s who we are that shapes our paths. Mine are inextricably tied to two things most closely. Creating as many Quests as quickly as possible, and holding particularly focused paths for combat Quests.” He stepped over and put both hands on Cass’s shoulders. “You, my young friend, aren’t bound like me. I received my Calling in a time of blood and fear. You’re lucky enough to get something better out of it.”
He turned and looked at the maps again. “I hope you’re making the right choices.” Stepping away, Hollis moved over and sat down in his chair again. The air seemed to fall out of him as he rubbed both hands against his temple, “Nineteen years I’ve built this place up, and I never saw how much of the city I was ignoring.” Looking up, he met Cass’s eyes. “Your plan is approved as a pilot. We need to test things out before we even consider going wide. Have you unlocked Combat Quests yet?”
When Cass shook his head, he sighed, “Probably for the better. I’ll continue to cover those, and I don’t want any random passerby to pick them up. Consider them embargoed to the public without my express permission. Kara tells me you two work well together, so I’m assigning her to assist you as Thomas continues to run the Registry whenever you’re absent. You can also have your pick of the Clerks, as two more will graduate next week. For now, the first floor of the Registry is yours to manage, and I would appreciate weekly updates. Do you have a name for it?’
Shoot, I didn’t think of a name…
Not wanting to shoot his own momentum in the foot, he went with the smartest choice he could make, “Pathfinder.”
“Hah!” Hollis laughed, “There’s a bit of subtext. You’re good at naming things, Cassio. I’ve already heard the word regarding Common Solutions. Alright, Pathfinder it is. You can begin the program following your free day.”
The butterflies leaped and then stopped. “So it’s approved?”
Hollis nodded, “That it is. I’m sure you’ll think of more incentives, and I believe Thomas will be able to assist you with that. For now, the funding will come out of the Guild, but if things take off the way you expect, I believe we’ll be making more than we’re spending before long.”
He tapped the colored map of the city with a long finger. “Show me how you’re going to do it, Cassio. Fix our city.”
Comments
Joshua David Mullenary
Yep, Saturday should bring 3 new ones. But, school kicks up next week. Part of the reason my Patreon is so cheap is I don't think it would be fair to charge more for only two chapters per week. I do give bonus chapters every so often, but I'm not a full-time author.
RedFaux
I hope for more. Now to look at your other stories
Joshua David Mullenary
Your first paragraph is book 3, with the end being book 2 lol. It seemed like natural growth. 4-6 goes to a much higher level of things.
CherMi
Thank you for all the chapters. Cass is sure to grow a lot in this venture, but I can't help but hope for a future arc that would mirror what Hollis had to do. A much more experienced and higher level Cass is sent to help a town on the verge of collapse or to establish a new town (although the way people talk about the world, a new refugee town from several fallen ones is more likely). However Cass will progress his calling, contrast with other QuestWrights is bound to be fascinating. And also thank you for not rushing into combat quests, people are bound to die on them and weigh on Cass even more, while he's barely managing already. He should get abilities from the people path first, and maybe see what tactician is about. With the survivor path and his desires, maybe he'll even be able to buff people for the duration of quests or something.
