Moving his hand down after unconsciously lifting it toward his bad eye, Cass replied, “I’m not a spy, and I am, in fact, a QuestWright.”

  “Yeah, I very much doubt that,” Colin replied. He rooted around nonchalantly in his bag before pulling out a sealed cup and putting it on the desk. “Let’s go over all the ways that’s not possible. First, no QuestWright gets transferred into Liberty from the outside. Getting the Calling is hard enough. There are a dozen hoops to leap through, not the least of which is who you’re born to. For people to be placed here at random, yeah, that ain’t happening.”

  “Well, I-”

  Colin didn’t let him finish, “And your appearance. Oh sure, you’ve got the robe, and you even being left alone in this room infers a certain rank, but your build is all wrong. QuestWrights don’t look like meat-eating Privates, and that missing eye is a dead giveaway that you don’t have the money to get it fixed with one of the high-level healers.”

  That’s more than a little rude…and informative. The more I see of this place, the less I like it. But if I let him keep speaking…

  Cass stopped trying to interrupt as the other QuestWright continued on, unintentionally feeding him more information than he’d had before.

  “And what’s more, Liora? That’s the best place you could come up with? Liora is a small potato in the world. Why on Earth would the Guildmasters accept a transfer from there of all places? That’s like me saying I’m a Guildmaster just because I hit the second tier.”

  “I was only the Guildmaster Pro Tempore.” Cass corrected him automatically. “Guildmaster Hollis was hurt in the war with the Dark Guilds.”

  “Wait, wait, wait. You’re serious right now, aren’t you?” Colin laughed, but there was no mirth in it. “You, a low-ranking QuestWright, were the Guildmaster of a city? You were the leader?” He was speaking fast enough that Cass couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “How hard up was Liora that they put you in charge? What’s the population there, fifty? You can’t be but barely into your Calling based on your age.”

  “I’m eighteen, yes, and Liora has a population of a little less than one hundred thousand.” Cass replied as he felt his spine start to settle, even though he’d meant to let Colin continue talking down to him, “And by the time I left, we’d won the war.”

  “You led your city to a victory over a Dark Guild?” Colin said with an exasperated expression.

  “Technically, there were three Dark Guilds involved.” Cass corrected him again, throwing a steady look his way even as he mentally berated himself. “And I couldn’t be prouder of my people.”

  “Buddy, you’re new here, so I’ll give you a bit of free advice. Don’t go around telling that tall tale. In fact, don’t tell any stories at all. Just hunker down, send your reports, and keep to yourself. If you want others to believe your lies, start small and with some possible truths to back them up. Nobody is going to believe you otherwise.”

  Cass smiled at him, “I’ll keep that in mind.” And that you’re an asshole. “Anything else?”

  “Please do, and no. Now keep quiet, I have to handle a few things, and I’d prefer not to be distracted before the seniors get here.”

  Stupid Cass, and your stupid need to defend yourself. You should’ve pointed out a few flaws with Liberty and seen what came out of it.

  Cass moved back to his chair and kept his eyes on anything but Colin’s Annex. The QuestWright looked to be relatively high-strung as he quietly cursed at his screen every few moments, papers coming from the bottom of his desk to spread messily across the top.

  Others began to filter in as the clock wound down to the starting time. Cass gave them all friendly looks, but aside from a few hesitant expressions, didn’t receive anything he could label as positive in return. When the time finally struck ten, he’d counted over twenty QuestWrights just as a woman walked in.

  She was pencil-thin, wearing a white robe with a narrow gold stripe down the sides, and had a small streak of gray in her hair. She took a quick look around the room, her eyes tracking each person, before they found Cass’s own. There was only one word that came to mind when their eyes met.

  Shark.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s get this over quickly. Senior QuestWright’s Mullins and Fillory couldn’t be here as they’re completing a task for Underguildmaster Artor, so I’ll spell out the day for you each day until they return. First, an Auditor has arrived from the Capital. She’ll be staying in the VIP visitors' quarters, and I’m waiting to hear about where I’m supposed to place her work station.”

  “Why’s she here?” A slightly older man asked with his hand raised.

  “Who knows. All I was told was that her name is Margaret, that she’s from the Capital, and that she’ll have a bodyguard at all times. And that’s not the only news. We also have a permanent transfer from Liora. Cassio Vale, would you stand up and introduce yourself?”

  Cass did as instructed and raised his hand. He was prepared to say much more than an introduction.

  “Hello, I’m Cassio Vale, and I’m a QuestWright from Liora. The circumstances that have brought me here-”

  “Where’s he going to be stationed?” A ferret-faced woman asked from her seat next to Colin. “I don’t want some unknown looking over my shoulder every few seconds.”

  Cass continued on like he hadn’t been interrupted, “-are not positive. In fact, you could technically call this a kidnap-”

  In a sharp voice, the senior woman pointed at the woman who’d interrupted him, “That was rude. Hand raised and more polite, QuestWright, or you’ll get a docking.”

  The ferret woman’s face grayed a little as her hand timidly went up. Interrupted for a third time since entering the room, Cass’s mouth opened and closed twice in succession with no words coming out.

  The Senior woman paused an unnaturally long amount of time, two fingers tapping on her robed hip, “Yes, QuestWright.”

  “May I ask where the transfer is going to be stationed?”

  How about up your ass.

  “Of course, and excellent question.” The older woman looked at Cass dismissively, “As there are no open Annexes here and space is such a high commodity within the Scriptorium, he’ll be placed in the spillage room.”

  The woman nodded at Colin, who’d raised his hand and waited to be called on, “What’s his assignment going to be? I’m only a few hundred points from completing Crafting.”

  “He’ll be assigned all Deliveries until the Underguildmasters feel that warrants a change.” She looked at Cass, “Any mistakes will result in a docking. Do you know what that is, QuestWright Vale?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Cass raised his hand and noted her approval as she nodded at him to speak.

  Why am I here? Why are you guys such assholes? Why does your city, just looking at it on a map, make me want to tear my hair out? Why do you remind me of a thing that lurks on the bottom of the ocean, waiting for its next meal to fall into its mouth?

  I want, so dearly, to tell you all to go to hell. But I can’t. I can’t afford to have you all lock me up and hide me away in some dark place. Need to play along for a while, at least, until I can find a way to help these people.

  Out loud, he said, “No.”

  Her approval withered on the vine, “A docking is an added one-hundred Quests to your assignment and a weekly reduction in pay. You’ll understand that this is multiplicative, meaning each additional docking further reduces your pay at an elevated rate while requiring more Quests to be completed before gaining the option for another type. I’ll make sure a Clerk brings you the list of potential Dockings and Bonuses before the day is over.”

  She gave him a heavy look, one that Cass didn’t respond to in turn as unfiltered thoughts continued to roam through his mind.

  That’s it? That’s the reason the sharp-faced girl looked so upset? Man, they really don’t like having their pay taken away.

  Based on everything I've seen here, my rules are null and void. Not that I want to put them aside, but trying to stick to my ethics here is going to end up with me behind some kind of bars staring at a life locked up. I'm going to have to put them on the back burner until I can return to somewhere normal and not so focused on money. It rankles me to so easily put my integrity away, but honestly, what choice do I have?

  Plus, I don’t like this woman. It’s like she’s doing a shitty version of Mr. Moore’s seriousness.

  That was when he noticed she’d asked him a question and he hadn’t heard.

  “Sorry, can you say that again?”

  “Insubordination. That’s a docking,” She said with a glare. “Twenty Crests will be taken from your weekly payout, and you’ll now have an extra one hundred Delivery Quests added to your ledger before you can add a second type.”

  Cass shrugged, only causing her glare to intensify.

  K.

  When he didn’t say anything more, she asked him a question.

  “How many Quests can you complete daily?”

  Cass looked quickly, then raised his hand, “150,” He said after getting the nod.

  “Very well. You’ll receive 148 Quests each day, and you need to inform us if you receive a status increase in the System. Failure to do so will be noted, and we have ways of finding out.” Looking around the room, she said, “QuestWright Kenner, as you’ve only been assigned Deliveries for some time, you get an early promotion. I believe there’s a light opening in Messages. Congratulations.”

  “Yes!” A young man who could barely be called that said in the corner. His eyes went wide as he looked back at the woman, but she’d already turned away.

  “As for the rest of you. The monthly lottery is coming up. Make sure you keep up the good work, and we’ll see about adding your family to the list. Carry on. QuestWright Vale, with me. The Quests will be arriving shortly.”

  Cass stood up as she neared, but then she did a sharp turn toward a door on the left. There were a few within the Scriptorium, but he hadn’t tried any, listening to Jessica’s advice not to touch anything. Opening it, she stood there patiently, waiting as he walked by her and into the room.

  In the room were several desks of various sizes, with two small ones in the corner, each with a box beneath it. On the wall sat a poster of a small, furry animal, with the words, ‘Hang in there, kitty’ splashed across it. Aside from the two of them, it was empty.

  “This will be your room until you’re told otherwise. Feel free to pick whichever of the two desks with the Quest Trackers you prefer. Each day, you’ll be expected to be here at 10 a.m., with the end of the day arriving at 5 p.m. Lunch is welcome anytime between twelve and one; your choice on that matter, as I’m not a babysitter. Your servant can bring it, or you can bring one down yourself, but do not attempt to have food delivered otherwise. This area is strictly off-limits to the public. Do you have any questions, and you don’t need to raise your hand.”

  “What are the boxes under the Annex?”

  “Ah, good. That’s the Quest Trackers I just spoke of. Any Quests you assign will be tracked internally by our System Engineers to make certain they’re as efficient as possible. Should you fail to reach at least an 80% efficiency rating on all of your Quests, the Engineers will be notified, and you’ll receive a docking. Any other questions?”

  When Cass shook his head, she nodded and spoke while walking away, “A Clerk will bring your Quests and the aforementioned list in a moment. Quests will arrive throughout your work time, so don’t think you need to get everything done at once. Good luck, QuestWright, and welcome to Liberty.”

  Then she was gone, the door shut tight behind her. He was alone.

  Cass walked over and sat down at the furthest desk in the corner with a box attached to it. The Annex chair was far more comfortable than the one he’d had back at Liora. But for some reason, that didn’t put him at ease.

  Leaning back a little, the screen turned on, along with a familiar message.

  —QuestWright Annex Initializing—

  New QuestWright recognized: Callsign CV

  Welcome, Cassio Vale

  Then, something new.

  > Quest Tracker activated

  > Map restriction recognized

  ….Deliveries only

  > Pre-loading Liberty citizen registry

  > Pre-loading Known locations

  > Expanding System Map

  Error

  > Daily Quest requirement not found…

  …

  …

  The three dots continued from there, effectively locking him out of the map. After staring at the repeating dots for a few minutes, the door opened, and in walked a smiling man in a robe. In his hands was a stack of folders that he placed down on Cass’s desk before speaking.

  “Hello QuestWright Vale, and welcome to Liberty. In each folder, you’ll find a Re-Quest along with an attached Vellum. I’m assuming, as you’re a Junior QuestWright, the Vellum will disperse the moment the Quest is completed?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” Cass said, smiling back and trying to act friendly.

  “Wonderful. It’s always a pleasure having another Junior QuestWright. Makes our job just a little bit easier. Now, as you’re new, I’ll tell you what I would tell any new QuestWright here, so please don’t be offended.”

  He paused as if he would be offended, then smiled again when Cass shrugged. “All of our Quests are meant to be targeted to specific people. You’ll find that the Annex already has names registered and placed within it; you just need to search them out. Assign them, route the Quest through the map, then you’re good to go. You’ll also find that many of the Quests are repeats. Knife to my throat,” He laughed at himself, “I’d say half of our deliveries are the same you’ll see from one day to the next. Should make efficiency a breeze over time.”

  “What’s your name?” Cass asked.

  “Ah, yes, my apologies. I’m Quirrel. It’s a strange name, I know, but my parents were odd people.”

  Cass didn’t miss the sadness in his voice, “They’re no longer around?” He tapped the man’s shoulder in sympathy, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you, and no, they died in the great fire ten years ago.” Quirrel looked down for a moment, then back up with a smile. “I can already tell you and I are going to get along well. I’ll be the one bringing you all of your Delivery Quests, so don’t be scared when you see me enter.”

  “I won’t be.” Cass said with a smile in return.

  “Great! Now, as I said, each Re-Quest is connected to a single Vellum. I’ve been told your limit is 148 per day, so you’ll need to make sure you don't waste any to get the free two-vellum bonus at the end of your shift. Oh, and I almost forgot.”

  Reaching under the pile, he lifted up a small binder, “This is the list of Dockings and Bonuses. Of course, the great majority are Dockings, but I’m sure that won’t be any trouble for a nice man like yourself.”

  Cass took the binder from him and opened it up. He wasn’t wrong; it was at least eighty percent Dockings. “Thank you, Quirrel.”

  “Of course. Oh, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but does that hurt?” His finger pointed at Cass’s bad eye.

  “Only when I think of why it was necessary,” Cass replied, already going through the list.

  “I see. Well, you look like you’re ready to get to work. Please expect to hear me coming again in about an hour. I’ll wager we’ll have a few late nights ahead of us as you settle in. It’s nice to meet you, QuestWright Vale.”

  “Call me Cass.”