The Docking system looked like a pile of bullshit to Cass. Insubordination was loosely defined, as was proper Routing for efficiency. Being late, minor Docking. Need a Senior QuestWright to take over several Quests? That’s a Docking.

  “There are as many Dockings as there are stars in the sky. This is goddamn stupid. Who would design a System like this? It’s horrible.”

  Cass turned the plastic-wrapped page in the binder and was unsurprised by what the bolded words said at the top.

  Lose the binder, that’s a Docking.

  He turned another page, flipping all the way to the final two for a look at the bonuses. Each day where he had five or fewer failures in Quests, he’d get a 20 Crest bonus. That would wipe out the price of a singular Docking, and according to the rule sheet at the front, the multiplicative rate resets at the start of each week.

  “Bonus for receiving a commendation from a Senior QuestWright, from an Underguildmaster, from the Guildmaster himself. Fat chance of that after they placed me here in purgatory. Bonus for completing all Quests an hour before closing, why…Ah, they stop accepting them at three.”

  Cass flipped it over, “Achieve a ninety percent efficiency rating for five straight days, gain a twenty Quest reduction towards promotion…Yeah,” He nodded to himself. “This is all bullshit.”

  This isn’t Liora, he wanted to say aloud. But he closed his mouth and held it back. That fact was just a little too heartbreaking.

  Cass went back to reading for a moment, doing his best to commit it to memory as Profile did its thing. Rather than updating anything for the city, all ability updates were directed straight to the Scriptorium. The first update for the place was a raw breakdown of all the punishments, with few positives to be found.

  He decided, right there, that Liberty was a means to an end. He wasn’t going to stay trapped here forever, Cass knew that in his heart. He’d find a way to break out and bring hope to those poor people trapped in the fifth ring.

  He just wasn’t sure how to do that yet.

  The screen in front of him finally stopped flashing the three dots and came through with an update.

  …

  > Daily Quest requirement found

  > Callsign CV must create 148 Quests per day according to CV MM

  > Annex functionality unlocked

  The map ballooned out from there. Curiously, it didn’t shift to the new form he’d unlocked with Tactician. Rather than seeing every person traipsing about the city or all the oddball locations he’d begun to study, he was back to zero. In fact, it was worse than zero, as most of the buildings across the rings were unidentifiable, yellow and green figurines moving around them at speed.

  He was confused for a moment until he realized the only possible conclusion.

  “Son of a bitch really is restricting me. I’m not going to ask why. Instead, I’ll just say one word. Fuckin Liberty. That was two, but the point stands.”

  Cass lifted up the small stack of pinched folders and did a quick count. There were over thirty in the collection, and as Quirrel pointed out multiple times, each Re-Quest was pinned to only a single Vellum.

  “The days of me spending Vellum like candy are gone,” Cass lamented, thinking of a simpler time. Then, pushing Liora to the back of his mind, he dove in.

  The first Quest was a Delivery taking dry foodstuffs from a loading area near the Fourth rings northern gate over to Private Bivouacs #13. Finding both took him an abnormally large amount of time simply because of the size of the city and his unfamiliarity with it. Even though the Map only had delivery locations highlighted, that still left thousands upon thousands of ones to go through.

  By the time he tailored up the Quest and made sure to include a horse and cart, over ten minutes had passed by. Setting his mind to the task after selecting a name pre-determined on the Re-Quest, Cass drafted it up.

  [Tier 2 Delivery Quest]

  To the oppressed one who takes upon themselves this task.

  Gather two hundred pounds of dry beans and rice from Liberty Loaders A. The Guild will provide a horse and cart for assistance from the nearby location, Prosperity Stables, as dry foodstuffs can be quite heavy.

  Head directly south and pass through the gate into the third ring. Travel no more than four hundred yards and take a sharp left to pass through the next gate before taking a right. Private Bivouacs#13 is the eighteenth building on your right-hand side, sandwiched between Training Yard#6 and Guild Bowyer#2.

  Do not overly strain yourself or pass from the flesh. Better days yet await you. Try your best not to run anyone over during your travels.

  Cassio Vale

  Liberty Guildtower

  QuestWright

  Cass placed it down then scratched his head, “If an unfriendly sees that, they’re going to know something's wrong.”

  Touching his modification ability, he tried again, but the results were the same, if just slightly better. Taking a deep breath, Cass tried to clear his mind of all the weights currently resting on it.

  Things aren’t as bad as they seem. They’re not starving you, you’re getting paid, and as a bonus, you’re not stuck in a room with a big group of assholes. Things could always be worse. Remember how you worked with the Quill. Control your emotions, Cass.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Taking a second breath, Cass listened to his inner monologue to calm himself down.

  Think only about the Quest. Think only about the Quest. Two hundred pounds of dry beans and rice. Liberty Loaders A. Prosperity Stables. Private Bivouacs#13. That’s all that matters.

  This time around, the draft held back on calling the Questor oppressed or doing anything like pointing out their lot in life. Feeling better, Cass set it aside.

  That was when the door opened, and someone was already speaking as they walked in.

  “What was that Quest you just made?”

  “What?” Cass looked up from the map to find the shark-like Senior QuestWright standing just past the frame, both hands on her hips.

  “I got a notice that you outlined a dry goods delivery of only 200 lbs, and suggested that they obtain a horse and cart.”

  Cass tilted his head, “They’re delivering it across an entire ring. I thought it would be a good idea for them to-”

  “Do you see the three initials beside the person's name on the Re-Quest?” She asked, pointing at the paper still in front of him. “P-V-T, what do you think that means?”

  “Playful Vixen…I don’t know where I’m going with that.” Cass said with a smile to deflate the situation. It went over as well as a fart against the wind.

  She rubbed the sides of her head in a pose so like his mother, he was momentarily stunned, “It means Private. As in, a Liberty Private. You know, the military force we’re famous for? Two hundred pounds for a Private is the same as ten pounds for you and me.”

  Well, maybe for you.

  “So you want me to remove that, then?” Cass asked, receiving a scowl in reply.

  Less like my mother now. Jesus. No, focus, Cass. Keep your eye on the ball.

  Luckily, the Senior QuestWright couldn’t read his thoughts. If she could, what she said next would have been much harsher.

  “QuestWright Vale, I want you to remove it right away. I also want you to start using your brain. A horse and cart cost money to procure, which wasn’t included with the assigned Re-Quest. That means the Guild would have to pay for it, and let me be clear.”

  She stabbed a finger into his desk loud enough to cause a thunk, “The Guild does not lose money. If you’d sent it out, it would come from your pay, not the customers' and certainly not the Guilds. Also, there’s no mention of the Private Highway here. Move.”

  When Cass didn’t understand what she was asking, he had to quickly push his chair back as she got right in front of him. Touching the map, the Senior QuestWright zoomed in on a set of paths built into the inner side of each ring.

  “This is a Private Highway. On this, as long as they travel in a singular direction, they can move at whatever speed they can reach. Your path would’ve taken them almost an hour to deliver those goods, instead of the ten minutes it would've taken on the highway. Modify it right away and think before you make something like that again.”

  “Excuse me, Senior QuestWright Mirelle,” Quirrel’s voice sounded out from behind her, “I have a fresh stack here.”

  She gave Cass one last glare and a “Fix it!”, then left out the door.

  The Clerk placed a hill of folders beside the mountain still left over from his first visit. “There’s only about 14 right there. It’s a little slow right now with the Lottery coming up. And don’t worry about Senior QuestWright Mirelle, she’s much nicer than she seems.”

  “She’d have to be,” Cass dourly said, looking at the highway and finding similar designs across every ring but the 1st. “Thanks, Quirrel.”

  “No problem, Cass. You’ll get the hang of it quickly. I have a feeling about you.”

  He closed the door behind him, then Cass worked on the second, and the third. This time, he was able to get through five more before Quirrel appeared again. If only the stack wasn’t bigger.

  “Twenty this time, Cass. I’ll be back soon. I think we’re getting an early rush. Here, I’ll get these out of your way.” He picked up the folders already completed and set to the side.

  “Thank you, Quirrel,” Cass replied, trying to keep any annoyance out of his voice.

  Cass got through only two before Quirrel magically reappeared. He apologetically placed ten down, then picked up the completed forms before disappearing again. The sound of the door clicking shut echo’d in Cass’s mind as he continued.

  Things did get a little faster. Like his first Quest with Liberty Loaders A, many others started from the same locations. Quirrel had been telling the truth about repeatables; only, the deliveries always started at the same place, but ended up somewhere different.

  That’s when he had an idea. It would screw him up for the day, but after that, things would be much faster.

  Why don’t I just build Field Standards on everything?

  A knock at the door threw his plans away as he called out, “Come in.”

  The knob opened slowly before a crack of outside light peeked in. Cass had been staring at the map long enough that he hadn’t noticed how dark it was in there. A breath passed before a newly familiar voice came in, “QuestWright Vale? It’s Ana with your lunch.”

  “Oh! Come on in, Ana.” Cass replied as positively as he could, given the big pile of folders waiting for him.

  The older woman walked in, her eyes zeroed in on Cass as she placed a black bag in front of him. Pulling at the top, a ripping sound could be heard as a delicious smell reached his nose.

  “Chicken Caesar Salad with two sliced apples and a dollop of caramel. I’ve also included a large bottle with purified water as I noticed you didn’t bring one with you this morning.”

  “I am a little parched. Thank you, Ana.” Cass reached in and pulled everything out.

  “If that’ll be all, I’ll be on my way,” The mature woman said, taking two steps back before turning.

  “Hold on a second,” Cass replied, food arrayed before him. “Is this what I can expect each day?”

  “Yes, sir. For dinner, I already have a meal planned out of broccoli casserole with herb-crusted steak.”

  “What’s steak?” Cass asked as he pulled the covers off the food. “This smells delicious.”

  “Umm, you’ll have to wait and see, sir.”

  “Cass, please.”

  “Right. Now, if that’ll be all.”

  Cass had already taken a bit from the salad, “Yep. Ana, I’ll probably have to ask you to bring the food here; it’s going to be a very late night. In fact, if you don’t see me in the morning, it’s because I’m working through the evening. Also, when you bring dinner by, I’ll have a gift ready for you. How does that sound?”

  “That really isn’t-”

  “Hup hup hup,” Cass said before placing one finger on his lips. “You’ve been the nicest person I’ve met since arriving here, and I mean that times a thousand. I promise, it’ll be something cool and unexpected.”

  She looked more scared than excited as she nodded, “Yes, sir. I’ll be ready. If that’ll be all?”

  “And then some,” Cass said with a smile, slightly worried at the expression on her face. She left in a hurry, but the smile slid off his face rather quickly after that.

  Weird reaction there. I’ll have to keep that in mind when I see her tonight.

  The food was heavenly, but his mood soured when Quirrel dropped by with another stack. Cass ate quickly, enjoying his meal a little, even if the tower of folders put a damper on his lunch. Before he knew it, most of it was gone, though he saved a few slices of apple and caramel for later.

  What would Mr. Moore say at a time like this?

  Then it came to him, “Let’s start from the beginning.”

  Cass zoomed in on the 5th ring and placed his first-ever Field Standard.

  [Tier 1 Investigation Quest]

  Assignment: Learn Their Name

  There are people in your life whose names you do not know.

  Not celebrities. Not strangers online.

  Real people you physically encounter.

  The barista.

  The security guard.

  The janitor.

  The neighbor two doors down.

  The person who hands you your lunch three times a week.

  You recognize their face.

  They recognize yours.

  But you do not know their name.

  Your Task

  Identify one such person.

  Ask their name.

  Listen carefully.

  Use it once in conversation.

  Remember it.

  That is it.

  No speeches or overt gestures of gratitude. Don’t even follow-up. Just learn their name, and be kind.

  Completion Condition One real person identified by name, correctly remembered.

  Timeframe Within 7 days

  Reward 8 XP

  Names turn background characters into people.

  —

  J D Mullenary Sr The Original QuestWright