The room exploded in noise as they crowded around the downed figure. The Valiant leader seemed to be in her element, literally, as small sparks began to drift from her figure to the Double now under her feet. The commonly asked questions circulating around the area spoke of what to expect; With the commonly given answer being, we don’t know.

  If anyone could be a Double or a Cloner, how could you tell the difference?

  After another Calling with an affinity for electricity was brought in, the double was taken away. Though he knew it was the enemy, Cass couldn’t help but look at the figure forlornly while it was removed. Moore thought Chask was dead, and though he’d only met the man once, Cass felt like that wasn’t all there was to his story.

  Stripping down to their underwear, every person, including the Guild Master, walked toward the electric plank with a variety of facial expressions. Some were stoic, like Hollis. Others looked excited, as was the case with the Silvers' leader. But Cass wasn’t looking forward to his future shock treatment.

  Aside from what he was agreeing to by standing in line, Cass experienced an odd bit of cognitive dissonance. It was strange to stand around so many people in such statuesque features, sans clothing or not. Cass’s parents had old books at home that had been saved or traded from one location or another. They’d shown historical images of what old sculptors could do with a bit of marble and nothing but time.

  Those sculptors would’ve had a fit had they seen the company men and women of Liora. The amount of rippling in the room was almost obscene, but Cass put on a good show himself. After over a month and a half of working through his Survivor Quests, most often three times a day, his efforts had really started to show in his body.

  “How on Earth does a QuestWright have time to get himself in that kind of shape?” Vex asked as he sidled up, the man's toned muscles contracting with each step. Cass hadn’t even noticed him in the crowd before, as another stepped forward and got zapped.

  “Honestly, creating Quests only takes up so much of my day. There’s a lot of downtime for studying or hitting the occasional pushup.” As Vex nodded to his wisdom, Cass asked him something that was bothering him. “How come nobody’s ever told me about Dark Guilds?”

  “Oh, that?” Vex scratched his chin. “We keep it pretty contained by order of the Guild Master. Only officers, like everyone in here, really know about them. Hollis said something once about Liora needing to look forward to the good times, not constantly worrying if their neighbour is some secret agent looking to take down the city. To be honest with you, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with them.” Vex threw a smile his way, ‘I guess, since you’re here, that means you’re a Guild Officer now. Congratulations. I’m certain your lofty position after only a few months of having a Calling isn’t due to your family at all.”

  “Yeah…thanks.” The line moved forward, but Cass didn’t want to wait, and certainly not beside Vex. Slipping past a few people with an apologetic expression, he made it right behind the Guild Master.

  To call the man portly wouldn’t be fair. He was older, and naturally, that caused parts of his body to lean in directions not often seen in the young. There was a definite paunch, but the gray hair covering his chest gave license to the idea that it was earned, rather than given.

  Tapping him on the bare shoulder, Hollis looked over at him, “Ah, I was wondering if you’d try to squirrel yourself away to me. Well, my young friend, I take it you have a few questions.”

  “Only one,” Cass said with an earnest look on his face, “Was the man Adya stopped near the Registry after me, or someone else?”

  He shrugged, “No clue. Sadly, while Adya caused the Cloner some damage, it got away. It’s just as likely that they’d be after Moore rather than a Tier 1 like yourself. Don’t get too big a head about such things. It’ll weigh you down.”

  The line moved forward a big step as a large man got a hearty jolt. Like the others, he didn’t show any of the odd mottling Cass had seen from the double.

  “How did Moore know that electricity exposes the…”

  “Changelings? It’s what we use for those with bodily Callings like Doubles. The way he explains it,” Hollis said as they stepped forward, “After the Capital attack, several Cloners, Doubles, and all manner of ill-Callings came forward. That isn’t to say Callings themselves are evil. Just as a gun wasn’t evil in my time, neither are the paths we choose. But there are certain Callings that those with more malicious intentions tend to choose.” He paused and blinked a few times as Cass waited, then spoke again. “As for how we know how to expose the changelings. Working together, the Sovereign and the Pinnacle came up with a solution through some thorough…testing, of the ones they found. The Pinnacle is the head of the combat Classers.”

  Cass thought about that as they stepped forward twice more, “Does that mean there might be some Liorans who are Cloners and Doubles?”

  Hollis laughed wryly, “No, young QuestWright. Each Book of Callings is specifically attuned to each Guild Master. You could say that the book, only a few hundred feet away from us now, is mine.” He smiled at him, then paused again and stared with glassy eyes.

  Calling Moore over, the Maestro approached, received several instructions, then gracefully stepped out of the room in a blink.

  Hollis looked after him as they took another step forward, then glanced at Cassio, “More questions?”

  “How is a Dark Guild formed?”

  “Ah, that’s a bit of a trade secret, as both our Guild, as well as those of the darker nature, go through the same process. Once you’ve reached the third Tier, you’ll get a crash course in a few subjects to make sure you don’t go forming your own without understanding what’s involved.“ They stepped forward again as Cass opened his mouth, but Hollis wasn’t done. “You know that the Capital isn’t the only one in the world, right? In fact, it’s not even the only one in the former United States. The Liora Guildhall is the third-largest remaining city in what was once known as Texas, and we’re part of the Central Guild of North America. There’s also a west, and an east, and we all have different ways of doing things, though we’re always united in purpose.”

  They stepped forward again as Cass was deep in thought, then Hollis surprised him again by speaking, “You know, you’ve done the city a favor by repairing the walls, so I’m going to tell you something. The day you received your calling and were automatically assigned to the Guildhall, that was my decision.”

  Cass thought back to the terrible morning when everything had seemed so bright, only to come crashing down. He recognized now how petulant and childish his thoughts had been. Just before he’d placed his hands on the Book of Callings, he’d told himself he’d be happy with anything that might come his way. Instead, that night, he’d wallowed in self-pity and loneliness.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Now, he barely recognized that part of himself. But that didn’t get to the heart of what he needed to know.

  “Why?”

  “Chask was already on the hunt back then. We’d seen signs that people had been sneaking into Liora and bypassing the guard checks at the gates. You know those funny little towers that sit near the edge of each gate? They’re manned by a few Liorans with unique observational talents, much like Adya. I was worried, once the announcement rang out to everyone in the city, that you would be targeted by a few nefarious individuals out and about in the world. Every city has its underbelly. Smugglers and the like. But this seemed different. So I chose to be proactive.”

  “Is the QuestWright Calling-”

  He had to pause as Moore approached with a stack of Vellums in hand. Hollis placed his hand on it and squinted one eye at the collection of treated monster parts. The fully open iris on his right side seemed to flash silver as a similar glow came from the vellums, then he nodded at Moore, who took off at speed.

  “Sorry, you were saying?”

  “What was that with your eye?”

  “Oh, you caught that? I’m afraid when you get to certain levels, being ten, twenty, thirty, and the like. You have to make choices. They further define yourself and your Calling, much like my link with Dev does. Those choices are both empowering and limiting in scope. You need to be certain of things before you make your decision.”

  Having forgotten entirely what he was going to say before Moore came in, Cass asked, “What’s the link like? Adya approached me earlier about taking it on.”

  “Adya Korring? How marvelous.” They stepped forward twice, having not seen the gap that had formed during their talk. “It’s situational. You always lose a few things, but you gain quite a bit more. The longer you’re with your linked person, the stronger those abilities get. Dev is actually my second attempt, and it's greatly different from the first.” He looked Cass in the eyes, “Are you thinking of accepting? I’m assuming that she asked you.”

  “Why do you assume that?”

  Hollis laughed, “She seems like the type. From what I’ve seen of the map, she’s taken a Quest from you every day for more than a small amount of time. You should really consider it. You’ll lose a lot at the start, but the System has a way of making up for it.”

  Only one person stood in front of Hollis as the Valiants leader did her business. If Cass wasn’t mistaken, she had a slight smile as the Guild Master walked up. A quick jolt ran through his body, then it was Cass’s turn as Hollis stumbled away, a thick man stepping forward in case he fell.

  “This will only hurt for a second, then you may find you like it.” She said with what could only be called a creepy smile.

  “I doubt that,” Cass replied as she put both hands on his shoulders. From her touch, he felt the jolt of electricity flow through his torso, stopping at his navel as it ran out of juice. She frowned as she gave him a stronger hit, but it only reached his thighs as the burn of Stalwart’s healing kicked in at speed.

  That’s not good.

  “Odd,” She said as she clapped her hands together twice before placing them on his shoulders for a third time. This time, he felt all the hair in his body stand straight as the electricity burned its way through his body, exiting near the tips of his toes.

  Smelling a slight burn as his body cooked itself, Cass took a dizzy step forward, the rough hands of the thick man lifting him and moving him to the side. When he picked up his chin, the Valiants woman was looking at him with a curious expression for only a moment before she called the next man forward.

  The line moved at a quick clip, with no other changelings being revealed. After reapplying their clothing, the meeting resumed. As Hollis began describing a battle plan to expand the buffer zone around the Red Tower, a map appeared before everyone.

  Cass was shocked because, aside from the Annex, nobody could ever see his QuestWright abilities. But everyone took it in stride, informing him that this was a more normal experience than he’d expected. That made him think again about his relatively low level compared to the average of the room. If he had to guess, he’d say most, if not everyone here, was at least Tier 4, with many reaching Tier 6 like the Guild Master.

  Battle plans were brought up, as Moore brought a thready, torn-up bag filled to the brim with vellums.

  Handing it to Hollis, the Guild Master pulled out a gargantuan stack as one of the Silvers commented, “You should get a new bag. That one looks like it’s been through the wringer.”

  “I had one ordered from the Capital, but found a better use for it,” Hollis commented. “Besides, this one has done me right for a long time.” Separating the Vellums into several stacks, one by one, he placed his hand upon them, and the room exploded in a blindingly silver light. As each Company leader stepped forward, Cass learned that there were many more than he’d expected.

  Several men and women who’d sat in the back were apparently either leaders of a Company or their representatives. As each received their stack, they then left the room in a hurry.

  The Valiant leader stepped up last, her stack the largest by an order of magnitude, as far as Cass could see. She had a whispering conversation with Hollis that he couldn’t quite hear, gave him a look, then lifted her stack and left. Hollis chuckled.

  “What’s amusing, Gerald?” Moore asked as he stepped closer, Cass right behind him.

  “She thought young Vale there might have some secrets I should know about. But I told her what I told him. Secrets aren’t for us to share. Which reminds me, QuestWright.” Hollis turned to look at him, “Has Pathfinder produced any titles for our Liorans?”

  “No,” Cass shook his head, “Not that I know of.”

  “And there’s the bind,” He replied with another chuckle, one that Moore joined in on as they both looked at each other before glancing back at Cass. “You may find that your program is already more successful than you think, but that nobody has told you about it.”

  “I’ve followed your advice,” Cass said to the Guild Master, throwing a nervous glance at the Maestro. If Moore can’t know, nobody can. “But I still don’t understand why this has to be kept secret.”

  Moore looked at Hollis and shrugged, “Tell him. You’ve trusted him enough to this point, may as well go all the way.”

  Hollis raised an eyebrow at him, then sighed, “When the System arrived, many things weren’t known. It wasn’t until a war erupted between two Guilds across the ocean, years after the Reshaping, that word began to spread. The reason we keep our paths to ourselves is simple.” He seemed to pause for effect, an unknowable expression flashing across his face. One Cass had only seen once before.

  “Each time one Human Being kills another, there’s a small chance that one of their paths becomes yours. So…” He trailed off, looking Cass deep in the eyes, and this time there was no missing the silver glow, “Do you really want to go around telling people about any special paths you may have unlocked? Especially in a time where our neighbours may not in fact be our neighbours?”

  They both left Cass there, Moore patting him on the shoulder before following the Guild Master out. Between knowing that your Paths could be stolen by murder, being introduced to Dark Guilds, and the offer from Adya, it almost seemed like fate was pushing him in a particular direction.

  He knew he should be shocked by all this. That things had been hidden from him by his parents, by his sister, who likely knew as well. But he wasn’t shocked. Something had snapped inside of him when he first went tumbling over Johnny’s remains. Like a small piece of him had been eaten by the hungry, angry world.

  It was a long time before he finally left the meeting room, and he had one destination in mind and one thought that he cemented in his mind going forward.

  They need hope.

  [Special Edition Reader Quest]

  Assignment: Anchor the Good

  Some spaces carry weight. Some days feel heavy. But Reader Quests allow us to rebalance the field now and then.

  Your Task:

  Create a tiny, physical anchor of good. Something real, something placed, and leave it where someone else might find it. That’s all.

  Examples:

  A sealed note of encouragement left in a library book

  A tiny handmade token placed on a bus seat

  A compliment folded into a vending machine slot

  A flower taped to a mailbox

  A quote, a ribbon, a coin, a line of poetry; Mysteriously intentional and unexplained

  Rules:

  – No names.

  – No hashtags.

  – No trace back to you.

  Completion Condition:

  One small act made permanent in space. No one has to see you do it. But someone might see what you did.

  Timeframe: One week

  Reward: 10 XP

  Not all quests have witnesses. Some just change the terrain for whoever walks through next.

  —

  J.D. Mullenary Sr.

  The Original QuestWright