The Smartphone Saga Book 2 - A Place to Belong: Blueprints and Blunder

Arc 1: Shadow and Stone

Chapter 1: More Money

Jasson didn't have to grab the quests anymore. The sea of sweaty flesh was no longer his to swim through. All he had to do was look over the quests Harriett brought to him. He wasn't exactly sure where she went between postings, but he had too much to do in the meantime.

"Man," Jasson said, putting another quest through Trainslate, "I need to do more Do-a-lingo."

This quest was another overkill adventure. Weeks away from the mansion, only a few hundred in guaranteed reward. Of course, that was the same as the one that took them to Smill. Kill 100 wyverns, go home. That ended with several near-death experiences and an absolute fortune of magic crystals.

But, even if Jasson stumbled on the same miracles as last time, it wouldn't help them. They didn't need more treasure to liquidate. And definitely not at the cost of long travel.

They needed decent-paying, short expeditions that would help Jasson rise within the Guild. It was becoming more and more obvious that all the good quests were locked behind the metallic ranks. Jasson had seen those people, their rank glinting on their chests. They were welcomed past the employee doors as VIPs. Into the back where all the good stuff was. 

Jasson needed to get to copper rank, ASAP.

Jasson groaned and took his pile of quests back to the board. Grog watched him and Jasson couldn't help but wonder what Grog thought. Harriet was blurring in and out, depositing several quests at Jasson's table. But Grog didn't ask any questions. Yet.

"Don't like the ones you got?" An older man said, bent over by the board. Jasson glanced and saw a rank of dark wood. Mahogany.

"Not particularly," Jasson dumped his quests in the return tray by the board. "These take too long."

The man chuckled and said, "You young people, always rushing around. Let me take a look at those. I have an adventuring party that likes to travel for decent pay. But all of those quests get…snapped …up."

The old man leafed through the ten or so quests Jasson had deposited. One after the other, flicking back while muttering some numbers.

"You didn't want these?" The man said, incredulous. "These are the cream of the crop! I used to fight tooth and nail to get these kind of quests. And so many!"

"I have a friend grab them when they come out," Jasson said, "She's fast but likes grabbing that type. Feel free to take them all, our party doesn't have the time to travel anymore."

"Sounds like you have some soaring coat tails," the old man chuckled, "I think I'll only take one. Except…these towns are right next to each other. We could stop by each and…hmmm."

Jasson left the old adventurer to his thinking. It would be hours until the next batch of quests. Perhaps there would be something short to do. A single small quest would be better for advancement than a couple hours of waiting.

What to do? It would be kind of poetic to do herb gathering. That first quest he'd failed, before he'd met Clara and Petra. Jasson remembered that night, finally coming to grips with his failure. Was he really the same person?

Jasson smiled and snatched a herb gathering quest from the door, walking quickly. If he hurried, he could get back before the evening rush. 

****

Two weeks with nothing to do but scroll built back some bad habits in Jasson. So it was that, walking through the city, he didn't have the best of reaction times when minor_plotpoint_gang saw him. Freshly upgraded to moderate_plotpoint_gang.

"It's HIM!" Someone shouted, and Jasson looked up in surprise just before he was pulled forcefully into an alley.

"Eh?" Jasson said, born aloft by half a dozen hands, "What's going on?"

Jasson watched the sky and passing roofs as his abductors made several rapid turns, pulling him deeper into the city. Jasson opened up MADaptation on his phone and pulled a water crystal from his pocket, but was unable to balance it on the screen. After his second try, it bounced in such a way that he slammed it with his flailing hand and sent it skidding into some corner of the alley.

Dang it, Jasson thought. What's my options?

He opened his locker, but his abductors never stopped. Every time he opened it, the swirling portal would be left behind and lost behind another twisting corner. 

Jasson thought. I'm beginning to think that I have overestimated my survival abilities.

A few minutes later, one of the men said, "All right, guys. Let him down nice and easy. There we go…are you okay Mister Peach-man?"

"Mister what?" Jasson said, dusting himself off after finding his footing, "What is going on here?"

"Well," the guy said, turning his feet, "You see, we didn't exactly want to be doing this in the street. You know? What, with all the guardsmen around. So we figured we'd bring you back to the boss. You…you don't mind, do you?"

"I was abducted by three men and dragged deep into the city," Jasson said, "Why would I mind?"

"Excellent," The man led the way in, "Come on. The boss is waiting for you."

Jasson eyed the way back but…well he had no idea where he was and didn't have the map for Stalt. Where would he go? He might as well see this to the end since these guys didn't seem to wish him harm.

They entered a home, passed through a normal-looking living room, and pushed open a door deeper in the house. It was a storage room full of fruits. The main guy went further in and pressed a panel in the wall. The wall slid open.

Pretty cool, Jasson thought. I definitely want a few of these when we build the Manor.

"We found him, boss!" The man declared at they shuffled into the dim room. Magic lights glowed a sickening green-yellow and Jasson saw a faintly familiar man sitting in the middle.

It was a scarred cat-human dressed in yellow, sitting on what looked like a folding beach chair. To either side of him stood neat stacks of gold. Behind the cat-man were boxes full of viewing crystals and…peaches?

"So you're finally here." The cat-man leaned forward, "About time. Nearly three weeks with no fresh bites on the market. Just an insatiable growing clientele."

The cat-man stood, padding toward me before putting one long-nailed hand on Jasson's shoulder.

"It's time for you to cook again," the cat-man said, "We're losing our edge. Practically traditional Cheese at this point. That *(&^% that managed to get ahold of you before you disappeared, he's been undercutting us. Stealing our anxious customers who have been waiting patiently. 'Any day now' we told them! Well, now you're here."

He walked to the back and grabbed a peach, then motioned for Jasson to follow him. They walked into another room with an enormous, polished viewing crystal on the table. Several bitten peaches and smaller crystals surrounded the large one. With a wave of his hand, the cat-man directed his subordinates to clear off the table.

Jasson paused at the edge, disbelief refusing to glue together the pieces. What was this about? This reminded him of how he transferred videos. Actually…that was his video on the main crystal. The video he'd transferred on his first day in Stalt. 

"Umm," Jasson said, nervously laughing, "I don't think that I can…proceed."

The cat-man slapped his own forehead so hard Jasson jumped.

"Of course," The cat-man said, "I was too eager. Men, get him a chair and prepare more peaches. We have forgotten to begin negotiations."

"Well, that." Jasson laughed, desperately searching his mind as he took a seat, "And introductions."

"Of course," The cat-man said, "I am now known as Fritz. I run this modest operation providing…luxury to our clientele. And you?"

Way to go Einstein, Jasson thought. I guess I'm into illegal substances now.

"Me?" Jasson thought through names, "I am…are we using aliases?"

Fritz laughed and said, "Of course."

"Right then," Jasson said, "I'm…er…Einstein. Yeah. That sounds right."

Sounds properly sarcastic. Jasson thought.

"Excellent, Einstein." Fritz laughed, "Shall we begin? You have the product, and we have gold and distribution. Let's do business."

"Ah," Jasson said, "Okay."

They were all staring at Jasson, and he said, "Umm…Are we talking pay per video or per time?"

"Which were you thinking of?" Fritz said.

"Um," Jasson raced through simple estimates. Videos varied constantly and could be a cause of strife. But Time was harder to calculate.

It's just cat videos. Jasson thought. Don't over think it.

"I was thinking per time for simplicity," Jasson said, "How about…what do you charge currently."

"Different for different quality crystals," Fritz said, "But the video itself comes out to about two gold every ten minutes."

"Perfect," Jasson said, "In which case, I will charge ten gold for an hour of content. Nice and simple."

There was a nerve scratching silence before Fritz erupted in laughter.

"Hah," Fritz snorted, "Do you take me for a fool?"

Jasson winced. Was he asking for too much? He really didn't need the gold.

"I am not a fool to underpay you by that much." Fritz laughed, "You'd be stolen for coppers by another gang. In addition to twenty gold per hour on the day of transfer, I will pay you ten percent of total sales, to be picked up monthly."

"Oh," Jasson said, "Well, that can't be that much. You only have…hundreds of customers."

"For now, yes." Fritz said, "But we will grow larger with your help. Who knows, I might be Kingpin one day."

"Okay…" Jasson said, "I suppose you could deposit the gold in a neutral location. I…can I see a customer? I want to…make sure that you are dealing intelligently."

"I see." Fritz said, "You're concerned for our customers."

"Well, yeah." Jasson shuffled, "Is that not something you want to show me?"

Fritz steepled his fingers and said "It's not the worst of addictions, but I will be the first to say that it has taken over a few people's lives. Well, not the first. Those high-minded *&^$# preach about it all day."

Fritz motioned with his hand, saying "But surely you understand what we're going through. You watch these videos as well. It's not about numbing everything, spending hours watching the same cats tumble and fall. It's a break. A little relief from life. Taken in moderation and it would hurt no one. Merely add a little spice to life."

Jasson nodded. Yeah, that checked out. That's what cat videos were for.

Fritz motioned to a pile of crystals, "Those are our main expense. Once everyone has them, we'll be able to sell videos for dirt cheap. We already do it for repeat customers. Give us more video, help us grow, and eventually it will be nearly free for everyone."

Fritz held a hand out to Jasson, saying, "Come on. Help us share funny videos of cats with the world. It will bring joy to everyone."

Jasson paused, thinking. There wasn't anything wrong with the logic. And it was just cats.

"Deal," Jasson took Fritz's hand, "We'll make this world a little bit easier to live in."