Chapter 66: A Stronger Weapon Than the One in Your Hand (2/2)

“She was, actually, yes,” Danielle said. ”It doesn't surprise me at all that it killed her in the end.”

“I’ve died seven times today, in your mirage arena,” Jason said. ”Maybe three dozen, this week. It feels real. The despair, the panic, the helplessness. It still comes, every time.”

“Good,” Danielle said. “I want to see what Rufus saw. I want to see you do the impossible. More importantly, I want the young members of my family to see it.”

“And if I fail miserably?” Jason asked.

“Then perhaps you’ll think twice before trying to make my son question the fundamental makeup of our society.”

Jason laughed.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said, sheepishly. “I have a way of climbing up on my high horse.”

“My son has started asking questions that I’m not entirely sure I like,” she said.

“Yes you do,” Jason said with absolute confidence.

She chuckled again.

“Yes, I do,” she acknowledged.

The door opened and Rick walked in. Like his sister, his skin was dark brown, his hair light brown. His build was more like Humphrey, tall and broad-shouldered. He led in four more people behind him.

Teams were not uncommon amongst adventurers, usually three to six members. Only in a relatively safe region like Greenstone was solitary operation commonplace.

Rick’s team had an archetypal distribution of roles, with a couple of resilient front-liners, some damage specialists and a healer. Not every team could find a good healer, with even someone like Rufus yet to find a one. His experience with Anisa demonstrated that team dynamics were as much about the balance of personalities as the balance of powers.

Rick shook Jason’s hand and introduced his team members. It was obvious to Jason that his demand for a rematch wasn’t rooted in pride, but a drive to improve himself common to the Geller clan. He had been as surprised as anyone when Danielle set up Jason against his entire team.

Only three of the five were Gellers, the other two being a pair of twin elf sisters. Jason shook hands with each of them in turn. While Rick may not have been driven by pride, not everyone on his team was the same, and the largest member of the team squeezed Jason’s hand brutally as he shook it.

“Ow,” Jason said, cradling his hand after taking it back. “Strewth, mate. What was that for?”

“Jonah,” Rick scolded. “What are you doing?”

“This idiot thinks he can take us one-on-five,” the big guy said.

“Actually, that was my idea,” Danielle said, drawing everyone’s attention. She had faded into the background so well as they were making introductions that Jason suspected it was some kind of aura trick. Just a subtle rise in her aura suddenly made her the centre of attention. Jason had been working hard on his aura control but realised he still had a long way to go.

Most of the group looked at Danielle respectfully, but Jonah looked defiant.

“Do you really think this guy is better than all five of us?” he asked.

”It isn't about being better,” Danielle said. ”He may not have been training as long as you have, or used the carefully curated awakening stones you all did, but I've been watching him here in the mirage arena.”

“You have?” Jason asked, looking disconcerted.

”I have,” she said. ”Jason might still be settling into his martial techniques, but he has completely learned a lesson that everyone here would do well to give more attention. So I set up this little match for everyone to see. I've queued up just the right scenario to make my point.”

“Rigged the fight, you mean,” Jonah asked.

“Oh, good,” Jason said, letting out a relieved breath. “Just between us, I was a little worried.”

Danielle chuckled.

”The scenario is a fugitive hunt. Rick, your team has two hours to find and capture or kill Jason. Jason, you need to avoid capture for the full duration, or incapacitate Rick's team.”

“Not likely,” Jonah muttered.

“You have something to say, Jonah?” Danielle asked.

“I sure do,” Jonah said, either not noticing or not caring about the warning in Danielle’s voice. “I’m going to show this little no-name weed what it means to fight a Geller.”

Rick punched him on the arm.

“Shut up, idiot. He’s been in here fighting Gellers all week.”

Danielle gave Rick an approving smile.

“One more thing,” she said. “This scenario will be set during a monster surge.”

Danielle walked into the viewing room, striding up onto the platform in front of the viewing window, with a crystal rod in her hand. The room went quiet. No-one had the courage to still be talking when Danielle started speaking.

”The Geller name is a good one to have,” Danielle said. ”Each of you in this room either carries it or are the boon companions of those who do. It is a name that opens doors, garners respect. It is a name to be proud of.”

She panned her gaze over the audience. Geller trainees, their companions, and a few of the instructors who trained them. She continued her speech.

“I was just reminded, however, that pride can be a danger. We are not made great because our name is great. Our name is great because we make it so. Every one who bears the Geller name has the responsibility to live up to it. We are born with this name and a lot more. It is our responsibility to spend our lives earning them.”

She waved the rod in her hand at the viewing window, which blinked to life. It showed a common scene from the delta; muddy ground filled with tangled tree roots, the canopy overhead casting everything in shadow. Rick and his team trudged through the mud that sucked at their boots with every step.

“As instructors, we find some lessons take longer to sink in than others,” Danielle said. “You are all filled the realisation of your new power. You feel strong, unbeatable, even. It can make you disrespect the forces outside of yourself as determinates of success and failure.”

She glanced back as the team struggled along the wet ground. Hidden roots and unexpected deep patches on mud made for stumbling progress. The thick foliage above them forced them to rely on a magic lamp for light. It was an expensive one that would float over them without occupying a hand, but it filled the space around them with the dancing shadows of the trees.

“Your surroundings,” Danielle picked up, “can be a stronger weapon than the one in your hand. Monsters rarely spawn in training halls and fighting arenas. In most cases, you will be engaging them in their own environments. While you are watching, I want all of you to pay attention to this point. Who is using the environment, and how.”