“Sit back down,” Phoebe scolded, putting a restraining hand on his arm. “Do you honestly think you can change her mind?”

Humphrey did as he was told and sat down.

“I never have before.”

* * *

“I’m not exactly sure what the point is,” Jason said. He was alone with Danielle Geller, in the control room of the mirage area. They were awaiting the arrival of Rick Geller and his team.

“The point,” Danielle said, “is to learn. That’s what we do here. We teach, and we learn. My family has spread across the world, but this is the place we first became adventurers. It's where we still do.”

“I meant more specifically,” Jason said. “I’m not sure I can hold up against five of your family members long enough to make any kind of educational contribution.”

“When Rufus first described you to me, do you know what he said?”

“Rakishly handsome?”

Danielle chuckled.

“He told me that when you were all prisoners, you showed him what it meant to find something inside yourself you didn’t know was there. To do what didn’t seem possible.”

“He may not have been paying attention,” Jason said. “Mostly I freaked out and got hit with shovels.”

“Yet you took down Cressida Vane,” Danielle said. “I knew her, you know.”

“You did?” Jason asked. “Was she always massively overconfident? That’s what got her killed.”

“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?”

“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.”

“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 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.