“Oh?”
“Not having someone looking over my shoulder has been an education,” Rufus said. “As an adventurer, I’ve gone from thinking I knew everything to realising how much I don’t.”
“That’s good,” Gabriel said. “A few close scrapes, some costly mistakes. It’ll turn you into a real adventurer.”
“That’s exactly my point,” Rufus said. “It wasn’t until you released me into the wild that I realised how far I have to go. It’s why the Gellers keep training their family here at the south end of nowhere. They can let them loose to make their own mistakes.”
“So, you’re proposing we start sending people there?” Gabriel asked.
“I am,” Rufus said. “We could establish a graduate station here. The Geller family facilities are well developed, and we could arrange an exchange. They help us get off the ground, and we help them refine their training programs.”
“Have you put this to the Gellers yet?”
“No,” Rufus said. “I wasn’t going to reach out before clearing it with Grandad. Not to mention that I’d also need specifics to take to them. I’d never make an approach without knowing what I could and couldn’t offer.”
“Good lad,” Gabriel said. “Alright, I’ll float it to the family. For now, you and I can start having weekly meetings. Being our man on the ground will be a good chance for you to step up in the academy. A project like this won’t be small or quick.”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be here,” Rufus said. “Emir could arrive any day. I suppose could extend my stay; I don’t have to go back with him when he’s done.”
“Oh, uh…”
Gabriel sheepishly rubbed his chin.
“I was meant to tell you,” he said. “Emir won’t be there for a little while.”
“How little a while are you talking about? And why? We found what he was after.”
“Well, we know you think you found it,” Gabriel said. “But can you really be certain? One of his other teams found something really promising in the Godspear Islands, so he’s heading there to check it out. So… two months?”
“Two months!”
“Three, at the absolute most,” Gabriel said. “Well, maybe not the absolute most. And that’s from when he leaves here, obviously. Call it four months.”
“Four months,” Rufus said incredulously.
“Well now you have your project, that works out,” Gabriel said.
“He doesn’t know that. Did you say he hadn’t left Vitesse yet? What is he doing?”
“There’s been a lot going on,” Gabriel said. “It’s a busy time.”
Rufus narrowed his eyes at his father’s projection.
“Isn’t it time for the flower wine festival?”
“Is it?” Gabriel asked, innocently. He wouldn’t meet his son’s eyes, even through the projection.
Rufus ran a hand over his face.
“Alright, Dad,” he said wearily. “Weekly meetings?”
“I’ll send you a message with the times.”
“No, I’ll send you a message. You can work around my schedule.”
“Son…”
“Give my love to Mum. See you next week, Dad.”
Rufus stepped off the circular platform and the image of his father broke apart, splashing into the pool.
“Four months,” he muttered to himself. “Alright, then.”
Rufus stormed through the back gate into Jory’s courtyard. Jason was seated in a meditation pose on a mat while Farrah sat on a chair reading. Gary was cooking meat skewers on a grill fuelled by magic fire.
“Farrah,” Rufus said sharply, “get the book out.”
She glanced at the book in her hands.
“Not that book,” Rufus said. “I mean… the book.”
“The book book?”
“Yes,” Rufus said. “The book book.”
“What’s the book book?” Gary asked.
Jason opened his eyes.
“Why is everyone making chicken noises?” he asked.
“It’s time for you to get your hands on a martial art skill book,” Rufus told him.
“Ooh, nice,” Jason said, getting up and brushing his legs with his hands.
“Wait, that’s what you want the book for?” Farrah asked.
“What book?” Gary asked.
“You know,” Farrah said. “The book. From under the lake.”
“Didn’t we decide to give that to Emir?” Gary asked.
“We did decide that, yes,” Farrah said.
“The contract from Emir wasn’t to find a book,” Rufus said.
“Giving it to Emir was your idea,” Farrah said to Rufus. “You talked us into it.”
“That’s true,” Gary said, prodding at the cooking meat with a fork. “We wanted to sell it.”
“Well, Emir won’t be here for four months, so he’s missing out,” Rufus said.
Gary, poised to shove a whole skewer in his mouth, stopped to look at Rufus.
“Four months?” he asked.
“From when he leaves,” Rufus said.
“He hasn’t left?” Farrah asked.
“Flower wine festival,” Gary mumbled around a mouthful of meat. “You weren’t kidding about this marinade, Jason.”
“One of the other teams has a promising lead,” Rufus said. “He’s going there to check it out first.”
“Which team?” Farrah asked.
“Godspear Islands.”
“Are you kidding me?” Farrah asked. “Mirabelle and her army of idiots? Of course, they think they found it.”
She got up from her chair and started pacing.
“That isn’t the place,” she said. “This is the place. We found the place.”
“I know,” Rufus said.
“What place?” Jason asked.
“It isn’t like we’re just confident this is the place,” Farrah continued. “This is the place.”
“It is,” Rufus said.
“Then why is Emir sailing off in the wrong direction?”
“Well,” Rufus said, “they know we think we found it, but…”
“I hope his boat sinks,” Farrah said.
“That’s pretty unlikely,” Gary said.
“So the book?” Rufus asked.
Farrah’s stone chest erupted out of the ground. She opened the lid, reached in and came out with an absurdly large book. It seemed like she should be staggering about under the weight, but her small body contained a powerful strength. She slammed the lid of her storage chest down and dropped the book onto it with a resonating thud. It was almost as large and thick itself as the stone chest lid on which it was resting. Bound in thick leather, embossed into the front of the book were the images of two scythes crossed over a skull.
“That’s a hefty and sinister tome you’ve got there,” Jason said, moving to look closer.
“We each agreed to give you a gift,” Rufus said, “as thanks for saving us. Farrah’s you’ve already received. If the others don’t object, I’d like this to be mine.”
“Works for me,” Gary mumbled.
“Well, you were always going to get him a skill book,” Farrah said. “I have to assume this one is better than most.”
“It’s obviously special,” Jason said. “Where did it come from?”
“We can’t tell you that yet,” Rufus said.
“You’re giving him the book,” Farrah said, “but saying where it’s from is where you draw the line?”
“The book wasn’t in the contract,” Rufus said. “Keeping our mouths shut was.”
“So, can I use this?” Jason asked, reaching towards the book.
“Not so fast,” Rufus said. “Now that we’ll be here for a while, we don’t have to be in such a rush. I can make sure you’re ready before letting you use it.”
“And when will that be?” Jason asked.
“I told you when we started,” Rufus said. “There’s going to be a test.”
50
The Full Keanu
Rufus swung the staff horizontally, Jason swaying back so it passed in front of him. Rufus kept the momentum, bringing the staff up and over into a downward strike. Jason kept control of his balance, shifting to the side without disrupting the centre line of his body. Rufus kept pushing, not too swiftly, but relentlessly. Jason handled the pressure without tripping or stumbling, even as Rufus ramped up the speed. Just as Jason thought it would be too much, Rufus stopped.