Broken Lands

Chapter 313 – Coordination

“Large groups’ challenges are easier than smaller ones, but so are the rewards. It’s possible to find others who didn’t enter with you, and it can even be an advantage, but it’s only temporary; you have to split up again after one or two areas or it will set you both challenges together and that is far worse. The Maze doesn’t like being fooled. That’s also why splitting the group in two is a terrible idea; the Maze set each smaller group a challenge meant for the large group.” Arak shook his head slowly.

Sophia frowned. That didn’t make sense. “If it’s a bad idea, why did they split off?”

The satyr-like healer shrugged. “Greed, most likely. All of the Hammers survived; why should they care if some of the teams they swept in their wake lost out, if it gets them more aurichalc? Not that it did, this time, but it might have if they’d won instead of being bailed out. If the split got me killed, well, they could have told whatever story they liked.”

Sophia hadn’t realized that being an expedition leader could be hazardous because of the team as well as the Maze. She didn’t like that idea. “Is that normal?”

Arak shook his head. “Not at all. Now, let’s see. What have I missed…”

The next fifteen minutes were spent detailing the risks and rewards of the Maze and how it changed with a large expedition and a small one. Sophia knew she wouldn’t remember all of it, but it was pretty clear that Arak didn’t really expect her to memorize it all; he was talking through it so that she’d have heard it if it came up. From there, they went on to expedition-specific details, everything from specific shouts for tactics to how to leave marks in a link so that you could meet up with the rest of the expedition if you were separated.

Arak promised that he’d have notes ready for them before they left, but he wanted to go over the details with them personally; he did that with every group new to an Arena expedition well in advance of the day they left.

The last thing they did was talk about their varied capabilities. Arak knew some of it, of course; he worked in the Arena and they’d grown surprisingly famous over the past few months. That didn’t mean he knew everything, even of the things they’d revealed so far; he wasn’t an avid Arena-watcher. He knew they could all fly and that they had a Night Owl, but that was about all.

Sophia wasn’t certain which part was the funniest. It might have been when she revealed that her Signature was feathers; it wasn’t even remotely a common Signature for a Called. His reaction when he learned that what feathers she used had an impact on what spells she could cast made it hard to keep a straight face. She’d done that a few times in the Arena, but she mostly saw it as a gimmick; it was really only useful if she knew what she was going to fight ahead of time and could prepare. Even then, it only mattered if there was an obvious weak point in what she was fighting, the way constructs and spirits were weak against her natural True Death magic.

It could easily have been when Dav mentioned he could take over Sophia’s summons or cancel out spells, as long as he had enough warning … and that Sophia could do the same, though they had different methods. It probably wasn’t when Ci’an talked about just how effective her Night Owl’s vision abilities were, but it could have been when Xin’ri admitted she was a combat craftsman rather than a mage.

It definitely wasn’t when Dav mentioned that they didn’t need to worry about low-end healing like the injuries the previous expedition returned with, because he could take care of that as long as there was enough time. Arak didn’t believe that until Dav gave a demonstration, and it somehow wasn’t funny at that point. Sophia had the feeling that Arak valued Dav’s ability to heal multiple people at once far more than his actual combat strength.

Somehow, that wasn’t funny at all.

The group’s initial role in the expedition would be as scouts and messengers. They were only second upgrade, but so were most of the monsters on the outskirts; for at least the first two days, third upgrade monsters would be rare even in the zones, often guarding either the way out or a special treasure. Ci’an was the most classical scout, but Xin’ri could do well as well, even while flying. Those two would be able to see their opponents before they were seen and had ways to escape if there were too many to slip past easily.

Jax and Sophia were limited due to how visible their Abilities were, but they could still fly up and see a long distance. That would help more in some zones than others, but they had one ability that none of the other potential scouts had: the ability to report back quickly. Xin’ri implied it was from something she’d made and not as good as Dav’s actual mind-linking Ability, but it was still enough to be valuable.

It also made them excellent messengers. The messengers didn’t need to be hidden; they simply needed to be able to move quickly and pass along messages, which both Jax and Sophia could easily do.

Dav was in an odd middle ground. His innate flight Ability, Unreal Space, was slower than Xin’ri’s, at least if he wanted to maintain control, and the other methods they’d explored were all very limited on how long he could maintain them; taking over a summon was the longest, but that was still measured in minutes rather than the hours Ci’an, Sophia, or Xin’ri could manage. 

Arak was also reluctant to let Dav travel far from others, but his eyes lit up the moment Sophia mentioned that “she” could summon something that could fly for Dav. She meant that he could take its shape, but Arak took it in a different direction: he wanted her to summon something Dav could ride. It was something they’d done before, and while it had its own downsides, Cliff could keep one of Sophia’s large echoes summoned for an extended period of time. That put Dav in the same category as Sophia and Jax, too easily seen to be sent out ahead but very useful as overwatch or a messenger.

They had different assignments once a fight started. Arak wasn’t going to tell them how to fight if they ended up in a single-team combat of some sort; those were possible in the Maze on an expedition, and he was confident from their Arena performance that they could handle themselves. Arak wanted them to know their roles ahead of time when the entire group had to fight. 

Jax, Xin’ri, and Ci’an all had the ability to fight effectively at a distance, so that was their role. Jax was an oddity, because he actually had the longest-range damaging Ability in the group. It was nothing more than a magical beam of intense light, but there was power in being able to reach something that far away. 

Xin’ri and Ci’an could stay at a distance, which surprised Sophia a little; she’d known Xin’ri’s spells held together well, but she hadn’t realized that Ci’an could affect anything she could see, even if it couldn’t see her. Jax’s light-beams were far less useful once the enemy was in range for the others, so he was to stay in front of the other two and defend them if something got close while trying to kill things before they were able to attack at all. If it was clear that nothing was going to break through and everything was too close or too hard to find to make his range useful, he could move up to help, but his primary job was making certain nothing reached the two most vulnerable people on the team.

Xin’ri was going to take Dav’s backpack during the expedition when she wasn’t out scouting. It was a safer place for Taika, since Xin’ri was supposed to stay away from enemies, and Taika could do his job from Xin’ri’s shoulder just as easily as Dav’s. They’d lat Arak in on the secret that Taika was more than just a pet, but he seemed to have decided, weirdly enough, that Taika was Jax’s familiar after he learned that Taika could create temporary barriers. Sophia had no idea where that came from, but she also wasn’t going to argue.

Sophia and Dav were to move forward to the “front” of the expedition with the others who had basically no range. Arak didn’t count the Bolt spells Sophia could use as effective long-range weapons, even though they had the same range as Xin’ri’s; Sophia only had three options, while Xin’ri had dozens of things she could do from a good distance. Sophia’s options really came into play when her Domain covered whatever she was fighting, which meant that was the better place for her.

They’d adjust as needed for each zone or if something just wasn’t working, but this gave them a starting point. 

The last thing they covered was gear. Arak was generally happy with what they had, especially Sophia’s tent and pack; she was going to end up carrying some of the expedition’s general supplies, but there was no need for her to pick them up until the day they left. Arak also told them that he’d be inviting them back once he’d talked to the last couple of groups; he always made certain to introduce everyone that others needed to recognize before they left and that meant everyone needed to meet Sophia, Dav, and Jax. He’d also give them some identification bands before they left; everyone would have those, but they were especially important for scouts and messengers.

Arak had food brought in for them all a few hours after they sat down with him. From what he said, that was normal; he always had food brought in if he needed to talk to someone over a mealtime. If there wasn’t food, there were always drinks. Later in the evening, he preferred snacks over a meal to keep people focused, but that didn’t mean they didn’t eat well on an expedition. 

It made Sophia feel better to know that Arak put serious effort into everyone that worked with him. He probably needed far less time for the teams he’d worked with before, but it was still a lot of work. Even if things went wrong, she didn’t think anyone on her team was going to die, but it was better if no one did. That was Arak’s job, and he seemed to be good at it.

Arak kept talking while they ate. Every expedition should have people who could cook the monsters they were likely to encounter, so that they didn’t have to carry as much. Spices were small and light and the other staples could be carried. Longer expeditions could become real logistical challenges, since wagons were often impossible to get into zones and pack animals tended to die. There were ways around it, but they weren’t easy or cheap. 

Sophia had her pack and was pretty sure she could use a large echo as a pack animal if she had to, but not everyone had her advantages. That didn’t mean they should give up, but it probably made sense that only the people who had a real chance to make it would bother. This expedition wasn’t headed that deep into the Maze.

Sophia looked up from her meal of stew and cheese-infused bread to consider Arak. They really hadn’t asked him much, had they? “How did you start leading expeditions? I know you said you’re a healer, is that where you started?”

Arak smiled. “What, you don’t think I appeared here, fully adult and third upgrade?” 

His joke hung in the air for a moment before Arak shook his head. “Yes, more or less. I was one of many, hopeful to conquer the Maze yet never making it far. That was back in the day when the only large-group expeditions were to gather food or supplies or catch monsters for the Arena…”