Ethan smirked and ambled over, pulling the gremlin back to his feet and wiping the dirt from his shoulders with the back of a calloused hand. The swordsman jerked his chin at the caravan guard, who was snoring loudly and using his spear as a prop to keep himself standing.

“I can see why they need our help,” he said.

Jasper walked over to the sleeping guard, watching his feet to avoid falling a second time. He tapped the man on the shoulder several times, but the only response he received was a slightly louder snore.

“Out like a rock,” Jasper announced. “Do you reckon we could just rob-”

Ethan cut the gremlin off with a sharp glare. Jasper’s shoulders slumped and he sighed. The gremlin gave the guard’s spear a light kick, dislodging the man’s support and causing him to fall.

The guard let out a shriek as his butt hit the ground. He scrambled away from them like a terrified crab, then realized he had forgotten his spear. The man lunged forward, missing the spear completely. Jasper nudged the spear back toward the guard, who managed to grab it after shuffling blindly through the grass for a moment.

“State your name and reason for approaching the Tren Caravan!” He barked as menacingly as he could from the ground. He pointed the wrong end of the spear toward Ethan and waved it around with a trembling hand.

Ethan reached down and removed the spear from the man’s hands effortlessly. He spun it around, so it was properly oriented, and handed it back to the guard.

“Calm yourself, friend! Your caravan master is expecting us,” Ethan said.

The guardsman lowered the spear slightly and gave it a suspicious look. He squinted at them through the darkness and scratched his chin pensively.

“You’re the Visions? You don’t look like Visions,” he said.

“And what does a Vision look like?” Ethan asked.

The guardsman opened his mouth but closed it without responding. He shot one more intense look at the two men that had interrupted his sleep before sighing and rising to his feet. He still looked quite displeased.

“We won’t mention we found you sleeping,” Ethan said with a smirk. The guard’s frown vanished, and he gave them a curt nod.

“Fair enough. Lady Tren did say to expect two Visions. I just didn’t expect you’d arrive at such an ungodly hour. Luckily, we’ve already got a wagon prepared for you.”

The guardsman led Jasper and Ethan down the long line of connected wagons, stopping at the second one from the end. He pushed a tarp flap open with the butt of his spear and waved for them to enter.

“You can rest here until morning, sirs. The Lady will want to talk with you once the sun rises.”

Jasper gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders and stepped into the wagon. Ethan flashed a large smile at the guard and followed Jasper in. The tarp fell shut behind them and the guardsman walked back to his post, muttering under his breath about Visions.

It didn’t take long for gentle golden rays to slip under the tarp and enter the wagons. Ethan rose from the thin straw bedroll that the caravan had provided and looked outside. Sunlight trickled into the wagon, and the fresh morning air was filled with curses as Jasper awoke.

Men and women rushed up and down the caravan, carrying piles of goods and dragging crates behind them. Ethan and Jasper slipped out of the wagon, nearly getting knocked over by flustered workers in the process.

“Busy place,” Ethan observed as they slipped through the crowd of workers.

“Too busy. Nobody should be awake this early,” Jasper grumbled.

“Ah, gentlemen! I’m awfully glad to see you. I hope you slept well last night,” a woman’s voice said.

Jasper and Ethan turned to see the stern woman from the mountain pass walking toward them. Her forehead was creased with lines of stress, but her mouth was twisted into a wry smile and her eyes were as sharp as knives.

“Your beds were terri-”

“We found everything quite suitable, thank you,” Ethan said, shooting Jasper a warning glance.

The Vision grunted and nodded grudgingly in agreement. The merchant’s eyes twinkled slightly as she assessed the disguised gremlin, but she didn’t pursue the topic.

“In case you aren’t already aware, my name is Melinda Tren. I’m the owner of this caravan,” the merchant said.

“A pleasure. I am Jackson, and the grumpy man beside me goes by Julian. Jill for short. I’m afraid he isn’t much of a morning person,” Ethan said apologetically.

Jasper sent Ethan a furious glare, but the tall man deflected it with a wide grin and shrugged his shoulders apologetically to Melinda.

“I can see,” Melinda said with a wry smile.

Melinda extended a hand to Ethan, who shook it confidently. She then offered her hand to Jasper. The gremlin glared at her. After a moment, he gingerly reached out and shook her hand with two fingers, as if it were a disgusting limp fish rather than a hand.

“We’ll have three stops on our trip. We’ll first drop by Aaron’s Vale for a day, then we’ll stay at Ringden for half a week before arriving at Stormfront. Are both of you Visions?” Melinda asked.

“Fun, fun. And no, just me,” Jasper said. He peered closely at his nails and picked a fleck of dirt out from under them. “He’s my bodyguard.”

Melinda raised a thinning eyebrow. “What kind of Vision needs a bodyguard?”

“One that doesn’t want a knife making love to his back while he sleeps,” Jasper replied.

“Well, I paid for two Visions,” Melinda said, a furrow appearing in her brow.

“Eth–”

Jasper paused as Ethan shot him a sharp look.

“–Jackson pulls his weight, and I’m more than enough to handle any problems he can’t,” Jasper said.