Ethan shook his head, but a large grin appeared on his face as he leapt after the Vision, drawing his swords as he ran. The nearest guards on watch were about a wagon away from them, and they were both asleep and snoring quietly. Jasper kicked them in the shins as he ran by.

“Wake up, idiots! We’re under attack!” Jasper yelled.

They leapt into the air, waving their spears like flags as they tried to shake the drowsiness from their bodies.

“Wha-where?” One of them stammered.

“The grass,” Ethan called as he ran after Jasper.

The guards spun toward the knee-high grass swaying gently under the morning sun, but nothing was there. They frowned and exchanged a glance with each other, lowering their weapons.

“Sounds like they had a little too much to drink last night,” one of the guards said as a smile started to cross his face.

A brilliant white flash lit the morning sky up. An earthshaking boom followed it up as a bolt of lightning danced through the sky. Cries rang out from the caravan as everyone was torn from their sleep. At the same time, the grass erupted with motion.

Flashes of pointed green ears and sharp teeth danced through the grass as they carved a way toward the caravan.

“Gremlins!” Ethan called in warning.

Not a moment later, a small green blur launched itself toward the dark-skinned man. One of his swords flashed and he stepped to the side. Two halves of the creature thudded to the ground where he had been standing.

However, the rest of the caravan wasn’t as lucky. Many of the guards were caught unaware, and several men went down under a flurry of sharp claws and teeth. Bolts of lightning erupted from Jasper’s hands as he cackled maniacally, sending gremlins screaming and running in fear.

Ethan waltzed through the rapidly appearing horde, each stroke of his sword ending the life of a small green creature. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several gremlins approaching Linna’s wagon.

The swordsman changed paths, running for the wagon to intercept the gremlins. They reached it before he did. One of them eagerly pulled the tarp aside and started to climb in. The bottom of Linna’s shoe connected with its face violently and the gremlin fell back, screaming in pain.

Linna leapt out of her wagon and plunged a sword into the gremlin, ending its cries before turning to face the others. Ethan’s blades dismissed the rest of them before she had to do anything.

“Didn’t know you had a sword,” Ethan said casually, pulling his sword free and cleaning it on the gremlin’s shoddy clothing.

“I haven’t had a reason to use it yet. It was something of a joke gift from someone at my hometown,” Linna said, her words coming out quickly. She paused to catch her breath and frowned at the dead creatures in the ground beside them.

“Aren’t these gremlins?” She asked.

“They are,” Ethan agreed, cutting a gremlin out of the air as it leapt for his head.

Battle cries rose up from the caravan guards as they pushed back against the small horde of gremlins. The guards managed to form a sparse circle around the wagon and were fighting hard to keep the monsters from gaining any more ground. Without the element of surprise, the gremlins had no chance against the trained humans.

“They fight like animals. I met a gremlin a little while ago, but he was nothing like these,” Linna said, nudging the body of a dead gremlin with the tip of her foot.

Ethan didn’t respond. He watched the remaining gremlins flee screaming pitifully back into the grass as the guards put down the stragglers with savage looks in their eyes.

“Most gremlins are no smarter than animals,” Ethan finally said. “But upon occasion they can become more powerful than their compatriots.”

“What occasion?”

“If they become a Vision. It happens. Very rarely,” Ethan said.

“What are you damn slackers doing?” Jasper called, striding through the grass toward them.

“I was just asking Jackson about what these things are,” Linna said with a gesture at the gremlins at her feet.

“They’re just gremlins. Stupid little horde creatures with rocks for brains,” Jasper said distastefully.

“Jackson said as much. And were you throwing bolts of lightning around?”

“Yeah. What of it?” Jasper asked, yawning loudly and stretching his arms out.

“You made a chair out of the earth yesterday. You said that Visions had a specific thing they had faith in. What kind of Vision are you?”

“Ah. Sorry. I’m not answering that one,” Jasper said.

“What? Why?” Linna asked, her brow furrowing.

Ethan stepped in between them and raised a finger before Linna could continue.

“For once, this isn’t just Jill being weird. Many Visions won’t say what they believe in in order to keep any small advantage they can get. Their friends can figure it out since they spend a lot of time together with them,” he said to Linna. “There are certain things unique to each Vision that they’ll die fighting over, but this one is generally pretty universal. You’ve got to figure out what his vision is on your own. It’s a sign of respect. Or something.”

“Or something,” Jasper agreed.

Linna gave an annoyed grunt, but she allowed the topic to drop. Jasper gave Ethan an appreciative nod which the swordsman accepted with a wink.

“We should probably find Melinda and find out how bad the damage was. It would be inconvenient if we got delayed,” Ethan suggested.

Jasper and Linna voiced their agreement. The three found Melinda surrounded by a ring of tired looking guards near the center of the camp. There were several dead gremlins piled up a short distance from the train of wagons, and the merchant’s mouth was curled in annoyance.