Gremlin's Greed - COMPLETE Chapter 15 (Patreon)

“Let go of me, damn it!” Jasper kicked helplessly in Linna’s armored grip. “I can walk myself!”

“It’s much faster if I run,” Linna shot back at him. A golden stairwell formed under her feet as she ran, leading them up toward the deck of the ship.

A screaming guard sailed through the air above the two Visions and disappeared into the dark water with a splash. Linna stepped onto the ship’s deck and set Jasper down before the enraged gremlin could bite her hand off.

Stonvaut and Ethan stood back-to-back. Dead guards littered the deck all around them. The Jatir spotted Linna boarding the ship and raised a hand in greeting. Ethan did the same, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere.

“I take it you handled Moat?” Stonvaut asked.

“Scattered all over the city,” Linna responded.

“He’s dead then? For sure?”

“It’s likely. Linna split him up into little puddles and threw him in every direction. If he isn’t dead, he shouldn’t be reforming any time soon,” Jasper said. He touched his ear gingerly and winced. “I don’t suppose you have any bandages on this ship?”

“You’re still talking, so it can wait ‘til we’ve set sail. I can’t imagine the good guards of Stormfront will appreciate our liberation of Rosarian. We’ve handled all the roaches on board. You two just keep the ones at the dock off us ‘til we’re out of range,” Stonvaut said.

Jasper sighed and narrowed his eyes in concentration. A wave of purple energy flooded out from him, washing over the deck harmlessly. Jasper flopped onto his back and groaned as the energy disappeared into the water around them.

“I made it look like the ship is farther to one side than it really is, so that’ll buy us time if they try to shoot at us. But that’s the end of my rope, I’m spent. Linna can handle the rest.”

“We’ll be counting on you then,” Stonvaut told Linna after giving Jasper an appreciative nod. He strode toward the helm, barking out orders to everyone he passed.

Back in the city, the explosion set off by Stonvaut’s men had transformed into a raging fire. A thick pillar of smoke stretched its dark fingers across the sky above Stormfront. Yells echoed throughout the city as people rushed to put the fire out.

A volley of arrows rose up from the guardhouse, but they peppered into the water beyond the Rosarian harmlessly. Jasper grinned in Linna’s direction and gave her a smug nod as the deck lurched under their feet and the ship gradually began to make distance from the dock and into the open ocean beyond it.

Another volley took to the sky, but Linna quickly erected a glowing barrier that prevented the arrows from getting near the ship. Much to the dismay on the shrinking faces of the guardsmen, it was evident that their best efforts were for naught. Linna let out the pent-up breath she had been holding in her chest as the ship drew out of bow range. She let the barrier fade away and sat down on a nearby barrel with a groan.

“I can’t believe we survived that,” she told Jasper.

The gremlin scoffed. He pressed his shirt against his wounded ear gingerly and winced. Fresh blood joined the brown patch that was rapidly spreading across his clothing. The wound didn’t show any signs of closing. Jasper’s uninjured ear twitched, and he let out a sigh.

“Not all of us. I left half my ear in the city,” he muttered.

Linna didn’t get a chance to respond. Ethan slammed into her and Linna tumbled across the deck with a yelp. Jasper screamed as the spike of water that was meant for her ripped itself out of Ethan’s back. The swordsman collapsed to his knees behind her.

“You said you killed the Vision!” Stonvaut roared.

“They certainly did their best,” Moat’s voice gurgled from within the water. A pillar of churning water formed a short distance in front of the ship. Moat arose from the top and glared down at the Rosarian. His chest was still stained red from where Jasper had stabbed him, and several large chunks of his body were missing.

“Ethan!” Linna yelled, scrambling to her feet and running toward the wounded man. Moat chuckled as a spear of water shot toward her. She skidded to a stop, summoning a shield of glowing energy in front of the water’s path.

“It doesn’t look like you’re all back,” Linna called up to him. “Maybe you should take a breather and collect the rest of yourself before you try us again.”

“I assure you that my present state is more than enough to deal with a little girl and a crew of pirates,” Moat replied.

“You’re forgetting about me,” Jasper growled. He hauled himself to his feet and bared his teeth at the Vision in the water.

“No,” Moat said. “I’m not.”

A tentacle of water erupted from below the ship and whipped across the deck. It slammed into Jasper, knocking him off his feet and sending the small Vision flying into a barrel. The wood exploded, sending splinters flying across the deck. The gremlin didn’t move from where he landed.

Linna gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep her attention on Moat. The gruff Vision’s mouth twisted into a mocking grin and the water around him raised as if to attack the Rosarian.

A barrel hurtled through the air toward Moat. He snarled and the tentacles splashed back into the water as the barrel splashed harmlessly through him. Stonvaut let out a furious yell and leapt down from the helm. He slammed onto the deck beside Linna, nearly knocking her off her feet.

“I reckon I should have asked you this earlier, but what else can you do?” He asked. All traces of the Jatir’s slight drunken slur had vanished into the sea.

“Give you armor, make shields, and make you fly. Maybe some other stuff,” Linna said curtly.

“That works. Toss me at him,” Stonvaut said.

Linna didn’t hesitate. Golden armor shimmered into existence around the Jatir. She launched him into the sky toward Moat and took off after him, armor forming around her own body mid-flight.

“How do I move in this thing?” Stonvaut yelled over the wind howling past his face.

“You can’t! I’m making the armor fly, not you!” Linna called back.

She yanked him out of the way of a javelin of water with a mental tug. Stonvaut sent her a furious glare moments before Linna slammed him into the pillar where Moat was standing. The Vision morphed into water for just long enough for Stonvaut to pass through him before he reformed again.

“Really? Is this your-” Moat’s body disappeared in a splash of water as Stonvaut hurtled back through him.

“Stop using me like a human cannonball!” Stonvaut roared.

“Okay!” Linna called back as he went flying into Moat once again. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the tentacle of water Moat had formed to attack Jasper had disappeared.

A pained cry interrupted Linna’s thoughts. Stonvaut had managed to clip Moat’s watery form with his hammer as he flew by the Vision. Moat cradled his crushed right arm, his eyes wide.

“How? That isn’t possible!” Moat screamed; his cold façade broken for the second time that day.

“If you don’t stop swinging me around, I’m going to toss you off the ship myself!” Stonvaut yelled.

“What do you want me to do then?” Linna asked.

“Lock me up with him. I’ll sort the watery bastard out for us,” the Jatir said confidently.

Linna nodded and turned her attention to Moat, who was still staring at his arm in shock. A huge glowing box with an open top warped into existence around the stunned Vision. Linna tossed Stonvaut through the roof and then slammed it shut, sealing the two men inside.

“Again? Really? Your tricks are getting old. I’ll just sink the damn ship and deal with you afterwards,” Moat growled.

Tendrils of water started to rise out of the sea around the Rosarian.

“If he’s in his water form, he can’t attack the ship!” Linna yelled to Stonvaut.

The Jatir lunged forward and drove his elbow into Moat’s neck. Water splashed harmlessly away as Stonvaut’s arm went straight through Moat’s liquid form, but the tentacles around the Rosarian slipped harmlessly back into the sea once again.

“How’d you figure it out?” Moat asked, spinning to glare at Linna through the box. Panic had started creep into his voice.

Moat suddenly became solid again as Stonvaut’s hammer clipped his side. His left arm disappeared in a gray blur and Lovetap crashed into the golden floor, spiderwebbing cracks across its surface. The Vision’s head slowly turned to look down at his missing arm.

“But…you’re just a normal person. Your kind can’t-”

Lovetap made another arc through the air. Moat didn’t say anything else.

“You’re just a dead man. Dead men don’t get opinions,” Stonvaut said to the Vision’s corpse.

Linna let the golden box collapse, dropping what remained of Moat’s body into the sea. She floated Stonvaut back onto the deck of the Rosarian silently. The guards on the shore lowered their bows and turned their attention to the growing fire that threatened to devour the tavern district. Sometimes, it was better to let someone else deal with the problem and pretend you didn’t see it.

Linna rushed over to find Jasper and Ethan, but the two of them were gone. Avril held up a placating hand to stop Linna’s frantic search. The woman’s eyes had dark bags under them, and she looked like she had one foot in the grave with the second ready to follow it.

“Don’t worry. Ethan and Jasper are below deck, but you need to let them rest. They’ll both live. Jasper’s not an easy gremlin to kill. I’ve tried it a few times myself. As for Ethan…he’s a special case,” Avril said wearily.

“Are you sure? Ethan took a hit that was meant for me, and he didn’t look alright,” Linna said worriedly.

“They’ll live until we reach the Ashen Lands. I promise,” Avril said, rubbing her forehead.

“That’s reassuring… I think,” Linna muttered. Despite her annoyed tone, the tension started to leave her body.

“Next time you kill someone, make sure ta finish the job,” Stonvaut told Linna, patting her on the shoulder. “But good work. He won’t be coming back this time.”

Linna went to nod, but her head refused to move. Despite the sun’s crawl through the sky, the world seemed to be growing darker. The islander woman opened her mouth to comment on it, but all that came out was a garbled groan.

“What was that?” Avril asked, turning toward the younger Vision.

Linna’s muscles abruptly lost tension, her legs gave out, and she slumped to the deck as her body rebelled against her.

Avril strode over and knelt beside the unconscious Vision. She pulled Linna’s eyelids back and inspected her pupils, then placed her ear to the girl’s chest.

“Not injured,” Avril announced. “Just completely out of energy. She’ll be fine after she sleeps it off.”

The onlooking crew let out sighs of relief and dispersed to man the Rosarian. Avril picked Linna up and descended to below deck. She located a large bundle of unused tarp and laid her upon it.

Avril sighed and glanced over to where Jasper and Ethan laid. The gremlin was out cold and wrapped in rapidly browning bandages. However, the swordsman was sitting straight up, watching Avril silently.

“You interfered,” Ethan said. “I should not be awake.”

“I did. I think you know why.”

“I do. I’m out of time,” Ethan sighed. “My body used up most of my remaining energy to repair the wound Moat gave me.”

“You wouldn’t have survived to reach the Ashen Lands if I hadn’t awoken you,” Avril said.

“I see. Before I do anything, I’d like to talk,” Ethan said slowly.

Avril gestured for him to speak.

“I am disappointed with the way things have progressed,” Ethan said, sighing.

“Why is that?” Avril asked. Ethan could tell the woman already knew the answer to her question, but he humored her.

“Moat was…weak. From what I could see, he could only control a small amount of water. Any member of our original team could have handled him within a minute with no injury, myself included.”

“Linna hasn’t even been a Vision for a month. Besides, Jasper fought against him together with Linna. Look how he turned out. Perhaps Moat was more dangerous than you believe,” Avril offered.

“You are correct about Linna, but this fight has shown that Jasper is in no better shape than I am,” Ethan said.

“He’s hardly dying.”

“He is a fragment of his former self,” Ethan said, his eyes narrowing.

Avril shifted uncomfortably on her barrel and raised her hands helplessly.

“He is trying to retain control of his sanity. He is-”

“Your test subject,” Ethan finished.

Avril blinked. “What? No-”

“Enough. Jasper is a shell of his former self. If our business with the Everflame ends badly, you will ensure he returns to what he should be,” Ethan said. His voice trembled with emotion, but there was an underlying tone of steel deadly enough to cut through rock.

Avril looked into the swordsman’s dark eyes. They were accusing and sharp, twin lakes buried deep underground where no movement could touch them. She held his gaze for a moment. Wisps of gray smoke curled and hissed and crackled around her body, but the swordsman didn’t budge. After nearly a minute, Avril gave Ethan a small but perceptible nod.

“I believe Jasper will return to his former self before I have to act. I am just unsure if the world will be a better place for it.”

“The world is not my concern,” Ethan said. “That’s all I needed to talk about. Please apologize to Linna and Jasper for me. I had hoped to be of use for longer. After all, they’re doing this to save my life.”

Ethan reached under his shirt and pressed against the panel on his chest. It hissed open and he reached inside it, closing his eyes in concentration. A few seconds later, the panel hissed shut and he looked back at Avril.

“It’s done?” She asked quietly.

“It is,” he replied.

The swordsman’s voice and eyes were completely devoid of emotion and a bored expression replaced his normal cheerful grin. The swordsman laid back down and stared silently up at the wooden ceiling.

“Sometimes, I wonder if I’m making the right decisions,” Avril said aloud to her sleeping companions.

Gray smoke poured out of her hands, transforming into a foggy duplicate of her own body. Avril’s eyebrow rose slightly as she felt her body drawing energy without permission. The fog sat down across from Avril, its gray eyes burning sightlessly into her.

“It’s not like you’ve ever had a choice,” it said.

“No, I suppose I haven’t,” Avril agreed with a sigh. She flicked her hand and the foggy form exploded into dozens of grey strands that slowly made their way back into her.