Gremlin's Greed - COMPLETE Chapter 16 (Patreon)

The sun was swaying through the sky overhead when Linna woke up. A rough fleece blanket, moistened by the humid ocean air, pressed up against her cheek. Linna rose to her feet gingerly, bracing herself in preparation for a wave of pain and exhaustion that never came.

“Good to see you’re awake, Linna. I speak for tha’ crew when I say it’s good ‘ta see ya again,” A passing crewman told Linna with a gap-toothed grin.

“It’s good to see you as well, Jerret. I never thought I’d run into my old crew in the middle of the mainland. And are my friends–”

“Your tall friend said they both be right an’ sound, and the ship’s nae in danger. Told all ‘o us in case we saw ya movin” he said before Linna could get the question out.

The tension slipped out of her posture and Linna nodded with no little relief.

“Where are they?” Linna asked.

“Assuming you mean us, we’re below the deck!” Avril called, her voice muffled by the wood separating them.

“That’s creepy,” the crewman muttered to Linna. He gave her a respectful nod and set back off toward the bow of the ship.

Jasper was awake when Linna got there. Avril and Ethan sat on either side of him. The swordsman didn’t even seem to notice Linna enter the room. The gremlin lay on a pile of animal skins that someone had liberated from the ship’s hold. He was practically mummified in bandages.

“Looks like you’re doing well,” Jasper said.

“And you’re still alive. Moat was really strong. I’m amazed we didn’t lose anyone fighting against him,” Linna said.

Jasper and Avril exchanged a glance that didn’t escape Linna’s notice. She frowned and glanced over her shoulder toward the stairwell leading up to the main deck.

“We didn’t lose anyone, did we?”

“We did not,” Ethan responded.

“So what’s the problem? You’re not acting normal,” Linna said.

“Ethan ran out of power healing the wound Moat inflicted,” Avril explained. “He has deactivated all of his nonessential functions so he can live long enough to try and get the Everflame.”

“He’s basically a robot,” Jasper said, stress tinging his voice. “No emotions, feelings, anything like that. If it’s gotten this bad, he should have about a week of power left as long as he doesn’t have to fight anything.”

“I’m sorry. This is my fault. I–”

“Stop,” Jasper said. His voice was cold.

“The problem,” Jasper said, pausing briefly between each word. “is that I was nearly killed by a backwater Vision. It’s not you, Linna. You’ve only been a Vision for a month. I’ve been one for longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve become a burden.”

“Jasper, what are you saying?” Linna asked, shocked.

Jasper gritted his teeth and looked at a different part of the wall. Linna let a slow breath out and followed it up with a curse.

“This is bad,” Linna told Avril.

“You’re telling me?” Avril asked sarcastically. “He’s been like this ever since he woke up.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Jasper muttered.

“Has this ever happened before?” Linna asked, ignoring the gremlin.

“Not for as long as I’ve known him.”

Jasper gritted his teeth and pushed himself upright. His eyes flashed with fury and he thrust a finger at the stairs.

“Get out. I have training to do. Linna, you would be wise to do the same.”

“What about Avril?” The younger vision asked.

“She’s useless whether she trains or not,” Jasper spat. “Don’t make me tell you again. Get. Out.”

They left. Ethan was evidently excluded from Jasper’s command, as he remained by the gremlin’s side as the two women left the hold.

“Is there anything we can do to help Jasper or Ethan?” Linna asked Avril as they stood by the railing of the ship.

Avril looked down at her hand. Small wisps of gray smoke flitted through her fingers in a serpentine dance. Her brow creased in concentration and her gaze seemed to shift to something deep within the calm waters below them.

“No. Not yet,” Avril said, dismissing the smoke and turning back to face Linna. The older Vision wiped her eyes and blinked.

“Damn ocean water always irritates my eyes,” Avril said, covering her face with one hand.

Linna nodded sagely, electing to remain silent. The taller Vision turned away from Linna and looked back toward the water.

“It’s just like that,” Avril said, looking out at the seemingly endless stretch of water surrounding them.

“I’m sorry?” Linna asked.

“What is the Rosarian doing to the sea?” Avril asked abruptly.

“The Rosarian? It’s a ship, Avril. It sails.”

“I know that,” Avril said irritably. “But what is it doing to the sea?”

“I don’t know. Nothing? We’re just sailing on the sea, nothing else.”

“Exactly. Nothing,” the older Vision said.

Avril shifted her gaze to meet Linna’s. Gray light completely filled the tall Vision’s eyes. Energy crackled through their endless depths with an intensity that made Linna’s hair prick up all over her skin.

“This is how our universe works. We can do nothing. Fools believe the wake we create as we sail through existence causes a difference, but that is because they do not look behind to see the waves fade into nothingness at our backs.”

“Well that’s depressing,” Linna said. “You never struck me as the moody type, so I’ll cut to the chase. Do you have a point here?”

“Don’t you understand? It doesn’t matter what you do. Our choices don’t have an effect on the outcome of anything. They are nothing. Insignificant!” Avril snarled.

“And? That doesn’t mean I’m just going to sit around and do nothing. Is that why you never help us fight?” Linna asked.

“It is but the least of an infinitely great number of reasons.”

Avril didn’t see the punch coming until she was lying on her back with the sky swaying overhead. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. It came away tinged red.

“Did you just punch me?” Avril asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

“Damn right I did,” Linna replied. “You had it coming. Jasper and I were fighting for all of our lives and Ethan is slowly dying. How can you just sit around and watch your friends die while bullshitting me with some philosophical garbage?”

Linna left Avril on the ground and stomped to the front of the ship where Stonvaut laid on the deck basking in the sunlight. His hammer rested at his feet. The Jatir glanced lazily up at her from his spot on the ground and let out a catlike yawn.

“You don’t seem too happy, girl.”

“I’m not,” Linna admitted with a huff. She sat down cross legged beside the enormous man’s head and drummed her fingers on the warm wood impatiently.

“I feel helpless. Jasper and Ethan are seriously injured, and I don’t even know what my vision is.”

“You fought Moat twice and we killed him. and I’m certain you’ve done some impressive stuff during your travels,” Stonvaut said.

“I’m not here to complain, Jatir. I’m going to get stronger. You can fight against Visions, but you’re just a normal human. If you could teach me-”

“There’s the problem right there,” Stonvaut said abruptly.

This time, it was Linna’s turn to pause and raise an eyebrow.

“Listen. Let me tell you a story. When I was much younger, I really wanted to be a blacksmith. Can you believe that?” Stonvaut asked with a laugh.

“Not really, but I guess you had the right build for it,” Linna said.

“Well, I did. I travelled all over seeking tutelage from any blacksmith that was willing to take me, and I got pretty decent at it. But nothing I ever made held up as good as what they did. My swords dulled faster and my daggers broke first.”

“Why?” Linna asked.

“Because they all had their own special techniques. I tried to learn each one, but I just couldn’t get them. It took me years to figure out the reason.”

Stonvaut paused just long enough for Linna to get impatient and prod him in the stomach.

“It was because I was trying to copy their techniques. What I really needed to do was learn from them, but then make my own style that belonged to me. And that’s how I made Lovetap over here,” Stonvaut said, patting his hammer affectionately.

“You made Lovetap yourself?” Linna asked, shocked.

“I did. But think about what I’m trying to tell you. Stop trying to be other people. You’ll never master anything when you’re just copying someone else,” Stonvaut said passionately.

Linna opened her mouth to respond. Then she slowly closed it. After a few moments of silence, the Vision gave Stonvaut a nod.

“I want to spar with you,” she said.

“Now that be somethin’ I can help with,” he said. A grin spread across Stonvaut’s face and he rose to his feet.

A wave of golden energy left Linna’s body and created a huge cube around the two of them. It covered a large portion of the Rosarian’s top deck.

“This should stop us from damaging the ship as long as we don’t hit it too hard, so focus your attacks on me,” Linna said confidently.

“I planned on it,” Stonvaut said, baring his teeth in an animalistic grin.

The Jatir crossed the distance with a single bound and drove his elbow into Linna’s stomach. A flicker of gold light flashed out from under Linna’s shirt as the golden plate she had hid there shattered, but it absorbed the force of the blow.

Stonvaut had been in far too many battles to be caught off guard. He shifted in place and kicked Linna hard in her side. The force of the blow picked the woman off the ground and sent her flying into one of the golden cube’s walls.

The Vision rolled to the side moments before Stonvaut’s foot crashed into the ground where she had been lying down.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Linna yelled at him.

“Are you trying to improve? Show me something creative!”

Linna reached into the air behind her. Energy swirled around her hand, condensing into a rippling ball. She gave it a surprised glance before hurling toward the Jatir. Stonvaut let out a laugh and tumbled out of the way. The ball of energy splashed harmlessly against the arena wall with a hiss.

Stonvaut’s laugh abruptly turned into a choked wheeze as something suddenly wrapped itself around his throat and started to squeeze. The Jatir tore the offending presence away from his neck with a curse.

A metal ball connected to a strip of wound cloth laid in his hand, its brother already rolling harmlessly across the ship’s deck from the force of his pull.

“Ya hid an attack with a bola behind one that used energy? Clever,” Stonvaut admitted.

Linna clenched her fists. Her glowing armor thrummed into existence around her and she charged at Stonvaut. The Jatir braced his stance to meet her. Moments before the two collided, the young Vision seemed to slam into an invisible wall.

Stonvaut’s fist whistled through the air harmlessly, and Linna rushed forward immediately afterwards. A brutal backhand reinforced with glowing energy sent the Jatir tumbling across the ground.

He popped back up to his feet and let out a roar of approval.

“Brilliant! How did you stop like that?”

Linna stepped to the side, revealing a taut golden chain connected to one of the glowing walls directly behind her.

“Very clever. I think I actually felt that punch too,” Stonvaut admitted, rubbing his nose with a wide grin.

“Tha Jatir just got his ass handed to ‘im by Linna again!” A man called loudly.

Stonvaut and Linna spun toward the source of the voice. A large crowd had gathered along one of the cube walls. It was mostly crewmen, but Linna spotted Ethan and Jasper at the edge of the group.

“I believe I was just reminded not to underestimate ma’ opponents,” Stonvaut called back amicably. “But feel free ta come down here and try your own hand if you’re cocky. I’m all warmed up!”

The crewman quickly shut his mouth and offered his Jatir a sheepish grin before fading back into the crowd. Linna let their makeshift arena disappear along with her armor.

“Thank you, Stonvaut. You helped me a lot today,” Linna said, offering him a hand.

The Jatir’s hand completely engulphed Linna’s. He pumped it once and leaned down to look her in the eye.

“I’m not sure I did much. Next time, I will use my hammer. You best be ready.”

“Only if I give you the chance to lift it,” Linna said, a grin spreading across her face.

“Now you’re talking like a Vision,” Stonvaut laughed. He grabbed Lovetap and slung the hammer over his shoulder. As he walked toward the helm of the ship, the Jatir paused and turned back to give Linna a serious look.

“Just make sure you don’t die like one.”

Linna mulled over the large man’s words as she watched the crowd start to disperse, leaving only Jasper and Ethan standing across from her on the deck. Bandages still covered the gremlin head to toe.

Ethan silently returned below deck, as if he had forgotten why he’d come out in the first place. Jasper sighed and gingerly touched his injured ear with one hand as he watched Ethan leave.

“That was a good fight. For someone who’s only been a Vision for a short time, you held your own decently,” Jasper said.

“You and Ethan taught me,” Linna started, but the scowl that appeared on Jasper’s face silenced her words.

“We didn’t teach you anything like that. You didn’t even use your sword. Humbleness is a trait that is ill suited for a Vision, especially when it does not belong.”

“I suppose so,” Linna said. She touched the hilt of the sword on her hip and grinned awkwardly.

Jasper sat down next to Linna and stared out toward the endless expanse of ocean before them.

“I’m sorry for bringing you into this,” Jasper slowly said after a long silence. “I’ve been a horrible teacher. Ethan’s done much more than I have. You still don’t even know your vision! And now we’re heading off to the Ashen Lands where you’ll have to face our past for us.”

“That’s enough. You didn’t force me to come with you,” Linna said. “I made my own choice. I’ve learned a lot through travelling with you and Ethan. You both gave me a chance to make something with my life. I’ve learned more than I could have imagined in just the short time we’ve been traveling.”

“Experience does dead men no good,” Jasper replied.

“I said enough!” Linna yelled. “I am a grown goddamn woman, Jasper. If you want to wallow in self-pity, go ahead. But don’t you dare use me as the excuse to do it.”

“But-”

“Shut up and let me talk,” Linna said. “You and Ethan are the reason I’m a Vision, and I chose to help you get the Everflame because I don’t believe Ethan deserves to die a slow and worthless death in front of his friend. I get to make decisions for myself, and I’m choosing to help you. Now get your head out of your pint-sized ass. Yon isn’t going to lose to a depressed gremlin.”

She gave the gremlin a curt nod and spun on her heel to walk down into the ship’s hold. As she started down the stairs, Linna paused and glanced back at Jasper.

“The Vision of Deceit should be able to do a lot better than sit around whining. Figure something out.”