“What do you want? We’re busy,” Jasper barked.

“Oh, hello sir. I was just dropping by to see if anyone was interested in purchasing a very high-quality rug for the travel. It would help alleviate the bumpiness of the wooden floor when the wagon is moving, or you could just use it to clean your shoes,” the short man said enthusiastically.

Jasper pulled his hood back slightly and let the disguise concealing his features drop for a moment. He gave the man a wide smile, revealing his needle-sharp teeth.

“I said we we’re busy. Get lost before I get hungry,” Jasper growled.

The salesman yelped and darted away as fast as his legs would carry him. The gremlin chuckled as the illusion covered his features again. He walked back into the wagon and sat down nonchalantly.

“Have you had any time to figure out what your Vision is yet?” Jasper asked.

“How did you get rid of the salesman so easily? The last time he came around, I threatened to cut his head off and he just said that would cost extra!” Linna exclaimed.

“Vision things. You’ll figure them out soon enough. Now, your Vision?”

Linna considered his words for a few seconds. She closed her eyes and her nose twisted in concentration. Then she shrugged.

“Well, I’ve got a strong craving for a nice steak, but I doubt that’s it. Nothing’s any different from before I became a Vision,” Linna said.

“You aren’t thinking hard enough. Try harder,” Jasper said.

Linna sat there for nearly an hour with Jasper offering useless advice, but it was fruitless. As far as any of them could tell, she wasn’t a Vision at all.

As Jasper paced the wagon muttering his thoughts out loud, the floor suddenly jerked forward. Jasper stumbled over Ethan’s legs and topped to the ground, managing to get several swears off before he hit the ground. Linna burst into laughter which she unsuccessfully tried to cover up behind her hand.

“They should have warned me before they moved this stupid wooden box,” Jasper complained, massaging his nose gingerly.

“If you applied half the energy you spent cursing to staying upright, you wouldn’t fall so often,” Ethan said.

Jasper turned his furious glare onto the swordsman, but Ethan was more than used to it by now. He just gave the Vision a shrug and pulled his cloak tighter around himself. The gremlin muttered a few words of annoyance under his breath and leaned against a crate.

“Well, I’m not sure what to do. I’ve never heard of a Vision that doesn’t have a vision,” he said slowly. “I suppose we’ll have a little fun trying to figure it out when the caravan stops.”

“And what exactly does that entail?” Linna asked.

A slow grin crossed Jasper’s face and the temperature in the wagon seemed to drop a few degrees.

The caravan came to a stop just before sundown. Judging by her scowl, Linna wasn’t a fan of what Jasper considered fun. Jasper tapped a short wooden stick against his thigh, clicking his tongue in annoyance while Linna nursed her bruised wrist.

The light from the large campfire the caravan workers had erected in the middle of the camp was barely enough to see by, but that didn’t seem to dissuade the gremlin.

“You’re terrible with a sword,” Jasper told her.

“Of course I am! I’ve never used one before,” she snapped.

Jasper gestured for her to pick her stick back off the ground, which she did reluctantly. The disguised gremlin didn’t even try to conceal the distaste on his face.

“Your stance is terrible, and you swing your sword like a wet noodle. Are you trying to chop me in half or caress me?”

Linna huffed and pointed her makeshift sword accusingly at Jasper. “You’ve been smacking me with a stick for the better part of an hour. If you needed to know how bad I am with a sword you could have just asked. What’s the point of all this?”

“Mostly it’s just fun,” Jasper admitted. “There’s no possible way you can be that bad with a sword. You’re a head and a half taller than me, damn it! If you just keep it pointed in my general direction, I shouldn’t be able to get close to you.”

“He’s right,” Ethan put in helpfully from the sidelines.

Linna grunted in annoyance, a scowl evident on her face. She raised the stick in preparation for another match, but Jasper shook his head.

“Not yet. It’s not common but being a Vision may be working against your abilities. We need to talk before we do anything else.”

Linna tossed the stick to the ground with a sigh of relief and sat down next to Ethan, who was inspecting his reflection in the blade of his sword. Jasper formed a chair out of the ground and sat down across from them.

“I meant it when I said there’s no possible way you can be that bad with a sword,” Jasper said.

“Are you just going to insult me?” Linna asked as her face darkened.

Jasper waved his hand dismissively.

“Just listen. Your longer reach was a large advantage, but the real reason you shouldn’t have been beaten that badly is that I’ve never used a sword in my entire life.”

Linna blinked. She glanced at Jasper’s hip, realizing for the first time that all it had was an empty sheathe for a dagger. Jasper watched her expression change with a smug grin.

“I think your Vision abilities are working against you,” Jasper said. “It’s incredibly rare, but it’s all I can think of. Your faith in your swordsmanship abilities is so strongly negative that you’re actually causing yourself to become weaker.”

The new Vision flicked her braid over her shoulder and rubbed the bridge of her nose as she pondered Jasper’s words.

“I’ve never been able to use a sword well. I’ve seen more than my fair share of swordplay from some of my old… friends. They tried to teach me, but it didn’t work. Other weapons are just more suited to me,” Linna said.

“Then that’s your problem. You’re so convinced you can’t swing a sword that you’re stopping yourself from learning,” Jasper said, pounding a fist into his palm.