Ol' Flint the Crow

A Little Tale and a Little Rest

At the end of Flint's woeful tale, Samuel shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. The minstrel was not sure if his body was trembling from the chilly wind or from the dark history of the Kingdom of Dermid he had just heard from the crow.

Galahad the Bard's brief take on Flint's grim tale had failed to show how much the bird actually suffered. Tabitha was barely even mentioned in the song. Instead, Galahad put more emphasis on the townsfolk and the royalty's anger for one another. It was a lesson about revenge and how it can sometimes spiral out of control. The song explained this quite well, however, it failed to show the inner turmoil Flint had to go through while he balanced his love for Tabitha with the fight for the girl's soul.

Shaking his head as he tried to find his words, Samuel finally exclaimed, "Flint... I never knew... I'm sorry. What I assumed about you... What I said when we first met... I had no right to talk to you like that! When I called you a monster... I-"

"Please!" The crow raised his wing pathetically to stop the flute player's apology. "There's no need. I don't want your sympathy. I deserve none of it. I may have not done any of the horrors that Todd and the king and queen did, but what I put Tabitha through... What she had to suffer because of me..." Flint clenched his wounded side as his injury throbbed bitterly.

The minstrel shook his head and said, "You shouldn't blame yourself, Flint. How could you have known what Todd would do. It's disgusting and wrong what the royal family did to the townsfolk. No wonder that evil man had so much hate in his heart. Nevertheless, Todd was wrong too. And what he did to them... What he did to Tabitha was appalling! But you did not do anything to her, Flint! No matter what she thinks about you, at least you tried. You did what was right. It was just bad luck, I guess."

"Bad luck?" Flint chuckled and afterwards let out a yelp of pain. "I've had far more than my fair share. I'm cursed Mr. Samuel! Didn't know that, huh? Been cursed since the day I hatched from my mother's egg."

Squinting his face at the hard to believe idea, Samuel muttered, "Cursed? How can you be sure?"

"Haven't you listen to the song?" the bird said mockingly. "'Poor Flint the Crow. A tale of filled with sorrow and woe.' The lyrics to that accursed ballad don't even compare to my dismal life! I've seen my friends die and suffer in front of me. Edvrick and Tabitha were only two of them. There have been many more... And me! The things my body has undergone; you could only dream about. I've been tortured and bruised more times than I care to count by those who hate me. So many want me dead or in pain. Tabitha's just the first you've seen. I'm cursed Mr. Samuel. So no matter what I do or how much I try to help those I care about, there will always be something to screw it up! Perhaps that is why you have that worm in your heart. Maybe it was all my doing... My bad luck..."

"No," the minstrel responded firmly. "You didn't do anything, Flint. It was that noble who put it in me. You had nothing to do with it! Besides, you're helping me to get it out. Right? Obviously you care enough to save my life. Most would have just believed that it was not their problem."

"You mean Miss Bleak," the bird stated plainly with a weak smirk.

Samuel shrugged. "I guess... Either way, you're a good creature, Flint. And I appreciate what you're doing for me."

"Even if I murdered the Duke in cold blood?"

This statement caught Samuel off guard causing him to squirm and tug at the blanket.

After a rather long pause that made even Flint uneasy as he clicked his tongue a few times in his dry mouth, Samuel uttered softly. "I may not agree with everything you do Flint, but that doesn't matter. Miss Bleak said that I should respect the fact that you're willing to help me. No matter what you have done or will do as we continue our adventure, I owe you a mountain of gratitude. And I hope that I can repay you some day."