Ol' Flint the Crow

Composing in Secret

Samuel fumbled under the blankets in the middle of the night. The sound of something being hit awoke him from his deep slumber. Yawning while he stretched and rolled over, Samuel turned to the noise. He saw Flint slapping himself with his wing. This immediately made the minstrel remember the dangers the three of them were up against.

Flint shook out his beak violently. His baggy eye was blood shot, and he looked like he was about to pass out at any moment. The way the crow's body slouched over on his rocky perch, it was evident that he went well past his third of the night's watch.

Rolling over to Miss Bleak, Samuel saw that she was snoring loudly and in no stretch of the imagination about to wake up by the way her body heaved up and down. So with another yawn, the minstrel hoisted himself up and stagger to Flint.

Flint's bill jolted up at the sight of the human appearing before him. A cross look etched on his face, the bird's sour mood did not coax Samuel's desire to takeover Flint's patrol. The minstrel stood there in front of the bird with his arms stretched out, meaning no harm.

"What do you want?" hissed the bird who grabbed the hilt of his rapier tightly.

Rocking on his feet, Samuel nervously answered, "I figured that I could take next watch if you'd like."

Flint grimaced and eased off his weapon. His beak drooped, and his eyes weighed heavy. With a look of regret, the crow nodded his head and wobbled away from his post. About to fall over at any minute, he fumbled towards the bed rolls and flopped next to Miss Bleak.

"Thanks Mr. Samuel," Flint said while lying prone on his belly. "You'll stay awake, right? If you hear anything, don't keep it to yourself. Wake me up if you have to. I only need a little bit of shut eye. Be careful... The Alpha and his wolves are cunning creatures. Don't do anything stupid with them around."

Sitting cross-legged by the crackling fire, Samuel prodded the dreary bird with a question. "Flint, what is the Alpha like?"

"I'm extremely tried Mr. Samuel," mumbled the bird while he curled up next to Bleak. "Let's just say that the old monster is a foolish wolf lord with an all-consuming grudge against me for what I did to his dear son. He'll stop at nothing to take his revenge on me, even if it means neglecting his whole race in the process. If someone doesn't stop him, the wolves will become extinct because of his arrogance."

Samuel asked, "So you don't hate the wolves, then?"

I'm trying not to," Flint grunted. "The gods know I'm trying. For the sake of Master Rivlit, I'll try. Now, no more stories. I'm sssooo vvvery tirrred... zzz..."

After the bird drifted off to sleep, Samuel smiled and gazed at the little creature digging his little body into the barmaids' torso. Nestled together, they looked like a bear and cub snuggling next to each other while in peaceful hibernation.

Then Samuel tore his eyes away from them and looked around in the dark. Adding a few dry thistles to the campfire, Samuel watched the flames illuminate the cliff face with his shadow rippling in the most entrancing way. It was so soothing to watch the light flicker about that in a few seconds the minstrel's eyelids drooped ever so slightly. However, Samuel immediately shook himself awake. He pinched himself and continued his watch.

To combat weariness, he grabbed the supply bag and took out some grapes. He nibbled on the juicy fruit while he watched the moon drifting in the sky as the time slowly ticked by. Once Samuel ran out of grapes to chew on, he again felt the hands of drowsiness creeping up on him.

As a last resort to keep himself awake, the minstrel reached into his pocket and yanked out his flute and the scrapes of parchment of his surreptitious composition. Humming out the words he had written to create the right tune for the lyrics, his hands fumbled against his instrument that was begging to be played. However, a slight moan coming from the bartender quickly rendered Samuel silent. With a jolt, he buried the notes back into his pocket. He didn't move a muscle until Bleak's breathing steadied.