Ol' Flint the Crow

The Correction Room

On either side of the minstrel, animals were caged in expansive enclosures that attempted (and nearly succeeded) to mimic real beast habitats. Living trees and bushes were planted and thrived rather well for being underground.

One rotunda-shaped, enclosure, gated entirely in a wire frame, housed hundreds of differing species of birds. They flew around a massive oak tree like a whirlwind. Their vast assortment of colors blended together into a kaleidoscopic array. Even while being dragged against his will, Samuel could not help but look at the feathery cluster in awe.

As the vultures lead by Silvia, traveled deeper into this beautiful underground menagerie, Samuel began to notice contradictory emotions between the imprisoned animals. In one enclosure, there were a group of grass-eating mammals that huddled together as they hungrily ate their evening meal. A grey-eyed dear, who would jitter at every sound, gazed out of the fence and gaped in horror at Silvia marching past. Meanwhile a baby faced moose took one look at the Madam and immediately bowed its head out of respect. The other animals had various other reactions to the woman passing them by. Whether they were resentful or respectful, all the animals they came upon feared Silvia for one reason or another.

Soon they entered through a long passage where they arrived at the correction room through a steel door. On one side of the room, there were Gok idols, over a roaring fire pit, gazing solemnly at the other wall where an iron board lay slanted on top of a wooden stand.

Swiftly, the vultures tied Samuel to the board. With all his might, the minstrel struggled to fight off the buzzards; however, they left him roped up by his ankles and wrist. He was forced to face the Gok statues which stared at him with their imposing eyes as the heat from the fire caused sweat to dribble off his brow. Behind him, hanging from the walls, on angular hooks, were whips and clubs. These weapons were stained red with blood from the disobedient victims that the minstrel could only hope were still alive.

To his right, there was a saggy mess of grey fur lying on a pile of moist hay. It was a canine of some kind, Samuel deduced; but it was hard to tell since the creature was too weak to move. Its flappy ears limped behind his skull and trembled as the beast slept. The only time the creature did move was when it's body involuntarily quivered due to the nightmares it was experiencing.

Twisting her hands into a knot, Silvia stormed out of the room with her vulture guards through another side entrance. Leaving an old buzzard to keep watch over the prisoner, the Madam said, "I'll cleanse myself in the alter room. Wait here until my return."

Silvia gazed at the minstrel one last time and huffed in disgust. Then she was gone to wash off in the next room where the sounds of crying lambs shook Samuel to his core. Knowing that he had to escape, Samuel spied at the vulture keeping watch and noticed that the bird of prey, old of age, was nodding off in the far off corner. Seizing this opportunity, the minstrel whistled desperately to the shaggy animal on the pile of hay.

"Wake up boy!" Samuel whispered as loudly as he dared. "Can you get me out of these bonds?!" Turning to face the snoring guard, Samuel became impatient and called louder to the four-legged beast, "Please fella! Before she comes back. All you need to do is chew through these ropes."

"Yeah sure..." groaned a sarcastic voice that echoed into Samuel's right eardrum. "He'll go and help yee once he bites that the shackle around his ankle. Open yar eyes, human... He can't help ya. No one's gonna save us from her. We're not gettin' out of this mad house. Believe me, I've tried..."

The minstrel whipped his head towards the stranger. Huddled in a cage on the ground, a slimy creature stared down at its webbed feet in sorrow. Its cheeks puffed out at irregular intervals. Too keep itself warm, the animal would rub his sticky palms together vigorously.