Ol' Flint the Crow

Silvia's Plea

Flint shepherded all the animals through the mansion and outside to freedom. There they meet the Madam roaring at her guard pigs who had just returned to their normal selves, no longer under the influence of the pheromones they had unintentionally consumed. Leaping off each other, the swine trembled in front of their mistress and begged for forgiveness.

Before Madam Silvia could give a proper punishment, she suddenly noticed the snarling beast behind her. In a panic, the woman ordered the vultures to form a line in front of her while she assembled the pigs for battle. The skittish vultures, however, saw how outnumbered they were and quickly turned coward.

"Stand your ground!" screeched Silvia. "Not one of them escapes. You hear?!"

Raising his voice at the frightened vultures, Flint retorted, "Yes! Not one of you will escape, if you remain with her. If you hope to survive this ordeal, join with us, and we'll will allow you to live. You won't find a better deal on the side of that Blood Bather!"

The vultures were convinced, nevertheless there were some still loyal to the Madam. When their mistress screamed at them again, a few of the winged birds of prey found their courage, as much as they could muster at the present circumstances, and opposed Flint and Ribbs from coming any closer. They flung their massive wings at them.

The two animal comrades charged forward with their long sword and rapier at the ready. Together they made quick work of the bravest vultures, cutting them down with expert skill. Flint speedily stabbed three of the Madam's birds in their breast while Ribbs finished them off with a mighty swing of Samuel's heavy sword.

Seeing the duo's mastery of the blade made the minstrel marvel at the bloodshed. He almost felt no remorse for the slain vultures lying stone dead on the grass. Ribbs and Flint's swordplay was too beautiful to find fault with. Thankfully the fight soon ended once the other vultures, horrified at their brethren's demise, lifted their wings up and surrendered immediately.

"Cowards!" Silvia cried out while she was still trying to ready her drugged pigs for the fight. "Don't be afraid! The Gok is with us!"

"You'll be seeing your gods soon enough too, if you continue to stand against us!" answered Flint.

Having no more will to die for their mistress, the vultures flapped their wings and soared into the night sky, never to be seen again. The pigs gazed up at their feeling comrades in horror and hesitated to resume the fray. Their minds were still foggy, and standing up on their cloven hooves was an ordeal in itself. Again, Silvia ordered her pigs to fight for her. She yelled and vowed to sell them to the slaughter house if they dared disobey, but this only made the pigs more unwilling.

Suddenly, the miniature pig that Samuel recognized from before, with a frightened squeal, scurried away from the Madam and towards Flint and Ribbs. There, it bowed low to them and begged to be shown mercy. Flint was all too willing to accept him immediately. The little pig happily joined the animal rebels' ranks and oinked in joy. One by one, the pigs lost their bravery and abandoned their mistress for the safety of their own skins.

Madam Silvia was left alone, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. She stumbled for a moment on her wobbling legs, unsure of what she could hope to do without anyone on her side any more. Shivering in the cold night air, the lady looked so pitiable to Samuel. The minstrel pushed through the crowd with Monkey still draped over his arms.

Suddenly, the Madam gasped at the sight of her dead servant. Her eyes started to water the longer she looked at Monkey.

With a sniffle, she spoke aloud, "Y-you... killed my m-monkey? Monkey! Why?!"

Solemnly dragging his feet to bring the ape to his mistress, Samuel did not even hear the sounds of Flint squawking for him to stay back.

"Samuel!" the bird shouted. "Stop! What are you...?"