Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

Arc.18 Ch.5 Otherworlders

There were about thirty-seven of them when they finally pointed their weapon at the same younger bandit who was curled in a ball on the ground. And we had the same idea.

"Take us to your base," I ordered.

"And your booty, and we might let you walk away." Flint grinned as he aimed a crossbow at the boy.

*twang*.

"AHHHHHH!" the bandit screamed as the bolt for the crossbow sheared off the top of his left ear.

"Flint!" Raven shouted.

"Blasted useless gear, haven't any of you heard of maintenance?" Flint slapped the crossbow a couple of times and when something sprung loose, he considered it garbage and tossed it over his shoulder.

"And I thought you were a better shot than that." I mocked.

"I'm sorry, okay. Even I can't do anything if the crossbow wants to shoot on its own. At least I don't need to replace my sword after twenty seconds." Flint bantered as the bandit rolled over in pain.

"Tell you what. If you want your ear back, I'll fix it... after you show us where all the loot is." I said to the bandit.

"If someone else saw this, who could tell which side were the bandits?" Raven sighed. "Do they feel nothing for the blood that was spilled here?" She solemnly looked at the bodies on the ground.

"They will return to the cycle, and hopefully they will choose better friends in their next life," I said.

"The Cycle?" Flint asked as he hoisted the bandit to his feet.

"I don't want to get into it too much since I'll sound like a religious fanatic. But the basic cycle is that you live and die. And my theory is that eventually, the spirit is reborn. Similar to what the wolves believe but without so many extra details." I answered.

"You believe in reincarnation?" Flint asked as if he were learning a whole new side of me.

"After a fashion. I believe in God and Gaia and greater powers and souls. Everyone has got to believe in something, right?" I said while looking at the sky, but then I shook myself out of my pensive pondering and returned to the matter at hand. "Once they die someone will sort them out and with any luck they will return after being whipped a few times."

"So no eternal damnation? No Hel or Elysium fields, or return to dust." Flint said.

"Growing up I did not believe in reincarnation. Once someone returned to Gaia their bodies became food for trees and plants." Raven said.

Then I paused.

"Sebas. Who is Gaia?" Talisa asked.

Flint hoisted the bandit to his feet. "Gaia is the great spirit of the earth, the loving mother of all life, keeper of world trees and yada yada yada. Bunch of Vegan Elven mumbo jumbo."

"Do not speak of the Holy Mother Gaia that way!" Raven chastised. "Shows what a heathen pirate would know about such things."

I steeled my nerves. "But Does this world have the same Gaia?"

"It's probably a different one so who knows who cares?" Flint blew off.

"Gaia is the mother of all this one of the previous one-" That was when Raven realized she had been caught. She jumped away and slid to a stop with her hand on her sword.

"Speak! Who art thou!" Raven hissed.

Flint shoved the bandit to Nerinin. Then he pulled out his cutlass with a seriousness he hasn't shown yet.

I followed suit and pulled out my tails and battle staves.

The tension exploded between the three of us. I had a good idea that Flint was an otherworlder, but I hadn't suspected Raven. I locked eyes with Flint, and he nodded solemnly with me and then turned to Raven.

"Flint, Flint E. Teach, born in a small village between the northern and southern continents during the time the empire felled the last world tree. I fell into this world and was adopted by Evelyne Teach at sea." Flint said and then he looked at me.

I looked at the girls... and then I looked at Flint who obviously knew without me telling him. And then my gaze fell on Raven, she was someone who would take everything but the truth as a hostile act, and then the girls might be in danger. I sighed and came clean.

"Benny, Human from the proud nation of America. Died in a shooting at a mall. Born as a fox. Sebas Asmos Ti'en, first born son of the Dark Lady and the King of Teagon." I answered.

Raven licked her lips and looked at the both of us for a long hard moment.

"Raven, proud elven guard of the Niflheim just north of the dwarven mountains, I died defending my people's retreat as we were invaded by fiends. Born human in the Samurai Valley of Silverlight." Raven eased up on her sword and both Flint and I lowered our weapons slightly. "What is your goal by coming here?"

"To follow the winds of adventure wherever they take me." Flint declared, "And to one day become a great pirate like my hero."

"To find my place in the world," I answered. "Maybe go on an adventure or two while I find it."

Flint held out his fist in my direction and I bumped it with mine in camaraderie.

"Men, thou art fools for glory no matter the world." Raven sheathed sword audibly sheathed and she stood up straight. "Do neither of thee rogues have any ill intent on this world?"

"Only to survive it," Flint said, putting his sword away.

"Just to protect those who are precious to me." I shrank my battlestaves to wand size.

Raven used a fan to cover her face, but I could tell she was grinding her teeth. She was processing the information and was frustrated on how me and Flint both fell in a gray area of the good and evil spectrum. "These brutes are worse than Touki." she grumbled.

"I don't know what you expected. This may be a world of fairytales but not every prince can be prince charming." I shrugged.

"I like to think that I am pretty charming." Flint nodded confidently.

"The two of thee are what some call two buckets in a well." Raven rolled her eyes.

"I think she means two peas in a pod." I said.

"Noo, I'm pretty sure it's two eggs in a barrel." Flint said.