Chapter 61: Boom. Swindled. (1/2)

| Flynn the Fae Cobbler POV |

(because why the hell not)

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Flynn stumbles back into his shop for the fourth time, beard singed, hat crumpled, and coat missing two of its shiny gold buttons.

”Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat, a shlíomadóir francach,”** Flynn curses as he pushes past the Pu`ca halfling staring at him with wide-eyed innocence and concern.

**(”May the cat eat you, and may the Devil eat the cat, you rat bastard.” -- Good old-fashioned Gaelic curse.)

Nostrils flaring in anger, Flynn flings himself onto his work stool and picks up his hammer. When he sees how close he is to finally finishing the D'Raven boy's boots, however, he takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

Now's not the time to give in to his emotions. Beating the two brats who've given him this much trouble will be the best reward at the end of this disastrous day.

And that Erebus fellow, who thinks he's so damnably smart, well he didn't notice Flynn never specified which ”penalty quest” he'd make the boys do when they lose.

They won't be coming back from this quest alive, no matter how many lives the Fate-Blessed Children have.

Imagining their screams of terror lifts Flynn's spirits, and he renews his efforts to finish cobbling the boots with a smile on his face.

'I'll give the little guy credit,' Flynn thinks grudgingly. 'Boyo's done a fine job making me waste time. The forest fire was a stroke of genius; I'm not even sure how he managed that one. Then there was the lightning, the beast horde, the bees...'

The leprechaun shudders.

'But none of it matters now, in the end. These boots are almost finished, and no amount of stalling was enough to help them find my precious treasure!'

Chuckling to himself, Flynn glances up at the clock ticking away on the wall. Wincing at the time, he starts working even faster. 'If Da were alive to see me take almost a full hour to cobble a single pair of boots, though, he'd whap me upside the head with me own hammer.'

The Pu`ca, Flynn thinks his name might be Taliesin, jiggles his knee and fiddles with his sword Excalibur as he also nervously watches the clock.

The sight cheers Flynn even more, and he can't help a snide remark. ”You think you've done well, but even if he had all the Luck in the world, and your partner is definitely lacking there, that boy could never have found me coins. He isn't born of Gael, so he can't use the fae portals.”

The Pu`ca pales, as if it never occurred to him the final coin might not be located within this particular forest.

The boy gets to his feet and starts pacing, thundercloud gray eyes glued to the cuckoo clock.

Wait a minute.

The leprechaun's steady hands freeze, as his mind races.

Something is wrong. Something is out of place.

But what?

Suddenly, it hits him, and his hammer tumbles from his hand and clatters on the floor.

Flynn barely notices, as he's jumping to his feet. He points dramatically at the demihuman boy and cries, ”IT'S YOU!”

”It's me!” a confident voice that sounds just like Erebus shouts from outside the tiny red door.

Confusion clouds Flynn's face, and he whirls to face the door.

”And me!” another voice that sounds like Erebus shouts from inside the shop.

The leprechaun whirls back to face the first boy. To his shock, the Pu`ca's body and face appear to be melting and morphing.

A hooded figure bursts through the door, victoriously holding up three glittering gold coins.

”IT'S US!” both Erebus voices shout, and then the newcomer throws off Erebus's hood to reveal a grinning Taliesin.

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| Erebus/Eric POV |

Holy bejeebus I can't believe that worked.

BAHAHAHAHA I AM SO AWESOME.

”How...what...but...HOW?” Flynn splutters, too bewildered to even be angry.

Red splotches flush his face, and his wiry red hair is sticking out in every direction; he looks like a very Irish mad scientist who can't understand how his unnatural creation grew powerful enough to turn on him.

”A magic hood, impressive impersonation skills, a dumbass plan and two dumber-ass gamers willing to go along with it...plus a dash of Luck.”

If anything, the leprechaun looks even more baffled and unnerved, but it's the truth.