04/08/5-10

Upon getting closer to the camp, they saw one an archer up on a rock call out "It is a large group boss!". The two large wooden gates opened and an armoured human woman looked out at the party, asking the Marshal, where the rest of his group were. The Marshal said they would explain, but the others would not be coming back. They gestured for the party to follow and they did. Upon entering Valeyo asked who was in charge and the half-elf man in the back spoke up, saying he was the leader.

The leader asked where the rest were and Valeyo explained what had happened in the fight. The archer on top said that if the Banderhob was alive, to could still be used. He said they don’t speak, and are usually created by hags, this one however seemed subservient to the corrupted unicorn. Cassini asked about the Baderhob and the leader gestured to the archer to explain. The man with the bow was a human in his thirties wearing tracker's clothes. He said that the Unicorn was the sovereign of the area and other creatures there were subservient to it. Valeyo asked how he knew this, asking if the information came from their employer from the Conclave. The archer said the half-elf leading them was, many of the others were just hired help. Valeyo asked if all of them were mercenaries, but the leader said some of them were his friends, the others just there for the money.

Valeyo asked who in the Conclave hired them, saying they knew some arcanists and the man said it was Arcanist Kallaia. He also explained that they were confident the unicorn was corrupted, due to the creatures in the forest and the perpetual darkness. As Valeyo went to leave, Milivoj heard a voice in his mind saying "You are blessed. You should use the blessing to burn these hunters, they disrupt the forest. You must burn them.". Milivoj sensed an anger overtaking him, urging him to lash out and felt himself slipping. Valeyo saw him grip his weapon and told him to calm down, saying that Sapphira's horse isn't worth getting in to a fight over. Despite being off base, Valeyo's word managed to calm him down enough for the group to walk away, but not before Milivoj called out at the hunters saying they better give up on this hunt, if their friend's skills were anything to go by.

As they left, Milivoj was still quire irritable, but they agreed to try to get to the unicorn before the hunters, being too wary to rest close to their camp. Sapphira used her spell to prevent them from leaving tracks. Cassini did spot the archer from the hunters following them for a bit, before losing their trail.

Another 45 minutes in, Milivoj's horse came to a sudden stop in the middle of some thick woods. The group looked around, but nothing seemed out of place. However, when Cassini cast Detect Magic, he felt an immensely powerful illusion spell covering the entire area. He walked up to a nearby tree and inspected it, discovering that they were in a much more open area than it appeared. Parts of the floor were stone, and there were some stone structures nearby. With him pointing it out, Shiek and Valeyo were able to make out the real parts of the terrain more easily. With some guidance from Sardior, Otto managed to cleanse the spell in the area, revealing their true surroundings.

They appeared to be in an area of old ruins overgrown by the surrounding forest. Judging by the dimmed light of the nearby fireflies, whatever was suppressing the light was still here. In their heads, the heard a voice speak "Welcome into my Sanctuary.". Valeyo asked who it was and the voice responded, calling itself Argus and saying they carried a relic of the Olmarcat Queen. It claimed to be the unicorn ruling this forest and when Shiek asked it to show itself, it simply said it was behind him. Shiek looked around, but the creature was nowhere to be found, and she shouted out "what do you want with the dagger.". It said that the Cat Queen had asked for his assistance with removing the dagger from his chest, using his great magical power. Shiek said that there was no way of them knowing it was telling the truth and the creature responded saying that it gave them one of its shoes. As it spoke, Shiek felt its breath on his face and took a step back. It then claimed to have no connection to the dagger, beyond being a steward of the Unseelie on this plane. It said that its task was to remove the dagger without killing Shiek, and allowing him to continue serving the Queen afterwards. Valeyo asked it to reveal itself, saying they were looking forward to meeting a Unicorn. Suddenly, behind Shiek appeared a Unicorn with jet-black fur, red eyes and a horn that seemed to absorb light. Valeyo warned it that it was being hunted, but it said it was aware. When asked about the Frog creature, it called it a poor mistreated child under its protection, saying that it had been the likely victim of a hag and had been here longer than the 75 years it had spent in the forest.

Shiek asked the unicorn if it knew what the Unseelie were planning. It just shook its head, saying that to know what the Unseelie were scheming was impossible. Valeyo asked how he could remove the knife while keeping Shiek alive, considering that the dagger is what pinned his soul to the body. The unicorn simply said that someone else would need to die, such as the band hunting it here. It could even have him take one of their bodies. Shiek asked how it knew the process, and the unicorn just said that Shiek was sent to him by the Queen for a reason. It also said it was a majestic creature of great power.

Shiek remained unconvinced. Valeyo changed the topic to the hunters, asking why they would want its horn or heart. It simply said they were very magical and said that it hadn't done anything to earn the local's ire, only harming those who try to harm the forest. The group asked after Midnight, but the unicorn said it wasn't very familiar. It knew there were a powerful archfey, who occasionally sent lost souls to this forest for caretaking. Milivoj asked what it meant, by caretaking and it said it gave them a place to live where they will not be hunted.

When they asked why it didn't just kill the hunters itself, it said it had no need to, as they would never find it and if they did, they would stand no chance against it. Valeyo asked how they would leave and what this place what. The unicorn called it an old temple of little importance, and said this was the final offer of helping. Shiek said he would like to take it, but was not willing to pay the price.

As this conversation was happening, Sapphira noticed a huge boar approach from behind. She cast speak with animals and shouted "Friend or foe!". It said "Undecided.". Valeyo asked what this was and the Unicorn said it was there to protect it, should the group foolishly turn down its offer. In that case, it could use one of the people here for the ritual instead. Looking around the group saw more and more animals appear. Valeyo asked about the ritual and it became clear that the unicorn planned on stabbing the victim and Shiek with his horn. Valeyo relayed this to Milivoj and told him to knock the horse out and take its horn, so they can use it for the ritual. He agreed and combat began.

The unicorn tried to stoke the fires in Milivoj's heart, but failed. The displacer beast became agitated at the attack and Shiek tried to keep it under control. Soon after, from the direction of their arrival, the party heard a loud howl. Eventually the group of mercenaries they had met came into view.