04/08/5-10

As the other group approached, Valeyo called out to them, asking them not to kill the unicorn, in exchange for giving them the items they wished from it. Due to the unicorn's curse, Milivoj's Violet Flames erupted which caused him to attack the mercenaries. Valeyo used Calm Emotions to convince them that he is just under a curse, but when Cassini attacked their leader they became aggressive. At the end of the combat, they kept Milivoj's unconscious body hostage, while the group performed the ritual to  extract the dagger. They skewered the Unicorn and then Shiek and expended a few spell slots, to channel the unicorn's life into the dagger, allowing Shiek to pull out the dagger from his chest.

For the first time, Shiek could see the dagger that was in his chest. It was immediately apparent that the knife was longer than expected, a black metal blade with a gold-trimmed handle. The party made the exchange with the mercenaries and began heading out of the forest. Valeyo asked Milivoj about the flames and he said he had been fighting against it ever since they entered the forest, but the blast that the unicorn let out, pushed him over the edge. About an hour into their travel, Valeyo began bleeding more profusely from his eyes and the darkness around horse returned. The group decided that it would be safer to camp for the night and have Otto remove the curses in the morning.

05/08/5-10

The group woke up to see that light was returning to the forest, with the unicorn's prescience having dissipated. Otto managed to cure the afflictions on the party members and they continued their journey through the forest. After a few hours they could see the wagon with Ysomir and the others waiting there. Valeyo asked him if the Baron was a problem, but the old man just said that he hadn't seen him for a while. Valeyo then Axi if they had seen him, but they said they had just seen this cure bird, encouraging a small blue jay to approach. They considered if it was a spy, but dismissed the idea. Valeyo then shouted out for Byron, telling him, that they are leaving, which caused him to appear from the tree line and run to the cart, burning along the way. With everyone there the group prepared to get on the road again.

While travelling, Otto inspected Shiek's former wound, finding a nasty scar, but otherwise healthy skin. Shiek began attuning to the dagger, to learn more about it. As he finished his ritual, he heard the voice of Dirlagrauna say: "Gone for some boldness this time, have you?". Shiek asked if she really did send him on the trip and she confirmed that she had, although, she hadn't expected it to go quite like that. Regardless, she was pleased with the result. Shiek wondered how she had reached out to the Unicorn and she said that despite her current condition, she was still and archfey. The how didn't matter, what she really needed, was for Shiek to change bodies once more. He asked why and she explained that both her and the blade were weak, not having been fed in a while. Doing so again, would give her more strength that she could then give to him. Shiek said that she had got plenty of lives over the years, questioning if she tempted the previous owners this way. She admitted to doing so, but said that it had been ages since she last had a meal. Sheik told her he refused to go through this again, being unwilling to kill innocents. She said he could just attack those who deserve it, but Shiek was not eager to jump into other morally corrupt individuals. The Queen sighed and told him to think on it, but in the meantime Trocodor, Shadow's Bite was his. If he wanted to switch, he just had to deal the killing blow to their heart. Even without that it would be a powerful item, she was inside of it after all. Shiek wanted to know, how this ended, how many times she would want him to do this, and what would happen once she is released. She just said that if they get that far, she would be free and may even grant him a wish. Shiek asked what her grand plan was, asking why Midnight wanted to free her. Dirlagrauna said that Midnight didn't want to free her, just use her against the Queen of Air and Darkness, so they would become the greatest lord of the Unseelie. As for her plans, all she wanted was to take her rightful place back in the court.