Hunting for Unicorns

This Victoriana session is fresh. Ben aint here.

Brenden Cruinn is hunting in the woods outside of London, when he hears someone approach him.

It's a teenage boy, maybe 16 years old. He's fair haired, and dressed clearly as a noble. He says he's looking for Brenden.

Brenden asks who is looking for him, and the boy introduces himself as Alexis Rosindale. Jess ate the Titantic. Stop looking at me funny, Jess. He presents a letter from Adeen, telling Brenden to give him any assistance he needs. He goes on to explain that his fiance, Lucia Capell, is missing, and his efforts to find her himself has been stymied. Her family just wants to brush the matter under the rug. His family is of no help, as his father passed recently. "Unlike some lords, my wife-to-be is something I care deeply about."

Someone matching her description was last seen a few days ago, at the Nobody Inn. Alexis tried to question the locals himself, but he barely escaped a savage beating. It would take a man of different station to find her, it would seem, and Brenden would just be that man.

On the walk back to London, Brenden really likes to talk about hunting, but Alexis doesn't find that subject very interesting.

Freddie has requested to see Father Amorth, Sidney and I, and he sees us at my fashionable flat.

He has pretty much finished dealing with matters involving Edwin Ingram's affairs. There's just a few last things, and then we'll never here from Freddie or about Edwin Ingram again.

Edwin left us a few shillings, as well as some strange pendants. Father Amorth's is shaped like a bishop chess piece, Sidney's is shaped like a pawn, and mine is of a king. He even has one for Brenden, shaped like a knight, much to our surprise. They all seem to be made of ivory and give +1 AC.

Freddie says it is no problem at all, which seems a little creepy. He is better dressed than before, and he tells us he's expected Edwin's old business since then. He checks his silver pocket watch, and then takes his leave.

Brenden Cruinn receives his necklace, and then he goes to the Nobody Inn with Sidney. Sidney tells him that it got the name in the 1600s when the landlord died and nobody came to the wake. It's a real place. It's a nice place.

Sidney goes to the bar, and orders a gin. It's never too early to drink for her. There are some ex-soldiers, and as Brenden comes in, he recognizes them. They notice him too, and he abruptly leaves.

Sidney sits down with some workers, who are complaining loudly about their foreman. She banters with them a bit, and asks if they saw anyone matching Lucia's description. They saw her alright, she was looking for a bodyguard, and she found one in man called Logan. He's a rough looking man, and a war hero, with sandy hair, and a strong Sean Bean jaw with a scar across it. Apparently she was looking to go on adventure, to find unicorns.

Sidney talks to the soldiers as well, and they know Logan. Logan Norwood got an aware for taking the banner at Talevera. His charge was lookign to go somewhere named Blackwood. She asks if they know Brenden, and one of them vaguely remembers some bad stuff happening involving him. He had a short temper and got himself dishonorably discharged.

After Father Amorth tries to seance her spirit, and gets no response, we head north.

To Blackwood.

We've been there before, when Vinotonus was unleashed.

The town hasn't changed a lot, but it has changed. Most noticeably, the villagers aren't just hostile, but also openly afraid.

Father Amorth talks to the innkeeper, who doesn't seem happy to see us. He denies knowing anything, and an old man sitting in a corner cackles like a mad wizard.

Father Amorth talks to him, and asks if a woman passed here with a man. He cackles madly, and says he might know something about. Do him a favor though. Get your strapping young beast man friend (Brenden Cruinn) to place some flower's on his son's grave. Father Amorth agrees, on Brenden's behalf.

The graveyard is overgrown, and we find his son's grave. No dead spirits.

Brenden places the flowers on the grave, and the ground starts shaking and a hand burst through the dirt. Father Amorth touches the hand, and quells the undead.

Father Amorth seances his spirit, and he comes forth. The spirit asks why his spirit was disturbed for a second time. Father Amorth asks why he burst forth, and the spirit says this is a nexus of evil. Evil has lived here and will always live here.

We return to town, and the old cackling man is happy we did him his favor. Father Amorth alludes to his son's unrestfulness, but the old man doesn't catch on.

He tells us the young lady and her escort arrived to a very cold welcome. They tried to get locations for unicorns, and only got the information they were looking for after killing two people. The location is in Applewood Valley. Applewood Bacon Logan had a rifle on his back and a sword on his hip.

The cackling old man gives us some supplies, and we leave through a familiar mountain pass.

An unnatural darkness comes, even through it should be the middle of the day. Brenden sees glowing green eyes, and Sidney sees movement in the darkness. It's back, she says, and she draws her dirk.

We continue forward, and it follows us. Apparently we manage to avoid a noose trap.

The creature emerges from the darkness, the same shadowy creature we had seen months ago. We shoot it, and I'm blinded. Sidney leaps over everyone and stabs it through the head. It dies wordlessly.

Upon looking at the defeated creature, I realize it's a corrupted servant of Aífe, the celtic goddess of knowledge and protection.

We continue forward, until we reach an area where the path is washed out

Brenden looks around, and finds some old tracks. We follow them down, until we reach a small river with a destroyed bridge. It's too steep to traverse here, so we backtrack and try going up from the washed out path.

Sidney spots a rabid rat. Brenden snarls at it and kills it.

We continue forward, and after several hours, we reach a fordable river. Brenden carries Father Amorth and me over it.

Eventually, it becomes late, or at least if feels late, so we make camp. The trees press in us, and Sidney has horrible nightmares.

We continue forward, and another day passes, until we make camp again.

Finally, near the end of the third day, we see wild apple trees.

Brenden sees hoof prints. We see more wildlife, especially rats.

There's also a lake here, and we spot some equestrian creatures, unicorns likely. Brenden tells us that unicorns are carnivorous.

Brenden also finds some tracks from people who that passed through, although he isn't sure if they're Lucia and Logan or not.

We follow the tracks, as sneakily as possible, and manage not to alert the deadly unicorns. Brenden hears a large crack, and hurries forward, while the rest of us follow as quickly as we can.

Inside, Brenden sees torch that has been thrown on the ground, and a sandy haired man, with a heavy sabre in hand fighting three marsh trolls. This is surely Logan Norwood, and Brenden rushes to his aid.

The rest of us arrive, and we all come to his assistance. I manage to unload all five shots from my revolver without killing one of them, although Logan finished it off with his sabre.

Logan was knocked unconscious during the fight, but Father Amorth revives him with a healing spell.

He wonders what we're doing here, and I tell him we're here to retrieve his charge. He appreciates that her fiance cares for her, but says ultimately it was up to her.

He offers Brenden his sword, as he's not up for another fight up front, and he pulls out his rifle.

Brenden asks him why she came here, and he says she wanted to see unicorns. She was going to go even if someone didn't offer to help, and she was both paying him well and he didn't wish to see her harmed.

We go deeper in the cave, and we see our ideal selves (Brenden looks like a war hero) and it gets darker until we reach a large hole, with a stairway leading around the edge into the pit.

In the pit we see an unholy sight. A small crowd of mangled people are praying to a demonic figure at the center of the room. Two figures are crucified. One is a changeling, the changeling. The other is Edwin Ingrim, our once dead companion. They crowd is worshiping the horrific display, and we spot Lucia down there too.

Sidney sneaks down, and Edwin spots her and looks at her pleadingly. Logan makes his first shot on the demon, and Brenden charges down with Sidney's dirk in hand. Sidney grabs the girl while Brenden fights the demon. After several shots from Logan's rifle, and Brenden's cutting prowess, the demon is dead.

The worshipers look confused. Edwin screams in agony about a white marble in his crucifix. Remove it he says, and he'll be freed. So Brenden removes it.

Sidney pulls Lucia (who as her ideal self is wearing adventurer's garb) up the stairs. Brenden scavenges for a bit through the demon's belongings before returning back up the stairs as well.

Below, the worshipers have started tearing each other apart, without too much luck

We leave, and Logan thanks us again for our assistance. We explain to Lucia the nature of unicorns to Lucia, and she seems a bit disappointed, although I'm not sure if it's because she didn't get a close look or not. Sidney makes a snide comment, which I only assumes she wants to punch Lucia in the face to show her some adventure. Luckily, even if that's really what she said, Lucia understands her even less than we do.

The marble that once held Edwin's soul is still in Brenden's hands, and as we exit the cave, it cracks, letting out a blue light. Inside, is a Knight's Chess Piece. The light enters Brenden's own necklace as well as Brenden. A look of confusion passes over Brenden's face, and he starts talking about his shop. Edwin's shop.

I ask Brenden if Edwin can explain the necklaces. Brenden says the voice of Edwin has gone quiet, but his presence is still there.

We return to London. Alexis and Lucia are happy to see each other, and Alexis pays us our reward.

Freddie visits Brenden Cruinn, and Edwin Ingram takes over. Freddie seems to notice that his old master Edwin Ingram is back, in a very strange fashion, and they catch up on old times.

TODO: Sell expensive tome, research necklaces, research items to fight Vinotonus.