Session 31 - Of Augurs and Unicorns

General Summary

Preparing for a Hunt

After the majority of the party headed south to learn more about Walpurgisnacht, Winifred went to find Edmon. They met in a hallway, where Winifred asked Edmon to keep an eye on Dagobert as she is worried about where his loyalties lie. He goes to seek out Dagobert, and when he finds him, the majordomo asked Edmon to watch Winifred as she has already had one unsupervised outing alone with Lord Ingo. Edmon agreed that he will keep an eye on WInifred, if only for her protection. Dagobert and Edmon then went and found Winifred, whereupon Dagobert confronted Winifred about fraternizing with Lord Ingo without a chaperone present. Dagobert also continued to ask Winifred to consider marrying Lord Ingo, as he has been discussing the potential for marriage with Gerbert; however, Winifred rebuked him for this notion, saying that now is not the proper time. Dagobert also asked Winifred to take her handmaid into her quarters - she has been staying with at the refugee emcampment, and besides, having a handmaid would look good to Ingo.
Dagobert then decided to leave, whereupon Edmon and Winifred discussed how Dagobert is becoming too forward in his attempts to guide her through such a confrontation. Edmon pointed out that it may not be a bad idea to marry Ingo, as he does seem powerful and in charge of a safe refuge. Winifred countered by declaring that the marriage is not politically viable as she is the laughing stock of the nobie estate. Furthermore, both Winifred and Edmon agreed that a focus on the current threat of ratmen coming out of Matilda's territory should take priority.
After speaking with both Edmon and Dagobert, Lord Ingo arrived to speak with Winifred. Lord Ingo remarked that there is a large boar that has been spotted in the nearby territory and so he was gathering a hunting party. In preparation for the hunt, Lord Ingo asked Winifred if she would like to accompany the party, along with Edmon of course, to which she heartily agreed. Winifred became super excited at this opportunity to leave the castle on an adventure, and began packing immediately while being groomed by her handmaiden Alicia.

Finding the Augurs

Mechtild, Uisce, Rodrick, and Kaleb headed south along the river to find the Augurs, singing as they went. Mechtild spoke with Kaleb about the spear and Kaleb’s control over insects, and wondered if Kaleb could break the spear. Kaleb then attempted to crack the spear in half, and came close to doing so, but Mechtild was able to stop him in his attempt. Kaleb then told Mechtild that everyone in Drachenstelle is a doppelganger and Mechtild thanked him for this intelligence, leaving Kaleb alone afterwards.
At the end of the day, the party came to the foothills of the Düst Mountains. Rodrick and Kaleb began to look for tracks along the path to see if they could find signs of a group, likely the Augurs, passing by. While searching for the tracks, Kaleb found paw prints along the bank that led into the woods. Rodrick and Kaleb followed the trail into the woods, until they got lost in the dark. It was not until they spotted the fire made by Mechtild and Uisce that they were able to make their way back to the camp.
While at the camp, Mechtild pointed out to Uisce that she neglected to bring food for the journey, where Uisce reassured her that everything will be fine, then went into the river and searched for fish. While Mechtild waited for Uisce’s return, a small black terrier arrived and began digging into Rodrick’s pack. Mechtild pulled out a scholarly book that appeared to have the dog’s attention, but she put it away, afraid of what might happen to it, and without anything to keep it around the dog left. Uisce returned later with a fish she was able to spear, bringing it to Mechtild. As it got darker, the two built a fire that eventually attracted Rodrick and Kaleb back to the camp. Mechtild told Rodrick about the terrier, which captured his attention as it was the third instance of them crossing paths. The two also discussed the possibility of relocating to the cave, but both agreed that moving through the dark woods was unsound and that the group already held a defensible position. They went to rest for the night while Rodrick remained on watch and Thatch informed him of what appeared to be griffins flying over them.
The next morning, Uisce heard voices approaching the camp, so she dived into the river so that she might spy on them. Uisce misjudged the distance of the voices though and two men stumbled upon the camp. The two strangers woke up Rodrick and Mechtild, asking if the campers were there to fish. The two men said that they were from Brillig and followed a preacher out into the woods to live in the promised land, but they were now barely surviving in the wilds. Rodrick asked the strangers if the Augurs were nearby, and the two pointed him to the east where they had made camp. Kaleb then mended their clothes and Uisce helped them catch a fish.
After traveling a couple hours east, Mechtild, Uisce, Rodrick and Kaleb found the Augur camp. At the perimeter of the camp they came across a group of young men whom Rodrick told he wanted a trinket identified. The young men went inside the camp and asked Frau Klara to take a look at it, and she apparently agreed, allowing the party to enter her wagon. While speaking with the guests, Frau Klara showed interest in the Spear of Pardus that Kaleb carried, attempting to set the spear as the price for identifying Rodrick’s trinket, but everyone disagreed with those terms. With the conversation at an impasse, Uisce attempted to cast the spell of suggestion on Frau Klara, who was able to dispel the magic. Frau Klara then threatened the party, attempting to cast a spell on Uisce, which likewise failed. Frau Klara then asked for the trinket as payment for their lives, but Rodrick instead offered the sundisk necklace to her as an offering and the start of payment; however, due to a personal attachment to the person who owned the necklace, Frau Klara then demanded that the party leave her wagon at once, and threatened that after she finished counting to 60, her men would hunt them down.
The party ran out of the Augur camp as fast as possible. After making a good distance between themselves and the camp, they slowed down to figure out a plan for gathering any information. They came to the conclusion that Reinhard might be able to help in this regard so Uisce called out to him, loudly. The black terrier that everyone has seen arrived and the party attempted to communicate with it to no avail. Both Rodrick and Kaleb determined that the terrier is no regular dog, Kaleb by trying to communicate with it and Rodrick by casting a spell to detect magic and finding that the dog is surrounded by auras of transmutation and conjuration magic. The dog then sauntered off into the woods where it went behind a tree and disappeared leaving behind a seemingly blank tarot card.

The Hunt is Afoot

Winifred began the day helping the hunting party prepare to leave while Edmon went about the castle attempting to secure supplies. Edmon was not very fortunate in finding supplies as the castle is not full of vendors selling wares. However, the party was able to gather the needed supplies at Lord Ingo’s behest and left the castle, while Dagobert surprisingly stayed behind.
Traveling to the boar’s last known location was a leisurely stride, but then the boar was sighted and Ingo charged into the thicket after it. Ingo was able to slay the boar when everyone joined him in the thicket to inspect the boar, recognizing it as a powerful animal. Ingo and Winifred discussed how the boar would provide much for the people caught in Drachenstelle. Lord Ingo theorizes that the horrors outside of his estates’ lands were driving the animals in. While this is a boon of food, Lord Ingo remarked that the food would not be enough and once the forest was emptied of prey the flow would end. This is why Lord Ingo has found an advanced form of crop rotation, allowing more food to be produced and retained during each harvest. Winifred recognized that would be a great aid to the refugees.
After speaking with Lord Ingo, Winifred gave voice her worries about the others in her service who had traveled south. Edmon opined that the others were capable of taking care of themselves. While caught in this conversation, both Edmon and Winifred lost track of the hunting party. As they tried to catch up with the hunting party, they found a horse without a rider heading into a nearby thicket off the beaten path. Concerned that the stray horse might be some sort of trap, the two decided to leave it and eventually caught up with the hunters at a prepared meal.

Meeting a Unicorn

While spending time at the hunting pavilion, Winifred became worried about Kaleb and the safety of the spear. While Lord Ingo considered Kaleb trustworthy with the spear, Winifred was able to talk Lord Ingo into heading south to find the other party members. Lord Ingo, Winifred, Edmon, and a small retinue then headed south to search for the other party members. Winifred became distracted and headed slightly off the path, but Edmon was able to notice and redirect Winifred’s horse with his own; however, Winifred’s horse continued to come away from the beaten path. It is then that Winifred and Edmon found a solitary horse drinking out of the stream. As the two observed the horse, the horse lifted its head and they saw a single silver horn coming out of the horse’s forehead.
Winifred approached the unicorn and felt a sense of calm fall over her in that moment. As Winifred and Edmon gawked over the unicorn, Winifred tried to name the unicorn Amalthea but the unicorn did not seem to like the name. As Edmon approached, the unicorn dropped its horn towards him and Edmon reached out to touch it, feeling elated as he made contact. Eventually, while in their state of ecstasy, the two heard hooves approaching and the unicorn then phased away.The hooves belonged to Lord Ingo and his hunting retinue approaching, who found Edmon and Winifred dancing about on the bank of the river. The two groups then came together to continue traveling south.

The Parties Reunited

Winifred, Edmon, and Lord Ingo with his retinue continued south, coming across the other party members before the day's end. The party members were gathered around a tree. Winifred asked what happened to Kaleb and was aghast when she found him hiding by himself in a tree. Rodrick was able to use his ability to see in the dark and to detect magic to learn that the tarot card was covered in a magic illusion causing the face to be dark and it was in fact the devil card.
Upon returning to the castle, Rodrick told Mechtild of the bad omen represented by the tarot card. Mechtild then informed Lord Ingo of their adventure along with the tarot card and Rodrick’s feelings of ill omen. Lord Ingo gathered everyone together then and declared that the tarot card is a bad omen and that Winifred should stay in the castle for her own safety. When Winifred told him about her unicorn sighting, Ingo replied that she should be careful who she tells about this, because she is not liable to be believed.

Report Date

04 Apr 2024