Despite the pure, unadulterated innocence of this beautiful, enchanting, place, Urchin had entered the woods for a rather sinister reason. Deep in the forest, beneath the branches of the towering elm trees, grew a particular kind of mushroom with long, slender stems and a dark brown cap. While they might not look special, these mushrooms contained a powerful hallucinogenic that was becoming rather popular with the youth in
the Shallows, and could be sold for 30 silver a pop! A nice, tidy profit for anybody who took the time to head that deep into the woods and ignored all the rumors of
trolls and kobolts in the area.
In the middle of gathering his little treasure trove though, the lad was stopped in his tracks by the most beautiful singing he had ever heard in his life. What could it be? A few ideas ran through his mind as he started heading towards the sound, as if in a trance.
Sirens? If it was sirens he should run for his life or risk a horrible death! ... But no, sirens lived in the ocean, and their songs couldn't be resisted even if you did recognize it. So, what else could it be? Dryads? Pixies?
Elves? From what he understood, dryads were extremely shy creatures and would probably disappear back to their trees if they caught sight of him. Pixies were rather mischievous, and would probably toy with him for a few days before getting bored and letting him go. Forest elves were, from what he understood, the most graceful and beautiful creatures known to man, though they could be extremely territorial. There was no telling what they might do to the boy if they caught him trespassing in their forest. But the boy was just so enraptured by the music that he just couldn't help but continue.
What it found though was something far more magical, more incredible and more beautiful than anything he could've imagined. An honest to the Gods, unicorn!
"Woah," Urchin whispered under his breath. He had heard all the tales of course, but never in his life did he think a low down nobody like himself would ever glimpse a creature so pure and so perfect! He just had to get a closer look!
As he took a step into the meadow though, the boy instantly noticed that the singing had stopped. Was it something he'd done? Had the unicorn seen him? Had he scared it? Not knowing what else to do, the lad extended his hand towards the creature, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together, the way he would if he were approaching any other wild animal.
"'Ere horsey," his said gently, which was undoubtedly an extremely patronizing and insulting greeting to such a majestic beat.
"Nice horsey. Pretty horsey. You're a beautiful horsey, yes you are. You 'ungry horsey?" he asked, envisioning the beautiful animal eating an apple out of his hand... Unfortunately, Urchin didn't have any apples. He did have one thing though!
"'Ere horsey, I've got a nice, tasty mushroom for you," the boy offered, offering the creature one of the hallucinogenic treats he had picked earlier.
"Num, num. Nice mushroom. Horsey want the mushroom? Come here boy, I ain't gonna 'urt ya."
A thought occurred to the boy just then. These mushrooms were worth 30 silver a piece... Eactly how much would a unicorn be worth? If he could somehow capture the beast and sell it... Sweet Gods above, he'd be rich! Rich beyond his wildest dreams! A man could live in luxury from the profits of selling a live unicorn! ... But it'd have to be to a nice person though. Somebody who'd take care of it and keep it as a pet. Not one of those nasty mages who'd chop the animal into pieces and sell it off for potions. The unicorn was far too lovely for that! If he could just gain the animal's trust... First, he had to get close enough to touch it. So Urchin was sure to move very, very slowly so as not to startle or scare the beast.
