Looking for a Unicorn

The five men had been drinking a large volume of mixed spirits over the last two or three hours, so their judgment was not sharp. They did not observe that Astra was well-armed. For some reason, her plain and somewhat masculine dress did not bother them. It was as if they had dealt with women like that before. And as for why such a woman would seek them out - it was obvious to them that she was charmed by their handsome faces, charming voices, and physical prowess, which was no less than what they deserved. Weakly supressed pride, greed, lust, and a large volume of alcohol, are a potent combination, which left them potentially dangerous, but also subject to being manipulated as clay on a potter's wheel by Astra.

Fat Jack bowed down low, and said, "Certainly, my good woman. There is always room at our table for a hearty wench as yourself. Indeed, you are quite tall for a yeoman's daughter." Jack muddled mind was trying to reconcile the tall and muscular form of Astra, which was closer to his idea of a prosperous and potentially profitable-to-plunder gentlewoman, with Astra's plain dress.

Astra sat down, and one of the men with a stubbly face poured her a drink of port, and poured a small packet of sugar in it. Astra sipped the drink. "I have tasted better," she thought. She spoke up, cheerfully, "I have traveled from my home, near a village far to the South. I am searching for a curiosity for the Baroness," she replied, keeping her story as vague as possible.

"What sort of curiosity, miss, er ...?" asked the man with the black beard, pausing in hopes of prompting the newcomer for her name.

"Astra", she replied. "Well, you may think this a bit daft, but she wants me to fetch her a unicorn."

"A unicorn?" replied the man with the beard.

1. "There is no such thing as a unicorn!"
2. One of the other men cut in, "Hey, Rob, would she be interested in our centaur?"

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