Save for her horn and cloven hooves, Tavia Morningstar could have passed for a small Arabian mare. She had a clever-looking face, a long arched neck, and a finely chiseled muzzle. Expressive dark eyebrows contrasted with a flowing golden mane, tail, and slightly darker coat.

The ends of her legs shaded into colored patches called ‘socks’. Those on her rear legs were black, while the pair on her front legs were stark white. The razor-sharp ivory spiral of her horn sat high atop her head.

To Caleb’s surprise, her right shoulder sported a black squiggle of a tattoo. Small flashes of color in her mane were bundles of marble-sized red, blue, and green beads. They’d been cleverly threaded into the strands of her mane about two inches from the end.

His amazement didn’t fade, even as her stat sheet appeared in a screen to his left.

Name: Octavia Morningstar Class: Paladin Alignment: Lawful Good Unicorn-Specific Specialties: Light Spells, Purification Spells, Enchant Object, Horn-to-Hoof Combat… Paladin Sub-Specialties: Dark Magic Resistance, Deep Healing, Armor Enhancement Existing Buff / Debuffs: Magical abilities Reduced by 60% from soul draining. Physical abilities Reduced by 30% from soul draining. Potential Buff / Debuffs: Oath-Related Violations will Cause Weakening of Magical Abilities.

“You’re…” he tried to say, “you’re a unicorn!”

Tavia’s eyes were bright blue, and they rolled in their sockets before she answered.

“Yes, I think that’s pretty obvious, Caleb. Now, will you please unchain me?”

“Uh, yeah. Let me see what I need to do.”

He scanned the small alcove. Draymon’s men had placed straw over the floor. An empty water bucket sat in the nearby corner. Four heavy chains led from a cuff on each of Tavia’s legs to rings set deep into the walls. A fifth ran from the wall to an iron circlet set at the base of the unicorn’s horn.

“Open the restraint on my horn,” Tavia urged. “It’s blocking my magic. I can help you once it’s off.”

Caleb took a few steps into her cell. He reached out with his mind, once again utilizing his Craft with Iron spells. Immediately, he got a picture of the lock in his mind, but something shimmied as he tried to move its innards. It startled him, as if he’d grabbed a branch that turned out to be a snake.

“There’s some kind of spell on this thing,” he grunted, as he the lock fought him for control. “It’ll take me just a little longer.”

“Be quick,” she said, as her small, tipped ears flicked forward. “I hear footsteps approaching.”

“I’m trying…”

He’d gotten more than halfway through the mechanism when a guard arrived. The man was dressed similarly to Kane’s patrolmen, only he carried a bulging burlap sack under each arm. Busy with his ungainly load, he’d walked into the cell before he spotted Caleb.

“Komtur Draymon!” the man shouted.

Caleb grabbed the water bucket and hurled it. It hit the guard in the stomach, making him grunt as he dropped the sacks and fell to the floor. The sacks split open, spilling grain across the smooth stones.

Tavia’s chains clinked as she jerked to one side as far as she could. She raised one forehoof, then slammed it down with all her weight on the guard’s neck. Caleb shuddered at the resulting squish! but he immediately knelt and searched for the dead man’s weapons.

He came up with a cutlass in its scabbard, but nothing else. Either the guard hadn’t been given the usual dual set of pistols, or he’d left them home for the day. Caleb pulled the sword free of the scabbard. The weapon was a bit tip-heavy, but otherwise it felt natural in his hand.

“Hurry,” Tavia urged. “I hear another set of footsteps!”

Caleb started on undoing the unicorn’s restraint once more. Yet as he did so, Inquisitor Draymon appeared in the corridor outside. The man’s placid face broke out into a grim smile as he saw what was happening.

“Oh, this is too good to be true!” he gloated. “It’s been a long time since I had an excuse to outright kill a prisoner with my pain magic.”

Before Caleb could take more than a step, Draymon raised a hand. A crackle, and agony coursed through Caleb’s veins again. He fell to his knees, reeling, but managed to hold onto his sword. The cords in his neck bulged with raw effort as he shoved the pain aside and forced his magic to keep picking the restraint on Tavia’s horn.

“Come on and fight me!” Caleb gritted. “Unless you’re just a cowardly sadist!”

The Inquisitor’s lips twisted, as if considering the challenge.

A clack, and the restraint on Tavia’s horn popped open. The chain fell away with a harsh tingling sound. Draymon quickly drew back a step.

“Nice try,” he smirked. “But I’m not getting close enough for the unicorn to strike at me with her horn.”

Tavia curled her head around to her flank as if nibbling at an itch. She bit into one of the green beads wrapped securely in her mane. With a quick flex of her jaw, she yanked it off and took it in her mouth.

The unicorn bit down hard. Caleb heard a crunch! as if she’d bitten into a piece of hard candy. With a flick of her head, She sent the bead sailing across the room and into Draymon’s face.

The bead detonated in an explosion of foul-smelling gas. The Inquisitor dropped his hand as he stumbled back against the far wall. Lungs heaving, he wheezed and coughed until his eyes watered.

Caleb was up in a flash as the pain vanished. Three steps, and he lunged forward, burying the point of the cutlass in the center of Draymon’s chest with a shunk! The Inquisitor gasped, hands clenching and unclenching as a scarlet stain spread in a torrent from underneath his shirt.

He slumped, then went still. Caleb pulled the sword free, and the man fell bonelessly to the floor. Behind him, Tavia cleared her throat.

“Well met,” she called. “But you’re not quite done!”

“Right, right.” He searched Draymon’s body and came up with the Inquisitor’s keyring. Caleb went to kneel by the unicorn’s hooves and set his bloody sword aside. After a few tries, he finally unlocked the fetters on Tavia’s legs, freeing her at last. “There we go.”

“You have my gratitude,” she proclaimed, and she bowed her head to him. “My horn and hooves are at your service, until we are free.”

“I’m glad to have it.”

Caleb stood, grabbing the sword and tucking the keyring into his single pocket. He paused for a moment in thought. Lir and Danu’s advice hadn’t been all that helpful so far. Except for one phrase: Those you rescue are not necessarily helpless. Use their strengths and expertise to assist you.

Just as Tavia’s assistance could help them get free of this place, there was one other that could help.

“Come on,” he said. “We need to head further down into the dungeon.”

“Further down? There’s nothing back there except…”

“Yeah, the ‘Beast’, I know. But if we can free whatever it is, it’ll be to our advantage.”

The unicorn gave him a skeptical look. “I fail to see how getting ourselves eaten is going to be an advantage in this situation.”

“Whatever’s down there already killed two of Draymon’s guards. I’m betting that if we can free this thing, it’ll be more interested in getting out of here. And killing more of the Myrkur along the way. Someone’s going to miss Draymon sooner than later, and they’ll be armed to the teeth.”

“I don’t know. I’ve heard that thing slavering away down there. Roaring at all times of night. Snapping and clawing…”

Caleb sensed her wavering. He thought about her class and alignment. And how it might help him persuade her. He cleared his throat and pushed ahead with his argument.

“I don’t know much about paladins. Especially unicorn ones. But I’m assuming that when you make an oath, you do your best to keep it.” She nodded, so he went on. “Well, I made an oath of sorts. I made a promise to free all the prisoners in Deephold Keep. All prisoners includes this Beast. It deserves freedom as much as anyone or anything else.”

Tavia let out a low equine sigh. She raised her head and looked at him, eyes weary but firm with resolve.

“You shame me, Caleb. It is a noble thing to rescue all in need of succor. My magic is weak, but I shall follow you, and do my best to protect you if this plan is folly.”

“I appreciate it, believe me,” he agreed, and together they set off down the corridor.

Tavia’s hooves made a steady clop-scrape against the stone surface as the slope down grew sharper. Caleb hardly noticed. His mind was still spinning from having made a friend-of-sorts out of a mythical being.

Come on, he chided himself. You’ve accepted that this place has both spellcraft and stat sheets. Why shouldn’t some of the creatures in Avalon be non-human? And of human intelligence? Roll with it. Keep an open mind!

Finally, they came to a stout door made of wood reinforced by bands of dark metal. Wan light shone from the gap between the door sill and the floor. A shadow moved, followed by the clank of heavy chain and a deep, feral growl.

Caleb swallowed hard and gave the door an experimental push. To his surprise, it swung inward on a well-greased set of hinges. He stepped through, Tavia following close behind.

The room was cavernous, at least compared to his and Tavia’s cells. A deep animal musk hung in the air. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light.

Six chains led from iron rings set into the walls over to a mass of fur. The mass grew and shrank in a regular rhythm, until Caleb realized that it was breathing. He made out a muscular feline form the size and length of a full-grown Siberian tiger.

Instead of stripes, the Beast was uniformly golden in color along its four leonine legs and back. Gold shifted to grimy white where a pair of feathered wings had been bound so that they could not be unfurled. Instead of a lion’s mane, Caleb marveled at the sight of a proud eagle’s head, complete with a jackhammer-stout yellow and black beak wrapped tight in a leather muzzle.

Tavia let out a fearful whinny.

“‘Ware, Caleb! That creature is deadly!”

The bound griffin stared back at the unicorn, an eager maliciousness in its eyes.