He knew that the child was the one the prophecy spoke of, but he left the baby where he found it, not wanting the prophecy to come true. Drinn goes on to claim that he discovered a baby boy in the town’s marketplace one night in winter. A resident of Hagsgate named Drinn informs them of a curse that stated that their town would continue to share in Haggard’s fortune until such a time that someone from Hagsgate would bring Haggard’s castle down. Together, the three continue their journey and arrive at Hagsgate, a town under Haggard’s rule and the first one he had conquered when he claimed his kingdom. When Schmendrick is captured by bandits, the Unicorn comes to his rescue and attracts the attention of Molly Grue, the bandit leader’s wife. The Unicorn and Schmendrick continue traveling in an attempt to reach the castle of King Haggard, where the Red Bull resides. The Unicorn frees the other creatures including Celaeno, who kills Mommy Fortuna and Rukh, her hunchbacked assistant. Schmendrick, a magician traveling with the carnival, sees the Unicorn for what she is, and he frees her in the middle of the night. The Unicorn finds herself the only true legendary creature among the group, save for the harpy, Celaeno. During her journey, she is taken captive by a traveling carnival led by the witch, Mommy Fortuna, who uses magical spells to create the illusion that regular animals are in fact creatures of myth and legend. She continues to search for other unicorns. Eventually, the butterfly issues a warning that her kind have been herded to a far away land by a creature known as the Red Bull.

She encounters a talking butterfly who speaks in riddles and songs and initially dodges her questions about the other unicorns. She travels through the land and discovers that humans no longer even recognize her instead they see a pretty white mare. This revelation disturbs the Unicorn, and though she initially dismisses it, eventually doubt and worry drive her to leave her forest.

The last unicorn novel