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Gunther, The Dandy and his two men hotfooted up the stairs and outside. There they meet... The Baron!
The Baron signed them to be quiet. Around the neck of each man he put a small pouch. "These will be longer lasting than the dust."
The Dandy's horses were still tied nearby. "Can these mounts carry two?" He asked quietly. The Dandy nodded affirmatively. "Then lets get out of here." Gunther and The Baron got up behind two of the others and the party galloped away from the church for the main road.
"Stop!" Called The Baron as they reached the main road. The others could see there was much on his mind.
"Some quick explanations and a choice to be made, gentlemen.
"First, The Baron you left behind was a simulacrum, a copy of me. It seemed that the goal of Mr. Porter's machinations were to get me into that church, and in that we have thwarted him... temporarily. But he will give chase, powerful chase, as soon as he discovers that what he has is not me.
The Baron looked at Gunther. "Mr. Porter is now more than either of us bargained for, Gunther. He is neither human like Rostov, nor vampire like Kalnichov. He is now a lich."
"Vampires... Liches... What is this talk?" Said The Dandy. "By the way, allow me to introduce myself. I am Jaques-Pierre de la Fontaine."
"I am Baron Julio Von Rostov, pleased to make your acquaintance." he looked around, "Although, I wish the circumstances were more cordial.
"Briefly, the Kalchnichovs maintain their hold in this region because many of the family are vampires. They have long supported conservative causes in the region, and those conservatives traditionally haven't looked too closely at the nature of their supporters in this valley.
"But Johanne Porter here is not a vampire. He is a lich, and no longer a Kalnichov. I suspect he is the product of a botched assassination that occurred after he broke with the family."
"Vampires I have heard of, but... a... lich?" said Jaque-Pierre.
"A corporeal ghost. Very powerful, very persuasive. Which brings us to our choice.
"This lich may have the power to break me, outright. He certainly has the power to outlive me, and thus bring ruin on my family and all my good works.
"But it is a young lich and not set in it ways yet, which gives it some vulnerabilities. However, to exploit those vulnerabilities, I'm going to need help." The Baron looked toward the Kalnichov side of the valley. "You gentlemen don't have to come with me..."
"Oh but we shall." said Jaques-Pierre.
"Agreed." said Gunther.
"Gentlemen, I am grateful for your support. Lets move."
The party rode quickly down the path. As the path approached the main valley, The Baron had the party stop along the last rocky stretch. "Gentlemen, I will ask you all to close your eyes, and keep them shut until I tell you to open them again. It's time for another distraction, but not one you should see." The Baron climbed down from his horse, chanted in eldrich tongue for a minute or so, and the climbed back on.
"You may open your eyes, gentlemen. I have sent a decoy party, south. The nymphs and dryads along that road will note our passing should Johanne inquire. Let us turn from the road here and head north." He said.
Over the years the Rostov holdings had grown and prospered, and now signs of habitation came close to the river that divided Rostov and Kalnichov holdings. There were farms and fields coming close to the river, and the river itself had some fishing shacks along it. The Kalnichovs chose to have their people develop elsewhere, and the lands the party rode through were nominally Kalnichov hunting preserves. But if these were the Kalnichov hunting areas, the Kalnichovs were poor, indeed. Rarely did the Baron have to remind his people near the river not to poach these lands because rarely was interesting game found here. The land was thickly grown with dark-trunked hardwoods, and amongst these grew dense thickets of thorny bushes that few kinds of game found appealing as either food or shelter.
The party was north of the river, and going was very slow at first, but the party finally found a game trail. As they continued, they could see that the game trail was following an abandoned roadbed that lead deep into Kalnichov land, and their pace picked up.
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