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The first habitations they passed were small huts used as shelter by hunters. These did not appear to have been used for a long time. At the first and second The Baron switched them from following the main game trail to finding an alternate path, and covering their tracks when they did. At the third hut he stopped the group. The sun was behind the mountains, and darkness would soon come.
"This, gentlemen, will be our base of operations for the next couple days, unless we are discovered. Have your men prepare a meal, Mr. Fontaine, while you and Gunther become familiar with the surroundings, here. I will be conjuring a messenger to alert my chancellor of our situation. Is there any urgent message any of you would like to get out?"
One of the men quipped, "Dear Mom, I'm being hunted down by a creature that makes even vampires shudder. Don't wait up.... Hah!... No, nothing I can think of."
The Baron smiled. At least spirits were still up. The men went about their duties and the Baron moved behind the hut to do his conjuring. The creature he summoned was an Invisible Stalker, a powerful creature from the Ethereal Plane.
"It is well that you called on me, Rostov, and not some flighty Imp or Pixie." growled the Invisible Stalker, "The Plane is stormy, some great magic is afoot. It is well that you called upon me, but... I demand full release from my obligation for doing this task. These are uncertain times on The Plane."
"You ask much. But you will have it, if you also tell me what stirs The Plane so?"
"This being you call Johanne Porter has been much more active on The Plane than on your distracting little Prime Material Plane. He has seduced many of the Kalnichov 'true people', and they have set about some great task. The valley throbs and rocks in sympathy with their great efforts."
"Who among the Kalnichov stand against him?"
"Those who cast him out were forewarned. He did not seduce them."
"I will go to them."
"Not on The Plane, you won't, or on the Prime Material. Porter has them under siege."
"Very well. Take a message to Chancellor Napier. Tell him that Porter has revealed Nom-dey-Nazadlan..."
"So that is the great work! No wonder the valley rocks and rolls! This is news of great concern... So great that I'm doubling my fee to you.... If Nazadlan is opened, The Plane will be profoundly altered."
"I believe we already have a deal." The Baron said politely.
"But! I'm accepting this tidbit of news as covering the extra cost."
Invisible Stalkers are not easy for humans to deal with: they have their own logics and codes. But they are resourceful, highly intelligent and good observers of the Ethereal Plane. This is what makes them so useful. The Baron has learned their logics and codes well.... for a human.
"Also tell him that Porter has captured my simulacra...."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not good, Baron. He will be used against you."
"My fear exactly. Please pass that on to Chancellor Napier. And tell him that we have gone into Kalnichov lands seeking for help. Give Chancellor Nap...."
"Twenty minutes to formulate a reply and bring it back to you, if he has one: Yes." the Invisible Stalker stared at him. "Yes???"
"That's it." Said the Baron. Before he had finished "it." the Stalker had disappeared and begun his assignment -- part of the Stalker Code was that they wasted no time.
The Baron was now drained. He had produced a simulacra and summoned an Invisible Stalker within hours of each other, and he was far from his cornucopia of restorative drugs and spices that he kept for such busy occasions. A simple meal would have to do, so he went in to the hut. There the men had prepared a simple meal of soup and bread. He ate and slept.
******
His dreams were not pleasant. Johanne Porter had not thrown the simulacra into some dungeon to await further developments, he was actively trying to bend it to his will. This brought uneasiness to his dreams, and a question: of all the things Johanne Porter could be personally spending time on, why was breaking his simulacra first on the list? This was troubling, indeed, but there was a silver lining: it meant that pursuit of the part on the Prime Material plane would be fitful for at least a few hours.
He woke. The hut was dark, filled only with the breathing of men. The Baron got up and walked out. He breathed the night air. It should have been refreshing, but whatever was poisoning the land was in the air as well.
From a nearby deep shadow, Gunther came to him. "Watch has been posted, my lord."
"Do you feel the disease around us, Gunther?"
"I do. Jaque-Pierre and I have scouted a broken land. The evil has been sleeping here for years, and recently awoken. There is little alive here now, but we have found many corpses of beast fighting beast. We should not stay here."
"I agree. But this is now a calm node in the swirling vortexes of conflict around us. To the northeast there is civil disorder in Ravenloft, Ludwig Kalnichov's manor, to the southeast there is an eldritch horde marching for Rostov lands, to the north the Stienhortz manor is under siege.
"It is to the Steinhortz manor I must go next. But the way will not be easy, my ethereal friends report that it is under siege."
"How will you get there?"
"The Ethereal Plane is not the only other plane. I must now do some traveling. This will be a delicate time for me, Gunther. Normally I do this only when surrounded by sturdy walls and powerful glyphs. Johanne Porter knows this, which is why his ethereal abominations race south, even as we speak. He is trying to intercept me as I head for my holdings.
"Instead, I will do my traveling here. This means you and your men must substitute for walls and glyphs. You must ensure I remain undisturbed."
"We will protect you, my lord."
"Do not take this on lightly. And do not take this on if you feel you cannot succeed."
"Jaque-Pierre and I have surveyed the land well. We can protect you."
"Indeed, we can. Sir!" said Jaque-Pierre from behind the Baron.
The Baron started. Jaque-Pierre was good! He had come up so quietly that the Baron had not noticed.
"Very well, gentlemen. I will require another meal and part of the hut. We will put up a blanket -- it is best not to watch a wizard when he is in this vulnerable state."
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